KING IN BLACK: WICCAN AND HULKLING #1, a one-shot available on Wednesday, March 3rd, tells the story of former Young Avengers Hulkling and Wiccan’s long-awaited honeymoon. But unbeknownst to them, the Symbiote God Knull rampages across the universe, destroying and taking over all sentient life. As a result, readers will see what an Emperor and his husband do when faced with a world-ending threat during the week they’re supposed to be at their most relaxed.
Story
The issue opens like many tie-ins to the King in Black event—a horrible scene of destruction at the hands of Knull’s symbiote army. The recently allied Kree and Skrull soldiers appear to have succumbed to the creatures.
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Elsewhere, Hulkling and Wiccan need a vacation. We see that they’ve been busy handling the logistics of the Skrull and Kree alliance despite having recently gotten married. Wiccan and Hulkling’s back-and-forth flirting displays realistic displays of affection between the newlyweds. Their desire to be alone together is made even more apparent when the Vice-Chancellor of the Shi-ar Empire offers them a spot on one of their resort planets. But with Knull and his symbiotes nearby, their one-on-one time might be cut short.
Writer Tini Howard captures the essence of Wiccan and Hulkling in impressive detail. Each hero retains those personality aspects fans have grown to love over the years while adding in more mature qualities. We were thrilled to watch this fan favorite couple sort out a typical superhero threat while trying to enjoy their honeymoon.
Artwork
Luciano Vecchio’s penciling and ink work, Espen Grundetjern’s coloring, and VC’s Ariana Maher’s lettering worked beautifully together in this issue. The illustrations of the married couple shows full ranges of their emotions—from their loving looks toward one another to faces full of terror at the sight of their assailants. We also loved how the lettering employed squiggled fonts to represent each horrific scream of the symbiotes, helping to emphasize the overall themes of panic.
Conclusion
KING IN BLACK: WICCAN AND HULKLING #1 is all at once action-packed, heart-warming, and frightening, which fits well with the greater King in Black event. We hope to see more of the duo in future adventures.
Do you want these two to have their own series? Let us know in the comments below!
