Young Avengers/Headscratchers

• Why do Wiccan and Hulkling keep the full extent of their powers a secret at first? When Jessica Jones asks Wiccan, "You generate electricity? Lightning?" he justs says, "Um...yeah. Kinda." He's not being secretive about anything else--he just voluntarily revealed his real name and a bunch of details about his family. Then Hulkling says that he's super-strong, but doesn't mention that he's also a shape-shifter. What is going on here?
  • My theory is that they don't want to hide their powers, per se, but indications that might lead to their connections to Avengers history. After all, Wiccan's (possible) mother broke the group apart in the first place and messed with reality itself, and Hulkling's mere existence almost started intergalactic war. Exhibiting chaos-like magic and shapeshifting that includes green skin could raise uncomfortable questions.
    • But the entire point of the conversation I'm talking about is that they're trying to figure out what their connection to the Avengers is. This is in the third issue, long before anyone suspected that Billy was one of the Scarlet Witch's twins or that Teddy was an alien half-breed. It makes no sense for them to hold back information here.
      • "They" meaning the adult Avengers, yes? Wouldn't my (admittedly off the cuff) theorizing still count if Billy already knew his connection and Teddy knew he was part-Skrull, and wanted to hide it? (Dang, I'll have to dig up the first six issue run and check what was and wasn't known at that point.)
      • "They" meaning everyone. Again, this was way before Billy or Teddy had any idea what their relationship to the Avengers was. It was actually Billy's suggestion that they reveal their secret identities to Captain America on the off-chance that something would ring a bell.
    • In Hulkling's backstory he bristles at the implication that he's a skrull, and the closest thing he had to a combat application was stretching his hands out into demonic-looking claws. Considering that he didn't make effective use of his shapeshifting powers until later and "I'm like the Hulk but smaller and less dumb" sounds more heroic than "I could be a skrull, and I can make myself look really scary", it's kind of obvious why he would omit that (or not want to confirm his fears). Additionally, Wiccan was still adjusting to his powers, his reality manipution skills were in the realm of "It's something I can sorta maybe do" and his bolts were a lot like lightning. They were yellow and they set something on fire- MUCH LIKE LIGHTNING! Later, his energy bolts were drawn blue and had a different look, but he really had no way of putting a name to them other than "Lightning, kinda" until he started suspecting his connection to the Scarlet Witch.
      • The real reason would probably be that the question of how the Young Avengers were connected to the original Avengers was used a lot in marketing, and leaving an aura of uncertainty left that as a some what still viable marketing tool or point of interest.
    • Well, to this troper, it seems obvious - they were originally trying to emulate the original Avengers by using their powers to imitate them (creating lightning and shapeshifting into a bigger form), possibly to get more respect than if they were just a new batch of heroes or possibly out of idol worship. I mean, think about it; Iron Lad's suit, being from Kang's time, is probably way more advanced than Iron Man's, but he still chooses to emulate him. It was only when things got serious that they gave up on the pretense and decided to use their full power.
      • At one point, Patriot points this out to Iron Lad saying that they wouldn't have gotten in such a mess if they weren't holding back the full extent of their powers. Iron Lad replies that they wouldn't have gotten the attention of the original Avengers if they hadn't been emulating them.
  • I figured it was just because lightning was the only one of his powers he was confident using at that point, and he didn't want people to be on the lookout for powers that he avoided using and which might just end up blowing up in his face if he pulled them out. He was very leery of using anything else during the first few issues, though they dropped that pretty quickly.

• Teddy is a lot bigger in his Hulkling form than in his normal human form. So how is it that his costume fits him perfectly either way?
  • Maybe he's like Mystique and just shapeshifts himself some clothes. That or Unstable Molecules.
  • Actually, at times Teddy's clothes have been shown to tear when he goes from human to Hulkling. Off the top of my head it happens when he discovers Captain Marvel is in New York and flies off to find him.
  • His costume is him shapeshifting his body to look like clothing, while his street clothes are just normal clothes that tear when he changes form.
  • Actually, Kate got all the YA's second uniforms made, it's likely that she had his designed to stretch to fit his shapeshifted form. So yeah, probably Unstable Molecules.

• After the whole Skrull/Kree thing, where the hell does Teddy live? His adoptive mom's dead and no one makes a reference as far as I know to what that means for his everyday life. I initially guessed maybe at Billy's, but that doesn't seem to be the case as of Young Avengers Presents, despite how much the Kaplans seemed to like him. The old Avengers Mansion, maybe?
  • Heinberg had said in an interview before Presents that Ted was supposed to live with the Kaplans after that whole thing. The guy who wrote the Presents didn't get that memo, I guess.
  • Another possibility though is that Teddy was staying in the abandoned Bishop Publishing warehouse (it's always a good idea to have some space early on in a relationship).

• The team busted Tommy out of juvie. I can accept that they got away with it because desperate times call for desperate measures and all that, but why doesn't Tommy ever have to go back? Does helping to rescue Teddy really make up for vaporizing his school?
  • Yeah. Tommy doesn't really have a cohesive backstory. We don't have any idea where he's living, what his parents think about him breaking out of super-juvie, or really anything else about him. To be honest, I always assumed he would be written out early on so they could avoid all the awkward questions, yet they persisted; probably because he balances out the personalities of the team.
    • Also, if he's really the Scarlet Witch's other lost twin, he pretty much has to play a key role in The Children's Crusade.
  • Maybe The Avengers told the Juvie people that Tommy doesn't have to go back.

• What is the point of Hawkeye's white scarf? It seems like it would be constantly getting in her way and giving villains something to grab her by. Plus, it doesn't really match the rest of her costume.
  • Classic cape-like object without actually being a cape. Or maybe, she's supposed to be a woman in white.
    • Kate generally seems like the type to prize fashion over function.
    • Don't we already have a trope for this?

• In the Runaways/Young Avengers Secret Invasion crossover series, Chase refers to Billy/Wiccan as "Spazgardian" despite the fact that his original name wasn't publicly known (or at least it wouldn't have been in L.A.) and he was already well into referring to himself as Wiccan by the time they first met the Runaways.
  • Chase probably saw the similarites between Wiccan's costume and Thor's thought the joke worked.

• Despite being the only established couple on the team, so far Billy/Wiccan and Teddy/Hulkling are the only members of the Young Avengers never shown to have kissed anyone. Cassie/Stature has pashed up both Vision and Kang/Iron Lad, while Kate/Hawkeye has kissed both Tommy/Speed and Eli/Patriot. I understand their tentativeness to portray a same-sex kiss but seriously... Come on. It's not actually that bad, as they are both shown to be rather affectionate towards each other at times, still...
  • After their Almost Kiss in The Children's Crusade #1, I no longer think it's a matter of tentativeness. I think Allen Heinberg realizes that a considerable chunk of his fanbase is made up of ardent Billy/Teddy shippers, and he's milking it for all it's worth. They'll probably have a few more near-misses before finally locking lips at the most dramatic moment possible.
    • God, you're so right. The sly bastard.
    • Well, at least it's not a case of But Not Too Gay... at least one can hope.
    • And Heinberg finally let them do it. not till after Teddy proposed to Billy though

• There are some glaring discrepancies between Wiccan's Young Avenger's Presents issue and the rest of canon. The confusion over Teddy's living situation is one thing, but there are other details that clearly contradict previous comics. The original 12-issue run showed the Kaplans living in a rather swanky Upper West Side apartment, while in the special issue they seem to have moved to a middle-class suburban house. And Teddy is shown lounging around Billy's room in his Hulkling form, indicating that that's his default form, when that's not the case elsewhere. Did the writer and artist even read Heinberg's comics?
  • Teddy might just like being in his Hulkling form.
    • His choice of form in the other parts of the series suggests otherwise, and the living arrangements bit is really weird, even if you consider that their apartment was blown up the last time, it really doesn't make any sense for them to move out to the suburbs as they are both depicted as typical upper class, overworked, neurotic, New York professionals.
  • Alternately, *Billy* might like it when Teddy is in his Hulkling form ...
    • Billy doesn't strike me as a size queen.
    • Who says he is? Maybe he just prefers him big and muscular.
• And while we're on the subject, why is it called Young Avengers Presents: Wiccan and Speed when the focus is so clearly on Wiccan? Why not give Speed his own issue? The point of this miniseries, as far as I can tell, is to flesh out each character a little more, so it makes no sense to give the least attention to the guy we know the least about.
  • To be honest, I'm getting the horrible sinking feeling that Tommy may have been brought into existence by Wiccan to help him add weight to the theory that he was Scarlet Witch's son. My prediction is that the conclusion of the Children's Crusade arc will show Wiccan discovering that his powers weren't inborn, rather that Scarlet Witch gave him his powers when they met outside the Avengers' Mansion (as seen in his Young Avengers Special flashback), and that Tommy and Billy aren't her sons reincarnated.
    • If that turns out to be true, then they should focus on him even more, so that we'll actually care when the big reveal happens.
    • Holy crap, that makes so much sense. Speed doesn't actually exist. He's never seen outside of the group, we certainly never see or hear anything about his private life. Questions like "where is he living?" or "why doesn't he have to go back to jail?" or "who are his parents?" are never even brought up. Billy unconsciously created him from nothing, and he literally doesn't exist when Billy's not actively remembering that he does.
    • That's been close to proved wrong by now (and you shouldn't hide your theories, by the way. They're not spoliers. They're theories). In the latest issue, Scarlet Witch comes back, almost goes insane, and calls Wiccan and Speed "my sons" and says she'll try to undo the Decimation form the end of House of M. Also, during the Young Masters arc, Coat of Arms was a girl who knew Speed in Ju-V. So he wasn't willed into being too recently, if he was.

• Why is Kate still using the name Hawkeye when Clint is alive and now currently using the name?
  • She wanted to "give it back" but Clinton told her somewhere that she may keep it.

• Is anyone else bothered by the way Billy seems to have completely forgotten his biological family in his search for the Scarlet Witch? I can understand him wanting to find out about his past and help the woman who made his existence possible, but calling her "Mom" just seems like a slap in the face to the woman who raised him. Rebecca Kaplan is an awesome mom--remember her reaction to Billy coming out? She deserves better than this.
  • There is nothing wrong with having two Moms. It is not even that rare in adoptive children if those feel close to their biological mothers. So we have a biological and an educative mother. That is hardly a problem for the adoptee, rather for the self-image of the mother/s.

• Why is the super-uber important event where the Scarlet Witch makes a triumphant return being published every other month? Shouldn't that be a monthly thing, or is it just not as marketable as a Blackest Night rip-off?
  • Semi-educated guess: Because this is setting up Avengers vs. X-Men, and they need time to wrap up Fear Itself first.
  • Actually is is constantly getting delayed cause Heinberg and Cheung simply aren't that great on getting it out on time.

• Where is Doctor Strange in the "Children's Crusade" mini? Is he going to make a big splashy entrance near the end, or is the point "See, we can do a big magic-oriented storyline without involving Doctor Strange"?
  • I think magic w/out Strange is most likely. But who knows.
• How are Billy and Tommy older than their pre-incarnations?
  • Magic. Don't question it that much.