As Marvel continues to adapt decades of comic book fame into years of pop-cultural dominance, every new figure could set the tone for tons of new content. She-Hulk has been a fun legal comedy with some superhero elements and plenty of familiar faces, but the introduction of Skaar in the final episode suggests some interesting directions.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law wraps up its controversial first season with the violent shattering of the 4th wall and several well-aimed jabs at the entire Marvel media model. However, after all the cameos and hotly anticipated reappearances, the show's final moments featured The Hulk's return from space and his son Skaar.
When Bruce Banner was whisked away to space in the first episode of She-Hulk, fans began speculating what the franchise was setting up. The go-to guess for all and sundry has been an adaptation of the beloved Planet Hulk storyline. The sudden introduction of Skaar would suggest that the 2006 crossover event is likely to come up in the movies soon. The character doesn't have a ton of important appearances in the comics, but his existence guarantees some events took place and makes it likely that the Hulk will finally get his own MCU entry. Skaar's origins are unique, and bringing him to Earth could make him an important part of the Banner family in a possible She-Hulk Season 2.
Planet Hulk begins when a handful of Earth's best and brightest decide that the world would be better off without Bruce Banner. They convince him that a rogue satellite threatens all life on Earth and send him into space to deal with it. Their true intention quickly becomes clear, sending Hulk rocketing toward an unoccupied planet where he can't hurt anyone. Something goes wrong, however, and Hulk winds up traveling through a wormhole that lands him on Sakaar. He winds up being dragged into the local gladiatorial combat arena, fighting other powerful warriors to the death for the king's amusement. Remember the Hulk's storyline in Thor: Ragnarok? It was loosely based on Planet Hulk. But, instead of a road trip to Asgard and a battle with Cate Blanchett, comic book Hulk overthrew the local monarch and took the throne for himself. Hulk's reign was short-lived, however, as the ship he arrived in explodes, destroying most of the planet and sending Banner back to Earth on a revenge quest.
While on Sakaar, Hulk fathered a child. But who's the mother? Her name is Caiera, and she was the bodyguard of the former king. She was a powerful warrior in her own right, and she possessed a spiritual connection to her home planet that allowed her to access incredible strength. She was tragically killed by the explosion of Banner's ship, leaving Hulk sure that his son died with her. Instead, Skaar was born an orphan on post-apocalyptic Sakaar, where he was swiftly pulled into the power vacuum left by Hulk's absence. Skaar quickly proved himself to be one of the most powerful figures on the devastated planet, with both his father's immense strength and his mother's planet power. Skaar's mother Caiera appeared to him as a specter to ensure he would always defend the people of Sakaar, then the young Hulk Jr. proceeded to screw up every aspect of that task.
Skaar receives the warning from the Silver Surfer, who comes to inform him that Galactus is on his way. The Surfer has a solution as well. He suggests that Skaar use his mother's power and the planet's technology to evacuate, saving the remaining lives. The Surfer adds that allowing Galactus to eat the empty planet would quell his hunger for 100,000 years, saving untold billions of lives. Skaar immediately uses his power to destroy the planet, forcing Silver Surfer to heal it, which allows Skaar to enslave the Surfer. Skaar chooses to let everyone die rather than give up his minor grudges against people on his planet. He gets half a dozen chances to change his ways, his mom pops back up over and over, and he just keeps choosing to doom as many people as possible. He's an outright villain without equivocation. He eventually decides that he should save Sakaar, which he does by threatening Silver Surfer. This plan works, then Skaar uses his powers to agitate Galactus anyway, guaranteeing that countless planets will be consumed.
In his introduction, Skaar is a hilariously incompetent and outwardly evil character. The comics introduce a classic hero's son as a monster who is willing to knowingly commit and enable genocide in exchange for the chance to kill an enemy who barely inconvenienced him. Luckily, Skaar cleans up his act once he makes it to Earth. Hulk's son is rightfully exiled for causing untold pain and suffering, landing him only a few miles from his cousin once removed, Jen Walters. He attacks his relative, along with The Fantastic Four, who beat Skaar so badly that he takes on a human form. When Skaar finally meets his dad, they initially fight, but Hulk eventually becomes a mentor to his boy. Skaar is able to join the Dark Avengers as a double agent and eventually work with the Thunderbolts. The terrible son of Hulk finally becomes a hero.
Skaar probably won't commit quite as much genocide in his MCU iteration, but his presence in the MCU, along with Hulk's return to Sakaar, implies that fans will get to see more of Banner on the alien world. It took the comics years to redeem the monster that the Hulk sired, it'll be interesting to see how the MCU handles it.