The first episode of HBO’s new hit series The Sympathizer hit Max this week. Ahead of the show’s debut, Agents of Fandom Editor-in-Chief TJ Zwarych sat down with two of the show stars, Fred Nguyen Khan and Duy Nguyễn, to talk about the series as well as sharing the screen with legendary talent such as Sandra Oh, and Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr. who plays an antagonist in the series.
During the interview, the pair were asked who they would like to portray in the MCU if they had the opportunity. Both expressed excitement at the idea with Duy Nguyễn expressing interest in a lesser-known character who could already have precedent to show up in the MCU.
“ You know, there is actually an Asian version of the Hulk, Amadeus. I would like to be him.”
—The Sympathizer‘s Duy Nguyễn speaking with Agents of Fandom
Who Is Amadeus Cho in Marvel Comics?
Amadeus Cho is a genius whose mind operates like a hypercomputer, making him the seventh smartest man in the Marvel Comics world. Using his superior intellect he’s been involved in numerous superhero adventures and was even a member of the Illuminati, a secret organized group of the smartest heroes in the world that was featured in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
When Hulk was infused with lethal amounts of a new type of radiation, it caused him to have a nuclear meltdown. To save Hulk and countless other lives, Amadeus used special nanites to alter the structure of his cells to allow them to contain and use gamma energy and absorb the Hulk’s powers from Bruce Banner (Totally Awesome Hulk #4). This turned Amadeus into a new version of the Hulk while maintaining his intellect.
Could Amadeus Cho Already Be in the MCU?
While it may seem far-fetched at first, there’s some groundwork already set for this to happen in the MCU. Hardcore fans will remember the geneticist from Avengers: Age of Ultron, Helen Cho (Claudia Kim), who made the regenerative cradle that resulted in the birth of Vision (Paul Bettany).
Helen Cho is Amadeus’s mother in the comics, and while there’s no mention of her having a son in the film, that doesn’t necessarily mean Amadeus isn’t around. Since working for S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t exactly a kid-friendly environment, it’s reasonable to assume she wouldn’t be bringing in her child to work with her. So let’s do some hypothesizing for a moment and crunch some numbers.
Let’s just assume Amadeus was born and is about 6 years old during Age of Ultron which takes place in 2015. That would make him around 9 or 10 when the blip occurred and assuming he was not blipped, he would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 to 18 years old in our current MCU.
Now, this is a lot of speculation but if he was around during Age of Ultron and survived the blip, then the stage could already be set for Amadeus to appear. Another thing to consider is that part of Helen’s research for the regenerative cradle involved nano-materials, which could be the base for Amadeus nanites to later turn into the Hulk.
Where Could We See Amadeus Cho in the MCU?
If Marvel is playing the long game and silently setting up Amadeus, this could be the perfect time to introduce him. There are multiple projects coming from Marvel Studios that Amadeus could be introduced in seamlessly. The first being Captain America: Brave New World.
We know that the film will feature many Hulk-centric characters such as Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), Thaddeus Ross as Red Hulk (Harrison Ford), The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson), and even Betty Ross with Liv Tyler returning to her role from 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.
Having Amadeus show up here in some capacity would make a lot of sense. Additionally, when you consider that Thaddeus Ross will be President and that he is working on a new form of gamma, Helen Cho, the world’s forefront geneticist would most likely be a big help as well as her genius son.
Amadeus Cho Fits Into Kamala Khan’s Young Avengers Team
Another property that Amadeus could easily show up in is the Young Avengers project currently in the works. While Amadeus has never been on the Young Avengers team in the comics, it could be the perfect way to introduce him to MCU audiences.
We know from the post-credits scene of The Marvels that Kamala (Iman Vellani) is gathering her own team of heroes consisting of Kate Bishop Hawkeye (Hailee Steinfeld) and Cassie Lang Stature (Kathryn Newton).
Something important to remember is besides Amadeus becoming the Hulk, he is also a genius. Being the seventh smartest person on Earth definitely gets you a spot in Fury’s files that Kamala now has, making Amadeus an easy pick for the MCU Young Avengers squad whether he is a Hulk or not. This could also put him in the path of Hulk’s son Skaar (Wil Deusner) who was first introduced in the She-Hulk Disney+ series.
A New Hulk Could Be Closer Than We Think
With the rights to Hulk seemingly back at home with Marvel, the chances of Amadeus showing up are better than ever. It seems that Marvel is working on giving us more Hulk content moving forward and introducing a character that has already had some groundwork done would just make sense. Especially with the inclusion of so many other younger heroes. Given all this, Duy Nguyễn may get his wish sooner than he is expecting.
Check out the full interview above and follow the Agents of Fandom socials for all the latest entertainment news and reviews.
