One upcoming Marvel show will feature Amadeus Cho, one of the Hulk's successors (commonly known as Brawn, or the Totally Awesome Hulk) in Marvel comics, officially debuting for the first time in the MCU.
Interestingly, Martin Starr's character in The Incredible Hulk was actually named Cho in the novelization of the movie. However, that has since been retconned, with him playing the same character in The Incredible Hulk as he does in the MCU's Spider-Man movies.
Not only does this choice to retcon make sense logically, given Starr's larger role as Mr. Roger Harrington later in the franchise, but it also allows for Amadeus Cho to not be whitewashed in the MCU, as Amadeus Cho is Korean-American.
Amadeus Cho To Appear In New MCU Show
In a recent episode of The Official Marvel Podcast, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man creator Jeff Trammell reconfirmed Amadeus Cho's appearance in the upcoming animated series, after his role was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2022.
He listed a few familiar comics characters "that aren't, like, prototypical Spider-Man characters" fans can expect to see, including Nico Minoru from the Runaways, Pearl Pangan (Wave), Lonnie Lincoln (Tombstone):
Q: "So, who can we expect to meet on the show?"
Trammel: "Um, well, Aunt May ... (laughs) Yeah, but like there's so many characters that aren't like prototypical Spider-Man characters that we got to introduce through this series. The big one is Nico Minoru of the Runaways. I'm a huge fan of that series and a huge fan of Nico and I'm very excited that she is in our show. There's Pearl Pangan, Lonnie Lincoln..."
He teased "a few characters that we are familiar with from other series," as well as familiar Spider-Man-adjacent characters, and then continued his earlier list with the additions of Jean Foucault (Finesse) and Amadeus Cho (Totally Awesome Hulk/Brute):
"There's a few character that we are familiar with from other series, as well as Spider-Man classic characters that we're excited to mix it up with. And I'll also say Amadeus Cho and Jean Foucault will appear in the series, so there's a lot of cross-pollination from the comic books within this world that I'm really excited to dig into."
Who Is Amadeus Cho?
Amadeus Cho has gone by a few different monickers, and though he currently is known by the name Brawn, fans may be familiar with him as either Mastermind (sometimes Mastermind Excello) or the Totally Awesome Hulk (as his main comic run was titled) too.
Amadeus is a young super genius who greatly admires both the Bruce and Hulk sides of Bruce Banner, having been protected and befriended by the Hulk in a time of danger. Amadeus became involved in several comics storylines after, including World War Hulk, and worked with teams like the Champions.
Currently in the comics, Amadeus has the same abilities as Bruce Banner, but has a slightly weaker Hulk form in exchange for keeping his mind intact regardless of if he has transformed or not.
One of the most interesting elements of Amadeus Cho's character is his friendship with his teammate Hercules (introduced in live-action in the post-credits scene of Thor: Love and Thunder). The two shared their own book for some time called The Incredible Hercules, well before Amadeus' time as the Totally Awesome Hulk.
While Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is not part of the live-action MCU, so there likely would not be any crossover with this version of the character and the live-action Hercules, it is something fans should keep in the back of their minds.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is expected to hit Disney+ in late 2024.
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Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
