Warning: contains spoilers for The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1!
While the Wiccan (aka Billy Kaplan) is even stronger, and Marvel just confirmed his power dwarfs even that of Dormammu, the despotic ruler of the Dark Dimension and nemesis of Doctor Strange. Born along with his twin brother Speed, Billy's soul was later displaced when Wanda was seemingly forced to it her children weren't real, and he was raised by Jeff and Rebecca Kaplan, only discovering his mystical lineage after ing up with the Young Avengers.
The impossible son of a witch and a synthezoid, Billy Kaplan was always going to be powerful, but Young Avengers - from writer Kieron Gillen and mainstay artist Jamie Mckelvie - revealed that Wiccan is actually the Demiurge, a force of life and magic who, when he comes of age, will redefine the rules of magic and become functionally omnipotent. It's a level of power Billy has been afraid to access in the past, and in The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1 - from Anthony Oliveira and Jan Bazaldua - Dormammu just reminded fans that while Billy make look like a normal human, he's anything but.
In the one-shot comic, Wiccan faces Dormammu as part of the galactic resistance to the tyrant's surprise 'Last Annihilation' - a ceaseless wave of Mindless Ones the villain is using to secure key planets and create a permanent connection between the Dark Dimension and Marvel's mainstream reality. While Billy initially believes the villain is there to try and tempt him into a deal, Dormammu laughs at the idea that there's anything he could offer the all-powerful Demiurge. Dormammu is undeniably mighty, but as he freely its, the Demiurge is only limited by Billy's perception of himself as a human. Dormammu wields magic with incredible skill, but the Demiurge defines it.
The problem is, Billy has already resolved that the Demiurge possesses too much power for him to wield. While he's accessed it sparingly, he's generally only done so with his friends or husband Hulkling to anchor him. In Young Avengers, he itted he had a responsibility to use his power to better the world, but also that he didn't yet have the experience to wield it wisely. Since then, Billy's been training, but he's still not at a level where unleashing his true nature wouldn't threaten all of reality. Unfortunately, with Dormammy threatening to "tread upon the fatal egg before the serpent hatches," he's stuck between dying as a human or running rampant as a god.
Ultimately, Billy survives precisely because of his humanity. His past experience with bigotry allows him to discern that Dormammu is simply trying to convince him he's doomed either way, so he chooses a third option, reforging the anti-magic sword Excelsior then using his Kree wedding band to switch places with Hulkling, who uses the sword to dispose of this aspect of Dormammu. It's a smart play - one of several in recent memory that cleverly utilizes the Kree tech's unique teleportation capabilities - but also a moment that sees Billy embrace his eventual role as the Demiurge. He agrees with Dormammu that it would still be unconscionable to release his full power, but he won't be tricked into self-hatred just because his potential is so staggering.
Billy continues the common theme in Marvel Comics of magic s needing to be careful not to be overwhelmed by their powers, but unlike others, his situation isn't permanent. One day, Scarlet Witch's son will have sufficient experience with his powers to embrace the role of Demiurge, and The Last Annihilation: Wiccan and Hulkling #1 confirms that when he does, eldritch evils like Dormammu had better watch out.
