Maestro

Maestro
Real name:	Dr. Robert Bruce Banner
First Appearance:	The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #401 (January 1993)
Created by:	Peter David, based upon the Hulk by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Team affiliations:	none
Abilities:	unlimited strength, speed, stamina, and durability, regenerative healing factor, ability to see astral forms, radiation absorption, transformation, resistance to mind control, genius-level intellect in certain
Portrayed by:	none

Maestro is a fictional comic book supervillain in Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk publications, combining Bruce Banner's intelligence with the Hulk's more malevolent aspects. The character was created by Peter David.

The Maestro first appeared as a vision in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #401. He was the main antagonist in The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #1–2 (Dec 1992 – Jan 1993). his next appearance is in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #460–461 (Jan.–Feb. 1998). The character also made appearances in Exiles vol 2 #79–80 and Captain Marvel vol 4 #27–30 (March–May 2002), which come before Future Imperfect chronologically. His full origin on how he became the Maestro was explained in Maestro #1-5 (August 2020 - December 2020), Maestro: War and Pax #1-5 (January 2021 - May 2021), and in Maestro: World War M #1-5 (February 2022 - July 2022).

The term maestro is an Italian/Spanish word meaning master, teacher, or professor.

Biography

The Maestro was a version of the Hulk from an alternate future timeline, approximately a hundred years into the future, combining Banner's intelligence with the Hulk's more malevolent aspects. A nuclear war killed almost all of the Earth's superhumans, which was followed up by chemical attacks by the Black Scythe, bringing humankind to the brink of extinction. Bruce Banner survived the devastation by being kept in stasis by A.I.M. who hoped to use him and energy-based mutates to repopulate the world. Banner eventually escaped from A.I.M.'s compound. Hulk then traveled across what remained of the United States. When he arrived in Washington, D.C., he discovered a small community of survivors who were descended from employees that worked in the White House living in a bunker beneath the White House with Machine Man. That was when Hulk learned that what remained of New York City had been remade into the city of Dystopia and ruled by someone called Maestro. Curious about who Maestro was, Hulk journeyed to Dystopia and discovered that Maestro was the demigod Hercules. Hercules quickly got into a fight with Hulk to see if he still had his edge. After Hulk fell into an abandoned subway tunnel, he was approached by Dakord and Pizfiz friends of Rick Jones who sent him to meet with Jones. Hulk agreed and slipped away. He met with an elderly Rick in his trophy room full of artifacts from dead superheroes and villains. As the two old friends talked, Hulk shocked Rick by telling him that his journey through the ruined world caused him to become disenchanted with humans and that he wouldn't mind if Hercules wiped out everyone in Dystopia out. Hulk then asked for a lab. Rick told Dakord to take Hulk to what remained of Alchemax. Hulk searched Alchemax's headquarters for days until he stumbled upon the building's cybernetics lab and a lab used to create numerous clones for unknown purposes. Months later, Hulk tried to rally the people of Dystopia to make him their ruler so they could rebuild civilization outside of Dystopia. In an attempt to convince them of what he was capable of, he showed him his Dogs of War, robotics dogs he created from what he found in Alchemax. When Dystopia's citizens blew him off, Hulk sent his Dogs of War to make them submit. Hercules entered the fray and fought off the Dogs of War. He then goaded Hulk into a fight and easily bested him. Hulk eventually submitted, and Hercules spared his life to make him a part of his entourage. Hulk however wanted to make amends, which was actually a ruse so he could plot against Hercules. Hulk vanished for a number of years before returning with the villain Vapor. He had Vapor seduce Hercules to get close to him so she could then kill him by transforming into arsine gas. Hulk then turned on Vapor by freezing her, shattering her into pieces, and having those pieces buried over a vast area so she could never regenerate. Hulk later held a funeral for Hercules. As he began cremating Hercules' body, he told Dystopia that he was their new ruler. Dystopia's citizens objected and stated that they wanted an election. Hulk attempted to make Dystopia submit with his Dogs of War, but he was attacked by some of Rick Jones' friends with a weapon created by Forge. Hulk easily fought them off, but suddenly, Hercules unexpectedly came back to life and easily overpowered Hulk. Before Hercules could kill Hulk, Hercules was killed by his minister with Forge's weapon who stated that he never liked him. Hulk then went to confront Rick about his friends' failed attempt to kill him but found Rick gone along with his artifacts. Rick then communicated with Hulk remotely, comparing him to his father before trying to kill him with a bomb. Hulk survived the explosion and became the new Maestro, seized control, and became the new ruler of Dystopia.

War and Pax

Maestro developed a new movement he called Post-Apocalyptic Existence, or PAX, which would destroy the remaining division in humanity and replace it with a single overload, himself. Maestro implemented this movement by expanding his domain beyond Dystopia to surrounding areas like Connecticut and the underground community living beneath Washington, D.C., though the community escaped and destroyed their home to spite Maestro. Maestro also joined forces with Doctor Doom to destroy both A.I.M. and Maestro former team, the Pantheon, as they were the two organizations that remained that threatened their plans to rule the world. When A.I.M. and the Pantheon were vanquished, Maestro and Doom turned on each other, leading to a fight between the two that led to Doom's retreat.

World War M

After defeating Doom, Maestro traveled to Los Angeles to confirm A.I.M.'s destruction. That was when he unexpectedly attacked by the Android Human Torch. The Human Torch's flames were able to hurt Maestro, though he was able to avoid getting burned. After a brief battle, Human Torch fled with Maestro vowing to go after him. Maestro followed the Human Torch to the Atlantean city of Pacifica, leading to a confrontation between him and Namor. After Namor failed to convince Maestro to give up his pursuit of rebuilding human civilization and live peacefully in the ocean with him, a fight broke out between the two. Things took a turn when Maestro swung a giant sea creature at Namor's forces, which knocked over a column that killed Namor's wife Nammu and son Leonard. While Namor was mourning, Maestro tried attacking him but was stopped by Namor's ally the Abomination who survived the nuclear devastation by also being held in stasis by A.I.M. Namor then tried to kill Maestro in revenge, but he, Abomination, and the Human Torch were teleported. Maestro immediately suspected Doom was involved. Maestro returned to Dystopia and searched Alchemax for a way to find Doom. However, he was ambushed by Abomination who had teleported from Latveria to fight him. Maestro easily overwhelmed Blonsky, but Blonsky was simply distracting until Namor could appear with a Giganto that was to be used to kill Maestro. As Giganto rampaged throughout Dystopia, Maestro struggled to fight it until he threw a spear into its left eye. As Namor fell off Giganto's head, he was suddenly teleported away. Maestro chased after Giganto as it retreated into the ocean and spotted Blonsky hanging onto the creature in an attempt to drown. Maestro rescued Blonsky so he could make him tell him what happened to Namor. Blonsky revealed that Namor was likely back in Latveria and offered to take Maestro there to make Namor pay for attacking Dystopia. Maestro and Blonsky were eventually transported to Latveria but were trapped in a prison cell by Doom. The pair were able to escape and split up with Blonsky hacking Doom's computer system while Maestro battled Namor. Maestro was able to knock Namor out but then had to contend with Doom in a battlesuit. Blonsky was able to get to Doom's computer and teleport Banner back to Dystopia while he hacked into Human Torch's system, causing his pyrokinesis to go out of control and kill him, Doom, and Namor.

Future Imperfect

As Maestro ruled Dystopia, he became significantly stronger due to the radiation he absorbed since the war. Dystopia was protected with radiation shielding built to his own designs. Brutal soldiers with hi-tech equipment kept the "peace" and imposed the Maestro's iron will. The Maestro himself dwelt in a grand palace where Hercules formerly lived where a bacchanalian atmosphere reigned. Shulk survived the war by unknown means while Abomination somehow returned from Latveria after killing his former allies. Shulk and Blonsky were mutated and strengthened by the nuclear fallout like Maestro. The pair teamed up to fight Maestro, but they were both defeated with Abomination losing a hand and eye and Shulk being kept in stasis for seven years. Abomination later went on to conquer another area of the world. Not long after the war, Rick Jones encounters the reality-hopping mutant Proteus, who has possessed the body of an alternate reality Hulk from the year 2099, Hulk 2099. Proteus intends to discard his current body and possess the Maestro. Jones, unaware of his plan, provides a weapon created by the X-Man Forge, which might be able to kill Maestro. However, the plan fails when the Maestro is warned by the Exiles, who are pursuing Proteus. Proteus possesses a new host and flees to another world, breaking the Maestro's neck during his escape.

Years later, the Maestro, fully recovered from his injury, encounters a time-traveling Genis-Vell and Spider-Man. Manipulated by the supervillain Thanatos, the three battle. Genis-Vell and Spider-Man eventually return to their own time, with no consequence for the Maestro, when the elderly Rick uses his ability to wield Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, to defeat Thanatos

Acquiring Doctor Doom's time machine, the rebels opposing the Maestro bring the Professor Hulk forward from the past, hoping that he can defeat the Maestro. Although Hulk's ability to improvise allows him to score some effective blows against the Maestro, the Maestro's superior strength and experience, combined with his knowledge of the Hulk's strategies, allow him to easily dominate the Hulk and break his neck. Knowing it will soon heal, he shows Hulk around the city, attempting to convince his younger self to side with him, but realizes that the Hulk is pretending to be more injured than he is with the intention of launching an attack. The Maestro is defeated when the Hulk lures him back into the rebel's base—the Maestro throwing Rick Jones into Wolverine's skeleton in the process— subsequently using Doom's time machine to send the Maestro back to the time and place that the Hulk was created: ground zero during the testing of the atomic Gamma Bomb. Appearing next to the bomb itself, Maestro is killed in the same moment that creates the Hulk.

Hulk and Maestro fighting

Hulk learns that the "homing sense" that has always allowed him to locate ground zero, his "birth" place, is actually attracted to the Maestro's spirit and remains. The Maestro has been absorbing gamma radiation from the Hulk each time he returns to the site, gradually restoring himself. He emerges, initially in a weakened and emaciated form. The exhausted Maestro attempts to use the Destroyer against the Hulk, but he is driven out when the Hulk manages to transmit his soul into the Destroyer as well- exploiting the fact that the Maestro is still technically him- and forces the Maestro back into his body, which is last seen buried in a small rockslide.

The Hulk briefly titled himself with this alias during a time when shrapnel were lodged within his brain.[citation needed] It was later revealed that prior to the Hulk's arrival, Maestro had impregnated a woman, who traveled into the past to raise her son away from his father's influence. Maestro's cousin Shulk traveled into the past along with Kaspin to kill the child and end the Maestro's line, but this plan failed when Kaspin killed Shulk with his mental powers.

Powers and abilities

The Maestro largely possesses the same powers as the Hulk, but to a greater degree than most incarnations due to the century's worth of radiation he has absorbed as a result of the nuclear wars that decimated his Earth (The present Hulk speculated that his insanity might also contribute to his greater strength). This includes certain mental powers, such as the Hulk's ability to see and interact with astral forms, as shown in The Defenders series. He possesses the intelligence that is equal to or greater than Bruce Banner, while also possessing enhanced power that is greater than that of the Hulk. Maestro is proved to be 10 times stronger than Gravage/Professor Hulk himself because the radiation from the war increased his strength exponentially, a young Maestro was able to fight the Warrior Madness Thor to a stand still.

Faults

• Maestro was killed by the same gamma bomb that mutated Hulk in the first place (Maestro was sent back in time).
• While Maestro did regenerate from a skeleton, it took him many years of passively absorbing nearby gamma radiation to do so.
• Driven insane by the radioactive fallout.

In other media

• The Maestro appeared as an opponent in the PlayStation game The Incredible Hulk: The Pantheon Saga, and as a playable character in the 2008 The Incredible Hulk video game, serving as a new 'skin' that can be unlocked when the player has collected all the Landmark tokens in the game.
• The Maestro was part of the Marvel Legends action figure series. His figure came with the left arm of Apocalypse.
• An alternate timeline version of the Maestro appears in Peter David's novel Hulk: What Savage Beast.
• The Maestro appears as an unlockable costume for the Hulk in the 2012 mobile app game Avengers Initiative.
• The Maestro appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2. This version is a member of the World Breakers.
• The Maestro appears as an alternate costume for the Hulk in Marvel Heroes.
• The Maestro appears in the Marvels Avengers video game.

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