Maestro

NOTE: Given that the Maestro is a Hulk from an alternate universe, I have decided to put him into the enemies section as well as the incarnations page.

Real Name: Bruce Banner

First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #1 (kinda) Future Imperfect #1

Origin: Future Imperfect #1

Powers/Abilities: The Maestro has the exact same abilities as the Hulk but at double the level due to the years of gamma absorption.

Origin: The Maestro comes from an alternate reality where nuclear wars destroyed the world's heroes and most of it's population, leaving a barren, barely livable planet. While the few humans were trying to survive miles beneath the surface, the Hulk, driven insane by the radiation and power, built a city which protected people from the radiation. The Hulk renamed himself the Maestro and allowed you to live in the city as long as you did what you were told and gave him whatever he wanted.

GREAT MOMENTS IN HISTORY

Future Imperfect #1: THe Minister goes to the palace and disturbs the Maestro during extra-curricular activies to tell him that the Hulk has been spotted in the city. Later, some of the Maestro soldiers catch Pizfz,one of the rebels, and hold him hostage. Maestro comes in and offers Pizfiz the chance to live and reap rewards if he tells them where the rebels are located. Pizfiz spits in the Maestro's face. The Maestro gets extremely upset and is about to hit Pizfiz, killing him, when the Minister stops the Maestro and tells him that is exactly what Pizfiz wants. If the Maestro kills him, then he can't tell them where the rebels are. The Maestro thanks the Minister for stopping him. The Minister uses a machine which shows what Pizfiz was doing 48 hours previously which was basically go back in time with Janis Jones to give Rick Jones a message from the future. The Maestro gets bored of what they were watching and wants to find out how they went back in time. The Minister warns that jumping around too much can damage the mind. The Maestro says he doesn't care and just to do it. Pizfiz's memories show the rebels tasting Doctor Doom's time machine and the old Rick Jones giving a note to Janis to give to his younger self. Pizfiz's mind suddenly shuts down and is wiped clean due to the stress. Realizing that Pizfiz is now useless, the Maestro crushes his head with his fist and walks away. The Minister and soldiers lead the Maestro to a section of the city they have suspected the rebels to be located near and Pizfiz's memories confirm their suspisions. The Minister says that the depth at which the rebels are located has also prevented them from doing anything. The Maestro just starts to tear up the ground and dig down. The Maestro finally makes it to the rebel base and tells the soldiers to go find the rebels but to leave the big green one to him. The soldiers go into the base and are all killed by bobbie-traps. The Maestro walks through all the traps and gets mad because they are ruinging his close. He gets to the end of the traps and demands for the rebles to show themselves. The Hulk raises from the floor and the two come face to face.

Future Imperfect #2: The Maestro and the Hulk fight each other in the city. At one point, the Maestro threatens to kill a girl and the Hulk tries to call the bluff but when the Maestro starts to slam the girl into the ground, the Hulk runs forward and gets a sucker punch. During the battle, the Maestro antagnizes the Hulk about how he knows everything the Hulk is going to do during the fight and that the rebels should have brought someone else back in time to stop him. The Hulk manages to catch the Maestro by surprise and knocks him into a building. The building collapses and while the Hulk is trying to save people buried in the rubble, the Maestro comes up behind the Hulk and breaks the Hulk's neck. As everything turns black for the Hulk, he hears the Meastro telling him he is not going to die. While the Maestro sits on his throne surrounded by women, the Minister makes mention of the Hulk's screams. The Maestro tells the Minister that he is killing the Hulk with kindness as he orders some of the women to go to the Hulk and help him "relax" (the Hulk's neck was broken so he could not move his arms or legs). Later, the Maestro arranges for the Hulk to get around in a chair that floats. He makes a sarcastic remark to the Hulk wherein the Hulk says that if he could kill himself right there, he would just to end the existence of the Maestro. The Maestro gets a gun from the Minister and gives it to the Hulk, who has healed enough to move his fingers. The Maestro dares the Hulk to shoot himself. The Hulk doesn't believe the Maestro would put himself at that much risk. The Maestro tells the Hulk that he has no memory of what the Hulk is currently experiencing so the rebels plucked him from an alternative timeline so if he kills himself, it would not affect him. The Hulk says counters with the Maestro is lying about not remembering because he heard it when he experienced it as the Hulk and is just trying to trick him. The Maestro just dares him again but the Hulk can't bring himself to do it. Later, the Maestro takes the Hulk out of the city to the wastelands where some people still try to survive. He greets the leader of the people and asks where his daughter is. The leader tells the Maestro that his daughter is scrawny and ugly. The Maestro doesn't like the answer but before anything more happens, the daughter steps up and presents herself to the Maestro. The Maestro looks her over and finds her satisfactory and takes her with him back to the palace. In return, he gives the people enough food to last until their crops come in. The Hulk asks why the Maestro doesn't let those people live in the city. The Maestro tells the Hulk that his resources are finite plus the people are ugly so he wouldn't want them making his city depressing. He tells the Hulk that he is slowly releasing nutrients into the ground so that eventually they will be able to make a living out of the crops. While one of the Maestro's slaves helps the Hulk get ready for a banquet, the Maestro tells the Hulk he knew from experience that a broken neck would not kill him but would be the longest to heal back from. At the banquet, the Maestro tells the Hulk not to judge him because he has not gone through what he has. After all the world has put him through, the Maestro figures he is due to rule it. He offers the Hulk the chance to rule by his side and tells him to sleep on the decision. The rebels dig up from underground to the Hulk's room and they and the Hulk (who was actually healed and faking still being hurt) make the Minister lead them to where the Maestro is staying. The Hulk goes to break down the door and as he does, the Maestro fires a powerful weapon Forge created years ago to stop the Hulk. The Maestro tells the rebels he knew that the Hulk was faking still being hurt and that they would come rescue him and he allowed it so that they would all be in one spot and he can get rid of them all at once. As fighting erupts, the Maestro looks for the injured Hulk, who has crawled away. Before he goes to look for the Hulk, the Maestro breaks the neck of the Minister, knowing that the Minister had tried to assassinate the Hulk in his sleep. The Maestro follows the blood trail underground back to the rebel hideout. He finds Rick Jones and throws a punch at him and Rick brings up Captain America's shield just in time. Unfortunately the force of the hit sends him flying back into Wolverine's skeleton and Rick is impaled on Wolverine's claws. The Maestro laughs at the irony. As the Maestro walks away, the Hulk picks up the shield and throws it at the Maestro's chest and tries to cut him in half. The two fight but the Hulk is too injured and the Maestro easily brings the Hulk down. The Hulk crawls further into Rick's lab and the Maestro follows him telling him that it is survival of the fittest. The Maestro tells the Hulk that he is the future but the Hulk tells him he is history and touchs a button. The Maestro asks what the Hulk has done as he realizes that the Hulk has activated Doctor Doom's time machine with him standing on it. The Maestro finds himself standing in the desert and figures no matter where he is, he will just conquer the people. He sees a young kid running in the distance followed by a man in white coat. He finally realizes who it is as he turns around and finds himself standing right beside the gamma bomb that created the Hulk in the first place. The bomb goes off, atomizing the Maestro while at the same time creating the Hulk.

The Incredible Hulk #460: While Bruce Banner and the Hulk try to merge back into one being, Bruce has visions in his mind. At one point, he meets the Maestro, who tells him that death does not mean the same for them as it does other people. Given time, the Hulk will always come back. The Maestro then explains that the Hulk has always been drawn back to the site of the gamma bomb explosion by the soul of the Maestro calling him back. The purpose was to draw off gamma radiation from the Hulk to reform his body and come back to life. Bruce doesn't believe him. The Hulk and Bruce Banner merge back together at the site of the gamma bomb explosion, releasing large amounts of gamma radiation. Hours after he has left, a very thin looking Maestro pulls himself out the pit that was created although he is barely alive.

The Incredible Hulk #461: The still weak Maestro stumbles through the desert until he finally collapses, not able to go any further. He lies there until a group of trolls come and pick up his body and take it away. Later, while Bruce and General Ross are having a conversation at a diner, trolls come out of the ground in front of the restaurant, followed by the Destroyer. The Maestro, whose soul is in the body of the armored Destroyer, tells Bruce that he could sense where he was since they are linked. The Hulk doesn't recognize that the Maestro's soul is possessing the Destroyers shell. The Hulk and Destroyer/Maestro start to fight as the Destroyer/Maestro sets the trolls onto General Ross. The Hulk sees Ross in trouble and also notices the Destroyer/Maestro charging his disintegration beam so the Hulk ducks just in time and causes the beam to destroy the trolls. The Hulk and Destroyer/Maestro fight further and Destroyer/Maestro causes bleeding and a large amount of injury to the Hulk. The Hulk begins to figureout subconsciously exactly who he is fighting. The Destroyer/Maestro walks forward towards the Hulk and steps in a pool of the Hulk's blood. The shell of the Destroyer sees the Hulk's soul as the same as the Maestro's soul, so he sucks the Hulk's soul into him as well. The two souls fight for control of the Destroyer shell, as the trolls watch the Maestro's body writhe in the depths below. The Maestro figures to at least destroy the Hulk's body so he charges up the disintergration beam. The Hulk forces the Destroyer's visor shut just as the beam goes off causing a huge backlash. The shell of the Destroyer falls back into the pit with the trolls and the Maestro's body, causing a cave in and killing everyone in the process.

Captain Marvel Vol 3 #29: Captain Marvel and Spider-Man from 2099 travel in time and land in a large castle. Suddenly, the Maestro comes in and asks the Minister if they had invited any guests.

The Incredible Hulk #457: The Maestro starts to battle Captain Marvel and Spider-Man 2099. The Maestro grabs Captain Marvel by each hand and also thinks he is the original Captain Marvel with a new costume. He forces Captain Marvel to strike his bands together and is surprised when Rick Jones doesn't appear. Captain Marvel was just waiting for innocent people to leave the throne room and since they have, Captain Marvel lets loose and sends the Maestro flying outside. Spider-Man 2099 webs the Maestro's face and Spidey and Captain Marvel attack him. The webbing ticks off the Maestro enough that he decides to go get Spidey first but Captain Marvel flies inbetween and is about to hit the Maestro with a blast when he disappears. The Maestro just looks a Spidey and charges him. The Maestro gets ahold of Spidey and is about to tear him apart when Spidey disappears also.