Origin
In the alternate reality of Earth-9200, the man who became known as the Maestro was caught up in a nuclear war that resulted in the deaths of most of the people on the planet, including the superheroes, and was slowly killing the whole planet. Driven mad by the radiation, he seizes control of the city of Dystopia, which he rules with an iron fist.
Creation
Maestro was created by Peter David and George Perez and first appeared in Hulk: Future Imperfect #1 (1993). He is closely modeled on the character of the Hulk, who was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Major Story Arcs
Proteus
The villainous Proteus arrives in the area while in possession of the 2099 Hulk’s body. He turns his attention to the Maestro, who he intends to possess after discarding his current body. However, Maestro is warned by the Exiles, who are hunting Proteus, and is able to evade possession. During Proteus’ escape Maestro’s neck is broken, an injury from which he eventually recovers.
Fighting the Hulk
Maestro was unable to put down all the rebels in his city, and eventually a small group manage to use Doctor Doom’s time travel device to bring the Professor Hulk forward from the past in the hopes that he will be able to defeat the Maestro. The pair clash, and while the Hulk is able to hold his own for a while, he is defeated by the Maestro’s superior strength and experience. The Maestro then breaks his neck, secure in the knowledge that such a wound will heal but will take some time, and attempts to convince the Hulk that the pair should team up and rule together. Eventually he becomes aware that the Hulk is faking the severity of his injury and the pair fight again. Still outmatched, the Hulk barely defeats Maestro by sending him backwards in time to the moment that the explosion that created him occurs. Maestro is killed instantly by the gamma bomb.
Destroyer
The Hulk finds that he has been drawn to the ground zero of the gamma bomb not by some sort of innate homing sense, but by Maestro, whose spirit lingers on the fragments of bones left behind after his death. Maestro is able to resurrect himself through gamma radiation absorbed from the Hulk, however he is incredibly weak, and passes out almost immediately. As a consequence he is placed into the Destroyer. He fights the Hulk as the Destroyer, but is defeated after the Hulk exploits the fact that they are still technically the same person and transfers his own spirit into the Destroyer. He causes the Destroyer to destroy itself and leaves the Maestro trapped under a rockslide, presumably dead.
Days of Anger
For more information see:
Days of Anger
Maestro uses a time/dimension portal, he stole from Dr. Doom, to travel to the Wastelands to find what remains of the Hulk Gang. He convinces them he is taking them to a better place and takes them to the to the present day. There with the Hulk Gang’s help he steals nuclear warheads from Weapon H and plans on blowing up several major cities. He is stopped by Old Man Logan, Hawkeye and Cambria Banner.
Powers and Abilities
As he is essentially the Hulk, he possesses all of his powers, most of which have been enhanced by constant exposure to radiation (he appeared to be far stronger than the hulk) He has extreme strength, as well as superhuman speed, durability and stamina. He possesses a regenerative healing factor that allows him to recover from many major wounds, as well as the ability to absorb radiation. He can see astral forms and is resistant to mind control. He has a genius level intellect, and is an experienced fighter.
Other Media
Literature
Hulk: What Savage Beast
 |
Struggling to give his wife a normal life, avoid an obsessed army officer, and defeat the imbalance that causes him to turn into the Incredible Hulk, Dr. Banner conducts a risky experiment that is complicated by his wife’s pregnancy.
|
Video Games
The Incredible Hulk: Pantheon Saga
Maestro appears as an antagonist.
The Incredible Hulk
Maestro appears as a playable character in this video game based on the 2008 movie of the same name. The player can download a skin to make their character resemble him after they have collected all of the tokens available in the game.
Avengers Initiative
The Maestro appears as an alternate skin for the Hulk.
Marvel Heroes
The Maestro appears as an alternate skin for the Hulk.
Marvel Contest of Champions
The Maestro appears as one of the main antagonists in this mobile app fighting game.
Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2
The Maestro appears in a game as a member of the Worldbreakers on Sakaar. He can also be unlocked as a playable character.
Marvel’s Avengers
The Maestro is the main villain of the “Future Imperfect” DLC storyline from Square Enix’s Avengers game. The Maestro exists in a possible post-apocalyptic future where most of the world has been destroyed in an attack by the Kree, with an elderly and blind Hawkeye left as one of the few surviving superheroes. He is voiced by Darin De Paul. The Maestro is also available as an alternate skin for the Hulk.
Television
Avengers Assemble
In “The Age of Tony Stark”, the Maestro is mentioned. After the Time Stone accidentally brings a group of androids from the future into the present, the robots attack the Hulk, mistaking him for the Maestro.
Hulk And The Agents Of S.M.A.S.H.
The Maestro appears in the episode “The Maestro Enter,” voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
Merchandise
- The Maestro was featured in ToyBiz’s The Incredible Hulk: Transformations line, which was released to cash in on the 90s animated series (even though the Maestro did not appear in it).
- Diamond Select released as Maestro Minimate as part of the Hulk Through the Ages box set, which also included Composite Hulk (Hulk merged with Red Hulk), Barbarian Hulk and Joe Fixit. Another Maestro figure would later be released as part of the Secret Wars wave.
- The Maestro was featured in ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends line as part of the Apocalypse Build-a-Figure wave.
- The Maestro appeared in the HeroClix figure game.
- Bowen Designs released a Maestro statue.
- The Maestro was featured in his Contest of Champions armor as part of Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line.
- The Maestro was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line as a deluxe release.