Hulk’s Greatest Enemy is Key To Taking Down Maestro

Warning: Contains a preview for Maestro: World War M #1

The evil version of the Hulk known as the Maestro is about to meet his match, as theAbomination is back for vengeance in Maestro: World War M #1. The two will go head to head in the upcoming finale.

The Maestro is a version of Bruce Banner from a future timeline called Earth-9200, in which nuclear war wiped out civilization. In that dystopian future, Hulk became a ruthless dictator who took over the world. The Hulk from the main Marvel universe, Earth-616, was able to defeat the Maestro by going back in time to the moment when the gamma bomb that created the Hulk exploded. The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect is a storyline created by Peter David and George Peréz in 1992, which became very popular among Marvel fans. It received two sequels in 2020’s Maestro and 2021’s Maestro: War and Pax, during which the origins of the character were revealed, along with his tyrant backstory. World War M will be the final piece of the trilogy.

In World War M, the Maestro is taking on the few people who can challenge his power in the apocalyptic future, such as Dr. Doom and Namor. Earlier on, he wiped out A.I.M., the group of scientists who were responsible for putting him in stasis during the nuclear holocaust. The leader of A.I.M. known as M.O.D.O.K. wanted to use Banner’s natural resistance to radiation to rebuild the world, but Hulk had other ideas: not to rebuild, but to rule. The Maestro took out A.I.M. with the help of Dr. Doom, and then betrayed the Latverian ruler during War and Pax, where he brutally beat down Dr. Doom. However, there is one detail that escaped even the Maestro, and could prove his undoing. He was not the only gamma-powered being preserved by A.I.M. as Hulk’s longtime nemesis, the Abomination, was freed after the Maestro destroyed the facility. Now, he is on the loose, as shown in Marvel’s preview for World War M #1, written by Peter David with art by Germán Peralta, Jesus Aburtov, Pasqual Ferry, and Matt Hollingsworth.

Emil Blonsky AKA the Abomination has a deep connection with the Hulk. Created by the same gamma radiations, Blonsky is a former Soviet spy who often acts as a dark reflection of the Hulk. He had retained his intellect after the transformation, but he cannot revert back to his human form. He has proven time and again that despite having more “control” than the Hulk, he is the real monster. In an unforgettable storyline also written by Peter David, the Abomination used his gamma-irradiated blood to poison and kill Bruce’s wife Betty Ross, because he was jealous that the Hulk had found someone, while he was condemned to be alone. That same loneliness is shown during the preview for World War M #1, as the Abomination wanders the future wasteland, having lost even what little purpose he had.

Due to these connections with the Hulk, and the fact that Peter David has already used the character to great effect, it is possible that the Abomination will prove to be the Maestro‘s final challenge during his rise to power. Maestro: World War M #1 will be available in stores on February 9.

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