Marvel's New 'World War Hulk' is The Total Opposite of The Original
Warning! Spoilers for Maestro: World War M #1 by Marvel Comics
Marvel has a new World War Hulk event with Maestro as its star. But despite sharing a name, it is the exact opposite of Bruce Banner’s original mission for revenge. The miniseries is the culmination of Peter David's Maestro Trilogy. It is being illustrated by German Peralta.
In a war torn future, the Hulk rebrands himself as the Maestro and seeks to conquer all. During Peter David’s trilogy, Maestro consolidated his power by trying to destroy Doctor Doom and firing missiles at A.I.M.’s underground base. Unfortunately, an old Hulk rival, the Abomination, was in suspension in the base and the missile launch woke him. Abomination is then recruited by Namor to assist in taking Maestro down. With his enemies teaming up and Doctor Doom still on the run, Maestro seeks to finish off his threats once and for all.
The original World War Hulk was an exciting event as it was the definitive capstone to the Planet Hulk story. Fans were wondering when Hulk was going to rejoin the mainstream Marvel universe on Earth after being exiled to a gladiator-like planet. He came back with a vengeance, looking to punish Marvel’s so-called Illuminati for not just banishing him to space but also for being responsible for destroying the happy life he had built out there. But World War M has none of that emotion behind it. Instead, Maestro is on a very different mission, one that's fueled by a cold logic of world domination rather than emotional rage. This “emotion vs. logic” dynamic means the two events are opposites.
Realistically though, it would be impossible for Maestro to embark on a mission similar to the one in the original World War Hulk. The truth is that Maestro and the mainstream Hulk are two completely different characters. In his timeline, Maestro evolved away from the old Hulk he used to be into something completely different. The anger has become such a fixed part of his persona so that he no longer becomes enraged the way fans typically think of when it comes to the Hulk. Maestro has tyrannical ambitions. He's a cold and calculating character by nature. World War Hulk as a story isn't the Hulk embarking on some carefully plotted scheme. It was a reaction driven purely by emotion, something Maestro takes pride in having overcome.
Besides being the opposite to the original World War Hulk, World War M is deceiving right in the title. In relation to World War Hulk, it would imply that it's Maestro against the world. But in this story, the world is pretty much destroyed. It's an apocalyptic wasteland. Maestro's main opponent isn't the world at large, but a few remaining survivors that he has to overcome in order to complete his conquest. Then again, Marvel and comics, in general, are known for misleading titles in order to draw readers’ interest. And when it comes to Maestro, the thought of him at war with the world is a premise easily captivating.