The Hulk-The End Part 2

Summary of Future Imperfect #2:

WARNING: This is a work of fiction. I will be discussing the plot in this post. If you don't want to know the ending, do not read this post.

The first issue ended with a face-off between the Hulk and his future self. The second issue begins with the result-the Hulk flying through the air courtesy of the Maestro. The fight between the two is short-the Maestro's experience and trickery help him to beat the Hulk. The fight ends when he snaps his neck.

The Hulk awakens to find himself mostly paralyzed, with a servant girl attending to his every need. The Maestro is attempting to turn him to his own side. He believes that the Hulk's journey through time has created an alternating timeline, as the Maestro has no recollection of these events.

As time passes the Maestro takes the Hulk to the Wastelands. A small community struggles to exist there. The Maestro is reintroducing nutrients to the soil, but demands their daughters for his harem in return.

Maestro continues to explain how humanity destroyed themselves. Only he could survive and attempt to rebuild. For years the world called him a monster-but in the end he won. The Hulk seems to be considering the Maestro's position.

Later that night (presumably), the Maestro's chief minister attempts to assassinate the sleeping Hulk, only to find the rebels have infiltrated the palace. The Hulk is also up and about-he recovered far faster than the Maestro had allowed for. He had continued to feign helplessness in order to lull the Maestro into a false sense of security. The Hulk heads for the Maestro’s sleeping chambers for a final showdown.

Only to be met by a horrendous blast. The Maestro is wielding a weapon designed to kill him.He knew the Hulk had recovered and was waiting for this situation to occur so that he could destroy the rebels once and for all. He begins to track down the injured Hulk.

He tracks him to Rick Jones’ museum. Jones distracts the Maestro and is killed. The Hulk attacks but the Maestro is too strong. The Hulk crawls away, with the Maestro mocking his every move as he closes in for the kill.

Then the Hulk pushes a button.

He activates Doom’s time machine, sending the Maestro to the moment of the gamma bomb test that created him. The Maestro is destroyed in the blast.

Analysis:

This story is a great example of Peter David’s writing. Unlike many comic villains, one can almost empathize with the Maestro. He had been treated as a monster, yet in the end he was the one to survive.

The plot is convoluted with the Hulk and the Maestro constantly trying to outwit each other. It is interesting to note that at no point does the Hulk actually physically beat the Maestro. He beats him by trickery alone.

I personally feel that Peter David writes the Hulk better than anyone. What is interesting about this story is the ambiguity of the characters. While this has become fairly standard these days, it was still unusual enough at the time.

This story doesn’t showcase Peter David at his most brilliant-the next story in this collection does. In the next post I will cover Hulk-The End, which I consider the greatest Hulk story of all time.