By [ad_1]
Maestro offers an insight into what the Hulk would look like as a twisted version of himself, but the morality of World War M is more complex.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Maestro: World War M, available now.
The Hulk never did fall into the traditional ideal of a heroic character. Labeled as an outcast more often than not in opposition to authority figures and other heroes, the moral complexity of Hulk comics has always been part of what proves most compelling about his stories. The alternate future version of the Hulk known as the Maestro first offered an alternative to that moral gray in Future Imperfect. The irradiated despot proved himself to be possibly the most corrupt and evil version of the character ever seen.
But his latest series, Maestro: World War M, reintegrates the moral complexity that has always been great about the Hulk by pitting the Maestro against other figures whose own motivations and lust for power are not so pure. Maestro may not actually be the villain of the story at all.
The moral misdeeds of the Maestro in the past leave little defense that he has a noble nature. Though he retains his intelligence from his Bruce Banner persona, the breakdown of civilization following a nuclear apocalypse left the Maestro to wield his intellect toward the purpose of cultivating his power. Desiring little else than to occupy a position as a despot over the remainder of civilization, the Maestro has forced his harem on the unwilling and murdered children merely for insulting him. There is no interpretation in which he is a good guy.
But he is not the only super-powered survivor lusting after power in the world of Future Imperfect. World War M assembles a team of antagonistic forces that make for a remarkable departure from past stories’ morally black-and-white status quo. Maestro first won his title from Hercules after the former hero ruled as an irresponsible authoritarian who cared nothing for his people. Doctor Doom now covets the title, ruling over the remainder of Latveria while conspiring to steal Maestro’s influence away. Yet it is the latest additions to the moral landscape that prove the most interesting of all.
World War M #1 features the return of Abomination, the Hulk villain who similarly survived the nuclear fallout while comatose in an A.I.M. facility. Abomination wanders through the desolate wastelands somewhat aimless about his goals before Namor, the Atlantean ruler who famously fought Hulk countless times in the past, recruits the villain.
Namor seeks Abomination’s aid because the Submariner needs allies in combatting Maestro. Namor’s motivations, as ever, remain on behalf of his Atlantean Empire. In defense of that empire, Namor states that he does not want to see human civilization return to its dominance where it formerly mistreated the aquatic society. It’s Maestro that stands in the way of their destruction.
Nowhere among the cast of characters mentioned is the classic idea of a morally upright hero. Instead, they view humanity as little more than fodder to be used or a prize to be won. The result is Maestro’s reprehensible character becomes a possibly lesser of multiple evils who remains nonetheless evil himself. It creates a remarkable inversion of what so often made Hulk comics engaging in the past.
Then, the Hulk was never really the bad guy when he was constantly misunderstood and wanted to be left alone, nor were the U.S. military the gad guys when it came to hunting him down and trying to contain the collateral of his rampages. Only now, everyone is the bad guy, and their different motivations and machinations become part of what is more broadly interesting about the story.
With just the first issue out so far, the forces that conspire against Maestro could put his tremendous strength and intellect to the test like never before. Yet what has truly changed is that the reader has an actual reason for rooting for Maestro in the fight to come. In his previous minis the engagement was more about the sadistic streak that comes with celebrating seeing any villain become the main character of a story.
But now the Maestro may be an actual hero, the only force standing between the remainder of human civilization and utter extinction. If ever there was a time to root for him, it is in World War M.
About The Author
[ad_2]
