Continues from Hulk in College (Vol. 1)
#1-4[]
THE MAESTRO IN WORLD WAR ZEMO #1
Plot by EXCITER
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by ED McGUINNESS
“CURRENT IMPERFECT”
Professor Hulk continues to teach at Empire State University, having purged the Controller’s influence from the faculty and student body. Things are going pretty well for a change! It would be a shame if an evil future incarnation of the Hulk came along and ruined everything, wouldn’t it?
Steve Rogers is back from the 2099 (see WORLD WAR ZEMO #1, CAPTAIN AMERICA #50), but unbeknownst to him someone else hitched a ride on the time platform… the Maestro! He’s got a plan to forge his own perfect future - and he’s willing to help even Baron Zemo to do it!
Meanwhile, General Thaddeus Ross has been the “official” Hulk for some time now. Yet Zemo has rejected all of Ross’ non-Aryan Avengers teammates. Thaddeus, however, Zemo is willing to keep… provided that he pledges his loyalty. But Thunderbolt Ross’ father Alexander Ross fought Nazis during World War II, and Thaddeus will be damned if he’ll help their descendants conquer America now! Red Hulk smash!
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
THE MAESTRO IN WORLD WAR ZEMO #2
Plot by EXCITER
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by ED McGUINNESS
“OLD DOGS”
From an imperfect future comes the Maestro, a Bruce Banner turned merciless and aggressive by time and loss. He’s convinced Baron Zemo that he should be “the Hulk” of the Redeemers, though in actuality the Maestro sees Zemo as only a means to an end. The only true supremacy is green supremacy.
Of course, this has brought him into conflict with another elder statesman turned Hulk: Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the Red Hulk. Maestro remembers wanting to kill Ross for years as a younger man, but being too constrained by childish “morality” and “love” to do so. He is no longer so constrained… and he accepts Zemo’s request to personally put the old dog down!
Unfortunately, Ross has friends. He and a crew of punks had been masquerading as heroes before Zemo made it cool. “Captain America” Omega Red, “Black Widow” Deadly Nightshade, “Winter Soldier” Steel Serpent, and “Spider-Man” Tarantula all have Red Hulk’s back. This will make Maestro’s fight all the harder…
And what’s the current year Bruce Banner (Professor Hulk of Empire State University) going to do when he learns of Zemo’s “Hulk”?
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
THE MAESTRO IN WORLD WAR ZEMO #3
Plot by EXCITER
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by ED McGUINNESS
“SYMPHONY OF DESTRUCTION”
The Maestro became Baron Zemo’s “Hulk,” but he underestimated his old enemy Thunderbolt Ross. After a devastating battle in New York City, Ross and his allies Omega Red, Deadly Nightshade, Steel Serpent, and Tarantula capture the Maestro and, with their combined abilities, force him back into his puny human form. Now they want information. INFORMATION. What happens in the imperfect future?
Sharzhad was the turning point. Sultan Magus used found alien technology to become a god-like force in the Middle East. His only limitation was that he could never get the tech to work beyond Sharzhad’s borders. Zemo found a way… and the world was forever changed.
Zemo truly became as supreme as he believed himself to be, ruling alongside domesticated gods Magni and Modi, ever surrounded by elite Redeemers. Zemo consolidated control of America, Atlantis, and Madripoor before conquering China, then Wakanda, then pretty much everywhere else on Earth and many places beyond including Vanaheim and the Moon. But like any edifice built upon division rather than unity, it couldn’t last…
His Redeemer generals coveted their own power and territory, descending into bickering and then outright conflict. The social contract shattered, and when the dust settled much of the world was reduced to wasteland.
Hither came the Maestro.
The “Dark Avengers” aim to stop this future before it arises. But it’s already too late. Zemo already did it. He gained control of the Sharzhadi technology and was using it to attack Washington D.C. at that very moment. Maestro let the motley collection of anti-villains believe he was captured simply to distract them, keeping them from interfering as he knew they had the potential to change history. As Redeemer forces descend on their location, the well-orchestrated symphony of destruction begins… and there’s only one Maestro!
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
THE MAESTRO IN WORLD WAR ZEMO #4
Plot by EXCITER
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by ED McGUINNESS
“GREEN SUPREMACY”
Thanks to the Maestro’s grand plan, last issue the so-called “dark” Avengers - Red Hulk (Hulk), Omega Red (Captain America), Deadly Nightshade (Black Widow), Steel Serpent (Winter Soldier), and Tarantula (Spider-Man) - were taken off the board, clearing the path for Zemo’s victory.
Or were they?
Zemo was led to believe that the Maestro offered his loyalty in order to preserve the timeline where Zemo wins and, eventually, the Maestro comes to power. But why rule a wasteland when you can rule a thriving civilization? Do you know how difficult it is to get good foie gras in a post-apocalypse? No, the Maestro is in the past, here and now, and at this moment in time he doesn’t need anything at all from Zemo to orchestrate his own rise to dominance. In fact, he just needs Zemo to not screw up the entire planet due to his zealous adherence to a deluded ideology.
From the inside, Maestro makes sure information on how to sabotage the Sharzhadi technology leaks to the real Black Widow’s Shadow Avengers. As for the imposters he captured, perhaps an “escape” can be arranged where they can make themselves useful in dislodging “the Kraken” Daniel Whitehall from his entrenched position as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?
And what should the Maestro drink while watching all this carnage unfold? (A) Midori Sour (B) Cucumber Martini (C) Southside Cocktail (D) Irish Margarita (spoiler: they’re all green!).
32 PGs./Rated T+ …$2.99
Continues in Hulk in Hollywood (Vol. 1)
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