Spoilers for Maestro: War and Pax #1 ahead.
Marvel’s evil Hulk, the Maestro, has a deadly new army of robotic dogs, and unleashes them on anyone who stands in his way—even children! In Maestro: War and Pax #1, readers get to see this new robotic army in action, and the results are horrifying. The issue, written by legendary Hulk writer Peter David with art by Javier Pina and colorist Jesus Aburtov, is in stores now.
The Maestro, an evil version of the Hulk from the future, first appeared in Future Imperfect #1 in 1992 by David and artist George Perez. After humanity wiped itself out due to war and environmental disasters, Hulk snapped and declared himself the Maestro, feeling only he was qualified to rule what was left. In the previous Maestro mini-series, fans learn how he came to power: he had Vapor, a former U-Foe, poison former ruler Hercules’ drink, killing him. Hercules was able to return to exact revenge thanks to the god Hades, but it was for nothing, and now the Maestro rules Dystopia. Now he seeks to consolidate his powers, and his fierce robotic Dogs of War will help him.
The issue opens with the Maestro quelling anyone who might resist him, the first being a group called the Stalkers. The Maestro offers them a chance to join him but when they refuse, he calls out the Dogs of War, who make quick work of the Stalkers. But the most horrifying part is to come. After the Stalkers massacre, the Maestro asks about their children. An underling leads him to the surviving children and he attempts to win them over as well. One of the children spits in his face and when the other kids grab knives and advance on the Maestro, he orders his Dogs of War to attack and kill the kids; ironically, on his way to meet the children, he said they were not “monsters” and that he would not kill any kids.
Readers knew the Maestro was an evil and depraved man but turning the Dogs of War loose on children takes it to another level. It shows him not to be someone of his word—he said he would not kill children, but when they offended him personally he had no qualms about it. The Maestro takes all of Hulk’s evil tendencies and ramps them up to horrifying levels.
The Maestro is one of Peter David’s many contributions to the Hulk’s mythos, and now he has returned to show the Maestro’s rise to power. Readers have seen just how low he will go—to the point where he unleashes robotic attack dogs on children.