Arguably one of The Hulk's greatest villains is himself...well, a future version, that is. Known as Maestro, the bearded baddie was introduced in the 1992 miniseries Hulk: Future Imperfect by Peter David and George Pérez, and instantly resonated with fans of the Jade Giant.
In the comics, it's established that exposure to high radiation levels over the years increased Maestro's strength and intelligence; however, it also warped his personality, making him cruel and power-hungry.
In Maestro’s future, he emerges as the sole ruler after most of Earth's Mightiest Heroes have been destroyed by nuclear war. Unlike the Hulk of the present day, Maestro retains Banner's intelligence but is manipulative, merciless, and entirely unrestrained in his use of power. Wearing trophies from the superheroes he's defeated, the villain views humanity with disdain and is fully succumbed to his rage and ego.
Now, it sounds like he's on his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
According to The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez, there's a chance Maestro will appear "soon." It sounds like the idea is for him to become the next evolution of The Hulk, though who knows how or when that will play out...or whether the Multiverse is involved.
When we last saw Bruce Banner, his arm had healed after the events of Avengers: Endgame. After helping train his cousin, Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, the Green Goliath met his son, Skaar. Unfortunately, that character's introduction in the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law finale didn't receive the warmest response from fans.
If Maestro is coming, though, then it's likely as part of the long-rumoured World War Hulk/World War Hulks project which may now be saved for Marvel Studios' next Saga.
Another rumour shared by the site reveals that original plans called for Eternals' Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) to "team up with Blade on the road to Midnight Sons, and Blade will help him train with the Ebony Sword so he can become the Black Knight."
We don't know whether that's still the plan for the character, though Perez mentions that his story ties into rumoured plans to explore more of the MCU's UK superheroes.
"Yeah. Kevin [Feige] was like, 'What would you like to do?' And he said, 'What would you do if you had a standalone Hulk movie?' I said, 'Well, I'd like to take him from this raging maniac to kind of this integrated character,'" Mark Ruffalo said of his MCU role as Hulk earlier this year. "And he's like, 'Okay. We'll do that over the course of four movies."
"We'll never give you a standalone Hulk...I Don't mean to burst your bubble, but that's just not going to [happen.] So, we'll do it over four movies, how does that sound?' As far as I know. [when asked if it's still true that Marvel Studios doesn't want to do a Hulk movie.] I can talk more about it, but I've been told not to," the actor added, alluding to the complicated rights issues surrounding the Hulk franchise.
What would you like to see from Maestro in the MCU?