So... anything Maestro or Hulk related from Secret Wars #7?

@greenscar1990: He appears briefly

Gallery

still a pretty cool appearance.

@atheistknowledge:

Now that is awesome!

It's just a shame that the Maestro in the current "Contest of Champions" comic series doesn't invoke the same regal, majestic, graceful raw power and presence. He has the potential to be one of the most powerful & intelligent incarnations of the Hulk-- not to mention one of the most powerful, intelligent and dangerous villains in the Marvel Universe/Multiverse/Omniverse-- but it seems that most writers don't see or know how to utilize such potential.

Then again, when it comes to most things in Marvel Comics... there's tons of wasted potential. I mean, when it comes to most comics, there's very few that actually live up to their potential and hype. If I could get a chance to write the Hulk and the Maestro, I'd show them how to utilize such potential. The same goes for characters like Thor, Superman, Shazam, and other characters from Marvel & DC.

Actually agree - I love the fact that Hickman's Maestro totally backtalks Doom - even if he was going to get totally destroyed as a consequence - thats the Hulk. The charaterisation of Maestro as subservient but scheming from Ewing and even PAD's runs OTOH kind of sucked. At the end of the day the Hulk and future Hulks would rather tell someone to get lost or fight, even if it mean losing, rather than becoming someones henchman.

That was an awesome scene - Hickman likes Maestro and giving him that messed up helicarrier was perfect.

@atheistknowledge said:

@greenscar1990: He appears briefly

Gallery

still a pretty cool appearance.

I came into this thread to post this if no one else did. LOVED that part!

That was pretty impressive. Glad to see some relatively fun things happening with Hulk / Maestro.

Exactly.

I don't mind if Maestro is a master strategist. Likewise, I don't mind if he's vastly powerful and intelligent. Nor do I mind if he wields weapons from heroes & villains that he's dispatched. I just don't see why someone like Maestro, even with an agenda, should bow to any being. Let alone to someone like the Collector, who's not even remotely a threat. Quite honestly, I don't see why Maestro just doesn't kill him with his bare hands and take the Iso-sphere.

Hickman's Maestro just feels much more in-tune with the character. Maestro doesn't fear anyone or anything. And likewise, he'll take on anyone or anything that dares to challenge him. Not to say he wouldn't use strategy, his own power, weapons, or powerful artifacts eventually at some point or another to get what he wants... but when it comes down to the Maestro and the Hulk, they're not afraid to face a foe directly.

@greenscar1990: hickman wrote the best one so far

@kennethmaestro: That's something we all can agree on. Because PAD and Ewing's portrayal/characterization of the Maestro has definitely left us wanting. Only time will tell if this will change in Contest of Champions. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing Pak or Hickman helm a Maestro series with Esad Ribic as the artist.

I didn't mind how maestro was potrayed. Sure, he blocked hits but he had a reason to, he's tough but guillotines sword cut into caps shield, if it connected it'd take his head off.

and why people are acting like maesteo working for the collector is a bad thing is beyond me. The whole contest is for ISO-8, and a small shard was supposed to be enough for the collector to 'rival the gods'. I think he's going to win, kill the collectors with that bomb and take the ISO-8 for himself.

@thedailybagel: I doubt Guillotine's sword would have been able to decapitate Maestro due in fact that she GREATLY lacks the power to achieve it (plus factoring in Hulk's extreme nigh-invulnerability & extreme healing factor).

Its not really the Hulk's thing to act as someones henchman out of fear. Remember when the Red Skull & Mentallo were trying to mind control him - they made him think he would die if he didnt acquiesce. He would rather die and so they failed. I can accept some flexibility but basically i think an older, more evil, more arrogant Hulk would be more reluctant to bend the knee.

@fifthchild: It's not that big of a deal he was bending his knee to Doom in Future Imperfect, he later stated how he got tired of it. The same is happening here, the ISO-8 substance in enough quantity is suppose to make a person nigh omnipotent from what i read in the interviews Al gave. It's cool when Hulk defies someone even in the face of death(it was cool when he did it to Doom in SW #6) but not everyone has the same view including the guy that created Maestro in the first place.

The fight was fine, Maestro pretty much one-shot everyone except Ares who doesn't seem to be the weakling he once was judging by the fact that he will fight Sentry in the next issue. But i am looking forward to Maestro fighting someone more powerful since i wanna see what he can do with the Universal weapon and the Soulsword.

CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS #5

AL EWING (W) • PACO MEDINA (A)

Cover by VICTOR IBANEZ

CONNECTING VARIANT COVER E BY RON LIM

KABAM CONTEST OF CHAMPIONS GAME VARIANT COVER

TO THE DEATH!

• NO MORE GAMES! White Fox enters the fray - in time for a six-a-side deathmatch!

• And one contestant WILL die – AND MAYBE MORE!

• Plus! A new guest star THRASHES the enemy! You won’t believe who’s back!

THE TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #3

GREG PAK (W) • FRANK CHO (A/C)

variant COVER by MICHAEL CHO

VARIANT COVER BY TBA

PREPARE TO MEET YOUR FOOM!

• Amadeus is on the hunt for the biggest, greenest, baddest monster on the block - besides himself, of course!

• And an unlikely ally lends a hand!

MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR #4

AMY REEDER & BRANDON MONTCLARE (W)

NATACHA BUSTOS (A)

Cover by AMY REEDER

• A dinosaur loose in an elementary school! Somebody call for backup!

• Enter AMADEUS CHO – TOTALLY AWESOME HULK/monster hunter!

• But can MOON GIRL’s brains and DEVIL DINOSAUR’s brawn take down a HULK?!

OLD MAN LOGAN #2

JEFF LEMIRE (W) • ANDREA SORRENTINO (A/C)

VARIANT COVER BY MICHAEL CHO

VARIANT COVER BY TBA

• For Old Man Logan, home is a wasteland in the distant future, one overridden by hillbilly Hulks who extort and torture civilians for fun.

• But now, mysteriously finding himself in the present, Logan is hellbent on preventing that future from coming to pass.

• And the best way to keep the Hulk population from surging in the future is to eliminate them altogether in the present...starting with Amadeus Cho, the Totally Awesome Hulk!

@greenscar1990: it carved into caps shield -_- if that hit maestro he'd have a limb chopped off.

@fifthchild: it's not like he's running around for collector out of fear. He's doing it as a means to an end; ISO-8 is powerful, the only way he can obtain it is by acting like the collectors lackey.

Exactly, he even backtalks Collector so i don't thing he fears him in anyway just going down the easiest road to eventually overthrowing him.

@teh_pwnerer: @kennethmaestro: @fifthchild: @atheistknowledge: @thedailybagel: @bezza: @nomar: @theincrediblesuperhulk8642: @battle123axe: @20damon: @schwarz: @green_skaar:

Here's an interesting topic.

Does anyone believe that Greg Pak will eventually restore Skaar and all the other Hulk characters back to their former glory?

And further more, since Marvel is so insistent on putting out a bunch of titles, would any of you like to see some of the Hulk-related characters get their own ongoings?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd love to have Greg Pak take another shot at an Incredible Hulks ongoing that features Hulk/Banner, Skaar, She-Hulk/Jen, Kate Waynesboro, A-Bomb/Rick, Red Hulk/General Ross, Lyra, Red She-Hulk/Betty and the Warbound.

Basically the strongest and most powerful team in the Marvel Universe taking on the biggest threats. We can have arches that focus on the team of Hulk and have mini-arches that features stories focusing on the individual characters.

Thoughts?

@greenscar1990: ehhhhhh. I don't think Marvel is really interested in doing something along those lines.

This, also personally i don't care about any of the other Hulks much. I don't like Skaar and i don't think he will EVER get his own ongoing, much less have it done by Pak himself.

I think Saar and the other hulk characters can be used in the future, maybe not with Greg Pak himself, but with another writer.

Has totally awesome hulk done anything yet, don't keep track of him.

@atheistknowledge: I agree. He was underdeveloped and doesnt have much of a personality. I dont think he'll ever get an ongoing nor will I care tbh.

On the bright side, I think Al ewing teased that maestro is going to fight contest of champions #5 guest star in contest of champions #6.

I don't think they will ever come back with the other Hulks BUT one thing they could do is have Maestro summon them in contest of champions. That would be pretty awesome to have a little wink at those good times. Maybe have Skaar fight Hiro Kala or something along the lines. Old Power fight ! Maybe have the agents of Smash fight some other team. Anyways they could make a very interesting issue for contest of champions with them.

@battle123axe: It is not out yet.

@thedailybagel:

I'm a bit surprised to hear this from you. Do you not recall how great a character Skaar was during Son of Hulk, Fall of Hulks/World War Hulks, and Incredible Hulks sagas by Greg Pak? He's literally a character with immense infinite potential, more than most of the "new", "teen" or other characters that Marvel is shoving down our throats by enlisting them on certain teams or giving them ongoings.

The problem is that writers such as Rob Williams, Brian Bendis, Jeff Parker and Gerry Duggan didn't know how to properly utilize Skaar after Greg Pak left him to rule the Savage Land. In fact, that's the whole problem, isn't it? Marvel and most of their writers aren't very creative. Look at the past 5 years of comics or most of the current line of comics as solid examples of this fact.

Do you know what a character like Skaar needs?

A writer who's passionate, has a clear vision for the character and knows how to fully utilize the character & power potential that Skaar possesses.

Personally, I would like to see Skaar set out and explore the Marvel Universe. He should not remain in the Savage Land, and should not simply remain on Earth all the time... if at all. Let him explore the depths of space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, let him partake in some adventures with the Ultimates in fighting/solving titanic threats, or have him raging alongside the Squadron Supreme as he'd fit right in with their brutal/extreme methods. Hell, why not have Skaar become a supporting character to someone like X-23 in her series? I'm sure they'd have good chemistry or find common ground with one another given their pasts.

There's a lot of unexplored territory for the Son of Hulk. I'd also like to see Skaar discover more about his Shadow/Oldstrong heritage. And it would be interesting if someone like Kate Waynesboro (who also possesses the Old Power), would come along for the journey and act as a parental figure to the teenage Son of Hulk.

I mean, honestly, what do we truly know about the Oldstrong Shadow People as a race? All we truly know about them is this:

1) They're one of the oldest races in the universe.

2) They're physically, mentally, spiritually, and technologically more advanced beyond measure even when compared to other advanced alien races.

3) Long ago they created the Old Power, which rivals the might of the Power Cosmic itself.

That's all we've been told, or what's really be revealed, about the Shadow/Oldstrong people. The Old Power itself is not only vastly powerful beyond measure, as shown in numerous cases, but it's also cosmic, mystic and scientific in nature. Notable examples to prove this:

1) Hiro-Kala using it to poison Galactus

2) Skaar using it to drive Galactus mad with Hunger for the Old Power

3) Hiro-Kala moving the planet K'ai from the microverse to the 616-Universe towards Earth

4) Hiroim using his mystic training to easily get through Dr. Strange's (who was Sorcerer Supreme at the time) defenses, including the impenetrable barrier

5) And let's not forget how Hiroim overwhelmed and nearly exercised the powerful demon Zom from Dr. Strange in Incredible Hulks #620

Anyway, we know so very little about the Oldstrong/Shadow People. It would be very interesting to explore their countless worlds and discover their culture in a more in-depth scenario/story-line. I could honestly see a story forming where a very powerful Oldstrong Master takes Skaar under his/her tutelage, or it evolves into a story like that once Skaar is put on trial for his crimes of driving Galactus mad with the Old Power that results in several Shadow worlds to be devoured. After all, it worked for animated series like Avatar: The Last Airbender (One of my favorite animated series of all-time), so I don't see why it couldn't work here as well.

It would both give all the readers/fans a chance to further explore the Shadow/Oldstrong Peoples' culture, while also giving Skaar an important role/task/mission to fulfill. Be at mind that neither Skaar, Caiera, Hiroim, Kate Waynesboro, or Hiro-Kala were Oldstrong Masters. Despite this fact, they've displayed immense power and incredible capabilities. If they can achieve such feats of power, I'd honestly couldn't imagine how formidable a true Oldstrong Master is in combat.

I would also love to see Skaar explore/traverse the 10 mystical Asgardian realms, battling Frost Giants in Jotunheim, tangling with Fire Demons/Serpents/Dragons in Muspelheim, and tearing through the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim? Now that I think about it, I could also see Skaar easily adapting to the environment of Weirdworld and conquering it.

Since I'm talking about Skaar going on some cosmic adventures, there's the possibility of him being hunted by Lord Armageddon and the Troyjan Empire, who could pose a very dangerous threat given the powerful galactic warlord's hatred of the Hulk which would extend to the Green Goliath's offspring.

So, I hardly see where Skaar is underdeveloped, especially given the immense potential he has as a character. He just needs a chance and continue to have his character developed. And that can happen if the right writer gets a grip on him and actually utilizes Skaar to his fullest potential.

As for the being that the Maestro is supposed to face in an upcoming future issue of Contest of Champions, unless it's someone immensely powerful who can challenge him and show the doubters/haters what a powerful threat Maestro is... I'm not interested.

When did he tease it?

I hope they won't just make Maestro fight an underwhelming oponent and make him struggle with "ouches" like they usualy do. I mean for real the only thing i'm reading right now is contest of champions as far as marvel goes. The rest really does not interest me. I don't think I will pick up the new childish version of Hulk. Totally Awesome Dude !!! ugh...

@atheistknowledge: on Twitter. When asked about maestro fighting someone tough/showing off his power Al said that we should look out for issue #6, and issue #5 is supposed to have a guest star that thrashes the opposition (whether that means maestros team, punishers team or both is up for speculation).

How messed up would you guys think it would be to see Brian Banner being brought back and fight Maestro ? I mean he gave bruce the hate/rage gene that makes Hulk a bit. Or could world breaker hulk be summoned. I wonder if ISO-8 Would have the power to summon one of Hulk's personalities such as Devil Hulk. Anyways just throwing some ideas there but I think contest of champions has infinite potential.

Are you guys looking forward to Venom Hulk in contest of champions 3

I am not sure what to make of the Hulk scene right now. Will Pak write something with Skaar and the others? I don't think so. I assume he is still on Action Comics, so I guess his time will be split between that and the new Hulk title.

TBH I have got so naffed off with the state of Hulk in the Marvel Universe that I have been away reading other stuff recently. Loving Aaron's Dr Strange, Soule's the Inhumans and the brilliant Martian Manhunter comic. I long for something with Hulk in it that is equally as engaging as those titles are for me at the moment!!

@schwarz: very screwed up. I think we have seen enough of him

I know a lot of you don't like the idea of Amadeus Cho being a Hulk and that Greg Pak isn't writing The Hulk/Bruce Banner. But I've got to get this off my chest. I would rather have Greg Pak back and writing a Hulk character that isn't Banner/The Hulk... than getting another writer who gives us a mediocre story/run involving Bruce Banner/The Hulk. I mean, do you understand what I'm getting at?

Jason Aaron's run was horrible and basically did nothing for either Banner/Hulk. Mark Waid's run was boring/lackluster and severely regressed Hulk/Banner. Gerry Duggan's run was just as lackluster and infuriating to many since his goal was to basically get rid of the other unique Hulks. Each run had great potential and intriguing concepts, but due to lousy writers who knew very little about the Hulk/Banner character and equally poor execution... they fell WAY short.

So, you know what? I'm glad that Greg Pak is back writing a Hulk. Because you want to know something? It's only a matter of time before Bruce Banner/The Hulk return with a vengeance. Because that's exactly what happened when Rulk drained all the gamma energy from Savage Hulk and reverted him to Banner in Loeb's run. We did not get to see the Hulk return for close to an entire year. But when he did... it was in an incredible spectacle. All under the writing of none other than, you guessed it, Greg Pak.

Personally, I think Totally Awesome Hulk is gonna be a very fun and engaging series that will add to the mythology/lore of the Hulk character. And I equally believe that Cho will soon come to realize that being a Hulk isn't all what it's cracked up to be. All that power, all that rage may seem like a gift at first... but if not wielded with restraint/responsibility, it can be a curse. One with the power of a Hulk can either save worlds... or break them.

That's the message I believe this series will deliver.

Totally Awesome Hulk #1

TOTALLY AWESOME HULK #1

(W) Greg Pak (A/CA) Frank Cho

THERE'S A BRAND NEW HULK IN TOWN, AND HIS NAME IS AMADEUS CHO!

Get ready for the craziest Hulk story of the millennium as a kid genius decides he's gonna be the best Hulk ever -- and just possibly brings the entire Marvel Universe crashing down into chaos! Totally awesome beach day! Massive monster mayhem! She-Hulk and Lady Hellbender! Massive heart and ridiculous action brought to you by PLANET HULK writer Greg Pak and superstar artist Frank Cho! Is it possible for us to fit in one more exclamation point? YES!

Rated T

Item Code: OCT150741In Shops: 12/2/2015SRP: $4.99

I love how the series just started and Amadeus is failing badly and getting his ass kicked... This is gonna be one of those comics where the main guy doesn't take anything seriously, treats everything as a joke until something tragic happens and whatnot sigh...

will this hulk have that madder he get the stronger he get?

The original concept of Hulk means nothing to Marvel anymore. Now he's just a mode.

Loving your posts Greenscar - I'd buy your comics of Maestro / Skaar / other Hulks.

@teh_pwnerer:

Thanks, dude! :)

I'm trying really hard not to like this new hulk comic but God is it hard.

And seriously, this is paks first comic back and he's already giving the real hulk good feats.

I found really easy to not like the new Hulk actually, the jokes where horrible, Amadeus acts like a horny 12 year old not a 19 year old, the action was also meh. The only good thing was the small part with Banner and i wouldn't say it's a good feat for the real Hulk seeing as he hasn't done anything he didn't do before, it just raised more questions which is the only part of the comic that got me interested in.

@thedailybagel: @atheistknowledge: What feat(s) was/were pulled off

@battle123axe: Nothing really, BannerHulk just absorbed some radiation while Cho got beat around by a turtle then by some albino woman with a scar on her face.

@thedailybagel: @atheistknowledge: will the radiation kill hulk

@kennethmaestro: no, it's inferred that bruce lost control of hulk and did something (I'm assuming a world breaker incident) presumably because of the radiation, seeing as cho despises being compared to banner when his sister talks about him losing control.

@thedailybagel: Does this mean Banner is a hulk?

@jk_prodigy: no, It took place during a flashback

i honestly don't get this scene. Is that Banner, is that just the Hulk is that what the hell is it? Why is it in the trunk of his car?

@atheistknowledge: I think it's just a metaphor saying that cho has control over his version of the hulk.