Hulk: Futuro Imperfetto

The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #1-2

by Peter David, George Pérez (Illustrator)

Robert Bruce Banner pensava che il collaudo della prima Bomba Gamma avesse prodotto il suo più grande incubo, l'incredibile Hulk. Si sbagliava.
A quasi cento anni nel futuro in un mondo distopico e post-olocausto. Bruce Banner scopre che il suo vero incubo ha un altro nome: il Maestro. Un incubo a cui solo Hulk può mettere fine. A cui deve mettere fine. PErché ora sa che il responsabile dell'esistenza del maestro è egli stesso. Il futuro, il nostro futuro, e l'incredibile Hulk non saranno mai più gli stesi

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

97 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

aka David Peters

Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a future dystopia, The Maestro reigns supreme! The small resistance recruits the one foe capable of beating the Gamma-powered tyrant: himself! Can the Hulk defeat an older, more brutal version of himself?

The recent Immortal Hulk excepted, The Hulk has never been one of my favorite characters. Some of my earliest nightmares featured the Lou Ferrigno version. I've got maybe ten issues scattered among my thousands of comics. On the heels of reading Back Issue #111, specifically the interview with Peter David and George Perez, I had to read this.

The book stars in the Maestro's time. I don't know if events in the regular Hulk series led to this or I'm just supposed to connect the dots. Anyway, people use Doctor Doom's time platform to bring the Hulk to the future so he can fight himself. The best slugfest since Superman vs. Muhammad Ali eventually ensues.

The story is pretty good for the early '90s, a couple slugfests wrapped in a timey-wimey tale about the Hulk confronting what he could become. The art, however, is fantastic. The devil is in the details and George Perez invokes the horned one in every panel. Page after page is crammed with detail, from the two page crowd shot near the beginning, complete with hidden Waldo, to the Maestro's trophy room. I had way too much fun spotting the artifacts of dead heroes.

My edition contains a second story, The Last Titan. Peter David serves up a yarn of Bruce Banner wandering the earth a couple centuries in the future, the last human alive, a human haunted by The Hulk! Dale Keown served up on the art on that one, an introspective tale about the Hulk's last days. It was surprisingly good.

As far as products of 1990s go, The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect was pretty damn good time travel slugfest. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Donovan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hulk: Future Imperfect. Flarking amazing! I'm dumbfounded by how superbly written/penciled/colored this is for being an 80s comic, because there is some terrible shit out there. But I really have zero complaints. Even the ending was flawless. I will now be seeking out Peter David and George Perez and I suggest you do the same.

A century in the future the outlaw resistance has been fighting The Maestro for some time. The outlaws discover a huge game changing technology Doctor Doom's time machine and bring in The Hulk to fight The Maestro. The dichotomy between The Hulk and his crazy future self The Maestro is deeply literary. There's always Bruce versus Hulk, man versus monster, control versus rage, but throw in The Maestro and it adds a whole different level of psychological exploration. The fact that Hulk does what he does is brilliant. As Maestro says, he knows The Hulk, obviously, knows what he does and can/does anticipate his every move. But this advantage relies upon his knowledge of the past, not the present. And he seems to have forgotten about the time machine. The pacing was great, even suspenseful. And the ending was just fanboy perfect. Couldn't have asked for anything better.

Odd notes/things that made this even more awesome: The Memorabilia Room! Yes! Wolverine's adamantium skelton with claws, Captain America's shield, Thor's hammer, et al. I was like, when I have enough comics and nerd shit to necessitate an entire room I want it to be this room. Then there was Where's Waldo? in the opening scene. Seriously. David talks about it in the intro. They put Waldo in a Hulk comic. Hilarious.

Hulk: The End. I was pleasantly surprised to find this one tacked on the end (excuse the pun) because it's out of print by itself. This short stand alone comic works really well with Future Imperfect. It's also post-apoc and basically an exercise in introspection and demons on the level of Bruce Wayne and the Dark Knight. Bruce Banner and Hulk are the last living person on Earth. Their only foe is a horde (group noun?) of mutant roaches that does some very unpleasant things to Hulk on a regular basis. Physical/mental torture perhaps comparable to Bruce's lack of will to live. Dark but brilliant little tale. The art is nothing like George Perez but it's still well done albeit modern, and complements Future Imperfect. Dare I say I am now a Hulk fan! Recommendations for other classic Hulk comics? Let me know.

(This review is for 078519746X, which is Future Imperfect Parts I and II [1980s] and Hulk: The End [2002]. I don't know why this edition says only 96 pages. It's like 200)

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hulk: Future Imperfect by Peter David and George Perez holds up!

Witty writing at the height of David's Hulk run, and incredible detailed art by Perez. More adult then I remembered, with the dystopian future (and sex) and lots of Marvel Easter eggs.

Hulk vs. Hulk, or rather vs. the Maestro. The ultimate villain, himself. Very satisfying two-part story, and nice and self contained as well. Always worth rereading

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Maestro showing up in Spider-Man 2099 recently made me go back and re-read this two-part milestone in the history of the Hulk.

I was slightly concerned that it wouldn't live up to my memory of it but I really needn't have worried. This story really is a classic of the superhero genre... George Perez's artwork is incredibly detailed and really quite breathtaking. Peter David's story is superb and packs in so much in just two (admittedly extra-long) issues. If this were to be published today, they'd drag it out over at least twelve parts!

I really don't know why Marvel let anyone other than Peter David write the Hulk. I mean, he can produce the occasional clanker... Deadpool's Art Of War, I'm looking at you... but his X-Factor work is fantastic and I'm absolutely loving his Spidey 2099 stuff. I guess I'm just one guy, shouting into the void.

[Terence · Rating 3 out of 5]

After 90 years, multiple wars, and a bunch of nuclear blasts, the world has been reshaped into a dystopia. The Maestro was able to save much of humanity, but he also enslaved it as well. With a stroke of luck, those who fight against The Maestro found Dr. Doom's time machine and brought someone to the future who can fight back.


My favorite thing about classics like Future Imperfect is that it's often easy to see where current writers get their inspiration. There were some similar things I noticed reading Old Man Logan recently. This is a pretty graphic comic for the time period. It shows some gory scenes and clearly discusses sex.

I have to say the future characters dialogue seemed dumb. The interaction between the Maestro and the Hulk lack something to be desired. The author chose the most obvious way to go about things and it didn't feel overly exciting.


All in all Future Imperfect is still a good story.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cool little what if future storyline. I believe this came out around the time of Age of Apocalpyse did, so it was more of a tie in. It introduces Maestro, a future Hulk who's horrible and the modern hulk goes to this time to stop him. Entertaining and brutal in ways, but little easy way out it feels, a 3.5 out of 5.

[Jedhua · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Info: This collection contains The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect issues #1-2.


ABSOLUTE RATING: {2.5/5 stars} (Rounded Up)

STANDARDIZED RATING: <2/5 stars>



In the decades following a nuclear war that ravaged the Earth, Future Imperfect is a two-part miniseries dealing with the subjugation of humanity by the ruthless dictator Maestro (i.e. a much older and power-hungry version of the Hulk). Set in what appears to be one of the last functioning cities left standing on the planet, a rebel faction is caught in a losing battle against Maestro's forces, and travels back in time to enlist the help of the Hulk. Charging blindly into the struggle, Hulk quickly finds that overcoming his older self is easier said than done, and is wholly unprepared for the myriad surprises that await him.

During the first third of the issue one, David throws us into the middle of a mysterious conflict between a small band of insurgents and the Maestro's armed forces. The dystopian setting for the story seems a bit reminiscent of Star Wars' Tatooine and Transmetropolitan's The City. But not only was there not enough time to explore that city, but the second-rate writing and the annoying futuristic dialect of the time only served as further barriers to curb my immersion. Even the first appearance of the Hulk and his action-packed intervention during a police-insurgent skirmish lacked excitement and felt mundane. It wasn't a bad scene by any stretch – and Perez illustrated it nicely – but without my feeling drawn into the story, I could derive little satisfaction from what struck me as empty carnage. In fact, even the subsequent battle sequences also suffered under similarly unengaging contexts, and I never found myself more than vaguely entertained.



And even though the book is well-paced and initially seemed as if it could've been going somewhere, the narrative began to drag the more David delved into the story: the background behind the rebels' plot proved not to be terribly interesting, and the pseudo-philosophical dialogue between Hulk and Maestro – which constituted a significant portion of the story's second half – was pretty underwhelming. Worse yet, the writing wasn't strong enough to get me to care much about any of the characters or their circumstances one way or the other, and I was especially bored whenever the focus shifted away from Hulk/Maestro and toward the rebels.

As evidenced by Wolverine: Old Man Logan , there is a lot of potential for storytelling embedded in David's futuristic world. But in addition to the weak writing, nowhere near enough time is given to either expand on the promising groundwork introduced here, or to develop investment in the resolution of the conflict. Besides a slight sprinkle of science fiction and transparent fanboy gratification, an emphasis on bland action sequences seem to take precedence over anything else. The closest we get to actual character development or drama relates to the Maestro's attempts to humiliate and brainwash his younger counterpart into believing that the two are essentially the same. Sadly, his persuasive appeals fall flat, and the concept just seemed too far-fetched to be engrossing.





The fact that this story is collected with Hulk: The End is absolutely appalling. Although it tried to be, this wasn't half as psychologically piercing or creative, and much of my favorable impressions about this book came only after The End helped put it in clearer perspective. So unless you're a die-hard Hulk fan and completionist, feel free to skip this book, and maybe check out David's main run instead.

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being dumbed down by corny dialogues, Future Imperfect still provides enough entertainment and masterful artwork to keep the readers intrigued.

[John Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good standalone story on its own merits, and it had ramifications elsewhere for years to come, so it's useful as "background reading".

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75
Been enjoying David's Maestro miniseries, so I decided to go back to the original. Pretty fun seeing how all the peices fit together. And just a really great yarn.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Future Imperfect sees the Hulk brought to the future in an attempt to end the rule of the Maestro, a tyrant with a familiar face.

I read this when first released in 1992 and remember it immediately becoming a favorite of mine. Having not read it for years, I was looking forward to rereading and seeing if it held up. I'm happy to say it did. The Maestro is an intelligent, vicious, more than worthy foe. To use a cliche the war between him and the Hulk plays out like a chess match. Move-by-move: some battles physical, some mental, with several twists to enjoy and some great subtleties along the way. One of Peter David's very best.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a time travel story, it was okay. But the story is fondly remembered because it dealt with issues of ultimate power and ultimate corruption, and not many characters are more ultimately powerful than the Hulk.

The Hulk has had a few different looks over the years, but the brown unitard had to one of the worst. I have to wonder what was going on with Perez when this was made, because this has some of his worst art ever. There is a one enlarged illustration of the Hulk's head that makes him look gaunt and sickly when the story didn't call for it.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea here is great. The world ends in nuclear fire, and due to the Hulk's natural immunity to radiation, he ends up being the last man standing. At least, after he kills the remaining heroes and becomes known at the Maestro. The oppressed people of the future, lead by an aging Rick Jones, uses Doom's time machine to bring the "good" Hulk into the future in order to face the Maestro.

Peter David will probably always be "The Writer" for the Hulk for me, along with Stan Lee. The George Perez art is fantastic as usual (and I want to send my best wishes to George Perez and his family as he's facing a very serious health crisis right now).

If anything, I thought this story could have been longer. It felt like we just scratched the surface, and this could have been an ongoing series. But then again, I have issues with things being dragged out as well, so maybe the shorter, more powerful story was for the best. I do understand the Maestro is currently being featured in recent comics as well.

Overall I think his is easily a top ten Hulk story of all time.

[Ojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ✨

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Argh. I goofed again. It looks like the entirety of this story is in another, newer book with more story.

Hulk: The End

Well, I'll never get to that.

This is a pretty fun (if short) story. It seems like the big reveal that the Hulk is the Maestro is given away on the cover (and over the last 20 years. What was up with the Maestro in A+X, by the way? Did we ever find that out?) Maybe I would have written it so that was actually a reveal?

Here, it's interesting what the internal conflict was meant to be. The Maestro is so unlike the Hulk that it's hard to see it as "the worst parts" of him.

Interesting for 90's Marvel fans is how Peter David draws this future world, given that he was so critical to Spider-Man 2099, a similar project in some ways.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter David es un mounstruo...mas que Hulk, mas que la Abominación...el es una fuerza de la escritura que nos regala un comic de un guión estructurado y muy bien aramado, en el cual, nos presentan un futuro distopico en el cual el mundo cayo a manos de los humanos, no por los villanos, y solo queda vivo Hulk, que ya no es Hulk...es el maestro , un ser mucho mas viejo, mas fuerte, mas vicioso que gobierna con mano de hierro, y ¿que pueden hacer los pocos que le hacen resistencia', pues traer al Hulk del pasado para que lo enfrente...

El dibujo de Perez es perfecto, se sale en cada pagina y el color es un complemente ideal, que nos hace creer que estamos viendo un álbum frances. Te sales George, te sales.

[Devero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tra i lavori che George Perez fece per la Marvel durante il suo ritorno a inizi anni 90 c'è questa eccellente storia scritta da Mark Waid, su un Hulk del futuro che si fa chiamare Maestro, sopravvissuto all'olocausto nucleare e ora diventato padrone del mondo, che viene affrontato dalla sua controparte del passato, meno forte, meno spietata ma più compassionevole.
Una storia che nonostante due decenni non è affatto invecchiata male, anzi, migliora come il buon vino.

[Ondra Král · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fííí, tohle byla ňamka. Dočítám si alternativní světy na Secret Wars a nejdnou... naprosto úchvatná Perezova kresba a výbornej příběh z postapo světa, kde jsou všichni hrdinové mrtví a jedinému přeživšímu městu vládne tyran Maestro. Rebelové se úchylili k poslednímu zoufalému pokusu a z minulosti přivezli na pomoc Hulka. Jenže jak porazit někoho, kdo je mnohem silnější a chytřejší?
Na Marvel a devadesátky docela sexuální a drsné (Maestro je solidní nadrženec).

[Seth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Hulk travels to Earth's future-a devastated Nuclear wasteland. All the heroes and villians are dead and what's left of the Earth is ruled by a tyrant known as the Maestro-who is the future Hulk! Shocking tale from one of his generations finest writers Peter David. Also check out the epic art from George Perez.

[J.M. Giovine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Así como el Days of Future Past, Future Imperfect intenta denotar la clásica temática del futuro post-apocaliptico-distopico bajo el protagonismo (y antagonismo por igual) de Hulk en dos números que poseen una historia bien cimentada, y un arte retro que queda acorde con el concepto general del comic.

[Tane · Rating 4 out of 5]

As good as its reputation. The art is extraordinary - I don't think I've read a comic with so much visual detail. It's an excellent plot and the writing is, by comic standards, good, though there is too much of that annoying "I am explaining what I'm thinking by talking out loud! With exclamation marks!" that infested older comics. Why didn't they just turn it into thought?

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

COLLECTS HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT (1993) ISSUES #1-2

This is my second reading of these two issues, and I think they make a great, concise story. Even though he is completely evil, I find the Maestro to be an intriguing villain. He may currently be one of my favorite Marvel villains. I say this even though I'm not a very big fan of the Hulk.

[Jimmy Corvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The problem with most alternate universes in comic books is that they normally seem to be more about coming off as creative than just simply cool. Future imperfect was both of these. It was a very fun read and as a stand alone book, it was a refreshingly short look at 'what if?'

[Roman Colombo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite Hulk story. It's reminiscent for X-Men: Days of Future Past, but reverse engineered. David and Perez are brilliant together.

[Raph Meatrunks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter David as good as always. One of the best Hulk story ever, and a character that is probably my favorite among Marvel's : The Maestro.

[wookieon360 · Rating 5 out of 5]

David, Peter (w), Pérez, George (p), Pérez, George (i) did a great job on one of the best story arcs ever of the HULK. The MAESTRO is such a cool character.

[Jules Fier · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as I am concerned, Peter David is/was the best Hulk writer ever, and he did for Hulk in the 1990s, what the X-writers did for the sub-mutant universe within the Marvel Universe. I enjoyed this story in itself and had originally read Book 1 and Book 2 separately. This was a Hulk story that came out in the time period when Image and Valiant Comics were coming out and seriously challenging both Marvel and DC, in terms of storytelling or artwork or violent language, scenes and language. I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel story back then.

Like the Age of Apocalypse which came out years later, and portraying everything from the usual sub X-Men-universe, this story portrays a sub-Hulk-universe (with the other heroes still shown in it, the way X Men and the other X-titles did). Hulk travels to a gloomy depressing post-apocalyptic future, like Michael J Fox going back to an altered-gloomy present in Back To The Future 2, and meets his more darker evil future self - the Maestro.

For Hulk fans or any comic book readers who are familiar with the statement "Hulk is the strongest there is!!!", this is a graphic novel that they should take a look at and give a read. This is also for fans who love last-heroes-standing type stories OR time-travelling-to-a-dark-future-where-world-is-ruled-by-a-despot type of stories. After two more world wars and most of the world superheroes long dead, Maestro a.k.a. Evil Hulk, rules with an iron fist, with no one able to stand up to him or challenge him.

In one sense, if Hulk had really wanted serious hardcore revenge on the rest of the MCU for having sent him away in the Planet Hulk storyline, this is a potential outcome for what could happen to planet Earth, once Hulk finally defeats the rest of the MCU.

[Lorna’s Vamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read! Absolutely perfect, this has that old comic style I love so much (because it was made in 92) the story telling tho short checked every box I wanted for a future hulk. Before this read I put off the Maestro as a character just because he’s been so mainstreamed as the “ultimate bad hulk” and admittedly in some issues in other else world comics he is. However here in his inception he’s absolutely perfect. I love how they used the professor hulk as the protagonist and brung him into the future to combat his future ruler self. I do as well love the idea of the maestro taking advantage of the situation and attempting to make him his right hand/successor in his own time. He does realize that won’t work out after the big party/celebration scene before the attack but still. He does when he beats and captures prof hulk he forces one of the women of his harem to force herself on him and specifically chose her because of her resemblance to Bruce’s lover. This is talked on later in the issue but still it shows how committed he is to his absolute rule. In the end Rick jones was sacrificed to stop his oldest friend and one big brawl between hulks and the maestro was sent back in time to when he first became the hulk with the gamma bomb. Right when the hulk was born he was sent back to that time to die. Such a short poetic hulk story but it just furthers my love for the hulk. An amazing read please recommend this issue to anyone who wants to get into marvel, it’s just an hour read and probably within my top 5 best hulk stories.

[Brehmin M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hulk: Future Imperfect follows the adventure of The Incredible Hulk as he travels through time to fight, and kill, the insane future him (A.K.A. the maestro). After the world is ruined by several nuclear bombs The Maestro comes to lead, creating Dystopia. After Many awesome battles and cunning deceptions, The Hulk finally achieves his goal, by sending The Maestro back in time, right next to a nuke that was about to explode.

I think hulk's true self is the kind, helpful, and willing side of him. The reason I think this is because in the end, his good self triumphed over his evil self. "Get...the bad guy...Bruce...?" "G-got him rick." Is a conversation between Bruce(Hulk) and Rick, commonly referred to as gramps, another main character in the book. I also think this because, as you may know, The Hulk is a hero. He risks his life to save his freinds, comrades, and the world many times. Those are the reasons why I think Hulks true self is a kind man.

I really enjoyed this book. It has lots of great storyline, action, and great art. I would definetly read it again if given the chance. I also really enjoyed how creative Ideas for time travel, and stuff like that. I hope you liked my review. Bye!

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

When this was first published, I wasn’t currently reading the Incredible Hulk comic, but the combination of Peter David and George Pérez definitely got me excited and I picked this mini-series up. It was quite good, but it didn’t leave a huge impression on me at the time. Re-reading it now, included in its chronological placement inside Incredible Hulk Epic Collection Vol. 20: Future Imperfect, gives it a lot more gravity and power. Gorgeous art, as always from gorgeous George Pérez, and a wonderfully nuanced narrative from David. Fun stuff for every gamma obsessed fanboy and fangirl.

Part Two? The Incredible Hulk vs. the Inevitable Maestro! Only one will survive! Nuff said!