Maestro: War and Pax #3 (2021)

The Pantheon are keeping an unconscious Maestro in a stasis chamber. The group had expected that the Maestro would revert into his Bruce Banner personality once he was unconscious, but this is not the case. Ulysses argues that keeping the Maestro imprisoned like this won't last long as he reminds how the Maestro escaped from A.I.M. So Ulysses propose to find a way into the Maestro's mind and make him turn back into Banner. And he knows one person who can do it. The empath Paris is initially hesitant to use his powers on the Maestro. But he is convinced otherwise by the seductive Delphi. Paris is hooked up to a machine and enters the Maestro's mind. The Maestro find himself in an illusion of The Mount, The Pantheon's previous headquarters. Upon meeting Paris, the Maestro very reluctantly follows him to a viewing room. Paris then explains to the Maestro that he believed that The Pantheon first became interested in him when his personalities merged. However, that was a lie. In reality, The Pantheon had already been watching Bruce Banner before he was born. But it was not strictly on Bruce. Paris shows the Maestro a recording of his abusive father Brian Banner, whom The Panetheon were interested in his work on safely harnessing nuclear energy. When Bruce was born, The Pantheon's interest in the Banners accelerated. Just as the viewing screen shows Brian Banner murdering Bruce's mother Rebecca, Maestro is sent into a rage. He breaks the screen before strangling Paris. In the real world, The Panetheon tries to break Paris free from his connection. But it is too late. Paris is killed and the Maestro is fully awake. The Maestro punches out of the chamber and battles Ulysses and Hector. Ulysses cuts off the Maestro's right hand with his plasma blade, but Maestro quickly grabs and turn Hector into a human shield, and causing Ulysses to accidentally beheading Hector. Maestro backhanded Ulysses before reattaching his dismembered hand. Atalanta frantically calls for Ajax's help just as Ulysses is fatally impaled through his sword by the Maestro, who then turns his attention on Atalanta. The Maestro charges at Atalanta, but he is punched by Ajax. Despite of Ajax's rivaling strength, the Maestro grabs Ajax and throws him right into Atalanta, crushing her like a bug. As Ajax weeps over Atalanta's remains, the Maestro is distracted by an illusion of his mother Rebecca created by Delphi. The Rebecca illusion express her sadness at what her son had become. The Maestro fully believes the illusion of his grieving mother to be real and causing him to turn back into Bruce to convince his mother that he is her son. "Rebecca" then suddenly draws out a pistol and shot Bruce several times. It is then reveal that the Maestro/Bruce was still in Paris's mind control until now. Paris had been surprisingly successful in tricking Bruce into believing he broke out of his mind control and leading to Paris fatally shooting Bruce. Ulysses checks for a pulse on Bruce's neck and confirming that he is indeed dead. Atalanta then announces that they now make Bruce's death permanent.