MIGHTY AVENGERS Creative Team, Details Revealed
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CREDIT: Marvel Comics
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After a week of teasers, the Mighty have been revealed . With a team comprised of Luke Cage, Superior Spider-Man, Blue Marvel, She-Hulk, White Tiger, and Power Man, the line-up is certainly eclectic. Now we talk with the newly announced creative team to find out the details of how this team comes together and what makes them Mighty.
Follow along on twitter or in the box below, thanks to our NewsaramaLIVE twitter account.
Here are the original tweets collected from our LIVE coverage, back in proper order.
The title being teased all week is MIGHTY AVENGERS by Al Ewing and Greg Land.
Tom Brevoort is on the line, talking about how the book came together. "It's launching in the midst of the Infinity storyline, a key moment."
"Luke Cage will bring together these people, saying if the Avengers aren't here, it falls to us to be the Avengers." - Brevoort
"After Infinity, you'll see how this will interact with the other Avengers books."
Mighty Avengers, in a way, takes the slot of Dark Avengers, said Brevoort, at least in his publishing schedule.
Writer Al Ewing says he "immediately thought of a niche for this team of Avengers, on the ground, as part of the community."
In addition to those in the teasers, Monica Rambeau, Falcon, and a Ronin are in the lineup of Mighty Avengers.
"Monica is rejoining the superhero set, rebranding herself. Her new name is Spectrum" - Ewing "It sounded scifi, which appealed to me."
"She's the field leader of the Mighty Avengers. It's fun to have her in that position again. Her powers are very unique." -Ewing
"I love the character, how her powers work, her history. She's one I'm looking forward to most" - Ewing on Monica "Spectrum" Rambeau
As for Ronin, says Brevoort, "When we first see him, he'll have a totally different identity, which is also not in fact who he is..."
Ewing - "We had ideas for him putting the Ronin suit on immediately. When you see him in issue 1 you'll find out why he's remaining hidden."
"You'll see the amazing costume he chooses to wear during those first few issues - but he'll be Ronin, and his mystery drives those issues."
Ewing on the command structure/lineup "Luke has a kid, he's not going to be the first one into the line of fire. he will guide the team."
"The Blue Marvel has a military background, he's used to following orders. Similarly, people like the Falcon"
"Power Man does not respond well to authority at all. I don't think there's anyone on this team who's an automatic blind follower."
Brevoort says "Luke has some ideas for not what the Avengers ARE but what they COULD BE," saying it spins from what Bendis did with him.
As for artist Greg Land, this is his first ongoing Avengers project. "He was looking for a new challenge to take on" said Brevoort
"He can do action, he can do storytelling. Al is writing this in Plot, Art, Script, classic Marvel style." Which Tom says Land is enjoying.
Press Q&A, starting with Kiel Phegley of CBR - "A lot of small but passionate fan-followed characters, is that something attractive to you?"
Al - "I take it very seriously. I don't like the idea of A list, B list, C list. You don't say to a firefighter, oh you're a C list fireman"
Al "I didn't know of the Blue Marvel until he was pointed out to me, and I fell in love with him. He's sort of the opposite of the Sentry."
Al "He thinks & cares very deeply about everything that he does. I'm listening to his fanbase on this."
Al "I'm glad to make his fans happy, I know what it's like to have a favorite character who doesn't show up much."
Next from us, Was the diverse cast a specific focus, or a happy accident?
Al "This was taken from a list of people that were available. Luke and Monica were always in the mix from the beginning."
Tom "It's no accident, really. I've talked in the past, people have asked why don't you do "Black Avengers" or "Latino Avengers"
TB "That feels artificial, ghettoizing to me. Let's put all the black characters together & away from other characters, it felt fake."
TB "But people who want to see heroes that reflect them have a genuine point. We started conceptualizing this book in February, it was Black History Month and the anniversary of the birthday of my dear departed friend Dwayne McDuffie."
"I set out this book not to make Black Avengers, but Dwayne McDuffie Avengers. At least 50% non-white male. As it turned out, we went more"
"It doesn't substitute the need for diversity elsewhere, but it was definitely something I was paying attention to as we set Mighty up."
Next Q from Paul on iFanboy "What's the relationship between the new and old Power Man? Is Luke okay w/him using his name?"
Al "In the past he hasn't been very okay with it. New Power Man's powerset is almost more Iron-Fisty"
Al "it's not a teacher-student relationship like Danny & Vic have, it's more like Boss & intern."
AL "It's not a mentor-mentee thing between Luke and Vic, they'll rub up against each other. Massive argument right in the first issue."
Q from Steve Morris at the Beat "Superior Spidey jumps out to me int he line-up, how is he fitting in with the team?"
Al "Yeah, Spider-Man is now obviously a complete ****. With his spider-eyes all over the city, he won't miss a horrible thing happening."
Al "After that, his POV is how dare you people try to protect the streets I'm protecting? Who do you think you are?"
Al "He's almost crashing the party. He forced his way in and nobody likes him. And the inevitable recriminations & open assault is coming."
Q from Tim at the NY Post "What's the team dynamic, do they come from a position of teamwork right away?"
TB "It'll develop over time. They come together and fight back-to-back out of necessity, because the world's in jeopardy."
TB "Thereafter the relationships will begin to gel, and set them off on their mission and life's work. The cast will evolve beyond the 9."
TB "Some cast will go in, go out, be around for some stories but not other issues. Classic, free-form Avengers team from 70s or 80s."
Melissa from IGN Q: "Can you tell us about your process with Greg Land?"
Al "I really wanted to try the Marvel method. Turns out I love it! For this it's really nice to do a dense plot, but give Greg freedom."
Al "We've got a few pages back already, & I get quite excited about what everybody is saying" when scripting dialogue over the art.
Al "Page 2 of issue 1 sees the Plunderer (the clue is in the name, he Plunders things). I wrote a rant for him in my head..."
"The page I got back from Greg, I cannot wait to write that rant. I'm having fun! It's great to work that way after a decade of full script"
Q from Mark from Marvel.com "Will Iron Fist be joining the cast at all?"
Tom "You won't see Iron Fist right away. They've been good friends for many many years, but Luke is actually married to someone else now"
Tom "It's inevitable that eventually he'll turn up in the book, because of Luke and Vic."
Al "yeah, he'll be along for a coffee, he'll be on the phone."
Q from Dan from Nerdist "These are some volatile personalities, which character pairing are you excited to write?"
Al "So far I'm excited for Blue Marvel and Spectrum. Adam and Monica, how they might come together is very interesting."
Al "Power-wise Adam is quite energy based. I've been thinking about how they'd interact, not to start any shipping happening on Tumblr..."
Al "There's Luke Cage & Power Man, Power Man & White Tiger, Luke and Jen (She-Hulk). She's there as much for legal knowledge as powers!"
Al "They won't be as connected to SHIELD & the government as the regular Avengers are, so he'll need that help from her."
Back to Kiel from CBR "Let's talk villains! Thanos, any other villains?"
AL "Yes we'll be getting Thanos lieutenants, some new villains, the Plunderer, some old villains too."
Al "One villain with a particular connection to White Tiger"
Q from us "Do you feel you're bringing any particular 2000AD style or sensibilty to Marvel here?"
Al "One is density, having a proper page. The other thing is comedy and drama mixed together."
Al "You can't have all grim and serious all the time, you need some humor if only so you can plunge it back down, and vice-versa."
Al "So I guess that's something I feel both 2000AD and Marvel do, combining the comedic and dramatic."
iFanboy again "Any other locations besides NYC?"
Al "There will almost certainly be some sort of terrifying hidden mountain. They will go to places, it won't just be the streets of NY."
Al "Strange citadels, Doomy Mountains, possibly the Moon, they're connected to villains. & the bottom of the Ocean's deepest trench, because that’s where Blue Marvel lives."
Q from Nerdist: Any characters who almost made the cut but didn't at the last minute?
Al "Wolverine! There was no room for Wolvie, no room in his schedule or mine. We just couldn't get together."
Marvel.com final Q "How does Jessica Jones feel about everything?"
AL "She definitely shows up, she'll get some hits in. She's not overly happy, but she loves Luke for a reason, part is he's a man w/ dreams"
Al "She's not happy about him being on the front lines, but he's trying to cut that down. Trying to balance this dream and his family."
Al "They love each other, and things happen (laughs). Sorry, that's not a great answer is it?"
And that's all for Mighty Avengers, a new ongoing series in Sept 2013 by Al Ewing and Greg Land!
