THE UNUSUAL SUSPECTS: MIKE CAREY ON X-MEN #199 AND BEYOND

[MattBrady]

by Steve Ekstrom

SPOILER WARNING FOR X-MEN #199

X-Men #199 hit shelves this week—with a couple of well placed swerves involving Rogue and Cable and their status quo with Marvel’s Band of Merry Mutants. Also, readers will notice that the last page of the this issue contains a full image of David Finch’s super-sized gatefold for next month’s 200th anniversary issue—with two smaller images below it: one is Chris Bachalo artwork featuring the X-Men and the other is a Humberto Ramos rendered image of…well, let’s just say that apparently, Mr. Sinister has been a busy, busy super villain.

Fearful and full of questions, Newsarama cautiously flagged down Mike Carey in the middle of the night last night. Carey has got a lot “not to say” about next months X-anniversary and the re-emergence of the one of the deadliest groups to actually rival the X-Men—the Marauders.

Newsarama: Getting right to it—Rogue seems to be suffering quite a bit—with her tactile powers amplified by Pandemic and Strain 88. At the end of X-Men #199, there was a very disturbing moment where Rogue indicates that she has the "urge" to touch something—care to elaborate? Are you returning this tragic character to her traditional roots?

Mike Carey: In some ways, yeah; but please bear in mind, Rogue is only partway through a long and harrowing journey. By the time we get to #207 and the end of the crossover, she'll be in a different place and a lot of things we've been throwing up into the air will be more clearly defined. She does come out changed—profoundly changed—but we're not just testing her to destruction and we're not just saying "Oh, we'll take what's there already and multiply it by a few billion times...". There's more to it than that. There's a sense in which the way this plays out will become—I hope will become—one of the most poignant and powerful beats of the crossover.

NRAMA: Cable has lost his telepathy and regained his telekinesis—this has been a prevalent theme over the past ten years in the X books—the juxtaposition of telepathy and telekinesis—how characters tend to have one door open when another door closes. Care to elaborate on this?

MC: Well, you know how it is yourself when you telekinetically lift up a cup of coffee or something and then realize your telepathy has cut out. It's a bummer, but it happens all the time. (laugh)

No, seriously, I think it's an instance of the Phoenix effect. A character who is both telepathic and telekinetic is a spectacularly powerful—almost irresistible—force. From a narrative point of view, that's a lot less interesting than a power that brings its own problems, or a power for which there's a price to pay.

NRAMA: The teaser image on the last page of X-Men #199 was pretty shocking—the Marauders are coming back, looming larger than ever. Their roster seems to actually match even the most bloated roster of heroes in modern comic books—the X-Men have more members than a football team! Let's play a word association game with some of the members of this incarnation of the Marauders.

Let’s start with—Scalphunter.

MC: An honorable man once—a monster now. An untold story.

NRAMA: Exodus.

MC: Idealistic, well-meaning and terrifying.

NRAMA: Gambit.

MC: Which way is he going, up or down? We just don't know.

NRAMA: Sunfire.

MC: All of Shiro's worst personality traits are coming to the fore in this story arc.

NRAMA: Malice.

MC: As viciously playful as ever—but she's got a brand new bag.

NRAMA: Lady Mastermind.

MC: ...finally gets to stop playing nice. It comes as a relief to her.

NRAMA: Random.

MC: Only in this for one reason. We don't yet know what the reason is.

NRAMA: Omega Sentinel.

MC: Yeah, what's going on there? The answer is actually above.

NRAMA: Obviously, there are several X-related turncoats, without naming M all the names (the picture will suffice), was this assault on the 'X' premeditated?



MC: For the longest time. The seeds were planted before I joined the book, if you look carefully enough. And when the Marauders make their move, it's not one move—it's a carefully orchestrated sequence of moves. By the time the X-Men realize what's happening, the bad guys are already into the end-game. But the stakes don't get revealed fully until the crossover.

NRAMA: What is your take on Sinister? Nobody is re-inventing the wheel here—but how is your Sinister going to make a lasting mark on the status quo of the post-House of M X-books?

MC: Well, as you say, we know what kind of a man Sinister is and we know a lot by this time about how his mind works. He's been pondering on the question of mutant extinction, and he's come up with a possible solution: and being Sinister, he's being horrifically careful and thorough in terms of making absolutely sure that things happen the way he wants and needs them to. He's left nothing to chance, and he's moving the key figures around like pawns on a chess board. But even a master strategist can't predict how everyone will react every time: there will be one or two ducks that don't fall into a row for him—two actually.

Here we really are re-stating the character as he's already been defined. This is Sinister as we know and hate him, trampling lives underfoot in pursuit of a goal that becomes all-consuming for him as soon as he adopts it.

NRAMA: Sabertooth seems to have escaped the events of X-Men #199 unharmed—will he be showing up in X-Men #200? If so, will he be showing his true colors?

MC: No, he won't be in #200: his story plays out in Cable and Deadpool and in Wolverine. But yeah, we get to see Creed being Creed again. Not that he ever stopped.

NRAMA: In the teaser image—Gambit has been returned to his traditional look that was abandoned during his tenure as ‘Death, Fourth Horseman of Apocalypse’ during Peter Milligan’s run on the title. Will you shed light on this transformation?

MC: It's a statement he's making. He explains why in #200. And that explanation opens up a couple of other questions.

NRAMA: With the addition of Exodus to this version of the Marauders--is Scalphunter still the leader? Exodus is kind of a bad ass, you know…

MC: Neither Exodus nor Scalphunter is the Marauders' operational leader. That honor goes to... someone else—someone surprising. Exodus kind of acts as a lieutenant— keeping order within his own Acolytes—who are almost a team-within-a-team.

NRAMA: X-Men: Endangered Species #1 hits stores June 20th followed by X-Men #200 on June 27th. The first "Endangered Species" back-up story is featured in X-Men #200--Beast is featured prominently—with the advent of Whedon and Cassaday's run on Astonishing X-Men ending—do you and Ed Brubaker have 'carte blanche' with that roster? Who are some characters from the other X-books that you want to draft to your X-Men?

MC: Don't get me started. No, I don't think we have carte blanche, but there are going to be borrowings both short-term and long-term. I'd kill for Beast and Cyclops, but who wouldn't? I think you could call that justifiable homicide. I wouldn't mind taking a crack at Madrox at some point, too, but Peter has made that character so much his own...

NRAMA: Who are some characters that you wanted but the Powers That Be said, "No, but maybe later,"?

MC: Psylocke's the main one. Mister Claremont had first dibs because, you know, he invented her. As far as the post-crossover roster is concerned, the pieces are still falling into place. That's one of the things we're going to be discussing at the creative retreat at the back end of June.

NRAMA: 2007 seems to be a crappy year to be a hero in the Marvel Universe—all the toe tags are starting to pile up. Want to give readers a hint as to who bites it in X-Men #200?

MC: No, I can't do that. But the character in question goes out with a very big bang—and dying doesn't always mean you lost the fight.

NRAMA: What are your thoughts on killing characters—should they be brought back creatively or should they stay dead? Is death a tool for eliminating baggage in a comic book or is it something else?

MC: Oh well, you know, death in comics is often a career move. It can buy you out of one contract and leave you free to pick up another. I'm not saying that's what we're doing here, but I'm sure you're familiar with the phenomenon.

There's no point in killing a character off if it doesn't answer a narrative purpose that wouldn't be better served by something else. Whatever the question is, death ought to be the answer of last resort. Otherwise you're contributing to a sort of conceptual inflation, where your imaginative dollar buys you less each time.

NRAMA: Are you going to be working the X end of the Marvel Universe for the foreseeable future?

MC: God laughs when we make plans—and I say that as an atheist. I want to be involved. I love the franchise and I love the characters. And I think this is a great time to be doing this—an ‘X-Renaissance’. As long as Marvel wants me, I'm here.

NRAMA: To close, give readers one sentence that will make them want to buy every issue of this entire event.

MC: Well all the nude scenes are artistically necessary: except the one with Lady Mastermind in the bath—that's just gratuitous.

No? Sorry. How about:

Everything that's been building in all the X-books since House of M—every last, solitary thing—comes together and gets resolved here, right in front of your eyes.

[nickmaynard]

god i am so pumped to see what endangered species is all about

[gjskier]

First Post! (Almost)

Whoo-Hoo!

Enjoying the X-men so far. I started on the creative team change, haven't dropped it yet. Looking forward to #200!

[Meteoro7]

Have you noticed that the X-Men (any of the books) aren't selling as they used to? I personally dropped most of the titles and it looks like I'm not the only one.

[WildcardZ]

I am so frickin excited for this, the wait is killing me. Gambit, Sinister, and the Marauders is the icing on the cake to this already spectacular run. Give Carey an X-book for as long as he wants it.

[Poolman]

Carey is my favorite X-Writter right now!
His ideas are golden! and his team selection awesome, I need to read this... NOW!

[slitthroat]

Mike Carey is such a talented and excellent writer. He can stay on for as long as he wants as far as I am concerned. His ideas and the way he tells these stories when really not under any editorial constraints are great.

[puckett]

i hope carrey never leaves.

[Bevbos]

I haven't been following Carey's X-Men - not because of the creative team, but because I don't care for (most of the) characters. But I may have to give this a shot and see what he does with the Marauders.

[WildcardZ]

Originally Posted by Meteoro7

Have you noticed that the X-Men (any of the books) aren't selling as they used to? I personally dropped most of the titles and it looks like I'm not the only one.

I think this will put them back on top. With all the attention swirling around Captain America, Iron Man, Spiderman, and the Hulk plus the lack of participation the X-Men had in Civil War I think they got lost in the shuffle. People dropping these titles are truly missing out on some amazing work by all the creative teams. X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, X-Factor, and New X-Men are firing on all cylinders right now. It is a great time to be an X-Fan!!!

[sikokun]

Hmm i honestly have to wonder why they need to kill a character for the 200th issue. I haven't read X-men regularly in quite sometime (not since Morrison came on) but it seems like they haven't shaken that, story for shock value tone that's been with the books for the past few years. That said i've been hearing good things about carey and bachleo's run on the book so far (only bad thing i keep hearing about is the pacing, but i'm waiting for the trade anyway). Nice to see the mauraders back in action too, very interesting line up.

[Scavenger]

Psylocke's the main one. Mister Claremont had first dibs because, you know, he invented her

That's a silly thing to say...Claremont invented most of the characters, and we've seen how much his "dibs" means.

Mike: just go bring Rachel back from space (oy) and make her the kickbutt character she's supposed to be.

And what does Cable having the TK power back do that his gravity cone power doesn't, other than erase just one more element that Fabian set up?

[Charlie Hustle]

i didn't know he was on an x-book. It's wierd that my buying habits have changed so much I don't even know who the creators are on the x-books anymore.

This was a great quote and should be stapled to the foreheads of all writers:

There's no point in killing a character off if it doesn't answer a narrative purpose that wouldn't be better served by something else. Whatever the question is, death ought to be the answer of last resort. Otherwise you're contributing to a sort of conceptual inflation, where your imaginative dollar buys you less each time.

[jiq2]

this interview is going to get me to pick up X-men again.

[Niall001]

Mike isn't to blame, but they've effectively destroyed Cable & Deadpool. Cable was moving in such a great direction in this that book, but now they're turning him into something else. Destroying half of his Eutopian island just to make a splash was terrible.

It's about time Joe Q and co. started to respect books like Cable & Deadpool.

[WildcardZ]

NRAMA: Sabertooth seems to have escaped the events of X-Men #199 unharmed—will he be showing up in X-Men #200? If so, will he be showing his true colors?

MC: No, he won't be in #200: his story plays out in Cable and Deadpool and in Wolverine. But yeah, we get to see Creed being Creed again. Not that he ever stopped.

I was hoping we would see him because of his ties to most of the characters invovled. That is slightly disappointing.

B>NRAMA: In the teaser image—Gambit has been returned to his traditional look that was abandoned during his tenure as ‘Death, Fourth Horseman of Apocalypse’ during Peter Milligan’s run on the title. Will
MC: It's a statement he's making. He explains why in #200. And that explanation opens up a couple of other questions.

This is one of the things I am most excited about. In general I am happy to see so many of these characters back, but in particular I am impatiently waiting to see what is going to happen with Gambit.
Everything that's been building in all the X-books since House of M—every last, solitary thing—comes together and gets resolved here, right in front of your eyes.[/quote]
This is the other thing I cannot wait for. They have been building this up for quite some time, and looks like the payoff is going to be huge.

[Dave Accampo]

Originally Posted by Scavenger

Psylocke's the main one. Mister Claremont had first dibs because, you know, he invented her

That's a silly thing to say...Claremont invented most of the characters, and we've seen how much his "dibs" means.

er, which characters are those...?

Seriously asking: I can't think of any besides maybe Cannonball that were created by Claremont.

Dave

[Eddie Young]

I pretty much know the entire bad guy line-up there, but who is the blonde in white?
Is that Emma? And if so would that make the lady with the black hair in black leather the Black queen?
Also, who is the huge readheaded guy in the back?


Anyway, Carey is doing great and the Ramos/Bachello team on art is one of the best.
Their differences and sames all still somehow work.

[Spaz_Monkey]

I hate hate HATE that Marvel keeps f__king around with character design to match their movies. For 20 years, Rogue had her skunk stripe. People loved having this chick with big hair and a skunk stripe.

Now?

Nuh-uh. Her hair's gotta look like Anna Paquin's hair did in the X-Men movies. Spiderman's got organic web shooters now (seriously, the way he goes thru the webbing, he can't have any innards anymore; he's just a mass of web goo wrapped in skin). Bullseye has carved his logo into his forhead, because Colin Farrell did it in the movie.

Why, god? Why? What's next? Kingpin's gonna come back as a black man? Elektra's going to be bland and uninteresting? Jonny Blaze is going to be a 27-year old who looks like mid-40s Nic Cage?

[Rob Dykstra]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: Malice.

MC: As viciously playful as ever—but she's got a brand new bag.

NRAMA: Omega Sentinel.

MC: Yeah, what's going on there? The answer is actually above.

The new Malice equals computer virus, I'd bet.

Looking forward to this, Mike Carey is kicking all kinds of butt on X-Men.

Oh, and WildcardZ, Gambit suks!.......j/k

[WildcardZ]

Originally Posted by Niall001

Mike isn't to blame, but they've effectively destroyed Cable & Deadpool. Cable was moving in such a great direction in this that book, but now they're turning him into something else. Destroying half of his Eutopian island just to make a splash was terrible.

It's about time Joe Q and co. started to respect books like Cable & Deadpool.

I'm just wondering, but how long did you think Cable's island was going to last? I love Cable & Deadpool, and I don't feel like they are desroying it. It is an X-Book and this an event that is going to affect all of the X-books, so why shouldn't it experienced shake ups like the rest of the line. Fabian is a great writer and will be able to add great stories to build on to what the are trying to do.

[ShadowPsykie]

Originally Posted by Eddie Young

I pretty much know the entire bad guy line-up there, but who is the blonde in white?
Is that Emma? And if so would that make the lady with the black hair in black leather the Black queen?
Also, who is the huge readheaded guy in the back?


Anyway, Carey is doing great and the Ramos/Bachello team on art is one of the best.
Their differences and sames all still somehow work.

I really hope that is not Emma.... if that is the case, then the x-books, except for new x-men have lost me...

as far as the chick in black i think that is Archlight. the read head is Harpoon.

anyone have any confirmation on if that is Emma or not?

[WildcardZ]

Originally Posted by Rob Dykstra

The new Malice equals computer virus, I'd bet.

Looking forward to this, Mike Carey is kicking all kinds of butt on X-Men.

Oh, and WildcardZ, Gambit suks!.......j/k

Its about time you showed up here.

[foxhound421]

Sinister is one of the best X-villains ever. i'm SO glad he's coming back into play.

[Redmond]

I'm really excited for the Legacy Virus too.