 |
 |
 |
|
|||||||
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
11-08-2007, 12:15 PM
|
#1 |
|
|
SPOILER SPORT: BRIAN BENDIS ON NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #5
 The first player in the Secret Invasion has been revealed. In this week’s New Avengers: Illuminati #5 Brian Bendis, Brian Reed, and Jimmy Cheung showed just who among the elite group of leaders in the Marvel Universe is (or, has been) a shape-shifting Skrull. It was a revelation that, well, was shocking when the admission of identity was spoken aloud. What does this mean for the Illuminati? Where do things go from here? We spoke with Bendis about the issue. Newsarama: First things first, this issue was a touch late compared to when it was originally solicited – Brian Bendis: Yeah – it actually worked out pretty well, and in the end, gave Jimmy the time to do what he was doing, which I think, at least, is the work of his life. In that time, we were able to reconstitute the last issue to make it line up pretty nicely, schedule-wise to where it could be an important chapter in the growing Skrulliness. So that was what we decided to do, which made it a nice bookend for the series – it opened and closed on the Skrulls, which allowed it to look like a prelude story that we planned. NRAMA: That’s right – when you originally outlined the miniseries, the final issue was going to deal with everyone finding out about the Illuminati.. BB: This story was going to be told in an annual or something, but right – the original story was going to be the Illuminati getting outed. We scrapped that story for another time – it’s still a good story that we’re going to tell, but, given our schedule, we looked at where things were and felt that it made for better drama, and it just fit better if we had the miniseries open and close with the Skrulls. After all, parts of Secret Invasion will touch back on what the Illuminati did in issue #1. We just felt it made much more sense to be symmetrical like this. And again, if we had planned it this way, it would have been lovely…but this way, even as a happy accident, it all worked out. NRAMA: Okay – scheduling covered, but to get to the other point among fans – the continuity of it all. Since a (recovered) Black Bolt is a main player, this issue takes place after World War Hulk, then? BB: Right – this is set after World War Hulk and Civil War - this is happening as close to whatever “today” is in the Marvel Universe as you can get. It happens after what’s going on in New Avengers right now, and it also happens after Mighty Avengers #7. As the issue shows, Tony has Elektra’s body, and we’ll see how he got the body and what he went through with it over there. NRAMA: What’s the body mean to them? BB: It’s proof positive that they f’ed up back in their early days. There’s a general feeling among them – at the beginning, at the very least, that they may have done something that has set this whole thing in motion. NRAMA: With their mission to the Skrull homeworld…  BB: Right. If you read the first issue, you saw that they went to the Skrull homeworld and said, “Hey – cut this shiNRAMA: Speaking of these Skrulls – these are not the same guys that came down in the early issues of Fantastic Four and were basically all, “Booga, booga, we’re here to conqueror!” These are more…well, like there are two Klingon races, these are the Worfs of the Skrulls – more in line with the Super Skrulls…they’re further down the line… BB: Exactly. And on top of that, they’re a society that has gone through major upheavals. Galactus has eaten their world, the Annihilation Wave took out more of their empire, and the Dire Wraiths decimated them. They’ve gone through a massive amount of upheaval and turmoil, so, as we saw it, it wasn’t hard to imagine them at this point in their history kind of pulling up their pants and saying, “Alright, we’ve got to do something here.” The leaderships of the Skrulls changes hands pretty often, and the door was open for a new leader to take advantage of a situation that has presented itself, and do what’s best for the empire. The Skrulls, over the past 40 years, have really built up a great history and legacy in the science fiction tradition, but of course, there’s this fun layer of comic book cheese on top of some of it. I’ve been going in, scraping off the cheese and looking at what the real literary drama of the characters – the real sci-fi-ness of it, and where it came from. NRAMA: But if you’re talking about the origins, like the FF, they were somewhat touched by the times – they’re the Red Scare… BB: Oh, right – they were. They were Invasion of the Body Snatchers and all of that paranoia. Going back into that feel and that basic layer of the characters and the race, and seeing how to apply that to the “now” of the Marvel Universe has been a lot of fun for me. But I’m definitely taking advantage of both sides – keeping the good stuff, and maybe not remembering the silly stuff, and getting down to “shape-shifters among us,” and how that can be applied in a modern setting. Base line, it’s still a creepy prospect that plays against some really deep fears I think we all share. NRAMA: Back on the “Skrulls Today” front – you’ve said before that Spider-Man can’t detect them, Wolverine can’t smell them, Doctor Strange doesn’t pick up on them, and in this issue, we saw that Iron Man’s armor and systems identified Black Bolt, rather than a Skrull…  BB: Right – they’ve all been fooled. Unless one of them is a Skrull, and they’re ________ting us… but what we’re seeing is that the one great asset the Skrulls had – their ability to shape-shift – has been strengthened. Historically, when they dealt with the earth, the shape-shifting would be useful up to a point, but then someone, somewhere would say, “Hey – do you smell something?” and the jig would be up. They’ve found a way to counteract that weakness. That’s what the heroes are faced with – their biggest fear – now, not even Reed Richards can detect them anymore. Oh – and the Skrulls really hate Reed Richards, by the way. NRAMA: Why? BB: I don’t want to put it to strongly or make it political, but he’s like a terrorist leader to them. Every time they come here to earth to do what they think they need to do, it’s always him. Reed’s become that face on a poster that everyone’s taught to hate… NRAMA: There are demonstrations on the Skrull homeworld where they burn “Reed” in effigy? BB: [Laughs] Yeah – he’s stretched, out so the fire lasts a long time. NRAMA: But speaking of Reed – he was single minded in this issue, once “Elektra” was revealed… BB: In my mind, he feels that he should have done something more about this – more than he did. He knew about this, the size of the threat, and how badly things went down when they tried to face off against the Skrull leadership. But, in the end, he’s a scientist, not a world leader or a warlord who would exterminate an entire race to preserve his own. He’s in a difficult situation.  NRAMA: A few other points – Tony’s armor recognized the two other incoming Skrulls in the issue, but not Black Bolt, as we mentioned. Was that because the incoming two “wanted” to be recognized, or that they weren’t, morphologically” looking like humans? BB: We will make it very clear when the time is appropriate – there’s a very specific science as to when they can be detected and not be detected. It’s very specific. It’s in New Avengers #40 - it’s all going to be laid out there. NRAMA: And Black Bolt – when did he get Skrullified, and where is he? BB: All will be made clear. NRAMA: Alright - let’s talk about Tony here – you opened with him in the same slumped posture he had when he was looking at Captain America’s dead body, and, in talking to Doctor Strange, virtually admits that they made a mistake with the Hulk. Is Tony actually…learning here…working towards redemption as a character? BB: You know how they show how Presidents age horribly while they’re in the White House? That picture they take on the inauguration day that they compare with the picture at the end of their term? Every day for Tony is filled with horrible decisions. Life and death things that could result in the world undergoing more changes if he makes the wrong decision. Those things do get to you after a while. It’s getting to Tony – especially in a world without a Captain America, who, he always felt was the one person he could confide in…absolutely, it’s getting to him. These were his friends that he’s meeting with here – despite everything; he feels that he can still let his guard down a little bit. And if he looks beat down, hey, he has gone into every single Marvel Comic over the course of the past month and a half, and has been yelled at in each one. I think there’s an upcoming issue of Fantastic Four where Willie Lumpkin lets him have it for like 11 pages. The surprise for Brian and me that came out in the issue was when Tony almost snaps about Captain America being dead. He’s not done mourning Cap, even now, and everyone’s still blaming him for it. Yeah, it’s all getting to him. NRAMA: On a lighter note – maybe – speaking of dialogue again, when Namor says “Die you Skrull _____!” What kind of swear does Prince Namor use? BB: It was an Atlantean swear word. I did a lot of research, and in the end, was very surprised when Marvel legal said we couldn’t use it. I can use Yiddish swears, but not Atlantean. Very, very surprised by that. [laughs] NRAMA: So what was the translation? BB: It was pretty demeaning to the Skrull, and I think, even in English, would’ve turned a few heads if it’s said out loud in a public setting. If he wasn’t so busy being jammed on a spike, the Skrull would’ve been very upset by being called that. I mean – “Imperius Rex” means “mother ____er,” and they let that go all the time. By the way, I’d like to point out to people who follow Newsarama – in the fight scene with the Skrull, Namor begins it fully clothed, and, by the time it’s over, his shirt is ripped open, and more of his naked body can be seen. I know that this will cause a letter-writing campaign of my obvious disdain for fish-men, and my desire to see fish-men injured and demeaned – even though my dad was a fish-man and I know many fish-men still. NRAMA: I will let you walk that plank yourself… BB: Will do…[laughs] NRAMA: Back into the “who can you trust” game that this issue plays right into, there’s already been talk about Namor – he was fighting Skrull Bolt, but at the same time, there are those saying that Namor could have been effectively seen as “silencing” Skrull Bolt so that he wouldn’t reveal, or call out for help from a Skrull Namor… BB: Really? People are asking that? That’s a good one. NRAMA: So you never thought that this paranoia among the fans that you’re actively trying to sew would go farther than you planned?  BB: [laughs] There are like four or five things in that issue that are going to pan out for future issues, even though it’s a nice capper for the mini. It’s also a bridge to the event. And now the Illumniti know that this isn’t the ned, this is a beginning. Yeah – there’s quite a lot of payoff coming. NRAMA: Two of those four or five things – the other Skrulls that show up, and you’ve made no secret of this, that characters like Colossus and Thor, who’ve been dead, but returned, bear close watching. You showed two Skrulls with the accessories of Thor and Colossus. What can we take away from that? BB: A look at them more as Super Skrulls who are using power sets that they’ve never used before – much more powerful and much more ingeniously designed than they have been in the past. The original Super Skrull can now be seen as an early model car – it was a good car, but it was just the start. Like we said, the Skrulls have advanced. These are the modern-day Skrull warriors. As for how they came to be – that we’ll show very, very soon. But yeah – look at them again – there’s more than Colossus and Thor represented. It’s almost like a classic X-Men Skrull and a classic Avengers Skrull. NRAMA: So to beat this to death, it wasn’t that, no matter what was happening in Thor or Astonishing X-Men when this scene happened, you had Thor and Colossus excusing themselves for a moment, and shooting over here to kick ass… BB: Right. Exactly. These Skrulls are nothing more than what they look like right now. Elektra – the discovery of a Skrull among their ranks has already started the psychological attack, and this is the version or at least, the harbinger of what the physical attack will be like. Now, imagine thousands of those. Oh – and I have to say, just looking at those Skrulls again, how blown away I’ve been by Jimmy Cheung. I’ve been a big fan of his for a long time, and this issue is the world of his life so far. No hype, no ________, I think that he is one of the best mainstream pencilers on the planet, and this is the best thing he’s ever done. He’s gone all over the Marvel Universe in this miniseries, and everything was spot-on. I just want to applaud him publicly as I’ve done many times privately. NRAMA: So you’ve released him from his bonds?  BB: [laughs] Nope – he’s drawing issues #40 and #41 of New Avengers, which will dovetail right into the Skrull stuff. It actually comes right out of what you’re seeing here, so it’s a nice continuation. NRAMA: So he’s in after Leinil Yu on the series? BB: No – here’s what we’re doing. Leinil is done with issue #37, and Carlos Pagulayan is coming in on the New Avengers Annual, which wraps up the Hood storyline, and has a defection and other major stuff going on in it, and sets up their status quo for the Skrull stuff. New Avengers #38 is called “The Break-Up” and it’s drawn by Michael Gaydos, and it’s a big chapter in Luke Cage and Jessica Jones’ life – pretty much about how all the events that have been happening have gotten to those guys. They’ve pretty much been put through the wringer, and this is where we’ll see if they will survive it or not. I’m thrilled that Gaydos is back to draw this big chapter in her life. And then after that, #39 will be a special issue drawn by David Mack, and spotlighting Echo. Her relationship to the Avengers, and the Skrull event is shown very clearly. That’s also the last issue of New Avengers before Secret Invasion hits. So then, we’re back to #40 and #41, when we rewind the clock and show exactly who’s a Skrull, how they’re a Skrull, and how the Skrulls did what they are doing. The timeline is all laid out very clearly. And then, #42 and #43, Alex Maleev will draw two issues that will explain where Nick Fury’s been, what he’s been doing, who he’s been doing it with, what he knew, when he knew it and what he did about it. That story will go all the way back to Secret War. And in all of this Leinil will be drawing Secret Invasion every month. It’s all planned, baby! And for those wondering, Frank Cho has been delivering his pages like clockwork, and before you know it, Mighty Avengers will be right back on track. I need a nap.  According to Marvel, upcoming tie-ins to Secret Invasion include: Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1, Mighty Avengers #7, New Avengers #38-39, Captain Marvel #4 -5 and Ms. Marvel #25-27. |
|
11-08-2007, 12:28 PM
|
#2 |
|
|
FIRST POST!
in Marvel Knights Spider-Man the New Avengers and the Fantastic Four befriended a Skrull named Ethan Edwards (Virtue), if they all found out about this Skrull invasion wouldn't they confront him in the process of trying to figure things out also in Young Avengers, Kl'rt was suppose to become a spy for the heroes so Hulking wouldn't have to be returned to the Kree, who was he reporting to 'cause the next time we all saw him was in Annihilation, I wonder if he even know about this invasion that has been taking place over the last decade or so oh, and what about in X-Men: The Rise and Fall of The Shi'ar Empire, Xavier and the others came across some War Skrulls and defeated them, but I wonder exactly what they were doing  Last edited by Marius665 : 11-08-2007 at 12:42 PM. |
|
11-08-2007, 12:36 PM
|
#3 |
|
|
i can't wait for this series to start
|
|
11-08-2007, 12:39 PM
|
#4 |
|
|
I was thinking about this issue on the way to work today and I was wondering what exactly did Tony's armor say when it registered Black Bolt. Like I remember it saying that Xavier was a mutant. Did it say if Black Bolt was an Inhuman or did it register him as an alien? I don't know why, but for some reason I'm thinking it registered him as an alien and that was a bit of foreshadowing that none of the characters picked up on.
That said, aren't Inhumans just another race of humans that were genetically altered by the Kree? He shouldn't be considered an alien, though I can see where the mistake could be made. |
|
11-08-2007, 12:42 PM
|
#5 |
|
|
forgetting that xavier has a test to force skrulls back into their natural state,and that this could tie in great to x-men 89
|
|
11-08-2007, 12:47 PM
|
#6 |
|
|
I'm curious as to how the Skrull's became magic resistent.
Still sitting on the fence if I'll pick this (Secret Invasion) up our not. |
|
11-08-2007, 12:47 PM
|
#7 |
|
|
I was disappointed by this. Basically all it did was discuss what has been discussed for months on these boards and been established on the New Avengers plane ride. Blackbolt was the obvious choice as a Skrull, as the others have all had POV stories lately where they clearly weren't Skrulls. I was pretty disappointed by this, but now that the groundwork has been cleared (further), hopefully this storyline will go somewhere and live up to its potential.
|
|
11-08-2007, 12:48 PM
|
#8 |
|
|
i haven't read this yet (i'll be getting it in my monthly shipment). this and other discussions have piqued my interest a little more, but I'm still not 100% in on this event. I just don't like the constant re-tooling of continuity and the continuity guffaws. regardless, i'll still stick around.
i hope that schedule stick that he mentioned and every book ships as it should. although, i think the book might be better served to have a steady artist on it for a while... |
|
11-08-2007, 12:51 PM
|
#9 | |
|
|
Good interview except for this:
Quote:
Way to mock the women in refrigerators concept, Brian.  |
|
|
11-08-2007, 12:58 PM
|
#10 |
|
|
Of all the Illuminati, what was the strategic advantage of replacing Black Bolt? It seems as though any of the others (except maybe Namor) would have been in a better position to spy and sew distrust. I realize from a publishing standpoint that it requires far less retconning of past events since it's the one whose had the least face time in the books.
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:02 PM
|
#11 |
|
|
Well I was very surprised and very pleased with this issue. It even got me excited about all of this Skrulliness. On Skrull tech, it's obviously improved, but why did the Elektra Skrull revert to it's Skrull state when it died? As I've said in other threads, the Wolverine Skrull (his replacement when he was the horseman Death [that's still an amazing costume design...I digress]) had to have a special gas sprayed on it to have it's muscles revert to natural Skrull form. Did they up their weapons and downgrade their shapeshifting? I don't think that's the case because, as was pointed out, Iron Man's armor said that Black Bolt was Black Bolt and not Skrull Bolt. Thoughts?
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:06 PM
|
#12 | |
|
|
Quote:
I don't blame him for making the jest. I thought it was funny as hell. |
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:08 PM
|
#13 | |
|
|
Quote:
MattB |
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:10 PM
|
#14 |
|
|
Aw man!
Yu is drawing Secret Invasion?? I was hoping for someone with a little more Sci-fi flare! Yu needs to draw the Punisher, or Daredevil. Something dark and brooding. Oh well! Still looking forward to this!
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:10 PM
|
#15 |
|
|
OK, here's my take on the whole thing ...
Skrulls - they're the reason for for almost everything going on in the marvel universe right now. A while ago Nick Fury vanishes ... because he discovers that Shield has been infiltrated by . . . Skrulls! Not knowing who can be trusted, he goes underground until he can come up with a plan. Two of the people Fury eventualy contacts are Tony Stark and Reed Richards. The most two most probable reasons for them to want the Hulk out of the picture are 1) the Hulk is a wild card that could inadvertantly screw up any plans they put in motion or 2) they are concerned that the Skrulls could use the Hulk to create more powerfull Skrulls. They knew they couldn't fight the Skrulls straight out with any real chance of winning so they came up with the idea of a "Civil War". While there would certainly be casualties because of the war, they would be insignifigant compared to trying to fight the Skrulls before they were ready. Tony Stark used his political conections to lay the groundwork and when the event happened with the New Warriors the plan went into motion. They bet that the Skrulls would let this "War" take place thinking that this war would only serve to weaken their opposition when they began to work openly. The war allowed for the creation of a "prison" in the negative zone. The Skrulls would believe that this would further weaken their opposition, while in fact it would allow for the creation and preperation of an army away from prying eyes. This would allow them to strike when ready, when they could win. (next summer :P) This plan explains why Stark has been acting like an even bigger dick than he normally is, but more importantly it explains why Reed Richards would get behind the registration program ... this is their best chance to save the planet. Captain America's "death" was probably needed to prevent his actually being killed. I don't know whether the dead Cap was a clone or what, but they burried an empty coffin and Stark gave the body to Namor to either put it someplace where nobody could ever examine it or he took it to Atlantis to revive him. Either way, "Steve Rogers" is alive. After the fighting is over, he'll probably work with SHIELD for a while before taking back the mantle of Captain America. The nanites the bad guys have been injected with are probably to either shut down anybody that tries to change sides when the war begins or to make sure they cant be replaced without Starks team being able to tell. I think the discovery that Elektra was a Skrull is probably forcing Stark to move ahead of schedule but he was able to use the situation to expose Black Bolt within their own ranks. The war is coming! (wasn't "Secret Invasion" an old Calibur Press title?) Ron Catapano Rons Comic World Mount Holly, NJ |
|
11-08-2007, 01:12 PM
|
#16 |
|
|
argh.. I am weary of the Skrull-invasion storyline already.. blow up their home planet and leave it at that..
..sick of all the "is he or isn't he" speculation, and multiple red-herrings.. the marvel universe reduced to one long "X-files" season.. |
|
11-08-2007, 01:24 PM
|
#17 | ||
|
|
Quote:
I refer you to this point in the article: Quote:
So I guess blowing up a planet that apparently doesn't exist any longer doesn't really help anyone. |
||
|
11-08-2007, 01:24 PM
|
#18 | |
|
|
Quote:
|
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:24 PM
|
#19 | |
|
|
Quote:
Black Bolt almost never has to use his powers, unlike the others, which makes him easier to duplicate for a long period of time. Plus he has the Terragin mists, which are apparently quite valuable in the Marvel universe. |
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:25 PM
|
#20 | |
|
|
Quote:
Hey, I'm a chick and I found his remarks hilarious. But then again, I have a very dark sense of humor. |
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:25 PM
|
#21 |
|
|
so lets try and put Black Bolt in a time line really quick
1: Son of M, we see Black Bolt declare war on America 2: Silent War takes place somewhere either before or after Civil War because we see the original Fantastic Four and we see the Mighty Avengers, so at the end we see Black Bolt locked up and Medusa is romanced by Maximus  3: War World Hulk starts with Medusa and Black Bolt awaiting the Hulk and Black Bolt is easily defeated by the Hulk and becomes a prisoner, we know this takes place before 'cause of a cilivian expressing her feelings for the loss of a loved on at the hands of an Inhuman attack which takes place in Silent War, but how does this happen after Silent War if we see Black Bolt locked up  4: now in NEW AVENGERS ILLUMINATI #5 we see Black Bolt exposed as a Skrull, something doesn't make sense, is there two Black Bolts out there or is this just a editorial mistake Last edited by Marius665 : 11-08-2007 at 01:28 PM. |
|
11-08-2007, 01:26 PM
|
#22 | |
|
|
Quote:
I'm thinking that having an Infinity Gem might help them with that. |
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:27 PM
|
#23 | |
|
|
Quote:
And there is going to be more of that. The question isn't *if*; it's how much. Black Bolt is a safe choice which surprised me. Though I think that does kind of tell us how far they're willing to go with retconning post-Kree/Skrull War history. |
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:28 PM
|
#24 | |
|
|
Quote:
|
|
|
11-08-2007, 01:29 PM
|
#25 | |
|
|
Quote:
|
|
«
Previous Thread
|
Next Thread
»
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
Linear Mode
|
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:46 PM.
