MIKE CAREY ON SECRET INVASION: X-MEN, FCBD X-MEN, LEGACY AND MORE

[MattBrady]

by Steve Ekstrom

Marvel’s latest event, Secret Invasion begins this week, and no one will remain unaffected by the Skrull threat—not even the X-Men, case in point, the August-debuting Secret Invasion: X-Men. This four issue mini-series, written by X-Men: Legacy writer, Mike Carey, and drawn by Cary Nord, provides an in-depth look at Marvel’s misbegotten mutants during the throes of the Skrull invasion of Earth—with some stunning results.

Newsarama contacted Mike Carey to talk about his work on this Secret Invasion tie-in project; his involvement with the X-Men book Marvel is publishing for Free Comic Book Day; and touching base with him in regards to his work on the monthly X-Men: Legacy title.

Newsarama: Let’s start off with Secret Invasion: X-Men—this is set for release in August, right? It seems that this mini starts off during the full scale Skrull assault on Earth—and the X-Men seem to be holding their own…

Mike Carey: Yeah, this story will be coming around August and it’s fair to say at this stage that the secret invasion isn’t a secret anymore. The Skrull plans have advanced a long way. It’s becoming clear what their goal is and it’s also clear as to how the X-Men have to try to stop them. So this mini belongs to the open warfare part of the story – it’s not part of the subterfuge and behind-the-scenes manipulation that is going on right now and has been for the past few years.

NRAMA: Where does this story take place?

MC: It takes place in the X-Men’s new home.

NRAMA: There has been talk that the X-Men will be setting up shop elsewhere…

MC: Let’s just say that the X-Men are going to be basing themselves somewhere in the U.S. that is not traditionally associated with the X-Men or mutant activity.

NRAMA: Let’s not forget that you are working with Cary Nord on this project. How’s that going so far?

MC: It’s very exciting. We’re still at a very early stage in terms of work that’s been produced for the project. I’ve written one script and I’m in the middle of the second. I haven’t seen any of the concept art yet and I cannot wait to do so. It’s fantastic to be working with Cary – but yeah, we’re kind of at that “getting to know you” phase.

NRAMA: The cast of this mini-series is going to be fairly large, correct? You’ve mentioned elsewhere that Iceman and Cannonball, two members who aren’t currently involved with any particular roster are also going to be appearing. Will Wolverine be pulling double duty as an X-Man and as an Avenger?

MC: Well, Wolverine is very much a player in the core Secret Invasion story; so, no, do not expect to see him in this mini-series. There will be reasons why he’s not fighting alongside the X-Men at this particular point—but pretty much everyone else is. It’s a huge cast and it’s certainly not limited to members on current rosters.

NRAMA: Do any of the plot threads from several years ago, involving Xavier’s time spent with the mutant Skrulls, have any relevance in this mini-series?

MC: Probably not—but I know what you mean. The Professor’s past links with the Skrulls, and stuff dating from that time. It probably won’t be directly referenced here.

NRAMA: Will the events taking place in Secret Invasion: X-Men have any drastic effects on any of the line-ups of the current books?

MC: In an ongoing way, you mean?

NRAMA: Yeah.

MC: It’s very much a self-contained story – and that’s one of the big advantages of the Marvel template for crossovers. You have the main crossover event, which is told as a stand-alone story, and then you the spin-off mini-series – rather than having infinite numbers of tie-ins with ongoing books. This way you don’t have to disrupt the continuity of the ongoing books on an annual basis to accommodate the big event. The direct consequences of this story in relation to the line of X-titles will be relatively small to begin with; however, there will be some lasting effects that will slowly start to affect the X-Men and there will also be a couple of surprises regarding the statuses of certain characters. To answer your question, though, team line-ups will be largely unaffected.

NRAMA: It’s pretty much a given that the X-Men march to the beat of their own drummer when it comes to conflict within the Marvel Universe. Why do you think the X-Men are so traditionally different?

MC: I think a lot of that difference can be attributed to the source of their powers—which definitely makes them different, doesn’t it? Most other superhero origins are unique; the X-Men share a heritage and a situation—they have something that bonds them together. This heritage identifies them as a group and separates them from everyone else. It’s the view of this bond from the outside as well as their own perceptions that sets them apart from everyone.

NRAMA: With this new ‘proactive’ regime being led by Cyclops will readers see a change in the morals or ethics of how the X-Men fight against the Skrulls?

MC: It’s funny you should ask that—because there is an ethical dilemma—a very large ethical dilemma at the center of this story. What we have here is a situation where the X-Men are faring very well against the Skrulls; but then, they realize just how formidable a force they are facing and how unlikely they are going to succeed against it if they fight this battle as they’ve fought the majority of their battles in the past. They have a second option…it’s just that kind of a door that if you open it, it is very difficult to shut again.

NRAMA: Cyclops has fully come into his own now—with the advent of Messiah Complex and his roles in X-Force and the upcoming Young X-Men in the ‘Divided We Stand’ storyline—will he be the standout of this project?

MC: Yeah—he’s definitely stepping up to the plate now. He’s commanding the X-Men like an army in this story. I think we were already seeing that in Messiah Complex but it’s even more visible now. He’s making all of the hard calls—for example: bringing the students into the fighting; which, in some ways, is a morally dubious thing to do since he is responsible for their welfare. But the stakes are so high, and the consequences of failure—of letting this invasion succeed—have become so enormous that Cyclops really has no choice. Readers will definitely see Cyclops as a war leader here and they will see exactly what he is capable of when his back is against the wall.

NRAMA: Will Cyclops face any opposition to his methods from within the X-Men?

MC: Well, that ethical dilemma I mentioned earlier? Let’s just say that that dilemma brings him into confrontation with one other X-Man of very, very long standing; but, for the most part, the X-Men are functioning very effectively and cohesively for the majority of this story. It’s going to seem as though the events of Messiah Complex have taken them down a new avenue, given them a new mode of interaction. Like in a way – and I grant you, it’s kind of a sick way – that was a valuable training exercise to prepare them for this war.

NRAMA: So you could say this story takes place post-‘Divided We Stand’ or is this theme still going to be running parallel to the Secret Invasion storyline period?

MC: I guess you could say this is going to be the next stage as the ‘Divided We Stand’ motif begins to wind up.

NRAMA: Are there any other X-Men that readers should keep their eyes on during Secret Invasion?

MC: Beast, Emma Frost, and Nightcrawler.

NRAMA: Yeah, if you look at the solicited cover for Secret Invasion #2—you can clearly see that Beast looks a little different compared to what readers are used to these days…

MC: Oh, does he? I haven’t seen any of that artwork yet! (laughs) Even so—I can’t comment on any of that.

NRAMA: At this time, would you like to respond to any of the alleged leaks from the internet over the past couple of weeks that have been going on involving Secret Invasion, the Secret Invasion: X-Men mini-series, and various other aspects of this event? You’re not a big fan of spoilers…

MC: No, I’m not. I can’t see where all the satisfaction is with whatever these people think they are doing. The only consequence spoilers end up having is that they diminish the pleasure of the actual narrative.

It’s like this: Have you ever had the experience where you try to not find out the score of the big game? Like, say, you couldn’t watch it while it was on but you’re going to watch a replay of it later on in the evening. So you try your best not to get involved in conversations with people who have already seen the game and may end up telling you who won. It’s kind of like that. Even with all the spoiler warnings in the world, if this information is just out there floating around it will be very difficult to avoid it

It was the same with the seventh Harry Potter book. Once a few people read the book they ran straight to the internet and leaked the ending of the book on the first day of its release. It was almost impossible to avoid finding out information about the book.

Then you also have people who try to be ambiguously clever with their comments and they’re not as clever as they think – and it ruins the experience for other people. I think spoilers of the “I know something you don’t know” kind pretty much suck.

NRAMA: On that note, let’s change gears and mention your work on the upcoming Free Comic Book Day X-Men book with Greg Land. Care to comment on this project?

MC: Yeah, absolutely. I was delighted when Nick Lowe called me out of the blue and asked me if I wanted to write a Pixie standalone story for Free Comic Book Day. Then he told me that Greg was likely to be involved as well—so I jumped at it, obviously.

This is, to some extent, a solo Pixie story; although other X-Men figure in at various stages of the narrative. It kind of falls under the ‘Divided We Stand’ umbrella because we see Pixie going back to Wales—to the little Welsh mining village where she lived prior to becoming one of Xavier’s students. The story focuses on how Pixie is trying to re-establish herself in this small town life again. It turns out to be quite difficult. Then she discovers that something terrible has been happening in the village, and this thing ultimately leads to her getting back in touch with the X-Men.

It’s a fairly light-hearted story in a lot of ways – with lots of really good action sequences, and the reappearance of a very long-standing X-Men villain.

NRAMA: Would you say that Pixie is becoming Kitty Pryde’s replacement as the young and naïve heroine?

MC: Yeah, I think that’s kind of one of the beats we’re hitting. Without going into too much detail, this story has echoes of that great one-off in Uncanny#143 where Kitty Pryde is alone in the mansion and she has to take down a N’Garai demon.

NRAMA: To wrap this up, let’s talk about the current events in X-Men: Legacy very briefly—it seems Xavier is preparing to do battle with Exodus at the end of the most recent issue a couple of weeks ago. Does Xavier’s apparent aligning with Magneto pick up on threads from Chris Claremont’s Excalibur title, pre-House of M?

MC: I guess it does to a certain extent—yes. We’re certainly referencing that relationship a great deal. Keep in mind, however, that this is not these two men collaborating in any real or ongoing sense—it’s just that the situation they’re in forces them to fight alongside each other. But clearly, yeah, there are echoes to that time period.

I love the way Claremont used to play the relationship between Xavier and Magneto. I think Magneto is most interesting when he’s morally ambivalent—when he’s not flat out good or evil.

NRAMA: It is starting to seem like Xavier will be the one to have a change of heart in confines to his dream as opposed to Magneto’s ideal. Will Magneto be manipulating Charles in his current state?

MC: Right now, Charles is examining all of his actions and all of his motives –
everything is in the crucible, as far as he’s concerned. He’s not just recovering his memories; he’s actually rediscovering his past and there’s going to be some surprising fallout from these revelations.

NRAMA: What can readers expect in the next couple of months of X-Men: Legacy?

MC: Readers will get to see Professor X going back to his roots in this process of trying to understand who he is and who he has been—he’s gone right back to square one. He’s going to be revisiting some people we haven’t seen in a very long time and some events that have been long forgotten.

There’s this amazing war scene coming up in a future issue that is a hallucination, on one level, but it’s also statement about how Charles has interacted with all of these various X-teams over the years. It’s going to be a really great sequence.

NRAMA: Care to show readers how to give a truly ambiguous teaser for this upcoming Secret Invasion mini-series?

MC: Sure. It’s not just about the clash of arms; it’s also about the clash of cultures. We’re going to learn quite a bit about Skrull religion and Skrull attitudes in this story.

NRAMA: Will there be any sympathizers?

MC: Yes—at least one.

[KirkWarren]

WTF? That's Pixie? I guess the Jubilee syndrome is going around these days.

[TheMightyGeek]

If nothing else, that FCBD preview looks pretty cool.

"sigh" Guess I have to spend more money to get that Secret Invasion tie-in.

[GLX]

Sounds awesome. Can't wait.

[Spidey616]

Wow, a book Wolverine won't be appearing in, that's a surprise. Doesn't CB Cebulski have an upcoming project with Wolverine involving a return to Japan and the Hand's reaction to the Elekra impersonation? Wonder if that's directly tied into SI or not.

[Brian009]

we see Pixie going back to Wales—to the little Welch mining village where she lived

I may be wrong, but shouldn't that be Welsh?

[Kaji712]

I had no idea Pixie was from the UK... that doesnt seem to fit to me.

[Squashua]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: There has been talk that the X-Men will be setting up shop elsewhere…

MC: Let’s just say that the X-Men are going to be basing themselves somewhere in the U.S. that is not traditionally associated with the X-Men or mutant activity.

The TeX-Men

[FilterKing]

Okay two things:

1) I thought Pixie was like...12?


2) Since when is she british??

[alaska1125]

I know this is going to sound ignorant but...who the heck is Pixie?

[CaptainCanad]

Ugh, Greg Land. Marvel is letting him ruin work by great writers like Carey, Brubaker, and Fraction.

I'll be interested to see if the X-Men get to play any kind of actual role in 'Secret Invasion'; they're constantly getting left out of the last few.

Originally Posted by Kaji712

I had no idea Pixie was from the UK... that doesnt seem to fit to me.

She's been Welsh from the start.

[Skatonic10]

NRAMA: The cast of this mini-series is going to be fairly large, correct? You’ve mentioned elsewhere that Iceman and Cannonball, two members who aren’t currently involved with any particular roster are also going to be appearing. Will Wolverine be pulling double duty as an X-Man and as an Avenger?

One of those two was seen in a team book this week. Consider me confused.

[J. Dincauze]

Skrull Sympathizers on the X-Men? No Way!

Oh yeah, and Carey said Emma, Beast, and Nightcrawler, right? Emma and Beast are in the big sequence at the end of SI #1, Maybe Nightcrawler, our most religious of X-Men, will be swoon by the faith of the Skrull? Interesting idea, that.

[J. Dincauze]

Originally Posted by Skatonic10

One of those two was seen in a team book this week. Consider me confused.

Yeah, but that's definitely an odd circumstance. I'm sure YXM's story will play out enough that we have an idea what's up with that situation before this story kicks off. I mean, hell, YXM will be on issue 4 or 5 when this drops in August. I'm sure the situation involving the characters on the last page of YXM#1 will be elaborated on by then.

[motteditor]

Well, Wolverine is very much a player in the core Secret Invasion story; so, no, do not expect to see him in this mini-series.

Sold!

[durkadurka]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: Where does this story take place?

MC: It takes place in the X-Men’s new home.

Sweet! Bout time they realized what a deathtrap that mansion is. Place gets destroyed more than the SHIELD helicarrier.

The fact that Carey's writing this is more than enough for me to get it. Friggin love Legacy.

[GratefulFred]

I hope the real Nightcrawler has a cool new costume when he comes back.

[Skatonic10]

Originally Posted by J. Dincauze

Yeah, but that's definitely an odd circumstance. I'm sure YXM's story will play out enough that we have an idea what's up with that situation before this story kicks off. I mean, hell, YXM will be on issue 4 or 5 when this drops in August. I'm sure the situation involving the characters on the last page of YXM#1 will be elaborated on by then.

You think so? They are the main villains of at least the first arc, if not more. You think they are going to be like "Oh. This is the brotherhood of NOT evil mutans. Sorry, we heard you wrong." before the end of issue 5? I doubt it.

[TheWay]

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I think Greg Lands' art just might keep me from buying the upcoming Uncanny issues. This sample art here is horrible. Does he even know anything about the characters he is drawing, or whatever you call what he does? I was upset when I first heard the news a while back, and now I am even more frustrated. His art just doesn't make sense. It's not a style thing I don't like, it's that you don't make a teenager look like an adult super model. It's just common sense.

How far do think she could fly if her wings were that small in comparison with her body?

[aceatkins]

This got a lot more interesting to me when Carey started talking about how the X-Men are put into an interesting ethical dilemma. I assume the realization is, the Skrulls vastly outgun the humans. And maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if Skrulls -- who are bound to be more accepting of minorities than humans are -- won the whole shebang and took over the plant. That's fascinating, and kind of pragmatic thinking on Cyclops part.

But I am disappointed that none of the prior X-Men/Skrull links are being touched upon. Not only did Professor X go out into space for quite some time to teach a mutant Skrull team how to use their powers (Cadre K, right?), but the X-Men already HAD a Skrull impersonator in their midst for a while, as Wolverine was supplanted by one in the 370-ish issues of Uncanny. It seems odd to me that these two fairly big interactions would be kind of brushed aside, if the Skrulls have truly been planning this all for decades now.

[Guy_Gardner]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

NRAMA: Do any of the plot threads from several years ago, involving Xavier’s time spent with the mutant Skrulls, have any relevance in this mini-series?

MC: Probably not—but I know what you mean. The Professor’s past links with the Skrulls, and stuff dating from that time. It probably won’t be directly referenced here.

figures as much...why mention that the X-Men have whooped Skrull ass majorly on at least 2 seperate occasions...or that they've dealt with the body snatching thing...or that Wolverine's been replaced by a Skrull on twice already..

and that Pixie is just wrong on so many levels...

[xman4life]

Originally Posted by alaska1125

I know this is going to sound ignorant but...who the heck is Pixie?

Pixie was introduced in New X-Men: Academy X #5, she was part of the Paragons squad whose primary teacher was Wolfsbane. She was pretty much just one of those characters you saw every now and then until Yost & Kyle took over the title and put her in a more mainstream setting with the rest of the New X-Men post M-day. You can find out more information about here at this link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie_%28X-Men%29

[Ignatius Prime]

Originally Posted by Brian009

we see Pixie going back to Wales—to the little Welch mining village where she lived

I may be wrong, but shouldn't that be Welsh?

It can go either way. "Welch" is little-used but still acceptable. You're much more likely to see certain types of Englishmen use it (Carey being one of them, I suppose).

Think of it as a 1-in-75 variant cover.

[von Doom, M.D.]

Originally Posted by Squashua

The TeX-Men

San Fran has already come up, so I don't think so. I don't know the region well enough to figure out any puns for that, either.

[subhuman]

Carey's work on X-Men over the last two years has sold me on getting this tie-in. I must admit that I am picking up very little beyond the main series of Secret Invasion, but wherever the X-Men are concerned, I usually pick up their tie-ins. (WWH was good...Civil War...not so much). Although I like Greg Land, the guy definitely should have researched the character before making her skip most of her puberty....oh well, maybe Shottie Young or Ramos, or someone will make her a teenager again...