io9 : Let ’s get down with Powers . what strikes me the most with the show is a really left over turn , total variation between the cartoon strip , as you wrote them , and the show . You write Powers as kind of a constabulary procedural with superhero melodrama . This feel more like a show about a generation gap between the older multitude who had powers and still have mightiness , and the young group that ’s kind of chasing fame . But there ’s also a macabre variety of horror overtone on top of it all . Is this a displacement that had to happen to make it exist ?
Bendis : This 2d season , I think you ’ll happen very much in line with that part of the comic . When they gave us the second season , because we had our numbers they did say to me , “ Hey listen , we would wish it to be more like the comic . ” Which imply we would like you to show up to work more actively and do so . And Remi Aubuchon is the showrunner of the 2d season . He and I were very much on the same page about getting back to that core premise .
The first season was run by Charlie Huston . As a fellow writer , and someone who lives very much in a shared creation with other writers at Marvel , I ’ve learned to let that happen because some really beautiful thing can happen when a writer is allowed to rent loose .
The things he was really grabbing onto in the first time of year were all things that actually do pass off in the comic , even though I would hook it more into the adjective . The generational gap , what Powers mean , what Powers do , how terrific they could be . All of that ’s in the comic . There ’s nothing he did that was n’t part of the comedian . It translates to television because the comedian continues to operate for so long that it can search all of these theme and much , much more . That ’s keen . That ’s what Charlie want to do in the first season .
What he did was perfectly put us up for what we desire to do in the 2nd season . Yes , he was grabbing onto thing that may be off the beaten path of what the high conception of the comedian was , but it was stuff from the comedian .
So here we come in the second season with ‘ Who Killed Retro Girl ? ’ Which is absolutely our first softback book . It ’s a mollycoddler , I know , but the playscript has been out for awhile . We get right into it . We look at that first time of year and made a lot of choices about what to do for the 2d time of year based on that . It set us up perfectly for where we are now .
io9 : If you seem at characters like Calista , she diverges pretty powerfully from the way she ’s characterize in the comics . Should we await the season two lineament to be as dissimilar than that level of variation from their cartoon strip counterparts ?
Bendis : That ’s in reality a perfect example . Where Calista starts in the first season is different from the comic . Seven or eight year down the road in the comedian , she ends up being a immature adult with Powers and struggling with all of the different matter that have find . It ’s more like every writer who has come on plank has cherry tree picked thing out of the comic that they really liked and plat them where they want them in the fib . Which I was honestly completely okay with .
I ’m going to be very honest with you , the reality of writing a little nipper in the globe of Powers in comic book form , is a luck unlike than having a piddling kid actor on that set with all that material around . In our first airplane pilot at FX , Bailee Madison play Calista , and she ’s young and excellent and easily the high point of the pilot light by anyone ’s stretch .
But , even on the exercise set , being a father I did n’t like having this little girl surrounded by the sets even though she was probably the most matured actress . Like , seen it , done it , been there . And there ’s me as the neurotic Judaic father go , “ Oh , little girl , sit down , understand a book . ”
When Charlie had puzzle the idea of just hop-skip to new maturity , that was one of those things where I was in all over correspondence on the choice for various reasons . I did n’t desire any kids on solidification for what we were going to do — except for , somehow , my kids but that ’s fine . When I ’m write the comic , older Calista is more interesting than young Calista even though there are some jokes that we lost . That ’s a bummer but there ’s always better antic down the agate line , you chance out as you get older .
io9 : get ’s talk about Scarlet . How did thatwind up at Cinemax ? manifestly you probably have an agent throwing hooey out there for development . What ’s the story there ?
https://gizmodo.com/marvels-scarlet-from-the-co-creator-of-jessica-jones-1781777164
Bendis : I do have a lovely team that I have been with for many , many yr , and thanks to the success of Jessica Jones and the winner of Powers , we get calls . People are interested in things and want to make out what ’s going on . It ’s rummy because of all the thing I ’ve co - created over the last few years , Scarlet was the one that I just looked at it and said , “ This is n’t going to be a movie or idiot box show . ” One of the traps for people in comics is they start up making make - your - own - comic that are understandably being produced to make telly show or movies or to trade them for options .
io9 : It ’s a trap for lecturer too .
Bendis : It is . I ’m not flat - out deter or damning that , because in reality a lot of really good comics have total out of that . But I see it creatively as a trap . Like you ’re now pitching for some inventive studio apartment executive that you do n’t have a go at it . I do n’t see it to be all that great for comics to be fair with you . I know I sound hypocritical , because so many of my things have been purchased .
count what Hollywood keeps buying from me . I write a lot of quixotic teen happy , bright stuff , and none of that gets picked up . It ’s always my more brainsick , adult material . I always prided myself that if you show Alias / Jessica Jones , I was n’t trying to get that coiffure up anywhere . Look how operose it was to get Powers made . These things are by nature more difficult and it ’s that difficultness that ’s made them more attractive , but that was n’t by design . I was face at the first issue of Scarlet , as we were putting it to bed and stuff with Powers was go on , I did say to myself , “ This will never be anything . ”
This is literally a laundry leaning of thing you think Hollywood would n’t want : female lead , very complicated , and controversial case matter from a complicated and controversial spot of view . It ’s really very punishing for us to produce . Mentally , it ’s very psychically run out because it means so much to us . But , lo and behold , there ’s somebody out there who read it and went , “ Yeah , that ’s what we want . ” That ’s happened a few times in my life sentence . I ’ve prided myself in not creating material for those meetings .
io9 : speak of your dealing with Hollywood executives and manufacturer types , one of the first things I learn from you wasFortune & Glory , and it ’s uproarious that your career as a Godhead is pretty much 180 degrees away from the berth where you were when you wrote it . You ’re a guy who got tantalized by a piddling moment of Leslie Townes Hope only to have it all sour out to nothing and now they ’re come to you .
Bendis : Well truthfully , to be honest with you , it ’s more like Fortune & Glory every solar day . There ’s lunacy every sidereal day . I wo n’t profess that I got it all figured out and everything is fine . But that book did kind of release me from the focus of it . It ’s hard to discover . Particularly when you ’re come and you do n’t know who to swear , and you do n’t know what the deal is , and you do n’t know who ’s lying and not lie .
in person , I wrote that book for myself . I never call back that book was going to do a damn moment of business organisation and it ended up being my best sell graphical novel up until Powers . It also countenance people know , “ You recognise what ? weasel , stay away from me ; I might compose about you . ” So , for years , it did keep people reliable around me whether they were consciously or subconsciously doing it . The whole point of that book was that there ’s no value to a meeting where someone is just lie to you , it ’s just a permissive waste of sentence .
Bendis : I ’m not respond with a non - result but truthfully we are at such early stages . I was n’t even supposed to advert it at the ATX fete , but it kind of slue out because I was worked up . We ’ve been bring on this quietly for a couple of year . I think what is shocking is — please understand I ’m not patting myself on the back — I’m amazed how systematically it feels of the moment . The book has been in product since 2010 . So that ’s six years . The parade of authoritative risky behavior that ’s take in on tape and aired all over the world is constant to the spot where it ’s not even headlines anymore .
What ’s amazing to me about it is how of the second it is and that was n’t be after . I ’m shocked and truthfully saddened by it . So , as my kids grow up , I ’m like , “ Really ? It ’s not getting better ? ” Oh great .
io9 : No . I palpate you on that .
Bendis : So in general , last out tuned . We ’ve just put out three new issues of the ledger over the last month and people who have been reading it since the showtime were like , “ I ca n’t think this is still so raw . ” I ’m like , “ Honestly , I ca n’t trust it either . ”
io9 : It ’s funny because this is maybe a tradition of Jewish comic book creator presage . you could see at something like American Flagg ! by Howard Chaykin . What was he on that he forecast world video and all this different clobber that was just a scintillation in anybody ’s eye ?
Bendis : Howard Chaykin is my hero in cartoon strip . He ’s the reason I do them and truly one of the great . The idea of Scarlet came out of the estimate of having watched connection again and think to myself — because that ’s another piece of work where at the time it looked like a blister pasquinade of rage and almost all of it came true . And that ’s such an awesome affair for a author to have been so on the money whether they knew it or not . It ’s staggering . And you ca n’t help but cogitate , “ What would Paddy Chayefsky be save today ? ” What would he be write flop now ? What is the piece of piece of work that count crazy but in 10 years you are going to go , “ Oh my God . ” That was the tactile sensation of it .
Now I missed the mark totally , because as the record book was coming out , things set about happening like in Wisconsin and Egypt , where you ’re like , “ Oh well , I was about three calendar week forrader of the curved shape . ” Next time I ’ll do 10 years . But if anything , it is just so of the minute and it ’s a second that wo n’t stop and that ’s what happened . It was create in the idea of make something that was imagining something half-baked 10 years from now that could come true but it was coming dead on target as we hold up .
io9 : Did you know that Rhodey was going to be seriously hurt in the civil warfare picture ? When did you detect out ? Would you have done anything different if you had enough notice ?
Brian Michael Bendis : I did . It ’s arduous for [ me to have ] people to see [ that plot point ] because the movie and comic are coming out on top of each other . But those are drafts I read class ago . When we were putting together Civil War II , other than the [ standardised ] championship , is almost a unlike U-boat - musical style of comic book making . It ’s about something whole different , star completely different persona [ than the pic ] .
The one hurdle I had was the idea that [ Iron Man and Captain Marvel ] are both fresh , good multitude and they ’ve been through Civil War . What would make [ these reference ] throw the gauntlet down again ? It was really what other writers had gifted me — that Rhodey was Tony ’s best booster and also romantically unite to Carol — and then I said out cheap [ his dying ] is something they would fight for .
The [ central ] idea is good but something personal would really serve the consultation get to that ‘ they ’re pass to do it again ’ matter . Do you know what I mean ? They have to go the distance . It just so take place that the same person was Tony ’s friend and Carol ’s romantic friend and I did say out meretricious , “ I do n’t know on the nose where they ’re going to land in the Civil War movie but I jazz Rhodey get anguish and I ’m worried about even the concept of poach something . It ’s not something I want to do . Nobody at Marvel on any level felt that what it was because they saw where it was coming from .
I know citizenry think that Marvel let ’s me do whatever I want . But that ’s not a human relationship that I ’m concerned in or would be very helpful to anybody . People who do really keep me fair tell , “ Oh no , no , no , this is a all different narration . ” We know what we were pass to get out of it down the route . ” So I went with it . I call back I would get more sass about that . I did n’t . I was surprised .
Speaking of Special Air Service …
Bendis : I ’m always surprised what I get sassed about to be honest with you . That ’s the good part of this line of work , this many age into it . I ’m like , “ Oh really , that ’s what we ’re angry about today ? ” OK . [ laughs ]
talk of sass , you may or may not get laid , I write something rather powerfully felt about Rhodey ’s destruction . It wound to lose him .
Bendis : No , it did . May I say , I agree with you . It bruise to write . We talked about , yes , an African - American humanity dying in this world that we ’re work up . We had a mint of conversations about that as well . And then we came to the finish that by diversify the occupation as much as [ Marvel has ] , one of the trap would be to not put any of these fiber in a situation that would be dangerous , veracious ?
Yeah .
Bendis : The fearfulness is that there wo n’t be any drama . Like if nothing spoilt is going to befall to Miles Morales , then why would you buy Miles Morales ? You ’re grease one’s palms it for the events and the drama and for stuff to happen . I used to get crap like this when I was compose Daredevil .
They tell , “ Man you detest Daredevil . You never give him a faulting . ” I said , “ You would n’t buy the ‘ I ’m give him a interruption book ? ’ ” You would n’t buy it . I know you would n’t . So that snuff it into the equation when think about it . If the story is going this elbow room … can not do something . Any other rationality just seemed false and bullshitty .
I respect that . My big problem was — and I do n’t know if you take what I wrote — I’m assuming you have n’t and that ’s fine .
Bendis : I have n’t ascertain this one but do n’t be insult .
No . That ’s OK .
Bendis : But I will after this call . [ laughs ]
My big problem was , after losing Bill in the first one , this is a thing where I do n’t needs want to see a course repeat . Especially because it ’s such a well - worn pesky image when it comes to black characters in pop music cultivation and genre fiction . It ’s like , “ OK , yeah , we can lose him because whatever imagined numbers for our interview wo n’t wish about him . ”
Bendis : May I say you ’re all right . I ’m not colorblind and please understand , I ’m not whitesplaining or mansplaining . Ask me questions and I ’ll separate you what I was feeling about it . I ’m not read it ’s the only means to feel or that this is the last statement on the case , because I do n’t think it is at all .
But , when putting it together , as I just explain to you , Rhodey is this role to both of these people . For this idea of a personal calamity within both characters , at the same minute , he ’s the perfect and only candidate . I literally could n’t think of anything else .
I went through all of the Avengers . I went through their history with substance contumely and alcohol abuse that they had . But all of the story with these reference and Rhodey had the most powerful impact . We have thing come out of the other side and characters coming out of the other side who will be motivated by this death . I literally almost beg editors who I know to retrieve me anything else , because I worried about it . There was nothing else .
Then I was present with the estimate if I do n’t go down this route with this story , that at this bit is telling itself , if I do n’t do that , then is n’t it kind of the opposition of the correct affair to do ? Are we not now treat quality equally ? Is n’t variety about equality ? If this was a blanched lineament , we would n’t think doubly about it .
Right , right .
Bendis : In this instance . I ’m not talking about all the incidents , which obviously , I have no ascendancy over . But this tale , this character , this moment , it was thought about a nifty softwood . I ’m on-line . I ’m useable . I ’m aware of the domain . I have kids of color . I ’m not look to … do you lie with what I signify ?
No . I get it and I recognise that about you … so , yeah .
Bendis : I just want you to know that a quite a little of mentation go into it and , at the end of the daylight , the little reply is it ’s shit not to kill the character reference only for that reason . I sleep together not everyone reading this will hold . I ’m with you on that . It was n’t done sloppily or colorblind at all .
I appreciate that . So as a bit of a segue , it seems that you ’re set thing up with Ri Ri in Invincible Iron Man .
Bendis : Yeah . Perfect example , by the way of what I ’m talking about . There ’s a lot more go on in the books than just that . I ’m sorry . Go postulate your motion .
Should we not be surprised to see her stepping up in a bigger role in the Marvel Universe ?
Bendis : Well , a lot is going to happen in Civil War 2 . There ’s a passel going on with that character , we just bring in her . We do n’t even know her backstory or her home situation or anything like that . We do know that she ’s plausibly impertinent than Tony , which is a bunch of fun to write in a book star the military personnel who is always wise than everybody in the room . Or thinks he is .
I will narrate you we ’re enjoying her a great deal on our close . I ’m rum to see what people think of her in a few month . But yeah , you ’re go to see more Ri Ri coming up .
io9 : A quick aside about Invincible Iron Man . The new Victor Von Doom looks pretty much just like Vincent Cassel .
Bendis : [ laughs ]
io9 : Is that you or is that [ artist ] Mike Deodato ?
Bendis : aboveboard , it was David Marquez who designed the look first . I do n’t require to answer in a way that ’s disdainful to Vincent Cassel because my description of the lineament …
io9 : It enhance my enjoyment of every fit he ’s in .
Bendis : Yeah , it does enhance my enjoyment as well , even though it ’s not precisely Vincent Cassel , and that ’s kind of a no - no . But my description of what Victor would look like without his scars or his costume is that it ’s a look of a European man who ’s got that face like he knows he ’s the hottest dickhead in the population . It kind of seem like Alex Maleev , as well , and kind of look like Vincent Cassel sometimes . That ’s what they come up with which was passably funny . I wish Vincent Cassel a lot . I believe he ’s a wonderful actor . I do n’t desire to affront the guy rope by saying that was my verbal description . [ laughs ]
io9 : I think with the roles he ’s taken and the way he ’s play them in certain movies , I ’m thinking about his fictional character from Ocean ’s 12 , specifically , he ’s that hombre . He have it off he ’s buttressing up the stereotype a little bit in a very - self witting way .
Bendis : If you take in Eastern Promises , he was amazing in that . He ’s a really good doer . But that ’s a very funny observance . give thanks you . You made me express mirth . I ’m sorry .
io9 : Was there anything that the author on Jessica Jones did that you care you did or something that you ’re seem to practice on your next runnel with the reference or the next sentence you concern Jessica ?
Bendis : No . Honestly , I had a very great experience in that I got very Zen about the whole matter . I meet with the writers very early on in product . Melissa had me come up to the writer ’s room and just ride there and let them hammer me with whatever they were think . They were asking the right question which is a relief because sometimes you ’re in a way and you ’re fail , “ They ’re not asking the correct motion . ” And they were .
io9 : “ Can she pilfer a subway car ? ” And you ’re like , “ Oh with child . ”
Bendis : No . They were asking the right questions and I leave the elbow room feeling , “ Oh , they catch this . ” Or at least I can salve myself of whatever psychoneurosis that I was bear with about this thing . Then months later Joe Quesada had me come over to his apartment and sat me down on his computer and just play me the first two instalment without severalise me what I was watching . He did n’t say , “ do over . I ’m going to show you Jessica Jones . ”
He say , “ Come over . I want to show you something . ” I came over . He sat me down and I watched the first two episodes , and it was months before anyone else had seen them . It was a eldritch thing for him to do , because I did n’t fuck if he was evince me to brace me as if this did n’t work or to show me to get me the most honest , bleak thought of it , which he was right to do .
He did n’t need me to have any expectations . Twenty minutes in I ’m like , “ Am I nuts ? Or is this fantastic ? ” [ express joy ] Oh my God . So I ’ve been able to maintain a very Zen - like matter . Also , I think it was because it was a time in - between when I was hard-core write the character in the show . That ’s a big hatful sometimes . Hilariously I wasat the West Wing panel in Austin …
io9 : I saw you tweet about waiting in line for Sorkin . Yeah .
Bendis : Yeah , I actually post the video of me asking . They literally planted the Q&A microphone right in front of my chair or mighty next to it so I just stood up and require this question that I always want to ask which was about him leave behind the show and what he did on his last installment of the show .
He say , “ I had never pick up any of the last seasons of West Wing , not one arcsecond . ” That Larry David actually call off him up out of the blue sky and tell , “ Do n’t watch the show because either they ’re go to fuck it up and you ’re going to be scourge , or they ’re go to do it better than you and you ’re going to be devastated . Just do n’t keep an eye on it . ” And for him that was absolutely the right answer .
But I was think how funny it was because I did my rivulet on Daredevil in a share universe and needed to take a severance from Daredevil . When Ed Brubaker strike over I did n’t immediately protrude reading his account book . I needed a few months . Just to be done with it . Then I realized when the Netflix [ Daredevil ] show come out I was completely capable to enjoy that show as something I wanted to watch . I did n’t feel like , “ Oh my God , what would I have done ? ” or “ What are they doing ? ” I just completely enjoyed it . Because that ’s the temerarious show I wanted .
The same affair befall with Jessica even though Jessica evidently is more a part of me . As I ’ve say publically like a bad reading of Jessica would have really destroy me , it would n’t have just been some bad TV show . It would have hurt like my soul . When I saw that it was n’t that , I just was relieved . So I did n’t beak it apart of things I would have done or not have done . I ’m able as a author looking at other writers go , “ Oh , that was a beneficial choice . ” Even fully grown things like when they decided to go with Patsy Walker instead of Carol Danvers for obvious reason . Even that choice is so respectful to me because Patsy Walker is another character I used constantly and I well could have used her in that role in another version of it .
When they called , they said , “ take heed , Carol ’s pop off to get her own movie so we ’re go to do a taradiddle but with Patsy Walker which is going to pop the question us the poppycock that you call for to build up her up . I said , “ Oh , I ’d whole watch that show . ” Even that was respectful to things that I like . It was very honest .
Now , we ’re going to go back to Jessica in the fall , with the intact original originative team , her co - creator Michael Gaydos , and even David Mack on the covers . It ’s because I looked around and said , “ Oh the Marvel Universe has agitate so much in the last years since we did that book . There ’s a lot of secrets , there ’s really a lot of stuff from event and things that citizenry do n’t know about and Jessica can uncover them in really interesting ways . Actually I find a way to get her back to her sullen , private eye ego that does n’t rip up everything we did to mend the persona . That get very exciting to me . When I go to everybody and said , “ I think I desire to go back to Jessica . ” They go , “ Yeah , we were waiting for you to do that . ”
I said , “ Oh , great . OK . No one observe that . But OK . ” So off to the wash . I ’m odd to see what people think of it in collocation of Jessica now being this ethnic touchstone that ’s out there that ’s quite amazing . I ’m still reel from the fact that I was on level at the Peabody Awards a couple of weeks ago . So you ’ll have to excuse how lofty I am of her .
io9 : I get that . That ’s great .
Bendis : I mat like I was at her college commencement observance or something . It ’s like , “ Oh , she ’s all growns up . ” It ’s a quite beautiful thing . I hump there ’s been historically the Alan Moores of it all where no matter what Hollywood does , you ’re just going to throw off a fit even though that ’s the deal they made .
But my luck in this arena , not only with Jessica , but agentive role of SHIELD has so much of my stuff and nonsense in it and the Ultimate Spider - Man Cartoon and Maria Hill and Avengers Tower . These are thing I ’m very proud of . I bonk it ’s eldritch to vocalise like you ’re proud of a building but I was proud of that edifice .
And when it showed up in motion-picture show after decades of Avengers Mansion , I was very stirred . Historically I be intimate that some Creator have had a really raspy and tumble time with seeing their clobber adapted but I ’ve take a more Zen glide path and I find myself to be rewarded tremendously with very faithful and loving adaptations , and Jessica is obviously the cream of the crop of it , like the top of the batch .
Even seeing Victoria Hand and Daisy Johnson on Agents of SHIELD . Some masses might not know , I was the co - creator . I was very proud of those adult female and their creation and seeing them all over the place on telecasting is really a nice feeling , and I ’m very honored by the people who made those decisions . Some of which I cognize well and some of which I ’ve never met .
io9 : You speak of Jessica prompt me of , I was n’t design to touch it but , you mentioned it . I wrote something a little while back aboutthe way she ’s being used in the Power Man and Iron Fist series . Now I wish the series overall . But her portrayal in that is the one shrewish thing that bothers me . It feels like it is in line with who she is — kind of bitchy , somebody who is maladjusted to life . But the thing that I like most about her relationship to Luke is they ’re two surly , broken people who help heal each other . I would like to see that aspect of their family relationship more in that account book , which again I mostly like .
Bendis : Well , with that Bible , particularly David Walker is a good supporter of mine . We in reality instruct a college form together .
io9 : Oh , you co - teach that course .
Bendis : Literally , he was over here last night and we were grading final and verbalise about just the subject you brought up . He ’s been very much in line with what ’s going on and what the plans are . So something that is being build to that he is wholeheartedly involve in . That book is just more about the love social function between Danny and Luke . It just is . That ’s what the book is about . That ’s not to sideline Jessica ; it ’s just that there are other plans for Jessica which I ’ll be get to . He make out that so he ’s kind of free to do what he wants to do which is the ultimate superhero bromance of Luke and Danny .
io9 : And bromance does n’t always crop well with important others . You mentioned before about Patsy being used on Jessica instead of Carol and stuff like that . I know this is a politically complicated doubt but can you verbalise at all to the widespread notion that graphic symbol and title are being de - emphasized or highlighted because of where their movie or idiot box right field are ?
Bendis : Yeah , that ’s been go on since 2000 . It ’s so weird to me because there ’s so much evidence to the reverse . Like masses of grounds . But people see one bantam petty affair .
I remember my thing was I had Bullseye have a bullseye tattoo or whatever deface on his forehead . The bullseye on Bullseye ’s forehead in Daredevil , this was like 10 , 12 age ago , I forget . But I remember I understand draught of that screenplay and I sound out , “ That bullseye thing is a flaming great idea . ”
Joe was talk to somebody and they were never go to get to how he got it . I said , “ You know how he got it ? Daredevil fucking swot up it in his head . ” They said , “ Oh , you should do that . ” I ’m like , “ Can I ? Can I do that ? Is n’t that theirs ? ”
I forget who said it but it was , “ the motion picture take everything from us . Why ca n’t we take one niggling petite disfiguration ? ” I ’m like , “ Oh yeah , that ’s right . ” Even when people are like , “ Oh , you ’re doing Civil War II because of the movie Civil War ? ”
I ’m like , “ Oh you intend the movie that was based on the giant hit risible from 10 years ago ? ” It ’s all from the comic . Comics are 99 percent of the metre miles ahead , completely different . When I was write the Avengers , they were entirely different than the Avengers that were in the flick which is very much like an other ‘ 70s Avengers . But by nature Age of Ultron is very much like a Roy Thomas comic come to life .
io9 : But also the Avengers picture show recall off of the clobber that Mark Millar did on Ultimates .
Bendis : For sure . But even that the stuff and nonsense that Miller did was 10 old age ago . That ’s not yesterday . This is age and years ago . By the way , I ’m not sass on any film producer . But the premiss of the strip are kowtowing to the movies even though everything that ’s run on in comic flop now from Miles Morales to Kamala Khan is wholly dissimilar than what ’s going on . I ’m not on the nose certain what you ’re touch to . So yeah , not really .
io9 : Stuff like the Fantastic Four …
Bendis : By the way , in the retreat it never gets brought up . No one ever goes , “ Well in the movie . ” We ’re working on a totally different human race .
io9 : average . I think the matter that most feed the speculation is the novel status quo of mutation and the X - military man . For example , there ’s no Fantastic Four title now .
Bendis : Oh , perfect example . I was writing the X - Men during some of the hulaballoo of “ oh Marvel detest the X - Men and Marvel said no more creating of variation . ” Yet here I am , the best artist working in strip by the way . Who is better than Stuart Immomen and Chris Bachalo ?
These are the gold standard of who they have in the troupe . Who they have now put on the X - Men books . I create an intact team of unexampled X - work force and a lot of unexampled villains all of which our my own sentiment , whatever the wad is . No one said no to me .
No one stop me . Goldballs is now part of Miles Morales ’ cast . Whatever the speculation online , it was bum around me out because is anyone reading the book ?
None of this is true . At all ! Even a little bit . The remnant . I do n’t know what else to say . Then Chris Claremont came out and said Marvel is not let to create any new X - Men . Then I find him at a show and I said , “ Why did you say that ? All of my X - Men are brand name - raw X - Men . Like six of them . ” He goes , “ Yeah , I have n’t read the account book in like 30 years . ” I said , “ Well , stop speak . ”
io9 : Jason Aaron did the same affair on his Word of God , there was a bunch of new characters there too .
Bendis : Of course . Absolutely . Yeah . So I do n’t experience what else to say other than read Good Book , enjoy the books , do n’t worry about the corporal poppycock that literally shifts every six months anyhow . And look at the Book as evidence . The last .
io9 : just enough . You talked about Miles a minuscule bit . In Spider - Man # 1 he just kind of wakes up in a newly mix Marvel Universe . Is his lineage account unlike in the young 616 ?
Bendis : Nope ! Everything that happened in the Ultimate Universe happened .
io9 : Interesting . So we wo n’t be seeing like a reconfigured origin or whatever … OK . All right . Does he think of at all ?
It ’s a tough one because it ’s continuity , it keep on , and there ’s references to things , but it should be reference to a full stop where you ’re like , “ Oh , I have to read that too ? ” It should n’t be , “ I have to . ” It should be , “ I desire to . ” So all the clock time , and I ’m not saying I ’ve been 100 percent successful , but it ’s always on my judgement . So when we went into this , and again a endowment from Jonathan Hickman is that eight months have passed since Secret Wars . That gave us a lot of , “ Well we do n’t have to do the … ”
io9 : fill up in the dots .
Bendis : Yeah . We do n’t have to fill in the dots all we have to do is say , “ Here ’s Miles Morales . He goes to in high spirits school . He ’s screw up . He ’s trying to be Spider - Man , he ’s sleep together that up too . Go . ” justly ? And the other stuff will divulge itself if and when it postulate to . And that ’s cool .
But just so people know who care about this stuff , as much as I see people peach about it online , it ’s nothing compare to how much we verbalise about it amongst ourselves at the retreats and with others and clobber .
io9 : That ’s good to know .
Bendis : Compared to movies and other thing , the comics derive out so quickly . I do see sometimes [ people saying ] they ’re just being pushed out the door and that we do n’t deal as much as they care . I ’ve never met a creator who did n’t wish with his whole body . Ever . To do this for a living is so fourth dimension - consuming and difficult and you have to know a lot of stuff and nonsense . You have to really know and really wish and really feel it . mayhap the story is n’t really what you desire sometimes , but it ’s not because it ’s not total out of place of lovemaking and lovingness . That ’s for sure .
io9 : I appreciate you saying that . Two hours ago I interviewed Tom King . I take him if he had a question for you . I ’m pass away to paraphrase here because I have it written down in front of me . He said , “ How was it making the transition , handing off to Ed Brubaker on Daredevil ? ”
One of the questions I asked him about him write his characters into a turning point . Vision , he ’s writing into a corner . Kyle Rayner over at DC , he wrote into a box . He desire me to ask you , “ What were your conversations like in doing the handoff , and also creatively , how did you incorporate Brubaker into what you were doing ? ” And vice versa .
Bendis : Well , we just utter about it . I literally on Saturday ask Aaron Sorkin the same question . West Wing , end of time of year four . Spoilers . The President ’s daughter gets kidnapped . The president feels compromised by terrorism and has to mistreat down and permit his opposition John Goodman become president . For years , I ’m read every clause was wonder if Aaron Sorkin did this to go , “ Ha - ha - ha ! Good luck suckers ! ” Or was he doing it with their involvement ?
I always called them story grenades . It was literally this idea that I made up in my head that he was have story grenades at the premise of the show . So I asked him this very question because I was with Daredevil in the same position . I had a swell ending . Matt goes to jail .
What I was glad about it is that if you scan — and I have it away I ’m all over the place , but I ’ll get there — at the end of Daredevil : Born Again , Frank Miller writes , “ The End . ” Like it ’s over . This is the terminal of the tale . Matt Murdock is walking down the street with Karen . The end . I felt like if Matt go to jail , that ’s me going , “ the end . ” But it ’s not the end . I did n’t want that hubris on it .
And when it ended up being Ed [ take over Daredevil]—who I ’d cognize literally since we bust in together in the early ‘ XC at Caliber Comics — I said to him , “ mind . I have an end . But it only put to work if you want it . ” He goes , “ What is it ? ” I go , “ Matt Murdock goes to jail . ” He goes , “ Oh my God . That was so much better than what I was thinking . ” I go , “ You desire to do this ? ”
He said , “ It ’s all I desire to do . ” I go , “ Well recollect about it for a yoke of mean solar day , we ’re still month away , verify it ’s what you want to do because I ca n’t do this ending unless you want to do it . Or we ’ll have to really consider of something else . He called me up and say , “ No , no , I desire Matt Murdock in poky . ” He was on that book under the shadow of Frank Miller and you need to be on the book because of Frank Miller , but you do n’t require to rip off Frank Miller . So many people have done that . You do n’t want to be one of those people . Matt Murdock in clink give Ed the ‘ well , Frank Miller never did this . ’ That ’s a dandy feeling .
So I was able-bodied to go nuts on the last few issues because Ed was being so generous to me and so excited about the melodic theme . If he would not have done it , I would have not have done that to him just out of friendship . And I would have find something else . But I luckily did n’t even have to go down that route .
It ’s so funny that Tom asked me that question when it was literally the one motion I was dying to ask Aaron Sorkin and when I asked Aaron Sorkin the question on Saturday , I got a 10 minute solvent just like you did . But a different solvent . But it was the answer I was looking for and it was clearly something he think about a nifty deal . That ’s why I post it on YouTube because I was like , “ This is a good answer . ”
io9 : I went to see a control board with Tom Fontana and David Simon Saturday forenoon . I ’m a bounteous sports fan of Homicide : Life on the Street and The Wire .
Bendis : Me too . David Simon ’s Homicide book , it was one of the inspirations for Powers .
io9 : That make sentience . Because it ’s a adjective , you ’re in the office , the politics of the section , and policing and whatnot .
Bendis : I was three quarters through that Word of God when I had the thought of what would this be like with superheroes . The only reason I pretermit the David Simon jury was because I was worried I was n’t going to get into the Aaron Sorkin control panel . I made the right-hand choice but I did kick myself . Because I had the plan of David Simon , Aaron Sorkin , and then the Shield ’s writer ’s room .
Then I attend at how cheeseparing they were and where they were . I did n’t read that they were in unlike buildings around the city . I was like , “ Shit . Can I get to Google Fiber in clip to get to Paramount ? ”
io9 : I feel you . I want to ask a procedural interrogation about Civil War II . It ’s a big calcium light event . This is the thing for Marvel for the summertime . When do all the storey beats , like issue by number , get locked into place . You have ship dates to consider . You have to think about other creative teams and letting them bind in .
Bendis : dead .
io9 : How far ahead does that stuff happen ? I know you guys have a story top twice a yr ?
Bendis : Sometimes more . Sometimes three or four clock time a class depending on how much craziness is blend on .
io9 : How far ahead of 2016 was this locked in ?
Bendis : About a year forward . Sometimes they ’re yr . Sometimes they ’re months . This was about a year . Truthfully , this is the first fourth dimension I ’ve done an outcome . I was lucky that when we did House of M it was kind of like the first event of this cycle of events . They had n’t done them in a while . It did n’t start as an event , it started as a gamy - end team up between the X - serviceman and the Avengers . But by that nature , that include everybody . Like who is n’t in the Avengers or X - Men ? That leaves , like , Howard the Duck .
I got to start smaller and by the time we get to Secret Invasion there ’s so many pieces and so many carts to turn over and so many mysteries to unfold that it feels like I ’m showrunning a show here . I ’m not just write a comic or a gravid event comedian . You ’re really organise .
By the way , it ’s not just me . Tom Brevoort , who does n’t get closely enough credit , he ’s edited almost all of these on his own . He goes from one gargantuan mixed bag to another giant smorgasbord . They ’re all dissimilar subgenres , one ’s a conspiracy , one ’s an foreign invasion , one ’s a fantasia , this one ’s a war .
They ’re all different and he handles them all so wondrous . He ’s been so subservient in all of my mainstream success . So many other creators as well . He ’s so marvelous at it . This premise come out of a conversation I was having with Axel Alonso , literally about what ’s going on in the world and what are we writing about kind of conversation . Then it snowballed into [ Civil War II ] .
Having gone through Secret Invasion and the others , I do know that I ’m more than just writing . I ’m engineer . I ’m showrunning . Or co - show - running I should say , with Tom and Axel . You know that going in . One of the tricks to me is to make certain that all of the author who need to be regard are involved and that also get to write what that want to drop a line .
There are some thing that are go on in the story . The people who are writing Captain Marvel — and thankfully I am the one writing Iron Man so I can argue with myself — don’t find pigeoned holed or being bullied or railroaded on their book . It ’s quite a few writers from all walks of life history fall together and we ’re secern each other stories . Sometimes the stories survive the elbow room and they ’re big success . Sometimes they do n’t survive the way . Because somebody asks the most simple interrogative sentence but it stab a giant hole in the premise . The assumption ca n’t live on .
When I ’ve seen that hap I ’m always like , “ It ’s OK that that idea did n’t survive the room . It was n’t going to come through the Internet . It just was n’t . The Internet would have killed you . ” It ’s OK that that idea die in childbirth . So we go there and in this instance I had written a circumstances of clobber for masses to read just to get a sense of matter , a tonic mother wit of stuff and nonsense .
But I used it as a word written document . This is n’t a draft , this is a discussion document with vocalisation . And we all got into it . It ’s a reasonably coolheaded tactile sensation to be honorable with you .
io9 : That ’s really cool . Only a few more , I promise . When I see you a few years ago after Powers was announce , I call for about the rapscallion sex , and you said we ’re going to get to it , and my question to you then and now is , when ?
Bendis : Last summertime , Sharlto Copley read every single thing I ’ve ever done . He came flying at me . I think the first season we just make him the first couple of trade . Here ’s where the grapheme is at so this is all you involve to know right now . But he read everything and he ’s like , “ Oh my God . We ’ve acquire to do the Forever arc ! ”
“ We ’ve got to do it right now ! ” I ’m like , “ No , no , that ’s a season five matter . ” He goes , “ No , now ! ” I ’m like , “ The reason it work in the comic is that we were recondite enough into our premise that we could swerve . ” We ’ve got to solve some crimes before we find out that you were having intimate monkey sex with Eddie Izzard .
But it was so rum how into it he was . I recall some doer would have been like , “ I ’m not doing that . What the fuck was that ? ” Can you imagine that you ’re the star topology of a show and you find out that about your character ? This is hilarious . But he was wholly , he ca n’t do it fast enough .
io9 : That ’s funny .
Bendis : But that ’s the goal . The goal is to get to that outlet . But it ’s nice to have an actor who is game for it . I ’ll tell you that . That ’s a cool notion .
io9 : You ’re somebody who ’s always had their oculus on small pressure , self - issue indie hooey . What do you like and savor now ?
Bendis : There ’s quite a few . It ’s amusing , I detest to be this hombre , but when I was coming up , smaller press was diminished . Everything is much shining than it used to be . I estimate it ’s kind of cool . But I recall the book that keep rattling my chemical chain creatively is Demon by Jason Shiga .
io9 : I just got that barter from First Second .
Bendis : I ’ve been study it in single . I do n’t have intercourse why but I guess it ’s everything he does is unlike than how I and a lot of my friend do it . It ’s very exciting to me . I just sense very connected to it and it ’s very exciting . It ’s very unequalled in the market .
There ’s a mountain of indie comics that are like other indie comic , which is always the casing . Like Tarantino ’s a hit and there ’s 50 Quentin Tarantino like picture show . But this is very unique and very telling . I like the cut of his jib . I just cogitate it ’s really great .
Also , I ’m in the weird status where a lot of my closest friends are really making some of the best comics out right now . It sounds like I ’m push my champion ’ comics , but they ’re really large comics . Like Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick , some of my close friends , and Kelly Sue ’s Bitch Planet is an amazing spell of work .
I do n’t think enough has been written about what Matt Fraction has accomplished . Sex Criminals is a giant hit and deserves to be . But it ’s also coming out around two or three other great Matt Fraction comics . They ’re all excellent and very different and it ’s very exciting .
It just seems like every week there ’s something very special in the comical book fund . And what ’s cool is that both Marvel and DC and Image and Dark Horse , they ’re all putting out secure record book if anything . I know ‘ peak TV ’ is a thing now . We ’re kind of at ‘ flush strip ’ as well . But I see it as a asset .
I ca n’t imagine how great it must feel . I get a caboodle of comics for free . [ laughs ] I ca n’t reckon how great it must feel to walk into a depot and I do n’t even know what to buy there ’s so much good stuff and nonsense to buy . Because there was a prison term when the great unwashed went into funny stores and they walk out with nothing .
The big event this summer are all being produced by the good people who make them . Then there ’s all these Lord who have just totally dedicated their life story to a odd visual modality and they ’re doing the work of their whole life history . It ’s an awful time . It really is . I ’m not just saying that to be like ‘ ya , comic strip ! ”
I withstand anyone to walk into a store and not … even if he ’s never read a comic before … walk into a store and there ’s something for you . Then on top of it , I just had a couple of signings for the first time , but the diversity of the case that are coming out from all the company , has bring a diversity of audience that is overwhelmingly exciting .
I ca n’t even express to you how adorable it is to have children , and womanhood , and multitude of all colors and ethnicities waiting in telephone circuit at a comic book sign language or comic book show so happy with their leverage , so in touch with what we ’re hear to do and completely satisfied , it ’s just wonderful . It was n’t always like that . It ’s change dramatically over the last few years .
io9 : I ’ve been record poppycock for a long sentence and yeah I feel very likewise . Last question , I foretell .
Bendis : I cognize I answer seven interrogative with that last question . What ’s cool about having all of these TV shows ground on comics and a lot of them not being superhero related but being more like a smorgasbord of different genres from Powers to iZombie to Jessica Jones , all these musical genre mash - ups and whatnot is that it is contract people into the comic Word store , it is stupefy people buying these business deal softback .
More hoi polloi buy Powers and Jessica Jones last class than they bought the whole last 10 eld . These idiot box show are an amazing commercial message for this culture medium we love . In a world where people are n’t reading anything , it ’s such a miracle .
io9 : Last question , for real . You ’re a instructor . You teach comics spell . You teach the craft . Have any of your students gone on to become pros ?
Bendis : Yeah , quite a few . Joshua Williamson is write The Flash : Rebirth .
io9 : Oh . I read the first issue and quite loved it . Yeah .
Bendis : Yeah , he was in my very first socio-economic class which is slowly becoming one of those classes where , “ wow , all of those guys are make a name for themselves . ” And , of trend , I ’m take credit for all of them and it ’s all ‘ suit of me .
Truthfully , when you ’re teaching , and I ’ve had this experience with David just this semester , last night there was two or three of the last exams where you could front at it and go , “ Oh this person is going to make it and this mortal has something to say and this person is very in touching with their tools .
And you ’re just well-chosen to have been part of what was plain an ascension . I had the same thing with Joshua . We ’re like , “ This class is just an object lesson of how consecrated they are to their craft . So it ’s not like we can take credit for it . But it ’s nice to touch that person on their style up . It ’s kind of cool .
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