By Ben Morse
After a half decade of knocking
Spider-Man's life into order and overseeing the groundbreaking Marvel Knights imprint, the Executive Editor took on a new challenge earlier this year when he grabbed the full reins of the
X-Men family of titles as Group Editor.
Once the undisputed flagship franchise of Marvel, the X-Men have had to share the spotlight with the
Avengers in recent years, but Alonso came onboard with the goal of bringing the mighty mutants back to the forefront.
With the blockbuster "Messiah CompleX" event, Alonso and his team of editors and creators put the X-Men back on the map. Now, after taking them apart, Alonso looks to the future and putting the mutants back together over the next several months with exciting new titles, new directions and new talent as part of "X-Men: Divided We Stand."
Marvel.com sat down with the always busy Executive Editor to get the scoop on what lies ahead for the X-Men as well as their friends and foes.
Yesterday Axel dished the dirt on X-FORCE, UNCANNY X-MEN and X-MEN: LEGACY. Today, the big man talks CABLE, YOUNG X-MEN and more.
Marvel.com: What is the mission statement of CABLE?
Axel Alonso: At the end of "Messiah Complex,"
Cyclops follows his instincts and allows
Cable to take the child and jump into the timestream. In doing so, he puts his trust [in] Cable, hoping—but not knowing—that Cable knows what he's doing. That's no small leap of faith, and Cyclops is going to have to wrestle with the ramifications of that decision for some time. Did the fact that Cable is his son factor into his decision?
That said, the new CABLE ongoing is a key piece of the X-Men puzzle because Cable holds nothing less that the future of mutantkind in his hands. What he does "out there" will have a profound effect on the here and now. This girl is important. Real important.
Marvel.com: Will Cable remain in one single new setting in his book with a consistent landscape and supporting cast, or will he be moving around a lot?
Axel Alonso: Cable will be moving around a lot. He's going to have a relentless pursuer in
Bishop, who is every bit as determined to kill the child as Cable is to protect her. For both men, only one thing matters: the child. Everything else is secondary, including their own safety and the safety of anyone they encounter along the way. This battle will test each man to his core—who he is, what he believes.
As for the cast, CABLE revolves around two men and a baby, but there will be some interesting guest-appearances to remind fans that this book is firmly woven into the fabric of X-Men continuity—past and present. We have more than a few "oh $#$%" moments planned.
Marvel.com: What makes Cable a character you feel deserves the spotlight he has been given?
Axel Alonso: Cable is an archetypal figure that's part Spaghetti Western cowboy, part samurai, part Terminator. Kinda cool.
Marvel.com: Where did the decision to make Bishop a villain come from? Do you even really see him as a villain?
Axel Alonso: Bishop can't be dismissed as a villain. He believes strongly in what he is doing—and he just might be right. So he's Cable's antagonist, but not a villain in the traditional sense. Bishop will do some questionable things, but readers will always understand the reasons he is doing them—the moral code that informs his decisions.
Bishop's role in CABLE grew out of his role in "Messiah CompleX." In Bishop's future, the child is a mutant Anti-Christ. How could it be bad to kill her?
Marvel.com: What is the mission statement of YOUNG X-MEN? How is it a different kind of book than NEW X-MEN?
Axel Alonso: It is the next evolutionary step from NEW X-MEN.
YOUNG X-MEN reconciles the concept of "student X-Men" in the post-"Messiah CompleX' landscape. These kids have more in common with, say, a child soldier in Sierra Leone than a corn-fed, suburban school kid. This is about
the last generation of a species fighting to stay alive.
Marvel.com: Will we see some of the NEW X-MEN cast not currently slated to appear in books regularly sooner rather than later?
Axel Alonso: All in good time. There's no guarantee that the kids you've seen on the cover [of YOUNG X-MEN #1] are going to make it through the first arc. I can guarantee that at least one of them won't.
Marvel.com: Where does ASTONISHING X-MEN fit into the bigger picture of the X-Universe?
Axel Alonso: ASTONISHING X-MEN is the boutique book of the X-Men line: A-Level creators telling high-concept stories that take place in small intervals of time. So, while it picks up during the new status quo, it's not about the rest of the Marvel Universe. It is a different feel for a different audience. Warren [Ellis] and Simone [Bianchi] are crafting a mind-bending widescreen adventure that amps up the science fiction aspect of the series.
Marvel.com: What is the mission statement of X-FACTOR, post-"Messiah CompleX"? How did that crossover deeply affect this team?
Axel Alonso: X-Factor is the tempestuous family, always about ready to collapse under pressures, both inside and out. This only intensifies in the aftermath of "Messiah CompleX."
Jamie
Madrox—scarred, both physically and mentally, from his time spent in Bishop's future—has to deal with more challenges than ever to that family structure. Layla is stranded in the future. And
Wolfsbane has left the team for reasons she can't—or won't—talk about. On top of all this, X-Factor is now the only remaining mutant team in New York.
Marvel.com: Where do Wolverine's solo titles fit into the bigger picture of the X-Universe?
Axel Alonso: Right now, WOLVERINE will be really focused on Logan's future and WOLVERINE: ORIGINS will be about what his past means to his present.
With [Mark] Millar and [Steve] McNiven's "Old Man Logan" arc, WOLVERINE will face forward, examining what Wolverine, the X-Men and the Marvel heroes and villains in general mean to the future of the world.
While ORIGINS has always been about Logan's past—or the past that he remembers—now we're going to move that book much more firmly into the new world that Cyclops is building for mutants. ORIGINS has always taken place in the same world as everything else, of course, but sometimes it's felt separate. No more.
Marvel.com: What about a book like DEADPOOL?
Axel Alonso: I'm going to keep mum for now on that, but yes, a solo DEADPOOL title will debut toward the end of the year. He'll be in the thick of things.
Marvel.com: How will the X-Men status quo continue to evolve and change over the next several months? How different will things be by this time next year or even by the summer?
Axel Alonso: We're building toward something special this July.
Marvel.com: At the end of the day, what do you feel X-Men is about?
Axel Alonso: X-Men has always been about outsiders finding their place in a world that misunderstands or hates them. Now, those outsiders have [gotten] a lot more militant. Now, it's all about survival, family and faith.
