From the ashes of AXIS a brand new Uncanny Avengers is born. Rick Remender reunites with artist Daniel Acuna for the new volume but it’s a different team with a different mission.
Remender and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort previewed the upcoming relaunch and answered fan questions. Here are the big highlights of today’s Marvel liveblog.
The Unity Squad born from Avengers vs. X-Men disbands. In the AXIS aftermath a new debuts in Uncanny Avengers #1 on January 28.
The new team is Rogue, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Sabretooth, Vision, Brother Voodoo and all-new Captain America (Sam Wilson) and follows the bombshell revelation that Wanda and Pietro are not Magneto’s children.
“When the series begins, you have Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch on a frantic search to learn the truth about their past and where this great lie came from,” said Remender.
“Wanda and Pietro’s parentage will play a significant role in the story. When we’re done, not every single question will be completely answered. We’re at the beginning of that journey,” added Brevoort.
“I think Counter Earth is one of the most interesting concepts at Marvel and it has been underutilized for too long. The reveal of the new Counter Earth, the villain behind it all, and how it connects to Wanda and Pietro is what got me excited about the story,” said Remender, “One of the things that attracted me to this assignment was that the High Evolutionary is an aspect of this story.” – Rick Remender
(We called it – here’s more on the High Evolutionary.and his connections to Wanda, Pietro and Magneto.)
By adding Vision to the group Remender opens the wound on a long-running triangle.
“When we open, Vision hasn’t really forgiven her and things are a bit uneven between them. Vision and Scarlet Witch have a complex emotional history. One of the things we revealed in Uncanny Avengers was that Wanda was attracted Vision as Simon Williams without any of the risk. She’s still very fond of Simon, who’s trapped in Rogue’s head, which makes that confusing. It’s not complete animosity; Vision is still going to try to aid her and protect her, but he’s vocally mistrusting of her,” said Remender.
The new team continues the tradition of adding villains turned X-Men. The inverted Victor Creed is joining the team following AXIS but this not a Logan replacement.
“It’s not as simple as saying ‘Sabretooth is the new Wolverine,” said Brevoort.
“Sabretooth remembers all the horrible things that he did, but his moral compass has been flipped, and he has to deal with his memories and that nobody trusts him. The Avengers don’t know what to do with him or how far to trust him. You’ve got a serial killer who put his life on the line to save the world, but he’s still a serial killer. They bring him along on the first mission because they have to,” added Remender, “They didn’t put together the perfect team, they’re going to war with who’s available.”
Wanda and Rogue have a bitter history but have the rivals reached a compromise?
“Rogue and Scarlet Witch have earned a sisterhood and each other’s trust, they’ve gone through hell, so they’re the lynchpins of the Unity Squad. Their conflict leading to their friendship was a big arc. They’re co-leaders as we open.” said Remender.
The writer reveals how he chose his team and jokes about a possible new variation on Avengers.
“The way teams normally fall together are fantasy football, negotiating and trading. One thing that was important to Tom was having Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch together, and it’s nice to have them together. Some interesting things for Vision, I’ve got a lot of love for Doctor Voodoo, Sabretooth big coming out of AXIS, Rogue stays from the last team, and you’ve got to have a Captain America.”
“I think Doctor Voodoo is a wonderful character with a great origin who is unique in the Marvel Universe. My goal before I’m washed up is to do a legitimate and wonderful Avengers of the Supernatural.”
Havok was a central character in the first volume but following AXIS, Alex is still inverted and last seen joining Cyclops at the secret Xavier School.
“Given enough time, you can expect Havok in the book for sure. As for where you might see him next, we put a pretty big arrow on that at the end of AXIS,” said Brevoort.
Remender’s other big project is the Avengers: Rage of Ultron original graphic novel says “there are plot threads that come out of Rage of Ultron and Secret Avengers here.”
Uncanny Avengers #1 on January 28
By Editor