Jim.
08-04-2006, 12:19 PM
http://www.newsarama.com/WW_Chicago_06/Marvel/IlluminatiMini.html
While there was fallout from New Avengers: The Illuminati earlier this year, which showed a secret cabal within the Marvel Universe made up of Reed Richards, Charles Xavier, Namor, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, and Tony Stark, much of it has focused on the group and its actions in the run up to Civil War.
Along with the more immediate implications though, the idea that these six individuals have played a role in many of the major events that shook the Marvel Universe hooked many readers' imaginations, and discussions sprung up in regards to what role the six played in certain events, as well as why they didn't step in to prevent other catastrophes.
So where have they been throughout Marvel history, and what has the Illuminati done?
Five issues, starting in November by Brian Bendis, Brian Reed and Jim Cheung will answer that.
As Bendis explained though, this was in the works all along, and just got waylaid by that Civil War thing.
"This goes back before the special - the Illuminati story line was going to be either my summer or my fall storyline on New Avengers, pre-Civil War," Bendis said. "So I was gong to do this story which takes place both in flashbacks and in the modern day Marvel Universe. How did the Illuminati, if they've been around since the Kree-Skrull War have affected events like Atlantis Attacks, and the Infinity Gauntlet storylines - plus, in modern day, what would happen to them?
"The response to the special was so loud, and I was really happy about that, because we got so much mail that was all about people imagining things about the Illuminati. Even when we did it in the Sentry arc - the real key was that it was a concept that captured people's imaginations, and it did mine too, and I had always been planning on telling their story."
That was the plan, Bendis said…until Civil War came along…and then the Illuminati proved its adaptability.
"Civil War came about, and matched so clearly the beginning and the middle of what the Illuminati story was going to touch upon," the writer continued. "So instead of moving ahead with the Illuminati story in New Avengers, we thought that we'd do a special that would lock down the basic idea in time for Civil War, and eventually, we'd tell the rest of the story."
"But it had to be a special package if we were going to do it, and this is. Jimmy and I had a great time on issue #25 of New Avengers - just gorgeous."
Each of the five issues will focus on a different event the Illuminati played a role in, leading up to the present day, Bendis explained, when things hit the fan.
"The hook of the book is that you find out all the stuff they did, and what they did - right after Kree-Skrull War, they did something big, I can tell you; and then you'll go up to modern day, and in the modern day, they get outed to their families - the X-Men, the Avengers, the Inhumans, and the Fantastic Four all find out what these guys have been doing behind their backs. There are a lot of people who're upset with them.
"If you would like to see a double-page spread of all these characters standing around the Illuminati with the look of 'What the f___ did you just do?' We're you're book."
And that feeling from the special that these guys may not all be in agreement, or may sometimes screw up? It's in there as well.
"You're going to see the decisions that they made, as well as the thing that they tried to do and failed at that may have started events that you thought they didn't have anything to do with. I know, people are already yelling, 'Retcon! Bastard!' but you'll see.
"That's one of the reasons why I'm co-writing it with Brian. On a story like this with so many points of view, and so much history involved, it's good to have two sets of eyes looking at everything You're usually harder on your friends than you are on yourself, so if one of us tries to shoehorn something in when it clearly doesn't fit, the other is there to pull him back from the edge. But rust me - massive research has been done on this.
"Together though - Jimmy, Brian and I have found a few moments in Marvel history that they slide right into like butter. I don't think there's going to be too much pitchfork raising at me for this, but then again, I've thought that before."
"We started with the premise, and the reason we wanted to do this story was the endgame image - the Illuminati being outed. Sometimes that final image just fills your head. And also, I did have very concrete story beats that I was gong to do, even from last year. From there, it was all research. We re-read and research older stories, sometimes we got in touch with the original creators to talk about what they wanted to do versus what they were allowed to do, and form there, we put things together. If you're touching Kree Skrull War, Kree Skrull War should be thoroughly researched.
"And yes, I can already hear the typing of the responses about me researching…"
And for those thinking that the miniseries will follow in the shoes of the special, and be a little…to put it gently, full of the talky-talk-talk…the first issue may change minds.
"In the very first issue, the group goes on a big cosmic adventure together - like a supergroup, and goes out to the Skrull Empire and tells them how it is - how the world is, and if they try that stuff again, what will happen to them. But of course, that all goes to hell. But what happens in that issue actually affects things big time for next summer in the Marvel Universe. It's all planned, baby.
"There is also an issue that's very Inhumans-heavy, as well as one that addresses Namor's very fickle relationship with the Marvel Universe. After all, how can you have this character in a group, when every third day, he's attacking the surface world?"
The Namor-related issues will be dealt with as the group reacts to the "Atlantis Attacks" storyline, and, as Bendis said, he plans to touch upon the "Infinity" stories and others ("Although, I can tell you now, if we announce a sixth issue, and the Beyonder appears in it, something has gone horribly wrong," the writer joked), but explained that not every major event in Marvel's history is one in which the Illuminati played a role.
"Some events happen like a bomb dropping - you don' see them coming, and there's not much that the Illuminati could have done beforehand," Bendis said. "But afterwards - they can do something a little smarter or put something in place to prevent it from happening again. That could go well or go wrong. When Galactus shows up, he lets you know he's coming. When Nitro shows up, he doesn't. It's not like the Illuminati can be all things, be everywhere, and protect everyone."
Take the Dark Phoenix Saga for instance. While the events of that storyline were seared into the memories of fans as they took the better part of a year to spill out, in "Marvel Time," the event was relatively short - and directly involved a member of the group.
"If Xavier says to the group, 'I can handle it,' they respect it and let him do it," Bendis said. "Same for anyone else. But if they do respect the member's wishes to take care of it themselves, and it all goes to hell, what do they do then? Or with something like Deadly Genesis. It brings up all kinds of questions from all kinds of angles. It's a rousing adventure with a great artist, and every issue has a big, 'Oh really?' moment."
Oh, and about that big event that this leads into next summer?
"It's not really an event, just a big storyline. The stories will be big, but the feeling is that Civil War is the cherry on the cake of events, and we can get back to making every storyline an event in its own right."
While there was fallout from New Avengers: The Illuminati earlier this year, which showed a secret cabal within the Marvel Universe made up of Reed Richards, Charles Xavier, Namor, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt, and Tony Stark, much of it has focused on the group and its actions in the run up to Civil War.
Along with the more immediate implications though, the idea that these six individuals have played a role in many of the major events that shook the Marvel Universe hooked many readers' imaginations, and discussions sprung up in regards to what role the six played in certain events, as well as why they didn't step in to prevent other catastrophes.
So where have they been throughout Marvel history, and what has the Illuminati done?
Five issues, starting in November by Brian Bendis, Brian Reed and Jim Cheung will answer that.
As Bendis explained though, this was in the works all along, and just got waylaid by that Civil War thing.
"This goes back before the special - the Illuminati story line was going to be either my summer or my fall storyline on New Avengers, pre-Civil War," Bendis said. "So I was gong to do this story which takes place both in flashbacks and in the modern day Marvel Universe. How did the Illuminati, if they've been around since the Kree-Skrull War have affected events like Atlantis Attacks, and the Infinity Gauntlet storylines - plus, in modern day, what would happen to them?
"The response to the special was so loud, and I was really happy about that, because we got so much mail that was all about people imagining things about the Illuminati. Even when we did it in the Sentry arc - the real key was that it was a concept that captured people's imaginations, and it did mine too, and I had always been planning on telling their story."
That was the plan, Bendis said…until Civil War came along…and then the Illuminati proved its adaptability.
"Civil War came about, and matched so clearly the beginning and the middle of what the Illuminati story was going to touch upon," the writer continued. "So instead of moving ahead with the Illuminati story in New Avengers, we thought that we'd do a special that would lock down the basic idea in time for Civil War, and eventually, we'd tell the rest of the story."
"But it had to be a special package if we were going to do it, and this is. Jimmy and I had a great time on issue #25 of New Avengers - just gorgeous."
Each of the five issues will focus on a different event the Illuminati played a role in, leading up to the present day, Bendis explained, when things hit the fan.
"The hook of the book is that you find out all the stuff they did, and what they did - right after Kree-Skrull War, they did something big, I can tell you; and then you'll go up to modern day, and in the modern day, they get outed to their families - the X-Men, the Avengers, the Inhumans, and the Fantastic Four all find out what these guys have been doing behind their backs. There are a lot of people who're upset with them.
"If you would like to see a double-page spread of all these characters standing around the Illuminati with the look of 'What the f___ did you just do?' We're you're book."
And that feeling from the special that these guys may not all be in agreement, or may sometimes screw up? It's in there as well.
"You're going to see the decisions that they made, as well as the thing that they tried to do and failed at that may have started events that you thought they didn't have anything to do with. I know, people are already yelling, 'Retcon! Bastard!' but you'll see.
"That's one of the reasons why I'm co-writing it with Brian. On a story like this with so many points of view, and so much history involved, it's good to have two sets of eyes looking at everything You're usually harder on your friends than you are on yourself, so if one of us tries to shoehorn something in when it clearly doesn't fit, the other is there to pull him back from the edge. But rust me - massive research has been done on this.
"Together though - Jimmy, Brian and I have found a few moments in Marvel history that they slide right into like butter. I don't think there's going to be too much pitchfork raising at me for this, but then again, I've thought that before."
"We started with the premise, and the reason we wanted to do this story was the endgame image - the Illuminati being outed. Sometimes that final image just fills your head. And also, I did have very concrete story beats that I was gong to do, even from last year. From there, it was all research. We re-read and research older stories, sometimes we got in touch with the original creators to talk about what they wanted to do versus what they were allowed to do, and form there, we put things together. If you're touching Kree Skrull War, Kree Skrull War should be thoroughly researched.
"And yes, I can already hear the typing of the responses about me researching…"
And for those thinking that the miniseries will follow in the shoes of the special, and be a little…to put it gently, full of the talky-talk-talk…the first issue may change minds.
"In the very first issue, the group goes on a big cosmic adventure together - like a supergroup, and goes out to the Skrull Empire and tells them how it is - how the world is, and if they try that stuff again, what will happen to them. But of course, that all goes to hell. But what happens in that issue actually affects things big time for next summer in the Marvel Universe. It's all planned, baby.
"There is also an issue that's very Inhumans-heavy, as well as one that addresses Namor's very fickle relationship with the Marvel Universe. After all, how can you have this character in a group, when every third day, he's attacking the surface world?"
The Namor-related issues will be dealt with as the group reacts to the "Atlantis Attacks" storyline, and, as Bendis said, he plans to touch upon the "Infinity" stories and others ("Although, I can tell you now, if we announce a sixth issue, and the Beyonder appears in it, something has gone horribly wrong," the writer joked), but explained that not every major event in Marvel's history is one in which the Illuminati played a role.
"Some events happen like a bomb dropping - you don' see them coming, and there's not much that the Illuminati could have done beforehand," Bendis said. "But afterwards - they can do something a little smarter or put something in place to prevent it from happening again. That could go well or go wrong. When Galactus shows up, he lets you know he's coming. When Nitro shows up, he doesn't. It's not like the Illuminati can be all things, be everywhere, and protect everyone."
Take the Dark Phoenix Saga for instance. While the events of that storyline were seared into the memories of fans as they took the better part of a year to spill out, in "Marvel Time," the event was relatively short - and directly involved a member of the group.
"If Xavier says to the group, 'I can handle it,' they respect it and let him do it," Bendis said. "Same for anyone else. But if they do respect the member's wishes to take care of it themselves, and it all goes to hell, what do they do then? Or with something like Deadly Genesis. It brings up all kinds of questions from all kinds of angles. It's a rousing adventure with a great artist, and every issue has a big, 'Oh really?' moment."
Oh, and about that big event that this leads into next summer?
"It's not really an event, just a big storyline. The stories will be big, but the feeling is that Civil War is the cherry on the cake of events, and we can get back to making every storyline an event in its own right."