Peter Cannon was a superhero created by writer-artist and New York City police officer Peter Morisi for Charlton Comics in 1966. Now the Living Thunderbolt returns in a new series titled Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt: Destroyer of Death, penned by writer Fred Van Lente and drawn by artist Jonathan Lau. The action-centric comic book from Dynamite is set to retell the hero's dramatic origins while also introducing him to a new generation of readers.
CBR caught up with Van Lente to discuss the exciting character that served as the main inspiration for Watchmen's Ozymandias. The writer revealed how he planned to approach Peter from a simple but unique angle, as well as how some of the ancillary characters were changed for the series. Van Lente also went into detail about some of the necessary changes that needed to be made to Peter in order to bring him to 21st-century readers.
CBR: When approaching a character like Peter Cannon, who has served as an inspiration for so many other heroes, how do you tackle him in a fresh way?
Fred Van Lente: I know this sounds cliché, but it's still true: I tried to strip him down to the basics. Due to his legacy as the inspiration for Ozymandias, I know a lot of focus recently has been put on him being an Adrian Veidt type, a genius, a mystic, and a gazillionaire, but I decided to toss all that out the window. Instead, he's this guy who has literally been living in the middle of nowhere for a long time and is the fish out of water in New York trying to make his way with his fists and feet. He may ultimately become Ozymandias in terms of power and prestige, but he's going to have to start with nothing and work toward it.
As a retelling of an origin story, what were the non-negotiables for you about what you wouldn't change about the character?
He is a guy, essentially, who has come down from the mountaintop of enlightenment in an attempt to make our sad and broken world a little brighter. I really wanted to keep that essence. I like the idea of him having a friend who grew up with him in the compound, but because I wanted to inject more romanticism into the strip, I made Tabu Peter's long-lost love. So she's less of a butler than Tabu was in the original series and more of an equal. She doesn't fight as well as Peter does -- when our story opens, she's been out of practice -- but she can definitely hold her own.
Were there any considerations you had to keep in mind in bringing the character to the 21st century?
I felt like, in the 21st century, to have him be the white guy as the chosen one of a bunch of Himalayan monks [was] a little dubious. So instead, he comes from a kung fu cult of sorts, one that appears to have self-destructed, and he is the sole surviving member. He gets to the "real" world only to discover that the cult leader has basically graduated from an isolated compound to a self-help guru from the 1%, which makes him the most powerful man in the world. Peter is the one man who has to take him down.
What do you feel Jonathan Lau brings to the series as an artist?
I mean, I love kung fu comics. I've written Power Man & Iron Fist, Archer & Armstrong, and a bunch of others -- and Jonathan's art makes this the best-looking martial arts comic I've ever seen. It's Paul Gulacy level; he just crushed it.
What can readers expect from Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt: Destroyer of Death?
An action-packed kung fu adventure with a terrifying villain and a heartfelt reunion between two childhood sweethearts. That title might not be what you think it is...
Dynamite's Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt: Destroyer of Death #1 is due out on Wednesday, Nov. 16.