Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso developing storylines as envisioned by Skottie Young

Fridays on CBR mean Axel's In Charge.

Welcome to MARVEL A-I-C: AXEL-IN-CHARGE, CBR's regular interview feature with Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso!

An editor with years of experience who's brought out comics to both critical acclaim and best-selling status, Alonso stepped into the chair at the top of Marvel's Editorial department earlier this year and since then has been working to bring his signature stylings to the entire Marvel U. Anchored by regular question and answer rounds with the denizens of the CBR Message Boards, each week Alonso will shake things up with special guest stars, exclusive art reveals and more!

This week, as readers recover from Thanksgiving, Axel Alonso opens up the fan mailbag to answer questions on everything from this week's shocking "Amazing Spider-Man" #698 and how it leads to "Superior Spider-Man" to the guest stars and guest creators coming to the "Age of Ultron" event. And there's still time for plenty of queries on the fate of Pixie, Nick Fury, Dark Elves and more. Read on!

Kiel Phegley: Axel, it's Turkey Week so I hope that by the time this runs, everyone out there is stuffed full and very thankful. And I'm betting this week in particular, Dan Slott is thankful that "Amazing Spider-Man" #698 did literally break the internet in half. What can you tell us about the lead up to this final "Amazing" story? What was your reaction when you first heard Dan's pitch?

Axel Alonso: To be honest, when Dan first pitched us the idea at an editorial summit, I wasn't sold on it. But he walked me through where he planned to take the story - the twists and turns and what this would mean for Spider-Man and for Peter Parker - and I completely came around. The fact that his story dovetailed into the Marvel NOW! era was the icing on the cake. "Superior Spider-Man" is going to be very fun ride. No one will believe where it's going to take them.

Preview pages from "Amazing Spider-Man" #700

I'm sure there are a million questions about this issue whose answer will be "Wait and see," but overall, what can you say about the long term impact of a move like this? I think the immediate fan response to such a pitch will be "This won't last six issues." What do you say to that?

Alonso: A lot of folks said the exact same thing when Bucky put on Steve Rogers' tights! [Laughs] Look, this story definitely takes place over more than six issues. Dan has a lot of story to tell.

The other big news of the week was the announcement of the "Age of Ultron" event, and we got some quick fan questions on that including SilverZeal who wonders, "Will Black Panther/Tchalla, Blue Marvel and/or Photon/Monica Rambeau be in Bendis's 'Age of Ultron'?"

Alonso: One of them will be.

Meanwhile, Spidey616 asks, "Some ongoing titles like 'Superior Spider-Man' and 'Fantastic Four' were mentioned as having tie-ins for the upcoming 'Age of Ultron' storyline. Will the regular creative teams like writers Dan Slott and Matt Fraction be working on them for their respective titles or will there be temporary fill-in creative teams for the AU tie-in issues?"

Alonso: Depends on the title, Spidey616. In the cases you mention - the only ones we've spoken about so far - Matt will write the "Fantastic Four" tie-in, and Dan Slott's frequent collaborator, Christos Gage, will write the "Superior Spider-Man" tie-in with "Captain Marvel" artist Dexter Soy on art. So rest assured that both books will feel like an organic part of the ongoing series.

EXCLUSIVE: Greg Land's "Iron Man" #4 pages (L) and a first look at Leinil Yu's "Indestructible Hulk" #3 interiors.

Shifting gears, Spidey616 asks, "With images of Christopher Eccleston as Malekith the Accursed from Thor: The Dark World making their way online recently, can we expect to see the Dark Elves in the not too distant future?"

Alonso: I don't know about you, Spidey616, but everywhere I look, I see Dark Elves. Wait and see...

On the fan favorite character front, Dustellar asks, "Please, can you tell me something about The Juggernaut (Marko :D)? I need him in any team. Maybe in 'Uncanny Avengers'?"

Alonso: Juggernaut is in "Dark Avengers" right this very minute. Go and see -we'll wait!

And Seresecros was one of a few fans asking about a certain X-Man. "Will Pixie still be showing up regularly during Marvel Now? I'd say she's been a massive breakout success over the past few years, and I want more of her!"

Alonso: Pixie is well-loved by many X-writers and artists, Seresecros. So, while she isn't a leading character in any of the X-Books right now, X-Men Group Editor Nick Lowe says that can only last so long. He asked me to underscore my answer with a smiley-face symbol, but I refused.

EXCLUSIVE: A first look at "Ultimate Comics Ultimates" #16

Finally, Prince Of Orphans wants to know, "What's the original Nick Fury's place in the MU and Marvel NOW? Will we be seeing less of him?"

Alonso: Nick Fury's still out there in the world, an independent operator. He'll continue to be a presence in "Winter Soldier" and elsewhere.



Have some questions for Marvel's AXEL-IN-CHARGE? Please visit the CUP O' Q&A thread in CBR's Marvel Universe forum. It's now the dedicated thread for all connections between Board Members and the Marvel Executive staff that CBR will pull questions for next week's installment of our weekly fan-generated question-and-answer column! Do it to it!