In the 2015 event series Secret Wars, the Marvel Multiverse was destroyed and then reborn. It was a cataclysmic event, but readers of writer Al Ewing's books, like 2015's The Ultimates or the recent Defenders miniseries he did with artist Javier Rodriguez, know that over billions of years, the Marvel Multiverse has been destroyed and reborn seven times. This July, a threat to our current "Eighth Cosmos" arises, and a strange group of intrepid, powerful, and fan-favorite heroes will band together to confront it and some of the Marvel Universe's larger cosmic mysteries.

It all happens in Defenders: Beyond #1, the kickoff to a five-issue miniseries, by Ewing and Rodriguez that serves as both a sequel to the duo's previous series and a jumping-on point for new readers. CBR spoke with Ewing about the book, which features characters he's written before, like Galactus' mother, the science adventurer Taaia (who debuted in the previous series), Loki, Blue Marvel, and Miss America Chavez. The series also features characters he's never written like Tigra and iconic cosmic players like the Beyonder. Also included are previews of some of the art of the upcoming Defenders: Beyond #1, drawn and colored by Javier Rodriguez.

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CBR: You're known for the way you use continuity and your love for big, psychedelic sci-fi. You really showed the former in the recent Defenders miniseries, and now you're coming back for a sequel with a title that suggests you're upping the ante on things, Defenders: Beyond. What can you tell us about the set-up of this story, and, in terms of scale and scope, how does it compare to the previous series?

Al Ewing: Upping the ante is right! It's me and Javier [Rodriguez] coming back with more confidence now that we know the audience likes what we've been doing. So we've got a Defenders team that's stranger and more eclectic, with Taaia as the only Defender from the previous team, taking on a journey that's bigger, weirder, and wilder than even the first series. Like last time, we build the Marvel Universe out in a direction nobody was looking, and this time, it's going to end up with some far-reaching consequences. Where are we going? Into the Mystery, right to the very top of the highest realms, to map the Marvel Godhead the way only Defenders could do it!

You and Javier worked together on Defenders and 2017's The Royals. Given your past collaborations, it feels like this is a series primed to cater to your strengths and the things you love doing.

Javier is fantastic to work with and fantastic in general. He's always pushing further when it comes to storytelling, and I really get a kick out of delivering scripts where I know he can really cut loose. I always love seeing the new pages as they come in because they always tackle what I've given him in a way I never considered and instantly love. At this point, I feel like we're completely in sync and ready to build a big, cosmic, magical, psychedelic epic out of all of the things we love about Marvel and comics in general.

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Let's talk about your cast, starting with Taaia. You really seemed to enjoy writing her in the previous series. What are some aspects you especially love about the character?

Taaia originally came from a place of deep love. I wanted a character from the Sixth Cosmos, original home of Galactus, and I wanted that character to draw from the magic of Galactus' co-creator, Jack Kirby. Javier obviously knocked the art side out of the park, and on my end, I wrote her with a loving pastiche of Kirby's wonderfully bombastic, operatic, and poetic writing style -- that beautiful "word jazz" that seemed both unique to its time and far ahead of our own.

The thing about pastiche is that it's a fun technique, but at the same time, it's only a technique. I really like what we did with Taaia, and I love that she made such a strong impression, but I feel like the only real way to pay tribute to the King is to send this character even further into the unknown than before, as part of an attempt to really get to grips with some kind of higher truths -- at least, as best as we're able to in a cape comic. The King demands nothing less. So we're going to try!

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This series also sees you returning to two characters from one of your past cosmic seriesThe Ultimates: America Chavez and the Blue Marvel. What's it like returning to them? What do you feel they bring to this particular story?

These are old friends, in a lot of ways, but they've been on very different journeys. America Chavez has had her entire world, history, and power set change on her in her most recent series. She's coming to grips with new limitations, new connections to her community, a new sense of self, and new responsibilities in the form of her lost sister. She's got a lot of places to work that out in, places more connected to her life on Earth than Defenders is. We've got a unique opportunity in this book to present a situation that the America of then would feel fully equipped to deal with, and throw the America of now into it and then see how she does. Is a doctor still a doctor when they have to operate without any of their usual equipment? Of course they are. Is America Chavez still the paramedic for the multiverse even without her old power levels, dimension doorways, etc.? Of course she is. Why wouldn't she be?

As for Blue Marvel, well, Adam's someone I keep coming back to. Actually, the only reason I step away from him is because I want to see what other writers do, and it was nice to see him made use of in the recent Doctor Doom comic written by Christopher Cantwell, for example. To answer the question... Dr. Adam Brashear is a super-scientist with a history of exploring cosmic strangeness, power on a par with the Silver Surfer at least, and a tendency to have adventures outside the spotlight. To me, that's not just a worthy addition to the Defenders, that's the new leader of the Defenders.

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The final cast member you're returning to is Loki, who appears to be dressed in the same way they were when you wrote Loki: Agent of Asgard. Are they that Loki, though? What can you tell us about this particular God of Mischief and Stories?

The Loki in Defenders: Beyond is the same Loki we just saw in Thor #24, who was the same Loki from Agent of Asgard #17. I've had an urge to tell another story with that Loki for a while, but obviously, it'd have to be slightly unstuck in time in order not to step on the toes of the current Thor team. Still, that gives us some fun opportunities to play with time, causality, and the difference between an alternate version of a character -- a "variant" if you will -- and the true one.

Mostly, though, I get to have a last adventure with a character I had a very strong affection for, though Javier's art means I'm experiencing Loki in a whole new way. They're very much the Loki of those last four issues of Agent of Asgard: wild, mischievous, not particularly caring what you think of them. I'm honestly not entirely sure what they're going to do at the end of this. There'll be a decision to make, and I don't know which way they'll jump.

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The one main cast member in Defenders: Beyond that you haven't written before is Tigra. What made you want to bring Greer into this story? What do you feel she adds to this book?

Javier really wanted to draw Tigra! It's as simple as that. Once we'd decided that she was on the team, the synchronicities began to fall into place to make her the perfect person to be on the team to fill a particular role that someone needed to play over the course of the story. I'm used to a certain amount of magic in the comics-writing process, but even I was shocked by how well she fit into things, even though Defenders is the kind of place where synchronicities happen all the time. Of course, I should have remembered how strange a character Tigra is, being the avatar of an ancient race of cat people who live outside reality as we know it. She's the perfect new addition to the non-team.

One of the major figures and possible antagonists in this story appears to be the Beyonder, who's sporting his classic Secret Wars II (1985) look. What can you tell us about the Beyonder's role in this story?

We meet up with him early and get a closer look at the Beyonders and the Beyond than ever before! What's their connection to the mysterious Omega Council and their Concordance Engines from previous Defenders runs? Why does a remnant of the Second Cosmos still exist today? What's the mysterious furnace that powers the engines of Beyond, and where does it lead? Why is the Beyonder so different from the Beyonders? Most importantly of all, who remembers the Secret Wars action figures of the '80s? (Me and Javier do.)

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I had several of those figures! In fact, that's how I was introduced to the character of Wolverine! Speaking of Secret Wars, we last saw the Beyonders in the lead-up to the 2015 series. So, do they behave differently in this new incarnation of the Cosmos?

They do, and they don't. We're definitely going to be tackling those events, though, and getting the scoop on exactly why the Beyonders felt it necessary to destroy a multiverse. All -- or most -- will be revealed.

Any final hints and teases you can leave us with about the trouble your title cast gets into in Defenders: Beyond?

One of the Silver Surfer's old foes makes trouble for his old non-team. A beloved ex-Defender makes a promised return. Very soon, you'll learn why I had to show one issue to the X-Office. I'll close out with a big thank you to all Defenders readers who made the previous series such a hit and gave us room to come back for a second round. Hope you all survive this new psychedelic experience!

Catch the psychadelic experience in Defenders: Beyond #1, coming July 20.