The mutant heroes of the Marvel Universe are outcasts in that they protect a world that fears and hates them, but at least they have a place to belong in the X-Men or another heroic mutant team. What happens though to the heroes who find themselves alienated from the X-Men or unsure of their place in the Marvel Universe's premier mutant team? Where do they go? How do they protect the world when they're trying to find their place in it?

In July, the new Astonishing X-Men creative team of writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Greg Land will set out to answer those questions and more as they kick off their run on the book with issue #13. CBR spoke with Rosenberg about his cast of misfit mutants, how the cybernetic Reavers are their perfect initial foil, and how his run will differ from the run of previous Astonishing writer, Charles Soule.

RELATED: Rosenberg & Land Join Astonishing X-Men, Tease New Team Member

CBR: I know landing a monthly X-Men book is a dream assignment for you, but what's your vision for Astonishing X-Men? Will this be like Charles Soule's run before you in that you're telling one long form story with this specific set of characters, or are you doing something totally different?

Matthew Rosenberg: First of all, yes. Doing X-Men is a dream come true for me and I still keep thinking their going to call and say "just kidding, dummy." I should get over that since, ya know, they paid me. But it is surreal.

As for what the book is like, that's a tricky question for a few reasons. Charles has done an amazing job of creating these big, urgent X-Men stories. It's so exciting to take over for him, and really terrifying.

With that said, what we are doing is very different. I think there will be themes and ideas that carry through and people recognize, but in a way ours is the other side of the coin. While Charles and company had these big hero moments, we follow a team that is struggling to find their place and find themselves. A few of our cast our lapsed X-Men, or down on their luck, and they're trying to do right. It's still a big story that will have ramifications for the characters and universe going forward, but in some ways, it's a bit more personal.

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Astonishing%20X-Men%3A%20Havoc%20is%20the%20Kirk%20to%20Beast%27s%20Spock']



Let's talk about your cast of characters, starting with Havok who's psyche was inverted back to a heroic state at the end of a recent X-Men Blue storyline. What's your sense of Havok when you pick up with him? What's it like for him being back among the ranks of the X-Men?

Havok is one of my favorite characters of all time. I don't know what it is about him, but ever since I learned to read he has been someone I'm drawn to. So, the chance to write him in a book, and as a team leader at that, is really incredible. In the past few years, from before Axis up into Blue, I think his journey has been really fascinating. He's been an X-Man, and Avenger, and a team leader too. But he has always been overshadowed. He's always been the head of the B team, or the almost star. He's always the little brother of one of the most famous X-Men. So his journey to becoming a villain, and now that being undone in Blue is something I really wanted to explore.

RELATED: Havok’s AXIS Inversion Has Come to An End – But How?

This isn't a Storm or an Iceman or a Kitty, or someone that people will immediately forgive. He is going to have to re-earn people's trust. He is going to have to prove who he is and what being a hero means to him. And that's what this book is about in a lot of ways. It's the struggle of people who want to do good and all the things that get in their way. For Havok, the biggest obstacle he has to overcome is himself.

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Astonishing X-Men #1 by Greg Land and Frank D'Armata

Havok is co-leader of your team with Beast. Hank McCoy is a pretty complex and multi-faceted character -- which aspects of his personality are you interested in exploring?

RELATED: Astonishing X-Men Sets Bishop Up To Be A Leading Man Again

The idea I discussed a lot with my editor Darren Shan was that Havok is the Kirk to Beast's Spock. I'm a Star Wars guy, but I think that metaphor tracks. But yes, Beast is this very fascinating character within the X-Men. He left to be an Avenger. And a Defender. He aided the Inhumans. He has spent a lot of time away from the X-Men, and in doing so, there is some distance. He's the old guard, but I think a lot of the younger X-Men think his heart isn't 100% in it. And I think they might be right. Beast has a lot of regrets. We see hints of that in the choices he's made and things he's done. Of all the original X-Men, he may be the one who has the most doubts about how things turned out for them. And that's saying a lot. So his role, as a sort of conscience for Havok, comes from a really cautionary place. If Havok thinks his road to redemption is through the X-Men, Beast sees how it can also be a path to regret.

Page 3: [valnet-url-page page=3 paginated=0 text='Rounding%20Out%20the%20Team%20with%20Dazzler%2C%20Colossus%20and%20Warpath']



Your cast also includes Dazzler and Colossus, and in in the recent Dazzler one-shot, Magdalene Visaggio developed a fun friendship between Alison Blaire and Peter Rasputin. Will we see more of that in your run? How would you describe Dazzler's dynamic with the rest of the team?

Yeah, Dazzler is friends with Peter. There are parts of this that I can't exactly talk about. Dazzler's joining the team is a pretty unique set of circumstances. A lot of it has to do with her friendships with them, but some of it comes from a place of pain. But she's great in the book, I think. She gets overshadowed a bit by other X-Men sometimes, but Dazzler is one of the coolest superheroes around. She's seen and done it all. She's famous. She's talented. She's basically an X-Men as a hobby. Which is pretty badass. So we're exploring that a bit. Unlike a lot of the Marvel Universe, her role isn't thrust upon her. She has choices. And she chooses to risk her life saving the world because it's fun. I love that.

RELATED: What Is Astonishing X-Men’s Mindkiller Apocalypse?

Warpath is coming to the book from another team, Weapon X, which is currently being lead by Sabretooth. So what's it like for James Proudstar to be part of this team? And Warpath is a character who's frequently been part of X-Men based kill teams like Weapon X and X-Force. Will his ability to use lethal force clash with his team mates?

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Astonishing X-Men #1 by Greg Land and Frank D'Armata

Warpath, like Dazzler, has a role on the team that is sort of hard to explain. You make a good point that he is often willing to cross a line other X-Men don't but that's not what is going to separate him from the team. He has sort of a separate mission and because of that him and the team won't always see eye to eye.

Your cast's initial antagonists appear to be the Reavers who were also sort of of down on their luck when we last saw them in The Hunt for Wolverine one-shot that kicked off that storyline. What made you want to use the Reavers in this story? How dangerous is this incarnation of the group?

The Reavers are sort of the perfect antagonists for the X-Men in some way. They are this other idea of human evolution, one based in technology. They modify themselves to become something post-human. But where the X-Men are a sort of family, the Reavers are a gang. So I love that juxtaposition. But for our story, where we find some X-Men who are down on their luck and have had a fall from grace, we see the same thing in the Reavers. They are broke, they are desperate, and they're leadership has been caught by the government. So what we end up with is a group of antagonists who are not as far removed from the X-Men as one might think.

RELATED: X-Men Blue Epilogue Teases Venomized Wolverine, Extermination & More

The one other thing I can say is in the Hunt for Wolverine we see them at their most broken. But things have changed for them since then. They've had their backs to the wall for a bit now and we're going to see that they are at their most dangerous now.

Page 4: [valnet-url-page page=4 paginated=0 text='Will%20Astonihgng%20Be%20a%20Classic%20X-Men%20Story...%20Or%20Something%20New%3F']



What other hints and teases can you offer up about the tone and action,of your initial story?

In terms of tone, we really tried to hit a balance of everything I love in the X-Men- the badass superheroics, the dysfunctional family dynamics, the underlying tragedy, and the humor and heart that covers that. I'll let readers decide if we were successful, but for the most part I tried to tell a classic X-Men story but with an eye to the future. Some of my favorite X-Men stories are the most personal ones. The ones that really zoom in close on the lives of the mutants and how their missions impact them. We tried to do that too, and I think that will be reflected in everything from our cast to the fights and the scale of the story. It is up close and personal, but can also be earth shattering for our heroes.

RELATED: Marvel’s X-Men: Extermination Event Claims Its First Mutant Victim

Your initial story is being brought to life by veteran X-Men artist Greg Land. What do you enjoy most about Greg's style?

Greg is a legend. It's been amazing to watch him bring the story to life. His characters are so dynamic and expressive that it just immediately "feels" like the X-Men as soon as he puts pencil to page. It's hard to describe. But we are trying to make a big, dynamic story that still feels personal and Greg handles all of that with such grace and style. I can't say too much, but the last page of our fist issue is going to be one X-Fans talk about for a long, long time I think.

Finally, when this project was first revealed you mentioned that your cast may include some other characters that have yet to be revealed. Can you leave us with any hints as to those characters identities? Will we see those characters early on in your run? And approximately how much bigger will your cast be getting?

RELATED: Marvel Teases the Extermination of the X-Men Blue Team

We're just adding one more character. You will see them in the first issue. And no hints, but they are one of my favorite X-Men characters. I practically screamed with joy when Marvel told me that I'd get to write them.

I really hope people give the book a chance. As a lifelong X-Men fan this is a dream come true for me to get to write this book and I hope folks like it.