WARNING: Warning this interview contains spoilers for Avengers #684, on sale now


From the start, the Avengers have always had a complex relationship with founding member, the Hulk. MArvel's premiere superhero team appreciates having his strength and the intellect of his alter ego Bruce Banner on their side, but they also know that the volatile Green Goliath could easily become their enemy at any time. Of course, that hasn't been a problem for several months now -- because Banner/Hulk has been dead.

He's back among the living now, though -- and he's become the Avengers' adversary. His return comes at worst possible time, too, as Earth's Mightiest Heroes are trying to prevent two warring cosmic powers from tearing up and eventually destroying the planet. To make matters worse, the Hulk's return hits just as a mysterious, supposedly long lost Avenger revealed her true identity, a secret that seriously complicates Earth's Mightiest Heroes quest to save their planet.

RELATED: Voyager’s True Origin Has Major Implications For The Entire Marvel Universe

These were the two big reveals in Avengers#684, by writers Al Ewing, Mark Waid and Jim Zub, and artists Joe Bennett and Paco Medina. The issue was the latest installment in the epic 16 part “No Surrender” storyline where the Earth has been stolen by the Elders of the Universe known as the Grandmaster and the Challenger and turned into a game board for a contest between their armies the Lethal Legion and the Black Order. The Avengers are meant to serve as “obstacles” for those armies.

We spoke with Ewing, Waid and Zub, about the Hulk's return; the inspiration for Ewing's upcoming Immortal Hulk series; and how some questions about Voyager have been answered but a couple, large and important ones remain.

CBR: One of the big moments in Avengers #684 is of course the return of the formerly Incredible and now Immortal Hulk, Bruce Banner. The issue opens up with a special 10-page prologue by Al and his Immortal Hulk collaborator artist Joe Bennett that explains the Hulk's ability to resurrect. What inspired this “Immortal” take on the Hulk?

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Avengers #685 by Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco and Jesus Aburtov

Al Ewing: This is something that's been brewing for a while - the last time I was in the Marvel "writer's room," way back at the start of last year, we were talking about the Hulk. and I pitched the idea that he was resurrecting so often because that's just what he does. Like, we don't need a MacGuffin or magic or Hydra science every time - he just comes back. That's what he does. That's what he is. I don't think it went anywhere at the time, but when I sat down on my own and really thought it through, that led very naturally into the idea that when the gamma bomb went off, Bruce died... and then he came back. The birth of the Hulk was also the first demonstration of his immortal nature.

RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Ewing & Bennett Unleash Marvel’s Immortal Hulk

I had to go through a pitching process to get the Hulk book, but once I did and I had the basic ideas locked in place, I was doing my usual thing -- I did it with Iron Man for Fatal Frontier -- trawling through the very earliest appearances to get a handle on the primal vibe of the character, and also absorbing any weird synchronicities that came my way. I heard the old Frankie Vaughn song "Green Door" on the radio, and that kind of wormed its way into things. "Green door, what's that secret you're keeping?" There's a whole thing with the Green Door that's going to bubble up through the early issues of the book, and end up introducing a new, terrifying enemy for the Hulk, and for the Marvel Multiverse. You'll have to wait for the July solicits for the first mention of that one...

Jim Zub: I remember grabbing dinner and drinks the night before our Avengers summit to hash out the major story beats of the weekly and Al told me how much he wanted to write the Hulk and that he hoped there would be a way to springboard from the weekly into that story. I'm so happy it's all come together and that he's going to get his chance.

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What can you tell us about the evolution of the Hulk's role in this story? Was he always part of the plan? Who first came up with the idea to make him a major player in the story?

Ewing: Hulk was locked in by the end of the first sit-down meeting, the day after that "writer's room" I mentioned. He was definitely on his way back, and we kind of claimed that beat for our own, because we knew it would grab hold of people at the halfway point. And that was very early on - so almost right from the start, we were building a couple of big action scenarios around the return of the Banner Hulk, and you'll be seeing those play out in month three. Essentially, we had the idea of a whole squad of Avengers against the Hulk, and at first that was going to be all the heavy hitters - which would have been exciting, but would also have had the scent of pro-wrestling to it. Like, if we know the Hulk's going to beat the hell out of everyone - and we do know that, he's the Strongest One There Is - it's much more interesting to pit him against the weak and the wounded, back at HQ. It turns it from an exhibition match into a desperate last stand. (And it is going to be the last stand for a couple of Avengers. There are casualties. You've been warned.)

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Avengers #685 by Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco and Jesus Aburtov

I noticed the Hulk doesn't say a single word in this issue. It gives him an incredibly sinister aspect. What can you tell us about his current state of mind and consciousness? Is this a classic savage Hulk? A more calculating one like his grey hued incarnation? Or something new that we haven't seen before?

RELATED: Before He Was Immortal: The Many Incarnations of the Hulk

Ewing: It feels like something new, in that I'm not consciously doing anyone else's Hulk. When I wrote the Maestro for Contest Of Champions, it was very much Peter David's Maestro - lots of quips, lots of wordplay. But if I'm channeling anything for this Hulk, it's those very first issues, when he was new and strange and unknown and very much a horror character. I'm kind of opening myself up to all that weird, old, dreamlike stuff and letting it drive the bus a little bit. And one thing that stands out is that everyone was really scared of the Hulk in the very early days, in a way they haven't been since - they were afraid of what he might do, because they had no idea what he could or would do.

That's our Hulk. He's a terrifying mystery - and I'm going to hold off on revealing any of that mystery here. The next three or four issues of Avengers will answer all your questions.

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The other major reveal in this issue was that Voyager is, in fact, the daughter of the Grandmaster -- and was never an Avenger at all. She used her teleportation abilities to travel inside the memories of the Avengers and implant images of herself there. Now that the mystery of the character has been resolved, what can you tell us about the creation and evolution of Voyager? Who came up with the idea to make her the Grandmaster's daughter? And what inspired the idea to hide her among the Avengers?

Mark Waid: [Laughs] I honestly don't remember who first suggested the idea of a faux-founder, though I want to say it was [Editor] Tom Brevoort. All of us were adamant on one point: no ret-conning. I was probably the loudest about that -- having played that card once already in my career with Triumph, I had no interest in pulling the same trick twice, though I knew we'd be excoriated for a few weeks until the truth came out.

I very rarely am the one to bring the thunder, but I take pride in the idea of Voyager selling her fake origin by actually linking it to an existing (though new for this story) scientist that some of the other Avengers might have heard of, giving her tale just the right amount of verisimilitude.

Brevoort, in particular, was rightfully insistent that the character design look fully appropriate to the 1960s Marvel era.

RELATED: No Surrender: The Avengers Learn The Truth About Voyager

EXCLUSIVE: Art from Avengers #685 by Paco Medina, Juan Vlasco and Jesus Aburtov

Zub: Yeah, the idea was one of several that popped up while we brainstormed and we revisited it once we had the Grandmaster in place, since it provided a nice "ace" he could rely on. I'm pretty sure I came up with her focus being teleportation (and we realized how useful that would be for shepherding characters to fights all over the world) as a power that hadn't already been used much in the Avengers and wouldn't intrude on other character's expertise, but someone else nailed down the name. My original name for her was Vector, which we ended up using for her secret identity.

The revelation about Voyager's identity begs the question of whose side she's truly on. Can you talk at all about her allegiances? Is she a true wild card? And did pretending to be a hero with the Avengers affect her at all? Is it possible that she's experiencing a sort of "Thunderbolts" effect?

Waid: Those are a lot of reveals left to come that you're asking for, pal!

Ewing: Voyager's another big mystery - at least right now. Have patience, and the next few issues will reward you!

Zub: That's the piece we're going to hold tight for now. Readers may know who she is, but her motivation at this stage and where she ends up is still under wraps.

Avengers #683-684 marked the beginning of Paco Medina's contribution to "No Surrender." He's a veteran superhero artist with a knack for telling action packed and expressive stories that Al has worked with a number of times. What's it like working with Paco on this story and seeing his pages come in?

Waid: Paco crams power and energy into every drawing. It's amazing. It's literally difficult to look away from a Medina page.

Ewing: I'm going to jump in and sing Paco's praises here, as this might be the last time we work together for a little while. He's a rock - classic and modern at the same time, with energy to spare. I honestly can't think of anyone better to do the kind of off-beat, fun, wild and crazy cape-comix madness we've been getting up to together for the last few years. I know I can throw pretty much anything at him and he'll make it sing, which gives me the confidence to get really bizarre on occasion. Hulk's fight with [REDACTED] in issue #686, for example, is one for the ages. And of course, we've had inker extraordinaire Juan Vlasco making it all crisp, sharp and electric - those two are the perfect artistic team, and I'm glad they let me hang around for a while.

Zub: Paco brings confident storytelling to every page. He's one of the best in the business. It's been such a blast working with him, especially with Juan Vlasco's inks and Jesus Abertov's colors taking each page to new heights. The art teams on “No Surrender” have been incredibly consistent and, with so many characters and the many locations and weird situations we put together for the story, I don't want anyone to take that for granted. Paco and the others have made this story what it is.

Waid: I also want to mention that our unsung hero every week is letterer Cory Petit. In a perfect world, the only corrections letterers have to make to their work, if any, are minor, but because of the complexity of this story and because there are three writers telling it, there's an unusual amount of rewriting being done after Cory's turned his work in. No one's doing it to torture the poor guy--it's all about making this story the best it can be--but he's been a champ, and we all owe him a nice bottle of his favorite libation when we're wrapped.

Ewing: Count me in as another who owes a great debt, and an apology, to Cory. I hope he lets us pay for dinner at some point.

Zub: We all owe Cory, big time. Getting these issues out the door, week after week, has involved a lot of lettering adjustments and he's tirelessly delivered the goods. Letterers do not get the praise they deserve because, when they do their job well, their contribution can seem almost invisible. Readers are too busy effortlessly moving through the text to realize how clearly it was laid out and how the lettering enhanced the whole reading experience. Let letterers know that you appreciate their work!