Saving the world is just part of the job description for the Avengers, but sometimes the nature of that task is so massive, it's an all hands on deck affair. When these days “like no other” dawn, Earth's Mightiest Heroes have to be ready for anything including the machinations of mysterious entities, the return of an old threat, the rise of a new one, or the sudden appearance of a forgotten friend.

In Avengers #575-576, writers Mark Waid, Al Ewing, and Jim Zub along with artist Pepe Larraz kicked off their 16-part storyline, “Avengers: No Surrender,” by having all of those events happen one after the other.

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In those two issues the Earth was stolen, a number of heroes and villains were mysteriously frozen, the Avengers were reunited with an enigmatic former comrade named Voyager, and they became obstacles to overcome in a contest between the cosmic marauders known as the Black Order and a new incarnation of the villainous team, the Lethal Legion. CBR spoke with Waid, Ewing, and Zub about Voyager, the creation of the new Lethal Legion, the return of the Black Order, and what fans can expect as “No Surrender” moves forward.

CBR: In Avengers #676, we learned a little bit more about the new character you guys introduced in issue #675 -- Valerie Vector, AKA Voyager. She's still shrouded in mystery for us readers, even though the Avengers appear to know much about her. What can tell us about the inspiration for Voyager and why you chose to make her a sort of forgotten character who played a role in past continuity like the Sentry?

Al Ewing: I feel like Mark or Jim might have a better grasp on how she came to be - my memory of the flow of events gets very fuzzy - but I think part of the why of it all is one of the big themes we were throwing around when we went into this project, which is... what actually is an Avenger? What does that mean? I think when we really dug into that is when Voyager started to emerge.

Jim Zub: Yeah, I don't remember exactly who struck the idea of adding a new character in this way, though I do know that Mark ensured that we weren't just retreading it the way it was done before with Sentry or [Justice League character] Triumph. We wanted to showcase bigger ideas about what the Avengers represent and the different kinds of people who have found themselves under the team's banner, but Voyager was different. She's a mystery plugged in to keep readers guessing, of course, but I don't know how to say more than that without heading into spoiler territory.

Suffice to say that at first I think she had a much more mechanical role in the way the story was built but, as we developed her further and put together scenes with her, I think all of us started to see how much potential Valerie Vector had. When it's all said and done, I hope she resonates with readers.

Mark Waid: We can't say too much without showing our hand, but as the guy who created DC's Triumph, the ultimate retcon, I can only say again that a good magician never performs the same trick twice. No theory I've seen online yet has nailed what's happening.

Voyager is just one of a number of mysteries you introduced in these first two issues, but I also feel like you answered a major question in issue #676 as well; why the Earth was stolen. From what we saw and heard it sounds like Earth has been chosen as a game board in a competition between two mysterious entities, the Black Order and Lethal Legion are their pawns, and the unfrozen Avengers are obstacles to make the game interesting. Is that a fair interpretation of the clues we've gotten so far?

Ewing:  I mean, it fits with what's on the page. Is it a good guess? We'll see. I will say that I've had a ball writing a certain mysterious entity who shall for now remain nameless.

Zub: That's a fair interpretation. Lots of people are being played in all of this, that's for sure.

Waid: So far, sure. But we're barely into Act One, aren't we?

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Let's talk a little bit about the two rival villain teams, starting with the Lethal Legion. The team features a few established characters in the form of Captain Glory and the Blood Brothers and one new take on an old villain in the new Metal Master. What made you want to include these characters on the team?

Ewing: They're not super established; I mean, the Blood Brothers are, but this Captain Glory is all-new, although he definitely could be the Prime Universe version of Noh-Varr's Dad. All I had in the original meeting was "Kree Captain America," which is fine for the bare bones, but it's been Jim and Mark who've put the meat on.

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I've probably had more to do with the All-New, All-Now Metal Master - originally, that was going to be the old-school Molyb from Hulk #6, but he went on such a journey in Black Bolt that it almost seemed disrespectful to plop him right back into villainy. So now there's a new Metal Master who revered the original as a great conceptual artist and wants to follow in his footsteps, with the conquest of worlds as his artistic medium. (And of course, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about the two Metal Masters having a fight. So there's that, too.)

Zub: Metal Master and Captain Glory were definitely Al's idea. I think Tom mentioned the Blood Brothers and we brought them in.

Creating new stuff in the Marvel Universe is a dream come true for me. That's why I created those little cute Cyttora in Uncanny Avengers #28. That's why Drall screams in a language from the "Endrionic Empire." I want to build as many cool new bits for the Marvel Universe as I can. I'll keep doing it until someone stops me.

Waid:  Conversely, I think my strong suit is taking what already exists and showing new layers. Molyb, in particular, has been fun when it comes to breaking Metal Masters apart on a scientific level and putting them back together to come up with new uses for a Metal Master's powers.

The Lethal Legion, of course, features several new characters as well. Who are some of the new members that you especially enjoyed writing? Did you each have a hand in coming up with the new members? Or were specific characters co-created by certain writers?

Ewing: I was the one who yelled "MENTACLE!" in a moment of almost-religious ecstasy, so I take credit for the name, at least. Jim's been the one to give her her personality - in fact, he's also responsible for creating a couple more Lethal Legionnaires out of whole cloth.

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Zub: Yeah, I went a bit nuts coming up with the new Lethal Legion members. I talked about bringing a weapon-wielder on to the team, because I love that sword & sorcery $#&@, and that turned into Drall. I wanted some kind of ghost-like/ethereal baddie, and that became Ferene. A discussion about aliens that didn't have two arms/two legs turned into the wonder that is Mentacle.

Waid: Yeah, Mentacle is the Character Find of 2018.

I want to call attention to the fantastic design work by Pepe Larraz. He and colorist David Curiel have done an amazing job establishing the strange mystery that's unfolding and giving the story stakes. What do you enjoy most about the work Pepe and David have done?

Ewing: I love Mentacle's tentacles. I really dug that first splash of all the teams together. And I'm a big fan of Lightning in that suit. (Although fans of his costume - and I'm one - need not worry.)

Zub: Pepe and David have elevated every scene we wrote. No matter how epic I imagined it, they've leveled it up every single time. Pepe manages to mix incredibly dynamic posing with rock solid storytelling. It feels classic in that action-packed superheroic way, but delivered with a contemporary flare, then David comes in and propels the whole thing even higher with so much mood and atmosphere. It's like a billion dollar effects budget on the page.

Waid: What Zub said. Both gentlemen bring the script to life in ways that none of us had imagined.

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What's it like writing the Black Order? What do you find most interesting about them as a team?

Ewing: I mean, I wrote Proxima Midnight and Ebony Maw for a couple of issues - as things have turned out, I'm not sure I've touched them again, although I did write a nice moment for Black Dwarf. They're much more of a cohesive unit than the Lethal Legion - the Legion are kind of chaotic, a gang of assorted space weirdos, while the Black Order come across as a well-oiled machine. But then, in Marvel, the underdog is often the one to bet on...

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Zub: Yeah, I wrote a lot of action scenes with the Black Order and Lethal Legion while Al and Mark did heavy lifting with the other big plot reveals and character interactions to make it run. As Al said, the Black Order knows their strengths and are far more organized. They have deep loyalties to each other and their cause. The Lethal Legion are a ragtag bunch with something to prove.

Waid: Finding some threads to stitch the Lethal Legion together as a team was fun and an interesting challenge. I like the Black Order, but were I a gambling man, I (and others) would put money on the Legion.

Finally, can you leave us with some hints about what's coming up in the remaining chapters of Act I?

Ewing: Heavy hitters will be assigned. Old homes will be explored. Mistakes will be made.

Zub: Part 3 reveals some of the power operating behind the scenes. Part 4 takes a dark turn. Part 5 gives you a big piece of the puzzle.

Waid: The smartest thing I've ever seen superheroes do when they find two teams of supervillains in mortal combat with one another.

Zub: I love hearing from readers as they get excited and theorize about what's coming next. This weekly format creates momentum in a way I haven't experienced before, especially on this grand a scale. It's a rush.

Waid: I still love how we started with "The Earth has been stolen" and then found a way to make the story even bigger.