One of the most enjoyable elements of shared universes is that seemingly disparate elements like the Original Five time-displaced title characters of Marvel Comics' X-Men Blue and the symbiote enhanced vigilante Venom can suddenly find themselves fighting side by side. Writer Cullen Bunn and artists Jacopo Camagni and Edgar Salazar kicked that unlikely team-up off in the current “Poison X” crossover, a partnership that will continue in the months ahead and lead to serious stakes and repercussions for the heroes involved.

In March's “Cry Havoc” arc of X-Men Blue, which kicks off in issue #23, Bunn and artists Jorge Molina and R.B. Silva chronicle what's happening on Earth while the Original Five X-Men are out in space, and the machinations their mentor Magneto undertakes to stop an unlikely cabal with sinister designs for mutantkind. Then, in April's five issue Venomized, Bunn and artist Iban Coello reunite for a story that brings Venom and the X-Men back to Earth and concludes the Eddie Brock trilogy they kicked off with last year's Venomverse.

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CBR spoke with Bunn about all of these stories; the major players involved (which include Havok, Emma Frost, and a new team of X-Men), and the recent revelation that the title characters of X-Men Blue are in fact the X-Men of the main Marvel Universe and must eventually return to the past to set their timeline right.

CBR: Cullen, in X-Men Blue #20 you brought the "Cross Time Capers" arc to a close with an ending that definitively answered the question about the time displaced title character's roles in X-Men history and suggested that eventually they'll have to return to their own time and forget their time in the present. What does that mean for their adventures moving forward? And how will the revelation about their destiny effect the team as a whole? Is it possible not everyone will want to go back?

Cullen Bunn: I decided when I started writing this series that the team would definitely need to return home at some point. While there has been plenty of debate if this version of the O5 were from an alternate reality or not, in my mind I felt they were most interesting if they were from "our" universe. This means, of course, that they must return home at some point. And, no, not all of them will want to. Maybe none of them.

Here's the thing, though -- a lot of folks have said that this means the O5 must survive to return home. That's comforting, I guess, but this is comics... and anything could happen.

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In X-Men:Blue Annual #1 you kicked off the "Poison-X" crossover between that series andVenom. What's it like bouncing Eddie Brock and his "Other" off your adolescent cast?

I love seeing Eddie interact with the Original Five. In particular, I like his interactions with Cyclops. I see him as something of a hard-nosed father figure for Scott.

"Poison-X" feels very new reader friendly, but I've also noticed some connective tissue with your other work. Is this story the sort of middle chapter in a trilogy of Eddie Brock tales you're telling that began in the Venomverse mini and continues with April's Venomized?

I wanted this story to work for people who only read Venom... or for folks who only read X-Men... or for people who have never read either. This is, however, the connective piece between Venomverse and Venomized. Think of it like The Empire Strikes Back – it’s the bridge between the two. With a title like “Poison-X”, we've tipped our hand that the villains from Venomverse will be showing up, and we'll be getting a hint at the scale of their plans and the threat they pose, but we still have some surprises up our sleeves – including some great surprises that will set the stage for Venomized.

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What's it been like bringing the story of Eddie Brock and the Poisons to a conclusion in Venomized? The solicits for that mini-series suggests that you and artist Iban Coello are telling an epic tale of alien invasion and resistance set against the backdrop of the Marvel Universe. Is that a fair description of your intention with the series?

That's right. Venomized is the story of the Poisons invading Earth with the intent of consuming as many super-powered individuals as possible. This gives the Poisons an odd attack pattern. They must give people symbiotes, then consume both the symbiote and the host. The Poisons crave power, and they are just overconfident enough to launch a really crazy attack on Earth. I can tell you that several Marvel characters will not make it through this story unscathed and unchanged.

The events of the upcoming “Cry Havok” arc of X-Men Blue will unfold while Venom and the Original Five are in space. The solicits for X-Men Blue #23 suggests the antagonists of that arc are Havok, Emma Frost, Bastion, and Miss Sinister. That sounds like an uneasy alliance at best. What's it like bouncing all those characters off of each other? What can you tell us about their dynamic together?

"Uneasy" is an understatement. We'll reveal pretty early on that these characters don't necessarily enjoy working together. They are all plotting against one another even though they are working toward a shared goal. It's been a lot of fun for me to show that these characters aren't just trying to take over the world. They have very specific agendas they are willing to do anything to accomplish. When they achieve their goals, they know they will need to kill each other. They're all just biding their time.

As the titular character of this arc I'm guessing Havok has a pretty important role in this story. What's your sense of Alex Summers? What motivates him?

This is a big story for Alex...calling to events as far back as the Axis event. During that story, Alex was "inverted," turning him into an "evil" version of himself. Now, he'll do anything to make sure mutants ascend to the top of the food chain. He's more like "classic" Magneto than Magneto currently is.

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With the original X-Men out missing, Magneto fields a new team that appears on the cover of the April's X-Men Blue #25. What can you tell us about this group and their dynamic? Seems like the interactions between Jimmy Hudson, the son of the Ultimate Universe's Wolverine, and his new comrade Daken might be especially interesting.

Magneto needs to pull together a new team to help him put a stop to Havok's plans. Polaris, Bloodstorm, Gazing Nightshade, Daken, Jimmy Hudson and Xorn make up this weird mix of characters. Daken, I'll admit, was a last minute addition to the group based on some discussions with Mark Pannicia. His interactions with Jimmy will certainly be interesting, especially AFTER this story. I also love writing scenes with Daken and Briar Raleigh.

With stories spreading out over three different books you're collaborating with a number of different artists. Let's take a moment to chat about the work their doing.

Yeah, I'm working with so many awesome artists on these projects! As you mentioned Iban Coello and I are teaming up once more for Venomized! Edgar Salazar is on my Venom issues, Jacopo Camagni on the “Poison-X” issues of X-Men Blue. Jorge Molina and R.B. Silva are working on the "Cry Havok" and "Mothervine" issues of X-Men Blue.

I just love how each of these artists brings their own flair to the action and drama of the issues. And it can be challenging for them. In some cases, they are all working on their arcs at the same time, so they must work together to make sure the designs of characters, events, items, ships, and the like all mesh!

Finally what sort of hints and teases can you leave us with about the action, scope and tone of "Cry Havok?" It seems like this will be an especially large and eventful arc?

"Cry Havok" and the following arc "Mothervine" are huge in terms of X-Men history. They shake things up for mutants around the world. They change things for Havok and Emma Frost and Bastion and Xorn... and -- well -- everyone involved. And Magneto will be a bit different than he has been in recent months, too. We've been hinting at a growing anger within him. That is about to explode.

The next several issues of X-Men Blue all tie together some really big story elements. Magneto fans... buckle up. Havok fans... I hope you like where I'm going. Emma Frost fans... this is what I've been building to. I'm going to be delivering on some promises I made in the very first issues of the series!