CBR is proud to present the first edition of the Marvel Monthly Fan Q&A! We are working with Marvel to give comic fans the chance to ask creators about the publisher's biggest titles each and every month. To kick things off, we sent your questions to Al Ewing, the acclaimed writer behind The Wasp, X-Men Red, and Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants.
As part of the Sins of Sinister event, Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants features Storm and Arakko's last surviving heroes as they fight against Mr. Sinister's forces in a dystopian future. Ewing discussed his interest in Storm, his plans for the series, and what the future holds for Marvel's mutant heroes. Marvel also shared an exclusive look at artist Andrea Di Vito and colorist Jim Charalampidis' pages from the upcoming Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants #2 and two pages from Jacopo Camagni and Federico Blee's X-Men Red #11.
When writing Storm, what is the most important characteristic you strive to convey?
-Alex
Al Ewing: Strength of character, I think. A core understanding of what is right and wrong [and] certain unassailable standards she sets for herself. She questions herself but always against that core framework. Is she living up to who she should be? If we take that further, one of those core tenets is that she will not accept for others things that would be unacceptable for herself -- like being ruled, exploited, [or] boxed in. So I keep that steel core in her in mind as I'm writing - it was a relief in some ways to write #11 and give her a few pages to actually relax and be happy without the world crashing down.
Since Storm gets a lot of exposure with Brotherhood, is there hope that the following X-Men Red issues will focus more on the other characters, like Sunspot, Thunderbird, or Fisher King?
- @WillOfDCR
Sunspot gets some relaxation time in #11, and I've got a Fisher King spotlight issue planned for a little down the line.
Why was it decided to remove Storm from the Resurrection protocols? Was it done primarily to set up Sins of Sinister, or was there something more to the decision?
I think the Sins of Sinister of it was just a happy accident -- two plots dovetailing together perfectly. To begin with, I thought Storm fighting hard not to die (and I wasn't in the room for the original reasoning there) made for a really insightful character beat -- even when death is a free action when there is no consequence in a fantasy land, where it's just losing one of infinite lives, she will fight it because she represents life, and life is precious in itself. So restoring the weight of death to her, restoring those consequences, made sense. And then the story demanded we kill off Magneto -- which is weasel wording, but that's how it is sometimes. The story gets what the story wants -- and then it made sense. I've got plans for that plotline past Sins, anyway.
Solicits point toward Storm getting a new love interest that is not T'Challa. What can you share about that?
-Xavier
You'll find out who it is very early in #11, so it'll probably be revealed in the preview pages. I've been told a couple of people are speculating that it's Nova because she smiled at him once? Oof. It's not Nova. I cannot even imagine the chaotic chemistry of that pairing, and I say that as a fan of the Storm/Logan old-friends-with-benefits dynamic. (It's not Logan either, stop fretting.)
A lot of mutants have already died in Sins of Sinister #1 and Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants #1 due to Mister Sinister's scheming, and Arakko is in ruins. Now that Storm has lost her X-Men Red team and is putting together a new group of heroes, does that open any possibility of Magneto's return anytime soon?
-Brandon
If it was Magneto and the Brotherhood, maybe. But it's not a book about him. It's about Storm and her Brotherhood and what becomes of them over a thousand years. So he won't be back in those three issues. After that, sorry, I've got plans I don't want to breathe a word about. You'll have to stay tuned.
S.W.O.R.D. was my favorite X-book, and X-Men Red is my new favorite! As much as I love the X-Men, I'm a bigger Nova fan. Will we still see Rich Rider in X-Men Red from time to time? Do you have any big plans for his future?
-Sam Paulo
Nova's part of the book at this point. What's coming up is what I originally considered bringing him in for, if that's not too cryptic. I thought the people of Arakko would get along great with a guy who fought, bled, and even died in various wars and is now burned out, in therapy, and no longer fits in with polite Earth society and the immediate acceptance of Rich by the average Arakkii would show a difference between who they are and who folks like Isca claimed they were. In terms of big plans, I am swamped right now, but if they said, "What's your Nova pitch," I'd have one.
Any upcoming plans or developments for Cable that you can tease? Will we see him "weaponize" his techno-organic virus again like he did in X-men Red #10?
- Robert
I think he'll have a part to play in upcoming issues -- not immediately but down the line -- and I can't imagine other sectors of the X-Room won't want to have him pop in, especially as we move towards future plans that can't be spoiled.
In the brotherhood personnel data page, you said that Cable became living history after bonding with Xilo. The way I see it, he's always been the X-men's historian. Was this part of your inspiration for bonding them, or did you have something else in mind?
- Ross
I didn't have such a clear thought about it, but it's true that something about those two did make me think they'd be great together, and honestly still does. It's a partnership that'd work pretty well right here in the present. I just loved the idea of Cable with a Xilo arm.
Is there anything you can tease about Roberto Da Costa's future?
- Riley
I'm going to walk a bit of a tightrope here because I don't want to announce things that are still very much in the planning stage, but there's some room coming up for a closer examination of Roberto, and that's something I'm interested in exploring. We'll see what comes of that.
After reading Stephanie Williams's backup story in Scarlet Witch #2 and learning about the Sisterhood as well as her connection to Agamotto via Ayesha, I wonder, do you have plans to explore Storm's magical heritage, post-Sins of Sinister?"
- William
Yes, soon, and then, yes, later.
Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants #2 is on sale March 22, and X-Men Red #11 arrives May 10.