Fridays on CBR mean Axel's In Charge.

Welcome to MARVEL A-I-C: AXEL-IN-CHARGE, CBR's regular interview feature with Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso!

An editor with years of experience in comics receiving both critical acclaim and best-selling status, Alonso stepped into the chair at the top of Marvel's Editorial department and since then has been working to bring his signature stylings to the entire Marvel U. Anchored by regular question and answer rounds with the denizens of the CBR Community, each week Alonso will shake things up with special guest stars, exclusive art reveals and more!

RELATED: Marvel's Teen Heroes Unite In New "Champions" Series From Waid, Ramos

It's been a busy week for Marvel Comics news, specifically with the announcements of some of the biggest Marvel NOW! launches set for this fall: "Champions," featuring a young team of heroes consisting of Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Ms. Marvel, The Totally Awesome Hulk, Nova, Viv Vision and teen Cyclops from the creative team of Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos; "Invincible Iron Man" from Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli, starring the recently introduced Riri Williams in the lead role; the previously teased "Death of X" miniseries, featuring a collision between the X-Men and Inhumans courtesy of co-writers & Jeff Lemire and artist Aaron Kuder; the offbeat "Great Lakes Avengers" from writer Zac Gorman and Will Robson; and "Unworthy Thor," with Jason Aaron and Olivier Coipel putting the classic Thor -- now known solely as "Odinson" -- back in a starring role. Alonso gives his thoughts on each of these launches, along with a cameo from Marvel editor Wil Moss, who explains that the return of Odinson does not mean a lower profile for the current Thor, Jane Foster. [NOTE: This interview took place before Friday's "CAGE!" and "Captain Marvel" announcements.]


Albert Ching: Axel, as the full new Marvel NOW! lineup reveal approaches with next Wednesday's release of the Marvel NOW! Previews magazine, there were quite a few major series announcements these past few days. Let's start with "Champions" from Mark Waid and Humberto Ramos, and specifically with that creative team. Fans my age remember their work together on "Impulse" back in the '90s -- what was the motivation on Marvel's part to re-team them up for this story?

Axel Alonso: The series -- this team and its mission statement -- grew organically out of "Civil War II." Mark was part of that discussion, and since he is the "Avengers" writer, it just made perfect sense that he'd take point on this. Humberto was natural fit for the series, given his chemistry with Mark and the fact that the team is composed of young characters, which he excels with.

Given the positioning of it as one of the first announcements of the new Marvel NOW! era and the prominence of the characters involved -- how big of a book is this? "All-New, All-Different Avengers" was one of the flagships of last year's launches, and this seems to be carrying on in that spirit -- is "Champions" one of Marvel's flagship books going forward?

Alonso: Without a doubt. The same way that "Uncanny Avengers" was a flagship book coming out of the original Marvel NOW!, "Champions" makes a huge statement about the Marvel Universe in the aftermath of "Civil War II."

It's said to be a different type of team book, and it also feels like the culmination of a lot of things Marvel has been doing in recent years, with its clear focus on younger, more diverse characters. What's exciting to you about seeing the "Champions" team together?

Alonso: They're diverse, they're all fairly new, and they've all connected with readers, new and old, for different reasons. To see them interact is going to be a lot of fun, especially when you consider what drew them together in the first place.

This week also brought the news of a new "Invincible Iron Man" series from Brian Michael Bendis and Stefano Caselli that will star Riri Williams. That's certainly a bold move, to replace a character as famous as Tony Stark with a relatively brand-new character -- what was the behind the scenes process like in making this decision? What gave Marvel the confidence to move forward?

Alonso: Like "Champions," this move was an organic outgrowth of "Civil War II." We promised that it would bring about change the Marvel Universe, and we weren't joking. And if the reaction to this announcement proves anything, it's that people have a visceral reaction to seeing someone like her wearing that armor! [Laughs]

I think Riri is a fantastic hero for our times, who will hopefully prove a great role model for the future. Will she be "Iron Man"...or will she forge her own identity and adopt her own identity? And where the heck is Tony Stark? Wait and see.

Riri fits in the tradition of a lot of newer Marvel characters -- younger, something of a legacy character and represents a demographic that you don't often see in lead roles in mainstream superhero comics. What do you like about this character that Bendis and Mike Deodato created? And was it always the plan for her to take this much as a lead role?

Alonso: Like Miles, Kamala and Amadeus, Riri is a character that we were always invested in. Brian had ambitious plans for her when he took over "Invincible Iron Man," and those plans got a lot bigger as the details of "Civil War II" came into sharp focus. Stuff sets this up.

A lot of story left to be told there. On Thursday, readers got the details of the long-teased "Death of X" storyline, which is now known to take place in the gap after "Secret Wars." X-Men fans have been in a bit of paranoid state since the "Death of X" teasers started coming out -- is this a story they should be dreading or looking forward to?

Alonso: Both. After "Secret Wars," readers returned to a Marvel Universe in which mutants and Inhumans were locked in a Cold War, but without the facts of how they got there. We know that Cyclops died in a crusade against the Inhumans, leaving mutantkind more hated than ever, but that's it. "Death of X" fills in the blanks: What did Cyclops do? What happened to Emma Frost? What role did the Inhumans play in the mutants' predicament? And over the course of the story, readers -- and Inhumans and X-Men -- will discover that not everything is as it seems, which will fuel stories we have planned for further down the line.

At the very least it sounds like a chance for X-fans to see X-Men characters who have been off the radar.

Alonso: Yeah, you'll see a lot of folks who've been off the radar, and you'll learn why.

You mentioned the creative team -- Charles Soule and Jeff Lemire are co-writing, representing Inhumans and mutants, respectively, but it's illustrated by Aaron Kuder, who people primarily know from his work at DC Comics as of late, specifically "Action Comics." What brought him to this series -- and this side of the aisle?

Alonso: Aaron's a superstar-level artist just waiting to be crowned as such -- he just needed the right platform. And now that he's back over at Marvel, we've got him on the right platform -- just wait until you see these "Death of X" pages!

There's also a new "Great Lakes Avengers" title from writer Zac Gorman and artist Will Robson, which sure seems to fit in the tradition of the more humorous Marvel titles the publisher has cultivated in the past couple of years. Do you see "Great Lakes Avengers" as a further evolution of Marvel in that regard?

Alonso: Without a doubt. We've had a lot of success with books that veer hard into humor, but don't hit the same notes. This series will definitely hit different notes. Just take a look roster of characters for starters. [Laughs] "Great Lakes Avengers" is kinda the love child of "Deadpool" and "Unbeatable Squirrel Girl." It's a weird book about weird characters doing their best with what they've been given. In many ways, the closest parallel to it might be some of Steve Gerber's offbeat work in the 1970s.

This week also brought the announcement of "Unworthy Thor" from Jason Aaron and Olivier Coipel. Why was now the right time to bring Thor Odinson back into a starring role? And given that Jane Foster remains "the" Thor in the Marvel Universe, how does Marvel make sure she doesn't get overshadowed with the classic Thor back in the mix?

Alonso: You know, [Editor] Wil Moss has a lot to say about this, so I'm going to turn the mic over to him...

Wil Moss: Let me address that last question first: Jane Foster is and will continue to be the only Thor in the Marvel Universe. We might be calling this new series "The Unworthy Thor," but he's still only going by Odinson, he is still no longer Thor. That name belongs to Jane now.

And hey, Jane's "Thor" series ("Thor" and "Mighty Thor") have always sold better than when Odinson was still Thor, so we're not too worried about "Mighty" being able to hold its own against "Unworthy." People really love Jane as Thor!

Plus, Jason and artist Russell Dauterman have some big, crazy stuff in store for Jane in "Mighty" over the next few months. We're not quite ready to say exactly what just yet, but get ready for some insane Mjolnir-related surprises and an operatic-level conflict with a corner of the Marvel Universe that this Thor has never tussled with before.

As for Odinson and why now was the right time to get back to him, well, as with all things Thor-related since the launch of "Thor: God of Thunder" a few years back, Odinson coming back now is just the latest chapter in Jason's epic Thor story that he's telling. Odinson's been missing ever since the end of "Secret Wars," and now that the suspense has built for a few months about where he's been, Jason's ready to tell that story. And oh what a story it is...



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