A post from my Marvel blog of the previous decade, this one discussing how some of the series spinning out of HOUSE OF M were conceived.
April 28, 2007 | 1:00 AM | By Tom_Brevoort | In General
Continuing from this morning, on the development of a crossover.
After our initial document went out to the various editors and creators, we circled back around a few weeks later, as we prepared for an upcoming editorial retreat.
Here are some notes from that pre-Retreat go-around. AA is Axel Alonso, MM is Mike Marts, MP is Mark Paniccia, TB is me. The original questions were posed by Joe Q.
Tom, Ralph, Mike & Mark,
As we prepare for our retreat, there are a few events that we need to coordinate for. As we discussed, please review the following categories and provide me with any notes you have on the following topics. If you can do so by, say, Tuesday, Nov. 23, that would he ideal:
1. HOUSE OF M SPINOFFS: Please list any titles of characters that you think we could spin out of the event as limited series or ongoing series. Please include a sentence or two as to who they are and why we might consider them):
(AA) • Deathlok: Now’s as good a time as any to revive the original Cyberpunk super hero. Question is, do we want to create our own Deathlok prior to the movie? If so, then do we want to tap the guys who wrote the screenplay, tell them to run wild?
(AA) • Moon Knight: Let’s cut to the chase, he’s our Batman; do we want to use this event to tee him up? Who’s going to write this –Warren Ellis? Kevin Smith? Or do we set up with a Daredevil/Moon Knight by Bendis?
(TB): I think the strongest way to set this up would be to start with the Daredevil/Moon Knight book, whether or not we set up the new Moon Knight out of House of M.
(AA) • Morbius: He’s a living vampire, which makes him unique. Maybe there’s something we can tap here?
(TB) X-Factor: This is Andy’s pitch that springs from the MADROX limited series, and would launch out of the changes HOUSE OF M will have on the District X section of Manhattan.
(TB) Invaders relaunch: Andy is working on a reworking of the Invaders concept, that could potentially spin out after HOUSE OF M. If we go this route, we’d want to do a GIANT-SIZE INVADERS one-shot during House of M, in which we’d introduce a new major villain who would cross over into the restored Marvel Universe and thus set up the new series.
(MP): RE: INVADERS- I bet WWII would be re-imagined quite differently by Magneto (no Holocaust? No Nazi Germany?).
(MP) What are plans for NAMOR and what is Atlantis like during House of M?
(MP) And do we have to think about things like Galactus having come to Earth at some point? How did Magneto handle him and the Surfer? Is there enough of a story there for a mini?
(TB) Other possibilities: The Falcon. The Scarlet Spider (I swear that there’s some cache built up in this character and concept, if we can just figure out how to tap into it.)
(MP): I’ve got some creators chomping at the bit for Longshot. His complicated back-story always made my head want to explode. This could be a good opportunity to cut some of the baggage.
(TB) Also, it would be good to launch one or two new things out of the event as well, rather than just all retreads of old concepts or names.
(MM) Some ideas from the X-Office…
(MM) • Thunderbird. The super-strong/headstrong Native American mutant. We’re already talking with Panic about the idea of bringing Thunderbird as a villain in the 30th Anniversary project…if not, perhaps reviving the name or concept as a new character.
(MM) • Mimic. Both the name and powers are cool (the ability to mimic other heroes’ powers). The hero that can play at being all the other heroes.
(MM) • X-Man. Another great name. There’s something here. Could be anything, really. The ultimate mutant.
(MM) • District X (Mutopia). Already submitted as pitch. A tie-in during House of M. These onetime dregs of both mutant and human society now find themselves on top of the world…virtually mutant royalty.
(MM) • Excalibur/Captain Britain. The current Excalibur series will most likely end during or after House of M…why not give readers what they want—give them the Excalibur they know—Captain Britain and crew. Perhaps with Alan Davis writing.
(MP): I also have an idea for a new government super team (a la SHIELD special/black ops) that I’ll be discussing with Joe tomorrow. I’d like to introduce new characters with names and powers based on characters who’ve died before or in DISASSEMBLE. Maybe this can spin out of HOM.
2. TITLES THAT CAN TIE INTO HOUSE OF M DURING ITS RUN: Which titles do you think would tie in nicely with HOUSE OF M? In other words, which of your titles can be interrupted by the event so that we can maximize on the crossover?
(AA) • WOLVERINE
(AA) • DAREDEVIL
(TB): The following titles in my office will have a House of M tie-in:
(TB) CAPTAIN AMERICA
(TB) SHE-HULK
(TB) NEW THUNDERBOLTS
(TB) YOUNG AVENGERS
(TB) SPIDER-MAN HOUSE OF M limited series
(TB) Additionally, we’re considering:
(TB) FANTASTIC FOUR: If JMS is to start on the series in June, then there won’t be a tie-in issue of the regular book. We should consider whether we want to do a self-contained FF HOUSE OF M one-shot or limited series to tie in
(TB) IRON MAN: The seventh issue of the book is where a HOUSE OF M tie-in would naturally fall. This would be right after the last Warren/Adi issue. What we need to weigh is whether that sets us up for a new creative team well, or if it’ll look like a stopgap throw-away.
(TB) SPIDER-GIRL: The idea in this case would be to do a HOUSE OF M tie-in set 15 years in the future. So Mayday Parker is still Spider-Girl, but in the World of M she’s the blond daughter of Peter and Gwen Stacy. Could be fun and off-beat.
(TB) CABLE & DEADPOOL: Fits in naturally enough with its mutant ties. We just need to find the hook.
(MM) Before mentioning titles to tie-in, I thought it might be good to repeat a few of the overall “mutant-y” goals we’re trying to accomplish through H.O.M.:
(MM) “Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle”
(MM) • Phase 1 — Return the identity of the X-Men to secret status
(MM) • Phase 2 — Make the location of the X-Mansion and school unknown
(MM) • Phase 3 — Reduce the number of young students at Xavier’s to less than 20.
(MM) • Phase 4 — Significantly reduce the mutant population…let’s say its @ 40 million now? We reduce it to @ 1,000.
(MM) • Phase 5 — Subsequently, the “powering down” of many mutants, including several notables: TBD
(MM) X-Titles to tie-in:
(MM) UNCANNY X-MEN: A natural tie-in.
(MM) X-MEN: Pete has a good idea revolving around a human rebellion which is actually led by a rogue mutant, but we’ll wait on more details before planning out. This story will also introduce a new character tentatively called The Cat, a guy who readers will think is a throwaway character, but whose real world-counterpart will appear some months later post-H.O.M. and will have lasting effects on the love-lives of Rogue and Gambit.
(MM) NEW X-MEN: Probably the title most affected by the events of H.O.M., what with us reducing the overall number of mutants and returning the school to “secret” status.
(MM) X-FORCE: Maybe Rob & crew could tie-in…maybe.
(MM) DISTRICT X (MUTOPIA): Idea/concept mentioned above.
As you can see, many of these ideas changed and evolved as we all wrapped out heads around the larger picture of HOUSE OF M along with Brian. By this point, first draft scripts for the first two issues of HOUSE OF M had been written by Brian.
More later.
Tom B
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