Heroes from across Marvel’s vast Multiverse will fight for the survival of their universes in another Secret War. The concept of a multiverse is a very popular theme at the moment, and is the central focus of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While fans wait for Avengers: Secret Wars, comic book fans have already experienced two Secret Wars. There was the original 1984 event, and the most recent Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic that revolutionized the entire Marvel Universe. The fighting in both Secret Wars takes place on a patchwork planet called Battleworld, and it will now be the focus of a new limited series.
ComicBook spoke to writer Christos Gage about Battleworld to learn what he has planned and how the multiverse ties into it all. Gage discussed what it’s like to write a comic that includes so many characters, which heroes he was excited to work on, the different worlds in the multiverse they come from, the big bad of Battleworld, collaborating with artist Marcus To, and more. We can also exclusively reveal the first look at interior pages from Battleworld #1.
ComicBook: You’re starting to become the multiverse expert after your run on Weapon X-Men. Except this time you get to play with the larger Marvel Multiverse sandbox. How do you approach tackling a comic with such a large roster of characters?
Christos Gage: Yeah, initially it’s like being a kid in a candy store and you want everything. But then you have to figure out what your story’s really about, and tailor the character selection to that. In the case of Battleworld, I decided the common thread would be characters with some big regret they wish they could do over, some trauma or failure, or something they’d really like to change. So there’s Hank Pym, who obviously had some low points while in the grip of mental illness; a very young Spider-Man, for whom the loss of Uncle Ben and his self-blame for it is still extremely raw; and a couple from dystopian futures, like King Thor and Days of Future Past Storm. All the major characters fit into this mold. Once you figure out what story you’re telling, the character selection gets easier.
Which characters have you enjoyed exploring the most? I know there are some long-lost heroes like the original Star Brand that you were excited about revisiting.
I was indeed very excited about Star Brand! And he has been great to explore. The one that surprised me was Kushala, aka Spirit Rider, who is both the Sorcerer Supreme and Ghost Rider of her era, the mid to late 1800s. I also have enjoyed writing Warbird, who is Carol Danvers from a period when she had just gone through treatment for alcoholism and was rejoining the Avengers. Whereas in the current Marvel time period Carol is extremely capable, a strong leader, and generally has things together, the Warbird version is in a very different place, and it’s been both challenging and rewarding to write a character who reflects the very recent rock bottom she hit while still making sure she feels like she could become the Captain Marvel we know today.
Korvac is a villain we haven’t seen much of lately, but he is extremely powerful and formidable. What can you tease about his actions in creating this new Battleworld and the Secret War taking place on it?
Unlike the original Battleworld, which was made of fragments of different planets, this one is made of fragments of Earths from different timelines. So you’ve got the prehistoric past, Killraven’s future where the Martians have conquered the world, a New York from a timeline where the Axis won World War II, and then just pieces from the more recent past or near future. From one of those comes the only character never technically seen before, the Avenging Wasp, who is from a timeline where Hank Pym was killed by Baron Zemo on an early Avengers mission. This version of Jan and our version of Hank make for a very interesting dynamic. As for why Korvac wants these sorts of people, that remains to be revealed…
Marcus To is joining you on art. What is he bringing to the project that fans should pay special attention to?
Marcus is terrific to work with. He has an unusual combination of being very skilled at both character acting and action scenes. The more I see of his work, the bigger and more crazy I am inspired to get. To me, Marcus’s art is exactly what I want from a super hero story – thrilling action, powerful character interactions, and sheer visual spectacle!
Battleworld #1 goes on sale Wednesday, September 24th. Let us know your thoughts on the series in the comments below!
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