By Marc Strom
Tomorrow, the Marvel's most fabulous foursome welcomes back a member of the family when writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa returns to pen SECRET INVASION: FANTASTIC FOUR.
The playwright, comics scripter and television writer first made his big splash at Marvel with a lengthy run on the Marvel Knights series 4, and has since left his mark on Spider-Man, Nightcrawler and Man-Thing among others. As if that weren't enough, Sacasa will also reveal the origin of founding X-Man Angel in ANGEL: REVELATIONS, a five-issue limited series beginning May 28 and featuring the return of celebrated artist Adam Pollina to Marvel.
Marvel.com chatted up the busy jack-of-all-trades to see what type of shenanigans the Skrulls have gotten the FF into this time, as well as Angel's beginnings and more!
Marvel.com: What's it been like returning to the Fantastic Four after your 30-issue run on 4?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: It's great. As soon as I wrote my last caption for 4, I thought: I
have to get back to these characters somehow. So I've been secretly plotting my return, making it embarrassingly clear to anyone who would listen that I would kill to come back to the FF, and write just about anything that had them in it, including those free comic books that are Public Service Announcements—you know, like, "Fantastic Four: Earth Day!"
Marvel.com: The series follows Johnny, Ben, Valeria and Franklin as they try to escape the Negative Zone—what was it like writing the Fantastic Four minus Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: Very good question, since it's no secret, I don't think, that my single favorite character in the Marvel Universe is Sue Richards. If I could write a Sue ongoing, for the rest of my life, I'd be a happy man. But seriously, the way I originally plugged into the FF was through the prism of Reed and Sue's marriage, their relationship. So it was a little challenging to focus on Ben and Johnny—until I remembered: "Oh, yeah, I love them, too…" And then, getting to actually do something with Franklin and Val—and they are, seriously, a part of this adventure—that's been a lot of fun.
Marvel.com: How will Johnny react to seeing his Skrull ex, Lyja, again?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: The same way any normal, typical, red-blooded American male would react to seeing one of his exes: Johnny wants to stick his head in the sand, like an ostrich, until it all goes away.
Marvel.com: And for that matter, last we saw Lyja, she was attempting to live a normal life masquerading as a human. Any hints as to where she's been all these years?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: We will reveal some of that in the third issue. What she's been doing and how her agreeing to participate in the Secret Invasion was her way back into the Skrulls' good graces.
Marvel.com: You've said in previous interviews that this limited series gave you a chance to write a Negative Zone story—any other stories you still feel the itch to tell?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: I've said this before, [but] I left 4 not because I'd run out of stories to tell about the FF, but because the opportunity to write SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN came up and I didn't want to split my attention between two of Marvel's most important properties. But I had at least another good two years' worth of stories in me. One called "Ruination," one that was a take-off on "The Tempest," one that brought the Hate-Monger back. So yeah, there are still a few stories I'm itching to tell.
Marvel.com: What else can fans expect from SECRET INVASION: FANTASTIC FOUR?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: More than anything, I just want this [limited series] to be a fun ride for people. This is the closest thing to a summer popcorn movie that I've written, so I hope people hop aboard for it. And again, if you've been reading SECRET INVASION—and everyone
should be reading it, it's great—this fills in some of the blanks. But if you
haven't been reading SECRET INVASION—and shame on you if that's the case—you can still enjoy this [story] on its own terms, I hope.
Marvel.com: Switching over to ANGEL: REVELATIONS now, what made you want to write Angel's origin?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: Warren Simons, my editor, suggested it. I thought he was crazy—for about five seconds. Then I looked at the single panel Warren sent me from Angel's original origin—Warren [Worthington III, aka Angel,] finding a single feather in his bed one morning, signaling the start of his "change"—and I instantly saw it all, the whole series.
Marvel.com: How much research did you do for the series?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: I read a lot of Angel stories before I wrote ANGEL: REVELATIONS, but less for research and more for inspiration, and to make sure that I wasn't going to be contradicting anything. Since Warren's origin, as originally presented, was so brief, I really think of this as an expansion, or a take-off on it. Or, put it this way: Same point of origin, much larger canvas.
Marvel.com: What was Warren like as a teenager? Did he have any of the confidence he has today, or was he more angst ridden than we might expect?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: He's a mix, like all the best characters, a mess of contradictions. He's definitely got the whole "golden boy" thing going, and can be cocky as hell, but there's stuff churning underneath. He's seriously estranged from his parents, for instance, and though he's definitely a ["big man on campus"], he doesn't have a lot of really close friends, so doesn't really know whom to turn to when his body starts mutating.
Marvel.com: Who is the Hunter, and what does he want?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: The Hunter [is] a misguided religious zealot, who believes his mission in life is to wipe out anything he deems sacrilegious. Which would include, of course, a boy who's "masquerading" as one of God's angels. He's probably the scariest character I've ever written, almost an unstoppable force of nature.
Marvel.com: This is your second go-around with writing a solo-X-Man series, with the first being your NIGHTCRAWLER series. How have you liked writing these characters outside of their usual group context, and are there any other X-Men you'd like to tackle at some point?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: I had a great time writing NIGHTCRAWLER and wish [artist] Darick [Robertson] and I had gone another 12 issues, at least. We never got around to telling, for instance, our big werewolf story. ANGEL: REVELATIONS may be the best thing I've ever written for Marvel, so I'd happily keep working with these characters. As for what other X-men I'd like to write, I'd have to say Iceman. I'd love to do with him what we've done with Angel [and] tell his origin [definitively].
Marvel.com: Finally, artist Adam Pollina makes his return to Marvel and the X-Men with this limited series. What can you say about his work on REVELATIONS?
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: [This is the] best work he's ever done. Incredible style, incredible storytelling. I'd work with him again in a Marvel minute, no question.
SECRET INVASION: FANTASTIC FOUR #1 touches down this week while ANGEL: REVELATIONS #1 flies into stores on May 28. For more work from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, check out Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
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