The Avengers

At Comic-Con 2011, we had the good fortune to pick Joss Whedon’s brain not once, but twice. After chatting about all things Avengers, Joss gave us a rundown of Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 9 . We also asked him whether or not the Scooby Gang will ever solve mysteries with Tony Stark.

First off, Buffy Season 8 ended with our hero in a very weird place, with all of her support system scattered and shattered. How will things get put back together for Season 9?

It’s about getting back to her day-to-day life, getting back to the thing that made the show really click, the metaphor about what it’s like to be this person at this time in your life, instead of just living a comic book existence.

Her support group is largely there and you will see most of them in the first issue of Season 9, and ultimately she is once again somewhat alone. People seem to be very focused on moving on with their lives, and she doesn’t exactly know which way to move.

What’s your strategy for coordinating a comic with your cinematic obligations?

I worked out the basic arcs and then worked it out with Andrew Chambliss. I wrote the first issue, and he’s been writing the subsequent issues. When I finish filming, which is not for several weeks, then I want to get my hand in with Andrew because I’m very wed to what’s going on in these arcs.

To what extent have you tried to monetize the living heck out of your brand and make an Avengers/Buffy crossover comic?

That hasn’t ever even occurred to me. You’re clearly thinking further along than I am.

Have you received any sort of fan fiction about this team up?

It’s not like I get a lot of fan fiction in the mail. I’m not sure if anybody’s writing it, but it would be interesting.

Angel’s getting his own book in Season 9. What can we expect of him now that he’s back in the Dark Horse universe?

Well, now that the license is with Dark Horse and both are together, we’re still setting them off in their own worlds. Their mythology is slightly entwined now that they’re back in the same house. But the book is called Angel and Faith — that is a deliberate attempt to separate it from what has already been done at IDW, and Faith is a character who really deserves a highlight. The differences between her and Angel make them both more interesting.

During io9’s March Movie Madness, Serenity defeated The Empire Strikes Back to win the crown of the greatest science fiction movie of all time. Any thoughts on this victory?

[Laughs] It feels false, but I don’t hate it! I’m not going to lie. But there is one Star Wars, and in my opinion, it’s not Empire Strikes Back, it’s Star Wars.

Check out the rest of our coverage from Joss’ Comic-Con panel here. The first issues of Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 9 and Angel and Faith hit stores September 14 and August 31, respectively.