Joss Whedon

Buffy creator discusses his further adventures with the X-Men.

January 19, 2006 - Joss Whedon and John Cassaday teamed up in 2004/2005 to shake up the mutant world with a twelve-issue run of Astonishing X-Men. After a half-year hiatus, the duo is ready to come back this February with another twelve-issue "season" starring six of the X-Men’s biggest and brightest.

A bi-monthly book from February through August (issues #13-16), Astonishing is set to return to a monthly schedule from September on through to the finale. That ending, however, won’t come in issue #24, but in a special Giant-Size Annual, for which Whedon says he’ll be "dredging out everybody that [Marvel] will let me have for a very specific reason."

Since Astonishing began, the Marvel Universe, particularly the world of mutants, has changed drastically. Don’t expect that to play a major factor in AXM. In fact, the events of House of M, which came around after Joss had already plotted the new stories, had him a little worried. "I kind of deliberately avoided it. I was a little bit thrown off my game when I read it," Whedon said. "I’ve sort of removed myself so that I don’t clash with what’s going on."

This isn’t to say the issue is skirted or that the events take place prior to House of M, but they are in no way central to the plot of Astonishing X-Men. For example, due to changes in the Marvel Universe, Whedon had to "replace Nick Fury with Maria Hill, because Nick Fury’ss gone underground and he was going to be a — not huge — but a part of the thing." Fans are certain to grip, but Whedon has no thoughts of backing down. "To me, I have to maintain the integrity of the book, even more than the integrity of the universe. I’m never going to contradict anything that happened in House of M and I’ll use it if I can, but I want somebody who starts at issue 1 of Astonishing to go through issue 24 without having to make a huge recalibration if they aren’t familiar with House of M."

The cast of characters remains the same, with six X-Men — Cyclops, Emma Frost, Beast, Colossus, Kitty Pryde and Wolverine — as the focal point for the series. Hisako and Blindfold, who were in the first year-plus run, will also make an appearance.

As with the first run on AXM, this second go-’round will be split into two six-issue story arcs. "The next arc of the X-Men is so entirely internal," Whedon explained. "It’s really a six-issue examination of who these people are, what makes them tick and how do you take them apart."

Whedon wasn’t about to offer any concrete details on what was coming for our beloved X-Men, but revealed, "There’s a moment coming up in issue 14, that is something I have waited for since before I got the gig. The whole Kitty and Emma dynamic, which is going to get more fun" And if that weren’t enough, he added, "In issue 15, I have a Logan moment planned that I think is going to just completely alter the fabric of the actual known universe. Not to oversell it, but the world is going to turn the other way and Margo Kidder is going to come out of a ditch at one point."

Though Whedon didn’t have much to offer on the second arc, he said it "deals with very much, not surprisingly, the Break World and paying off all the stuff we built up with Ord."

Whedon admits that he wasn’t quite as hip to every X-Men nuance from the past few decades. A long-time fan, he wandered away from the X-Men around the time of the "Inferno" story arc. "I was gone to a faraway land, until Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely brought me back. I don’t think it’s been stressed enough what an amazing run I think they had on that book... Most of the stuff that I reference — the really important emotional stuff and a lot of the interesting ideas — comes from what they built." Whedon later added, "[Morrison] gave me so much rich stuff to draw off of. It’s been a big banquet."

Choosing to stick with the six characters from the first run was an easy decision. These are the most important members of the X-Men at this time. Whedon spoke on which characters he relates to the most. "Obviously I’m buff like Colossus and embarrassingly hairy like Logan. I just did an issue that really focuses on Scott and I feel a lot of his pain. Scott and Kitty — obviously Kitty — both to me have a certain element of always feeling out of their depths and really taking things to heart. That’s a quality I’d like to shed... After you read issue 14 you’ll understand why Scott is someone I feel a kinship to."

As for which character he has trouble relating to, Whedon revealed that the mutant he brought back from the dead has proven most difficult. "Colossus is tough, because he’s very internalized. It’s not in a Zen sort of [way]... With Colossus, what he’s holding back and what’s not said is more of a mystery. Somebody who doesn’t express every single thing they’re going through all the time always frightens me... He’s been a tough nut to crack. This arc, again, is getting inside everybody’s head and his is metal, so it’s harder to get into."

Of course, the real question is whether Whedon plans to branch out beyond the X-Men and take on some other Marvel characters. Here’s the simple answer from Whedon: "Absolutely." He added, "It’s only a question of time. The X-Men is definitely my dream book. I have other projects that I know that I would love to do, but I have movie scripts that are a little bit late and TV shows and other things. None of it is any different to me. I love it all. Telling a story is telling a story... I have to be a little realistic about how much time I have, particularly because I am getting back involved in Buffy comics and in a lesser way with a Serenity comic... If there’s some books that Bendis isn’t writing, I’m ready to pick up that slack"

Whedon notes that he’s learned quite a lot from his first run of AXM, particularly with the "Danger" story arc, that was not as well-received as he would have hoped. He learned two things from his experience on AXM. "Ultimately," Whedon explained, "What people want is the X-Men and all that other stuff is gravy."

Perhaps more importantly, Whedon learned another lesson: "Stay off the Internet, stay off the Internet."

Astonishing X-Men #13 ships in February with an alternate sketch cover for those who like spending the extra cash.