Joss Whedon

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NRAMA: Now before we get to that last scene, DVD style - can you talk about other endings that were considered? Is it correct that Joss Whedon particularly influenced the ending that saw publication?

MM: The second meeting was where everybody got to look at my plot and pick it apart. I don’t think there was an ending at this stage and it’s what we were all getting together to talk about. Had this been an Ultimate book, there would be no need, but I was borrowing the toys of others so everyone had to be happy with where their characters were left so it was all open to discussion.

The only thing I refused to do was kill one of the characters. This was suggested, but I thought it was insane as nobody would buy it and they’d be back six months later. Someone had suggested the return of Thor or The Hulk or a huge threat from the villains that had all the heroes stop in that big battle and focus on the new problem, but that seemed awful to me and again was falling back into a classic structure. I loved those comics as a kid, but how many times do Marvel heroes fight before teaming up and realizing Baron Blood is the guy they should be fighting?

So we were literally sitting for a day talking about the ending and the one we were uneasily going for was some kind of compromise where the heroes were literally stopped by the crowds they should have been saving, the public yelling at them and telling them to stop. But none of us really dug this, it felt unsatisfying. And so it was a relief when Joss walked into the room for, I sh*t you not, about ten minutes, heard the entire plot and nailed a bullseye. He said that after seven months of fighting people would want to see a winner. Breaking up the fight was a draw.

And he was right. God bless him, he was so on the money because it was incredibly satisfying to have a clear winner and a clear loser. Cap’s fans will be happy because he won the fight and Tony’s fans were happy because Tony won the argument. But it was definitive and satisfying and absolutely the right call to make. His work done, Whedon donned his hat, climbed back on his horse and rode off into the sunset to help others. I’m not kidding, the bugger was there ten minutes and he solved everything.

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