Psylocke by Mike McKone

Captain Britain by Mike McKone

Captain Britain by Mike McKone

Captain Britain by Mike McKone, R.B. Silva & Wilton Santos at #CCXP

 

Source: Facebook.com/MarvelPsylocke

Excalibur #1 Variants Unite the New Captain Britain's Team

Excalibur #1 Variant Cover by Mike McKone

Excalibur #1 Young Guns Variant Cover by Michael Del Mundo

Excalibur #1 Design Variant by Tom Mueller

Uncanny X-Force #25 Art

Uncanny X-Force #25 Preview

Uncanny X-Force #25
Written by: Rick Remender
Pencils by: Mike McKone
Cover by: Jerome Opeña

The Story:
• The epic saga The Final Execution begins here!
• Who are the Omegas and why must X-Force hunt them down?
• Included in this issue: Two rare stories by Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña starring Wolverine and Deadpool!

In Stores: May 9, 2012

  

X-Position: Remender Stays On Mission with "X-Force"

CBR: Remender is a joyful person who just seems to understand the darkness people can hide from the world, and he shows this off monthly in "Uncanny X-Force," "Secret Avengers," and "Venom." He's ready to spread some of his good-natured cheer and delve into several heavy matters as he answers your e-mails today. Take heed, and away we go...

 

Uncanny X-Force #25, on sale May 9.

Will you be fleshing out what "Age of Apocalypse" Kurt did during those ten peacetime years in between the fall of the Apocalypse and the rise of Weapon X?

Rick Remender: We will be touching on this a bit. Kurt had married and we'll learn what happened to his wife. This plays into why he is still on our world hunting down refugees. Issue #25 will bring illumination.
 

The members of Clan Akkaba had a number of similar physical features. I'm curious -- were they clones? Were the women with birds heads wearing ceremonials masks or where these avian characteristics natural?

Rick Remender: The clan is comprised of humans who have served Apocalypse throughout the ages with the promise that one day there would be a grand ascension and they would all become mutants, bestowed with great powers. The bird-headed women were genetically altered. They were not mutants but were created, in my mind, in laboratories -- sexy, bird-lady laboratories.
 

In the new mythology that you've created around Apocalypse, it seems important for him to father an heir. In your view, was it a coincidence that every generation of Apocalypse's horsemen contained one female that was of child-bearing age (Deathbird, Autumn, Polaris, Ichsumi)? Was Warren and Logan's attempt to convert Psylocke and Jean based on their love for their former paramours? Or they did they just see them as good breeding stock?

Rick Remender: Apocalypse would choose the person to take his place by bestowing on them the death seed. Then when he died, the Death persona would evolve and take his place. As for a genetic heir, I don't think it's a coincidence that there is always been a young woman among his horsemen. The purpose of the genetic heir, in this case, young Holocaust -- or the baby inside of Pestilence -- has yet to be revealed.
 

In the new "Age of Apocalypse" series, Dark Beast is using energy siphoned from a Life Seed to resurrect possibly hundreds of alpha class mutants. Given that Warren was exposed to an entire seed, just how powerful is he now? "Herald of Galactus"-powerful? Almost Celestial-level?

Rick Remender: I don't want to give too much away here, but I know Jason Aaron has some very exciting plans for the character. He is far more powerful than we have seen; his body completely re-created by a Celestial Life Seed, within him the sum-total energies of a Life Seed. Just how powerful is he? What exactly is he capable of? These will be fun questions that Jason Aaron will be answering in the pages of "Wolverine and the X-Men." Big fun on the horizon.
 

I've truly loved your run. The only thing I had an issue with was what I considered a graphic description of the death of Charles Lehnsherr in "Uncanny X-Force" #19.1. I thought the fact that a toddler had been crushed, cannibalized in front of his father, sacrificed to Mephisto and possibly even molested by Demon-ock (given his "fondness" for children) was over the line. However, I'm aware that "Uncanny X-Force" is a dark book, and if I found this disturbing, that may have been the desired effect. I'm curious though...when you're writing a book as tonally dark as this one, can there be a line that you won't cross?

Rick Remender: If it is in service of story, I will cross any line. If it is feasible that something atrocious happened and it makes sense in the context of the story, and serves a good purpose, then I will go to whatever extent I need to. I had a very limited amount of space to establish that Demon-Ock had done something so heinous and hateful to Rogue and Magneto's son that there was a very personal animosity between them. It was also important to establish just how terrible the Black Legion are and what these monsters are capable of.

You'll find out more of what they did and just how vicious they are in "Uncanny X-Force" #25. I don't do anything haphazardly; it's all part of a bigger plan. Establishing what the Black Legion is capable of plays a big role in the upcoming story.

With the solicitations proving what I'd hoped and longed for, will Mystique have a large role in this new Brotherhood, given her obvious strong ties to the previous incarnations?

Rick Remender: She'll play a very large role. I would hate to give anything else away, so I'll leave it at that.

What will Kurt Darkholme's reaction be to finally meeting the 616 versions of his parents, Mystique and Sabretooth? I could see that being quite shocking even if Logan prepped him for it...

Rick Remender: Obviously, Kurt going up against Mystique is going to have some emotional ramifications. If you look at "Uncanny X-Force" #20, you'll see Wolverine in the Danger Room sequence beginning to prep Kurt for the day when he has to go up against Mystique and Sabretooth -- something that Wolverine has been preparing himself to do with X-Force. All of this will be touched upon during "Final Execution." And to be clear, I'm not committing to the idea that AoA Sabretooth is AoA Nightcrawler's father.

I'm a huge fan of the Weapon Plus concept from Grant Morrison's "New X-Men" run, so it's great to see you expanding upon some of the programs. Can we expect more previously unrevealed Weapon characters to appear? Any chance of seeing John Sublime showing up (another Morrsion character with Weapon Plus connections)?

Rick Remender: We recently revealed the Skinlessman, Weapon III. He has a history with Fantomex, much of which has yet to be revealed, but we do know Fantomex was behind getting him captured in Otherworld, leading to his having his skin removed. Fantomex also stole his sentient skin, turned it into bullets, and shot them all over the world, spread to the four corners as-it-were.

Skinlessman was a barrister in England, and a corrupt mutant, who was recruited into the Weapon Plus program by Father at some point in the 1970s. We also have hinted at Dr. Mindbubble who we saw briefly in the background in issue #18. He is a character I have spent a great deal of time developing and, while I have big plans for him, I'm not ready to begin discussing what or where.

You recently revealed in "Secret Avengers" that Father worked in Weapon Plus with two people named Mother and Brother. Are they both established Marvel characters or completely new? Since you've already laid groundwork for another Father storyline in both "Uncanny X-Force" and "Secret Avengers," I don't suppose we'll be seeing a crossover between the two titles?

Rick Remender: Get ready for an actual answer! Both of these characters are previously established. Mother is Fantomex's Mother, or at least the woman he thinks is his mother, the woman that he calls mother, or did before she was killed in "UXF" #5. Brother is James Braddock, the biological father of Betsy, Brian, and Jamie and among the very first AI scientists in the MU. How's that for a big answer to a question that you thought I wouldn't answer?

In the final issue of the "Dark Angel Saga," we saw an imagined life where Betsy and Warren were married with two daughters, one named Jean. Is it safe to assume they named her after Jean Grey? And I'm curious if you had a name for the other daughter that readers weren't aware of?

Rick Remender: I don't remember. I thought it was a nice touch that Betsy would've named one of their daughters after Jean. But, again, you have to remember this was all a fictitious life that Betsy painted for Warren. So all of the decisions and everything that we saw there were things that Betsy created in an attempt to give Warren a perfect life. And to Warren, it went on for a lifetime. So, really, Warren died on his deathbed, surrounded by loved ones, at home. He got a pretty happy ending. Betsy, on the other hand...

Around the time of your first "Uncanny X-Force" arc, I vaguely remember you mentioning the parallels between Hope Summers and the Apocalypse child. Depending on how AvX ends, will Evan/Genesis ever get to meet the Mutant Messiah in person?

Rick Remender: I've been writing notes and working up big plans for Evan since I created him. It's something that I've spent a lot of time on the phone with Jason Aaron and [editor] Nick Lowe discussing to make sure that our plans connect, interlock, and complement each other. We've cooked up a number of very interesting scenarios for Evan and where the future takes him. I'm pretty sure whatever you think we're going to do with him is wrong. The direction we're moving forward with Evan is going to be satisfying, fulfilling, and earth-shattering. Figuratively speaking. Or not. Wait and see.

As for Betsy's deal with Krokwell, where does that leave her? Is she unable to feel any pain, suffering, hurt, sorrow, or guilt? Will this cause her to become a more cold and distant person, much like what happened to her during the "Crimson Dawn" days? Is that what prompted her to make a move on Fantomex despite killing the love of her life just five issues prior to that?

Rick Remender: Whatever you imagine "sorrow" to mean, Betsy no longer feels that. In my mind, that includes remorse, grieving, depression, and some, if not all, forms of guilt. As to where it is taking her, that would be telling. But it's nowhere she's ever been before and I think it's a nice wrinkle for the character.

The new Brotherhood of Mutants includes three of the most dangerous enemies the X-Men have ever faced. Mystique holds a grudge against Wolverine; the Shadow King is a longtime rival of Psylocke; and Sabretooth has faced Logan and Betsy many times. Moreover, the Skinless Man and AoA Blob want to get their hands on Fantomex and Nightcrawler. Is this Brotherhood sort of an anti-X-Force?

Rick Remender: It's exactly that. And you still don't know who it is that put the team together. Though you might be able to guess which member of the team had prior knowledge of X-Force -- obviously the Shadow King -- I will tell you he was not the one to come up with their plans or to pull together the new Brotherhood. I was looking through former incarnations of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and I'm pretty sure this one is the most powerful (though, I'm biased).

Omega Red, Omega Black, Omega White, the Shadow King, AoA Blob, Sabretooth, the Skinlessman, and Mystique are enough unto themselves to earn that title, and once you see who the leader is, and what his ultimate goal is, well... I don't want to fall into hyperbole, but what we've got here is the most terrifying and powerful Brotherhood of Evil Mutants of all time. Hyperbole!

We've been shown a cover that seems to show the new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, which includes the Skinless Man, Shadow King, Sabretooth, Mystique, and AoA Blob. Is that the entire group or are there more members? If there are more, do you have any plans to use old X-Force villains from the Mutant Liberation Front or someone like Krule?

Rick Remender: Those are some of the principal members, yes. I don't have plans to use the Mutant Liberation Front and I don't know who Krule is. Was he the big guy with the ponytail? Lots of huge crosshatch marks all over him? (Heh.)

Now that Cable is back and cured of the techno-organic virus, are there any plans for him to show up in this title? He did found the original X-Force after all and would seem to be a great fit with this cast as he has a lot of history with several of them. He also has no issues with proactively taking out the enemies of mutantkind.

Rick Remender: You will see Cable during the "Final Execution" storyline. You will never be able to guess how or why, but Cable and Hope both appear and play a big role in the second act of the story. Same with Deathlok, the Punisher, and Warpath. Nah, I'm kidding. Or am I?

Preview: Uncanny X-Force #25 (Unlettered)

Marvel is proud to present your first look at the landmark 25th issue of Uncanny X-Force, from the superstar creative team of Rick Remender, Mike McKone and Dean White! The epic saga “Final Execution” begins here and X-Force faces their greatest threat yet! Someone is arming the villains of the Marvel Universe with the most dangerous weapons known to man, and when Wolverine’s team traces it back to the Omega Clan, the black ops squad finds themselves in some hot water. And when the origins of the deadly clan are revealed, it will send shockwaves throughout the entire team and Logan in particular! With two rare stories by Rick Remender and Jerome Opeña included in this oversized issue, no fan can miss the explosive opener of Final Execution in Uncanny X-Force #25, hitting comic shops everywhere and the Marvel Comics app, this May!

Uncanny X-Force Preview by Mike McKone

Uncanny X-Force's Final Execution

CBR: Today, Marvel wraps up a week-plus of Next Big Thing press conference calls on "Uncanny X-Force," with Rick Remender, Mike McKone, and Nick Lowe talking about what's coming up for the acclaimed series. Marvel Sales and Communications Coordinator James Viscardi controls the floor. The arc is called "Final Execution." Lowe joked that it was a "MEGA arc!"

Lowe also described it as "a huge target we're painting on the wall," along the lines of "Dark Angel Saga."

"We changed one element of the 'Dark Angel Saga,' and this was born out of that," Remender said. "This is like 9-issues, this arc, and it is kind of a continuation of what we're doing—the great thing about serial comics is that the story doesn't end," he added.

"Rick's pretty far ahead on this," Lowe laughed, noting Remender had turned in script for #30.

"Some of the big points, this story deals with the brand-new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants," Remender said. "They are the toughest band of Brotherhood of Evil Mutants you've ever seen." He added that consequences of earlier story arcs will continue to snowball.

"The Otherworld story wraps up in #23, and we wanted a palate cleanser," Remender said, saying Psylocke would end up in a very different place. But with "Final Execution," things get dark—"this is probably the gnarliest thing I've ever written," Remender said.

McKone said there will be "Deadpool on a shopping spree." "I've never seen anything like that, I've certainly never drawn anything like that..." he joked.

Remender said the shopping spree will be part of a recon mission, "but whenever Deadpool goes on a recon mission, every time, he opens a door and there's Darth Vader."

Remender said that #25 "reintroduces an X-Men villain we haven't seen in quite some time," and Lowe gave him the go-ahead to reveal: the Omega Clan, built from the remains of Omega Red. The Clan runs a shop called White Sky, where one can shop for "the type of assassin you want" and other goodies.

"Mike pretty talented, I didn't go easy on him," Remender said, adding he gave McKone lots of big action and double page spreads. McKone said he enjoys Deadpool's reactions, where he "keeps his calm until he loses it completely."

Remender said his arcs fall into place naturally, with ideas for one building from the last. "Nick and I have looked for logical reasons to double and triple the nightmare these characters are going through."

The writer did say, though, that "Final Execution" was not necessarily intended from the start. "This arc started to formulate in the midst of putting together the 'Dark Angel Saga,'" he said. Lowe said it's a "thematic destination," covering the issues of responsibility at the heart of the series.

"Yeah, tonally this is what I wanted to be doing from the very beginning," Remender said.

In response to a question about members of X-Force taking dubious advantage of White Sky, Remender paused before answering. "There is going to be a thread around a weapon—any organization that's turning people into weapons is going to strike a chord with some members," Remender said. He added that X-Force doesn't just go after bad acts, like "'I heard people were doing some bad things to donkeys in Tijuana, let's go stop that'—I want that donkey to have done something to you." At this point, the call broke down into laughter as Remender haltingly rolled out more of the metaphor. Bringing things back on track, Remender reiterated that there should be personal stakes to the X-Force missions.

Speaking to the anti-hero concept, Remender noted that it had been done well in the '80s, but in the '90s "everybody went 'so hard core! jump into the jacuzzi of blood and let's murder razor blades!'" For Remender, though, the appeal of Wolverine is fighting against popping his claws "until there's an absolute necessity to do it."

"I'm a Claremont X-Men guy; that's what I grew up with," he added, saying this has influenced his storytelling, "while dipping into the Grant Morrison era, for sure" and dabbling in Jason Aaron's stories.

"Warren Worthington killing somebody became so common that we just got used to it," he said, but going forward he wants it to "mean something" when any of these characters take a life.

"Psylocke's tragectory is a big one to watch," Lowe added. Remender said that "she's the least assassin-y, but she's been in that role for a while."

Remender noted that the ascension of a new Apocalypse—"hey! It's your buddy!"—was actually not the biggest consequence of the early issues. "Congratulations, you've made a terrible decision," Remender joked. And, creatively, one of the new developments is a big arc for Wolverine. "This ends with him in a very, very different place—Betsy and him come out of this story in an entirely different place from when this series began," he said. "They will not ever be the same—until another writer comes along," he laughed.

"I cannot wait to read people's reactions to this," Lowe said. "I can't wait to see the internet explode."

Of the Brootherhood, "some we have seen in X-Force, for sure," Remender said. "The others, they're all bigs." He added that, for each character, there was a lot of thought put into why he or she would be on the team and what that character's goals might be. And the leader? "We won't see who it is for a while, and people will say, 'whoa!'"

Lowe joked about commenters on the CBR forum suggesting "The Brick" was a great villain, because heroes are always getting hit in the head with bricks. "The Brick will be the last man standing," Remender joked.

Remender said the Omega Clan would have similar powers to Omega Red, but the powers would be "tuned to X-Force" and readers would start to see this in #25. "I kind of just want Mike's amazing pages, when you see exactly what we're doing here... they're pretty crazy," Remender said.

Asked about the future of the Genesis character, Remender joked about "giving Jason Aaron a taste and then taking him back—I don't like that guy, I don't trust him, his beard, his beady eyes... in his head he's still fighting the Civil War..." More seriously, though, Remender said that Aaron has plans for the character, "and those lips will definitely play a role."

Lowe: "Now answer that question about Genesis, the band."

"It's the Peter Gabriel / Phil Collins throwdown you've been waiting for!" Remender said.

"You've just spoiled two members of the Brotherhood," Lowe rejoined.

Lowe praised McKone's storytelling ability, and said he "jumped" at the opportunity to add him to the "Uncanny X-Force" roster of artists. Remender also said Dean White's colors have maintained a consistent tone for the series.

Remender said there was "a lot of talk" about tying into "Avengers vs. X-Men," but "there was no story." "We've got this trajectory, we've got this story we're telling in 'X-Force,'" he said, and he didn't want to jeopardize that even though it would be cool to do some of the fights.

"One of the strengths of 'X-Force' is that it has stood on its own," Lowe said. "Let's go forward telling this story. "We try to do a good balance here at Marvel, things that tie in and things that don't." Remender added that it of course would have been a sales bump to cross over with "Secret Avengers," but he thinks it was the right decision to leave the run uninterrupted at this time.

Asked about the art rota, Lowe said that McKone would not be illustrating the entire arc because of the multiple double-shipping months. "It's all dream team stuff," Remender said. He joked, though, that "there's a way to mail people methamphetamines without them knowing it, and then Mike could do four pages a day, but he doesn't know why he's constantly grinding his teeth."

"Uncanny X-Force" #25 is on sale in May.

Psylocke by Mike McKone

Psylocke beautifully rendered by the hugely talented artist Mike McKone.