The All-New X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy already crossed paths in last year's storyline "The Trial of Jean Grey." This epic team-up led to a romance between Kitty Pryde and Star-Lord and Cyclops leaving Earth behind to hang out with his space pirate father. Now the two teams are coming together again for a new crossover called Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: Black Vortex.
This story sees both teams (along with other heroes like Nova and Captain Marvel) encounter a powerful and very dangerous cosmic artifact.
Marvel held another "Next Big Thing" press call to discuss this imminent crossover. Writers Sam Humphries and Brian Michael Bendis were in attendance, along with editors Mike Marts and Katie Kubert.
To kick things off, the two writers discussed how the story grew over time, especially as they discussed their plans with other writers at Marvel's retreats. Humphries noted that the time had come to challenge the Guardians on a bigger stage. He said, "It became clear that this was an event-caliber story." Black Vortex builds directly out of work he and Bendis have been doing on their respective books. In particular, the crossover spins out or recent developments in The Legendary Star-Lord, where Peter Quill's father J-Son has been amassing a large enemy force. The opening Black Vortex Alpha issue picks up that thread, as Quill and Kitty Pryde encounter the mirror-like device and call on their friends for aid. The crossover follows the desperate hunt for the Black Vortex and the various ways the cast of 25 heroes are affected by its energies.
The story will also serve as a follow-up to "The Trial of Jean Grey" and build on the challenges Jean faced as she learned about the cosmic destruction her older self caused. However, Bendis also noted, "I didn't just want to do a 'Trial of Jean Grey' sequel. I wanted to do something new if we were going to go back out there." Both Jean and Angel were pointed to as characters whose older selves have experience with being corrupted by cosmic forces.
Humphries was described as the showrunner of sorts for for Black Vortex. He's guiding the course of the story, which is poised to unfold across 13 chapters in five different ongoing series (Guardians of the Galaxy, All-New X-Men, Nova, Cyclops, and Captain Marvel) and the Alpha and Omega bookend issues. He said, "We've really put in the work behind the scenes and have an outstanding bench of creative talent working on it. It's going to be dynamite."
Despite this approach, the various writers and artists participating in the project were given a good deal of creative freedom. "The artists are given the freedom - within this story that's been finely tuned - to express themselves," said Bendis. "This gave us an opportunity to give quite a handful of artists who were itching for their chance to let loose cosmically." Humphries described Black Vortex as "an artist lover's event."
The writers teased that both Nova and Captain Marvel will be allowed to progress in their own books despite tying into a larger event. Captain Marvel in particular is promised to have a significant development in Black Vortex.
A major focus in Black Vortex involves what happens to the various characters when they're exposed to the titular artifact. The writers revealed that the Black Vortex will transform our heroes into "Cosmically Enhanced" versions of themselves.
Two particular transformations were discussed in greater detail. Beast will be granted cosmic knowledge and awareness that will have a profound affect on him beyond the crossover. Drax, meanwhile, will be transformed into a hulking creature who looks more than a little like his old nemesis, Thanos. That probably won't go over well. But Bendis was careful to point out that these transformations aren't always bad or corruptive for the characters. In some cases, they merely offer boosts in power or ability.
Bendis also discussed the appeal of bringing the X-Men and Guardians together again. "The connection there that you wouldn't immediately go to but becomes obvious when you start writing about it is they're both outsiders... There's a real connection of spirit there. They're the oddballs. Even in the galaxy, the Guardians are oddballs. There's quite a few characters on that team that are one of a kind. And that's how the X-Men see themselves."
Finally, the writers reiterated that the events of Black Vortex will have a lasting impact on all the franchises involved, with some characters emerging from the story permanently changed either psychologically or physically. It was teased that not all characters will remain on the same team by the end. And it was hinted that the events of Black Vortex will factor directly into Secret Wars later this year.
Guardians of the Galaxy & X-Men: Black Vortex Alpha #1 will be released on February 4, 2015.
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