EXCLUSIVE: "Gargoyles" Co-Creator & "Archer" Artist Launch Marvel's "Starbrand & Nightmask"

[Matt D]

Sure looks it. And Kong and an old Spidey bully from Untold Tales and I'm pretty sure there's a member of Code: Blue in there (not sure how that works). Really fun use of the Marvel canon where they could just have created throw away characters. Obscure enough that you can use them how you need to and new readers won't be confused but with enough ties to allow for resonating here and there.

[My Two Cents]

I have too many comics on my plate (now and up coming)
I will have to pass on this.

[Mundungus]

I don't think the cover artist and the interior are the same. The cover art looks similar to the Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde secret wars book.

I liked the characters in Hickman's Avengers and whatever their potential might be but I'm not 100% sold on this. If the cover art reflected the interior art I would probably go for it but I'm not loving it. I'll have to wait for a full preview.

[protege]

I've never understood the appeal of the new universe characters, or why squirrel girl is showing up all over the place. Edit: I've read the interview again, and it sounds like it's hitting all the right buttons, but I'm still flummoxed on the lead characters.

[Captain M]

Marvel can't make an Ant-Man&Wasp book with Pym and Janet but we get this. Okay.

Well, I hope people asked for this and are happy for the announcement.

Also hoping the team succeeds at what Hickman couldn't and treat these 2 characters well.
Okay, cool. Now I'll just go cry in a corner like I always do.

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Sure looks it. And Kong and an old Spidey bully from Untold Tales and I'm pretty sure there's a member of Code: Blue in there (not sure how that works). Really fun use of the Marvel canon where they could just have created throw away characters. Obscure enough that you can use them how you need to and new readers won't be confused but with enough ties to allow for resonating here and there.

Not to mention it's the closest we'll have to a continuation of The Spectacular Spider-Man.

[Captain Zolalnadia]

I don't think I'm gonna pick this up. Starbrand killed a lot of people at his last college and the Avengers just thought it was kill to let him go to a new one? Does Marvel not remember the whole reason the Civil War story line started? I never liked him in the Avengers and I hope that this series really addresses what went down at his old school. I'm pretty sure the Avengers covered up his involvement and the media blamed it on "those damn Muties".

Except it wasn't Star Brand that destroyed the collage. The mechanism for choosing Star Brands was breaking down has Kevin was chosen, Thus the process got messy and destroyed everyone at the collage. Even if the Avengers were opposed to Kevin going back to collage, they couldn't do much about it, back when the Avengers first apprehended him, they could barely contain him, that was with Thor, Captain Marvel, Hyperion, and the Hulk for heavy hitters along with several mid weights and light weights (Iron Man, Capt America, Spider Man) now the Avengers are more disjointed, The only Avengers team that could hope to beat him are the Ultimates.

[marvelousmetalmouse]

Let's hope he does a better job with them than Hickman did.

[The Indestructible Man]

What Weisman hints at in the comment about Kevin's last time at college – and how he would prefer to escape into his role as Starbrand –*is important. Imagine if Hal Jordan became Green Lantern when Abin Sur's ship crashed into Ferris Aircraft and killed everyone but him. Now imagine that that happened to him as a college freshman and without the whole Corps structure and friendly alien. Starbrand is a character who has astounding power but has waxed between wanting to run away to hide in the sun, be punished for hundreds of deaths that he neither caused nor asked for, or go kill himself over all of this. His only release has been fighting crime & or space wars. His friend Adam/Nightmask (a newly-created artificial alien being built on Mars and aging backwards) understands how Kevin is hurting but doesn't know how to help him. This is the recipe for classic Marvel costume drama in the Stan Lee mold updated for the 21st century.

Having grown up with the characters in GARGOYLES and YOUNG JUSTICE, I completely trust Weisman with these guys. Hickman laid out a lot of pieces for others to pick up (he didn't "do a lot" with them as characters, but one can stop and realize how much he built for others to use, without –*as one might expect –*"killing off the new guys" like other writers of new creations would; these two have just enough written up on them to create interest in a new title but enough space left open for a new team to really breathe life into them as characters and explore their interactions as new heroes in a wider Marvel Universe and as young people explore their power and Marvel-style traumas. This really sounds like a good idea for a book!

[THANOSRULES]

Hate to be the curmudgeon extraordinaire yet again...but this looks passable and more of the same stuff that isn't working.

First, getting these Hollywood series/scriptwriters more involved instead of better established or even hot up and coming comic writers they've driven away is some thing to guardedly deal with. Even a guy like Weisman, who has a solid rep in cartoons...sometimes these guys just shape out as not up to snuff on writing serial fiction within the Marvel U.

I think more have said it better than I, Starbrand and Night mask were not really that interesting, seemingly created to be killed off and never had the major role they seemed to be slotted for. Personally, when i stopped reading Hickman';s epic last year, I was somewhat interested in Nightmask. But Starbrand has very little value to me , except as a villain. Neither has been set up for fan support particularly well. Frankly, more fans would want Quasar back than Starbrand.

I always try to support the Quasar fans who've been very supportive to the Rider clan. Having this half baked potentially psychopathic version of the character is a huge loss for characters like Wendell. Hell I'd rather see Gravity or more Marvel Boy.

To add my usual obsession, with 100 percent certainty, I'd bet A Richard Rider and Dwayne Taylor book would sell better.But as I read this very cliche pitch..even happier that's not who they chose to star in this. Anyway this looks like what will pass for a "cosmic" book these days.

The art seems to just fly in the face of the characters these guys were. Teen Skippy stuff from a guy who already killed 3k people. I always thought Nightmask was a guy in his 30s?

[L.R Johansson]

I get what your saying but what about justice for the victims? Kevin has yet to go in front of the law and his victims family to face charges for what happened. I believe he was put into some prison Tony made and wasn't seen again until the Infinity war started because they needed his help. I love me some Hickman but his work on Starbrand rubbed me the wrong way especially Tony just allowing this guy to go free after they defeated the makers and Thanos. Tony believed in the registration to stop things like blowing up colleges from happening. I can't see him just letting this slide. It irks me that Marvel always have the Avengers doing things like this but are never really called on it. If the situation was reverse and Kevin was a mutant, you know they would show up at the Jean Grey school to have Kevin go to trial for his crimes. Hell, Captain America believed Bucky shouldn't have got arrested because He was in control by Hydra yet after Shadowland he shows up to arrest Matt fully knowing that he was also like Bucky was not in control of himself. Sorry this was so long.

A few things here, that I have to correct - Tony wasn't actually quite the same man as the one that fought Cap in Civil War - he actually rebooted his brain after Norman Osborn tried to steal his knowledge and technology, and when he was in Civil War he was also undergoing personality-changes because of the Extremis-enhancement he had at the time - it changed his perspective. (this was mentioned in the Iron Man -comic by the Knauff's at the time of CW: "It took a war to make me human again!")

And when the Pre-Extremis Tony returned, he was quite shocked when he read what his course of actions during CW had actually led to.

It would be only logical that he would feel that some new methods, new tactics, is required to deal with new superbeings.

Also, Starbrand didn't blow up that school, at all. It blew up because the bug-faced aliens that gave him his powers, panicked when their habitat, the superflow, fell apart - and they activated the starbrand-system incorrectly - hence the explosive connection to Kevin.

I'm pretty sure the Avengers knew this, after Infinity - hence, why he would be allowed to go free - he didn't kill ANYONE.

[GamerSlyRatchet]

First, getting these Hollywood series/scriptwriters more involved instead of better established or even hot up and coming comic writers they've driven away is some thing to guardedly deal with. Even a guy like Weisman, who has a solid rep in cartoons...sometimes these guys just shape out as not up to snuff on writing serial fiction within the Marvel U.

Weisman has plenty of comic book experience. He was a DC editor in the 1980's and co-wrote Captain Atom. He wrote a back-up for Spider-Man, wrote the comic book tie-in for Young Justice, and is currently writing the ongoing Star Wars: Kanan.

[UltimateTy]

I'm so down with this.

[AcesX1X]

i'm not sure i see the appeal behind this particular book. reading hickman's avenger titles, it didn't seem as if starbrand or nightmask were very popular. and then there is the characters' questionable origins, which i am not sure fit the tone of this book as they describe it.

[Captain Zolalnadia]

To add my usual obsession, with 100 percent certainty, I'd bet A Richard Rider and Dwayne Taylor book would sell better.But as I read this very cliche pitch..even happier that's not who they chose to star in this. Anyway this looks like what will pass for a "cosmic" book these days.

I always thought Nightmask was a guy in his 30s?

Is it supposed to be a cosmic book though? Star Brand is supposed to defend Earth from space threats. not be running around space fighting bad guys, that is what he would like to do, but Nightmask keeps him on Earth to keep Kevin in touch with his humanity.

Also, Nightmask ages in reverse.