Marvel's Kurt Busiek Reveals New The Marvels Preview and Teases New Character Details (Exclusive)

The God of Thunder

Don't Mess With Cap

Assemble

Webslinging

Kevin Schumer

One of the more interesting additions is a character named Kevin Schumer, which isn't the catchiest superhero name, but fans will get to know who he is sooner rather than later.

When asked about Schumer compared to Lady Lotus, Busiek said, "As for Kevin, I don't want to say much — you'll get to know a lot about him in our first two issues, though! But you're right, they're all very different characters, and that's a big part of the fun of doing a series like this. We can explore the Marvel Universe from multiple perspectives, and having strongly-different characters whose eyes we can see things through makes it all that much richer."

"From a college student who's grown up with the Marvel Age, like Kevin, to a superhuman entangled with old enmities and hostile factions, like Warbird to…well, whatever Threadneedle is…we get to showcase different ideas, different experiences, different reactions," Busiek said.

We also asked if there was something, in particular, he avoids when creating all new characters. "The biggest thing I try to avoid when coming up with new characters? That probably varies a lot, depending on what the character's for. Sometimes you want a simple, throwaway character to play a small role and then get off stage, and you don't want someone like that to be too complicated, or they'll pull the story out of shape," Busiek said. "But also, Marvel already has lots of characters you can probably rope in for a role like that, so you may not even need a new character there."

"For a more important new character, you want someone who'll serve a purpose you can't just use some other character for. You want them to be distinctive and memorable, to be worth exploring, and to add to the world they're in rather than just taking up space. Everything about them has to say something about who they are — that's why Alex's designs for Warbird, Threadneedle and Kevin are all so different," Busiek said. "The characters are different, their motivations and concerns are different, and that has to show in their design, just like it has to come through in their personality and actions. They have to be worth the space we give to them."

"So what to avoid? Don't feel boring. Don't feel redundant. But make sure the character feels right, for whatever it is they're there in the story for. Of course, the readers get to be the ultimate judge of that. So I hope they're going to like all these new folks — as well as the existing characters, and what they're in the story for. THE MARVELS: Anyone. Anywhere. Any time. Wait'll you see what's coming," Busiek said.

Lady Lotus

As for Lady Lotus, Busiek was excited to bring the character back into the fold.

"At last, at least one character I don't have to be quite so mysterious about! Lady Lotus was introduced in Invaders, back in the 1970s, and for some reason, when I was reading those books as a teenager, I thought it'd be interesting if she was immortal, and could show up again in the present day," Busiek said. "And then in the 80s, Steve Gerber and Al Milgrom introduced a Los Angeles crime figure named Lotus Newmark, and I immediately thought, 'What if that's Lady Lotus again?'"

"So when Roger Stern wrote the Avengers Two mini-series in 2000, I suggested to him that he reveal that Lady Lotus and Lotus Newmark were, in fact, the same character, already thinking she'd be useful to my plans for a Sin-Cong War," Busiek said. "See, it really does go that far back!"

"And now I finally get to pay that off, with a cool new design by Yildiray, and a secret, mostly-unexplored life that connects her to Marvel history and other Marvel characters in ways I don't think anyone will expect," Busiek said. "Nobody has to know who she is — if you haven't read any comics before THE MARVELS #1, you'll understand her just fine. But if you do know who she is, you'll find out lots you didn't know, and come to see her in a whole new light."

Threadneedle

Another new character is Threadneedle, who sports a David Bowie-esque design and a very mysterious role in the Marvel Universe.

"Again I will be mysterious, for Threadneedle himself is a mysterious man — if 'man' is even the right term for him. And he's working with a character who's only been seen twice in Marvel history that I know of, and who'll get a whole new role with enormous scope in THE MARVELS," Busiek said.

"We introduce three new characters in THE MARVELS 1 — one who's very much on a human level, one wrapped up with superhero history and ties beyond Earth, and one who's outright weird and cosmic and will usher us into a bigger, stranger, deeper world," Busiek said. "Threadneedle is that third guy, as I expect you can tell. And yeah, Alex did an astounding design of Threadneedle, didn't he? Quirky and trippy, and nothing like anyone else Marvel's had in stories before. And that's all very intentional. Make sure to keep an eye on him. He's got fascinating secrets."

Warbird

Now, fans of Carol Danvers will definitely recognize the Warbird title, and Busiek was always a fan of the name, and teased a bit about the character and her possible ties to Carol.

"Well, I can't tell you too much, because the new Warbird is a mystery, and we want to surprise people as we explore her over time, rather than give it all away up front," Busiek said. "But I'll say this much: She got started because I like the name Warbird, and I like that classic costume Carol wore when I wrote her as Warbird, and since Carol moved on to a new name and costume and big time success, well, they were both available. So I came up with some new character ideas, and Alex worked up a variant design of that costume, and here we are!"

"Does she have any ties to Carol Danvers? Well, she's got some connections to people who've got connections to Carol, and she's in a go-anywhere/do-anything series — so I'd be surprised if they never met, and if interesting things never came from that. But what things those might be, I will let readers wonder about, for now," Busiek said.