The Runaways are about to run afoul of Emperor Doctor Doom. The Marvel Universe is currently embroiled in One World Under Doom, a publishing event that finds Doctor Doom taking over the world. While the main conflict plays out in the One World Under Doom event series, several one-shots and miniseries are spinning out of the event. One of these is a new volume of Runaways by award-winning novelist Rainbow Rowell and Eisner Award-winning artist Elena Casagrande. Rowell is no stranger to Runaways, having penned the comic from 2017 to 2021. The run featured bold new directions and shifted dynamics for your favorite Runaways, evolving the group from mere children of supervillains. The next step for Runaways will come during One World Under Doom.
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ComicBook spoke to Runaways writer Rainbow Rowell about her return to the series. We checked in to find out what the Runaways have been up to since we last saw them in 2021, why Doctor Doom has chosen now to collect his wayward Doombot, the Runaways’ thoughts on Doom taking over the world, working with Elena Casagrande, and more. We can also exclusively reveal five pages from Runaways #1, as well as the cover and solicit for August’s Runaways #3.
ComicBook: One World Under Doom seems like the perfect time to bring the Runaways back, especially since they count a Doombot as one of their members. What’s the status of our team since you concluded your last Runaways comic in 2021?
Rainbow Rowell: The last issue of Runaways, back in 2021, was pretty dramatic: Chase got yanked into the future; Karolina left for space and took Nico’s magical Staff with her; and we saw that Alex had assumed the mantle of Doc Justice.
So the remaining kids are still dealing with those shocks. Nico is especially reeling. With Chase gone, she’s solely responsible for all the younger Runaways — and she doesn’t have her magic to help or protect them.
Doombot — seeing that his best friend, Victor, and the other kids are floundering — has decided that they need an adult in the house. Him.
I can’t help but wonder why Doom would take interest in one random Doombot? Does he have a problem with it being a Runaway and breaking free of its programming? Or does Doom have other ulterior motives?
Hmm. This is hard to answer without spoiling. But I can say that Emperor Doom dislikes chaos and messes. Which the Runaways excel at.
What are the Runaways’ thoughts on Doom taking over the world? I can see their opinions being split, with some siding with the Avengers/FF and wanting Doom stopped, while others may see Doom’s point of view.
The Runaways have always seen themselves as apart from the rest of the Marvel Universe. They resent being dragged into hero business. They’re allergic to the idea of “teams.” They don’t trust anything an adult tells them … even if that adult is Captain America.
I think the kids also feel really dragged along by adult decisions — and powerless. So Doom taking over feels like more BS that they didn’t ask for.
Victor, who genuinely wants to be a hero, is the most upset about the situation. But his pal Doombot is Doctor Doom’s No. 1 Fanboy.
[RELATED: Marvel Teases Doom’s Dark Secret (and a Fantastic Four Member Knows It)]
What has the collaboration with Elena Casagrande been like? Are there any cool redesigns in the stars for some of our Runaways?
Elena is an incredible storyteller. She really gets the scope of a story and is drawing in a cinematic way from the very first panel. I think she’s done a great job of making the characters her own, while still honoring their history, and especially the work of Kris Anka and Andrés Genolet. She draws with remarkable style and expression. Her Doombot is genius. He’s a hard character to draw with personality — the mask — but she nails it.
I’ve also loved seeing Dee Cunniffe’s take on Elena’s pages. Dee worked on the previous run, too. Both Dee and Elena have really alive styles. Like, Elena’s inks feel like they might move. And Dee’s colors feel like they might breathe. (I’m not sure I’m explaining this well. You’ll have to look at the book!)
While this volume of Runaways takes place during One World Under Doom, it’s a safe bet to assume that you’ll continue pushing the team dynamics in unique ways. What sort of drama can longtime Runaways fans look forward to in this five-issue series?
The internal relationships have been the beating heart of this book since Brian K. Vaughan and Adrian Alphona created it. What I love about writing Runaways is that every character has a specific dynamic with every other character. There are the romances — Chase and Gert, Gert and Victor, Nico and Karolina; Nico and Chase’s domestic partnership; Gert and Nico’s spiky friendship; Chase’s insecurity around Victor; Karolina’s nurturing of Gib … No matter who is on the page, there are big, messy, ongoing dynamics.
Without spoiling, I can say that this is a big series for Nico. She is reckoning with who she is without Karolina, and who she is without magic, and whether she is enough to lead the team on her own.
We’re also going to see the consequences of Gert conspiring with her future self to kidnap Chase. Gert has never felt like she was enough to hang with the other Runaways.
Both of these young women walk through the fire in these five issues.
RUNAWAYS #3 (OF 5)
- Written by RAINBOW ROWELL
- Art by ELENA CASAGRANDE
- Cover by STEPHANIE HANS
- Variant Cover by MIRKA ANDOLFO
- DOC JUSTICE, KAROLINA DEAN… AND THE WILL OF DOOM!
- Doctor Doom will not be disobeyed! Doombot struggles with a major decision when there is an attack on the Runaways in even greater force! Will an (un)happy reunion save them? And what happens when it’s the last straw for Nico Minoru?!
- On Sale 8/20
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