Remender & Brevoort Divulge Who's Who In The New Uncanny Avengers

01/05/2015 03:57 pm EST

Following the major ramifications of Rick Remender's Avengers & X-Men: AXIS, the Marvel Universe's Unity squad is back with some new additions to the team. Kicking off in an all-new Uncanny Avengers #1, the team featuring The Vision, Sabretooth, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Rogue & Doctor Voodoo, must tackle a new threat from an old foe in order to keep the Marvel Universe together.

Today, ComicBook.com is jumping on a call with writer, Rick Remender and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort to talk about the series and we'll have updates for you LIVE right here. So while you're waiting, why not check out some new preview pages from artist Daniel Acuna and a new cover by Leinil Yu!

Marvel PR guru, Chris D'Lando kicks things off recapping everything we've seen so far ever since Rick started his Uncanny Avengers journey. When asked about how the new team came together Remender stated "Putting a team together is like fantasy football, when it comes to trading and free agency."

"One of the things that Tom felt was very important was to get Wanda and Quicksilver on the team to help make it feel like an Avengers roster. It's key to pick the characters that will fix the mandate of the mission so I got to bring back an old favorite like Doctor Voodoo" explained Remender.

On the topic of certain team members being brought on board that were

D'Lando mentions that a big part of the last series was the struggle for leadership between Steve Rogers and Havok. With neither on the team so is there a clear leader this time?

"Wanda and Rogue are now the core members of the team. They've earned it!" Remender elaborated. "I spent a lot of time building their friendship in the last series and fans will see why it's a big deal when push comes to shove. There is a fun aspect to the telling the story that the two had to pull together who was around to tackle the big evil."

Fans are going to get the chance to see Sabretooth in his new costume with a new moral compass. What can fans expect from the former villain?

"Sabretooth has all of his old memories and his history. It's all still there. But given the events of AXIS, he has a new found sense of duty and to be honest, the team needs his skills. Granted he's still a former serial killer, but we're going to examine why he's doing what he's doing as the series progresses," explained Remender.

Is Sabretooth filling the Wolverine sized hole in the Marvel Universe?

"Well it's not a very big hole," joked Brevoort. Brevoort impressed upon those on the call that Sabretooth is a VERY different character than Wolverine so we're not replacing one for the other. "There is a ticking clock with the inversion, we're waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even if it seems like it's an ongoing thing, things can change tomorrow. Sure he has sharp claws, is a bit animalistic, but he is NOT Wolverine."

Moving on to where the story kicks off, Remender mentions that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver who are frantically trying to figure out who they are. "There is a grand lie that they have believed to be their ancestry over the years that leads them on a mission. All roads head to Counter-Earth. It's one of the coolest and most exciting ideas of the Marvel Universe that has been underutilized. SO having the team head to the new Counter-Earth and the villain behind it all is one that's going to be super exciting. How Wanda and Pietro tie into it all? It's going to be fun. To have Daniel Acuna along for the ride on this sci-fi space epic is beautiful stuff. It's the work of his career."

"How big of a role is Wanda & Pietro's lineage to the story," asks D'Lando

"It's not going to be finished in 20 pages," remarks Brevoort. "There is a long game to play here, and we're just at the beginning of this journey. It certainly does seem like a story point that had fans rattled up, but that's good because that means they want to see what horrible thing we're going to do to them. It certainly wont be as bad as everyone expects, but it'll get people talking."

"I think that one of the things that happened here was that when given the assignment, we came up with something that was exciting, fit into continuity and is a great long story that unearths some classic Marvel Universe ideas and thrust into the spotlight. There's a mystery at play that is going to be fun, along with some great reveals."

Onto the press questions!

Marvel.com asks about Wanda & Vision's relationship. Will it be weird?

"When we last saw the two, Vision wasn't happy with Wanda. But I wanted to play with that idea a bit more. She saw The Vision as the cleanest version of Simon Williams, who she still loves. Vision is going to what needs to be done, but he's going to be the most distrusting of Wanda," said Remender.

When asked about bringing Mutants and Avengers together, will we see more of that as the book goes on?

"It's still the main thrust of the team," answered Brevoort. "There are some different characters here and there, but we'll still see the main core ideas of the Unity squad at play."

In the images released, we see the High Evolutionary on the cover in issue 4, can you talk about him being connected?

*Remender laughs*

"He's got a connection and he's in the story," added Brevoort

"Groundwork is going to be laid for a ton of great stories to be told. I wasn't sold on him at first, but he has a ton of interesting aspects to him that we'll uncover," explained Remender.

In the preview, we also see Sabretooth wearing a leash. How does that impact his psyche?

"He understands. He gets it. All those internal mechanisms are inverted now, and he knows that the team needs to keep him close."

We're up! Will things be weird with Simon still kicking around in Rouge's head?

"It wont be a major plot point in the first arc, but I've got stories to tell about that relationship. Lots of stories."

Will we see more Avengers of the Supernatural return given Doctor Voodoo's membership on the team?

"Before I'm washed up, I'm doing a big supernatural story. I clearly love the team and those characters, but there aren't plans just yet." 

Are the members of the team being introduced because the last roster felt stale?

"At the end of AXIS, Havoc came out a villain. We knew there were going to be people changing sides and we wanted to make sure there was still people around to feel the fallout," answered Brevoort.

"This was an idea that Tom presented me with, not one I had pitched. At first I recognized it was a frightening job, because of its scale. But that then helped me want to jump at the story. I got excited about the High Evolutionary ideas, the scope and the team," added Remender. "I get to put together a mystery that is very natural, exciting and something that I became very fond of. There are big changes coming that will shake up the Marvel Universe, and to be able to be responsible for them is a ton of fun."

Can we expect to see Havoc?

"Given enough time we can expect to see him, but nothing immediate. Where you'll see him next? I think we put a pretty big arrow on that," remarked Brevoort.

Fans have really liked Rick tying in his past stories into his current ongoing work. Are there any Easter eggs going to pop up?

"Check out that Doctor Voodoo trade," mentioned Brevoort.

"I just re-read that series and man, I can't wait to bring some of this stuff back," answered Remender. "As for anything else, it's a pretty fresh start. But in the Rage Of Ultron OGN i'm doing, you might see little bits from Secret Avengers that I had done."

Tom also takes the time to plug the Uncanny Avengers Omnibus.

How about Magneto showing up?

"I think it's inevitable that he'll show up, but I don't want to say more than that," said Brevoort.

Last question from us! Required listening? What's the soundtrack to the series?

"God Is An Astronaut. It's grand science fiction-y instrumental stuff that builds nicely. Or Vessels, that would work too." 

So there you have it folks! Are you excited for Uncanny Avengers #1? Let us know below!

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