THE DAVID MICHELINIE AVENGERS INTERVIEW (Page 1 of 3)
--A WONDER MAN: COOLER THAN SUPERMAN EXCLUSIVE--
INTERVIEWER: MITCHEL
It was a real pleasure to finally be able to interview one of my favorites Avengers writers: David Michelinie. If I was going to describe Michelinie's work two words come into mind immediately: human drama. Through his writing of Wonder Man & Beast, Jocasta & Vision, Wasp and Ms. Marvel, Michelinie made me laugh, cry and think. Dialog would flow so natural from his characters you had to believe you were watching real people interact and you were invited into their lives. His work in Iron Man tackling the problem of substance abuse and its consequences has been highly acclaimed. It stands out as an example of excellence in handling mature subject matter in the comic book medium. His creative tenure added unique rogues to the Marvel Universe like the psychotic Venom and the methodical Taskmaster and turned them into fan favorites. From Avengers to Iron Man to Spider-man, master storyteller David Michelinie, gives us the insides to his period as Avengers writer and more.
1- Your first Avengers job was as scripter during "The Korvac Saga" which was being plotted by Jim Shooter, some issues he scripted too. He had just started as editor in chief at Marvel and you guys would alternate between issues. How much was your input in the Korvac issues you scripted? Any stuff from that saga you remember you guys arguing about, maybe different opinions of how things should go? Any interesting discussions you remember about the character of Wonder Man in the story? I remember he finally faces his fear of dying at the end of that story.

DM: When I quit DC Comics in 1978, I called Jim Shooter and asked if I could
get some work at Marvel. His immensely flattering reply was, "Would today be
too soon?" He was really swamped by his new editorial duties and so sent me
the 22 pages of penciled art for AVENGERS #173 that very day, asking me to
script them. At that point I had never read an issue of THE AVENGERS, so Jim
talked me through the story over the phone. (I don't think there was an actual
written plot.) I made notes and did my best to be true to the characters as Jim described them; I also read xerox copies of the earlier Korvac episodes that were sent to me. This was pretty much the same procedure that took place for the other two segments of that storyline that I scripted. So the entire plot was Jim's; the only things I added were the specific dialogue and captions to go along with the story.
2- After the final issue of that saga was plotted & scripted by Shooter, there were a couple of fill-in issues by Tom DeFalco and then in the memorable Avengers #181 your run really started with X-Men artist John Byrne as penciler. Government Agent Gyrich limited the Avengers membership to 7. Did you get to choose the new lineup or was that an editorial decision? How much of that first story with Django Maximoff, Wanda & Pietro's adoptive father, was planned ahead before you came on board, since it was a subplot that started with Shooter before the beginning of the Korvac Saga?
DM: Those decisions were made some two dozen years ago, and I have to admit that I don't remember all of the day-to-day details that went into crafting the individual stories. Since Jim Shooter planned plots and subplots far in advance, and I was still a novice Avengers scripter at that time, I imagine that most of the storyline in AVENGERS #181-182 was based on stuff Jim had set up earlier. I think I was mostly tying up loose ends in those two issues, even though I did write the actual plots myself. I pretty much started exercising control over the characters with issue #183.

3- In that same issue Wonder Man decides he wants to start an acting career. Why an acting career if he had previously been an inventor like Tony Stark? It was surprising that you, who made Simon Williams act more introspective in a way that would fit a reclusive scientist inventor type, came up with the totally out-of-left field bit about Wonder Man becoming an actor (a profession that one imagines is full of neurotic egomaniacs who crave constant attention).
DM: I believe I was just carrying through on a direction that Jim Shooter had considered before he had to give up the book. So you'd have to ask him about specifics here.
4-Jocasta: my second favorite Avenger, who has been neglected since your departure. As soon as your second Avengers issue as regular writer she starts developing a personality. I love when in that same issue she
convinces agent Gyrich she doesn't need a security pass because she is just a machine and gets away with almost becoming an eighth member against the government regulations of only 7 Avengers. Her classic line in that issue:
"has the government become so paranoid that it requires security passes for mere machines". Her efforts to develop a friendship with the Vision, her team-up and friendship with Wonder Man & Beast during the Red Ronin story, (the Japanese samurai giant robot adventure in 198 & 199) and that charming scene packing goods for Jan & Hank's long trip back home in issue 201 that speaks volumes about the character. Was this new character one of your favorites at the time? How would you describe this character? If you would return to write an avengers project would you use her?

DM: I liked Jocasta for a number of reasons. She didn't have a lot of history to deal with, so there was a fair amount of potential there that I felt I could develop; that's an advantage with any relatively new character.

She wasn't human, but she wanted to be; and a prime motivation for her was her desire to be accepted--which is a very human goal that almost everyone can identify with.

As far as using Jocasta in a new project, that would depend on the project, and exactly what the character had evolved into by that time.
She's not the same person she was in 1978. For that matter, neither am I!
5-Ms. Marvel's (Carol Danvers) & the Falcon's introduction to the Avengers was done in your third and fourth issues. Was it fun to introduce those two? Of all the new Avengers that have been introduced since the eighties I think those two, specially Carol Danvers, are the ones who have been more accepted by the fans.

DM: I've always had a fondness for secondary characters, especially in group books. With major characters like Captain America and Thor, you usually have to deal with what's going on in their own series; you have to be aware of outside conflicts and you have to stick with characterization that's being established elsewhere. With lesser-used characters, you often have a lot more freedom in how you handle them. Plus, there's usually been less character development, which gives you a lot more directions in which to take them.
6- The Yesterday Quest, another memorable classic from your run; why did the origin of the Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver, who had recently been explained as the children of golden age super heroes by Roy Thomas, got retconned? I have to say Roy's origin for Pietro & Wanda was good but yours has become a classic! The characters of Bova, Chthon, Modred and all the Marvel mythology you got to interweave in that one story was absolutely fantastic. The beautiful thing was we went back to square one about who the parents of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were and longtime readers might have started guessing but it isn't until months later in a single page from X-Men #125 that we get an epilogue to your story were Magneto accidentally tumbles upon old files of his lost wife and her name is MAGDA! Same name that was revealed in your story as Quicksilver's and Scarlet Witch's mother! Absolutely brilliant and one of the best examples of the tight well thought continuity in the Marvel Universe!!! Any interesting anecdotes you remember in the planning stages of this story?

DM: I'm afraid I'm forced to give credit where it's actually due again. If you'll check the splash pages of AVENGERS #185-187, you'll see that Mark Gruenwald and Steve Grant actually plotted those issues. At the time, I had agreed to write an Avengers paperback novel ("The Man Who Stole Tomorrow") and was given a deadline that was impossible to make if I continued writing both AVENGERS and IRON MAN on a monthly basis. So, rather than
quit one of those books, I agreed to accept some help for the short run. That meant giving up the plotting on issues 185-187, and giving up issues 189-190 altogether. It was painful, but that's what you get for biting off more than you can chew. Bottom line: I just wrote the words for "The Yesterday Quest," following plots provided by others.
7-Going back to the character of Wonder Man. The direction I thought you were heading with this character was of an honorable man who was mainly a victim in the whole embezzlement mess that spun his life out of control. Simon Williams was such a charismatic character while in your hands that it started to become obvious this guy must have been tricked into embezzling money by his evil brother, the Grim Reaper, and must have taken the blame to protect his brother. In your Marvel Premiere story and spinning from events in your Avengers run he makes it his personal responsibility to go and investigate an old factory that used to be part of Williams Innovations for underworld involvement and there we get to know the character, Madison Dash, who used to be a top executive employed by Simon and whose life got ruined by the underworld once they took over after Simon's death. Madison and Simon had
been close friends before the embezzlement scandal, and he regarded Simon as a man of honor and respect. Were they setting Simon up for a solo series at this time? Any inside details you might remember?

DM: I always hoped for more Wonder Man solo stories, but I don't believe there was a series actually planned, or being set up, at that time. You may notice that that issue of PREMIERE was co-plotted with Bob Layton, who was my collaborator on IRON MAN during that
period. You also may notice that a footnote linked that Wonder Man story to an Iron Man story that we'd done earlier. So while we weren't setting up a Wondy solo series, we were trying to set up more Iron Man/Wonder Man/Maggia/Madame Masque (the mysterious shadow woman in the PREMIERE story) connections for future continuity.
8- Steve Englehart later on took the character of Wonder Man and made him reveal he was actually guilty, we don't know the details but during Englehart's first West Coast Avengers issues which crossed over with his
Vision & Scarlet Witch mini series he makes Simon publicly confess he agreed to embezzle money in a desperate attempt to save his company. As a result of his public admission to his crime on television, the public's positive
response for his bravery in admitting his guilt and his rising status in Hollywood, he becomes obnoxious and arrogant for awhile. Some fans like to remember the obnoxious & arrogant phase more than the quiet charismatic guy from your run. What do you think of Englehart's approach to the character? It seemed to me Simon's innocence was something you were establishing while handling the character, your Simon Williams was just too nice and naive to be guilty of anything bad in spite of being going through desperate times in Avengers #9.
DM: I've never read the Englehart version of Wonder Man, so I can't comment on those stories. Yes, I saw Simon as innocent, but every writer has his own view of things.
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