The Avengers Academy has gone through some tough times. During Dark Reign, Norman Osborn tricked some superpowered teens into joining what they thought would prepare them for someday becoming actual Avengers. Hank Pym later took over with some help from Justice, Tigra, Speedball and Quicksilver and moved the Academy to the Infinite Mansion.
In the wake of FEAR ITSELF, the Infinite Mansion was compromised so the decision was made to move the Academy to the former West Coast Avengers compound. As for what happens next, we asked writer Christos Gage a few questions.
Comic Vine: Why the move to the West Coast?
Christos Gage: It was time to root Avengers Academy more in the physical Marvel Universe. As for why the West Coast Avengers compound specifically, I thought it made sense not to be too close to the other New York based Avengers teams, but to still have strong ties to Avengers history. And from a practical standpoint, it was just sitting there empty! Plus with Hank Pym, Tigra and now Hawkeye, we've got a lot of ex WCA members on board.
== TEASER ==CV: We will see appearances by other LA based heroes like Moon Knight and the Runaways? West Coast Avengers' enemies?
CG:Runaways, definitely, in #27 and 28. Fans have been asking for that meeting for a long time and it's great to make it happen. Moon Knight, no plans right now, but it could be fun. He's insane!
As for WCA enemies, I wouldn't mind resurrecting Graviton, but I'm not going to stick a bad guy in there just because he or she fought the West Coast Avengers. But I wouldn't reject them for that reason either. How about an old ROM bad guy?
CV: What sort of commitment do the new students need to make. Can characters like X-23 just come and go as they please?
CG: Yes, exactly. Aside from our core cast, most of the students are part timers. Think of it as something like the Learning Annex or UCLA Extension. You can come by once a week to improve your skills at, say, aerial combat, while keeping your normal life and routine. And with the Quinjets, you don't even have to live in L.A. The whole idea was to provide greater potential for the kind of character interactions readers enjoyed in our Prom issue, without diluting the "screen time" given to our main cast.
CV: Will they go out on missions or deal with internal problems as seen with the 'murder' at the end of issue #21.
CG: Both. For the near term, we'll be more campus-focused.
CV: How active will Hawkeye be? Will he still be active on the Avengers teams?
CG:Hawkeye will definitely remain on other Avengers teams. I was thrilled to get him as an Academy teacher, because I've always felt he makes a perfect choice to teach young, at-risk superhumans...after all, he started out as a villain, and spent much of his early career giving Captain America hell and disobeying his orders.
It's perfect karma that now he's the authority figure. That said, given that he has a presence in other books, I'll probably err on the side of giving Clint a bit less face time than, say, Tigra or Quicksilver, who don't appear elsewhere. But his presence will certainly be felt, and he will have a different viewpoint than some of the other teachers. He's less strict about rules and more concerned with results...which is fine, when you're the world's greatest archer, but a little more chancy when you're a walking nuclear meltdown!
Be sure to check out Avengers Academy #22 on sale November 16, 2011.
Log in to comment