Essential Q&A about X-treme X-men

The answers are pieced together as quotes from Chris Claremont, from online interviews he has given to this site and X-Fan, as well as information given from email communications.

 

 

Will the team’s escapades be solely centered around the search for the missing diaries?

“The search for the Diaries is what Alfred Hitchcock called the "MacGuffin." It is the catalyst, the trigger, that starts the story rolling. After that, anything -- and likely, everything -- can happen.

 

What locations will they visit in their quest for the books of truth?

 As for locations: we start in Spain, then off to Australia, then to Madripoor, then (I think) to the Continental US, then Oz again and most likely the Savage Land and ultimately Shi'ar Space. Unless, of course, I get a better idea over the next couple of years.

 

Why is Beast leaving the team after issue 3?

When editor Mark Powers and I first structured out the cast of my new X-book back in September of last year, Beast was chosen as one of the team. Much later, we discovered that Grant Morrison had chosed Beast for his team. It was decided that the character would work better in Grant`s book than mine and so the switch was made. Unfortunately, by that time, a dozen issues of my book had been plotted with Beast as an integral part of the team. The publication schedule made it impractical to rewrite the first two issues, so he`ll be around for that story arc; indeed, one of its key components will be to resolve his shift from my team to Grant`s - which of necessity means that, for continuity buffs, my initial arc actually occurs before Grant`s. As for the rest of the issues, they were rewritten with him absent. Win some, lose some."

 

What are the team dynamics?

To start with, the status quo is that Storm is the leader; Beast the veteran, the brain, the good-humor guy; Rogue is the crazy gal; Bishop is the no-nonsense cop / detective; Psylocke, the adventure junkie Action-Gal; Thunderbird, the rookie, the one with major doubts about himself and the mission; Sage, the mystery wrapped in an enigma, but also the team's "Gadget-Gal." She fixes everything

 

What is Tessa’s nationality?

I think of Tessa as Welsh Celt and Greek, with perhaps a dash of Spanish Moor. (Very much akin to Catherine Zeta-Jones

 

Who exactly is Vargas?

 he is the first representative of the true Homo Sapiens Superior. Turns out mutants may not be the next natural step up the evolutionary ladder.. that nature, abhoring a vacuum and perceiving one in the appearance of mass numbers of super-powered mutants, is attempting to redress the imbalance by jump-starting Humanity to a level where they can compete with mutants and super-beings on relatively equal terms. And mutants are about to discover they have a predator. he`s out to ensure that he and his progeny not only inherit the world but have a viable and thriving world to inherit. That means dealing with all potential threats and predators, which to him means `mutants`,his chief rival for control of the local turf. The world, in his eyes, is not big enough for both races and he doesn`t intend to be the one who makes a premature exit.

 

What is “La Guardia”?

"The `Guardia` is the Guardia Civil, the National Police of Spain. The outfit that comes after the X-Treme team is the `Action Force` of that organization, a special operations unit tasked to deal with exceptional threats to the kingdom, such as super-beings. A national equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

Will there be any other characters joining the team in the near future?

There`s certainly room now for another character, which is one of the reasons the book is heading for the antipodes. We`ll be introducing some new characters as possible recruits to the team. And since the story involves some mysterious thefts I wouldn`t at all be surprised if a certain thief were to make an appearance, and suddenly find himself in a situation that`s way over his head. And puts to the test not only his friendship with Storm but his relationship with another lady on the team (and I don`t mean Sage.) As for taking Hank`s place - well, nobody can really take Hank`s place, that`s one of the things that makes him such a delightful character But we do have a slot to fill. We`ll see how the audience reacts to the new characters, how well those characters mesh with the team, and take it from there.

 

Australia has been confirmed as one of the team’s destinations. what can we expect to see them stumble in, while there?

What brings the team to the Antipodes?  A murder, of the premier Australian crimeboss, the Oz equivalent of [the] Kingpin, called Viceroy. The accused murderer. I have plans to introduce any number of [Aussie] characters, some of whom might even stick around. There`s also a new romantic complication for Storm, who`s never dated a surfer before, much less a buff, boyish board-god

 

What is going to happen in the last storyline of the first year “Invasion from Dimension X” ?

Basically, we have this guy whose ambition is to conquer the universe, one dimension at a time. Unfortunately, he has the talent, the skills and the resources to actually fulfill that ambition. (Think Alexander the Great.) He`s working his way crosstime from one parallel earth to the next, and `ours` (as in, our heroes`) is next in line. Oddly enough, it`s a love story."

 

What is different about the art in this book?

Basically, and this is Joe Quesada`s idea, we`re reproducing the book directly from Salva`s pencils, which evidently allows for a lot more depth and variety in the coloring. Every page, every issue, Salva keeps getting better and better. I love his visual take on the characters, I love the feel of the book. It`s clean, it`s elegant, it`s powerful, it`s fun.

 

Sources of the original interviews:

http://www.geocities.com/mutantdestiny

http://www.fandom.com/x-men/Editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=261339

http://www.fandom.com/x-men/Editorial.asp?action=page&obj_id=269296