Discerning Comics Reader David (DCRD) took to his bed, knowing he’d never hear the end of it from Hopeless Fanboy David (HFD) when we came across this interview with Brian Bendis in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via the New Avengers Message Board).
After a brief introduction, explaining which movies members of the New Avengers come from, Bendis denies that’s the only reason this group of characters was chosen.
“‘I said, ‘Why can’t this book have the coolest members in it? And these are the guys I think are the coolest,’ Bendis says. ‘Why can’t this team inspire comic-book fans as well as the rest of the world?'”
You can all answer that for yourselves, drawing that tender thread between coolness and inspiration, I’m sure. I’ve got my hands full at the moment, as DCRD needs a compress and a copy of Street Angel.
The coolness doctrine is undermined somewhat by the subsequent quote from Joe Quesada.
“‘The New Avengers’ is set up to attract new comic-book readers by featuring several of our characters who have been successfully adapted to the big screen,’ says Marvel editor in chief Joe Quesada.”
Why, and look!
“Captain America, Luke Cage and Iron Man will also be members, and are on the drawing boards for their own feature films. Tom Cruise has expressed interest in playing Iron Man.”
Poor Spider-Woman and Sentry get no mention at all. They’re like the Professor and Mary Ann when they were still “the rest.”