Welcome, X-Fans, to another uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT!
Gerry Duggan currently writes X-Men and Invincible Iron Man, and now has X-Men: Hellfire Gala 2023 #1 and Uncanny Avengers on the way?! Don’t forget, he’s hard at work on his photobook Timing/Luck and maintains an entertaining and informative Substack newsletter.
There are other projects on top of all those, so the big question is… when does Gerry Duggan sleep?
And the bad news is… I didn’t ask Gerry Duggan this question.
But can you blame me? There’s so much other stuff to discuss and tease — save the sleep questions for another edition! As for this edition — let’s get started.
Courtesy of Gerry Duggan’s Twitter
AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Gerry! Our first X-Fan question comes from XGonnaGiveItToYa, who was wondering how you work across Marvel offices. With Invincible Iron Man and Uncanny Avengers living outside the ultra-collaborative X-Office, but with strong ties to the upcoming Fall of X, how do you balance the connections between series across offices?
Gerry: We’ve outlined heavily, and have an Excel spreadsheet, to make sure the timing is perfect. For the last few months I’ve been writing the comics that debut in the same month at the same time. You know the feeling when you’re already enjoying a juggler’s performance and then they add a chainsaw? I just added a chainsaw. Enjoy!
AIPT: Careful! Now, X-Fan Michael said Tony Stark and Emma Frost have a very interesting relationship with one another. At one point, they were lovers, and at another point, enemies. What can you tease about their relationship in Invincible Iron Man and what can we expect from them moving forward?
Gerry: They were never lovers. What is this question? It’s bullshit. I’m sorry, Michael, but you’ll just have to read our story. It’s not like we’re going to actually go through with this horseshit marriage.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: I love that we’re still talking about the marriage. X-Fan MrsGreycrow69 said Forge has received a lot of focus under your pen — and rightfully so. He’s got the best mustache in the biz. Many would say that a man is nothing without a mustache. But, similarly, the mustache is nothing without the man: Will we ever get on-page confirmation of Forge’s human name?
Gerry: He told me, but he had a gadget that made me forget. This was in a dream of mine. I rarely remember them, but I did have the feeling when I was trying to remember the whole episode that it was playing out exactly the way Forge wanted. The man doesn’t usually know how his creations work — just that they do. He’s practically a writer!
AIPT: Havok’s most recent stint on the X-Men was rocky to say the least. But him quitting during “Dark Web” was definitely a surprise. How is Alex doing? Hopefully, a little happier. And maybe we’ll get to check in on him soon?
Gerry: I’m not the writer to ask about Havok. Steve — what do you have to say?
Steve Foxe: I’d say, “happier is subjective.” Havok’s experiencing a little havoc at the moment. Love hurts, after all.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Thanks for swinging by, Steve! Looking forward to learning what the Limbo you’re talking about (and have been teasing) very soon. Next, X-Fan Bat asked, in terms of personality, what separates Doctor Stasis from Mister Sinister? Their goals are clearly very different, but what other traits would you say separate them?
Gerry: Stasis is a human, not a mutant. Stasis is betting hard on his kind, Sinister is betting hard on… himself. Stasis is in for a surprise in X-Men #23.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: X-Fan — err, IronFan GregoryStarkPrManager said that so far in your run, we’ve seen classic Iron Man enemies like the Living Laser, and a big theme is how Tony is fighting the ghosts of his past. Is there a chance we can expect more classic Iron Man villains?
Gerry: You never know, but I looked at Tony/Iron Man the same way that I looked at X-Men when I got the chair. The villain roster needed some depth, and a lot of the old great ones are dead. Feilong is a great villain for both Tony and Iron Man. I’ve swung a lot of wrecking balls at these characters, and wrecked a lot of lives, but what Feilong does in the second arc of that solo book is really beyond the pale. So as the book is primarily new threats, some old names will show up in unexpected ways. Iron Man #6 is a blast from the past literally — as Tony works on his memoir — and we get to flashback to the classic armors of the past. I always had a thing for the Silver Centurion, so that gets some stage time along with cameos of the West Coast Avengers.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Love the Silver Centurion armor. Back to the mutants, X-Fan Kevin’s got the question on every reader’s mind: What can we expect from Krakoa’s newest residents, the Fisks? How much mess and drama can we expect from Wilson and Mary?
Gerry: This one has been simmering since before Covid, I bet. Chip [Zdarsky], Jonathan [Hickman], and I had a lot of fun with the possibilities of this one night after a retreat. A bunch of it is going to see print, and not a word of it will I give you for free here. It’s really, really fun. So many plates of shit to eat to go round. All your favorites, and a few characters have to eat plates of shit that will become your favorite characters.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: We need to talk about Uncanny Avengers at least a little before we wrap. X-Fan Christhefozzie was curious to learn what the parallels and differences between the upcoming Uncanny Avengers run and your previous run are. And what are you most excited about this time around?
Gerry: Tom’s invite to come home happened at the perfect moment. We spent a long time having fun and putting characters into the proper orbits. Now the crashing begins. The full cast has not exactly been revealed yet.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: One more. X-Fan Tom P wanted to know what you think makes Psylocke and Monet good additions to the Uncanny Avengers line-up.
Gerry: I’ve been itching to write them both, and this is definitely an aggressive team that is up to its neck in problems. It’s also a comic with a deep connection to the past, and is a really great way to celebrate two 60th anniversaries. The Uncanny Avengers have historically been formed when relations between humans and mutants were low, and this team will be up against the wall.
AIPT: Juicy. Finally, without telling us who won this year’s X-Men Election… tell us everything else. Give us something, Gerry — July’s a lifetime away!
Gerry: Actually, it’s almost August since we ship the last week of July, but I’m sure a shitheel will spoil it a couple of days before with a shitty iPhone 6s photo. Fun fact: the winner is hiding under the Hellfire Gala logo on Phil’s cover.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: All the shitheels out there — you heard the man: You’re on notice. No leaks.
Also… pretty confident this edition broke an X-Men Monday record for the number of times “shit” appeared. This is a family column, Gerry!
But on that note — Gerry, thanks so much for swinging by X-Men Monday! It’s always a good time.
Now, X-Men Monday may not tolerate leaks, but boy oh Squid-Boy do we love our teases! Here are a few, courtesy of X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White!
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Hm, Destiny just got a peek at what we’re cooking up for X-Men Monday #200. Lucky Irene! (Mystique is jealous.)
Until next time, X-Fans, stay exceptional!
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