The Accused - Marc Guggenhim (W), Ramon Bachs & Garry Brown (A), out on August 10 The Fallen - Greg Pak (W), Mark Bagley (A), out on August 17
Revealed today by ComicBook.com
THE ACCUSED >>What can you say about the superhero community’s reaction to Bruce Banner’s death? How does it differ from the population at large? Is the reaction from Bruce’s Avengers family different from that of his friends in the Defenders, or the other Hulks (Thunderbolt and Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Amadeus Cho, etc.)?
>Marc Guggenheim: Well, what’s interesting about the story that Brian Bendis has crafted for Civil War II is the superhero community’s reaction to Bruce’s death really runs the gamut -- and it should. Hawkeye kills Bruce under very questionable -- and debatable -- circumstances: Did Bruce pose a clear and present danger? Was Bruce going to “Hulk out”? Was Ulysses’ vision of the future about to come to pass? Reasonable minds can -- and do -- disagree about all of these questions.
>The primary reason -- in my mind -- as to why there is so much debate within the superhero community is that many -- if not all -- of these questions come down to what Hawkeye thought was going to happen. He claims to have been in the best position -- literally in the form of his unique vantage point and figuratively in the form of his specific skill set -- to have known whether or not Bruce was about to turn into the Hulk. Hawkeye asserts that he saw a fleck of green in Bruce’s eye seconds before he put an arrow through it. But no one else saw that fleck but him...
>>Where is Hawkeye’s mind at in all of this? Is he angry with himself, or with Carol or Tony or Ulysses? Does he feel like this is being put on his shoulders justly, or is he feeling like a scapegoat?
Parker Reyes
>MG: In The Accused, I’m playing Clint as not being sure. He made a split-second decision under extremely high stress with equally high stakes. He believed in the moment that it was the right decision, but being a sensible person, he knows that it’s possible that his judgment call was wrong. He’s now ready to face judgment, in part, to get an answer to the question that keeps him up at night: Was I right or wrong? Essentially, he’s looking to the jury to answer that question for him. However, juries don’t determine what really happened. All they do is weigh evidence and make a determination as to whether the prosecution has met its burden of proof. So, I see Clint as something of a tragic figure in all this: He’s placed his faith in himself in the hands of a system that can provide neither the condemnation nor the exoneration -- the clarity -- he desperately craves in his soul. Whether Clint wins or loses the trial... he’s lost.
>>Given his ties to the superhero community, is Matt Murdock eager to take this case, or would he have liked this one to pass him by?
>MG: All things being equal, he’d probably be happier not to have been selected to prosecute Hawkeye. But he’s a loyal officer of the court and takes his job as an Assistant District Attorney seriously, so he’s ready, willing and able to do the job before him.
>>What can you say about the mysterious conspiracy that Matt Murdock stumbles upon?
>MG: Well, if I tell you too much it won’t be mysterious...
>I’ll say that it has something to do with the Superhuman Registration Act -- the piece of legislation that was the flashpoint (am I allowed to say “flashpoint”?) of Civil War 1. I like the idea that there’s a little connection back to the original Civil War.
Luke Smith
>Guggenheim
Jaxon Murphy
>And I’ll also say that if you read Civil War II #3 -- which depicts pieces of Hawkeye’s trial -- you still don’t know the whole story. And while you’ll find out the verdict in the body of Civil War II, the way that verdict was reached and the reason it was reached are plot details you can only get from The Accused.
>>Is there any chance that Hawkeye is in danger from those closest to Bruce? His friends are known for having a bit of a temper.
>MG: Mr. Bendis is probably better suited to answer that one. The Accused focuses on the legal proceedings against Hawkeye. That pesky federal government takes a dim view of murder -- and that’s what they consider Hawkeye’s actions to be, murder -- and they’ve got the death penalty as an, ahem, arrow in their quiver. Bottom line, they’re not fooling around.
Noah Carter
THE FALLEN >>What can you tell me about the superhero community’s reaction to Bruce Banner’s death? How does it differ from the population at large? Is the reaction from Bruce’s Avengers family different from that of his friends in the Defenders, or the other Hulks (Thunderbolt and Betty Ross, Rick Jones, Amadeus Cho, etc.)?
>Greg Pak: Many, many people in the Marvel Universe -- mostly folks who never knew Banner personally -- see the Hulk as a terrifying force of destruction and will welcome or even celebrate Banner's death. On the other end of the spectrum, many of those who knew him best think of Banner as a straight up hero who bore a horrifying curse better than anyone else could have and who time and time again saved the lives of hundreds and thousands of innocents. And then there are all of the heart-breaking and conflicting emotions in between, as some who deeply loved Banner may struggle with both grief and a terrible, unwelcome sense of relief. And of course, his fellow Hulks may plunge straight from grief and denial into anger, with potentially catastrophic results. The Fallen will dig deep into all of the different ways Banner's different family members will grapple with these emotions and hint at where it might all lead over the next few months.
>>A death can bring a family together, or it can tear a family apart. How does this affect the Hulk family as a unit? Are coming together as a unit, or have they lost the glue that keeps them together? Or is it something even more destructive, given their shared nature?
>GP: Those are the key questions, aren't they? The Hulk family -- including Amadeus, Rick, Jen, Skaar, Betty, Ross, and the Warbound -- are the folks who knew Banner the best -- and each will respond to his death in his or her own way. And yes, they're a family, so we'll see them grapple with all of this together, for better or for worse.
Jackson Reyes
>>What can you say about Bruce Banner's will and the mindset he was in when he created it? It's never been entirely clear if the Hulk is even mortal (and there are stories that suggest the opposite), so acknowledging his own mortality must have been an interesting experience.
>GP: Banner's spent much of his adult life desperately trying to account for every possibility in hopes of mitigating the danger that his anger creates. And he's deeply aware of and tormented by the effect the Hulk has had on the people he loves. So it made a huge amount of sense to me that he'd have put a lot of thought into preparing for the possibility of his death. And the more I've written Banner over the past ten years, the more I think of him as driven by love more than anything else. He's cursed with terrible anger. But he's driven by love for his family. You'll absolutely see that come out in the very specific details of his will.
>And I'll just say it -- Banner's my favorite Marvel legacy character of all time. So this story means a lot to me. I'm hugely excited that Mark Bagley's drawing it -- he's bringing out all the subtle emotion these pages and panels. This is a huge, emotional book and these are all characters I've loved writing for over a decade now, so I hope it resonates with y'all.
>>Without giving away too much, what can you say about what Bruce is passing on to his friends, how he chose to divide what is in the will, and how the recipients react to it all?
>GP: This is the heart of this story, and we'll explore how each member of the Hulk family reacts to Banner's death and the will. Banner's thought this through deeply and tried to use this moment as a way to reach out, comfort, help and guide in different ways for different members of his family. We'll see if that works.
>>How do Bruce’s death and Hawkeye’s trial affect the larger conflict between Captain Marvel and Iron Man?
Jackson Lewis
>GP: I can't say too much for fear of spoilers, and the Tony/Carol conflict will be explored most deeply in Brian Bendis's books. But Tony's always been one of the heroes closest to Banner and he's got some key moments in THE FALLEN. And Carol plays a huge role in Totally Awesome Hulk #9. So please do keep on reading!
Benjamin Taylor
>Guggenhim STAY AT MARVEL
Connor Thompson
>And Carol plays a huge role in Totally Awesome Hulk #9 ugh
Joseph Lee
>Skaar Did he make up with his dad?
If so why isn't he on a rampage
Brayden Roberts
Wait, Didn't Jen die like issue #1?!
Grayson Adams
Christ we all know Banner will be back in a year why are they even pretending like this is a big deal
Charles Fisher
She's in a coma
But she was probably going to die but they changed it to a coma after people got angry over the leaks back in January
Leo Gray
Please leave Clint alone
Luis Stewart
Clint's a murderer and should be fucked by a pineapple.
Caleb Morris
>but being a sensible person, Someone actually remembers he's a (sometimes temperamental) sensible person and not a hothead violent jerkass..
Take that, Bendis.
(I don't know the writer. Must be my casualness)
Brandon Campbell
That cover is pretty. Who's the artist?
Kevin Brooks
>Marc Guggenhim And into the trash it goes
Aaron Moore
Mike Del Mundo
Adam James
>Mike Del Mundo Makes sense then. Ty.
Jose Allen
Matt turns down his case but Clint recieves help and rediscovers love when a perky quirky tech savy glasses wearing blonde lawyer named Felicia takes the case.
