Waid’s Captain America Nazi punching interview

>You’re returning to Captain America in the aftermath of one of the biggest event’s in the character’s history. So let’s start by talking about your approach to Cap. Will it be similar to how you handled Daredevil at the start of your run on that character; in that you didn’t deny the impact of the big events that happened before, but your focus was on moving forward? Is that a fair description of what you’re trying to do here?

Mark Waid: That’s a very fair description. We certainly make nods to Secret Empire in our first few issues — we’re not in any way trying to disavow a seminal Marvel event — but our fans have made it clear that what they want is Classic Steve Rogers back. That means drilling down and figuring out what Captain America means late in the second decade of the 2000s.

>I understand one of the ways you’re moving things forward is by having Steve embark on a cross country journey to sort of rediscover the country he loves and represents. What can you tell us about his mindset when you pick up with him in Captain America #695?

He’s on two missions: One, to get back to the American heartland, and two… well, we can’t talk about that one yet. But his mindset is, “I claim to represent all America, but I spent 95% of my time in New York. Maybe we can fix that.”

>What does Steve’s cross country journey mean for the types of stories and characters we’ll initially see in Captain America?

Honestly? Smaller stories in the first couple of issues that culminate into a big epic three-parter. One thing I want to make abundantly clear: Chris and I have been working on these issues since March, way ahead of time, way before some of the more volatile political events of the summer, so don’t expect to see him punching Nazis on page one. It may be an issue or two before we get to that, but that doesn’t mean we’re not attempting to reflect the real world. We’re just ahead of the curve.

>One character Steve will cross paths with early on in his journey is a new version of the Swordsman. What can you tell us about this character and their motivations? How dangerous are they?

Dangerous enough to doom a whole town if Steve Rogers doesn’t admit to being Captain America and stepping up for a shield-vs-sword battle the likes of which you’ve never seen.

>I imagine part of the fun of coming back to Captain America is seeing that battle brought to life by your friend and long time collaborator, Chris Samnee, who has also worked on Cap a number of times and seems to have a great affinity for him. What’s it like collaborating with Chris on this new era of Steve’s adventures?

It’s the reason I’m here. Very few writers are lucky enough to get four bites at the same apple (counting Man Out Of Time), and without Chris, I’d be too afraid of being compared to all my earlier work on the book. Chris is my safety net!

>Finally, in 2018 you and Chris will hit the big milestone issue of Captain America #700. Can you talk at all yet about the scope and scale of that story? Are these initial issues setting the stage for what you have planned for issue #700?

There are clues in the first issue, but we’re not ready to reveal anything yet except to say that I asked myself the question I always ask myself when I take over a character: what’s the absolute worst thing that could happen to him or her?

And another interview

>Marvel.com: What made CAPTAIN AMERICA the best fit for you—and for a reunited Waid-Samnee team—at this moment in time?

Mark Waid: It’s the best fit for me not only because I love Steve Rogers, but also because I’m smart enough to hang onto Chris Samnee’s coattails whenever possible. We make a good team, and it’s terrific to finally see Chris cut loose on a top-tier Marvel hero.

>Marvel.com: How daunting of a task will it be to tell Cap’s story in the wake of Secret Empire? What do you see as the biggest challenge of such an undertaking?

Mark Waid: The biggest challenge will be, of course, restoring his reputation post-Secret Empire—but rather than be too bound to a timeline, our fans have made it clear that they want classic Cap, so we’ll be looking forward more than in the rear-view mirror.

Beyond that, it’s important to Team Cap that we make one thing abundantly clear: while we’re having a blast and giving you a very classic Steve Rogers, Chris and I have been working on these first few issues since March—way in advance of the more volatile political events of the summer. Because of our lead time, he won’t get around to punching Nazis on page one. But it’s coming.

>Marvel.com: What does Steve currently see as his biggest hurdle to restoring his rep?

Mark Waid: To “find America,” as it were; to reconnect with a heartland he’s never really spent much time in. Steve claims to represent America and yet spends almost all his time in New York. He wants to change that.

>Marvel.com: Do Americans still support him? Do they resent him?

Mark Waid: We’ve built at least a six-month delay from the end of Secret Empire into our first issue, so while there will be dark and shady looks glared his way—and there will be those who don’t trust him—not every issue finds Cap pleading for understanding. In fact, our first issue kind of overcompensates. You’ll see what we mean.

>Marvel.com: What about the bad guys? How do they feel about Cap now?

Mark Waid: They feel that maybe they have a better shot at him, not only because he has no Avengers back-up, but because he’s still a little off his pins after Secret Empire.

>Marvel.com: What do you foresee as the upcoming adversity for Cap? New threats? Classic threats refreshed? A combination?

Mark Waid: All the above. Kraven couldn’t have been a more perfect call—they’ve never duked it out—and wait until you see the weird, Kirby-by-way-of-Samnee villain showing up in issue #698…

>Marvel.com: Can’t wait! One final question to wrap this up: when you first saw a piece of Chris’s artwork for this book, what went through your mind?

Mark Waid: That I should never complain about anything in life ever again.

...

Go away

I hope it's good. I've had no reason to buy Marvel for the longest time.

Fuck off. I have little faith of in this being good but I still want to have a bit more information before deciding whether or not to even give it a chance.

Looks good like everything marvel does.

I hate that Waid and Samnee are like a package deal now. Samnee's way too good for him.

They really goona stick with old suit?

>having faith in Marvel
Get a load of this moron.

>He’s on two missions: One, to get back to the American heartland, and two… well, we can’t talk about that one yet. But his mindset is, “I claim to represent all America, but I spent 95% of my time in New York. Maybe we can fix that.”
Holy fucking shit Waid is literally doing Grounded, the hypocritical fuck.

>Waid
Oh god, we're going to miss Spencer, aren't we?

>implying we are not already missing him

Mark "Superman's rocket should have landed in a city" Waid doing a story about Cap reconnecting with the heartland

Giving this a couple issues purely based on his previous work but not expecting much

Not yet. I'm blown away by how bad Generations are, but no, not yet.

>a seminal Marvel event
>seminal

No.

Reading comprehension retard do you have it?

>thinking companies matter more than creative teams
Talk about morons.

Yeah, I mean MAYBE it could be good, but this is the guy who is doing Champions, so I almost guarantee that it's gonna suck just as bad.

I can't really judge Waid by Champions since the other books he's writing are no where near as bad as it.

>I asked myself the question I always ask myself when I take over a character: what’s the absolute worst thing that could happen to him or her?


Waid writing is the worst thing I could think of

>Current year outspoken Mark "How do you do fellow kids?" Waid is going to write a "How do you do fellow Americans?" story.
EEEHHHHHH...

>InB4 WAID ALREADY WROTE CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!
That was in the 90s.

Yeah, but Champions is supposed to be "real" and "relevant". And if Captain America is going to try to apply either of those labels, then it's fucked.

That is a good point, but he's also talking about it being a return to classic Cap and that it was written before certain political events could influence it.

Mark Waid writing a politically leaning book exploring middle America right after Captain America was transformed into a figurative Nazi? What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

Certain events presumably being the Charlottesville riot. There's still the whole "Trump Election" hanging over his head, and Waid has a pretty awful case of Trump Derangement Syndrome FWIW.

Ugh who gives a shit about fly-over states

>WAID ALREADY WROTE CAPTAIN AMERICA!!!
>That was in the 90s.
And it sucked.

I probably lean left enough to be counted as being on Waid's "side" I still don't trust him to write mid-westerners fairly after Champions.

>We’ve built at least a six-month delay from the end of Secret Empire into our first issue
Wait, what? A six month time-skip affecting only one book? Since when is that allowed?

This is going to be cringy as hell.

>Marvel.com interviewing a Marvel employee
Seems legit. I see no room for bias there.

>That I should never complain about anything in life ever again.
Oh but you will complain, Waid. You will.