INTERVIEW: Greg Pak on X-TERMINATION

X-Termination

Last week Marvel Comics announced the upcoming, alternate universe hopping adventure crossover event, X-Termination, spanning the titles Age of Apocalypse, Astonishing X-Men and X-Treme X-Men, bringing together David Lapham, Marjorie Liu and Greg Pak as co-writers on the event. Kicking off in march with X-Termination: Alpha, the event spins out of Uncanny X-Force, as we watch Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler try to get back home after his acts of revenge.

We caught up with Greg Pak, regular series writer for X-Treme X-Men, to find out what X-Termination will be all about.

iFanboy: What can you tell us about X-Termination and what can fans of X-Treme X-Men and the other books involved (Age of Apocalypse and Astonishing X-Men) expect from this crossover?

Greg Pak: Back when I started writing the reality-hopping epic that is X-Treme X-Men, I teased that eventually the story would swing back around to punch “our” Marvel Universe right in the face. That moment has come. And the multiverse may never be the same. This is a story that will have massive, unexpected repercussions for the characters of all of these books — and it will expand upon a key piece of major Marvel mythology in a pretty mindblowing and unexpected way. DO NOT MISS.

iF: This event seems to be focused on Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler, what are his motivations here and how do you see him different from the other “Nightcrawlers” we’ve seen?

GP: Age Of Apocalypse Nightcrawler has gone down a far darker path than any other Kurt I can think of. I can’t wait for him to meet the alternate kid version of himself from X-Treme X-Men. One of the joys of writing these kinds of alternate reality characters is the way we can explore beloved characters from many different angles. Now we get to see the emotional consequences as characters face alternate versions of themselves and reconsider the choices they’ve made in their lives. Get ready for some big character-based payoffs for major players in all of these books.

iF: With your recent run on X-Treme X-Men, you’ve had the team hopping to several alternate universes, but Age of Apocalypse is the premiere alternate universe, how is it writing in that world?

GP: It’s going to be a blast. David Lapham has been doing stellar work in his Age of Apocalypse book and I’m eager to play with all his toys.

iF: X-Termination #1 is co-written by you along with David Lapham and Marjorie Liu, how has that collaboration been and how have you been able to intersect your respective books?

GP: We’ve been conference calling, trading emails, and annotating a big planning document in all different colors. (In case you were wondering, David’s Blue, Marjorie’s Green, and I’m Brick Red.) David and Marjorie have tons of big, crazy ideas and massive love for the characters they’re writing, which is the perfect combination for this kind of comics. We’ll be mixing and matching the teams throughout the crossover, which is another very exciting prospect, particularly given the connections between characters from different teams. I can’t wait until X-Treme X-Men‘s Howlett meets our universe’s Wolverine, for example!

iF:  Last one, for fun…Who wins in a fight, Age Of Apocalypse Nightcrawler or Dazzler?

GP: Are you kidding me? Dazzler. Have you seen her new boots? Dazzler wins ALL the fights.

For more Greg Pak, make sure to follow him on Twitter @gregpak and over at his website, gregpak.com. Be on the look out for X-Termination in March, 2013 from Marvel Comics.

Here’s a glimpse at the cover of X-Treme X-Men #12, check out the boots on Dazzler…

X-Treme X-Men #12