1. In your opinion, what's the key to having a good Iron Man story?

To me, what you need above anything else is a love and respect for the character and his world. If you've got that, it's hard to go wrong.

2. How much did you know about the Extremis Enhancile before you developed your story?

I had a pretty good idea even before Tom Brevoort (my editor on the series) sent me the last few scripts of that storyline. But, to be honest, even before I read them, I kinda figured where things were going with the character. Warren's superhero plots are generally fairly easy to telegraph and this kind of character evolution is right in his wheelhouse.

3. Did finding out what Tony was about to become change your story or your approach to IM/Tony Stark? If so, in what ways?

Only in the sense of his new capabilities, which actually made the story more interesting and more challenging to write. Warren nailed the whole "test pilot of the future" thing so, conceptually, we were on the same page in that respect.

4. Iron Man was reloaded/relaunched just prior to your story. Did that affect your story or your approach to Iron Man/Tony Stark? If so, in what ways?

Well, it affected the existence of The Inevitable because if the first six issues had shipped on time, Marvel probably wouldn't have wanted another Iron Man mini out on the stands to pick up the slack. Frazer and I were happy to oblige.

5. There's an early scene where Tony's Extremis powers were hinted at (issue #2, Tony in the "fetal position"), but you didn't get to reference his new powers until the end of ish #5 (and, yes, that scene was a great reveal--but), was it frustrating to tell an IM story without being able to use all his current powers (because of Ari Granov's storied delays on the main IM title)?

Not really, becasue I was using them pretty much from the beginning. I was just being fairly subtle about it. I couldn't reference Extremis and its affects by name, but then again, I didn't really want to. I had no interest in writing Iron Man/Tony Stark as constantly referencing his new status quo. He's not that kind of character to me. Sure, in issue #5, when dealing with the death of a friend, he was motivated to talk a bit more openly to Doc Samson about it, but normally Stark just accepts his circumstances and simply gets on with being a hero. That's one of the things I like about the character . . . he's constantly looking forward. He doesn't sit around and contemplate his navel too often.

6. Did you have to change your story or pacing at all because of Extremis's delays (i.e., did you have to hold off any or change how you originally had things go down)?

Not really. I knew the deal going in, so from issue #1, page 1, I was fully aware of what I couldn't directly reference. But, like I said, I wasn't feeling a burning need to reference it anyway. I went in to tell a classic Iron Man story and you can do that regardless of the minor details of his life at any particular moment. As a fan, I've seen these kinds of "character evolution" storylines a million times with Iron Man in particular. Eventually, it always gets back to the core concept, so that's what I concentrated on . . . making our story as timeless as possible.

12. In general, how do you see supporting characters working in comics?

They're incredibly important. Characters like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen help complete the mythology of Superman. Originally, Iron Man had great supporting players in Happy and Pepper, then later with Bethany Cabe, Jim Rhodes and Mrs. Arbogast. Actually, I think Iron Man could use more of a regular supporting cast than the series has had in the last few years . . .

13. Explain Sinclair Abbott a little. He's a little reminiscent of Justin Hammer, with maybe a bit of Wilson Fisk thrown in. What's his back story? Who is he? What makes him put on a costume? And why Spymaster?

I wanted an adversary for Tony that was, in many ways, his opposite number. A real arch-nemesis. And, in the case of Sinclair, he really had an edge on Tony Stark. He knew (or, at least, he believed to the depths of his soul) that Stark was Iron Man. Conversely, Stark had no idea that Sinclair was the Spymaster. I wanted to play with that specific dynamic . . . what if your enemy knows more about you than you know about him? I don't know . . . it just felt right to me.

14. You brought back three of Iron Man's heavy hitters. If you had the chance, which of IM's foes would you like to handle next?

I've got a killer idea for a new Titanium Man. I've also always wanted to see Stark/Iron Man go up against the Hellfire Club in some manner. It seemed to me that Stark might even be a member of the club, in the sense that their front is that of a wealthy, elitist social club where the high society types tend to congregate. Why wouldn't Stark be involved in that (if you accept that he would have no idea of the true nature of Sebastian Shaw and his inner circle)? Who knows . . . maybe someday . . .

15. After reading the story a few times, something struck me. Let me run it by you. This might be out of left field, but is Inevitable a commentary on the (super hero) comics industry trying to escape its past to its own detriment? Stark talks about wanting to evolve, move past the clobberin'time of super heroes. But in the end, Stark sees that those battles are his destiny. Are you saying that super heroes (and super hero comics) are destined to have colorful costumes, rogues galleries of somewhat campy super villains, fist fights . . . And then by extension are you saying that those are the things that make comics (and comic heroes) great, so we (the industry) should get back to it and stop all this deconstructionist, realistic dark stuff. Or am I reading way to much into this?

No, that meta-commentary definitely exists. Basically, I like superhero comicbooks that don't necessarily try to be something they're not, or try to be more than they are. Of course, a series like Watchmen showed us that superhero fiction can exist as literature with a capital "L", but even that series had villains and action beats and human melodrama in the Stan Lee tradition. So, when I see superhero comicbooks--especially the ones with the classic characters--try to "shed their skin", so to speak, and twist themselves out of shape to be something else besides superhero comicbooks, I tend to tune out. All those things you attribute to superhero comicbooks . . . those are some of the things that are great about them! Those are essential elements to me. Obviously, I try to treat those elements with a modern sensibility and a ton of respect, but I would never think to try and get rid of them. I guess I just believe that you can have your cake and eat it, too. That's part of what The Inevitable was all about. Stark himself just needed a bit of schooling, y'see . . .

16. You did a great job dealing with the ramifications of Stark having revealed his secret identity (a while ago) and how he's trying to put the genie back in the bottle and whether people believe him and so on. Now in Civil War, Tony's let the cat out of the bag again. What's your opinion on super hero secret identities?

I think they're great. I think they're essential to most superhero concepts. The fact that Stark has flip-flopped on this secret i.d. thing so much in just the last four or five years . . . well, in my opinion, it starts to weaken the character a little.

17. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the Iron fans out there?

I guess I'm just grateful that those readers who did pick up The Inevitable seemed to dig what we all did on it. Just like most of my recent Marvel work (EMH, FF: FIRST FAMILY and the upcoming EMH2), I write these things for the diehard fans. Because that's what *I* am... and these are the kinds of comicbooks that I would want to read.

You've read the interview, now read the Writer's Commentary, where Joe comments on the first four pages of Inevitable #1!