Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse interview

Brian Bendis is one of the most famous comic strip writers in the world. Throughout his years at Marvel, he has written popular and influential series of Avengers, X Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy. He received a Peabody Award for his work as a co-creator of Jessica Jones and for years on the creative committee of Marvel, consulting all Marvel films from Iron Man through The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In total, it is impossible to exaggerate Bendis' influence on the current comic book industry.

Brian Bendis: We have been invited to many Hollywood movies. Instead, we decided to stay home and watch the video with my family. I did it with my closest friends and family who was with us when I was sick last year. My family and Kelly Sue, who was the author of Captain Marvel.

Many people do not know it, but we lived together in a house when I was developing Miles and she was developing her Carol race. So it is very moving and strange for us to see our two beginnings move to this higher level, like, one on the other. For example, when Spider-Verse arrives on DVD, here is Captain Marvel. And they were literally made in the same house.

Brian Bendis: It has been a long period of gestation with a lot of people, but it all started in Marvel, with Ultimate Spider-Man, a comic I did with Marvel for many years. It featured a 16-year-old Peter Parker, the basic idea of ​​Spider-Man, in a modern setting, quite similar to what Tom Holland's movies are currently. One of the things I enjoyed working with Joe Quesada at Marvel, Joe would never tackle success, that's when he wondered, "What can we do better, what can we do to do more in this period of success? " – and we started talking. I said, I do not think I represent Queens or Brooklyn as well as I could, I will do better in my portrayal of this part of the world, and from there came the Spider-Man conversation. himself represents this part of the world the best he could? And from there, why is he even a Caucasian? And once that idea is launched, and I think about it, and – but, people really like Peter Parker, no one says hey, you can replace Peter Parker, we're fed up with him! So it was an enigma, but we had a story that we really think we can tell here, but you know, nobody asks for it. So we just decided once we had put all the pieces together – it took about a year, a year of reflection on the charter school, to think about his name, how were his powers different, what was his vision of the world different from Peter's? ? And once we had that, we were out of the races.

And one of the reasons I'm most proud of this movie is that it's fine, and if that boy had a very happy family life? That his parents loved him, and that 's because they like him so much that he feels this deep obligation to make the world a better place. Like, you do not see that in comics. Everybody's parents – especially the father of Marvel Comics – their father betrayed them, exploded, you know, or did not live. And I wanted it to be like that, to have one whose father loved his hogwash, and I'm so happy that it's portrayed in the movie. I was also so moved that filmmakers were in a hurry to use this idea. So it was very important to me.

Brian Bendis: No, I had this nervous energy: "It could go one way or the other." And – for the sake of other writers who read this – it's the best feeling. You have to do it. Many people have come back from this, and sometimes it explodes in your face, but when it does not, you end up with a Morale Miles.

Listen, you are writing for Screen Rant, you are a professor of pop culture, you know your subject. It is filled with things that should not have worked. No one was bored with Peter Parker, no one wants Peter Parker any more, people like that, you know? In addition, the story of Miles Morales implied the death of Peter Parker. It could have really exploded in our face. All of these choices and items could literally have turned against us, but our deep honesty of narrators made us think we were coming from a good place. So we had to go there.

In addition, we did not mention Sara. I had the courage to put Sara Pichelli and Joe Quesada to keep her constantly as real as possible. Sara is an extraordinary designer. She has done an extraordinary design work on all the characters in the Ultimate Universe. And the idea of ​​designing someone new with it simply overwhelmed me, basing on what I had seen her do for Gwen Stacy.

Brian Bendis: Well, Sara started playing with that and I do not remember who the idea was, for example, of a reversal – like black and red — but I I'm excited because, it's a bit like black and red is a bit like my favorite look for 20 years, so I thought to myself: yes, that's my style of look prefer. So it was developed in this way and I played a lot, then Joe came in, I think it was Joe who put the tape reversed. And I remember thinking, "Oh, that sounds awesome," and what Joe's cock is because it looks awesome, and now he's going to do something else and now, Sara has to draw that number. The inverted canvas is very difficult to draw. But yes, it was Sara with a little help from Joe and it was super exciting to see her grow.

It's one of those things that happened very quickly – sometimes it takes a lot of time to create, but this one, you know, really came true.

Brian Bendis: They found what I thought was special, they built it and made it more special for them. That's really what made Miles so special, and in doing so I learned later as a narrator, but you've learned from experience that the more specific your story was, the more universal. it really becomes. So, relying heavily on very specific family life, the charter school and all that goes on in Miles' world, many more people who have never had any of these elements in their life have found a link. And I was so grateful that they kept this material and then built it. As if, they had deepened Miles' ties with his family, as the cinema can do. And I was so happy to see this, and I know when I hear my fans say that's what's close to their heart.

Brian Bendis: Mine will sound weird, because it will not have anything to do with me. But the sequence Kingpin turns into a Bill Sienkiewicz Valentine – he is one of the great artists of the comic strip, who made this graphic novel of Daredevil. It's not even about Spider-Man – where he created a visual of the Kingpin that was so striking, that other artists can not do without it. So it became the Valentine's Day of this Daredevil graphic novel, not even a Spider-Man. We are now transforming Spider-Man's references into Daredevil's references, into artist references, as he had made the greatest contribution to this character. And I said, "Now, it 's not fair that I like a movie because it' s so great and that I base myself on what I 've done ", we are now at a film making. And then, I'm a big fan of Bill, to see that it was nice to see.

Brian Bendis: No matter what I think, I'll tell you what my seven-year-old daughter thinks! So, remember, my daughter was a baby when all this was pregnant in the world in which she lives, that's it. But now she's the biggest Spider-Gwen fan in the world. So, I'm in my office, she arrives with a graphic novel that we did together with Jason Latour, where Miles and Spider-Gwen team up and make the kind of back and forth between the universes.

And in there, there is uh – Miles is very taken with her, just as he would be because she's great, right? And then we make a blanket with them going out. And also, just for people who do not know, in this version of the story, Miles and she are much younger. And, then the blanket of the two kissing each other. She comes storming into my office and she says, "What is it?" And I'm going, "Oh, we did that when you were two years old," and she goes, "Was I old enough to talk, because if I'd been old enough to talk, I'd have said : "No!" Then came out of my office. And I think that would be the definitive statement of that.

Brian Bendis: Oh, all of you. Honestly, after seeing Spider-Verse, the flexibility of animation and for those of us who really study storytelling, dive and watch what they did, it's kind of a perfect movie and an invitation to others to present further with their affairs. All cartoonists were of the opinion that not only was it a Valentine's Day, but it was also a call to go to work. Do more, do better. It depends on us. And so, it's hard not to imagine anything being adapted by great people.

Brian Bendis: I have no idea, I would like to see it, but not my call! It is there that I become zen and that I hope the best for all. And listen, we are way beyond what I had dreamed of becoming my dream for Miles. We are so far beyond that. I have a Campbell soup with miles on it! What else could I ask for! All I ever wanted for the character was exactly what the message of the movie was; which is for empowerment, and people to see each other differently because it was our very first issue we were talking about. So, that they accept that and they offer it on the world stage. My Twitter feed is filled with kids from all over, who are watching it right now, write this little note and I love their power. That's all I could have wished for. So, now, I'm just going to enjoy what we have.