Iron Man: The End has been a long time coming. The story was
first conceived early in the decade, and first announced/teased over a
year and a half ago. Announced alongside Iron Man: Legacy of Doom,
which shipped this Spring, the one shot comes from the same plotting
team of Bob Layton and David Michelinie. Michelinie, of course, has a
bit of experience with ‘ole Shellhead, not to mention his friend in
webs. Between the two Marvel icons, Michelinie covered nearly 200
issues. Now the two team with artist Bernard Chang to show fans how the
man of iron meets his end, with the anticipated one shot in November.
Newsarama talked with David Michelinie to talk about false starts, the
past, the current, and the hopeful future.
Newsarama: Earlier this year, you teamed with Bob Layton on the Legacy of Doom mini-series. Was Iron Man: The End part of the same deal?
David Michelinie: Yeah, they were green-lit at about the same
time. Bob was supposed to do a regular gig for the Iron Man office, but
circumstances changed and that fell through. So he was asked if there
were any other projects he’d be interested in pursuing and he suggested
Legacy and The End, two ideas we’d developed in the past
but which had slipped through the cracks for various reasons. So we
finally got to do them.
NRAMA: This story was originally teased in January 2007, and
according to Bob was a story you two had planned years before that. How
far back does this go? Did the final product resemble the original
story you two came up with?
DM: Seven or eight years ago Bob and I were asked to submit ideas for an Iron Man: The End
one-shot, approaching it as if we’d never stopped plotting the regular
series and this was going to be the end issue of that series. We came
up with a plot that we both liked, and felt was true to the characters
as we had worked with them in the past. The editors had some problems
with the story and requested some alterations. They considered the
changes to be minor, but we felt they would change the overall positive
aspect of the tale. We always saw Tony Stark, even in his
alcohol-induced Bad Behavior days, as a positive character and we
didn’t want his last story to be a downer. So we respectfully withdrew
our plot. Then, when approaching the story years later, both we and the
editors took a fresh look at it and were able to make compromises that
we all could live with.
NRAMA: Was this story a must-tell for you?
DM: I hadn’t even thought about such a concept until we were
asked to do it. But once I got into the story I developed a great deal
of enthusiasm for it. I felt this could be a way to accent the fact
that Tony Stark has no super powers; he’s just a brave and brilliant
guy with a pretty cool suit. But inside that suit he’s just a man, a
man who will have to face the end of life just as all of us will.
NRAMA: Bob has admitted that he and Tom Brevoort don't "see eye
to eye" on who Tony Stark is and how he should act. The last two years
have seen some changes in Tony's behavior. How do you feel about the
current Tony Stark?
DM: To be honest, I haven’t read an Iron Man story since I did research for the Bad Blood
mini-series during Joe Quesada’s run. I’ve heard all kinds of tales
about what a jerk Tony has become, and I really didn’t have any desire
to read that version. I’m not saying such an interpretation isn’t
valid, or couldn’t be very well done. It’s just so different from the
way I see the character that I’m really not interested in reading it
for entertainment.
NRAMA: Who is Tony Stark past 70? Where is he at in his life?
DM: He’s at a crossroads. For decades he’s defined himself as a
strong, vital man, a protector of what is his--whether that be his
business, his friends or his American way of life. Now, aging is
inevitably taking its toll. His mind isn’t as sharp and quick as it
used to be--he’s making errors in judgement that he wouldn’t have made
10, 15 years ago. And his body is showing the wear and tear of having
had the crap beat out of it for so many years. He’s still a genius, and
he’s still stubborn, but he’s having to face the fact that he’s simply
not the person he used to be. And he has to make some tough decisions
about his future--and Iron Man’s.
NRAMA: His super-hero friends? His foes? Who can fans expect?
DM: Not a lot of guest stars in this one. We only had 44 pages
to deal with, and the story is so Tony-specific that we really didn’t
have a lot of room for anyone else. There was a nice scene with
Sunturion in the original pitch, but we had to cut that for space
considerations. As it is, the only super villain is the Ultra-Dynamo,
the future version of the old Crimson Dynamo. But Bethany Cabe is in
the story, and there’s a new character introduced who will play an
important part.
NRAMA: Co-writing teams have their own styles. What is the process for you and Layton?
DM: Actually, we’re co-PLOTTERS; I do all of the actual writing myself. On our first run on Iron Man
the situation was ideal: Bob and I both lived in the same small college
town and got together several time a week for lunch or just to hang
out. Naturally, we talked Iron Man a lot. Then when a plot was due we’d
get together at his place or mine and spend the whole day hammering out
the structure, events, action and character development. After that I’d
go home and type up the plot and send it in. For our second run, Bob
had moved to Colorado and I was still on the East Coast, so we’d spend
several hours on the phone working out the rough plot, then I’d polish
it up and send it in. We’re still about a thousand miles apart these
days, so the plotting is pretty much the same. The big difference is
that email lets us keep in touch easily with little ideas and
observations that occur to us between plot sessions.
NRAMA: Having worked together for so long, has it been easy these last couple years to get back into a writing rhythm with him?
DM: Bob and I have been friends for over three decades, and we
know each other as well as, or better than, brothers. Admittedly,
working over the phone isn’t as efficient (or as fun) as face-to-face,
but if any rust ever develops on our collaborations it gets scraped off
pretty quickly once we start yappin’.
NRAMA: You are no stranger to the long run. Now that you've
gotten a mini and a one shot out of your system, would you have any
desire to do an extended run on a book?
DM: I’d like nothing better than to write a monthly series
again. Unfortunately, Tony Stark isn’t the only one who’s encountered
problems due to aging. Since I rounded the big five-oh (years, not
police departments), I’ve rarely had a chance to write limited
projects, let alone a regular series. I’m grateful for the work I do
get, but would relish a chance to show that I can still do what I did
for almost 100 issues of Amazing Spider-Man and over 80 issues of Iron Man.
NRAMA: Hey, you brought him up; you've come back to Iron Man, how about a return to your other long time character, Spider-man?
DM: I wrote a prose story featuring Spider-Man and Iron Man for Spider-Man Magazine
last year. But besides that no one involved with Spider-Man (or Venom,
or Carnage, or...) has asked. Would I write the characters again? Sure.
Would I write any other Marvel characters again? Sure. Would i write a
sequel to my award-winning Mother Teresa illustrated biography (MT: The Revenge! )? Sure. All they have to do is ask.
NRAMA: What's been your favorite thing about returning to Iron Man?
DM: A paycheck. (Rimshot) But seriously, folks...I love telling
stories, and the opportunity to write a story of any sort and to have
it read is something to be savored and appreciated. And writing those
stories about Iron Man is like slipping into a pair of well-worn and
comfortable shoes--ahhhhhh. It just feels good.
