NRAMA: All right Joe, after what seems to be a very long time, what you’ve seemingly been building up towards in regards to Robbie Baldwin/Speedball for over a year at cons and here on Joe Fridays finally came into fruition – the emergence of “Penance”.

JQ: How ‘bout that!

NRAMA: So let’s start at the beginning. Given the story of how Robbie Baldwin was transformed and explain who the players were?

JQ: The players were real simple. After all my kidding about Speedball and teasing with the fans, Tom Brevoort and I spoke about the inciting incident of Civil War and I mentioned how I wanted Speedball to survive it. I felt like there was something we could do with the character that would change him and perhaps make him a major, major player in the Marvel Universe.

Speedball in many ways is very similar to Peter Parker, so I was thinking along the lines of what if so much stuff was dumped on Peter that his whole outlook on life would be changed 180 degrees, permanently. So, what if this very lighthearted, upbeat character who bounces, changed in ways that no one could expect? Could the tragedy in Stamford be enough to do that to someone like him? To me the answer was yes.

Then Paul Jenkins came into town to discuss Front Line and how the book was to be structured. Paul stayed over my house while in NYC, so we spent a couple of nights just talking Front Line stories, and the one we kept coming back to was Robbie’s.

One night we went to meet a few friends at the pub and we decided to walk across town. During the walk there and back, we pretty much came up with the arc for Robbie and his new name Penance and the fact that here’s a guy who wants to atone for his sins and now finds himself in a very weird situation where he has to feel pain in order to use his powers. It really added an emotional level for me to the idea of a superhero. Here’s a guys who really has to suffer to do great heroic deeds and he also sees it as a way to make up for his past sins.

NRAMA: If you haven’t explained already, why Robbie Baldwin/Speedball? Did Penance come first and you needed a character to fill the suit ala Johnny Bravo, or was it intended just for Speedball all along?

JQ: The name came afterwards. It was always meant to be Speedball and once we had our story, the name came quickly because of that story. It’s always great when you can come up with a name for a character that has a direct relation to either his powers or his makeup.

By the way, we also laughed quite hard when we thought about how Speedball would survive Stamford. You know, bouncing like a superball clear into another state. What we also liked about this is that while Spider-Man was representative of the person who embraces the Registration Act and then rejects it, Robbie was the other side of the coin but in many ways, his journey was much harder than Peter’s.

NRAMA: And what came first, this idea of transforming this character, or the need for that first issue catalyst from CW #1?

JQ: That’s tough to say because while I’ve joked about Speedball for a while now, I really wanted to see something cool done with the character. When Mark selected the New Warriors to be the catalyst for Civil War, that’s when I saw an opportunity to do something interesting with Speedball. So, it was serendipitous in that sense. But that’s the beauty of something like Civil War, you find yourself with many happy accidents.

NRAMA: So just so we understand correctly, not only will Penance be putting himself through agony every time he suits up and uses his powers, but he’ll also be slowing killing himself in the process?

JQ: Well, I’m not going to reveal everything for right now, but yes, that suit he wears is basically an Iron Maiden, so it’s going to hurt a lot and fans will know when it’s hurting, trust me.

NRAMA: Why? In Frontline #10, he doesn’t seem overly remorseful to the father of the child he killed. Nor to Reed Richards. He seems angry at the world, so why do this to himself? Is the point some twisted idea of atonement, or is he simply off his rocker at this stage?

JQ: My money is on a little of both. When people in the real world are confronted with things of the nature that Robbie has been confronted with, jail for instance, near death experiences, etc., they tend to gravitate to different extremes. As an example, many inmates find religion in jail and they find great comfort in it, this isn’t something that is out of the realm of possibility. So, to me, Robbie has had a life altering experience. Do you think that when he first became a superhero, when he first joined the New Warriors, that he ever expected that his life would end up where it is right now? I don’t think any of us ever expected it and now here we are.

Also, Penance, going forward has a very interesting origin from the very onset. He was once a happy go lucky, bright and shiny teen hero and now he’s something completely different. Where does he go from here will be a lot of fun to watch.

NRAMA: Sticking with Front Line #10, and the extended sequence between Sally and Ben, both have concluded that Stark has hidden motivations for his actions during Civil War, motivations that will blow the lid off the whole affair.

JQ: Hmmmm, how ‘bout that!

NRAMA: Now we don’t expect you to reveal what that may be now, but it’s just more fuel to the speculative fire that this isn’t a purely philosophical debate with no right or wrong side as you and the Civil War creators and editors have continued to maintain.

It’s becoming increasingly hard to believe this nagging feeling fans have that both sides are not being presented equally and that something is going to revealed to explain it is purely unintentional.

JQ: Tony is the Scarlet Witch! There, I said it. Now, say it with me…

“No more Civil War.”

NRAMA: If it is/was purely unintentional and you maintain this is fight with no right or wrong side, do you consider it a problem fans are still convinced otherwise?

JQ: No, not at all. This isn’t something that surprised us in the least. You don’t think we knew that more fans would jump on Cap’s bandwagon than Tony’s? Of course we knew this would happen, we counted on it. That doesn’t change the way we feel about it.

Look, for me, and this is just me speaking, my opinion - people tend to vote for things with their hearts, not everyone, but most. The Internet is the poster child for this sort of experience and behavior, it defines knee jerk reaction. It’s this kind of behavior that Madison Avenue and politicians and yes, even storytellers, have taken advantage of. It’s used in every advertising and political campaign, every politician, every party uses it; they pull at the heartstrings of the public because they know that for the most part we’ll vote with our hearts before our heads. Readers are viewing this story and they see the little guys (Cap and crew) rallying against the big guys (Tony and the government) and the immediate impulse it to root for the underdog because we all see ourselves in that role. But thinking it through logically, I see that there are merits and faults to both arguments.

Also, many people have a tendency to want to root against the government, but take a close look, in the instance of Civil War, the government is acting responsibly as it is answering the will of the people of America in the Marvel Universe and isn’t that what good government is supposed to do?

So, in the end, let the story play itself out, let’s look back on it in a year when passions and tempers have cooled, and let’s discuss it. Who knows, maybe some points of view will have changed, maybe even mine [laughs].

NRAMA: Oh yeah, on that note, also in Front Line #10, Reed Richards encourages Tony to “stay the course”… this strikes as an intentional turn of a phrase here and it’s hard not to think of the criticism of Bush’s handling of the Iraq War when hearing it used in that context.

Again, is an analogy over what’s now largely perceived globally and now domestically as a debacle purely unintentional?

JQ: Wow, I read it and didn’t quite catch that. I suspect that this is a case of people looking for things where there is nothing intended. Civil War wears it’s metaphors on its sleeve, not much subtly in it from that point of view. But, I can’t speak for Paul and what he intended, but as far as I know, it’s just another line of dialog.

NRAMA: Flipping on over to Civil War #6 proper, the opening sequence was interesting, introducing the in-training Champions of L.A., as well as mention of a new Force Works team, and SpaceKnights, and a Mormon superhero team.

Can you tell us anything about these teams? Will readers get to seem them all in action before the series ends?

JQ: There’s going to be a lot of ground to cover after Civil War so, as of today, it’s tough to predict everything that we’re going to cover. That said, what you saw in issue #6 is merely the tip of the iceberg of what’s really going on.

NRAMA: And what about their future on the Marvel Universe? Can fans expect to see these teams in the future?

JQ: Fans can expect to see a nice mixture of old and new all through this coming year.

NRAMA: Explain how Civil War has become a seeming platform for new ideas and new titles. Was this editorially driven? And/or do you find creators coming to you with ideas they’ve hatched by the seeds of Civil War?

JQ: The answer is a little of both. We’ve found that there are many creators who are looking at Civil War as a way to create new projects or to add added dimensions to some older ideas.

At the same time, we as an editorial group have also come up with some interesting twists and turns that we’ve then pitched to several creators to take out for a spin. It really has been an incredible collaboration from top to bottom.

NRAMA: Joe, last week, you said that there'd be more to talk about this week, in regards to Namor, specifically considering that image by Mike Turner.

Before we hit that - Namor is one character that's gone through a bit of a revitalization thanks to Civil War, perhaps making his hostile attitude toward the surface world understandable for most readers for the first times in a long time. In terms of the Civil War "Big Board" – was "revitalize Namor" even on it?

JQ: No, Namor had a question mark over his name. He was just one of many characters that we could elevate during Civil War, but we didn’t have a completely concrete plan for him yet. He was someone who we could possibly bring into the limelight, but it wasn’t a certainty. Namor had begun popping up more in more in the Marvel Universe, so the idea of doing something with him had been percolating slowly.

From the Illuminati to Civil War to Front Line to Black Panther, it just seemed like Namor was starting to reared his pointy eared head. The Atlantean sleeper cell was really one of the things that got us thinking more and more about Namor and his role within the Marvel Universe. Then one day we received a pitch and suddenly, it seemed like the time was right.

NRAMA: Given his role in Front Line, and this week's Civil War #6 - where is he, as a character in your view? As a character, what's it time for him to do?

JQ: Yeah, we’ve all been feeling this way about the Sub-Mariner for some time now. He’s a great character and he’s been out of the limelight for some time, so let’s see how much fans have missed him [laughs]

NRAMA: So - that image - you wanna talk about it some more? Got a creative team? A set-up? A reason why the surface world is on fire?

JQ: Nope, can’t tell you more than I have at this point, but news is forthcoming.

NRAMA: Running down a couple more topics - as the light is clearly visible at the end of the tunnel, not only is Civil War soon to wrap up, but Civil War: Front Line is as well. As some have pointed out, that book, in some ways, almost become more (with apologies to Mark Millar and Steve McNiven) essential than Civil War. Were the numerous reveals - Tony's apparent financial stake in the "War," the Atlanteans, Norman Osborn's assassination attempt (which helped set up Thunderbolts), and Penance always there from the start, or did the depth of the series grow as time went on?

JQ: There was some growth, yes. We started to see extra layers here and there as we were constructing the series and there was a lot to cover. That’s one of the reasons that Front Line was created. We wanted more of a “person on the street” point of view for Civil War, but we also knew that there would be some tangential stories that Mark and Steve just wouldn’t be able to get to. Mark was also instrumental in this as he had his seven issues blocked out, but even with that, there were several storylines that he just couldn’t get to because the story just kept getting denser on his end.

So, with as much coordination as humanly possible, we made sure that most of those were covered in Front Line. The other option would have been to create separate mini-series for each of these, but we felt that the best way would simply be to add them to Front Line.

If I’m not mistaken, I do recall saying, many months ago, that if you were going to buy any other Civil War related title, make it Front Line [laughs]. It’s really been a perfect compliment to Civil War. Reading both at the same time truly enhances the series.

However, it’s not unusual that during a series of this magnitude, that there are pivotal events for some characters that occur in other titles. I think why Front Line may stand out more than most from past history is that, first, it’s incredibly well written, drawn and conceived by Paul and company, and secondly, it does set up several concepts and storylines that will be followed up in major ways, either in some future series like Thunderbolts or series that we’ll be launching in the future

NRAMA: Since it's come up again in this week's Amazing Spider-Man, let's touch on it...ever so slightly - Peter and MJ. Issue #537 ends literally with MJ and Aunt May in a sniper's sights. Point blank (pardon the pun) -

JQ: Whoa, whoa, that’s not the picture I saw? Someone sent me this one…

NRAMA: Shoot, we posted the wrong one. And to think, the fans got all upset over nothing.

JQ: ……

NRAMA: Okay, would killing MJ affect Peter in such a way to fundamentally change the Spider-Man character? How so? Gwen died? Others he's been close to have died...

JQ: Well, it’s not like Peter has experienced so much death in his life that he’s unaffected by it. Any death is going to change his life. How could MJ dying not effect the character and who he is moving forward? I go back to the Speedball example I mentioned before. Fans want characters to grow? Well, death is a part of growing up and growing old, so what’s left to complain about?

NRAMA: Also on that front - One More Day coming in August. Four parts - will it definitively answer the Spider-Man/MJ question?

JQ: I really can’t say anything about it at this point, especially since the MJ question may be answered long before that.

NRAMA: Will it fundamentally change the Spider-Man character?

JQ: No, One More Day will not change Spidey. At least no more than we’ve seen in the past. Bottom line is that Peter and Spidey will be the same character we’ve all grown to love over the years.

NRAMA: Given his position, both to characters and to readers, can you change the character of Spider-Man on such a level and not have it be reflected throughout the Marvel Universe?

JQ: No, so much of the Marvel Universe revolves around Spider-Man that whatever happens to him will of course send ripples throughout the Marvel Universe. Heck, they’ll even feel it in the DCU.

NRAMA: So, we understand you have a bit of a surprise for us here on Newsarama.

JQ: Yup, sure do. But first I have a confession to make.

See, a couple of weeks ago when I said I hadn’t written a Christmas song, well, I was kind of fibbing. Okay, okay, I out and out lied. The truth of the matter is that a little over a month ago, I was stuck for a subject matter for the tune. That was right around when we announced the two week delay on Civil War #6 and over lunch, Tom Brevoort gave me an the idea for the title of the song. And the rest as they say, is history. So here we are, five years in a row and counting.

I also took inspiration from the old “Merry Marvel Marching Society” album which has recently resurfaced on the ‘net. In many ways, this is a modern interpretation of that. But, what truly makes this year’s memorable (and quite possibly horrifying) is, well… give it a listen. There are just some places you never go, and I think I went there [laughs]

"The Song is 2 Weeks Late"
[Click on the above to play the file or right click and "save as" to download to your own harddrive]

I’ve been trying to find the words to express my remorse
‘cause I work here at Marvel, so it’s par for the course
This song is two weeks late for Christmas.

It’s been a busy year, so many books to produce
Aw, who am I kidding, it’s a lame excuse
This song is two weeks late for Christmas.

Maybe I should’a had my “stuff” together
Maybe I should’a read all those angry letters?
Maybe I should’a have listened to the internetters?
‘cause let’s face it, who on earth could possibly know any better

I could’ve had it done but somehow let it linger
I should’ve thought of using “fill in” singer
This songs is two weeks late for Christmas

Would ya believe my dog ate my notes?
Would ya believe that I’ve got strep throat?
Would you believe anything I wrote?
‘cause you no I’m so shameless when I try to promote

Yeah, let's take 'em back- Uh huh
House of Ideas 2 Thousand Seven
Yeah, This to Stan, Jack, Steve, and Flo
SCREAM FOOM!!!

OH T-VOORT YOU LOOK WEIRD, WHAT THE HELL’S INSIDE THAT BEARD
Civil War's runnin' late, yeah, don't gimme no lip
'Cause you're backed up in line when that bad boy done ships
I don't wanna be hearin' how your heroes been wrecked
Show Mark Miller and Mista McNiven RESPECT!

GO ROSE!
Yeah, fanboyz, don't be up in my grill or illin',
I'll throw lead in yo *** if you call Tony Stark a villain!
Just wave yo hands in the air,
I spit rhymes like Aubrey grows hair!

They call me Panic but I‘m California mellow
Can I interest you in some MASTERMIND EXCELLO
I edit Hulk and Modok’s big head
And Agents of Atlas, the best book you NEVER READ

So I was sittin' 'round with Andy and Sean, TESTIFY!
I called my Runaways boy Brian Vaughan, LOWE-FI!
I know you're leavin’ for LOST and I'll try not to sulk,
So get ya' boy Lindelof to finish WOLVERINE/HULK

I WORK AT MARVEL, I WORK AT MARVEL, I WORK AT MARVEL FANBOY

My name is Daniel Ketchum and I edit BLACK PANTHER,
Wanna know 'bout Wakanda, well baby I got your answers.
Molly is my name, but you can call me “Beam.”
Playing here on Marvel’s edit team
Wireless Mike with respect for Special Projects
I’m Andy Schmidt, all those books you love, yeah I Ed-it
Hey I’m the Barber, Johnny, everybody say “YO!”
Let’s get this party kickin’ with Ralph Macchio

Axe-Man is in the house.
You know I’m a genius. A poet. A menace.
Got straighter teeth than Brubaker, and tons more hair than Bendis.
Continuity? CLICK-BOOM! I slay it in an instant.
You want an apology? Go speak to my assistant.
So tell me, True Believer. What really makes me wack?
Was it making Rawhide Kid gay? Or Captain America black? OH SNAP

I got hit on the head, that’s the last I remember THIS BOY IS WACKER-ER!
Woke up at Marvel, ‘round the end of September
I’m a mad edit bomb. Blow up the drawing and WRITIN'.
Then I chew up Thunder and I spit out THOR’S LIGHTININ!
I’m the new Spidey-Man… so if you liked it BACK THEN.
In month number one: GOODBYE M.J AND HELLO ***

Nobody can touch our books, their cast reads like a list
Of the world’s greatest heroes! It sounds like this: TELL ‘EM!
Cap the Falcon, Iron Man, Sentry, Luke Cage, DAMN YOU’RE GOOD!
Fantastic Four and T-Bolts are jumping off the page. DON’T GO THERE, AUBREY
Dr. Strange, She-Hulk and Ant-Man (new and old). DON’T GO THERE, AUBREY
And our Distinguished Competition? Who the *BLEEP* is Booster Gold? HE WENT THERE!

I work at Marvel
YEAH OUR BOOKS ARE SICK!
I work at Marvel
THE ADS MAKE THEM THICK!
I work at Marvel
SO WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY!
I work at Marvel Fanboy
HAPPY BELATED HOLIDAYS

Maybe I should’a had my “stuff” together
Maybe I should’a read all those angry letters?
Maybe I should’a have listened to the internetters?
If only I could find a way to make Hawkeye deader

I guess I should’ve planned it way ahead
But if I did you’d be listening to Bendis instead
This song is two weeks late for Christmas
This song is two weeks late for Christmas
Sorry to make you wait
This Christmas

So, if you ever heard Millar sing a tune
You’d understand why he doesn’t give up writing soon
And while Cassaday may be pop star dreamy
I’d still have to sing it ‘cause he’d lip-synching
Now JMS croons like a nightingale
And Loeb has a voice best heard in e-mail
When Salva sings you wouldn’t understand a word
Jenkins has the fakest accent you’ve ever heard
But the one thing that makes everybody grin
Is when Stan “The Man” played us like a violin

Vocals/Guitar/Keyboards- Joe Quesada
Lead Guitar- Tommy Dean
Bass- Mike Ferrara
Drums- Andy Guida
Engineered and mastered by Mike Ferrara at Mach 1 Studios, Brooklyn, 718-376-0150

Marvel Rappers (and we use the term loosely) in order of appearance:
John Dokes
Tom Brevoort
Mark Paniccia
Nick Lowe
Jen Grunwald
Daniel Ketchum
Molly Lazer
Mike Short
Andy Schmidt
John Barber
Ralph Macchio (in spirit)
Axel Alonso
Steve Wacker
Aubrey Sitterson

JQ: Special thanks go out to all of my amazing editors for contributing to this year’s song. From writing assorted “rappy” like rhymes to performing their hearts with great humor. Extra special thanks to Aubrey, Axel, Nick, Nicole, Steve, and Tom for their “rap” lyric writing expertise.

Also, major kudos and thanks to Jeff Suter for recording the rap section here at Marvel, and to Ryan Penagos who video taped the whole thing. Yeah, that’s right, there’s video-stay tuned!

And here’s a little bonus for ya. Before finishing the song, I asked some creators if I could drop their names in the song, here’s Stan’s response.

Hey, good to hear from Joey the Q!
And this is my reply to you.

Andrew Lloyd Webber you surely ain’t,
But your lyrics still are kind’a quaint.

So I contacted my "give ‘em hell" attorney,
And this is what he said to me:

“Let Joe do his Christmas song.
“He mustn’t suspect that anything’s wrong.

“Let ‘im think his nutty song is hot,
“And then we’ll sue ‘im for all he’s got!”

But I rejected that sage advice,
Because I’m nothing if not nice.

So please feel free to use my name,
Thus giving me a bit of fame.

And to you and yours I merrily say:
HAPPY NEW YEAR—and have a good day!

(See? When all is finally said and done,
I can rhyme as bad as anyone!)

Excelsior!

Stan

And as always, more Marvel news and artwork can always be found on Marvel.com.

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