DF Interview: No PAD-ding this tale of Secret Wars in the year 2099

By Byron Brewer

Starting this May, the Spider-Man 2099 creative team of writer Peter David and artist Will Sliney broaden their view of the future universe within the Warzones by launching Secret Wars 2099.

To get our first one-on-one info on Marvel’s universe-reforming plan for Spring, Dynamic Forces went to the venerable scribe for the 2099 411. Here is what Peter David said.

Dynamic Forces: Peter, I know you probably get this question all the time, but as a PAD fanboy I have to ask: how you feeling these days?

Peter David: I get asked that a lot. It's sweet of people to be so concerned, but the stroke was over two years ago. I'm on a strict regimen of medication to keep my BP down and I have more doctors than any reasonable person should have watching over every part of my body. I'm fine.

DF: Tell us how you felt to bring the 2099 world you’ve spent so much time building into Secret Wars.

Peter David: It's tremendously exciting. I have so many fond memories of when we first launched the world of 2099. The building of Miguel and his world, the wonderful array of writers I had the opportunity to work with (including Stan the Man!). This may sound silly, but when I'm working on the new 2099 series, I very much feel I'm trying to live up to the world and work of Joey Cavalieri and the others. At the same time, I have the opportunity to put a fresh new spin on it. This is very much the original 2099 but at the same time, isn't.

DF: Describe for us, please, the dystopian world that will be the background for your stories. A corporation literally OWNS the police force?

Peter David: Although there is still a US government, essentially the world is run by corporations. Which, let's face it, is pretty much what we have now. The police force is, yes, run by Alchemax. Alchemax is essentially the New York government; to my thinking, New York was virtually destroyed at one point and Alchemax rebuilt it from the ground up. When you think about it, it's kind of like when corporations rebuilt 42nd Street in NYC and got rid of all the pornography. So this is that, but taken to the ultimate extreme.

DF: Secret Wars 2099 is part of the Battleworld we have all been hearing about. Will there be any crossovers or relations to other storylines going on during the Secret Wars?

Peter David: Although the events of Secret Wars proper may be mentioned from time to time, there is no direct crossover. So I guess that cuts both ways. If you are very much only into stories that will directly connect to Secret Wars, then you can probably skip this. On the other hand, if you want something that stands on its own, this is the book for you.

DF: Can you tell us about the new cast of Avengers that you will be creating for 2099? Apparently they all work for Alchemex?

Peter David: The leader is Captain America. She's a woman in her late 30s who underwent the same super soldier procedure that Steve did and as a result seriously bulked up. That took a little time to get right because originally she was drawn rather slender and I said, ‘No, don't worry about her being sexy. I want her to look like a female power house.’ And Will Sliney did a terrific job of bulking her up. The fan reaction was fascinating: guys complained because they declared she wasn't sexy, and women seemed to adore her. So that worked. Hawkeye is a human/hawk hybrid with razor sharp talons, wings, and a lousy temper. Iron Man is, in fact, a brilliant dwarf who created the armor as a means of self defense as a child. Hercules is, well, Hercules. The Vision is as far from the original as we can get: a naked female who floats in a tank and has visions of the team's next challenge. And the Black Widow ... well, let's just put it this way: like the spider of her namesake, don't have sex with her. It will not end well.

DF: You team on this new book with Will Sliney, who drew the majority of Spider-Man 2099. Did Will get to design the new characters and was there any in particular that gave him a problem?

Peter David: Oh yes, he designed them all. As I said earlier, Captain America provided the most challenge. Originally she was just a sexy woman in a Cap uniform. He redesigned her and the uniform and I love what he came up with. Hawkeye's wings also got larger in the redesigns. On the other hand, his Iron Man and Black Widow were perfect. Giving the Widow multiple eyes was entirely Will's idea. I thought that was brilliant. You really can't ask for a better artist than Will. And I understand he's become quite celebrated in his native Ireland because of his connection to Spidey 2099, so I'm hoping this will bring him even more attention.

Dynamic Forces would like to thank Peter David for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Secret Wars 2099 #1 hits stores in May!

Grab your copy of Spider-man 2099 #1 Skottie Young Variant Gold Signature Series signed in gold by Peter David right here!

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