Broken Frontier

What better way to spend your Fourth of July holiday than with Captain America and a motley crew of Autobots? With that in mind we tracked down Stuart Moore, writer of the Marvel/IDW crossover New Avengers/Transformers launching this Independence Day.

BROKEN FRONTIER: The classic Transformers TV show and the 1986 film hold a special place in many fans' hearts. Did you draw any inspiration from those sources while hammering out the general story?

STUART MOORE: Oh yeah. I went back and watched several episodes, plus the 1986 movie. These characters have appeared in a lot of different forms, but there are certain traits, certain things that always make them who they are. I wanted to make sure I nailed that.

BF: The early solicitations have shown Captain America. What's the reasoning behind going with the classic New Avengers lineup over the current post-Civil War team? Also, when does this series take place within the continuities of both universes?

SM: We wanted to start at a point where the Avengers were basically united. The danger with these crossovers is that everything can get too complicated; we already have to introduce a whole team of Avengers, five or six Autobots, and I think eight or nine Decepticons. So it was important to us to have the Avengers working together from the start. Of course, things go wrong quickly. VERY quickly.

Plus, the book was set to launch on July 4th. How could we not have Cap on the cover?

We worked out the continuity very carefully. For the Avengers, this series takes place between the first two arcs of NEW AVENGERS – "Breakout" (issues #1-6) and "Sentry" (issues #7-10) – which occurred before the Civil War, when Captain America and Iron Man were still buddies and still both on the team.

In the new IDW TRANSFORMERS continuity, our story is set between the first two miniseries, "Infiltration" and "Escalation." You'll see some of the fallout from "Infiltration" as the series goes on.

But that's all Easter Eggs for fans. You don't need to know any of that to enjoy the miniseries.

BF: Marvel has been pretty tightlipped about the plot of New Avengers/Transformers so far. Is there anything you can tease us about like the general conflict or settings we'll be seeing?

SM: Let's do this one Mad Libs style – you fill in the key words yourself! Captain [PROPER NOUN] leads a team of [PLURAL NOUN] into [FICTIONAL COUNTRY] on orders from [SECRET SPY ORGANIZATION], where he finds a [NOUN] emitting dangerous quantities of [NOUN]. Strange [PLURAL NOUN] capture [MARVEL SUPERHERO], but the rescue mission is complicated by the appearance of [ROBOTS WITH A BIG MICHAEL BAY MOVIE ABOUT TO BE RELEASED].

BF: Since this series appeals to not only Marvel and IDW fans but casual comic readers as well, will the book be very continuity heavy or will new readers be able to jump right in?

SM: Absolutely. We've taken great pains to make this story self-contained. If you haven't seen or read THE AVENGERS or THE TRANSFORMERS for twenty years – or ever – or if you've only seen the new movie, you won't be lost.

BF: The Transformers have teamed up with Marvel characters in the past. Will this series make mention of any of those past adventures?

SM: Not directly, because the Transformers continuity has been rebooted several times since then. But again, there's a little reference that sharp-eyed fans should catch as we go along.

BF: You've had previous experience writing the New Avengers before in a holiday special for the Army. Did that familiarity with the characters help while writing this miniseries?

SM: Yes... I've also written Wolverine and Spider-Man. They're really a great batch of characters, and I find it pretty easy to slip into their heads. I've just written a second military special, by the way... but I’m not sure when it'll be published.

BF: The Transformers have always been known for their great cast of characters. Can you tell us about a few we'll be seeing within the miniseries? Were there any favorites you were dying to write?

SM: Megatron is a blast. Skywarp is kind of cool... the way he just teleports in and out of battles. And I really like Ratchet in the new IDW stories; he's pretty much the liaison with humans, the one with a soft spot for them. He wound up playing a bigger role than I expected.

BF: It seems obvious to use Megatron as a villain if you're writing a classic Transformers story. However, when picking a villain to represent the Marvel side of things you must have had a ton of options. What drew you to Dr. Doom and will he be the only superhero baddie we'll see in the series?

SM: First of all, we haven't actually SAID that Doctor Doom will be appearing...just that the story takes place in Latveria. (Oops – I just spoiled part of the Mad Libs game.) But if he WERE appearing, I would say that he's a lot of fun to write because he's not just out to rule the world or gather power; he also cares about his people.

And it's very hard to pin down his motives at any given moment – he's always got a lot of plates spinning, and while he's double-crossing you here he's also setting another plan into motion over there.

Most of the other villains are Decepticons... including one who hasn't yet appeared in the IDW continuity.

BF: Even though IDW has a clearly defined Transformer universe, was there any pressure to write the robots in disguise closer to the Michael Bay version considering the film's release a day after the first issue drops?

SM: No, not a bit. This is strictly in line with the IDW comics, which are a somewhat more serious, military-themed rebooting of Transformers G1.

BF: The Marvel Universe has been a pretty dark place for the last few years, but titles like Irredeemable Ant-Man and She-Hulk have shown that lighter stories can still be told. What type of tone can readers expect from New Avengers/Transformers?

SM: We were all a little surprised to see how well the early NEW AVENGERS meshed, in tone, with the IDW TRANSFORMERS. Both have a grim, paramilitary feel to them, but there's humor as well. Spider-Man in particular is good for that.

BF: Finally, cross company specials seem to be pretty hot right now with the New Avengers/Transformers book launching right around the time Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness ends. Do you think there's a possibility of the Transformers joining up with any other Marvel heroes, and if so, who would you like to see?

SM: I haven't given that much thought. I do have a killer idea for a direct sequel to this miniseries, but that's purely speculative at this point. The FF would be kind of a natural, too... I can imagine Reed Richards really getting his hands dirty tinkering with a Decepticon.