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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Nick Fury, a decorated spy working for the counterterrorism group S.H.I.E.L.D. has come back from hiding. Why bring him back?
BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS: I'm really excited about this. We actually took Fury off the table years ago. He was our James Bond. He was our superspy. Our big plot-starter. Why he bailed was as interesting as him bailing. Where did he go? Why did he leave? Did he know this Skrull thing was happening? Did he figure it out? And if he did, is he doing anything about it? So [I address] where he's been and what he's been doing. We have two issues that show exactly how the Skrulls went after him. And what Nick Fury does is he comes back, but he comes back with a pile of brand new Marvel characters that we've invented. Because if you can't trust — what's that line from the Untouchables? — ''If you can't trust the apples, you don't pick them off the ground, you pick them off the tree.'' So he has brand-new young characters that he's been training that he can trust, knowing that he can't trust his old friends [who could actually be Skrulls in disguise].
How do the Fantastic Four, who seem to have the most history with the Skrulls, figure into the story?
They're very prominent. Particularly Reed Richards. The Skrulls have been around since, I think, issue 2 or 3 of Fantastic Four. And throughout the years, Reed Richards was always the thing that stands in their way. They don't have a great hatred for the human race, but they really can't stand him. And so they literally have declared a jihad on the Fantastic Four. So he, like Tony Stark [a.k.a. Iron Man], has to be dealt with. And dealt with severely. But at the same time, Reed's connection to them may be a key to how they were able to accomplish all the things they've accomplished anyhow.
Will notable characters die in Secret Invasion?
Yes. I'm sorry to say.
Which begs the question: Why don't superheroes ever really die?
We argue this all the time. This is an excellent Call of Duty argument.
My friend who has played Call of Duty online with you and your Marvel cohorts, said that as a collective group you're...''challenged.''
[Laughs] We're too busy yenta-ing it up, as we say in the Jewish community. We're gossiping, too busy talking nerd talk and not paying attention. But it's all right if we can turn it into a story-beat meeting — which it does, cause we're sharing a lot of characters. We end up rationalizing anytime we spend there. It's a meeting!
So, basically, you're armed with imaginary guns while discussing why superheroes don't die for good?
We're blowing each other's heads off. And responding by shooting each other again. Yes, it probably has some connection.... I do try to think very carefully about anyone who's going to pass away in my book — if it does enhance the story. If there's a way to avoid a cheesy resurrection. As a fan, I get skeeved by the cheesy resurrection.
What's the cheesiest resurrection ever?
The only thing popping to mind is the Phoenix, Jean Grey. Because it's happened, like, five times! Because her name is Phoenix and she rises, ''Okay, I'm with you there.'' In the pre-Internet age, Jean Grey and Elektra were both characters where you went to the store, bought the comic, came home, and went, ''What?!!?'' And that is such a great feeling. You didn't see that coming. And you want to reproduce that feeling as a writer. So a lot of us have this instinct to kill both of those characters again...then bring them back to life. And it does have a Kenny-from-South Park feel after a while.
So these Secret Invasion characters who perish — they'll die for good?
Well, that's another thing. They're not my characters [i.e. Marvel owns them]. I'm here for a while. I've got a nice contract. But eventually you've got to realize that anything can be undone.
NEXT PAGE: ''The Marvel universe will not be the same.''
