 WIZARD: The last time we saw Havok and Vulcan, it was in a Divided We Stand mini story. What's happened between that and Kingbreaker?
YOST: A few things actually. Vulcan at the end of Emperor Vulcan basically won. He came up with the big win. He destroyed an alien race called the Scy'ar Tal. They were out to destroy the Shi'ar. By doing that he really turned the Shi'ar around. When he took over, they hated Vulcan. All the people just hated him. It split the military, everything was in shambles. Havok and the X-Men and the Starjammers were doing well; they were winning against Vulcan, but when he destroyed the Scy'ar Tal everything changed. So now he's got a united Shi'ar people behind him and he captured Havok, Polaris and a couple of the Starjammers.
For a couple of months now, [Vulcan]'s been doing exactly what he said he'd do. He's going to expand the empire. As Kingbreaker opens, you see that. The Shi'ar Empire's expanding and he's taking over planets left and right. He's got Havok and Polaris and some of the Starjammers in the dungeon of this crazy prison planet just torturing them and he's been doing it for months.
In the meantime, you've got Marvel Girl, Korus and Lilandra who ended up free. Vulcan's been hunting them down relentlessly. They're trying to find their friends and free them, but Vulcan's not letting up at all. He's using the Death Commandos, the Imperial Guard, the entire might of the Shi'ar Army to find the Phoenix and kill it.
Where does this fall in continuity? Does it tie into Secret Invasion at all?
YOST: There's a couple things that all lead to it. I think the very first thing is probably Secret Invasion: Inhumans and that is the Inhumans' search for their king, Black Bolt. I believe there's going to be a Secret Invasion: War of Kings one-shot. That sets the stage for War of Kings, but Kingbreaker is the next big piece of the puzzle. This is the thing that puts Vulcan and the X-Men in the game. So, because of certain things that Vulcan is going to do throughout the course of this series, he doesn't just become a Shi'ar problem, he becomes a universal problem.
Considering that this is a universal problem, are we going to be seeing and appearance from the Guardians of the Galaxy?
YOST: I would say so, if I could guess. Marvel.com did a set of pieces with the captions, "Who Will Rule" and it's got Vulcan, Starjammers, Nova, Guardians of the Galaxy; this is not going to be a small thing.
The Starjammers have been going through a lot of changes in the past year. How are they coping?
YOST: For a time, it seemed like things were going pretty well. Havok stepped in for his father and they're once again fighting the empire, but then at the end of Emperor Vulcan, they lost and they lost badly. Now they're almost right back where they started—in a Shi'ar prison camp being tortured. Things aren't looking too bright for the Starjammers at this point.
Is there any chance of some sparks flying between Havok and Polaris?
YOST: Romantically? Not a lot of room for romance in this one. They're going to be connected in a bigger way than ever, though. Before, Havok was the only one who wanted Vulcan dead. Now they all do.
Anything you'd like to add?
YOST: The one thing I'd say is that there are a few surprises in store. It's not going to be just another Vulcan vs. Havok thing. We've got some tricks up our sleeves.
|
