RETURN OF THE NEW WARRIORS?
By Editor
source: X-Fan

If all goes well for writer Danny Donovan, he could soon find himself at the helm of a third New Warriors SEries for Marvel Comics. But why should news of such project be of interest to x-fans? For two very good reasons - Skids and Bolt.

Bolt, a.k.a Chris Bradly, is a member of the current second incarnation of the New Warriors as created by writer Jay Faerber. Skids, on the other hand, has never been a Warrior before, but has instead been a long-time ally/some-time enemy of X-FORCE.

For the proposed third series, Donovan told X-Fan that it's still currently in the pitch stage, but will "be making the rounds to Marvel tables soon" Sel-taight artist Jeremy Rock - whose "clean and crisp" style exudes influence by the likes of Terry Dodson, Art Adams, and Ron Lim - has been hard at work on character sketches and costume redesigns to assist in the selling of the pitch.

"The first [series] was great, although twoard the end there were more characters than needed and it became an early 90's villain-a-thon and then turned into a Spider-man spin off you ran into some problems." Donovan said. "You took away from its very essence by making more of a card -carrying team, With the second series it died before its times. It was a wonderful shot, but then its hard to sell an almost totally new cast in the market it was in. The third incarnation, and what we're trying to do is recapture the magic of the teen heroes. Tell the stories so people really care about them. Make them more than the costume. Also we're making more of a unified connection with matching costumes and whatnot."

"The Warriors, when done right, have always made for great stories. Very accessible for the younger teen audience. I think something we learned from the success of the WB's Smallville is that stories focusing on young heroes can really prove interesting and hold an audience as long as you stay focused on what makes it great. New Warriors is about a group of kids, not really a team per-se but a group . They're really just trying to make it in the world and do what they can with the gifts they've been given. They're different than say the Avengers or The X-MEN. It's more than just a club to them but its just a group of friends hanging out and doing right."

If approved, Donovan's New Warriors roster would consist of Speedball, Rage, Turbo, Bolt, and Skids. Notably absent would be long-time Warriors mainstays such as Nova, Namorita, and Night Thrasher.

"Everyone should have a certain role on the team," Donovan said. "No one is there becaus 'it was owed them' or it was tradition to have them on the team. If the character was redundant to another's personal reason for being they had to go. I really like how this group messhes and hopefully if it gets picked up others will too."

"Skids is a great character that never really had a reason to be. Jumping sides, hanging out with the Mutant Liberation Front, etc. They never looked at her as this young girl, with a rather lame power, that's been drug into this war she never really had much of a stake in. In this series, she's starting a new life. She's not with Rusty Collins anymore and she's making a go at trying to have a normal life without the drama of super-heroics. Of course with the current temperature of human/mutant relations once she's 'outed' in this new life she's going to have to seek some kind of protection."

The new New Warriors wouldn't be without their fair share of enemies, either. Donovan told X0Fan that his intent would be to revamp the old Warrior foes the Folding Circle.

"Basically with Kingpin now dead, New York is open to any low rent organization looking to cash in," Donovan explained. "What you have is almost a 'family franchise' with each member of the Folding Circle taking a borough and working it. They work together ti caoatukuze ib the amassing of power. But success can go to people's heads so you might see The Folding Circle plotting against the others just as much as they are against the New Warriors."

"For the most part this potential series focuses on the lives of Super college kids and how you adjust to life in the situatioon," Donovan added in closing. "It'll be more of a street level book than before. No cosmic Thanos arcs or Infinity Watches. Just New York Justice."

For more of Rock's art, check out his official website at: http://www.jeremyrock.com