More on X-Men: Kingbreaker from Chris Yost

Chris Yost has been doing the interview rounds for the upcoming Starjammers mini-series, X-Men: Kingbreaker, and a few more details have been released:

In the Comic Book Resources interview, Yost reveals that Kingbreaker takes place several months after Emperor Vulcan:

“The Shi’ar Empire is aggressively, violently expanding,” Yost told CBR News. “And while Vulcan is leading the charge, it's still his brother Havok that's on his mind.”

“Vulcan is an emotional wreck,” Yost explained. “His twisted life has messed him up pretty bad, and him not killing Havok and the X-Jammers is the question on the Shi'ars minds for sure. Does he enjoy torturing them? At first, maybe. But he wants something more. He just doesn’t know how else to get it.”

At the end of Emperor Vulcan, it was assumed that Rachel and Korvus met up with Lilandra and fled. Yost explains in Kingbreaker that:

“They’ve been on the run, hunted by Imperial Guardsmen and Death Commandos alike. They're intent on finding the rest of their team, and liberating them from Vulcan's grasp,” Yost said. “The group dynamic is rocky to say the least. Lilandra was dethroned, betrayed, and now is working with two people that aren't particularly fond of her. Marvel Girl is mess after choosing Korvus' life over that of a whole species [In “Emperor Vulcan” she chose to save Korvus instead of the Scy’ar Tal]. And Korvus is taking stock of his life. Rachel was the only thing that was keeping him with the X-Men, and now she's putting distance between them. He's can't help but love her, but at the same time, he's been a prisoner most of his life. His heart may not be in this crusade.”

Yost also talked to Wizard, and gave a few added details:

YOST: In the meantime, you've got Marvel Girl, Korvus 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.

And it seems like there's a few surprises planned:

Question: 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.

X-Men: Kingbreaker Details

Marvel finally updated with more details about X-Men: Kingbreaker, the Emperor Vulcan follow-up that will lead-in to War of Kings, what was announced at the X-Panel yesterday at Fan Expo in Toronto.

X-Men: Kingbreaker will be a four issue mini-series that begins in December. No artist has been announced so far. As previously announced, it will be written by Christopher Yost.

Marvel.com has an interview with writer Chris Yost, which describes what the series will be about:

... but right now he's focused on breaking Havok, whose refusal to break is driving Vulcan crazy—well, crazier, as the case may be.

But while Vulcan fills much of his days and nights torturing his big bro as well as Havok's lover, Polaris, and Starjammers teammates Raza and Ch'od, the aforementioned Shi'ar expansion also remains a high priority, one that will drag the Empire and their unstable ruler into War of Kings.

"The Shi'ar are back to their aggressive, conquering ways and Vulcan is at the forefront," reiterates Yost. "For his own reasons, he's determined to make the Shi'ar the preeminent force in the universe.

Yost has these teaser about what's in store for Rachel and the other Starjammers:

"Marvel Girl, Lilandra and Korvus [are] still free," notes Yost. "Now more than ever, their goal remains unchanged. Whereas before it was personal for Havok, now it's personal for all of them. By the time it's all over, they'll either be the tightest, most bonded group of X-Men ever, or they'll be dead."

Of course all this just scratches the surface of what to expect when X-MEN: KINGBREAKER debuts just in time for the holidays, as Yost gives a tantalizing mini-preview of what's to come:

"Death, torture, intergalactic war, revenge, jailbreaks, the hunt for the Phoenix, a team of superpowered alien murderers, brother versus brother, and the lead in to what could be the greatest cosmic event of all time."

More from Chris Yost on Newsarama:

NRAMA: Are Havok, Polaris, and Rachel going to continue to be exiled in space for the time being?

CY: While 'exiled' may not be the right word, they'll be operating in space for the immediate future. They could have gone home after “Rise and Fall.” They probably wish they had, actually.

NRAMA: These books have a uniquely dysfunctional family dynamic; care to discuss? Vulcan seems to dislike Rachel Summers in particular...

CY: I'm a huge fan of the Summers family, and I love that one of them went crazy insane and became a villain. Not like 'hanging out with the Goblin Queen' or 'semi-possessed by Apocalypse' villainy, but wholly sociopathic, full on villainy.

You'll see in Kingbreaker that while Vulcan has some very obvious goals, something else is weighing heavily on his mind... his family. And yes, he doesn't care for Rachel, something that's only going to get worse.

X-Men: Kingbreaker - War of Kings Starjammers Tie-in

During the X-Men Panel at Fan Expo in Toronto Canada today, Marvel announced that the Starjammers’ story will continue in X-Men: Kingbreaker, which will lead-in to the War of Kings Cosmic crossover events.

Kingbreaker will be written by Chris Yost (writer of Emperor Vulcan). This is likely a 4-6 issue mini-series that will likely start in December. (Although, Peter David said during the X-Panel said it would start in November, it was not included in the November Solicitations released by Marvel earlier this week).

No further details were revealed during the panel, but expect interviews and further announcements this weekend.

A fan asked the panel whether Kitty Pryde and the giant space bullet will appear in War of Kings, and the answer was (unfortunately) no. (Too bad, considering how close Rachel and Kitty are, but it's likely Kitty's fate will be handled in one of the core X-books.)

Stay tuned for further War of Kings and Kingbreaker updates this weekend!

Various News Bites from around the Web

All has been quiet on the War of Kings' front since the announcement last month in San Diego, but hopefully there will be some news soon.

IGN talked to Marvel editor Tom Brevoort about Secret Invasion, and how it is connected to War of Kings:

IGN Comics: We get a lot of questions about this, so we thought we'd ask since details are a little scarce at the moment. Is War of Kings a direct follow-up to Secret Invasion or is it only related in that the Skrulls' obsession with Earth further alters the balance of galactic power?

Brevoort: It's a direct follow-up, although the more complete answer is that it's a little from column A and a little from column B. War of Kings springboard directly out of Secret Invasion, and there'll be a Secret Invasion: War of Kings special in January that'll show you just how that happens. But once War of Kings proper starts, it'll be its own thing.

So, it looks like Secret Invasion: War of Kings might kick the event off in January with the first of the War of Kings mini-series starting in February?

Marvel still has not announced the line-up for War of Kings, which is expected to start in December or January. Marvel November solicitations came out today, and included Secret Invasion: Inhumans #4, which serves as a lead-in to War of Kings, but no direct tie-ins.

Marvel will have an X-Panel at Fan Expo Canada in Toronto on Friday evening, and Cup o' CB panel on Saturday afternoon, so an announcement could be coming then.


On a completely different tangent, Rachel was mentioned in last week's Comic Urban Legends. Brian Cronin blogs about the uncanny number of eerie coincidences in John Byrne's projects and his propensity for foretelling tragic future events. Rachel's flashback to her future in Uncanny X-Men 189, showing the destruction of the World Trade Center (which looks horribly similar to 9/11) was referenced. (Although, not written by Byrne, DoFP was co-created by him).

MyCup o' ... Bill Rosemann

Marvel Comic Editor Bill Rosemann was filling in for Joe Quesada at MyCup o' Joe this week, so naturally there were some questions about War of Kings:

JM: Okay, so War of Kings is probably your next big über-thing. What's the nutshell on that?

BR: You have Vulcan expanding the Shi'Ar Empire at a frightening pace. You have the Inhumans…well, I can't yet say what they're up to until Secret Invasion: Inhumans hits…but they're up to something big! Those two trains are locked on a collision course and we're lining up an amazing collection of creators to document the fireworks. That's right, Abnett & Lanning get to play with all the toys now!

JM: We seem to keep coming back to War of Kings. Now whereas I don't think this is gonna be a Secret Invasion- or World War Hulk-level deal, it will be pretty far-reaching for you guys, right?

BR: What's so fun about seeing War of Kings come together is the way Abnett and Lanning are stepping back, spotting all these different threads, and weaving them all together into one big ol' knot. They understand how all the characters and situations from the X-Men and Heroes and cosmic corners of the Marvel U all relate to one another and why now is the time to let their story unfold. So, yeah, this event won't have as many chapters as some of our other blockbusters, but we're guessing that all sorts of readers will be interested in and enjoy the craziness being cooked up.