Interview: Kieron Gillen on the Ethics of Superpowers in THE POWER FANTASY

What if there was a cold war not of weapons, but of extra-powered people? Not of Superpowers as countries, but Superpowers in the form of a handful of people? How would their very existence impact the world? What would happen if these Superpowers collided? To what ends would these beings go to avoid conflict? What is good and just and moral and the “right” thing to do in the face of potential Armageddon?

These questions and so much more are addressed in writer Kieron Gillen and artist Caspar Wijngaard’s The Power Fantasty from Image Comics. In The Power Fantasy, Gillen and Wijngaard follow six individuals—the Superpowers—each with a might that dwarfs the nuclear arsenal of the United States. The responsibility these beings have in avoiding conflict and what would happen if that collision ever occurred is unthinkable… maybe.

I spoke with Kieron Gillen recently about the idea behind The Power Fantasy, the superpowers and Superpowers found in the book, working with Caspar Wijngaard’s, and writing for characters who are hesitant to ever use those abilities.

A book written by Kieron Gillen is assured to take a high concept, spin it on its head, and filter it through the prism of sharp storytelling and fully-world characters and worlds. The Power Fantasty is no different. As a history teacher, as someone who grew up during the Cold War, as a philosophy nerd, and as a comic book fan, The Power Fantasy hits every note that excites me in storytelling. It’s no surprise that’s the case, but it’s a welcome joy all the same.

FreakSugar: For folks who are considering picking up the book, what can you tell us about the conceit of The Power Fantasy?

Kieron Gillen: “Considering”? The Power Fantasy is beyond simple matters like “consideration.” You will be purchasing it sooner or later. It is simply a matter of when. The Power Fantasy may be high on its own supply.

This is a story about Superpowers. Not in the usual comic way. In the “nuclear superpower” way.

Our leads are six people who, if they ever came into direct conflict, would destroy the earth. The story is about everything that happens to avoid that happening – while trying to get what each of them want. It’s basically the cold war with human beings who are walking nuclear arsenals, and all the tension, corruption, politics, drama and sheer panic that implies.

FS: The cast and how they view the world are immediately compelling. What can you tell us about who we’ll meet in the comic?

KG: Thank you! The six Superpowers are our main characters, and so carry a lot of weight. You also get to see them at a bunch of angles – the story is set from 1945 to 1999, so we’ll get to see them across various points in their life too. The oldest two are the intensely moral sweetheart, the angel-who-stepped-to-earth of Valentina and the Omnipath Etienne Lux – a telepath who is obsessed with ethics. The conversation between morals and ethics kind of drives that book. Slightly younger are Ray “Heavy” Harris and Jacky Magus. Heavy is our late 1960s hippy radical and now a leader, wanting world change – and has control of gravity. Magus was a 1970s punk magician, who has totally sold out and seems to be supplying numinous weaponry to world governments. Younger is Eliza Hellbound, who can be basically understood by saying “she’s sold her soul” and best understood by just screaming. Finally, we have Masumi (aka Deconstructor) who is a modern artist who just wants to be left alone and not become a monster that destroys continents.

That said, we also have a supporting cast of people who aren’t on the level – you need that perspective. Clearly, the Superpowers warp everything around them. It’s hard to have normal human relationships when your mate is a nuke, right?

FS: The book examines superpowers through a lens I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. How did the idea behind The Power Fantasy form?

KG: Much like The Wicked + the Divine grew from my time on Young Avengers, The Power Fantasy came from Immortal X-Men – basically the sort of ideas which you can’t do in a shared ongoing universe.

Specifically, I was thinking of the impossible power-scales many hero characters operate on now. I was writing two of them throwing down and I realised… if I wrote this more seriously, they shouldn’t be able to fight. If they actually fought, they’d destroy the planet.

And there was the core of The Power Fantasy – running with that concept, and exploring it.

FS: Caspar Wijngaard’s art in this is incredible, as always. What has the collaboration process been like amongst the creative team?

KG: Caspar is a powerhouse. We worked together previously on Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt at Dynamite, which was such a huge critical success we felt we’d have to come back together and do something eventually. One day I saw his pages for Swan Songs and mailed him asking to see more… which he clearly recognised as me having something in mind. What I saw was that Caspar is so good at changing mode, and that would be an amazing way to approach a story set across 54 years. You read The Power Fantasy, and you’ll see him play with mood and style to wonderful effect. I try and step back and create as big as a stage as possible for him – the scripts are only becoming ever more open.

FS: The world of The Power Fantasy already feels so lived in and fleshed-out from the get-go. What is your process for mapping out the story and that world? Does it differ from how you approach other books, such as your X-titles?

KG: Thank you. That’s the idea – we wanted to just put people in a world we’ve clearly thought about – I keep on using the word “Novelistic” when talking about The Power Fantasy. We know far more than we’ll ever show. The process is basically I generate this whole timeline (or, at least, a timeline with the major events in which change the shape of the world). All this stuff is all material, which we’ll then work out when and where to show, to best effect. We have this main story in the present day of 1999, which follows the events of the first issue, and the rest comes in as and when is required – because the personal histories between the 6 superpowers are absolutely key there.

In terms of Marvel stuff, that’s mainly a matter of research – what is already there, and what one can use. In reality, my approach to Marvel (especially on books like Immortal X-Men and Eternals) was looking at what has been done in the Marvel Universe and then mapping it to the “real” timeline and seeing how they intersect. I’m always more interested in the real world. For example, in Immortal X-Men, looking at the black womb project in the Marvel Timeline and using it as part of the US’ weapon research in WW2 and afterwards, and all the problems there, etc.

So, the real answer is that in The Power Fantasy I can skip that stage, and just make something up to impact the world in a way which I find interesting. This is a story about many things, but it’s certainly a story about the late 20^th century.

FS: The philosophy nerd and major in me loved the inclusion of Kantian thought, among others. That’s not a question, just a compliment.

KG: We accept compliments! I saw one reviewer describe it as Watchmen meets The Good Place, which captures part of its appeal – like, sure we’re having bits of philosophy in there, but it’s also presenting it in a fun way.

FS: Are there any other books you’re working on right now you’d like to discuss?

KG: Stephanie Hans and I have done a graphic novel – We Called Them Giants. It’s out at the end of October, and we’re really proud of it. We’ve never done a graphic novel before, so this has been a treat. It’s a novella-esque story about a gentle post-apocalypse. Kind of Pixar does Walking Dead… and then these “giants” arrive. It’s a story about communication across a chasm at the end of the world.

Other than that, it’s just The Power Fantasy for now. It’s my everything.

FS: What are you reading right now?

KG: I just finished Paul Morley’s biography of Tony Wilson, From Manchester with Love. Wilson is likely someone who is unknown to most Americans, unless they’ve seen Michael Winterbottom’s excellent comedy biopic 24 Hour Party People.

I’ve got a lot of things from it which has influenced my thinking in The Power Fantasy – that’s one of the things The Power Fantasy is for, for me. I love this period, and anything I read in this period gives me an angle to think about the book.

FS: If you had one final pitch for The Power Fantasy, what would it be?

KG: The joke one-liner is “the eternal fight against fighting starts here” which is us being playful. Grab the first issue. You’ll see exactly how horrific and messy things can be to avoid fighting. I think the first issue really is the best pitch for what we do – we lay out exactly what the book runs off.

It’s also us trying. We want this to be a novel, that just happens to feature these people with extranormal abilities. It’s big, emotional, human, messy and exciting. The only thing I don’t like about the book is that I can’t be talking about what we’ve got planned for (say) issue 15 yet. This is our everything and we want to make it yours.

The Power Fantasy #7 is out now from Image Comics.

From the official description of issue #7:

1989: a popular year with Taylor Swift fans. In THE POWER FANTASY, we have a different Queen, and she nearly killed us all. We finally reveal the horror of the Second Summer of Love.