Den of Geek: Talk about the genesis of the rebootedDeathlok.
How did the project come about?
Gregory Wright:Marvel was interested in rebooting several old characters, Deathlok among them.
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Can you tell us a bit about your proposedRoboCop?
It was really going to be an extension of the original movie.
But we had wanted to get into Murphys head more.
Have him questioning who or what he really was.
We were going to have OCP creating more Robocops.
Except THIS time they would fix the problem of the human actually driving the body.
Much like in theDeathlokseries the BUSINESS of creating cyborgs was going to be the bad guy.
What led to the decision to not have Deathlok be Luther Manning?
Plus, there was some sort of legal snafu in utilizing the original version.
At least thats what we were told.
So they had asked for proposals.
What aspects of Deathlok drew you to the character?
Both Dwayne and I loved the original character.
Plus the interaction with the on board computer was priceless.
The original series was tremendous fun.
Tell us about the creation of Michael Collins.
The beauty of Marvel wanting a new version of Deathlok was that we could create anything we wanted.
And we wanted to create a character that was TRULY different.
We were not going to put a cop or a soldier in that cybernetic armor.
Preferably a nerdy programmer punch in, a family man with integrity.
Dwayne suggested that we also make the character Black.
He felt that maybe the original was supposed to be Black based on his name and being from Detroit.
Dwayne felt that because many Black people experience a sort of double consciousness, described by W.E.B.
All pretty deep and interesting stuff.
Continuing our process, we decided to go in a really risky direction.
We chose to make the character a pacifist.
And how he would overcome it would be incredible to write.
What did Butch Guice contribute to the project?
Jackson Butch Guice did a Wonder Man story with us forSolo Avengersand we really loved his work.
We had been creating detailed character bios and ideas for set design.
His character designs helped us to develop the characters further.
yo tell us about your process with your co-writer the late, great Dwayne McDuffie?
How did you split the writing?
What was Marvels reaction internally to Deathlok being a pacifist?
Well, that particular part of the character was what won us the book.
It was so different form anybody elses idea.
And at that time, Marvel wanted BIG hits.
What was your reaction to Marvel granting Deathlok a new solo monthly, something the character had never had?
But, the mini-series was done with the intention of launching an ongoing series anyway.
If sales on the mini-series had tanked, we wouldnt have gotten the ongoing.
It was simply a matter of logistics and finance.
I was leaving my Marvel staff job as an editor and moving to Virginia.
It was very difficult for us to write as a team with Dwayne in NY and me in VA. We did make a run at write over CompuServe at one point, but it was just a mess.
So the decision was made for us to do alternating story arcs.
It was challenging because we both had our own agendas with the character.
We didnt want to write a story that would conflict with the others story.
And certainly we wanted to keep the character consistent.
Ultimately we didnt have any problems with each others storylines, but it did create extra work.
Tom was a brand new editor at the time andDeathlokwas his first book to edit.
Bob Budiansky was that supervising editor.
And then Bob would read it and want different changes that might conflict with the original changes.
It was just too many cooks in the kitchen.
I do want to stress, that both Dwayne and I really enjoyed working with Tom and Bob.
And Bob was especially helpful to us on the mini-series.
I just dont want this to come off as some sort of attack on anyone, because its not.
Plus, the editor had to sign off on the story that you used said character in.
And that added even more cooks to an already overcrowded kitchen.
What was your vision of the series, did it differ from Dwaynes or the editors?
We all had the same vision for the series.
Along with his adventures, we would explore the characters psychological nature.
What differed, as you noted in your article was the types of stories we wrote to achieve this.
But you could see where each of us was more focused.
And the readers noticed that as well.
How did you feel the guest-stars affected the book?
At that time character crossovers were encouraged.
Its a strategy that works pretty well and makes sales go up.
We werent really forced, but certain characters had to be approved ahead of time for certain issues.
This was all very common back then so it didnt seem like a bad idea at the time.
I enjoyed getting to write the guest stars, but they definitely get in the way of character development.
Looking back its pretty surprising to see how many guest stars we had in the first 12 issues.
Silver Sable is a prime example.
When we did the mini-series, it was originally going to come out when it was finished.
We had written the book to fit specifically with Jackson Guices art.
His art was very slick, realistic and clean.
When the series suddenly got placed on the schedule, we were late.
We initially tried to find an artist to replace him whose artwork would more closely match.
Plus, this was not a good thing for sales.
Stores would be ordering based on the decision we made for the new artist.
We couldnt find anyone whose art looked like Jacksons.
Luckily, Denys Cowan had expressed enthusiastic interest in finishing off the series.
The only problem was that his art style was dramatically different from Jacksons.
Now we had to make a decision.
Ultimately we went with Denys, who really stepped up and did some stunning work.
And, he delivered it in record time.
I would say that Denys was the hero of the team.
To answer your actual questions, Denys brought a certain weight and authority to the book.
There was something warm about it.
His Deathloks body language just spoke volumes about the character at any given moment.
But, fan reaction was mixed.
There were fans who just went with the change and embraced Denys awesome art.
And there were fans who revolted.
They were fans of Jacksons bang out of art and the change was too drastic for them.
It was a shame, because we REALLY loved Denys work.
I mean, fans were somewhat divided over the fact that we made Deathlok a pacifist, too.
Talk about coloring Deathlok, what was your artistic philosophy to a character like that?
My philosophy is always the same.
Color should enhance the artwork that is drawn, not redraw it or cover it up.
Color should be used as a storytelling gear.
I will say that I enjoyed coloring Denys the most.
Denys style is one of those that really speaks to me.
Jacksons is so much more realistic, and clean.
Wonderful stuff, but I like a bit more grit.
Cyberwar was a five part arc, talk about the idea that sparked that saga.
For good or bad, I was very influenced by fan reaction.
We were never going to alter Michael Collins like that.
But I wanted to give readerssomething.
Thats where Siege came from.
We had always wanted to utilize Luther Manning.
By the end of the series, I was finally given permission to utilize him.
I was really excited, because there was so much great material I could finally use.
It was fun but just too rushed.
I was really happy with Kevin Kobasics artwork on those last issues we did.
I had planned on doing a much longer and developed storyline, but that was not meant to be.
Many books at that time got the same fate.
Were there any plans for the character you never got to do?
Id actually done a proposal for a cyborg team led by Deathlok.
Tell us about that, what would it have been called, who was in it?
It would have been Deathlok, The Demolisher, and Siege.
Did the books cancellation come as a surprise?
We hoped that the last storyline with Luther Manning would generate more interest, but it didnt.
One of the things that I always felt hurt our sales were the dual writers.
I think our issues were different enough that readers felt a disconnect.
Plus we had lots of artist problems.
Dwaynes last story arc had four different pencillers.
All this chaos is never good for sales.
We were finally a stable team with one vision.
Have you followed the appearances of the character since the book ended?
Not really, Michael Collins didnt really show up much unless Dwayne wrote him in something.
And Marvel had stopped sending me copies of their books, so I wasnt even aware of any appearances.
I know he was inBeyondand Dwaynes run onFantastic Four.
There have been rumblings about aDeathlokfilm for years.
Were you called in on any of those projects?
Thats the last thing theyd want is for the creators of anything to have a say.
How did it feel to see Deathlok onAgents of SHIELD?
Especially since J. August Richards based his portrayal off of our version.
Im very interested to see where it goes.
I want to see him break free from his captors and be able to see his son!
What was your reaction when you found that Deathlok would be a television star onAgents of SHIELD?
Were you consulted at all?
Its a huge thrill just to see an artist bring a story you wrote to life every month.
Dwayne, Jackson, and I even got a thank you credit for a split second.
What are you most proud of regarding the character and what do you wish could have gone down differently?
Im really proud to have co-created a character with such integrity and morals.
And made him an action hero to boot.
I think hes a truly intelligent character who is a powerful role model.
Dwayne refused to allow us to settle for anything short of what we eventually created.
He insisted on integrity and depth of character.
We werent going to be gratuitous and everything had to have purpose and meaning.
He really pushed to make this character something fresh and different from what was popular.
Dwayne inspired every bit of writing I have ever done and I miss him terribly.
Cast a film of your Deathlok for us.
Well, it definitely would be tricky.
Alan Rickman was always Harlan Ryker.
Id love to see Viola Davis or Alfre Woodard play Tracy.
Gregory Wright, thank you very much!
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