The Infinity Stones are some of the most powerful and coveted artifacts in the entire Marvel Universe, with the power to do both devastating harm and immeasurable good. That's the balance that will have to be struck by the new Infinity Watch, who keep (and in some cases embody) the power of the Infinity Stones.
Assembling in the wake of the defeat of Thanos' latest attempt to seize all the Stones, the new Infinity Watch team is now breaking out into its own five-issue limited series by writer Derek Landy and artist Ruairí Coleman in which they'll have to manage their often diametrically opposed viewpoints and powers to keep the Infinity Stones safe from those who would abuse their power.
With a team consisting of Multitude (Soul Stone), Prince of Power (Power Stone), Overtime (Time Stone), Quantum (Space Stone), Star (Reality Stone), Colleen Wing (Mind), and none other than Phil Coulson, who possesses the newly created Death Stone, there's a lot of inter-team turmoil to overcome in order for the new Infinity Watch to function. But that's all part of the fun, especially with Thanos currently (mostly) out of the picture.
Newsarama caught up with series writer Derek Landy ahead of Infinity Watch #1's December 11 2024 release to talk about putting a new spin on the classic Marvel legacy of the Infinity Watch, and we've even got an early look at some interior pages showing off the new team by Ruairí Coleman along the way.
Newsarama: Derek, Infinity Watch is a team that has a long legacy in the Marvel Universe. What's it been like putting a new spin on a classic concept?
Derek Landy: It’s been a daunting process…! The earlier Infinity Watches are all well-regarded and much-loved, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that they’re part of an established framework of events on the Marvel stage. I first read them during a massive omnibus onslaught I undertook during COVID, and I was well aware of what was to come.
Hopefully, our Infinity Watch will manage to touch the coattails of that level of storytelling, but I guess we’ll only be able to decide that once this particular chapter of Marvel lore has been fully told.
Infinity Watch is a team that has often included members who are at odds with each other, and that looks to be the case here as well. How do you balance all the different goals of each character with the larger mission of Infinity Watch?
Landy: Writing a team book where the team gets along at all times is a LOT harder than a team where everyone is bickering and at each other’s throats- so I’m on pretty firm ground starting off.
That said, the balance is a delicate thing. I don’t want to shortchange any one character, yet I’ve got to serve the TEAM over any particular individual. Luckily, the way characters argue tells you a lot about them, so the trick is to do multiple things at once with every scene you write.
On that note, who are the characters you've found yourself most connecting with as you go?
Landy: It’s interesting, because there are four obvious main characters here. You’ve got Colleen Wing, who has such a heritage in Marvel storytelling, and the reader knows that THIS is our hero. But then we have Coulson, who has quickly established himself to be leading man material. Star, of course, is our anti-hero, so you’d think that SHE should guide us through. But then there’s Overtime, who is such a relatable underdog that the reader is rooting for him at all times.
Basically, it’s a juggling act between those four, which means that when the other three are on the page, they get to be the quirky supporting acts - which then makes THEM interesting enough to want to focus on.
How has it been working with artist Ruairí Coleman? What's he bringing to the table?
Landy: Working with Ruairi is great. We live 2 hours from each other so that means he can ask a question and get an immediate answer, which isn’t always the case. Ruairí’s linework is so clean, his designs are wonderfully fresh, and his storytelling decisions are making my scripts look better than they are… if such a thing is even possible.
I have to ask about the Thanos of it all. Where the Infinity Stones go, he's rarely far behind. How does he factor into Infinity Watch?
Landy: He doesn’t! Well, not REALLY. He played a big part in the Infinity Watch annual event over the summer and I realized I LOVE writing Thanos. Because of that, I knew I should only use him sparingly. It’s also important to establish that this new Watch is not dependent on one of Marvel’s greatest villains - so this is the limited series where we kick off the training wheels. That said, whenever you’re dealing with the Infinity Stones, Thanos is an ever-present shadow looming over it all…
Speaking of villains, what can you tell us about the mysterious threat that's been teased for your Infinity Watch series?
Landy: I went through a LOT of possible bad guys for this one. We knew we wanted to throw the team into an alternate universe where we get to come up with our own rules and history, so the possibilities were endless. But beyond all that was a brand new threat that only the Watch could possibly hope to deal with- the Apeiron.
In their universe, the Apeiron were Infinity Stone Bearers who faced an enemy so terrifying that their only recourse was to turn and run. Now they’re moving from reality to reality, seeking out and consuming the power of the Infinity Stones in a desperate attempt to stay one step ahead of the horror they know is coming.
What do you want readers to know going into Infinity Watch #1?
Landy: The main thing I DON’T want is for anyone to expect anything in the way of a cohesive, well-adjusted team of like-minded, altruistic individuals - because that’s not what we have to work with here. Sorry.
Thanos is one of the best supervillains of all time.
