Superheroes to battle Transformers
Marvel's new adventure spans two mythologies
Superheroes to battle robots

By Matthew Price

Published: July 6, 2007

Writer Stuart Moore's experience with science fiction, and with Marvel's Avengers characters, made him a natural choice for "New Avengers-Transformers,” which sees Marvel's top-selling team face off against the Hasbro's robots in disguise.

"It's a full-on, big-scale superheroes-versus-robots adventure, with roots in both series' mythologies,” Moore said in a recent interview. "The Decepticons are up to their old tricks on Earth, this time inciting war between the Marvel Universe countries of Latveria and Symkaria. Doctor Doom, ruler of Latveria, has dropped out of sight, so S.H.I.E.L.D. sends in the New Avengers (pre-"Civil War”) to find out what's going on. The story unfolds from there.”

Since the story is set prior to Marvel's "Civil War,” which pitted hero against hero, Moore was able to use Captain America, who was killed just after the Civil War. Key roles are also played by Doctor Doom and Iron Man.

"The part Doctor Doom plays in the story is an important part of it all ... and there's a really nice bit with Iron Man, too. You have to wait a little for those two characters, but it's worth it,” Moore said. "And since this story is set before ‘Civil War,' you also get a good dose of Captain America in top form.”

Moore said there will also be surprises for Transformers fans currently following the series published by IDW.

"We also feature the first appearance of a Decepticon who hasn't yet appeared in the IDW continuity,” Moore said. "So, hopefully, there's something for everyone.”

Moore said the New Avengers and the Transformers operate in a quasimilitary fashion, making the moods of the two series similar. Moore said each team gets the spotlight at different points in the series.

"There are a lot of characters, and we all want both teams — all three, really, if you count the Autobots and Decepticons separately — to have their time to shine,” Moore said. "Our basic approach is to treat the Avengers as the viewpoint characters. Like the humans in the new IDW ‘Transformers' comics, the Avengers are initially unaware of this covert robot war that's been going on behind the scenes on Earth for years. And for the Decepticons' part, they're used to infiltrating and devastating planets — but they've never before had to deal with a world defended by superhumans.”

Chris Ryall at IDW and Bill Rosemann at Marvel have worked to coordinate the series, which should get a promotional boost from the "Transformers” film.

"I think this book will satisfy people who come to it from the film,” Moore said. "I didn't really worry about (pressure) — there's enough pressure just getting the story right, working out how the two groups work, and making sure both Transformers and Avengers have enough ‘screen time.'”

Moore praised the work of Tyler Kirkham, the artist on the book.

"Tyler Kirkham is doing remarkable work on this book. I think it's going to be a breakout project for him,” Moore said. "When I saw his (robotic) Sentinels in the recent ‘Phoenix' miniseries, I knew he'd do great Transformers. You can see the results.”

Moore said seeing the penciled art for the first time was rewarding.

"When you write these battle scenes between superheroes and 30-foot-tall robots, you sometimes wonder if it's all going to mesh, but Tyler's work puts you right there on the battlefield,” Moore said. "It's gorgeous stuff, but it also seems very real.”