Recently MTV caught up with X-Men Schism scribe Jason Aaron and his editor, Nick Lowe to discuss where the series is headed. Here's the best of what was discussed:
MTV: Cyclops tells her [Indie], and I’m paraphrasing here, but that she should “Do whatever she thinks is right.” Does that sum up where Cyclops is coming from right now in general? And if so, where does that leave Wolverine?
NL: Cyclops walks a fine line that Jason completely summed up there. X-Men are called to make tough decisions more than just about any super heroes. Most heroes face impossible odds, but with the X-Men they are impossible odds with no GOOD outcome. And Wolverine, well, he seems really tired of that to me.
JA: Cyclops was caught in a tough situation and made a tough call. He didn't tell Idie she had to risk her life. But he did let her know that she was the only one around who had a chance of saving the day. From Wolverine's perspective, there was no gray area. She's a kid. Get her the hell out of there. This philosophical divide is really at the heart of the Schism, and we'll see the argument expanded upon in great detail next issue.
MTV: To talk about the new Hellfire Club a bit, they take down some of the most powerful X-Men efficiently and quickly. I get that they’ve planned insanely well, but why aren’t the X-Men ready for this? And what does that say about Cyclops’ leadership?
NL: KADE KILGORE 4-EVA! Kade made decisions to put him and his crew in the best position possible. They had surprise, an underestimating enemy (by this point, how many times have the X-Men taken down the Hellfire Club? And facing CHILDREN?) and superior fire-power with little-to-no backup. The X-Men aren’t ready for it mainly because they’ve never faced a villain like Kade.
JA: The Hellfire Club have been manipulating the X-Men on a global scale so far in Schism, and only now is Cyclops starting to see what's really going on. If he'd realized earlier what was really happening, he would've played his cards differently. Now he's backed into a corner. And yes, Kade and his friends are children, but they're only the wealthiest, most ingenious, dangerous and deranged children the world has ever seen. They're the next generation of would-be world conquerors. If Dr. Doom was a pre-teen, this is the club he'd want to join.
MTV: Not to potentially spoil anything, but would it be fair to say that – given the events of the end of the issue in particular – part of Kilgore’s plan was to take most of the X-Men off the board, by stretching them thin with worldwide sentinel attacks?
NL: It sure seems like that, doesn’t it? Like I said, the X-Men have never faced a villain quite like Kade. He summed it up himself in Schism #3—“Who wants to be a supervillain? Supervillains always lose in the end. Or did I miss the news that Dr. Doom now rules the world? I didn’t come here to lose.”
JA: Yes, Kade seems to have foreseen every eventuality. Or so he thinks...
MTV: And coming up in issue four… Cyclops and Wolverine versus the biggest, baddest robot ever created? I hope?
NL: Certainly the biggest baddest robot ever created. But are Cyclops and Wolverine the only X-Men left?
JA: And will they have time to fight a giant robot when they're busy kicking the tar out of each other? You want some schism? Next issue, you get your schism, as we see the first round in the biggest, nastiest Wolverine vs. Cyclops fight ever!
X-Men Schism #3 is currently on stands, as is Generation Hope #10. X-Men Schism #4 hits on September 21st.