Cyclops-intoxicated

GN Comics: First, let's tackle the concept of Second Coming. We know Cable and Hope are returning, what else can you tell us about the storyline at this point?

Nick Lowe: I love how you phrased that. "So Cable and Hope are returning, but what's actually cool about this?" RICH! This is the culmination of five years of X-Men stories!!! The ending of House of M kicked off a series of events (Decimation, Messiah Complex, Messiah War) that all leads to this event. The last two years of X-Books have all been set-up for this! I can't tell you how big this is for us and how much we've poured into this. The X-Men have been living off of fumes for a year with nothing but the faith that the baby born in Alaska will come back and save them as a species. This is the story that she comes back in!

Axel Alonso: And don't forget: She's got red hair and green eyes!

IGN Comics: In terms of the structure of the storyline, are we looking at something similar to Messiah Complex? Are all four titles going to directly tell the story or will some books be more involved than others? How many chapters will there be?

Lowe: Yup, this is the classic X-Crossover structure. We have an oversized one-shot that kicks the whole thing into gear, continuing in our four core X-Books (Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, X-Men Legacy and New Mutants) over four months, with another one-shot to cap the whole thing off. So it's 14 chapters of awesome.

IGN Comics: When looking at a storyline like this, how do you determine what titles will play a part? For example X-Factor was involved in Complex, but not in Second Coming. Will that series, or its characters, be involved in the crossover? Will we see other titles affected – Deadpool, perhaps?

Lowe: We're still discussing some of the elements that you're talking about, but the main thrust of the story is over the four main X-Books. X-Factor, which is an amazing book and everyone should go pick up the latest awesome issue, doesn't really revolve around current X-Continuity from month-to-month, so it didn't work for this story. But the impact of this event will have its effects on books like X-Factor and Deadpool, I can guarantee that.

IGN Comics: A more specific follow-up to that question. The current Cable series was very much born out of the events in Messiah Complex, tracking the movements of Cable and Hope throughout time. What role will that series play in Second Coming? With Cable and Hope back in modern time, will the series be ending or "revamp" in concept similar to how X-Men Legacy changed post-Complex?

Alonso: Leading right into "Second Coming" is a huge arc of Cable called "Homecoming" – issues #21-25. It's the final showdown between Cable and Bishop, with Hope's fate in the balance. Who gets out alive? Who returns to the present? Our lips are sealed.

IGN Comics: The structure of Complex was interesting in that despite telling an ongoing story, each series managed to focus on its own characters during its respective chapter. Will that be the case here?

Lowe: What I loved about how it worked in Messiah Complex is that it started like that, but by the time we got knee-deep in the story those boundaries disappeared. You'll see a little of that here, but this is one big story that will end up being pretty seamless through the books.

IGN Comics: By our count this would be the third (or fourth, if you count Utopia) crossover involving a major X-Men title within one year. How challenging is it to make sure each title retains its own identity while still playing into the larger narrative? Are retailers and fans reacting positively to the more integrated, weaving approach or do you think this will be the last crossover for a while?

Lowe: When we were plotting out '08-'09 at the X-Summit in July/August of last year, we noticed that a lot of the stories that we were building were just huge. It got us really excited and proud that these stories were organically story-driven and not marketing driven. These events that we've built have all been necessary in telling the stories. But this is the big momma of them all. This is the story that it all has built to.

IGN Comics: Can you describe the leadership status of the X-Men heading into Second Coming? Specifically, how do Cyclops, Emma Frost, Charles Xavier and Magneto react to Hope? Also, can you tease the fans on what impact Necrosha will have leading to Second Coming?

Lowe: MAGNETO?!?! WHAT?!?! You better read Uncanny X-Men #516 this week! One thing that Axel has done tirelessly since he came in as Executive Editor on the X-Books is drive home the idea of Cyclops as leader. He is the leader of the X-Men and it's not up for debate. He's the general, the X-Men are the army. And that is never clearer than in Second Coming. As for the reaction to Hope, that's the whole beauty of this story. It's about that stuff. How the different people view her return. As for Necrosha, it's the storm before the storm that sets up the pieces for Second Coming to knock them all down.

IGN Comics: This storyline has been building for quite some time, and I think a lot of fans are really wondering when some definitive answers regarding Hope will be set on the table. Is this the storyline that will finally do that? Can this be considered the "final" act of a "Messiah" trilogy?

Alonso: Yes, that's absolutely what this is. This is where you see what Hope will mean to the X-Men and to all of mutantkind.

IGN Comics: Is there anything else you'd like to add about Second Coming at this point?

Lowe: I don't think everyone understands how big this is for the X-Men. All the steps they've taken over the last few years have led to this, and not everyone will make it out of this alive. And it's not something like "OMG, LIFEGUARD JUST DIED!"

Alonso: We don't kill Wolverine.

省省力氣吧...我個人是不信Hope跟Jean是同一個人的，比較有可能是她是琴在四處尋找、讓她進化成白鳳凰的''碎片''之一(但是我希望不是，我一點都不喜歡琴回來這個念頭，而且讓她升等只是進一步破壞她跟其他角色能力間的平衡，讓她很快再領便當罷了)，誰會在乎Lifeguard死活啊? 那種小咖一開始就當不存在了... 我怎麼有個感覺是Hope這丫頭會掛咧?