gregfahlgren
asked:
Mr Breevort, I'm writing a character spotlight on Brian Bendis, and am getting to him taking over the Avengers books. How was the decision made to put him on that book? Follow up, would you consider his time on those books, where he helmed many of Marvel's major events for nearly a decade, one of the most important times for Marvel?
The idea for doing what became New Avengers happened at one of our creative retreats. At a certain point, Mark Millar advocated that Avengers should feature all of Marvel’s biggest characters, including guys like Spider-Man and Wolverine. By the next day, Brian had thought about this and come in with his pitch for the series. And yes, Brian’s time on New Avengers was hugely important–it brought the spotlight back to the main Marvel U from the Ultimate U, and primed fan excitement such that doing films on Iron Man or Thor or Avengers seemed viable. He made Avengers the top franchise again.