Iron Man 2 Matt Fraction Interview

As one of the most prominent writers for Marvel Comics -- with books like Invincible Iron Man, Uncanny X-Men, and Immortal Iron Fist -- Matt Fraction is one of the more influential figures in the comic world, but does his comic book style translate over to the digital realm? That’s what we wondered when Sega announced that Fraction would be working on the script for the Iron Man 2 video game. How does the writer feel the game turned out? How did he first getting involved in helping Sega work on the game? And what does he have planned for the future? We tried to keep things short and sweet when we posed these questions to one of comics defining voices.

Thanks for taking some time to answers a few questions for us. To start, how would you describe the story for Iron Man 2?

It’s a kind of parallel narrative between the film and the comics. Tony Stark is the Tony Stark you know and love from the film. He’s publicly outed himself as Iron Man, and now he’s trying to deal with all the good and bad that comes from that. Just because Tony Stark might be done with his past, his past isn’t necessarily done with Tony Stark.

How did you first get involved with helping to write the game’s script?

Marvel’s wanted to start getting their creators involved with the other aspects of their narrative lives -- I’d consulted on the film, too, so when the game got rolling, Sega called me.

How much of Iron Man’s story was in place before you came on board, and what were you able to bring to the table?

A lot was there. It was a bit like storytelling by algebra. Games are different than a comic narrative and different than a film narrative -- games have their own demands and physics and storytelling rules. I hope I was able to bring a note of consistency to Tony -- who he is and how he does what he does. The Tony-ness of it all was really what I found myself obsessing over. I’ve gotten kind of possessive of the guy.

We imagine that a game like this is a slightly more iterative process than when you are working on a comic, with things changing a lot more during development. What did you think of the process of shaping a story for a game?

It was new. It was a challenge. I can’t stand boredom, and I go crazy when I get stagnant, so learning the way game writing works kept me fired up. I come from a background of film and animation and advertising, so it’s not like I wasn’t familiar with working in rooms with lots of creative and producerial voices. The good news is that you’re part of a team of people with the same goals which, ultimately, allowed us to just make the Iron Man game we want to play.

You’ve written for both games and comics. How are the two forms different? What do you like better about each one?

Well, comics are linearly told and limitless in scope and scale. A story goes from my head to the page to the editor to the artists. It’s a very small loop, and the turnaround is fast. We can get a comic into the world in a month. Sometimes less. Games are a team effort. There are budgets, deadlines, technological capabilities...but the visibility is completely different, the experience is completely different. In a comic I’ll say, okay, here, Iron Man flies upwards, but in a game, you get to control that. Maybe he flies down, maybe he flies right. The interactivity is the thing, that’s the key. And you get sound and camera moves that comics lack. Just being able to write sound cues and camera moves again was a blast.

Iron Man has been successful in films, games, comics, and TV. What do you think is special about Tony Stark’s character that makes him so successful in a variety of mediums?

He’s the superhero that’s as cool in the suit as he is out of it. Tony Stark is the guy you want to hang out with as much as Iron Man. I love Tony stories and Iron Man stories -- you’re never waiting for Tony to go away and Iron Man to come back, and vice versa.

You’re still working for Marvel on Uncanny X-Men, Invincible Iron Man, and now Thor. Do you have any other upcoming projects in the works that we should know about?

The original series, Casanova, which I created with Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon is coming back in July.

Casanova is a great series. What do you think about the idea of a Casanova video game?

Sure! Make me a producer and let’s talk.

We’ve heard that you also play games. What are you playing right now?

I’m about to have a second baby, so the only thing I’ve messed around with the last month has been MLB: The Show 2010 and a little Bayonetta and Rock Band for song-long stress relief, though I’m really looking forward to Red Dead Redemption.