By Scott Tipton
June 6, 2003
Five Questions with Dave Cockrum
Ask anyone who saw X2: X-MEN UNITED: the opening sequence featuring Nightcrawler’s attack on the Oval Office was a knockout, and immediately gave notice that this was one sequel that would not fail to deliver. Moviegoers and even most critics seemed to agree that Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler, was the breakout new star of the X-MEN franchise. While director Bryan Singer and actor Alan Cumming deserve all kinds of praise as well, let’s give proper credit where it’s due, and not forget the actual creator of the character, artist Dave Cockrum.
Cockrum and writer/editor Len Wein created half of the New X-Men (Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler and Thunderbird, to be precise: Cyclops, Banshee, Wolverine and Sunfire had all made previous appearances in Marvel Comics) for their first appearance in GIANT-SIZE X-MEN #1. Cockrum gave all of the characters, old and new, dynamic costume designs that, for the most part, would remain in use for decades. As for Nightcrawler in particular, Cockrum had originally intended to use him over at DC Comics in LEGION OF SUPERHEROES (where Cockrum also put his famous costume-design skills to good use), but the character was rejected as looking “too scary” by the series’ editor.
Dave Cockrum was good enough to take a few minutes to answer a few questions about his creation, now a full-blown movie star:
Scott Tipton: Nightcrawler was a creation of yours before you brought him to the X-Men, correct?
Dave Cockrum: Yes. My first wife and I thought him up while trying to keep ourselves distracted during a terrible typhoon on Guam (I was in the Navy, stationed there).
ST: Was the "swashbuckler" aspect of Kurt's character something you intended, or was that from Chris Claremont?
DC: That came from me. I was a big fan of swashbuckler films and their stars -- Errol Flynn, Stewart Granger, and the like -- and also I'd just recently taken an adult course in fencing. I was really into it, and I transferred it to Nightcrawler.
ST: What was your reaction to Nightcrawler's portrayal in the film?
DC: Too much praying, and I didn't like the tattoos. Otherwise, I thought they did a pretty good job.
ST: Any thoughts on their emphasis on Kurt's religious beliefs?
DC: See above. I objected to the religious aspect from the start. Before I left the X-Men the second time Chris told me he was thinking of taking Kurt in that direction, and I really fussed at him about it. I'm not religious, and Kurt represented me in the book. Of course, once I was gone, Chris went ahead and did it.
ST: The filmmakers seemed to be hinting at a relationship between Kurt and Storm. Was that something you ever considered?
DC: Not seriously, but I did a number of scenes with the two of them together, including the back-of-the-page pencil drawing that was reprinted in THE ULTIMATE X-MEN. It was done mostly for fun. I also did a number of (gasp) XXX-rated drawings of the two of them together.
For lots more from Dave Cockrum, including a comprehensive interview about the early days of the X-Men comics, check out ALTER EGO #24, currently in comic shops, which features an X-Men cover by the artist as well as over 50 pieces of Cockrum artwork. Also published by TwoMorrows is an upcoming 45th anniversary LEGION COMPANION, which also sports a cover by Cockrum (inked by Joe Rubinstein) and contains a lot of the artist’s work.
Dave also tells us that sometime this year Aardwolf Publishing will be putting out a 60-page Dave Cockrum Treasury. “And there may be a surprise or two in the offing as well,” he hints.
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