NRAMA: And what came first, this idea of transforming this character, or the need for that first issue catalyst from CW #1?
JQ: That's tough to say because while I've joked about Speedball for a while now, I really wanted to see something cool done with the character. When Mark selected the New Warriors to be the catalyst for Civil War, that's when I saw an opportunity to do something interesting with Speedball. So, it was serendipitous in that sense. But that's the beauty of something like Civil War, you find yourself with many happy accidents.
NRAMA: So just so we understand correctly, not only will Penance be putting himself through agony every time he suits up and uses his powers, but he'll also be slowing killing himself in the process?
JQ: Well, I'm not going to reveal everything for right now, but yes, that suit he wears is basically an Iron Maiden, so it's going to hurt a lot and fans will know when it's hurting, trust me.
NRAMA: Why? In Frontline #10, he doesn't seem overly remorseful to the father of the child he killed. Nor to Reed Richards. He seems angry at the world, so why do this to himself? Is the point some twisted idea of atonement, or is he simply off his rocker at this stage?
JQ: My money is on a little of both. When people in the real world are confronted with things of the nature that Robbie has been confronted with, jail for instance, near death experiences, etc., they tend to gravitate to different extremes. As an example, many inmates find religion in jail and they find great comfort in it, this isn't something that is out of the realm of possibility. So, to me, Robbie has had a life altering experience. Do you think that when he first became a superhero, when he first joined the New Warriors, that he ever expected that his life would end up where it is right now? I don't think any of us ever expected it and now here we are.
Also, Penance, going forward has a very interesting origin from the very onset. He was once a happy go lucky, bright and shiny teen hero and now he's something completely different. Where does he go from here will be a lot of fun to watch.