MARVEL PRESS CONFERENCE: BULLET POINTS' J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI

J. Michael Strazynski said that Steve Rogers and Peter Parker will be the key characters in Bullet Points, his five-issue, alternate-reality mini-series that starts next month from Marvel Comics.

The subject of a Marvel telephone press conference on Thursday afternoon, Straczynski explained the series' premise of how one bullet could have impacted the Marvel Universe.

Bullet Points starts the day before Steve Rogers was scheduled to take the Super Soldier Serum that made him Captain America. The assassin strikes that day, killing both the doctor and a young MP named Ben Parker.

"The impact is huge," Straczynski said. "People you wouldn't think end up being touched do end up being touched."

Thus, Rogers never becomes Captain America. Instead, still wanting to serve his country, he agrees to an Iron Man program based on spy information obtained from China.

"This guy takes a terrible toll to wear the thing," Straczynski said. "Reed Richards is brought in and puts his cosmic ray project on hold. All of a sudden, there's no Fantastic Four."

Meanwhile, Straczynski said, without Ben to guide him, Peter Parker hangs out with the wrong crowd. On a field trip to New Mexico, he gets too close to a gamma blast and gets the powers and curse of the Hulk.

"Now you have Peter living with Aunt May and the horror of Hulking out," he said.

With the changes in the Marvel Universe, Straczynski explores difference scenarios, such as Galactus arriving, with no Fantastic Four to stop him. "The ripple effects go on and on but always in a logical fashion," he said.

In other highlights from the press conference:

* Straczynski praised the art of Tommy Lee Edwards, especially for its photo-realism, emotion and ability to conjure time periods. "When the pencils come in, it's a revelation," he said.

* Straczynski said the series will feature a new team. "But I don't want to give it away yet," he said.

* Straczynski said that he didn't use any X-Men characters, primarily because mutants are born with their powers and wouldn't have been effected by the change in history.

* Bullet Points was meant to be a one-time mini-series, Straczynski said. "If it goes byond that, it might be intersting, but I'm not sure it would sustain," he said. "The point is to show the value of a human life, then get off the stage."

* A good portion of Bullet Points if dark and gloomy, Straczynski said, but expect to see things brighten by #5. "At its core, it's ultimately about hope and the power of the human spirit to persevere," he said.

* Gun violence is an issue in the series. Straczynski said he had the first page of the first issue will show what a bullet is and what it can do a human's body.

* Straczynski said he did extensive continuity research for Bullet Points. "What I didn't know, I went to Tom Bervoort about, because he is keeper of knowledge and all things," he said.