The end has come. Apocalypse has arrived and Death rides with him. And Pestilence, War, and Famine, too.

Despite X-MEN ’92 writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers preparing to close the book with December 28’s issue #10—and possibly take all of mutantkind down in the process—they took the time to talk to us about Apocalypse’s favorite tools, the Horsemen, and point out some of their favorites of all-time. Besides their own, of course.

“Every time they show, it’s a big deal,” Bowers argues. “It should be a big deal.

“I think, in a lot of ways, what’s most terrifying about the Horsemen is they’re people, but they are really concepts,” he continues, asserting their draw. “It’s hard to fight against a concept. Even if you beat the Horsemen, the power is just going to go to somebody else.”

“There’s always going to be a next one,” Sims agrees. “And the next one might be someone you know; it might be a horror movie monster. You don’t know.”

Archangel
“I gotta say, Walt Simonson, good at drawing,” Sims states.

“I love it,” Bowers enthuses. “I like Angel a lot as Death especially. He’s like the first X-Man to have a real lasting change.”

“I absolutely prefer him to Angel, as Archangel,” Sims concurs. “It’s really hard to empathize with Angel’s problems because he’s a rich beautiful man who has beautiful bird wings.”

“So it makes perfect sense, when he loses them, that he gets super depressed,” Bowers continues.

“It’s metal, in a literal and metaphorical sense,” Sims jokes. “It’s the one ‘aww, it’s extreme now’ reboot of a character that everyone agrees is good.”

Colossus
“That’s their friend, this giant gentle artist who can turn his body into a battering ram,” Bowers points out. “And then suddenly he’s trying to kill [them]. That’s terrifying.”

Wolverine
“He seems like a no-brainer,” Chad admits.

“With Wolverine it works in a way; with him there’s always this aspect that’s been building for 20 years at that point,” Sims elaborates. “That Wolverine is just constantly holding back so he doesn’t flip out and stab everybody. Apocalypse takes Wolverine and—all the hard work he’s done to control himself [Apocalypse] just pops the seal off, hands Wolverine a sword, and says, ‘Alright, you are going to kill everyone.’”

Gambit
“He’s a real weird choice,” Sims confesses. “Of all the things that Gambit is, seeing him as the embodiment of Death—it makes sense with his powers because everything he touches becomes a bomb. So from there, that makes sense. But in term of character, it’s something I never would’ve expected.”

“He’s Death, but he’s not Death, you know?” agrees Bowers. “Like that’s not who Gambit is.”

“Which maybe makes it a really solid idea,” Sims reflects.

Psylocke
“That makes total sense,” states Sims.

Bowers concurs. “Yeah, that’s a good one.”

“What’s scarier than a Death that can read your mind and then kill you with a sword?” points out Sims.

Jeb Lee
“Good visual,” asserts Bowers. “There’s something overall creepy about that battlefield look.”

“[He taps] the magic element that makes a great Horseman,” Sims says. “Interpreting one of the aspects in a way we really haven’t seen before.”

“[He and the other UNCANNY X-FORCE Horsemen] really did feel different,” concludes Bowers. “I liked that.”

The ’92 Horsemen
“[It’s] every corner of the X-Men Universe, tied together,” Bowers explains. “You’ve got a representative of the human interests in [Senator] Kelly, you’ve got a representative from the anti-mutant militaristic Sentinel interest with Bastion, the idealist in Exodus, and then you’ve got Mystique as the mutant that kind of gave up and became a weapon or a tool.”

“If you were going to do a big Apocalypse story in 1996—you know, like they did—who would be the guys that you’d want them to pick for that,” continues Sims. “It’s like Bastion and Exodus. In the 90’s all of them looked like they were going to be the next big villains.”

“These are guy who anchored their own events,” Bowers contends. “If the X-Men had a tough time beating these guys by themselves, what happens when they team up?”

Saddle up with Chad Bowers, Chris Sims, and Alti Firmasyah one last time for X-MEN ’92 #10 on December 28!

Kate Bishop loves being a super hero but knows that it cannot pay the bills. Thus, with HAWKEYE #2 on January 4, she finds herself a nice side job to line her pockets: private investigator.

In a world where good guys and bad guys battle for the fate of the universe, on the regular, Bishop recognizes that the average every day person still has problems that need solving; problems that a PI might be uniquely suited to improving.

The fact that other super powered types have reached that conclusion before her can be good news for Kate. For when times get a little rough, or when she has a question about what billing software to use to stay on top of her accounts, we put together a list of other heroes turned private dicks that she can give a jingle.

Jessica Jones
While she may have cut her teeth in the super hero game—first as Jewel, then as Knightress—Jones has always had the type of temperament a little more at home with the rough and tumble life of a PI. Alternating between run of the mill “catch my wife cheating” to the high tension “find out Captain America’s real identity” cases, Jones showed that despite self-hatred, alcohol dependence, and a general inclination away from customer service, she had private investigating in the blood.

Years later, Jones may be in a far better more stable personal place, but she has not lost her edge. Her most recent case proves that even without booze and outward turned rage, she remains one of the better frosted glass doors of the Marvel U to knock on with your problems.

Scorpion
Believe it or not, MacDonald “Mac” Gargan did not always hate Spider-Man and J. Jonah Jameson and make his bones in a bright green costume complete with tail weapon. For a time, Gargan walked the rainy streets of Manhattan charging 200 a day plus expenses.

He had a decent career going too, until he agreed to be the guinea pig in an experiment paid for by Jameson. It turns out an acute sense of amorality can serve you well when you make your money invading other people’s privacy for anyone who will pay you.

Spider-Woman
While she mostly spends her time as the more active extension of Ben Urich’s investigative reporting these days and the previous years have been marked by space travel and avenging, Jessica Drew spent several years being one of the most popular PI’s in the San Francisco phone book.

Motivated by her sense of justice—not a desire for monetary reward—Drew stepped in for those most in need who might not have convinced the average private investigator to take their case. Jessica proved so dedicated to her work that even after she lost her powers for a time, she kept the agency open and taking cases until life took her east once more.

X-Factor Investigations
Founded and headed up by Multiple Man in part to help him find his way in life, the agency boasted the likes of Wolfsbane, Siryn, Rictor, Monet, and Strong Man as operatives.

Although they took up in “Mutant Town” as their base of operations, X-Factor quickly became an international investigating force, gallivanting around the world—and eventually, through time and other dimensions—to deliver their customers the very best work they could.

Knightwing Restorations LTD
After years in the NYPD, Misty Knight lost her arm and began to experience intense depression. On top of that, she felt constrained by the job and its rules, unable to truly help those that needed it most. So, with best friend Colleen Wing’s encouragement, she quit the force and joined her pal to create Knightwing. For Wing, who had previously had her life saved by Knight when she ended up in the crossfire of a gun battle, it felt like nothing more than returning the favor.

The duo, most often known as the Daughters of the Dragon—a nickname awarded in derision but now worn like a badge—quickly gained a reputation for taking on risky and dangerous cases that set them against some truly over powering foes. Eventually, the pair transitioned to more of a bails bond focus, but both retain their highly honed undeniable talents.

Dakota North
Despite an “only the pretty survive” reputation, the fashion industry actually requires remarkable strategical thinking to prosper over the long haul. In the Marvel U, the best example of this comes from Dakota North, the model turned private investigator who made the switch without missing a beat.

The daughter of an intelligence officer, North grew up around the ideas that helped mold her into a highly successful PI. Applying her honed business acumen to it proved just the next step and, rapidly, she grew her agency to an international one with offices in Tokyo, Paris, and Rome. After a brief time staying in New York in Nelson & Murdock’s personal employ, it appears she is back out on her own, traversing the globe, and maintaining her business.

Investigate HAWKEYE #2 by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero on January 4!

Kate Bishop plans to strike out solo. That means she’s not only moving, but also taking on her own solo title with HAWKEYE. The series launches next week from Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero and transplants Kate to Los Angeles where she intends to put her private investigator’s license to work.

We talked with Romero about getting Hawkeye’s costume just right, working her into the City of Angeles, and the potential pitfalls of PI work in the Marvel Universe!

Marvel.com: What is it about Kate Bishop and her role as Hawkeye that appeals to you as an artist?

Leonardo Romero: Definitely her personality. Finding the best way to portray Kate’s attitude in body language or facial expressions is always fun.

Marvel.com: Kate’s always had a unique way of seeing the world; does that come through in the art?

Leonardo Romero: Kate has a much sharper perception than normal people. So, she can see elements and small details that would go unnoticed in our eyes. To represent this, we developed this “Hawkeye Vision” where we use bullseyes as a graphic element to show us the points of interest that Kate is seeing in an apparently common scene.

Marvel.com: Kate’s Hawkeye costume in the book seems both functional and stylish. Was there a lot of back and forth in coming up with the look?

Leonardo Romero: Actually no. I think that the previous design is just so strong and I love it so much that I preferred to add small details to it instead of changing. So, of course there [are] some minor differences, but the best parts were already there.

Marvel.com: In the book, Kate’s heading to L.A. Do you enjoy mixing the real world elements of that city with the Marvel version?

Leonardo Romero: Sure; L.A. itself is such an amazing city to draw, especially Venice Beach. Mixing that with some fictional elements certainly makes it more pleasant to me as an artist.

Marvel.com: Kate’s working as a PI these days. Does that put her more on the street level as far as her adventures go or will she be kicking up trouble on a larger scale?

Leonardo Romero: Yeah, I think working as [a] PI and trying to help normal people naturally puts her more in an urban scenario and street level as well. But you never know, sometimes a small problem can unfold into a very large one.

Marvel.com: How has it been working with Kelly so far?

Leonardo Romero: Working with Kelly has been amazing. It’s really cool to work with someone who not only understands the characters so well, but also gives them a lot of personality and makes them reliable. Plus, she’s super cool and kind, so it’s been amazing.

Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero hit the mark with HAWKEYE #1 on December 14!