
One of my favorite Kevin stories was when he gets the note in his locker from another student who is afraid to come out. DP: Right! IGN: Going back, you said he's helping people - saving old ladies from getting mugged just as much as a kid from getting feelings hurt, and it's that second one that hits home for me. IGN: It sounds like what would happen if James Bond fell in love with Q. So in addition to pinpointing where crimes are, he's busy coming up with gadgets and things like that for crime-fighting. We haven't even really said if he's gay or not, but Kevin's totally enamored with him. IGN: I love it! DP: Yeah, the guy's all oblivious to it. In his cave, the guy who kind of monitors what's going on with the crime and kind of invents things for Kevin - and at the same time, Kevin has the hots for this guy, so it's kind of like a love interest for Kevin too. But with this character, we're keeping it more in the realm of, like, a Batman, where he actually depends on his physical prowess - and then lots of gadgets. Whereas the Archie characters, you know, Archie got powers and could actually fly, and they can all do other things. Mostly it's just based on his physical strength. IGN: So how is he going to go about fighting crime? Is he going to have a signature power or a gadget or anything like that? DP: We're actually trying to keep it a little more reality based. Then also, if a real crime is being committed, he'll help stop that too. When he becomes a superhero, first he helps an old lady who's getting attacked, then he saves this kid from getting made fun of, which, you know, he's been in that place before. But it just symbolized him, because he stands for equality, and that's what he's trying to do.
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It's not a term that we made up, obviously - it's been used for batteries and TV shows - the word's been used before. So Equalizer is just sort of a good term.

We're not just talking about cases of homophobia we're talking about when some downtrodden person gets hurt. Could you tell me where that idea came from? DP: Well, first of all, we had to pick out a name for him, and since he is gay and stands for equality, he wants to help everybody. We have seen him on some variant covers, like the Action Comics #1 variant where he was in a very classic costume, but I really like his updated look - and I really, really love that he's known as the Equalizer, and he's got the equal symbol on his chest. So yeah, all of that sort of plays into it. He kind of trips up and goofs up sometimes, but he's still a teenager. In a way, it kind of worked out, because he is still nerdy too, but he's kind of physically fit and can do most of the physical stuff. We've acknowledged in other stories that he likes comic books. Is his characterization as a nerd going to play into this? DP: Part of it does. IGN: There was a story where - it was the one with George Takei - Kevin dressed up as a superhero and went to a comic convention. She even says in the story that it's her version of the Batcave, but we haven't given it an official name. IGN: What do they call the cave? DP: Well, we haven't given it a name yet.

She kind of builds their own version of a Batcave, but it's Veronica-style, so it's kind of like a cross between a Batcave and a mall. So is she like his gear supplier? DP: Pretty much.

He doesn't have that fortune, but Veronica does. IGN: A lot of superheroes are billionaires, like Iron Man and Batman. Of course, she always sort of screws things up, because at the same time he's trying to solve a crime and fix Veronica's mistakes too. But it's a lot of fun, because it's just him and Veronica. With Archie, there were super team stories with Archie and the gang that we'd do every once in awhile. It will probably be one of those things where we'll do it when we want to do it. We're trying to do something a little different. IGN: Just to clarify, this is part of his ongoing story and not a separate spin-off, right? DP: Yeah, we're doing it for a couple of issues.

The other Archie characters have had their superhero personas, now Kevin is going to have one - with the help of Veronica, of course. IGN Comics: Kevin Keller has been a breakout success for Archie Comics, and now he's becoming a superhero? Dan Parent: Yes, yes.
