01x04 - Johnny Weir & The History of Super Hero Costumes!

[bunniefuu]

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JOE QUESADA: Today, we're at Sky Rink in Chelsea Piers,

and I'm hoping for a lesson from my favorite figure skater

of all time, Johnny Weir.

Johnny, how are you?

Chow.

JOE QUESADA: You don't have to be a figure skating fan like me

to know Johnny Weir is.

That's because he's a true icon, both on and off the ice.

You're late.

I'm late for everything.

It's so good to see you.

Good to see you.

JOE QUESADA: While, I wasn't late for Johnny's career,

I've been following him ever since he made

a splash in the 2006 Olympics.

And just like millions of other die-hard fans,

I've been spellbound ever since.

You see when Johnny's on the ice, all eyes are on him.

He's a gifted showman that tells him entire stories

without using a single word.

To use your body and to use a piece of music to tell a story,

it's a really hard thing to do.

JOE QUESADA: And just like every great Marvel Super Hero,

he uses original costumes, physical prowess,

and a superhuman dedication to inspire all of us.

Some Super Heroes are amazing.

Some are astonishing.

Some are as cool as ice.

I'm, Joe Quesada.

I tell stories for a living.

Welcome to Marvel Storyboards.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

I'm a big fan of Johnny and his skating.

So I wanted to see what it was like to get out there

and carve up the ice with them.

OK, maybe I'll settle for not wiping out.

I have to ask you, what's your origin story?

It sounds like a Super Hero story.

The first time I ever skated was on a frozen cornfield.

I'm from a really small town in Pennsylvania.

Had no exposure aside from TV to figure skating.

And I was fascinated with that world and the sparkles

and the drama of it all.

I've never known anything other than how to be

myself because my parents.

My parents gave everything so I could skate.

No more 401k, no more retirement.

They were very, very good at allowing us to try and fail.

They let us live, but I had to show

up and do my job because they put everything into it.

Tell me about the art of storytelling on the ice,

from the outfit that you wear, the way you do your hair,

and music that you pick you're communicating something

out there all the time.

But there's a pageantry to it.

Every aspect of my performances is important, even down

to the last eyelash because you never

know what somebody is going to respond to in your performance.

I've had performances where people remember the costume,

have no recollection of the performance, the jumps I did,

or anything.

I had to be in charge of every aspect of my performances

or else I wouldn't believe in it.

And how am I going to get a full arena

of people and a panel of judges to believe it if I don't?

What stories are you telling?

What are you trying to convey to the audience?

I like people to escape.

So when I'm skating I want them to be able to laugh or cry

with me, and get out of their--

get out of their daily lives for a minute.

So they can be having the best day or the worst day,

doesn't matter.

I get you for five minutes.

Your mine.

Now, I need you to be my hero.

I'm going to go on the ice.

Great.

Just so you know, I've only been

on the ice 3 and 1/2 times.

Just 3 and 1/2?

How does one skate a half a time?

I had to cut it short.

Did you go down?

I want want to talk about it.

Do you need to hold onto the wall?

We'll see.

Let's lace up.

If you're not performing, how often do you get onto the ice?

I try to get on as much as I can.

Part of being a good showman is preparing properly,

which is yes...

You walk a little bit like a penguin in those.

You should be able to try and walk like a pony

or like Naomi Campbell.

JOE QUESADA: OK.

JOHN WEIR: Now, remember bend your knees,

stay over the ba*ls of your feet.

Right.

JOHN WEIR: Just try and balance.

Going in a straight line.

JOE QUESADA: Go ahead.

You laugh, Weir.

You laugh.

JOHN WEIR: I mean, it's cute and I applaud your pluck.

If you fall and it's like, like that then you're going to break

every bone in your body.

Right.

But if you like, if you fall, and you just get into it,

you're not going to hurt yourself.

You need all the blood and sweat and tears

to make any of this matter.

I still will go down sometimes just skating and trying to stop

and I catch a blade, and face plant.

Gotcha.

JOE QUESADA: You do it for the move on the ice, on one knee,

bend your head.

JOHN WEIR: People call called it the Johnny Weir Slide.

- Do they? - Yeah.

Da-ta-da!

JOE QUESADA: Wow.

JOHN WEIR: Right?

JOE QUESADA: Amazing.

It was great watching you but I felt a little nervous.

You were a little too far away at that point.

What if I fall?

Come back, Johnny!

JOHN WEIR: Are you sure you don't want to try it?

JOE QUESADA: No.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

One are the hallmarks of great Marvel heroes

is the fact that sometimes they lose.

Sometimes they fail.

The villain gets away.

But the real story is what do you do after that?

Get back up.

Get back up.

How has that served you outside the walls of this ring?

It sounds really corny, but at the end of the day

you have to be proud of yourself.

You can't rely on other people to create your joy

and your bliss in your pride.

It's all for you.

I don't care what people think of me,

but I care what I think about me.

JOE QUESADA: You publicly came out.

Tell me a little bit about that.

Everyone knew I was g*y already.

I knew I was g*y.

But it was for those kids, from little towns

like I come from, that think there's nobody on their side,

and that there's nobody else like them.

It was my responsibility, I felt at that time,

to say I'm one of you, I love you, we're here for you.

There are people that have come before me

that paved the way for me.

Hopefully, I'm paving a little bit of a way for you.

And those things are important.

When I teach some of our younger editors at Marvel,

my personal philosophy is inclusion is so

important to everything you do.

We have g*y characters, we have characters

of all different backgrounds.

Is there a cookie cutter for a Super Hero?

No.

They can be anything and anyone?

They can be anything they want.

That's what we create the greatest characters.

So there is no real cookie cutter.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

JOE QUESADA: Years and years ago, Marvel created

the first openly g*y character.

North Star was groundbreaking at it's time.

North Star was the first character

to have a same-sex marriage--

Ooh!

--and that's the part of Marvel that I love.

Because our readers come in all shapes and sizes.

You've worn many, many hats, sometimes just

being in the fashion sense.

In the career sense from being a competitive skater to now

being a commentator.

Tell me about that?

So commentating really is storytelling.

And there's a huge responsibility for me and Tara

to inform our audience about what they're

seeing, what's at stake.

The best performances, and my favorite ones to commentate,

are the perfect ones when you can't even talk over

it because it's so perfect.

I think you're probably the best

guest to help me critique some Marvel Super Hero costumes.

Do you have pictures?

Here we go.

All right.

This is the classic Black Widow.

Oh, yeah.

I have this look.

What is her belt though?

JOE QUESADA: These little wrist things sh**t stingers,

so they're little darts and stuff.

So these are the extra darts she keeps on her belt.

JOHN WEIR: I love the Black Widow.

She might be my favorite.

JOE QUESADA: Here is the classic Spider-Man black costume.

JOHN WEIR: I find-- it's slimming.

I'm very into this Spider-Man look.

I prefer this one over the red and blue.

OK.

Here's a classic X-Men's costume from, I'd say, the mid '90s.

JOHN WEIR: These broach details on the belts, the red circle

with the black cross and the little yellow shield,

they're cute.

I would love a pair of sunglasses like his eye g*n.

JOE QUESADA: This is a character named Monica Rambeau.

JOHN WEIR: Monica stole my look.

I for sure have that.

And any self-respecting g*y has this outfit.

JOE QUESADA: Really? JOHN WEIR: Yep.

JOE QUESADA: Boots and all?

Wings, boots, and a legging.

JOE QUESADA: Cloak and Dagger.

JOHN WEIR: This is for sure a skating outfit.

Seen it a million times.

JOE QUESADA: The original Guardians of the Galaxy.

JOHN WEIR: I like disco ball man.

JOE QUESADA: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

JOHN WEIR: Is that who he actually is?

No, but I think we should call him that from now on.

JOHN WEIR: All right.

Here's one of my favorites.

Dazzler.

She used to be known as Disco Dazzler.

JOHN WEIR: It's giving me all the nostalgia.

JOE QUESADA: She was a singer, a professional singer.

She would roller skate that's just the powers of lights.

So she would sing and create her own light show.

JOHN WEIR: I really like Dazzler.

I feel like I know her.

JOE QUESADA: That's Daredevil in his red suit

leaping through Manhattan.

What do you think of that?

I love Daredevil.

This finger perch that he's got going really, really

plays this up. - Oh, cool.

I drew that piece.

Oh, good job!

What's next?

What do you see in the future?

I hope I continue to be a great sports commentator.

I hope I always appreciate the opportunities that I've

been given through hard work, through sacrifice of people

around me, through love of people around me,

and I never want to forget that.

JOE QUESADA: Thank you, so much.

Thank you so much for your time.

And I will improve my skating for the next time.

I will try to learn how to draw something.

You have learned.

I think you're pretty safe.

I'm not going to take your job.

JOE QUESADA: Taking the ice with Johnny

was a real bucket list moment.

Johnny reminded me that a great skill is just one part

of putting on a great show.

And a great story can be told anywhere, even on the ice.

[MUSIC PLAYING]