Hey turkeys, Today's review is the penultimate issue of what seems to be an everlasting comic book, Avengers vs. X-Men. I honestly can't wait for this series to end, I feel like it's been 10 issues so far and nothing noteworthy has happened. Well something has now, but is it enough?
Summary: This issue starts off with Captain America and his cohorts recruiting The Big Green Smashing Machine, The Incredible Hulk. Hulk agrees to smash for them, and after every other mutant jumps sides since Scott and Emma are being bat-shit crazy. Emma and Scott meet and Emma says she knows Scott is thinking of defeating her and taking her powers to have the full Phoenix Force, but Scott denies it, saying she must be thinking of it. Emma says she thinks they should destroy the world and start all over again, as she's pretty much fully consumed by the Phoenix. Scott is preoccupied by Charles Xavier, who basically tells him that he's shutting Scott down, Scott denies it but doesn't even realize he's been subdued until he tells Charles to get out of his head, and Scott sees he's in the middle of a giant fight between the Avengers and the other mutants vs. Scott and Emma. After a giant fight, Scott decides he needs more power and attacks Emma, then drains her of the last bit of Phoenix power. Charles pleads with Scott to stop but Scott decides to blast Charles, killing the X-Men founder. Scott says Charles made him do it, as he cries a few tears. Wolverine has Hulk "Fastball Special" him at Cyclops but cyclops burns him up before he can even hit him. The issue comes to a close as Cyclops becomes the Dark Phoenix.
Thoughts: Well... they needed to kill someone I guess? That... weird decision aside, this storyline has been horrible. In the beginning the X-Men were the underdogs, and each team were making valid points, there were no bad guys really. Just different opinions, then they decided to make the "Phoenix Five" into villains for no apparent reason. Anyway, this issue seemed so... odd. It seemed rushed... yet eleven issues into a twelve issue mini-series, you'd think they wouldn't NEED to rush things. Yet, the whole thing with the mutants siding with the Avengers, Charles and Magneto confronting Scott and Emma, the fact Colossus, Namor and Magick are basically just gone as far as this storyline concerns, and the whole thing this issue was built up to be, Scott vs. Emma for the last bit of Phoenix power, barely lasted TWO PAGES! I just don't get it... and now they've made Scott the Dark Phoenix with one issue to basically have him defeated, de-powered and humbled. Sigh... Between this and the last DC event I read (Brightest Day) I'm about to swear off the company events.
Score: 4/10
Hulk: Yes. Hulk will smash for you.
No worries, I'm sure the Trinity War will be good....at least I hope it is. I've been looking forward to that one. The New 52's first big event! At the very least I'm sure there will be a lot more big character deaths and important plot points.
ReplyDeleteCyclops vs Emma should have been a lot longer. Plus I think Cyclops should win easy since he has the whole Dark Phoenix. Well, they could always call in the Fantas- I mean the Future Foundation. Mr Fantastic could probably whip something up to take down Cyclops.
As each month goes on I care less and less about the New DC, I can honestly say I probably look forward to less than five DC comics a month at this point. If not for Batman, GL, and a few others I'd probably stop reading the new DC ongoings.
ReplyDeleteAgreed 100% on everything you said Dreager....
I read this issue last night, and disliked it. I WANT to justify the even, but I just can't. I want it to finish strong, but I just don't see it happening. I LOVED the Hulk like too hahaha. But aside from that for being a thick issue, it went by really quick, too quick.
ReplyDelete-Charles getting the axe? I am not okay with this on any level. Had he been introduced in the beginning and played a key role throughout? MAYBE I would maybe be okay with his death because it would actually be somewhat impactful (predictable or not).
-Cap has become the REAL bad guy of this series because now multiple x-men fans hate him because of his constant planning and attacking. However, this story set out to show that absolute power corrupts absolutley, and cap knew that from the get go. BUT I would have rather read an ACTUAL absolute power story than this tripe that I have been reading.
-
six to seven issues. No AVX consequences, and no a+x stories to tell afterwords. Six issues, phoenix is coming, both sides preparing how they see fit. Phoenix arrives, avengers go after hope, a fight ensues, phoenix slowly begins corrupting hope, scott has to make the decision to watch Hope go through what jean went through. The emotional arc is there, and then scott sacrifices himself in order to save Hope from the phoenix force. Throw cable in there somehwere! haha
I said all that to say that I would much rather have read a story like that, than one like this. The only thing this title has done has gotten me excited for uncanny avengers by remender. Issue 12 can't come soon enough, and that is not a compliment.
I basically agree with ya here, JT. This comic had a weird rushed feel to it. You had Hulk joining up, the mutants jumping ship, Scott and Emma going from talking to battling, and Prof. X getting killed. Like you said, considering there were 11 issues already, I don't know why so much had to be crammed into this one. I will say I enjoyed this one a touch more than you though. I'd have gone around a 6 or so score-wise.
ReplyDeleteAs for killing Prof. X? Dumb. I don't get it. Who really thinks this death is going to stick? And on top of that, why Prof. X? He's barely done anything the past few years!? I will say this much... I'm curious to see how Marvel writes themselves out of the corner here. Scott kind of needs to die. But if that happens, so what? You still have Hope and Wanda wandering around aimlessly, and Scott's death doesn't really solve the whole Phoenix Force problem. If Scott doesn't die he should at least turn himself over to the Avengers for killing the Prof, no? And if that happens, then what? Scott's in jail? What does that do for the character? Or the Phoenix? Weird.
It's interesting you've become so down on DC, JT. I can't say I blame you though. I feel the same way. I just have no optimism for that company... I think one of the problems with DC(for me) is the fact that they basically have ONE(well, really two, but bear with me) writer they trust. Marvel has Bendis, Fraction, Hickman, Brubaker, and probably Aaron who they'd trust to do a company-wide event. DC has Geoff Johns. Since Infinite Crisis DC's events have been masterminded by Johns(Infinite Crisis), Morrison(Final Crisis), Johns(Blackest Night), Johns(Brightest Day), Johns(Flashpoint), Johns(Trinity War)... That's pretty crazy if you really think about it... Basically if you don't like Johns's writing, you're screwed.
I can't believe they had an article about this in the new york times, for lack of a better word its simply retarded...
ReplyDeleteI think Xaviers death will make for an interesting aftermath don't forget that they will be bringing back the original five X-Men in all new X-men think of how the early cyclops will handle finding out in the future he kills the man who took care of him, or jean finding out that her lover will become so crazed. Also I really do wish to see cyclops survive just so that I can see his face when he realizes he destroyed everything he held dear (Used to be a cyclops fan but he is waaaaaay too overboard). Oh ya X-man glad to have you back!
ReplyDeleteThat is a pretty good point. I mean we know Scott isn't in his right mind right now, so when/if he does go back to normal, killing Xavier, no matter what difficulties they've had lately, should be a HUGE shot to him. Especially since it was due to his own arrogance in thinking he could handle the Phoenix Force. Tbh, the aftermath has the potential to be better than the entire mini-series, depending on how it's handled. There are a lot of things mutant related that have to change coming out of this.
DeleteAnd thanks, I'm glad to be back!
Dear lord,someone just shove Hope in a room full of reality warping mutants and end this. please.
ReplyDeleteHA!
DeleteI already swore off these big events. I read the first two of this one and decided to just follow it by reading your reviews. It is shit.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, X!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it also look like Magneto and Wolverine die in this issue? As usual, I hadn't read any reviews when I wrote my review, so I was surprised to see that Marvel "confirmed" Professor X's death. If you look at the issue again, though, I'm hard pressed to say that his death looks any different from what happens to Magneto and Wolverine. In fact, I'd say that Magneto and Wolverine's "deaths" are even clearer. (Cyclops essentially erases Wolverine.) So, I ended this issue just assuming someone like Hope or Wanda is going to become Phoenix next issue and ret-con all the deaths. As such, it seems ridiculous to me that, the way the "deaths" were drawn, one of them would stick more than the others.
I'm in total agreement about everything everyone already said. I actually thought Bendis did a great job in showing us Scott's total breakdown here. But, with only one issue left, I still can't help but feel this entire thing has been one big bait and switch. We expect it to reveal the true nature of Hope, who Marvel has been pushing on us for YEARS at this point, but instead we just get more of Lord Summers at his worst. WTF?