Hey guys, JT here again, and no, this isn't X playing a prank, it's actually me. My buddy X has been under the weather lately and I'm not sure if he's gonna be able to review for the rest of the week, and rather than him feeling like he has to post or not having any content up, I figured I'd fill in for his days for the rest of the week. X was scheduled to review Hawkeye #3 and Red Hood and the Outlaws #13, but since I don't read Lobdell, I'll review Hawkeye #3 and AVX Consequences #2. So, let's do it shall we?
Summary: I didn't review this first issue, but if I recall correctly the gist of it was that Cyclops is in prison with a cell block to himself pretty much, Wakanda is rebuilding and Mutants aren't welcome there, also they've declared war on Alantis, and Wolverine had to give Xavier's eulogy. This issue starts things off with a rightfully pissed off Wolverine coming to meet with Scott "Cyclops" Summers in an empty room at the prison. Wolverine downs a bunch of beers before asking Cyclops about "Chuck" Xavier, to which Scott replies that killing him was the last thing he wanted, and it wasn't him, but Wolverine tells him it doesn't matter, it was him when he started that path of destruction and still continued, so he's to blame. Cyclops says he did what he had to, and that Wolverine taught him that. He says the Jean Grey School will have new mutants now thanks to him, whereas Wolverine wanted to kill Hope in the first place, (Excellent point by Cyclops) and if he'd succeeded things wouldn't be the way they are now. Scott then says he understands how Jean felt, now more than ever, in ways Wolverine never will, which enrages Wolverine even more so he attacks him. Cyclops, de-powered thanks to the goggles that he has to wear in prison, waits for Wolverine to impale him with his claws, when Wolverine stops and says that Cyclops
wants to die. Cyclops tells him that he does, and if he dies now he's a martyr. Wolverine says that's BS, and Scott wants it because he wants it, but Cyclops doesn't deny that either. He says he's either going to go to trial and be convicted of Diminished Responsibility or an Insanity Clause, so of course he's not going to get that chance. They can make him disappear, which Captain America would never allow, or they can keep him de-powered in prison, and let the inmates take him out. He tells Wolverine that he'd rather die at his hands, at least he'll make it quick. Wolverine, dejectedly tells Scott he takes all the fun out of wanting to murder someone. Wolverine then asks Scott to give up Colossus, Magneto, Magik, Danger and Namor, because if they don't find them soon, people will get wary which will lead to the return of Sentinel's, and asks Scott, even referring to him as "Slim" to help bring them in. Scott asks where Emma and Hope are, and if Wolverine tells him, he'll help,. but Wolverine says screw him, but in a less nice way, and tells him to go to hell, and as he leaves Scott replies "I can and did." Next we see Scott meeting a new mutant that recently got his powers after being attacked by another inmate, and they triggered which led to him taking out a bunch of inmates before being knocked out by the guard, so he now has to wear a power dampening collar. As he finishes his story, Cyclops notes that everyone is gone, including the guards, as three big inmates (including the one the new mutant beat up earlier) approach Cyclops and his newest associate holding shanks (prison knifes) as this issue comes to a close.
Thoughts: It's not often you get a comic that's 80% of two men in a room talking back and forth, and it's even less that you get a great comic from that, but AVX Consequences proves to be the exception. They used the excellent history between these characters, their morals, and of course mentioning Jean Grey to make this conversation draw you in. Cyclops made great points and showed while sometimes cocky, he was the leader for a reason, he's not an idiot. He knew what was going to happen before it did and we see that here, as well as his reasoning for the things he's done, while they can be disputed, he does make good points about Wolverine wanted to kill Hope, and how he inadvertently led to the return of the mutant population. The ending was a great cliffhanger because you have to wonder how a de-powered Cyclops can fare, I'm sure he can fight his ass off, but to say I'm curiously awaiting the next issue is an understatement.
Score: 8/10
Cyclops: And in a few years, some rebellious lit;e kid is going to turn up at your school with me on his T-Shirt. "Cyclops was right."
"you have to wonder how a de-powered Cyclops can fare"
ReplyDeleteBut for his words he doen't want to survive this confrontation he wants to be a Martyr so who knows what direction the story would take.. I'm looking forward to see that..
That's a good point Alien, I see it actually as those guys are about to attack the new mutant, and Cy sticks up for him and saves him with some ass-kicking combos.
ReplyDeleteGood call, Alien. I think we all know that Cyke isn't going to die in issue #3, but they have managed to make you start to wonder what a guy with a death wish, particularly a guy like Scott, can do.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%, JT. I thought it was a great issue. I think it's really fascinating that Scott has decided just to retreat to a corner and stay there. He insists that his only priority was rekindling the mutant race and it's not his problem if his actions result in them more hated and feared than they were before. I feel like Gillen really clarified Scott's position here. I obviously don't agree with him, but at least now I feel like I can understand what exactly his argument is. Before, it just seemed that his argument was that he's always right and everyone should just do what he tells them. I think that's still part of it, but it's nice to have a more complete view of it.
Exactly JW, prior to this Scott came off more as a tyrant than a leader, this shows that he does actually have plans and he is capable at what he does, and whether you agree or disagree with what his methods are the end result was him getting exactly what he wanted. Could he have known his actions would cause Hope and Scarlet Witch to make more mutants? I highly doubt it, but anyway you slice it, he was still the catalyst for that situation, and he'd rather be the Savior or the Martyr, there's no between for him.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for the review JT! It looks like something is finally going to happen in the next issue of the series, so I'll be looking forward to that (first two issues seem like a LOT of exposition).
ReplyDeleteI really hope they don't kill Scott off anytime soon. I feel as though Marvel offed Xavier (again...) because they didn't know what to do with him, as though his story had been completely told (I totally disagree, and view his death as a cheap gimmick at the expense of one of the best characters in the Marvel U).
Now Scott is kind of in the same boat as Xavier was. He dedicated the last few years of his life to a single goal, and now that it's been accomplished, he has to be at a real crossroads in his life. Hopefully a creative writer can seize this opportunity to tell some great stories, now that Scott can have a fresh start again.
Why a fresh start, you ask?
-His team: scattered to the winds.
-His girl: cheated on him, and he blasted her to oblivion.
-His friends: at best, view him as a nutjob/creepshow. At worst, they think of him as a war criminal.
I just see a lot of parallels to recently reinvented characters, especially Daredevil, or Iron Man a few years ago.
No Prob, TRobb. I'm EXTREMELY curious about what they'll do with Scott come "All New X-Men" because that series has SO much potential with the way they're going, and Scott kind of HAS to be the main event if you will of that comic, plus seeing how he interacts with Jean and most importantly himself, I can't wait.
ReplyDeleteLOL, oh boy, I am not looking forward to "All-New X-men" at all. And my pessimism all stems from Bendis. First, Bendis has shown he sucks at writing team books - other than "Disassembled," I haven't enjoyed a single Avengers story of his. Second, "Spider-Men" anyone? It's like he wants another crack at that kind of story, after dropping the ball so badly on that overhyped mess.
ReplyDeleteThe only possible saving grace is that Bendis has shown he can write young characters well, as we've seen repeatedly in his Ultimate Spider-Man runs. I just don't see how this series will either be a) some heavy-handed emo nonsense or b) some lousy silver-age retread.
I'm not even excited to see Jean again, what with her being teenybopper and seeing how badly they've soiled her legacy with all this space chicken crap. The only Jean I'm remotely interested in now is AOA Jean, and they even screwed her up by depowering her.