Avengers Vs. X-Men -- Speculation, Spoilers, and Discussion

[Allyn Gibson]

Out today, Avengers Vs. X-Men #10.

• Time is running out as the Avengers are cornered in their last stronghold!
• But the stakes change when Hope and the Scarlet Witch join forces! Why?! How?!

I guess, in a vague kind of way, that's what happens in this issue. Cyclops found the Avengers at the end of issue #9, and in this issue Cyke has a throwdown with several different Avengers on his way to making an attempt at taking Hope back while her powers really start to develop. Meanwhile, Professor X makes a decision, and things are not good for the X-Men left alone in Utopia with Emma Frost...

This issue was perhaps the quickest read of the entire series thus far. There's not a lot of depth to it, and I didn't feel engaged by it. Everything I described above it handles in a straightforward fashion. What this issue feels like, to me, is a lot of piece moving to get elements in place for the final act over the next two issues. Characterizations are all over the map, and the dialogue, especially's Cyclops', doesn't always ring true.

At this point, there are only two Phoenix-powered mutants left -- Scott and Emma. I think Emma will turn on Scott. After this issue and the smackdown he receives, he will go to Emma for assistance in retrieving Hope, but Emma will see, not entirely incorrectly, that there's no longer any reason for Hope as a Phoenix host, not when Emma has the power. How that dynamic will play out over the next two issues remains to be seen. Maybe Captain America and Professor X forming a joint X-Men/Avengers force to try and stop the Phoenix Two while they slug it out between each other?

The next (and penultimate) issue isn't out for four weeks.

[Aldo]

I'll agree and disagree. Yes it was a quick read, but I found it hugely enjoyable, except for seeing Hawkeye back, I suppose that got mentioned in one of the other titles.

One thing that this book showed me though, is that I really wish there wasn't so many characters. Whenever Scarlet Witch shows up I always go: "Oh yeah, she's in this..." same with Thor and even Spidey (though he did get to be front and center last issue).

Sucks we gotta wait four weeks, but there are only two issues left, so I'll just pretend it's them stretching out the suspense.

[Mr Light]

I've really been enjoying this series. Definitely much better than Fear Itself! Really engrossing story with lots of big shifts and events. At this point I consider Cyclops and Emma to be pretty much evil and need to be killed...

[Guy Gardener]

(The title) Avengers (29 came out today) is pissing me off.

it's so should have come out a couple months ago.

Namor is still a phoenix and what's this bullshit about no body being concerned about telepaths till Spiderwoman beings it up?

The Phoenix 5 are each a thousand times more powerful than little Rachel Grey.

Has Walt stopped caring or is his inker right shit?

[Nick Ryder]

Honestly I'm waiting for the trades on this one - maybe it'll read better when it's in order more or less - I dunno. I'm looking more forward to Marvel NOW than even bothering to worry about this storyline. Obviously we know that most of the heavy hitters will still be around so... meh.

In a way I'm kind of glad Marvel's sort of doing a "not a reboot" tweak to the Marvel U. Frankly after all the Fear Itself BS, I think it was time for things to change a bit and this whole mutants are persecuted 'Wah wah' is getting old. And I would be happy if they never said "oh you have super villains like Magneto and Emma Frost hanging around."

First. Emma Frost hasn't been a "super villain" since like the mid 90s at least. She's been a heroic - if a little naughty - character since the whole Generation X series which was a frickin' loooong time ago. I mean well over 20 years. It always bristled me a bit when they kept bringing that up. Did they completely forget the Massachusetts Academy that she and Banshee ran for quite a long time? Or that she's been basically an X-Man since that series folded? Even before she and Scott started doing the horizontal rumba?

As for Mags - eh I like that he's finally mellowed somewhat. He's been the X-Men's primary villain for over 50 years. It's kinda time to get a new antagonist.

But this whole series has been a rash of poor characterizations, people acting way out of how they should be. Plus the fact that even its own continuity is kinda loose is just annoying.

Really Marvel NOW! Is probably the best thing to come of it, gets some of the creative teams that have been on titles so long that they really ran out of ideas - I mean I loved the early Matt Fraction Iron Man work - but lately it's like he's beating the whole "Tony Alcoholic" thing waaaay too much. He had one drink during Fear Itself and its defining like a year's worth of comics. Enough already! My gosh, I know how fragile some former alcoholics can be, but we're talking about a character that "Beat" his addiction in the span of one issue and moved on. That's WHY Tony Stark is really a heroic character, he knows he has flaws and foibles and issues, but he doesn't let them dominate his life.

Same with Emma Frost - sheesh she's been good for 20 years, give her a friggin' break. And honestly even with the power of the Phoenix I've got a feeling in the final act she'll give it up "Because it's giving me an awful bloody headache."

[Admiral_Young]

Just a warning for those waiting for the trade...as reported before in the thread...it's going to be costly. $80 bucks or so, although I've seen it on sale on Amazon Canada for $54 right now. Oh, even cheaper for you guys right now on pre-order.

http://www.amazon.com/Avengers-X-Men...ngers+Vs+X-Men

As for Emma and Scott, I believe issue 11's cover has shown them engaging each other in conflict or battle. This has kind of been foreshadowed since 9 where Emma conveyed to Scott she feared she was losing control and he basically didn't listen to her and flew off to confront Hope.

[Guy Gardener]

That has to be the hard cover?

Or is it packed with a lot of crossover material?

How long till the Essential Avengers vs. X-men comes out?

[Admiral_Young]

That's the hardcover, it contains Avengers Vs X-Men 0-12, AVX 1-6, plus Avengers Vs Infinite (the digital series) #1, 6, and 9. I think one of these issues has Cyclops talking to the holographic Jean Grey he created on the moon or something.

[Mr Light]

Yeah that was pretty weird that the new Avengers ish took place several issues ago in the main series. Maybe they should have released that before the standalone Hulk issue.

I find it hard to believe that only Spider-Woman can survive the Phoenix telepathic assault. Or was it Xavier, I forget...

[Guy Gardener]

Just Xavier.

He said "Sleep" so every one else but Jessie "Slept".

Plenty of the Avengers would have had the S.H.I.E.L.D. brand psi-shields, but what she had that they didn't was Hydra brand Psi-shields.

Jessica was double bagging.

Then of course Jessica was born on Wungador Mountain within spitting distance of the high Evolutionary... I'm just waiting to find out that she's a clone of Wanda Maximoff who was also born on Wungador mountain... Raised, born? Her nurse maid was a cow lady, these things happened!

Point is, that girl is the High Evolutionaries Jack in a Box.

Shit is going to get real.

[Admiral_Young]

Here's a commercial for the hardcover release...

http://video.comicbookresources.com/...on-commercial/

This actually might make a pretty decent motion comic if they went that route.

[Aldo]

They would need to accurately translate the feeling of inconsistency the reader gets by having a different author on each book. Randomly changing voice actors would take care of that.

[Hound of UIster]

I don't think the feeling of inconsistency is deliberate.

[Aldo]

Hound of UIster wrote:

---

I don't think the feeling of inconsistency is deliberate.

I realize that. But I think the viewer should be able to experience everything the reader does.

[Admiral_Young]

Why would they deliberately translate the feeling of inconsistency in a motion comic adaptation? That doesn't make sense at all. When I made my suggestion, I did so (a little sarcastically) but with the intention that a motion comic would improve upon and correct that inconsistency. Not duplicate it. I would not be interested in it if it did that.