AVX:VS #5: The problem with these "AVX:VX" issues at this point is that I'm having trouble remembering the circumstances surrounding each fight. When exactly was Hawkeye fighting Angel? Why was Black Panther fighting Storm? I know that the intro page wants us to believe that the fights depicted in these issues have no impact on the main storyline, but they clearly do, given that we watch Ororo and T'Challa's marriage collapse in this issue. At the very least, I feel like someone needed to let us know why Storm, of all people, would be chosen to fight the Black Panther. I don't think that anything about this overall conflict meant that, after it, Ororo and T'Challa couldn't have worked out their differences. But, here, we begin with Storm telling us what a terrible husband the Panther was. The end of the marriage is essentially a fait accompli. So, something other than the events of "Avengers vs. X-Men" was clearly driving that, but Aaron never actually tells us what that was. Needless to say, it makes for a fairly disappointing story. It would've been better if they had just stuck to fights like Angel and Hawkeye's, where you may not remember why they're fighting, but the why doesn't actually really matter.
Uncanny X-Men #17: My biggest question last issue was why the Phoenix Force would allow Sinister to strip it from the Phoenix Five and house it in the six Madeleine Pryor clones. It just didn't feel right. Emma didn't think so either, apparently: she addresses Phoenix directly in this issue, wondering why it would allow it to happen. I hadn't thought of Phoenix's original response, essentially that it exists merely to exist, making the identity of the host (or hosts) somewhat irrelevant. But, I had thought of its later comment, namely that we're dealing with a new and improved Phoenix, one who came here for a purpose. (Of course, we don't learn that that purpose is, but I'm resigned to that omission at this point.) As such, Gillen addresses the problem that I had with last issue by actually making the resolution of that problem the resolution of the arc: Phoenix takes back her powers and eliminates Mr. Sinister. (Although, I think that we all agree it's not the last that we're going to see of Mr. Sinister.) Although it could get easily lost in the shuffle, I also thought that it was interesting that the other team was merely there as a distraction. Danger, Magneto, Psylocke, and Storm don't actually accomplish anything. I thought that their presence might have led to them rescuing the Phoenix Five and, in the process, reminding them of their humanity somehow. Nope. Instead, the second team's failure to rescue the Phoenix Five and the Phoenix Five's ability to rescue themselves actually seem to separate the Five all the more from the rest of the X-Men, essentially making everyone else irrelevant.
Wolverine and the X-Men #15: This issue is truly, truly excellent. In fact, of all the existing tie-in issues, I think that it's the one that should most be most considered an integral part of the main event. I've mentioned previously that I though the X-books have done a much better job of showing the effects of the ongoing events on the X-Men than the Avengers' books have on the Avengers (even though I would still like some more insight into how some of the B-List and C-List X-Men were reacting to these events). This issue is a great example of the success that the X-books have had on this front. Aaron takes us on a tour of the mindset of the team on the eve of its war with Cyclops and Emma Frost and it's a revealing look at where we are.
The issue is a collection of moments and I'm not going to review all of them. Some of my favorites are as follows: Iron Man telling Broo that "Uncle Tony" will get him anything that he wants after Broo improved his calculations, Iceman telling Kitty that they can go to a strip joint for their first date after Kitty asked to go somewhere without teenagers, Professor X endorsing Quentin Quire for student-body president after he realizes that Quentin is just trying to be seen as a rebel, and, of course, Hank looking at the photo of the original X-Men before heading out the door. I was particularly happy that poor Broo is getting some attention, particularly after I felt like he was abandoned by the faculty after the events of issue #7. (I'm also hoping that Tony's response to his question that he knows Nova means that Rich is back with us!)
But, Aaron just didn't give us some fun moments. He also ones that hint at the post-"Avengers vs. X-Men" future. We see Wolverine forgive Bobby for his desertion and, in fact, thank him for disagreeing with him, because it was people who would disagree with him who he most wanted at the school. I was worried that "Avengers vs X-Men" would be portrayed as another "X-Men: Schism." After all, to be honest, it seems a stretch that Logan would be so quick to forgive Bobby, since Bobby's defection did, after all, increase the likelihood of the team that came closest to ending the world winning. (Though, maybe just the virtue of being right helped put Logan in a forgiving mood.) But, you can already see that some of the emotions that the characters were displaying earlier in Act Two have started to fade, so maybe it isn't as unlikely as it seemed like it would be back then. Logan isn't trying to kill Hope, Cap isn't mistrustful of all the X-Men, etc. It feels like a fairly natural evolution, given that everyone now agrees that they face a larger threat (something that they didn't when it was just about Hope).
Perhaps most of all, though, the moment that struck me the most is actually the cover. It's a pretty clear allusion to the original X-Men, with Logan replacing Scott and Rachel replacing Jean. Between that and Hank looking at the picture of the original team at the end of the issue, Aaron and Molina are sending a pretty clear message that the coming fight is going to go to the heart of who the X-Men are. I'm not sure how, but I'm excited to see where the authors take it.
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