Avengers Vs. X-Men #2

June 5, 2012

Title: Round 2

Story: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction
Script: Jason Aaron
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Scott Hanna
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: Laura Martin
Cover Art: Jim Cheung & Laura Martin
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

With the Phoenix Force returning to Earth, Hope Summers seems to be the logical candidate for its chosen host. The Avengers have come to Utopia so that Captain America can ask Cyclops to turn the girl over into their custody. Cyclops isn’t having any of that, though, and this issue, war breaks out.

This issue is almost entirely action – it’s the Avengers vs. the X-Men, just as the title of the book promises. On that front, at least, it delivers. There’s a lot of fighting and a lot of property damage and a lot of hero-on-hero violence as the characters draw their sides and decide quickly who’s going to fight who. Some of this is fairly logical – Doctor Strange battling Magik, for instance, or Quicksilver heading straight in to trade blows with his father, Magneto.

The problem is still that the whole book is lacking in logical sense. Cyclops seemed ready for a fight long before Captain America arrived, and the rest of the X-Men with him. Captain America came in with an entire helicarrier full of Avengers. The thing that just doesn’t make sense, though, is why. Given the number of times these characters have worked together in the past, the notion that these two heroes would go in expecting a battle, having basically decided that negotiation is not an option, is absurd. There’s never any chance that this issue could be talked out, because Captain America comes in with his big guns and Cyclops is already waiting to throw a punch from the moment he arrives. This issue, which basically just follows the violence, is notable only for a pretty effective scene where it becomes clear exactly what Wolverine’s priorities are. Although he’s not the only character to have a foot in both the Avenger and X-Men camps, he’s probably the most interesting one, and it’s not hard to see this entire miniseries shaking out to be the ultimate Wolverine showcase.

John Romita Jr., as I’ve said before, is a strong artist, but not particularly suited for large-scale cosmic events like this one. He’s more of a street level artist, and the way the moments of big power fall flat here makes that clear.

After two issues, I already feel like this miniseries – one I hoped would escape the problems of Civil War, is simply doomed to repeat them.

Rating: 6/10

Avengers Vs. X-Men #1

April 14, 2012

Story: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction
Script: Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils: John Romita Jr.
Inks: Scott Hanna
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Colors: Laura Martin
Cover Art: Jim Cheung & Justin Ponsor
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The Phoenix Force is coming to Earth, and the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe are about to go to war over it. I’ve said before that I like the basic idea behind this event. There’s a natural conflict here. Captain America sees a force of globally-devastating power headed to Earth and wants to stop it. Cyclops sees a force that may well be able to reverse the devastation of the mutant race the Scarlet Witch caused on M Day. And in fact, they’re both right.

The execution, however, is very flawed. The scene with Cap and Cyclops, where all this is spelled out, is clunky and overwritten. Scott is spoiling for a fight at the outset, which I suppose isn’t totally out of character for him these days, but still feels off in the presentation.

Wolverine actually comes off best here. As a member of both teams, he’s got his own conflict to deal with… not to mention the personal relationship he had with Jean Grey and the fact that he’s seen firsthand just how destructive the Phoenix Force can be. If there’s anyone here who can legitimately seem divided, it’s him.

I’m not terribly pleased with John Romita Jr.‘s work on this issue either. I’ve always liked his work on street-level heroes like Spider-Man and Daredevil, but when he goes for the big-scale cosmic stuff, it doesn’t really. Work there are two large panels here – Hope blasting Cyclops, Cyclops blasting Cap – that feel very similar, but that both look like they could have been accomplished better. Different lines, different colors, I don’t know exactly, but they failed to excite me the way they should have.

It’s not a terrible book, but it’s a weak opening to an event that should have kicked off with a bang.

Rating: 6/10

The Iron Age: Alpha #1

February 4, 2012

Title: The Iron Age: Alpha

Writer: Rob Williams
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Letters: Jared K. Fletcher
Colors: Andres Mossa
Cover Art: Ariel Olivetti
Editor: Thomas Brennan
Publisher: Marvel Comics

While attending a reception for a library he helped fund, Tony Stark is abducted by a squad of robots, and not even Luke Cage and Iron Fist can save him. Spirited away, he finds himself in the clutches of an old villain he fought once, years ago, who has a new agenda. The Phantom wants to end the world, and all he’ll need to do it is Dr. Doom’s time machine and one of the most powerful threats the Marvel Universe has ever faced.

Rob Williams kicks things off with an interesting concept – a villain who uses time travel to destroy the world, and Iron Man tossed back in time with a chance to prevent it. The format is rather odd – why this was structured as a three-issue miniseries with two “Alpha” and “Omega” bookends rather than just a five-issue miniseries is beyond me. But it’s easy enough to forget about that and just get into the story. Considering what Marvel was working on when this was released last summer, one has to wonder if the reintroduction of Dark Phoenix in this time-travel story wasn’t a warm-up of sorts for Avengers Vs. X-Men. It doesn’t necessarily feel that way, at least not in this first issue, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t weighing on the minds of the creators when they put this book together.

Rebekah Isaacs and Andres Mossa are a good art team, telling the story easily enough and finding ways to visually distinguish between “present” Tony and “past” Tony. All in all, it’s a good set-up. I look forward to reading the rest.

Rating: 7/10

Ultimate X-Men #93

April 28, 2008

Quick Rating: Below Average
Title: Apocalypse Conclusion
Rating: T+

Phoenix versus Apocalypse!

Writer: Robert Kirkman
Art: Harvey Tolibao
Colors: Jay David Ramos
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Editor: Bill Rosemann
Cover Art: Salvador Larroca
Publisher: Marvel Comics

The X-Men, complete with Phoenix-enhanced Jean Grey, face off against the menace of Apocalypse. Actually, to be more accurate, it’s like Phoenix faces Apocalypse while the X-Men stand around and ponder about how weird it is to see Jean with that much power.

The story here is totally bland. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just something we’ve seen a dozen times before. The artwork, however, is even weaker. The characters all look the same, and that’s not a compliment. And why can’t these kids afford t-shirts in a large? Every one of them is wearing a shirt not only tight enough to show off every muscle, but tight enough to show off the veins.

On his own comics, Invincible and The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman is nothing short of brilliant. Even most of his other Marvel work, like Marvel Team-Up and Ant-Man has at least had a charm to it. But with this book, I really can’t find anything to like. The change of creative teams next issue can only be a good thing.

Rating: 4/10

X-Men: Phoenix-Warsong #4

December 9, 2006

Quick Rating: Fair
Rating: T+

The Phoenix takes Celeste!

Writer: Greg Pak
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Sal Regla & Jay Leisten
Colors: John Starr
Letters: Troy Peteri
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Cover Art: Marc Silvestri
Publisher: Marvel Comics

While not quite as good as the first X-Men: Phoenix miniseries by Greg Pak, this title has shown some interesting ideas. As the X-Men try to chase down the remaining Stepford Cuckoos, Celeste becomes engulfed in the power of the Phoenix, and only Emma Frost may hold the key to stopping her.

If there’s one thing about this comic that I’m particularly not fond of, it’s the idea that the Cuckoos are all, in essence, Emma clones. (Come on, Marvel, is more clones ever a good idea?) Once I manage to get past that little caveat, though, this is a pretty solid action issue. The mindscape battle of words between Emma, Celeste and the Phoenix itself works pretty well, and the Beast (my personal favorite X-character) gets a few chances to show off, which makes me happy. The last page is a nice setup to lead into the final issue as well.

Tyler Kirkham’s artwork is okay, but it still feels very much like he’s trying to mimic Marc Silvestri rather than trying to find a style of his own. I am happy to note, though, that he manages to give the Cuckoos relatively realistic bodies for girls their age. They aren’t bulging out like Playboy Playmates anywhere, and although some of their costuming is a little revealing, its not so much that it seems preposterous.

Overall, this has been an okay series that’s given a much-needed new direction to the whole Phoenix concept. The last issue, though, is what will determine how concretely that new direction sticks.

Rating: 6/10