Comic Review: Cable & X-Force

CABLE & X-FORCE
Written by Dennis Hopeless
Art by Salvador Larocca & Frank D'Armata
Marvel Comics


INFORMATION:

    X-Force has had many incarnations since it formed back in the early 90s. It was originally the evolution of the New Mutants to a full fledged military team, lead by Cable. As time went on, Cannonball had become leader for a team. Siryn had taken a stint as leader alongside Sunspot. Pete Wisdom had taken over X-Force for a short time as Warpath was able to fly for a while. Then things changed with a brand new roster that became a fan favorite by Mike Allred. That team became the X-Statix and X-Force disbanded for a time.

  Wolverine had reformed X-Force as the leading tracking and assassination team for mutants, dealing with Black Ops. After his first roster was "disbanded" by Cyclops, Wolverine and Archangel formed a new Uncanny X-Force ... which just recently ended. Now ... X-Force is about to split into 2. And Cable is back.


FLIPPING THROUGH:

   The book starts at an interesting point where the team is formed ... and found with a LOT of unarmed dead bodies by Havok and the Uncanny Avengers. Yep ... Cable is stopped by his uncle Alex. And it does not look good. While Alex tries to get Nate to give him the 411 on what's going on, Captain America wants to arrest them fast ... and gets shut down by Alex for it.  Cable and his team doesn't go and then we look to see how that team is formed.

   Plus, we get to see what Hope's been up to since the end of Avengers vs X-Men. Plus, you find out that Cable is having a hard time adjusting to not having the techno-organic virus after so long (since X-Factor #68 to be exact). And while Colossus is the only person we don't really see get thrown into the mix ... we do see that this team is definitely going to be smarter with both Forge and Doctor Nemesis on it.

ART:

   The style that Larocca's art has evolved to is beautiful and wonderous to look at. Here ... it seems that he's starting to fuse his current style with some of his older sensibilities. And it looks GREAT. People are really detailed and specific. Emotions and action are wonderfully rendered. D'Armata's colors really help set the tone and mood alongside Larocca's pencils & inks.
  The character's have a slightly darker pitch to them than they did when Larocca's was on Iron Man. Yet, it works every well here. The extra detail helps distinguish age in Larocca's work which is definitely welcome.


WRITING:

  This is my first exposure to Hopeless's writing. And I will admit, I am impressed. He has the character voices down pat. From Domino, to Alex, to Forge to Cable to Dr. Nemesis ... Hopeless has really done a great job showing us these characters in a true light. I loved how Cable decided to watch his daughter from afar ... which definitely fits Cable's M.O. and personality.

   Domino was still Domino and I loved it. The pacing in the issue was good but felt a bit ...incomplete. While I like how the issue ended, it felt like there should have been more to this issue up to that point. Hopeless utilized what he had very well. But I just felt that there was a scene missing. Not necessarily Colossus but something else.

 Otherwise, the issue definitely built itself up as a great start for this new X-Force.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

    Hopeless, Larocca & D'Armata bring a fresh new look with some old familiars with Cable & X-Force. Outside of the law again but their formation comes from necessity it seems.  We have some great designs. An interesting group of characters. A familiar looking threat. And some great plot lines starting up for this first issue. Besides that feeling I have of something missing, this was a great, solid issue.


I give Cable & X-Force #1  a 4 ... out of 5. 

Comic News: Cyclops RETURNS In New "UNCANNY X-MEN" for Marvel NOW

   Confirmed today by artist Chris Bachalo after last week's Uncanny teaser, Marvel NOW will be relaunching the Uncanny X-Men. Bachalo mentioned that while it was tough to jump from Wolverine & the X-Men to Uncanny X-Men, he described his decision in his personal blog as such:

"It's me an Bendis on a new launch of the series," Bachalo said. "This was a tough one as I was really enjoying my time on ['Wolverine and the X-Men'] but Brian asked for me to help him launch the new Uncanny and how do you turn down that offer?"

  The new image teases that Magneto and Magik (or Emma) are along with Cyclops for the ride. So yeah .... Cyclops is not planning on being a prisoner much longer and considering that many of the Marvel Now titles hinted that Magneto and Magik are wanted fugitives ... it is safe to assume that Scott will be breaking out of jail.

    The new Uncanny X-Men will be "a little darker" according to artist Bachalo as well as he redesigned the entire cast for the book. This will be a decidedly different Uncanny X-Men, keeping in route with the schism that had been put in place when the X-Men split a mere year ago. The new Uncanny X-Men will feature at least  2 "new" mutants and some of the former Phoenix Five will have altered abilities. So, Namor and  Emma may also be in this book as well.

Uncanny X-Men #1 (apart of Marvel NOW) written by Brian Michael Bendis and art by Chris Bachalo will hit stores this February.

Avengers vs X-Men Battle Report # 6 (Super Sized)

 

  Welcome Ladies & Gentlemen. Battle Report comes back with a MASSIVE update and return. We will catch up to date on all things AvX. We are gonna catch you up on all the hard-hitting action and events since the last battle report. There is a  LOT of ground to cover. So, sit back, hold on tight and brace yourselves cause this will be a bumpy ride.






Avengers vs. X-Men Round 6

       If you thought things were crazy before, the first part of the second arc of Avengers vs X-Men will make you go nuts. The Phoenix Five (Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik & Namor) lead the X-Men into helping the world proactively. They grew crops in deserts. They end wars. The Phoenix Five, under Cyclops' direction, mean business. They  rebuild Utopia into a stronger country ... more so than it ever was; which gives Magneto glee while Charles Xavier does not seem to fond of the methods of the Phoenix Five.
   The Avengers, particularly Captain America, Iron Man and Black Panther, are finding all the work that the Phoenix Five are doing disturbing and set the Avengers to go after Hope. Yet, before they go, there is an exchange on how to KILL the Phoenix Five if need be. At which point, Beast is disgusted and quits; stating that he no longer has a home on either side.
    Back on Utopia, Hope talks with her grandfather, Cyclops, about how the Phoenix still calls to her but Cyclops tells her that she does not deserve the power; even though she was chosen to be the true Phoenix host. The Phoenix Five start an attack on the Avengers, stating that the Avengers are now looked upon as renegades. Yet, before they can collect Captain America ... Scarlet Witch arrives. Cyclops touches her, which hurts him. The Avengers escape while Cyclops orders for Scarlet Witch's head after they escape with Hope, who is more than willing to leave with the Avengers.


New Avengers # 25-27 

    The Phoenix/K'un L'un Connection is established as a former Iron Fist was also the host for the Phoenix at one point. And there are legends of the Phoenix fighting a crimson demon ... who points at a particular heroine on the Avengers. It moves from past to present as the Avengers are able to get Hope and have her, Spiderman and Iron Fist take her to the city of K'un L'un.


Secret Avengers #28

    The final part of the Kree connection in Avengers vs. X-Men as Captain Mar-vell has some long words with Carol Danvers. This issue helps set up Carol as the new Captain Marvel.


AvX:Versus #4 

    Psylocke vs. Daredevil. Phoenix Emma Frost vs. Thor. And that fight get brutal as Emma gets shattered during the battle.


Avengers vs. X-Men Round 7 

   Almost picking up where the last issue left off, the Phoenix Five are after the Avengers. Yet, the Avengers know that the Phoenix Five are not found of Scarlet Witch or her powers. They hatch a plan to use special disguises to make multiple people look like Wanda as they fight the X-Men on multiple fronts. Several Avengers are taken captive while Hawkeye is also burned alive. Scarlet Witch, once again, proves herself being able to hurt the Phoenix Five, teleporting Namor back to Utopia from the other side of the world. Yet, at the end of the issue, Emma makes out with Namor and convinces him to go attack Wakanda.

Avengers Academy #32 & # 33

    Emma Frost, powered up by her portion of the Phoenix Powers, decides that it is time to go to the Avengers Academy and make an example of the students there; particularly the young student that controls a  Sentinel. Emma Frost does end up killing the Sentinel but also contends with a hard battle; not only fighting the Avengers Academy staff but also the students themselves; including former New X-Man X-23. X-23 threatens to kill Emma but Emma ends up retreating.

Uncanny X-Men # 14 - #16

  UNIT's control of Danger has her taking down the Generation Hope kids and rewriting their memories. Meanwhile, the main story of these issues deal with Sinister making his ultimate play against the X-Men, hoping to get the Phoenix Five in order to control them. And he attacks the Extinction Team with legions of Sinisters, Madelyn Pryor & Gambit clones. His castle bases rests on top of a clone of Krakoa. And it looks that he is enough of a match for the Phoenix Five; leaving Psylocke, Storm, Magneto and Danger to the rescue.


X-Men Legacy # 268 

    While there are some details of the Phoenix Five dealing with a countries issue of war, this issue focus's on Frenzy and her brother. Readers get a good look to see where Frenzy's head is at these days.

Wolverine & the X-Men # 12 

   Focused on Rachel Grey, Rachel fends off the Avengers as she is tasked with hunting down Wolverine and the Avengers. Rachel is definitely not happy about this as she wonders if she did the right thing. After a disturbing talk with her father, Cyclops, Rachel ends up tracking down Hope ... then letting her go. (Good job Rachel. You are an awesome aunt.)

Avengers vs. X-Men Round 8

      It is devastation. It is gore. It is a Phoenix Namor, bringing a large tidal wave into Wakanda. Wakanda is devastated by this attack and the Avengers Assemble, with Scarlet Witch as they go all out against Namor ... and win. Finding that once they defeat a Phoenix powered member of the Phoenix Five, it leaves them and splits between the remaining hosts. Plus, Professor Xavier threatens Cyclops to stop this and Cyclops decides NOT to heed his old teacher.

New Avengers #28

   We see Spiderwoman, Hawkeye and Luke Cage escaping from their cells on Utopia as they fight off Magma, the Cuckoos and more, only to be stopped by Phoenix Colossus, Havok, Polaris, Gambit and Psylocke. They look as if they still are going to escape when .... oh no. It was a dream. Made by Unit and Danger. Nice try though.

Wolverine & the X-Men # 13 

   The origin of Warbird. Plus, an angry Gladiator, who is the Emperor of the Shi'ar. The Death Commandos and more. Gladiator takes on the Phoenix Five ... and Loses.

X-Men Legacy # 269 -270

  Rogue takes center stage these issues as we look at how far she has come. It is the long anticipated rematch between Rogue  and Ms. Marvel ... which she wins. When Phoenix Magik shows up, she introduces Rogue to the new prison they have been sending the Avengers . .. a mountain that Magik has transformed to be part of Limbo. This leads to Rogue deciding to help Ms. Marvel ... only to have them fight Phoenix Magik ... and lose. Ms. Marvel is put back to her hellish prison while Rogue is banished to another dimension.

Avengers #28 

   Red Hulk deals with why he's even involved in this conflict then decides to try to assignate Cyclops. And he gets his big Hulk self beaten badly by the Phoenix Five for his trouble. They even break Red Hulk's arm!

Wolverine & the X-Men # 14

   Phoenix Colossus drops by the Jean Grey School, being looked after by Kitty Pryde with flowers. The two go on a date and Colossus pops the question. And Kitty says ... NO. Meanwhile, Iceman, Rachel, Angel and more decide to defect from the Phoenix Five's side.

The King and Queen of Mutants Take a Stroll.

Avengers vs. X-Men Round 9 

    Wakanda starts to work on healing itself as Black Panther annuls his marriage to Storm after she admits that he was right. (BOOOOOOOOOOOO!) The Avengers numbers are dwindling till Scarlet Witch works her magic while Spider-man gets his moment to shine as he takes down BOTH Phoenix Colossus and Phoenix Magik by himself. Now, the Avengers got most of their comrades back: Spiderwoman, Luke Cage, Ms. Marvel, Hawkeye, Thing & Thor. The stage is being set for the final showdown. And the only 2 Phoenix bearers left are Cyclops and Emma Frost.


AvX Battle Results: 

Red Hulk vs. Phoenix Five    Winner: Phoenix Five
Psylocke vs. Daredevil      Winner: Draw
Magik vs. Hawkeye        Winner: Magik
Spiderwoman, Hawkeye & Luke Cage vs. Utopia   Winner: Danger & UNIT

Dogpile Phoenix powered Namor.

Rachel Grey vs. Thor   Winner: Draw
Rachel Grey vs. Iron Fist   Winner: Rachel Grey
Rachel Grey vs. Black Widow   Winner: Rachel Grey
Scarlet Witch vs. Namor       Winner: Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch vs. Magik      Winner: Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch vs. Cyclops & Emma Frost    Winner: Scarlet Witch
Gladiator vs. The Phoenix Five     Winner: Phoenix Five
Death Commandos vs. The Phoenix Five   Winner: Phoenix Five
Wolverine vs. Cyclops    Winner: Cyclops
Rogue vs. Ms. Marvel          Winner: Rogue
Rogue & Ms. Marvel vs. Magik    Winner: Magik
Captain  America & Black Panther vs. Emma Frost  Winner: Emma Frost

Emma Frost vs. Avengers Academy Staff    Winner: Emma Frost
Emma Frost vs. Sentinel                Winner: Emma Frost
Emma Frost vs. Entire Avengers Academy   Winner: Avengers Academy
Emma Frost vs. Thor    Winner: Emma Frost
Iceman vs. Spiderman   Winner: Spiderman
Sinister vs. The Phoenix Five    Winner: Sinister ... kind of.
Namor vs. The Avengers     Winner: The Avengers
Spiderman vs. Magik & Colossus Winner: Spiderman




Injuries

 Where do I begin?

 - Emma as shatter and put herself back together.
- Hawkeye was burned alive then healed by the Phoenix Five
 - Namor got a few concussions after that battle in AvX Round 8
- Red Hulk's arm was busted with some other parts of him.
- Almost everyone has cuts and bruises
- Storm & Black Panther's marriage is pretty much broken
- Wolverine has burns, cuts, broken bones and more.
- Colossus's mind must be so messed up as he has the Phoenix & the Juggernaut in him. Well, had the Phoenix.
 - Rachel is hurting mentally because of being forced to hunt down the Avengers and her own niece.
 - Iceman was shattered several times.
- Rogue must deal with demon power and getting thrown into another dimension.
- Sentinel is dead.
- Hawkeye, Spiderwoman, Luke Cage & Gen Hope all got mind fucked by Danger & UNIT

Spidey gives Hope a pep talk about a person's moment in time.

- Danger being a slave to UNIT

- The Avengers egos got hit hard.

And those are just for starters.






NOTES

  We are seeing the beginning of the end.

- The Illuminati are coming back together for this event which means they may use the Infinity Gauntlet.

- What will Professor Xavier's role be if he goes up against Scott and Emma.

 - The X-Men seem to be leaving Scott's side. Which means ... WOLVERINE WAS RIGHT.

- The Avengers Academy might be ending soon with the recent announcement from Tigra and Hank Pym that they are closing the school.

- No matter what happens, both the X-Men ... well, Scott's X-Men more than the others and the Avengers are gonna need some major looks into their leadership. It is clear that this whole situation could have been avoided with better leaders.

- What the hell is up with Havok & Polaris showing up but no lines?  And siding with Scott?

- Spiderman proves why not only he deserves to be an Avenger but why the group NEEDS him.

- Scarlet Witch is a BAD BITCH! Werk it mija!

She is saying "Yes, I'm Back. And I'm a Baaaaaaaaaad Bitch!"

- Vision seems to be lightening up on Wanda ... a little.

- Where are Scarlet Witch's sons? I would figure they would want in. Well ... Speed more than Wiccan.

- Carol giving Rogue the benefit of the doubt and said that she proved herself speaks volumes on how far these women have come.

- Emma maybe getting too corrupted by the power, hmm?

- Storm and Black Panther's annulment is pure BULLSHIT!

- Again, Scarlet Witch is a BAD BITCH!



In 2 Weeks: More Battle Report. I promise.

Avengers VS X-Men Battle Report # 5

AVENGERS vs X-MEN BATTLE REPORT #5

by Hector Ramirez & Frankie Rodriguez 

 And now it is time to catch you up with Avengers vs. X-Men Battle Report. Now, we are not going to cover the books that came out on June 20th. But we will cover all the other books of the last 3 weeks.





X-Men Legacy # 266 & 267:

   This 2-parter starts out earlier than the rest.We start with Kitty Pryde and Rachel Grey going over what has been going on recently with Cyclops' faction of the X-Men and the Avengers. While there seem to be some that think that Hope can't handle the Phoenix, Rachel thinks she can. (Being her Aunt might have something to do with that). So, Rachel argues that they can no longer sit on the sidelines while Kitty disagrees. While the majority of the staff decide to stay in the school and look after the kids, Rachel and Bobby (Iceman), are the first to go join with Cyclops.

   Shortly after their departure, Falcon, Moon Knight and She-Hulk arrive to ... well, to make sure that no one else is the Jean Grey School joins up with Cyclops' faction. At which point, both Frenzy and Gambit were ready to rip their heads off for coming into their home and telling them what to do. After Kitty asks to speak to either Wolverine or Beast, Falcon answers that they are not available. And Moon Knight chirps how if they want to believe everything will be okay is fine but not to have "you people" add to the problems Which Frenzy replies with . .."Did the guy in the White Hood just say You People." After Kitty lays down the law, everyone returns to class while the 3 Avengers must watch from 100 yards away. That is till Frenzy returns to keep an eye on them. After a brief insult from Moon Knight, Frenzy returns the insult with mocking how Moon Knight was crazy even before he put the costume on. And then ... FIGHT ENSUES. Rogue ends up going old school with her powers and Iron Man shows up .... let's just say that things look bad but definitely an awesome battle to behold.



Wolverine and the X-men #11:


 We start off with Kid Gladiator and Warbird fleeing the planet under Gladiator's orders, but Kid Gladiator decides to join the X-Men in battle. As this happens Hope and Logan are attacked by Shi'ar Death Commandos but Hope dispatches them with a Phoenix burst. Multiple battles ensue including a repeat of Spidey vs Colossus with an inaccurate panel and Gambit being knocked out by Cap again. Iceman turns the table on Red Hulk after a seemingly one sided ass whooping. Bobby's victory was then followed up by Kid Gladiator sucker punching Red Hulk. Now, both teams are in trouble with the arrival of Gladiator looking for his son.


Avengers #27: 

   The Protector betrays the Avengers by getting the Anti-Phoenix machine to the Kree Supreme Intelligence while the original outer space team still is reeling from their confrontation with the Phoenix.


AvX Round 5: 

So the Avengers and X-Men are fighting it out on the moon after Logan betrays Hope to the Avengers and is in turn betrayed by Rachel. Hope loses her temper with all the fighting around her and the close proximity of the Phoenix causing another burst. She pleads with Logan to kill her but Scott stops him. Meanwhile, Tony Stark has built a machine to kill the Phoenix but it instead diverts the Phoenix Force into Scott, Emma, Magik, Namor, and Piotr. As the Phoenix Five the return to Earth with a mission of evolution. No clear battles.


Secret Avengers #27:

     So, Captain Britain seemingly feels like a fish out of water or putting his foot in his mouth with the Secret Avengers. Meanwhile, the Kree have brainwashed Captain Mar-vell but still very much the hero he always was at the core. Seeing him justifying what he's doing while still serving the Kree is proving interesting.


Avengers Academy #31: 

 After spending last issue fighting amongst themselves, Shaw revealed that he was trying to free the Generation Hope Kids from the Avengers Academy staff (including Tigra, Hercules and more). The issue seemed to have a big turn as the two faction as X-23, Richocet, Hollow and Wiz Kid help the Generation Hope kids. Tigra then talks to Shaw and decides to help the children escape.



Uncanny X-Men #13: 

As the events of AvX Round 5 unfold Storm, Magneto, Psylocke, and Mr. Nemesis find themselves in an abandoned building swapping stories of domestic abuse, traitorous children, arm breaking Hulks, and in the case of Nemesis incoherent babbling all results of war. They all of course wish they could be in the thick of things. Meanwhile Hope's friends from Utopia attempt to find their place in the events unfolding by questioning Unit. Unit speaks of a former Phoenix host bringing revolution to hert planet with the help of 5 underlings. Believing they were meant to help Hope do the same seek to do that but Unit has Danger stop for he is curious to see what a Phoenix does without such help. No Avenger/X-Men battles but Danger sure beats the shit out of the would be Phoenix crew.

Vs #3: 

We start off with Red Hulk tearing Colossus up and getting bored so he tosses him to The Thing and thus begins our first fight.Ben starts beating Piotr's(see that writers Piotr not Peter get it right dammit) face into the ground who retaliates by smacking him with a slab of stone.Ben recomposes himself and throws a stone down Piotr's throat then headbutts him in the gut. This sends them flying to an area of the moon with no oxygen where Ben can't keep up and Piotr knocks him unconscious, X-Men's victory. Next, Piotr's little sister Illyana aka Magik takes on the lovely Black Widow. While Natalia is a formidable opponent even when being attacked by demons in limbo (where the writers thought untranslated bits of Russian dialogue was a good idea :/) Magik turns the tables on Natalia by impaling her from behind with her magical blade thankfully only rendering her unconscious with its magical properties. And thus the Rasputin bunch has won this issue for the X-Men.

AVX BATTLE RESULTS:


Rogue vs. She -Hulk;    Winner: No Contest (due to switching fighting partners)


Frenzy vs. Moon Knight   Winner: Frenzy (both verbally and physically) 


Rogue vs. She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Falcon & Iron Man [Drone]   Winner: ROGUE!!!


Iron Man [Drone] vs. Gambit      Winner: Iron Man [Drone]


She-Hulk vs. Frenzy    Winner: No Contest


Hellion, Match & another Mutant vs. She-Hulk      Winner: She-Hulk 


Sebastian Shaw vs. Avengers Academy Staff       Winner: No Contest (stopped by Students)


Avengers Academy Students vs. Generation Hope, Ricochet, Wiz Kid and Hollow.     Winner: Gen Hope


Unit & Danger vs. Generation Hope             Winner: Unit & Danger 


The Thing vs. Colossonaunt                  Winner: Colossonaunt 


Black Widow vs. Magik                   Winner:  Magik

Protector vs. The Avengers                 Winner: Protector


Iron Fist vs. Marvel Girl (aka Rachel Grey)     Winner: Marvel Girl 


Iceman vs. Red Hulk                     Winner: Iceman 


Death Commandos vs. Hope Summers & Wolverine             Winner: Hope Summers & Wolverine


Black Panther vs. Storm          Winner: No Contest 


Avengers vs. X-Men (Match 5)     Winner: The X-Men 


The Phoenix vs. Iron Man & his Anti Phoenix Buster      Winner: THE PHOENIX 

INJURY LIST:

- Gen Hope got some minor concussions and their minds tampered with.

- Any Avengers or X-Men on the Moon were burned by Hope and the Phoenix.

- Magik has a slightly cracked jaw

- Black Widow has to deal with the Soul Sword messing with her soul.

- Psylocke has a broken arm.

 - Thing's skin got cracked

 - Cyclops has some cuts and concussions thanks to both Wolverine and Captain America.

- Red Hulk has frost bite.

 - Iron Fist has to deal with massive headaches.

 - The Avengers Academy staff and Sebastian Shaw have bruises.

 - The Death Commandos are ... well, mostly dead.

 - Hope has bullet holes and cuts in her ... no ... wait  ... she mimicked Wolverine. She's good.

- Danger is dealing with being hacked by Unit.

 - The Phoenix got split into 5 thanks to Tony Stark.

- Hellion has ruptured Ear drums.

- Captain Britain is eating crow like it's going out of style.

- Dr. Nemesis is still reeling from Black Widow's stingers.



NOTES:


- So yeah. Thanks to Tony Stark ... the Phoenix now has 5 hosts. 


- Scott Summers is a host of the Phoenix. So is Emma Frost. So is Namor. Heaven help the Avengers. 


- You know, with Falcon, She-Hulk and Moon Knight rolling up to the Jean Grey School like they did, the Avengers are REALLY starting to look like Bullies. 


- Magneto, Storm & Psylocke toast wishing they were with the others on the Moon. Let's thank God that they weren't there. 


- Unit is reminding me of Sinister. 


- First, we get implied racism from Moon Knight. Then we get nearly overt racism from She-Hulk when she calls a mutant a Monster. Pot CALLING Kettle bitch!


- The Death Commandos ... glad they are dead but wish Rachel had killed them. 


- Rogue beats the Avengers . ...AGAIN. 


- Gambit is faster than Iron Man (Drone) targeting systems. Go on Gambit. 


- Frenzy is proving herself quite the X-Man. 


- Storm is gonna start calling T'Challa her Estranged Husband. That's NOT GOOD! Bad enough one marriage is on the rocks (Luke  & Jessica Cage) but now Storm and Black Panther too?!


- So Colossus now has his own power, the powers of the Juggernaut AND the powers of the Phoenix. Oh my GOD! 


- Iceman beating Red Hulk ... DAMN!!!


- Thank Tony Stark for trying to kill the Phoenix. 


NEXT: And now ... The Scarlet Witch! (This time, for sure.)

  

CoW: Cover of the Week #17

Avengers vs X-Men #5

      I have to say. This one was tough. It came down to the Stegman variant of AvX #5 and Det. Comics #10. In the end AvX won out thanks to a little mystique and creativity. There was just something about the placement of the Phoenix Force across Hope's eyes and the way her attention sort of turned toward the camera/reader. And the tears... It just did me in. I would love to have it as a poster, without that obnoxious AvX banner Marvel is posting over everything.

AVENGERS VS X-MEN BATTLE REPORT #4

AVENGERS VS X-MEN BATTLE REPORT #4 


Written by Hector Ramirez & Frankie Rodriguez 


Uncanny X-Men #12

 Namor vs. The Thing have their round 2 as an adventure to Tabula Rasa, where Namor seemingly rides his Sea Queen lover and flirts with Hepzibah. Sunspot gets knocked around.


Wolverine & the X-Men  #10

   The Jean Grey School gets a visit ... from Cyclops, Emma & Magik. And for the faculty of the JGS, the Avengers vs. X-Men battle became that much more personal as sides were about to be taken. Plus, Angel and Evan deal with wanting to confront their pasts together. Oh yeah! Iceman vs. Red Hulk.


Avengers #26

  Thor vs. The Phoenix  . . . round 2!!



New Avengers # 26



The story of the Iron Fist Phoenix continues. Master Yu Ti brings Leonardo Da Vinci to the Immortal City to observe the phenomenon of the Phoenix and the training of Fongji. During the training, Fongji has a Phoenix outburst making them realize it was close. Fongji receives the power of the Iron Fist just in time. Da Vinci builds a huge super telescope and sees the Phoenix approaching Earth. No Avengers vs. X-Men fights to mention.

AvX: Versus # 2

 We got Spidey vs Colossanaut and Captain America vs. Gambit. No plot in this issue Captain America is ambushed in the Savage Land by Gambit while on the phone with Tony. Gambit tries his hardest to take out Cap, doing his most damage when he sparks up Cap’s uniform then his shield but when the smoke clears Steve is still standing and bashes Remy’s face in with his shield…… K.O.!!! Next, we go to Latveria where the Avengers all choose their opponents leaving Spiderman to take on Colossus in full Juggernaut mode. Peter vs. Piotr. Of course, Spidey is all jokes while being tossed around like a rag doll. At one point, it seemed as though the wall crawler was going to immobilize the Colosonaut but he broke out of the webbing and was about to pummel the web slinger before he was saved by Daredevil came to tell him they found Hope, Piotr winner by default.


Avengers vs X-Men  Round 4

Hope finds Logan in Antarctica and gets him to help her get to the Moon to receive the Phoenix. Meanwhile, she has Avengers and X-Men alike running around on a wild goose chase looking for her in bogus locations. When, they get to the moon both teams are waiting. This issue had many fights portrayed in single panels with no clear winners except Captain America defeating Gambit unless you count Cyclops getting Wolverine with a cheap shot on the moon.


AvX BATTLE RESULTS



Spidey vs. Colossanaut      Winner: Colossanaut


Captain America vs. Gambit      Winner: Captain America ... and pretty damn easily.


The Thing vs. Namor (Round 2)    Winner: Namor


Thor vs. The Phoenix      Winner: The Phoenix  but barely. Wait ... What?


INJURY LIST:

 Spidey's got to be feeling sore and some cracked ribs taking shots from Piotr.


Captain America must feel some kind of burn from Gambit cause his suit and shield exploded. 


Gambit got a face full of HOT Shield so probably gonna feel that when he wakes up. 


Wolverine's injuries heal up but damn if Scott didn't make him feel it. 


Thor proves himself the God of Thunder he is by surviving and almost beating the Phoenix only to get more burns. 


Namor might have a sea STD from Alien Sea Queen. Ewwww

Sunspots face and body must be aching at least from those blows.


NOTES

- Logan helping Hope. Did NOT expect that one. 


- Cap and Scott are being very much the generals that they were molded to be. 


- This is getting pretty crazy with all these battles.

- It was interesting which of JGS staff went with Scott. 


- First act is almost over. 

THE TOP 10 GREATEST AVENGERS STORYLINES

As we continue this months' Avengers month, we are gonna to cover the storylines that made the Avengers what they are today. In all of their various incarnations: Avengers, Avengers West Coast, New Avengers, Dark Avengers, Secret Avengers & even Young Avengers, we are gonna to examine the milestone stories that solidified their legend.

10: Under Siege: Avengers #273- #277


    We start with a hard hitting story from the Stern days of penning the Avengers. And it is simple. Baron Zemo was tired of losing. So he reforms the Masters of Evil, invades the Avengers Mansion.

  Sounds simple right?

   Well, Jarvis gets tortured. And then the Masters pick off Avengers left and right till Thor and Captain America arrive. The Masters put Hercules into a coma. Wasp and several other Avengers had to step down from active duty because of how bad the Master beat them. A rare, hard defeat that the Avengers turned into a win. But not without scars.

9:  Ultron Unlimited - Avengers #19-22 (Volume 3)

        Ultron. The robotic creation of none other than Hank Pym, Ultron has always been amongst one of the Avengers greatest enemies. And as such, when Ultron returned with his second mate, the devious android known as Alkhema aka War Toy, ends up giving the most vicious attack he has ever done: slaughtering the Baltic nation of Slorenia. 

      With the entire nation dead, the Avengers move in to attack him but only find that they play into Ultron's hands as he kidnaps Vision, Scarlet Witch, Wonder Man, Eric Williams (aka Grim Reaper) & Wasp to use them to give brain patterns to new children that he has been cooking up. 

     Hank Pym and the rest of the Avengers have a grand showdown, with Justice, Black Panther & even War Toy giving big assists but this nightmare of a storyline by Kurt Busiek & George Perez left the Avengers wondering how they failed as an entire nation was killed by Ultron. 

8: Dark Reign/The Seige: Dark Avengers (Volume 1), New Avengers (Volume 1)

       After Norman Osborn became the top cop on the planet (cause of him doing something on tv during Secret Invasion), he gathered many of his Thunderbolt teammates, the son of Wolverine & Avengers Ares and The Sentry and formed his new Dark Avengers team. And while they were in charge, the New Avengers, lead by Clint Barton (then Ronin), were outlaws on the run from Osborn's H.A.M.M.E.R. (still have NO clue what that means) while still defeating other baddies. 

       After over a year of comics and multiple storylines, it culminated with Osborn,as a member of the Anti-Illuminati known as the Cabal, ordering the strike on Asgard, fooling Loki into thinking that he was doing it in order to help him gain control over it. And boy, was he wrong. The New Avengers, Nick Fury's Secret Warriors and more gathered in secret to help Thor defend his home of Asgard (now over a town in the midwest) being lead by then-former Captain America, Steve Rodgers. The Avengers won the day and took down Osborn but not with out some casualties as Ares was killed by Sentry and Thor ends up killing the Void, who had over taken Sentry's body. 

7: World Trust:  Avengers # 57 - #61 (Volume 3)

    I know people are surprised that this story got on the list. Even more so than other classics like Under Siege, Hank Pym's fall from grace or the Kree/Skrull War. Allow me to explain. World Trust did something very different for the Avengers. When every capital city disappears in another dimension alongside the World's leaders, the UN decides to put the Avengers in charge .... or the entire planet.

  Yep. The Avengers get put in charge of the entire world. Why would they do this? Well, it is cause of a particular victory that is actually on this countdown. Here's a hint ... check #5.  So, the Avengers, with Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, Captain America, She Hulk, Warbird, Ant Man Scott Lang, Jack of Hearts, Iron Man, Namor and more end up becoming the leaders of the planet while also finding out what was going on.

  Come to find out, a brand new Zodiac is behind the kidnappings and dimension hopping. Each Avenger got to shine as they worked together to not only save the planet from villainy but also, run the planet. And for their service ... Avengers Mansion is considered a sovereign nation of it own. Yep. Avengers Mansion was considered its own country. It was different. It was pretty damn dynamic. And it made being an Avenger that much more important. Yet, this gets thrown all out cause of Dissembled.  

6: The Avengers/Defenders War: Avengers #115-118, Defenders # 8-11

      In a bid to take care of both their enemies and to conquer Earth and have it be absorbed into the Dark Dimension, Loki had teamed up with Dormanmu and set up both groups in order to fight each other. Yes. Avengers vs. X-Men isn't the first time that the team faced another super hero team in a major storyline.

   The Defenders had two former Avengers, Hulk and Namor, in their ranks and they were not happy with Earth's Mightiest Heroes, thanks to the manipulations thanks to both villains. And the Avengers were not pleased with the Defenders either as both teams raced to gain control of the mystical Evil Eye. 

5: The Kang Dynasty: Avengers: The Kang Dynasty # 1, Avengers # 41-55

        I want to say this right now. Kang had won. He had conquered Earth. With the help of his son Marcus, Kang had finally succeeded in his goal of many years against the Avengers. Kang had taken Earth. He had attacked and decimated the United Nations. He had set up prison camps. Kang had truly become the ruler of the planet. 

      In that time, the Avengers continued to fight as the resistance against Kang. For the first time in decades, there was a long standing Avengers storyline that lasted OVER a year. And did the Avengers every assemble for this: Ms Marvel (then Warbird), Thor, Firebird, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Iron Man, Vision, Captain America, Wasp, Wonder Man, Jack of Hearts and more were all apart of this epic storyline as an Avenger killed, friends died and more. 

     And while it ended with a smash mouth battle between Kang and Captain America, the Avengers will always remember one of their biggest defeats. 

4: Operation: Galactic Storm :  Captain America # 398-#400, Avengers West Coast # 80- #82, Quasar # 32- #34,  Wonder Man # 7 -#9, Avengers # 345-#347, Iron Man # 278 & # 279 and The Mighty Thor # 445 & #446 . 

     The Shi'ar Empire and the Kree Empire have gone to war. And their war became so vast that it was going to effect Earth. As Quasar tried to prevent issues of war with the Shi'ar, Wonder Man and other Avengers seem to be having issues with the Kree. 

    So the war has begun and the Avengers ... both East Coast and West Coast Branches had mobilized to stop them. With the Avengers even framed for murder, they teams backs are against the wall and when the Nega Bomb is launched ... their entire galaxy was put into chaos. With manipulations from Kree, Shi'ar & even Skrull, this war takes more and more prisoners from both sides than the Avengers wanted. Yet, how the Avengers overcome these odds prove they are Earth's Greatest Heroes and more.

3:  Avengers: The Children's Crusade #1- #9 
    Funny how dangling storylines end up getting tied up. For years, fans had clamored for more from the Young Avengers since their debut. With the mysterious appearance of the heroes named Wiccan and Speed, Wiccan surmised that they were the missing sons of Scarlet Witch and the original Vision. As time passed, we found that that indeed that they were the sons of the Scarlet Witch, who had lost her memory. When Wiccan and the Young Avengers, alongside grandfather Magneto search and find Wanda, they find Dr. Doom with her ... and in love.

Ewww.

    What ends up happening because of this search? Well, since Scarlet Witch's powers were responsible for the near extinction of mutantkind, some  people, like Wolverine, wanted blood. So we had Avengers vs Young Avengers. We had Avengers vs the X-Men, which served as a prelude to the current AvX maxiseries event. We had the big reveal that Dr. Doom was the guy that drove Wanda insane and made her take away the powers of mutants and caused House of M. We get a resurrected Ant Man and Jack of Hearts (for him, it was like 2 minutes) only to watch in horror as Scott Lang gets to see his daughter die. We see Iron Lad's dark road open towards his destiny as the future Kang. We see Wanda try to make up for her past sin by giving Rictor back his powers. And ... we see a family reunited ... at such a steep price. Stature and the new Vision were killed. The X-Men scoffed at Scarlet Witch. The Young Avengers seemingly disbanded. Through it all, the story proves so many endings and opens new doors as well. And while many felt that the story was lackluster compared to the original Young Avengers series, this proved to be a story which will have impact for decades to come. Fans complained at Bendis over what he did to Wanda and when Heinberg REDEEMS the character, it does seem to be enough. Still, a great story with families at the heart of it all.

2:  The Korvac Saga : Avengers #167-#177 (Volume 1)

     This is arguably the Avengers greatest defeat. And it was all to one man, Michael Korvac. Well, there are issues with Ultron but he's not the main protagonist in this saga. When Quicksilver disappears and the first appearance of young Vance Astrovick (former New Warrior and Avenger known as Justice) get saved by a humanoid named Charlie-27, the things really begin to flare up. Korvac has come. 

 Korvac was a scientist from the 31st century who helped Earth to get enslaved by the aliens known as the Badoon. Yet, after they betray him and graph him to a cybernetic module, all he wants was revenge. He goes back in time to the present day after he fights Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy in the 31st Century. When he does come, he finds Galactus's ship and absorbs data and energy from it, becoming a god-like being with data and cosmic power. 

    As he comes to Earth, he falls in love with The Collector's daughter, Carina. She returns his feelings yet he is determined to destroy the Badoon in the past. The Guardians team with the Avengers to find Korvac ... with Starhawk going off on his own ... and getting killed for his trouble in the astral plane. Yet, Korvac recreates him but makes sure Starhawk's powers can't detect him. 

    The Collector begins to kidnap the Avengers to save them from Korvac but was killed for his help. Then, the Avengers and Guardians took on Korvac ... and DIED. Let me repeat that. Korvac killed the majority of the Avengers & the Guardians of the Galaxy. As Thor, Starhawk, Iron Man & Vision were the only ones left standing, Korvac wanted support from Carina. Yet, she was feeling guilt and doubt. Korvac noticed this and gave him. He COMMITS SUICIDE in his depression, allowing the Avengers to kill him in battle. Carnia then KILLS Iron Man, Starhawk and Vision, leaving Thor alive but she then allows Thor to kill her, cause she didn't want to live without her love. Korvac's final gift is to give enough life in all that died so that Thor's alter-ego, Donald Blake, could bring them all back to life.  

   Remember, this is the greatest defeat in the Avengers history.

1: Civil War  (Various)

    This event changed 616 Earth  . . . honestly, forever. Think about it.  We had government intervention with Super Heroes on such a large scale. We had registration of super heroes. We had Civil Rights trampled on because someone wants to put on a costume and help people. On one side, we had Iron Man, leading heroes who were for registration of heroes. On the other, we had Captain America, who felt that the law that  was being introduced was trampling on the civil rights of the people who were being defended.

   This event caused such a great change in the landscape of Marvel, characters are still feeling its affects. Spider-man being chief among them. Cause let's face it ... if it wasn't for Civil War and his unmasking, there would have NEVER been One More Day.

Let that sink in for a minute.

   Civil War caused One More Day which caused OMIT which caused Dan Slott's current (and Exceptional) run on Amazing Spiderman.

Civil War almost destroyed the Fantastic Four more than any villain ever could. It broke up Sue and Reed Richards to the point where divorce was looming.  And the Thing, not wanting to have anything to do with it, went to France.

  It caused Norman Osborn's rise to power.

  It had pretty much turned the New Warriors into pariahs.

   It had made Tony Stark into one of the biggest douchebags of the Marvel Universe.

   It had Tony Stark, Hank Pym and Reed Richards create a clone of Thor ... who ended up murdering Goliath, which ended up having his nephew join the Anti-Avengers group, The Revengers while the Thor clone, Ragnarok, ended up in Norman Osborn's hands and part of the recent incarnation of the Dark Avengers.

  It caused Luke Cage to step up, becoming leader of the New Avengers for the very first time.

  Captain America Steve Rodgers ended up dying because of these events, which then brought forth Bucky Barnes recent stint as Captain America and which ultimately becomes a catalyst for Steve Rodgers for wanting to form the Secret Avengers.


 And it was the key point Marvel event which created how Marvel events are done from this point on. It effected everyone on Earth. The only escape from Civil War seemed to be in space.