Comics Review: Avengers vs X-Men Round 5
On the blue side of the Moon and on the Skrull base the Avengers and X-men gather in order to contain Hope Summers, The Phoenix Force’s chosen vessel. The Phoenix has arrived to Earth and lies before them all. Hope Summers feels the Phoenix possessing her.
For some reason the Avengers and X-men begin to fight one another as Hope kneels on the ground in agony. I’m not sure if this is very productive, they should be focused on protecting her from The Phoenix. Meanwhile Hope is willing to sacrifice her life by asking Wolverine to kill her, he’s happy to oblige. Cyclops will not allow it and hits Wolverine with a laser beam. With each passing day Cyclops is separating himself from other people; Cyclops is all about the mutant cause now.
On Earth Tony Starks prepares to launch his new Iron Man suit designed to be a Phoenix Killer. Tony places himself in the giant suit and heads straight towards the fight. Iron Man’s attack on the Phoenix releases a tremendous energy burst from The Phoenix that seems to spread around the Moon.
I find it quite interesting that even though it seems that the superheroes were hit with this energy of fire that not one of them was killed. Blood drips from their mouths, and they have some burns and bruises on their bodies but otherwise they are all alright. I guess when it is a superheroes’ time to die it will have to take a lot more than a fire energy to kill them.
The attack on The Phoenix has now focused its attention away from Hope Summers; the energy has now split, and has entered into five of the X-men- Cyclops, Colossus, Sub-Mariner, Magik, and Emma Frost. The imagery of the emergence of the Phoenix Five is spectacular; they are revealed with new costumes embroidered with gold trim and are surrounded by brilliant colors of fire. The illustration of this scene is superbly done; it would make for a good poster on somebodies wall.
The Five are now vessels for The Phoenix; they are now its servants and its voice. They tell the others to prepare for a healing of the Earth. What does the Phoenix have in mind for the Earth; we shall see it in next issues.
This issue of the Avengers vs. the X-men is a very interesting episode in this saga. It has brilliant visuals and action scenes. There is a full page showing just how big and impressive the new Iron Man Phoenix Killer is. It is an intense issue with a lot going on in it. Having the five mutants emerge possessed with the Phoenix was a surprise.
Maybe I’m over thinking this but I wonder why The Phoenix would destroy some worlds, and then turn around to possess other beings on other worlds. The only answer I can think of is that The Phoenix desires to possess beings with unique powers and special abilities. I suppose that is why it was attracted to Jean Grey- for her strong mutant abilities.
The Phoenix has only bypassed Hope Summers for the moment. Hope is still an important part to this story, and essential to The Phoenix’s primary purpose for coming to Earth. Cyclops still believes that the Phoenix has further plans for Hope that is why the Phoenix Five takes Hope on their journey back to Earth in order to follow those plans it has for the human and mutant races.
Comics Review: Avengers Vs X-men Round 6
The Phoenix energy has arrived to Earth. Iron Man tried to disperse The Phoenix with the powerful weapons that were within his heavily armored suit. However, he instead blown The Phoenix energy into more than several pieces entering five of the X-men- Cyclops, Colossus, Emma Frost, Sub-mariner, and Magik. The Phoenix five took Hope Summers back to their headquarters on Earth to Utopia.
It is ten days later since the incident on the Moon. The X-men has a guest to Utopia, it is Charles Xavier; he is surprised to see how Utopia has changed, and how the X-men has changed. At the moment they seem peaceful but The Avengers are still skeptical.
The Phoenix still calls to Hope, she wants the power but at the same time she is afraid of it. Cyclops tempts Hope with the power but instead he tells Hope that she is too immature to understand the true scope of how to use the power. Instead The Phoenix Five whisk themselves around the world to remake the Earth into what they believe it should become.
The Phoenix Five present themselves before the United Nations and give an ultimatum to the world. Their message is that they will make all weapons obsolete, and war in the world will end due to their influence and power. The Avengers are worried about The Phoenix Fives real intentions, and consult The President of the United States.
The Avengers are worried and see no other alternative; they must get Hope, for she is the key to stopping the Phoenix. The X-men attack Utopia, and they struggle in their fight with The Phoenix Five. However, they are assisted by an old friend, The Scarlet Witch; she offers Hope the help she desires, and Hope does not want to be with the X-men anymore.
These previous events reveal the true motive of Cyclops. It all stems back to the beginning of the story namely Cyclops belief that humans are all against mutants. Cyclops realizes that The Avengers will always defend what humans believe to be right. Cyclops plans now turn towards the destruction of The Avengers.
There are some nice visuals in this issue. There are spectacular illustrations that would be very impressive if they were transferred to a movie screen. Also, in this issue we get to witness the de-evolution of the character of Cyclops. Cyclops is becoming more like what we expect Magneto to be; he is obsessed with preserving mutant kind over humankind.
Cyclops is obsessed with the potential of the Phoenix power as was Jean Grey. In this series we get to see Cyclops taken down a path that most X-men fans are not used to seeing from Scott Summers. Most comic fans are used to the de-facto leader of the X-men, and protector of mutants and humans alike.
The story has also transitioned into an opportunity of redemption for the character of the Scarlet Witch. The Scarlett Witch does not have the best reputation for most blame her for changing reality during her mental break down in The House of M. Now that The Scarlet Witch is in a better frame of mind this is her chance to help The Avengers save the world from this great threat. Avengers vs. X-men Round 6 has some interesting elements that sets up the next events well for the reader, and creates a sense of anticipation for what will happen in the next phase of this great conflict.
Avengers vs X-men Round 5 Video Preview
Avengers vs X-men Round 6 Video Preview
Comics Review: Avengers vs X-men- Round 1 And 2
Comics Review: Avengers vs X-men Round 3 And 4
Featured image "Storm XMen" by ransie84 is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
