Following up on last issue’s epic cliffhanger, Avengers vs. X-Men #6 does not disappoint when it comes to scale. Gone is the petty back and forth between the Avengers and the X-Men, replaced by much bigger and better things. Unfortunately, this also looks to be the issue where the story starts to get regrettably predictable. I still have faith that this series will be able to surprise me down the line. But I think it’s obvious to everyone where the story is headed from here on out. Marvel has definitely taken sides over who is right and who is wrong in this battle.

Avengers vs. X-Men #6

Of course, I’m still going to side with the X-Men! Down with the murderous traitor Wolverine and the bull-headed warmonger Captain America!

Comic rating: 5/5: Great.

I have always loved the work of artist Olivier Coipel, and to see him take over the series is a delight. His characters are fantastic, the details are stellar, and the man can draw epic scale like none other. You really get a feel for just how huge this story has become. If only Marvel had been able to organize their entire comic universe to match this story, it would feel stronger. There’d be a lot of other problems to contend with, but at least this story would have the proper weight behind it. Instead, we’re just going to have to deal with Avengers vs. X-Men on its own, and that’s good enough.

But like I said, unless Marvel has some insane sort of awesomeness planned, there’s only one way this story is going to end. And that way sucks.

How do I think it’s going to end? Find out after the jump!

This issue picks up 10 days after the Phoenix possessed Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik. Everybody calls them the Phoenix Five, but I prefer the PhoeniX-Men! It’s much more fun. Anyway, in those 10 days, the PhoeniX-Men have started remaking the world into a better place. They’re wiping out hunger, bringing water to those who don’t have it, turning wastelands into farmlands, and creating free, renewable energy for everyone. Basically they’re using the power of the Phoenix to do what any hero would do: making the world a better place!

So naturally the Avengers want to put a stop to it…because why, exactly?

Because Captain America, Wolverine and (most of) the Avengers have already guessed how this story is going to end: the absolute power of the Phoenix is absolutely going to corrupt Cyclops and the PhoeniX-Men. Because Marvel isn’t really going to let their fictional world permanently change in such a way. So something is going to go wrong. And I’d put good money on the PhoeniX-Men going corrupt and overstepping their bounds, leaving Wolverine and Captain America to save the day and gloat in their victory. It sounds stupid and predictable, and I hope it doesn’t happen…but  right now, it seems to be the most obvious conclusion. Something is going to go wrong. And I’m just going to assume that Marvel is going to have Wolverine be right all along. Because he’s Wolverine.

At least Cyclops isn’t being written as insane as he was in the last issue. For a guy who’s suddenly become omnipotent, Cyclops remains pretty cool. And come on, if any of us suddenly got god-like power, how many of us would be willing to use it to make the world into a paradise?

As far as I’m concerned, Wolverine and Captain America are just too pigheaded to admit when they’re wrong, so they’re desperately clinging to the idea of superhero fights just to feel better about themselves.

Viva la X-Men! Pax Utopia!

Anyway, we open with Charles Xavier coming to visit Cyclops on Utopia. He’s greeted by Magneto, and the two old frenemies chat about old times and new times, and how the X-Men are not kids anymore. In the past 10 days, the PhoeniX-Men have turned Utopia into a crazy awesome party palace!

He’s like a Wal-Mart greeter, but on a much bigger scale

I’m not sure if those are all buildings…or just fancy glass structures. Or if that’s even glass. So Xavier goes and meets with Cyclops, who is acting all proud of what he’s done. Xavier is hesitant about the X-Men wielding such power, but Cyclops takes us through all the ways in which the PhoeniX-Men are helping the world. There’s rain in African, farmlands in the Antarctic in order to provide food for the world, a huge network of underwater pipes to bring H2O to the masses, and renewable energy being created in the Gobi Desert.

Oddly, nothing is mentioned about restarting the mutant race. I would have assumed that would be at the top of Cyclops’ to-do list. Oh well.

Xavier voices a few concerns, playing a bit of devil’s advocate. For example: people hate change. Cyclops says he anticipated this, but he believes that humanity will come around in time. They always do. Xavier mentions how this feels like cheating to simply remake the world into a better place at the cost of nothing. But Cyclops points out that the ‘cost’ has been the years and years of mutant oppression. So when the mutants finally have the power, do they use it to punish humanity? Or do they use it to work with humanity to make the world a better place?

Essentially:

Xavier could be a little more grateful

That doesn’t look sinister or anything…

Let’s check in with the Avengers, shall we? Apparently while the PhoeniX-Men have been reshaping the world, Captain America is still sending his people out to take down random Hydra bases. In one such adventure, Iron Fist, Spider-Woman and Luke Cage ran afoul of some Zzzax aliens. Or the Electric Legion. Not sure which since they mention both. Either way, it’s some electricity bad guys! The Avengers’ gooses are about to be cooked when Colossus shows up!

Iron Fist is reporting all of this to Captain America, and he then explains that Colossus didn’t fight the Electric Legion. Instead they all sat down and talked it out, and the Legion agreed to start using their powers to provide free energy for a large potion of Eastern Europe.

Captain America ends the call and walks off to join his brain trust. Wolverine, Iron Man, Beast and Black Panther are going over data on the PhoeniX-Men and working on their countermeasures. Black Panther voices some doubt about whether or not they even should do anything about the PhoeniX-Men. What have they done wrong? Who are the Avengers to judge? Have they ever argued if Thor is too powerful to be trusted?

Thor actually did something similar once. He moved Asgard to Earth and started helping people around the world the same way the PhoeniX-Men are. I don’t remember how that turned out, but obviously he’s not doing it anymore.

Anyway, Iron Man talks about his big anti-Phoenix gun and Wolverine thinks they need to do something lethal.

Then Beast sides with Black Panther and provides a very powerful argument against Captain America and Wolverine. It’s a great scene. Though technically, Beast is also an X-Man, so it’s not one of the Avengers dissenting against Cap. It’s just an X-Man siding with the X-Men. Still, great scene.

Beast has got to get his loyalties in order

The best thing to be said for this issue is that the fight scenes have all been replaced by actual character development. Whereas the first part of this series was all about the characters fighting one another again and again, now they’ve finally slowed down and started talking about what they’re doing and why. Cyclops’ scenes have been good so far. He doesn’t sound crazy. Maybe a little arrogant, sure, but he is possessed by a god. Cut him some slack. And Beast’s scene was great.

But again, I’m utterly convinced that Marvel is going to have the PhoeniX-Men go corrupt and have Cap and Wolverine be right all along. So it’s a sad bit of wasted character potential.

One character who is still getting focus is Hope, who rejected the Phoenix Force last issue. She’s brooding on Utopia when Cyclops comes to find her, reminding Hope that Utopia is not a prison and she is free to leave whenever she wants. Hope says she can’t, because the Phoenix is still calling to her. Cyclops offers her the power…Hope accepts…but Cyclops withdraws it. She rejected the Phoenix and he no longer believes she deserves it. Could she have accomplished everything the PhoeniX-Men have accomplished with the power?

Cyclops leaves by telling Hope that they have so much more to do.

Like bringing an end to all war everywhere, for example

Superman once removed all the nuclear weapons from Earth and nobody hated him for it.

Anyway, for some reason we go to the forbidden city of K’un Lun, which is from the Iron Fist franchise. Marvel have been pushing some kind of connection between Iron Fist and the Phoenix, and now we visit some strange old prophet to learn a little bit more. Basically, it seems that the Phoenix also came to Earth in 1596, and it was stopped from causing the celestial rebirth of the Earth by that era’s Iron Fist.

The Phoenix and I have something in common: we both love redheads

I’m not all that impressed. While the Iron Fist comics from a few years ago were amazing, it’s kind of a stretch to suddenly link him to the Phoenix. I haven’t been reading any of the tie-ins that explain this better. I don’t care about Iron Fist that much.

Meanwhile, Captain America, Iron Man and Black Panther have taken their argument to President Obama. We get a little flashback into the PhoeniX-Men’s recent visit to the United Nations, where they declared an end to all war. Hence those scenes from earlier. Cyclops tells the United Nations that they will take away weapons and wars so that humanity can better spend its time accomplishing great things.

Again, Black Panther seems to indicate that he’s cool with all of this. Refugees are actually leaving Wakanda to go back to places like Sudan and Ethiopia. People are actually doing as the PhoeniX-Men suggested. But Obama is worried about there being no level of accountability against the PhoeniX-Men.

I’m still going to vote for him…

Ever since President Obama supported Norman Osborn as head of the Thunderbolts and then SHIELD, I’ve always felt that Marvel just doesn’t like him for some reason…

Elsewhere, the Scarlet Witch has a bad dream that the Phoenix is going to destroy the Avengers. Thanks Wanda, you act as if no one else has assumed that very thing. The Avengers’ whole strategy is based around that assumption, and they didn’t need fancy Scarlet Witch powers to figure it out.

The climax of the issue comes when the Avengers decide to infiltrate Uptopia in order to kidnap Hope. Really? We’re back to that again? They take over a passenger plane that flies near Utopia so that they can parachute down to the island. They’re going to jump in, grab Hope and then jump out. Easy peasy, I guess.

While they’re plotting their mission, Black Panther backs out.

Yet he went to the trouble of getting into costume

So at least one of the Avengers objects to the plan. The rest go along with Cap like it’s no big thing. Also, they all get fun new jumping suits!

Wheeeeeeeee!!!

Somehow, the Avengers are able to find the one room in the entirety of the new Utopia where Hope is hanging out with her friends. In fact, everybody’s just hanging out. We see a brief panel where Cyclops and Emma Frost are just relaxing and enjoying some wine and light reading. They’re not in their fancy new costumes. They look like normal people. The X-Men are just relaxing at home when the Avengers decide to launch a military strike against them in order to kidnap a teenage girl.

Some of Hope’s friends try to stand up for her, but the Avengers just send in Thor to beat them up.

Take that, helpless child!

What the hell!? He’s just a freakin’ kid, and you’re gonna have Thor take him out with a godly punch to the gut? Some heroes.

Anyway, Cyclops and Emma find the Avengers immediately, and Cyclops says their behavior has become embarrassing. Spider-Woman then offers a rather silly explanation for the Avengers’ side of the argument.

It’s just a kidnapping, you guys! Why do you have to be so difficult about it? It’s not like the Avengers just stormed into your home uninvited, beat up on your students, and then tried to kidnap one of them. And it’s not like the X-Men fought back the last time the Avengers tried to just show up and kidnap Hope.

Cyclops and Emma begin to clean house, though there is a brief moment where Iron Fist has some kind of vision about the Phoenix. It’s not really explained. The fight doesn’t go anywhere, as Cyclops and Emma totally kick ass. Cyclops destroys Iron man’s armor and then just stops Mjolnir without breaking a sweat.

It’s only when the Scarlet Witch shows up that the fight comes to an end. She tells Cyclops that she’s taking the Avengers with her. And then Hope says she wants to go too…for some reason. Have Hope and the Scarlet Witch ever even met? Cyclops says she can’t go, and Hope reminds him that he told her earlier that Utopia is not a prison. Cyclops explains that this time, the Avengers want to use Hope against the PhoeniX-Men, and he can’t allow that. But Hope says she’s not leaving with the Avengers, she’s living with the Scarlet Witch. Because that’s somehow different.

Cyclops grabs Wanda’s arm, but he gets shocked.

Was it as good for you as it was for him?

How foreboding! Anyway, Wanda leaves with the Avengers and Hope, and Cyclops is pretty pissed. He goes into a speech about how the X-Men (and mutants) just keep getting pushed back into a corner. Even when they are nearly wiped out, the humans keep coming. Even now, when they are trying to reshape the world into a better place, the humans still send their ‘heroes’ after the mutants. Regardless of man’s crimes against mutants, they will always be confident in the fact that their heroes will stand up for them. Well Cyclops has had enough of that!

Get it? House of M? Anybody?

Not menacing at all!

As much as Cyclops tries to sound reasonable, the art keeps making him seem like a monster. But I’m still totally on Cyclops’ side in all of this. He didn’t ask for the Phoenix power himself. He didn’t want to become this godlike being. He just believed that the Phoenix could be a source for good. And then when it came to him and the others, he’s using it as a force for good. He’s doing exactly what he said the Phoenix could do.

It’s the Avengers who are assuming the worst. Based on little to no evidence. It’s the Avengers who are trying to fight this, who storm into Utopia to once again try to kidnap Hope just so that they can study her. Beast was right. It’s the Avengers who want to just straight up murder the PhoeniX-Men before they’ve done anything wrong. Murder, murder, murder, that’s all the Avengers stand for these days!

Anyway, debate aside, this was another great issue. The characters finally slow down and start talking to one another about what they’re up to, and we get some deeper meaning behind the conflict. Questions about the nature of superheroes and doing good for the world are asked, though not fully explored to any deep degree. But the questions are there. Superheroes take it upon themselves to police the world. Who gets to draw the line and say that superheroes can’t take it upon themselves to use their powers to make the whole world a better place?

These are some neat ideas. I just wish they weren’t leading to the predictable ending of the Phoenix power corrupting the X-Men. But that ending feels almost inevitable at this point.

Plus it’s almost guaranteed now that Cyclops will die by the end of this story. Which is also lame.

At least the art is absolutely fantastic!