Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #9

To recap: Namor attacked Wakanda and pretty much destroyed the place.   The Avengers were able to defeat Namor and caused the Phoenix Force to leave him but made the remaining 4 X-Men even stronger.   The Avengers retreated to K’un Lun where they are training Hope.

A bit of foreshadowing as Colossus is beating someone senseless.  Cut to present day as The Avengers return from a mission carrying an injured Red Hulk and Captain America, obviously irritated, states they lost Thor. Tony sits in his room trying to figure out how everything fits together.  Trying to find a glimmer of hope.  On the other side of that door we see a medical facility filled with injured Avengers.  Hope says she is ready to fight but Spider-Man says Iron Fist says otherwise.  She will continue to train.  Hope says she is ready to hit something for real.  Spider-Man tells her that time will come, and that  every Avenger has that moment when they’ve gotta do what is necessary,  you just have to make sure you’re ready.  Eventually you have to step up to the plate, whether you want to or not. Welcome to Avengers vs. X-Men Round 9

As Captain America explains by next week the Avengers won’t even exist; we watch Magik and Colossus put Thor in a Volcano as Storm, Gambit, Armor, and Pixie watch with their heads down.  Storm realizes they are fighting on the wrong side.  Cyclops visits Emma in Ethiopia as Emma explains the power is enhancement they have received is making her go insane.  She can now blink her eyes and wipe out the entire planet.  Scott explains that  they are still making the world a better place and eventually the Avengers will come around.  Emma tells Scott she found the Avengers hiding spot.   In a very sincere moment (rare for Emma Frost) she tells him not to go as she is worried about what she is going to do next.  Her exact words are “Please Stop Me”.  Emma then proceeds to kill a man in front of his family for his dirty secrets as the family watches in horror.

Storm arrives in Wakanda as she tells T’Challa she wants to help rebuild.  T’Challa explains all X-Men have been branded enemies of Wakanda and Storm is no longer his wife.  Storm is saddened by this but tells Black Panther that she wants to help them anyway she can.   The only seven avengers who aren’t captured or hurt (minus Tony) attempt to rescue the captured Avengers.  They are met at the front by Xavier and Storm who are there to help them.  As they attempt the rescue they are met by Colossus and Magik, and  once again the Avengers take a serious ass whooping.  Spider-Man realizes this mission is only going to end with more of them being killed or captured. Spider-Man takes on the two Phoenix Powered Gods on his own as the foreshadowing from the first page is starting to make sense.  As Spidey continues to get attacked, blood is everywhere!  All over Spider-Man, Colossus’s face, the walls.  But Colossus and Magik fight amongst one another as the Phoenix Force erupts between the two of them causing them both to go down.  Only two Phoenix Forced powered left.  Spider-Man is retrieved by good old Captain America who brings him back along with the captured Avengers.  Leave no man behind.

As the Avengers return with good news for a change they arrive to find Cyclops waiting for them, who is now more powerful than ever before.

As the Avengers vs. X-Men books keep getting better and better I expected to see more heroes fall.  There have been lots of injuries but no deaths quite yet.  Granted, in comics no one ever stays dead, but I think the severity of how serious of a threat the Phoenix Force is can only truly be warranted by death.  It looks as if the X-Men and Avengers are going to team up to defeat the Phoenix Force which will either be Emma Frost or Scott Summers.  Both of which are seemingly hated by most Marvel fans (except me).   Will it be Emma or Cyclops who dies?   There can be only one.  My money is on Cyclops who has taken a serious character change that people have hated ever since he was part of Apocalypse.   The burden of Jean Grey’s death will never truly heal.  Only in death will Scott Summers truly find peace.