Avengers vs. X-Men #8
Story by Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Jonathan Hickman
Script by Brian Michael Bendis
Art by Adam Kubert, Jon Dell, Laura Martin, and Larry Molinar
The short of it:
Namor wages complete and utter great massive freaking war on Wakanda. I’m talking tsunami waves in the middle of Africa as well as an Atlantean army riding on the backs of the nastiest of nasty looking sea creatures. He just rips the most advanced city on the continent to pieces in his uber powered rage against the Avengers. Don’t forget, last issue Wanda disassembled him into cubes to teleport him away. He’s not happy. Namor fights the Avengers. All of them…and he whoops the crap out of most of them. And then Wanda shows up. We find out just what exactly happens when she takes on someone with Phoenix powers, and the Phoenix Five are met with the most potentially threatening voice of them all. Just as the Avengers realize…well, that would be telling.
What I liked:
- Namor unleashed was just as furious as I’d hoped. He was pure insane power unleashed, and it felt like it. The scope was well captured, from the sheer level of devastation across the city to he damage inflicted during his fight. His entire Phoenix powered time has built up to this moment, and it succeeds.
- Black Panther is perfectly captured as a pissed off and angry king who is watching his people suffer for his mistakes. He’s really not used often enough. His being the only person to not abandon ship at the end is a small and quiet panel that is just so character defining.
- Red Hulk taking battle damage was pretty epic. There really aren’t many better ways to put over someones power than having them break a Hulk bone.
- Adam Kubert on art? I’ll take it! Olivier Coipel was doing a great job, but really, nothing says ‘this is a big deal’ at Marvel quite like having a Kubert draw it. He’s iconic talent who is still at the top of his game. Same with his brother.
- The person who stands up to Scott at the end and lays down the gauntlet? About time.
What I didn’t like:
- I think last issue I commented on how Hope was finally getting to K’un L’un despite the New Avengers arc of her being there already being over and done with to make room for more AVX tie in issues (like last weeks great one). I’d like to retract that and actually redouble my annoyance as they made it a point for her to arrive THIS issue. So if you want Hope’s adventures in Kung Fu land, be sure to go back about three or four issues of New Avengers and start looking there. Like, the first part of it dropped back in April.
- Wanda apparently still has “do whatever she wants” powers.
- Having a teleporter is “outsmarting” the people who just teleported to your current location. That’s logic.
- Captain America honestly believes that Cyclops would send Namor to raze a country. This entire war has been because of how little respect Cap has for Cyclops, and it just gets made worse every issue with the awful characterization.
- Magneto the background charater.
Final Thoughts:
Of course Captain America would be licking his chops at an excuse to blame something like this on Scott Summers. He’s been a war hungry dick since the mini started, why change it now? I mean, at no point in all of the years that he’s known Namor has the King of Atlantis EVER gone off the reservation and gone into business for himself. That NEVER happened under Cap’s watch. Save for all the time it did.
Does anybody else remember how Beast quit two issues ago? Like, how he made a deal out of the fact that this entire situation was out of control and he wasn’t going to kill his best friend for making the world a better place? Has anybody else noticed him showing up in both issues since, both times fighting without dialog for the Avengers?
I’d rather Captain America be in the chalk outline than Cyclops at this point. One of them is dealing with a giant power boost and still trying to help the world, the other is sacrificing everything and everyone that gets between him and his enemy so he can eventually claim victory.
I’d also accept it being Emma at this point, she’s a manipulative little bitch. Man, that’s a good thing, classic Emma is great.
Hey look, Hope is the right age again!
Overall: 7/10
