The very concept of Marvel’s What If? books are supposed to be dramatic changes to some of publisher’s most pivotal storylines. Picking up What If? Avengers vs. X-Men #1, I knew I was going to get a variation on the battle between Marvel’s biggest teams but I wasn’t ready for what happens in this issue!
Just in case you didn’t get the original AvX story: The Phoenix Force was coming to Earth to bond with Hope Summers, the mutant messiah. Wolverine and the Avengers feared the worst and wanted to take Hope into custody. Cyclops and the X-Men believed the Phoenix and Hope could save the mutant race from extinction. One group saw death. One group saw rebirth. All suffered when the Phoenix Force split into five different hosts. Continue reading WHAT IF AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 Review
Avengers AI #1 Hank Pym prevented the Age of Ultron but did he unleash a whole new set of horrors! The founding Avenger assembles a new team of heroes including Vision, Victor Mancha from Runaways and new mystery characters on his road to redemption.
Batman Incorporated #12Will Bruce get his revenge? Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham are sure to deliver another bloody, brutal chapter in the final war between Batman and Talia!
The biggest Marvel story of 2012 is the inspiration for the return of What If?Avengers vs. X-Men was a huge event for the Marvel Universe!
What if “other” heroes became the Phoenix Five?
This week is the first issue of Jimmy Palmiotti and Jorge Molina’s four-part story starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fighting the Children of the Atom…with all-new twists and turns!
Iron Man tried to kill the Phoenix Force before it could reach Earth and possess Hope but the entity split into five hosts: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik and Namor – with devastating results – including the death of Professor X.
Acclaimed creator Jimmy Palmiotti told Marvel.com why the original epic is a perfect inspiration for What If?:
The biggest Marvel story of 2012 is the inspiration for the return of What If?Avengers vs. X-Men was a game-changing event for the Marvel Universe but what if other heroes became the Phoenix Five?
Jimmy Palmiotti and Jorge Molina create a four part story starring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fighting the Children of the Atom…with a new twist!
Iron Man tried to kill the Phoenix before it could possess Hope but the entity split into five hosts: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Colossus, Magik and Namor – with devastating results.
Jimmy Palmiotti tells Marvel.com why the original epic is a perfect inspiration for What If?:
Judgement in the stars for the Armored Avenger! Tony Stark rockets into space in this week’s Iron Man #6. In this new arc Tony could face judgement for a cosmic crime in TheGodkiller.
Kieron Gillen talked about Iron Man’s team up with Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek fantasies, and Tony paying for his actions in Avengers versus X-Men with Marvel.com.
“Tony Stark is in space. Issues #1-6 are why he leaves. This is the story between Tony leaving Earth and hooking up with the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Gillen explains.
Cyclops went to prison but I believe Iron Man is in part to blame for the destruction caused by the Phoenix Five. It was Tony’s invention that deflected the Phoenix from Hope and into Scott, Emma, Colossus, Magik and Namor.
“What Tony did to the Phoenix during AvX catches up with him,” Gillen explains, “Tony is having a crisis of his beliefs. Fans know it’s because of AvX. Newcomers may be lost. We catch up here.”
Guardians of the Galaxy #1 courtesy Marvel
Space adventures are a big part of the Marvel Now with a brand new Guardians of the Galaxy series and movie on the way. The ultimate futurist will be part of the new space age.
“Tony is living his James T. Kirk fantasies. That’s how I put it, that’s how he puts it. He thinks he’s in a space opera, then it all turns badly,” Gillen teases, “Not only does Tony try to live out his Kirk and Han Solo fantasies, he’s keenly aware he is doing so. He wants to make out with a green lady. There’s a lot of space bar flirting in issue #6. Maybe he gets his Kirk moment, maybe it goes awesomely wrong.”
The Armored Avenger may meet the Guardians but don’t expect his fellow Mightiest Heroes around.
“You know how the Hawkeye book is about Hawkeye when he’s not in the Avengers? Iron Man is about Iron Man when he’s not with the Guardians of the Galaxy. It’s a question of what space means in the Marvel Universe. Brian Bendis and I are on the same page.”
Tony Stark may be the man who fell to Earth in the latest trailer for Iron Man 3 but in the comic books the Armored Avenger is going into outer space!
Godkiller kicks off this week in Iron Man #6! Tony Stark invented a weapon to contain the Phoenix Force in Avengers vs. X-Men. We know how that turned out! Will Tony pay the ultimate price for this cosmic crime?
Iron Man #7 courtesy Marvel
Marvel shared an ominous preview of next month’s Iron Man #7 by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land. To some aliens the Phoenix is a harbinger of death and rebirth while others worship the entity.
In All-New X-Men #1 Brian Michael Bendis set up the new status quo of the mutant race in the Marvel Universe. In Issue #2 past met present when Beast brought the original five X-Men into the our time in order to save the future. This week’s All-New X-Men #3 focuses on the future cast of the soon-to-be relaunched Uncanny X-Men. Cyclops and Magneto have a bitter reunion with Emma Frost. It’s going to be fun seeing the former lovers forced to work together after what happened in AvX. We also learn in this issue that the former Phoenix Five may be paying a terrible price for hosting the entity during AvX.
I really enjoyed the scenes between Cyclops and Magneto. The former enemies are now allies. The Master of Magnetism became a follower of Scott in recent years. In this issue the Master delivers a powerful lesson to Scott. The appeal of Magneto as a great villain is that he believes his motives are just and he’s willing to play the villain. Cyclops has been on that same journey but accepting that role is not as easy. There’s a moment when Erik basically calls Scott out and it shows Bendis’s great understanding and handling of these characters.
The previous issues were packed with more joy and action. It’s appropriate this chapter is darker and shows how Scott, Erik and Emma are paying for their sins but still pushing for revolution. The final panel is exciting and sets the stage for a huge showdown next issue.
After this issue I have a theory:
Are the new post AvX mutants killing the pre AvX mutants?
The mutant race was reborn because of the Hope/Scarlet Witch/Phoenix act in AvX #12. New mutants are emerging at an alarming rate. Beast is mutating again and it’s killing him as we learned in All-New X-Men #1. In this issue Cyclops, Magneto and Emma’s mutant powers are weaker? It was a stuggle for Scott to generate his optic blast.
Did that energy surge in AvX #12 that re-ignited the mutant race start a genetic transfer among Earth’s mutants? Could it be that for every new mutant now born it will cost the powers and maybe lives of the existing mutants before AvX? It would be an interesting long-term story element for Bendis to explore and something to watch for as he chronicles the future of the X-Men.
