Why So Blu?

‘Avengers vs. X-Men’ Makes Explosive Debut

With all the stories that have been written in the comic book world, it can sometimes be difficult to wonder what else is left.  Well, how about this?  Take the two biggest heroic forces in the Marvel Universe, and pit them against each other in a massive slugfest for the ages.  Sound good?  Or does it sound like a potentially epic story that also doubles as a fanboy’s dream come true?  This eruptive combination came to reality yesterday, April 4th, as the two super teams dropped the gloves in issue #1 of Avengers vs. X-Men.  Now available at your local comic book store as well as the Comixology app (also look for issue #0 which has been out), this blockbuster mini-series is conceived/written by the star-studded team of Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, and Jonathan Hickman.  The wonderful visuals are courtesy of penciler extraoridnaire John Romita Jr.  What does all that mean?  It means it kicks ass from here to Stark Tower, that’s what it means.  If you don’t want to know anything about the story, I won’t give much away, but you’ll probably want to stop reading this article for the next two paragraphs.  When you have two teams of super heroes, it can be a bit taxing in the ingenuity department to come up with a way where both factions of heroes don’t just suddenly start going fisticuffs with one another.  The aforementioned team of writers at Marvel have devised a cleverly woven story that brings in a strong focus on the Dark Phoenix, which is the massively destructive cosmic entity that did in X-Men telepath Jean Grey back in the day.

If you haven’t been following Marvel as of late, here is a quick run-through to catch you up to speed.  Mutants, which are basically humans born with enhanced abilities, are supposed to be the next step in human evolution.  Unfortunately for them, one particular Avenger (the Scarlet Witch), stripped nearly all mutants of their abilities, leading to their near-extinction with fewer than 200 mutants alive today.  A mere fraction of that figure comprises the actual X-Men team.  With that being said, the Avengers have grown exponentially over time in team size with members now including Spider-Man, The Thing, War Machine and Red Hulk to name a few.  As for X-Men stalwarts Wolverine and Beast, those guys are on the fence as far as deciding which team to side with.  As it stands, it’s 22 versus 6.  Can someone say lopsided?  Obviously our favorite mutant team is the underdog here.

Now that you’re all caught up, let me just say that issue 1 was an awesome read and begins the holy crap! fest that is simply known as A vs. X.  With Captain America leading the Avengers and Cyclops commandeering the X-Men, a whole lot of bad blood is about to reach its boiling point.  These guys have a history and it doesn’t involve a whole lot of handshakes and smiles.  Buckle up, Marvel fans.  This is going to be one wickedly turbulent ride.   Issue #2 is right around the corner…