Avengers vs X-Men: Consequences - First Two Issues Review

Comic: Avengers Vs X-Men: Consequences #1 & #2

Written By: Kieron Gillen

Pencils By: Tom Raney #1 & Steve Kurth#2

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Release Date: OUT NOW IN STORES & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (VIA COMIXOLOGY)

I didn't jump onto reviewing this mini series last week because my ill feelings on the mess that was Avengers vs X-Men was too fresh and I think my knee jerk reaction to AvX: Consequences would be to dislike it. That being said, Issue #1 of Consequences was okay. Starting with Wolverine taking his pupils to Wakanda to help but being kicked out due to the struggling people of the recently all but destroyed city not taking too kindly to mutant seemed an obvious beginning. This of course just felt like another fight brewing between heroes waiting to happen but instead we shift focus.

Jumping to Scott Summers, who's locked up in an undisclosed prison and learning he's going to be allowed to hang out with normal mutant criminals in a special sector of a prison felt a little weak at first. I mean , come on, this guy all but put the world at jeopardy about five minutes ago and seeing him in this situation felt a little bit too normal a response in the world of comic books. Of course it doesn't take a genius to predict he's going to make some mutie friends inside and break out or something, right? Two issues in and it's already going that way but maybe not. Maybe we'll actually get something more.

To Kieron Gillen's credit, he makes all of this make some sense. It's not about fighting of sweeping generalisation about our characters (okay there is still some of that), it's more focused and a genuine attempt to deal with the consequences of AvX. Sure Scott Summers is still adamant he did the right thing and that when it went too far it was the Phoenix that took over but the face off between Scott and Logan in issue #2 is about the best face off they've had in ages. There's no fight as such but there is plenty of drama. Wolverine would obviously love to tear Scott's head off for what's happened but Gillen humanises Scott somehow. Despite Scott's persistent view that he's done the right thing in the long run, Scott's intelligence is allowed to shine out. He knows what he's done will pass a message down to younger mutants and he knows the knock on influence he will have on how mutants think of the world but at the same time we are beginning to see that he may not be happy with what he's done recently and maybe his death will be the for the best in the long run... or at least put an end to him dealing with what he's done.

I came into comics in the 90s. Scott was the big boy scout that led the X-Men. I didn't care for him but he was like the big brother the team needed. Reliable. Married to Jean. Someone who knew the right thing to do. Then writers started messing with him. Hardening his edges, Emma Frosting his love life and blurring the line between headstrong leader and just plain annoying. Not a lot of this worked because Scott had ever done anything all that right and the darker side of him felt forced somehow. AvX dragged all of that to it's absolute limits and we lost Scott Summers.

Whether you like it or not, Scott Summers is gone. He can't ever come back from the places he went in that mini series and Marvel has essentially destroyed who Scott Summers was for good because what he did will always be there. To some this is ridiculous, to some it's a bold move but Marvel have to be respected for taking it as far as they did with such a key character, even if the execution was a let down. Comics are facing a tough time and if pushing characters to new places will keep it interesting, I'm game. As long as it's absolute and not playing with an idea, like Marvel were doing for too long with Scott, it can work. In #2 of Consequences we begin to see what's next for Scott Summers. A character who knows who he was and what he's done and we seem to be starting on a road that will give us a new Scott Summers.

Unfortunately the writing is not complimented by the art. The writing is more complex than the visuals allow somehow. The art is telling us that Cyclops is almost the Joker to Wolverine's Batman (Dark Knight anyone?). They understand each other but they will never overcome their differences. There's a distinct sense we're seeing the evolution of a new generation of Professor X and Magneto and this seems to be Marvel building a future that echoes the X-Men's past. This is very brave as comics rarely take steps forward like this and stick to it. For me the Scott Summers side works. He's lost and he knows it but he still believes in his choices, even if they have destroyed him as a person. Sadly the Wolverine side of this coin doesn't work because Wolverine is pretty close to the worst used character in all of comics at the moment. He's a mess of different angles in the world of Marvel. He's a loner, he's a head master, he's a team player, he's a rogue, he's a rebel with a dark side, he's a heartfelt idealist, he's well... everything to everybody and that just doesn't work. Seriously, Wolverine has so many sides to him at this point he's hard to really accept in any of his guises because they all contradict one another. I'm hoping the upcoming Frank Cho "Savage Wolverine" redefines Logan a bit but for a long time and more so post AvX, I think Wolverine needs some time away from the mainstream to build up the character we all loved again because at the moment he's almost utterly ineffective... Okay maybe not utterly, he has some glimmers of great Wolvy here but you know what I mean.

Anyway, I'm totally off topic here aren't I, so back to it. AvX: Consequences shows promise so far and given the hole the AvX messy event created for the Marvel Universe to crawl out of , this can only be a promising thing. The art in both issues is pretty lousy (Captain America looks awful in issue #1 and this whole thing feels a bit rushed) and the mood is a little all over the place but the focus here seems to be Scott. If Marvel want to re-establish this character's credibility in whatever direction they chose to take him in future months, good or bad, they are starting well within the pages of this miniseries. Less action, less explosions and more focus on character is the way forward and Consequences seems to be getting that right so far.

rating: 3.5