Comic Review: Avengers vs X-Men # 1

By Marcus Doidge / April 26, 2012

Book: A vs X #1 (of 6)Written By: Jason Aaron, Kathryn ImmonenPencils By: Adam Kubert, Stuart ImmonenPublisher: Marvel ComicsRelease Date: OUT NOW IN STORES & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (VIA COMIXOLOGY)

rating: 2

***BEWARE SPOILERS AHEAD*** To open I'm not even going to try to explain what this spin off of a big event is. So I'll put it over to what's explained in the opening of the comic itself. So there you go. Not only do you have to buy a 12 part mini series crossover event on top of your regular monthly comics, that themselves expand on the big Avengers vs. X-men event, you now have to buy the fights between characters within this mini series as well (not forgetting the web exclusive tie in comics as well remember). Marvel are going all out with this one but with the story spread so thinly its going to be a tough slog for readers to follow every element of this major Marvel storyline isn't it? As well as a financial burden. In a time where comic sales are dropping and big events like this might draw in new readers, this seperation of story and action seems a little bit silly to me. Essentially all this issue does is highlight the problems I had with the main Avengers vs. X-men comics. However big these battles are (in this issue its Magneto vs Iron Man and The Thing vs. Namor), no one is really going to win these battles and surprise surprise no one actually does either. For starters Iron Man vs Magneto is a no brainer. Magneto wins every time but not this time. We're told Iron Man's suit isn't metal at all but Carbon Nantubes, so that wipes out Magneto crushing Stark how you'd expect but even when Magneto is winning by tapping into the magnetics of the universe he simply gives up as he's overwhelmed with the power of the oncoming Phoneix meaning Iron Man wins this one. What? Really? Admittedly this is a bit of fun but that result really is a cop out.

As for The Thing vs Namor, once again we're told how powerful each character is and throughout The Thing doesn't seem to be taking any of this too seriously. The fight is underwater, so The Thing is at a disadvantage but even when he wins this one (no surprises there) we're handed a shot of Namor being perfectly fine and this win is a 'for now' scenario. Honestly what is the point of all this exactly? They are never going to give away any big reveals that feed into the main Avengers vs. X-men plot and really these flaccid battles add nothing to the main story arc so far. At best this is like reading a comic of Capcom vs. Marvel in that the result if a bit of fanboy fun but offers no real weight to anything beyond the exciting visuals. Yeah I'm all up for a bit of fun but a six issue mini series dedicated to battles that mean absolutely nothing to anybody? This seems a little too far to me. Now I'm not knocking the talent involved. Kubert drawing Magneto is feeding right into what I love about comics and ol' Mags feels like classic Magneto all over again. The action is all fun enough as well, with good pacing and great set pieces but this issue offered me nothing outside of what was already teased in Avengers vs. X-men #2 last week. Hero vs. Hero is boring unless something drastic is going to happen. This just feels like petty squabbling to me and the 'Winner' seems utterly pointless. Actually this feels like the old Dc vs. Marvel Amalgam event minus any sort of spectacle. This whole Avengers vs. Marvel thing is only two issues in (as well as the tie ins) and I'm already feeling a little bored by it. The main thread has me intrigued because The Phoenix returning is a big deal and I'd be lying if I said I'm not feeling the scale of this event but whatever happened to a good story where all of the element could be contained within an easy to follow plot? The Night of Owls crossover over in the Bat-books is already feeling much slicker than this and in a Marvel Universe full of unused villains these hissy fits between Marvel heroes is growing tiresome. Buy this issue for a bit of fun between characters you might like. The art is solid and there's some fun to be had but don't buy this to add anything to Marvel's big event. It's just not worth it.