After every company-wide crossover, the outcome affects the comic universe. Avengers vs. X-Men is no different: Wakanda is devastated, Professor Xavier is dead, and mutantkind is reborn. With the Marvel NOW campaign about to start, A vs X: Consequences looks into the lives of some major players in the aftermath of the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover.
SUMMARY
Pros
Scott Summer’s incarceration
Cons
A lot of rehashed material
READER RATING!
[ratings]
A vs X: CONSEQUENCES #1
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Tom Raney
Letterer: VC’s Clayton Cowles
Colorist: Jim Charalampiois
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: 3.99
Previously in Avengers vs. X-Men: With the Phoenix in full control of Cyclops, a.k.a. Scott Summers, the Avengers and the X-Men join forces to stop him. In their attempts to halt Scott, Professor Xavier is killed… again. The Phoenix is driven out of Cyclops and into Hope Summers. Then, with the help of the Scarlet Witch, its power is spread throughout the globe, causing the rebirth of mutantkind. With Cyclops taken into custody, both the Avengers and the X-Men rebuild their world once again.
A DELICATE BALANCE
A vs X: Consequences #1 looks into the aftermath of the Avengers vs. X-Men story arc. For the X-Men and their mutant brethren, it is bittersweet. Although mutants are reborn in the Marvel Universe, their leader Cyclops is imprisoned, most of his X-tinction team is on the run from the law, and Professor Xavier is dead. The best parts of this story are the panels involving Scott Summer’s incarceration. Cyclops’s downfall on display is very tragic. Since it is hard to tell how much the Phoenix influenced his decisions during A vs. X, the writer makes him out to be a martyr, helpless and broken. It feels similar to Captain America’s imprisonment after Civil War, leading up to his death. However, aside from these scenes, there is not much going on. I was hoping the first issue would go over some new events not mentioned at the end of the crossover. Instead, much of the story is rehashed material: Wakanda at war with Atlantis, Captain America attempting to strike a balance between humans and mutants, and Magneto on the run from the Avengers. Revealing the details and tidbits of these events does not make it new. I already read this in A vs. X #12, so it is a little disappointing.
DOLLS AND ACTION FIGURES
Tom Raney’s pencils and Jim Charalampiois’s colors form a clay-like comic style in both figural and emotional expression. The sequences feel like they involve dolls and action figures rather than human figures. The superhero designs are good, but disproportionate at times. For example, Scott Summer’s prison helmet is inconsistent in several panels. The artist rendering of unmasked Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, is perfect. In frames involving emotion, characters are expressive, loud, and detailed. However, without it, the characters are stiff and stoic. The artistry has its moments but, overall, its average.
BOTTOM LINE: MORE CYCLOPS, LESS OF EVERYTHING ELSE
Marvel comics have spent the last couple of years attempting to develop Cyclops as a character and a mutant leader. With Utopia, Schism, and now Avengers vs. X-Men, Scott Summers becomes an interesting superhero, even if he is not a popular one. I hope in later issues the focus will be more on his role in the Marvel Universe, rather than jumping from one character to another.
4 Comments
Like most of the stuff over the last few years in Marvel, I hated this storyline. This issue was bad in that it rehashed all the stuff from the last issue of AvX but it was worse because from AvX #1, Cyclops has been right about the Pheonix Force. And everyone knows all mutants have the same power of rebirth, so who cares if Prof. X is dead, he’ll be back in 12 issues or so.
Law
Oh yeah, and isn’t Cyclops in one of the Avengers Now teams?? He doesn’t even stay in jail long!!!
Law
Cyclops WAS right. I saw it on a shirt, so it must be true.
I really hate it when comic’s make things too far fetched.