Writers: Brian Michael Bendis/Jason Aaron
Artist: Frank Cho
The moment the Marvel universe has been waiting for has finally arrived with the start of this year’s mega event. Following on from the events of Avengers X-Sanction, Hope Summers (and the rest of the mutant community on Utopia) are coming to terms with the immanent arrival of the Phoenix Force.
AvX splits the writing duties between Bendis (writing the Scarlet Witch story) and Jason Aaron (writing the Hope Summers’ story) as we see both characters struggle with the fall out from past events and the question of what the future holds. I don’t usually follow The Avengers so Scarlet Witch’s story is by far the more unfamiliar but the groundwork is laid here as we see her trying to make a tentative come back to the superhero world. Responsible for the near extinction of the world’s mutants, the Scarlet Witch has a lot on her conscience.
Meanwhile, Hope Summers is chafing under the command of Cyclops. Confused about her destiny and tired of being coddled she has started acting out as she tries to find herself. While the adults around her fret about the arrival of the Phoenix Force, Hope remains defiantly independent.
This prelude does a good job of clueing the reader into the mindset of the two major characters in this story. Confused, a little broken, and unsure of their places in the world, both the Scarlet Witch and Hope have a long way to go. As yet though there is still no sign of the war we all know is coming.
On an unrelated side note, we also get a look at the Serpent Society in this issue as they rob a bank. Hilariously camp, these unfortunate bad guys get their collective butt handed to them by Hope. You gotta love a super villain team with a theme!
Avengers vs X-Men, issue 0 is a nice little introductory piece that just whets the appetite for the story to come… 7/10
Bernice Watson
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