Running alongside this year’s Marvel Universe mega event, Avengers vs X-Men, every month VS will cover two one-on-one battles between Avengers and X-Men.
Iron Man vs Magneto
Script: Jason Aaron
Pencils: Adam Kubert
Pre-Read Predictions: At first glance this bout seems like a pretty easy one to call. I mean, Iron Man up against Magneto. Iron. Magnet. Surely, surely, Magneto will make absolute mincemeat of a man encased in a metal suit. Right? Right?? But then that just seems too simple. In fairness, Iron Man does have the tech and not only that he’s renowned for being able to come up with unexpected solutions and ‘think on his feet’. Despite all appearances to the contrary I think he might just have something up his shiny, metal sleeve that will even the playing field here. Perhaps even something to win him the day against one of the most power mutants to walk the Earth…
Warning: Spoilers Follow!
Hmmm, so technically Iron Man won this round but I don’t think it really counts because Magneto was incapacitated not by anything Iron Man did but rather by the distant presence of the Phoenix Force. If it weren’t for that it looks like Iron Man was about to be given a spanking he’d never forget.
As predicted, the suit didn’t turn out to be a major issue since Iron Man had taken the sensible precaution of not showing up in a metal suit. It was carbon nanotubes. Whatever they are. That didn’t stop Magneto from dropping a building on him though. I enjoyed that.
The ‘Fun Facts’ scattered here and there throughout were a whimsical addition that I wasn’t expecting. I presume this is something that readers can look forward to throughout this series.
So, did Iron Man win convincingly? Absolutely not. But the big question for me was this: will Magneto switch sides now? Having been reminded of the Phoenix Force’s awesome destructive power will he stand against Cyclops who believes the Phoenix can be controlled? Hmmmmmm…
The Thing vs Namor
Script: Kathryn Immonen
Pencils: Stuart Immonen
Pre-Read Predictions: This one is a hard fight to predict because both of these characters are very unfamiliar to me. My first thought is, The Thing is massive but can he breathe underwater? Because that’s where this showdown appears to be taking place. Also, being made of rock, doesn’t he just sink to the bottom? In the absence of any real facts I’m going to put my money on Namor who is at least in his natural environment. That’s got to give him some advantage. Yup, sign me up to Team Namor!
Warning: Spoilers Follow!
So, my question about the Thing breathing was answered in pretty short order, apparently he does need to breathe but a convenient mineral vent provided a ready source of fresh oxygen. Also, yes, he does sink right to the bottom. Good to know.
It looks like Namor has met his match in the Thing and is left pinned to the ocean floor (well, for a little while anyway) while the Thing returns to the fray on dry land. Things are not going well for the X-Men so far!
Given that the Thing is limited to the ocean floor due to his complete lack of buoyancy, I’m amazed that Namor wasn’t able to make better use of his own superior manoeuvrability to gain the upper hand. I did enjoy the bit where Namor just hits Thing with a massive fish though. That was all class. Unfortunately that same fish then provided the Thing with the very weapons he would use to defeat Namor. Bummer.
VS Score: Avengers 2 – X-Men 0 7/10
Bernice Watson
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