Avengers VS X-Men: Jason Aaron, Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman, Adam Kubert, John Dell, Laura Martin, Larry Molinar, Chris Eliopoulos, Jim Cheung, Justin Ponsor, Nick Bradshaw, Marte Gracia

Three down, two to go. And one of them just tore a hole through space-time because f*#@ you, that’s why. He’s the Phoenix-Cyke and he’s done playing. He wipes Iron Fist aside (wasn’t he supposed to have a major role in the downfall of the Phoenix?), and is tackled by Stark. Cool. Love the coloring on that panel, with the lights dragging as they fly.

Emma is displaying tyrannical qualities…something I’m sure she’s always wanted. Strangely, she wasn’t the first to fall to the Phoenix’s influence. It was Namor. They were both once villains, if I’m not mistaken about Namor, so why was it not Emma? I mean…she’s NEVER been a nice person. Only now, with two left, is she really coming into her own with the power. Forcing students and X-Men to cherish and worship her, and even putting Magneto in his place. 

The Thunderer and Hope ride a dragon out to fight Cyclops and—- wait, wait, wait. THIS was the thing that fought the Phoenix in the prophecy and all that? It wasn’t an Iron Fist ancestor? It was a DRAGON!? In what meeting at Marvel were the writers and editors going, “So what’s this prophecy going to be about?” “I don’t know, but it’s gotta be something cool, something powerful enough to—” “How about it’s Iron Fist?” “Shut up, Gary.” “Yeah, stupid Gary. It can’t be Iron Fist. It’s gotta be something big and epic.” “No, really. Iron Fist. Because he’s an actual Avenger, an existing character we don’t need to make up. A piece already on the board. And fans of his would love to see him shine.” “SHUT UP, GARY!”

Poor Gary. He had a great idea. And that was to use an actual character…that exists in the canon already…and can utilize the power of his order to fight the Phoenix. That’s totally what I got from the prophecy earlier in the series. Not that some effing dragon would come flying out. AND IT GETS BLASTED DOWN ON THE SAME PAGE IT DEBUTS. How utterly useless. Maybe that was Gary’s revenge on the board. Good for you, Gary.

Finally, we see Hope really come in to her own. We see Hope go NUTS. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Too long, it seems. I love the panel where she has all the powers and she shouts, “Stop this!” Great panel, great coloring. Wow, and then the psychadelic colors on the next page are just almost too hard to look at. I wonder if it’s actually 3D. Like…you can look at it with a 3D phone screen or glasses and get a cool effect. I should use the “AR” logo on this page and find out what it’s for.

That’s pretty much it, though. I liked the end of the issue. Not much else to say. The whole dragon bit was a big let-down, and I can’t say whether or not it’s a canon thing mentioned before in the K’un Lun order/place that this is what actually happens there and powers Danny’s abilities and all that. But still. That was dumb. I get that the power transferred to Hope…but I still think it would’ve been better to have it be from Iron Fist. Instead of a stupid dragon.

Avengers VS X-Men #10, the verdict: Well, I think it all ends in one or two issues, right? I have no clue how long this thing is supposed to go. I honestly think it’s gone on waaaaay too long as it sits. I first climbed aboard this crazy train thinking there’d only be 6 or 7 issues. Now we’re on 10, and still going. That’s…that’s a bit much, Marvel. Especially with the crazy crap you’ve been pulling recently. This revolving door of writers is a real headache. The core issues with Fraction and Hickman, even the Bendis one following them, were really good. And they’re bookended by what almost feels like amateur writing. They need to stick with one artist, too. I nominate Coipel of course. But I likely won’t get that. I guess it’s also too much to ask for Cheung to finish off the series.

(Photo Source: Comic Vine)