Avengers vs. X-Men has been a chaotic mess of inconsistencies, and a mish mash of Marvel Architects. Thus far, there have been few glimmers of hope, but overall Marvel has continually lowered the bar. However, after reading issue six of Avengers vs. X-Men, the glimmer seems to be sparkling a bit brighter now. Jonathan Hickman dives into the narrative with this issue, and manages to piece together the odd turn of events from last issue’s finale. He pushes the plot forward with a wonderful bit of finesse, while straddling the line between the old and the new. Also, this issue marks the passing of the art baton as Romita, Jr. hands it over to Olivier Coipel, resulting in some slick splash pages and magnificent panels.
Avengers vs. X-Men #5 concluded with the Phoenix Force being splintered and siphoned into five prominent X-Men characters due to a failed attempt to stop the Phoenix Force by Tony Stark’s wannabe Transformer. Hickmanpicks up from Fraction’s awkward ending and begins the issue by finally formerly introducing Xavier to the events of Marvel’s Avengers vs. X-Men. Hickman cleverly uses Magneto to bridge the gap between the story arc and the inclusion of Xavier.The rest of the issue unfolds in two parts like prior issues. One half showcases the Phoenix Five as they transform the world in their image. Some spectacular panels and splash pages penciled by Coipel detail the Phoenix possessed X-Men as they transverse the globe in a dash of reformation and peace. The other half depicts the Avengers and Iron Fist as they desperately try to piece together legend with prophecy in a last ditch effort to stop the Phoenix Five from world domination disguised as peace.
I found Jonathan Hickman’s writing to be in fine form here, and it was as-if I were reading one of his stellar Fantastic Four/Future Foundation arcs. The Iron Fist lore is incredibly appropriate and timely; I was glad to see a little more Iron Fist, especially in such a large-scale comic book event.
Olivier Coipel’s art is a welcome relief. Normally I applaud John Romita’s work, but I was disappointed with his pencilings in the first couple issues of the series. In particular, I loved Coipel’s Iron Fist pencilings. Coipelcaptured the essence of Iron Fist perfectly. Along with his excellent character models Coipel also created some brilliant splash pages for the issue—two pages specifically come to mind: one focusing on Magneto when he first greets Xavier, and another depicting Colossus standing atop a freefalling missile amongst dozens of other falling missiles. Olivier Coipel has definitely started off with a bang, and I am incredibly excited to see where he takes his artwork next.
I give Avengers vs. X-Men #6 four-and-a-half stars out of five. This has been the best issue by far, and I am incredibly hopeful that the rest of the run will finish off phenomenally.
Avengers vs. X-Men #5 concluded with the Phoenix Force being splintered and siphoned into five prominent X-Men characters due to a failed attempt to stop the Phoenix Force by Tony Stark’s wannabe Transformer. Hickmanpicks up from Fraction’s awkward ending and begins the issue by finally formerly introducing Xavier to the events of Marvel’s Avengers vs. X-Men. Hickman cleverly uses Magneto to bridge the gap between the story arc and the inclusion of Xavier.The rest of the issue unfolds in two parts like prior issues. One half showcases the Phoenix Five as they transform the world in their image. Some spectacular panels and splash pages penciled by Coipel detail the Phoenix possessed X-Men as they transverse the globe in a dash of reformation and peace. The other half depicts the Avengers and Iron Fist as they desperately try to piece together legend with prophecy in a last ditch effort to stop the Phoenix Five from world domination disguised as peace.
I found Jonathan Hickman’s writing to be in fine form here, and it was as-if I were reading one of his stellar Fantastic Four/Future Foundation arcs. The Iron Fist lore is incredibly appropriate and timely; I was glad to see a little more Iron Fist, especially in such a large-scale comic book event.
Olivier Coipel’s art is a welcome relief. Normally I applaud John Romita’s work, but I was disappointed with his pencilings in the first couple issues of the series. In particular, I loved Coipel’s Iron Fist pencilings. Coipelcaptured the essence of Iron Fist perfectly. Along with his excellent character models Coipel also created some brilliant splash pages for the issue—two pages specifically come to mind: one focusing on Magneto when he first greets Xavier, and another depicting Colossus standing atop a freefalling missile amongst dozens of other falling missiles. Olivier Coipel has definitely started off with a bang, and I am incredibly excited to see where he takes his artwork next.
I give Avengers vs. X-Men #6 four-and-a-half stars out of five. This has been the best issue by far, and I am incredibly hopeful that the rest of the run will finish off phenomenally.
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