We know how the Comics Internet is reacting to Avengers Vs. X-Men – fairly positively, I think; sales are pretty great, if nothing else – but what about those who aren’t necessarily so plugged into the daily to’s and fro’s of the whole thing? Over at Tor.com, Shoshana Kessock looks at the first half of the event and isn’t necessarily pleased with what she finds:
After six main issues and loads of tie-ins, there is unfortunately not a whole lot of good to say about this entire storyline. After initial excitement regarding the possibilities involved in seeing the Phoenix, I have to say that I’m utterly underwhelmed by the battle between the Phoenix and the Avengers, which takes place mostly offscreen. (The plot to stop the cosmic entity was an utter joke: Iron Man will shoot it in the face with a cannon?)
But most notably meh was the creation of the Phoenix Five out of Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik, five characters whose storylines have suffered from circular logic and weak motivations for some time. The recreation of a utopian Earth thanks to the Phoenix Five further muddies the waters about the dangers of the Phoenix Force. Instead of demonstrating the scary power of the Phoenix it just makes the Avengers look overly paranoid and overbearing.
Given that more recent developments have made the Phoenix Force more… problematic (On a fanboyish note, the “The power is corrupting them!” note is depressing to see wheeled out again, given that I think every single reader called this one as soon as the Phoenix Five appeared. Especially depressing is that it seems to be affecting Magik and Emma the most, but that one may just be my reading), I’m curious to see what Kessock will make of the second half of things.
August 2nd, 2012 at 12:50 pm
>>Especially depressing is that it seems to be affecting Magik and Emma the most, but that one may just be my reading>>
I think that is just your reading. Given what Namor did to Wakanada, and Colosuss’ creepy behavior towards Kitty Pryde I think its a tough sell that Emma and Majik are obviously the most corrupted.
August 2nd, 2012 at 12:59 pm
I am going to second MTS. If anything I think Emma and Magik have been the most consistent in their pre/post-Phoenix behavior.
August 2nd, 2012 at 1:04 pm
“Depressing” is Blog@’s “inconceivable.”
August 2nd, 2012 at 1:33 pm
OK, I admit to not having read anything with the mainstream Tony Stark in a long while. But every description of I read of his involvement in a major story comes down to “Tony Stark Does Something Stupid.” Either his brains are sorely overrated, or he’s become the go-to guy for when writers need a plot twist that doesn’t work.
August 2nd, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Honestly of the sites I regularly go to, I don’t think I’ve really seen much of a reaction, good or bad, to Avengers vs X-Men overall quality as much as a discussion about something that happens within each single issue.
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:01 pm
“OK, I admit to not having read anything with the mainstream Tony Stark in a long while”
Ok, so why do you care?
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:30 pm
I care because I still follow ancillary Marvel titles, and because I like Tony Stark when done right. I just gave up on finding it in a comic book.
August 4th, 2012 at 2:11 pm
Graeme would post a link to a blogger who doesn’t like a Marvel story at issue 6 the day after issue 9 of the story came out. Is this just here to show us all proof that your Marvel trolling is warranted?
Also, what’s “depressing” is that you point to Emma and Magik as being the most corrupted, when Namot was the one who went nuts and invaded a country, and Colossus went psycho ex on Kitty. Even if Emma did some manipulating there, it certainly wasn’t out of character.
Depressing. That word comes up here a lot. Maybe you should stop blogging about/reading things that depress you? Just a thought.