Avengers vs X-Men #1 Review

Marvel Comics

Another Marvel event has started.  Almost a year to the day ago, Fear Itself started and took over the Marvel universe.  Avengers vs X-Men starts just as strong as the last event, maybe even stronger.  Avengers vs X-Men #1 is out on 4/4/12.

Unlike #0, #1 is only written by Brian Michael Bendis.  The event starts off better than most due, with the reason for it starting not nearly as forced as others like Siege.  For the first issue in an event, there is always a little bit of catchup needed, and Bendis does that without boring veteran fans.  He states who these characters are and how they stand on this issue well.  And while this event has been billed as mostly fighting, there is a surprising amount of plot.  My favorite part was Cap and Cyclops' conversation near the end.  It's filled with tension and the kind of conversation that fans will point to when making arguments about what side they are on.  So far, the book doesn't favor a side (unlike Civil War), giving each side plenty of time to show why they are in the right in this situation.  Bendis might be associated with the Avengers more, but he writes a great Cyclops, one who treads the line of being a hero or turning into someone like Magneto.  But he also gives him sympathy, making the reader understand why he is going to these extremes, even if we don't agree with him.  Emma Frost gets some great moments too.  A big complaint of Bendis' Avengers run has been that many of the characters are starting to blend together and don't have much in the way of different voices.  That problem should be quelled here.  Each character's voice feels unique and I could guess the character without seeing them in the picture.  And Nova is back, so I'm very happy.  

Many have hated on John Romita JR's (JRJR) pencils recently, but this issue is simply beautiful.  This issue proves that with the right inking and coloring team, his art is some of the best in the industry.  With the book filled with big explosions and fight scenes, it's a perfect way to show off JRJR's pencils.  The double page spread in the beginning had me stunned, with the Phoneix invoking the kind of awe that the force is needed for this event to succeed.  The Hellicarrier near the end of the issue looks fantastic.  Characters are expressive, even with their masks on.  Cyclops is actually skinny, instead of him being sickly skinny.  In the scenes with many characters, some of the characters can lose detail in the background, which hopefully will be addressed in the next three issues.

Avengers vs X-Men #1 gets 4.5/5.