Comic Vine Review

38 Comments

Avengers Vs. X-Men #10 - Round 10

4

The end is near and there is some heavy duty fighting going on. Be prepared to be visually treated to some action that we've been craving in this series.

The Good

Despite the bi-monthly schedule, there's often been a feeling of waiting for something to happen. We have seem some big events but what it comes down to is we're all waiting to see what happens with Hope. Besides that, for me, I've also been waiting to see what happens with Scarlet Witch. We get some of both in this issue.

Assuming you read the previous issue, you know that Cyclops has figured out where Hope has been hiding with the Avengers. From the very first page, we get to see Cyclops' attempt to retrieve her as Iron Fist steps up to the action. We're talking about a kung-fu guy with a powerful glowing hand. Could he actually stand up to someone with a huge portion of the Phoenix Force? What makes Iron Fist cool is he sure as hell is going to try.

There's something about K'un Lun and seeing the battle/chase here, drawn by Adam Kubert was great. How great would a return to K'un Lun series be drawn by Kubert? Not only do we see this encounter, we see who Captain America and the Avengers meet up with, more on Emma's struggle for control with the Phoenix Force as well as Magneto try to make a point to her on Utopia.

It's a glorious battle. Cyclops has never been more powerful. Many step up to take him on. You can imagine how things go. And again, it's Kubert's pencils but the art is so crisp and amazing accompanied by John Dell's inks and colors by Laura Martin and Larry Molinar. As far as the art goes, I think this might be my favorite with all the different scenes that take place. We've had a few different artists so far but I'm glad Kubert got to do this one.

The Bad

It may be a glorious battle but it almost suddenly ends for sake of the size of the issue. Due to the limitations of the format, you get the feeling that these events needed to be wrapped up to end this issue.

Sigh, the next issue is apparently in FOUR weeks now. Let me point out that there are some great scenes here. Everyone is putting up a great fight. As enjoyable as it is, I can't help but wonder if Cyclops, with as much power as he has, couldn't have settled things as soon as he got there. It could be that he still doesn't have full control of the power or realize everything he can actually do. We know he's being influenced by the Phoenix Force but it seems he should have been able to wipe everyone out. The action builds and builds and then it felt as if it abruptly stops. Time to wait again for the next issue for more to happen.

With everything that's going on, we can only hope there is a strong endgame planned. Big things are happening. Scott's actions can't be taken lightly. This could be a matter of he was simply possessed and did some harsh things so should be forgiven later. There's also Hope. She's doing quite a bit as well. Will she have a place after all this. I'm still bothered by the way X-SANCTION ended with Cable in comic book limbo. This may not be a fair critique on this issue but whether it's the surprise of suspense, I'm just not sure where this is all going to go.

The Verdict

We are so close to the end. There has been many times throughout the series where it's felt as if the story could have been told quicker. We are seeing more of an actual confrontation here and the action gets frantic and intense. Adam Kubert's art is a joy to see as we get to see our favorite characters depicted in such a visually appealing fashion. As things heat up, there is the question of why Cyclops with a huge portion of the Phoenix Force can't or isn't able to finish things immediately. As the story heats up, there is a sudden abrupt ending. It is fitting for the evolution of the story here but also made the issue feel as if the last couple pages were rushed in order to set things up for the next issue. With two issues left, it will be interesting to see where this is all going to go. There are lots of great visuals and actions here but now we have to wait four weeks to find out what happens next.