The Good

One of the problem with most recent WHAT IF? stories is they seem to follow the same forumla. Something changes, everything goes sour and then the story ends. It's felt as if they were meant to show us that as horrible as things may have gone in a normal story, the other options always end in the worst possible ways.

Jimmy Palmiotti's take on AVX is different right from the beginning. Instead of a single issue to cram everything in, this is a four-issue miniseries. That allows us to take a longer look at the differences and possible repercussions single acts can have. With Palmiotti behind the wheel and knowing that "anything goes" is possible, you can imagine that this story is going to be insane.

Jorge Molina does a good job capturing the essence of the original series. There are a lot of characters involved and we're off to a great start.

The Bad

There is a lot of set up here. This is understandable to be accessible to readers that didn't necessarily read AVENGERS VS X-MEN. For those that did, we're seeing a lot of similar things before the big "change" occurs.

Before that event happens, there are a couple characters that already felt a tad out of character. And the idea of Magneto being or believing to be the best person to help Hope prepare for the arrival of the Phoenix Force seems a little presumptuous.

The Verdict

This is going to get ugly. I mean that in a good way. WHAT IF? stories give writers free reign over telling whatever kind of story they want. While the original AVX was seemingly meant to be a big epic story, there were some areas where it fell flat. In the WHAT IF? format, plus the fact that this is a four-issue miniseries instead of a one-shot, Palmiotti will be able to dig deep and really cut loose on the Marvel Universe. That alone is reason enough to check this out.

i loved this issue! seriously was avx that good? im really hype for the next issue. i liked the whole thing with storm not because i wanted to see it happen because i wanted to see black panther go off next issue and now he has the phoenix force....shit is gonna go down.

Well...Can't say I'm not hooked after this first issue...

Meh. It all felt like a very forced setup to me ---- the dialogue established Magneto as this sort of saintly voice of reason who only wants for everyone to cooperate and be happy and bake cookies and whatever, while the Avengers are these heavy-handed thugs who come to Utopia with the intention of starting a fight.

@citizenbane: Yea i know, this what if not.only seems.to change the story but the characters as well not that what ifs havent before but they are.usually focused on that character or something like that. An i totally hate how Wolverine killed Storm really its just so sad

What If?'s are fun but they always end up the same way...everyone dies

@danhimself: It's funny... they always turn into "What if... we could kill off Marvel's most famous heroes without any continuity repercussions..."

Considering what went down in AvX I'm expecting a *lot* more random deaths.

This is going to end up just fine for everyone aboard the ship. By everyone I mean those who can fly, obviously.

The only person who should survive the explosion is Wolverine, although looking at issue #4's cover that may not be true.

I liked more than the original

I liked this take on the AvX iniitial setup. I still think having the Avengers just show up and demand everything be their way was very stupid. If you remember to the year of so leading up to AvX, relations between Avengers and X-Men were fairly friendly. Why couldn't Cap and Cyclops have a sit down meeting on the helicarrier and discuss the situation rather than the stupis posturign that goes on. That would have been much more to character.

Overall this was an interesting spin on AvX and sets up a really dark tone for the future. One thing I did like and maybe because this a an alternate story but I liked how this was not an Avengers dominated store like AvX was where the writer was trying to beat us over the head with the idea that the Avengers ae the good guys and the X-Men are the bad guys. This seemed at least from the outset as a more balanced approach. looking forward to more.

What are the what ifs?

I haven't read this issue, so I'll just ask how does Storm die?

Accidentally stabbed by Wolverine.

Never liked the AvX series when it was there so I really didn't like this either. Just the whole thing was just stupid

Did anyone else note that smile Magneto gave right before Storm was stabbed? My guess is that he used his power to subtly shift Wolverine over to stab Storm. No way was her death accidental.

Oh and aside from the last few pages this book was just terrible exposition. If you reas Avengers VS Xmen skip the first 15 pages or so.

This why i love what if's anyone can die or story can shit differntly

I liked the first issue, still ends up being the same old same old when it comes to WHAT IF? Plus I don't like how Magneto is acting like the main hero...and why would he of all people do the talking? Still looks pretty cool can't wait for #2!

Awesome issue
Magneto owns the avengers

would anyone mind telling me what the "What If?" premise is in a spoiler bar? I really want to know what story they're trying to go with but all I'm getting is that Magneto is helping Hope?

Wow I didn't think it was possible but What If AvX is actually worse than the original.