AvX #5

So is it just me, or were Jonathan Hickman’s comments about AvX #4 a little strange? It seemed like he was disengaged from the core plot of the series when he said something like “only the editors know which book that happened in” about Hope getting a Blackbird and some beer for Logan. I wasn’t impressed with that issue at all, and now I’m wondering about Hickman’s excitement level for the issue. Matt Fraction seemed to get a lot more to do in issue 5.

Maybe it’s just me cheering for the underdog, but I find myself cheering for the X-Men, just because they are so frigging overmatched. They are totally the bad guys in this story; reasonable Captain America just wants to take Hope into custody while the X-Men are fighting for Cyclops’ baseless hunch. I’m glad they are sticking together, but how could anyone rationally support Cyclops’ argument?

I wonder how much freedom, if any, Fraction had in choosing his powered-up X-Men. (SPOILERS!) I mean, Cyke, White Queen, and Namor make sense, but Colossus and Magik are getting a ton of limelight in this thing, and I’ve got to think most civilians don’t know who they are. I’m not complaining, though, because getting the Phoenix Force grew back Colossus’ hair. He needed that!

And speaking of engagement, I love the way John Romita Jr’s art seems to go up and down in quality based on the script. Ed Brubaker’s issue three looked fantastic, and once again, this issue is very pretty. Gone are the blurry faces and the oddly shaped bodies (at least on the focus of the panel. There are a still a few background shots like that). The characters at the core of the scene always look great, especially crazy Cyclops.

I dug the designs for the PhoeniX-Men, especially Namor the shirtless wonder and Emma Frost’s tiny, tiny suit. I mean, her suit is literally the Phoenix logo covering her naughty bits and THAT’S ALL. Oh, she does have sleeve and boots. Cyke’s new mask is pretty dang sweet, I could get used to that for awhile too.

Good