Avengers Vs. X-Men: Vs. #3 Review

Avengers Vs. X-Men is here.  And what better way to handle this than to have our resident Avengers fan (Geoff Arbuckle) and our resident X-Men fan (Victor Kutsenok) come together in a place of neutrality to talk about their favorite teams coming to blows over a cosmic power coming to Earth.  So, let’s talk about the third issue of the companion series featuring battles that couldn’t fit into the main book. Let’s talk Avengers Vs X-Men: Vs. #3!

Avengers Vs X-Men: Vs. #3

Geoff: The battle moves to the moon as the Avengers and X-Men continue to punch and scrape through each other in Avengers Vs. X-Men; Vs. #3!

Victor, I see that my prediction was right and that the X-Men were going to win back some of the battles they lost in the first two books. But let’s start with Colossus Vs. The Thing (sounds like a Godzilla movie if you ask me!)… What did you think of this fight?

Victor: I loved the way it started out. It was like a game of powerhouse ping pong between Red Hulk and Thing. Unfortunately, Colossus was not willing to get tossed around.

I really enjoyed the commentary from Colossus. Not to his opponent, but to himself. He really has sacrificed everything for his teammates. His family, his friends, his very sanity. All for the greater good of the X-Men. Thing puts up a valiant fight, but there really is no stopping the Juggernaut aspect. Red Hulk couldn’t do it in his battle and Thing really had no chance here. If it was just Colossus, all the money would be on Ben. This time around, the mutants get the victory.

Geoff: Yeah. I’m glad you pointed out that inner dialog. Jeph Loeb gets bashed (A LOT) for his stories and his writing, but the man can certainly put some emotion into his inner dialog. I’ve always felt that he may not always have the best stories but his characters are a little more real than in most comics. Then couple this with visuals by Ed McGuinness who is certainly best known for beefy beat-em-ups and you’ve got a pretty good first fight for the book.

Victor: I really loved the art in this battle. Typical McGuinness who loves huge panels and large characters dominating the page. Still, if you pay attention, there are some minor details thrown in that makes the images even better. For example, I loved the American Flag on the last page of the battle. Ironic, but necessary. His line work on the bricks and stones are incredibly detailed and his images of space are stunning.

Loeb is not a great writer because he doesn’t really use a lot of words. However, the ones he does use really get the point across well.

Geoff: That’s a good point. I’m an old stalwart like you, I like it when I open a comic and see a ton of words per page, but I also know sometimes it isn’t the word count, but the impact that can make or break a book. That’s something I do find myself enjoying with Loeb’s stuff.

Let’s move to the Black Widow/Magik fight by one of my favorite writers at Marvel, Christopher Yost, with Terry and Rachel Dodson on art. First of all, the Dodsons sure do know how to draw pretty ladies. Second, is it okay for me to totally dislike Magik? I find her to be a major brat.

Victor: You can dislike her all you want. You are actually supposed to hate her. She is currently being written as a half-villain. She almost wiped out reality in order to save part of her soul. She’s cold, calculating, and uber-powerful. And she knows it. Natasha barely stood a chance. Its like Dr. Strange fighting Black Widow. The odds were just not in her favor. Magic could have ended it before it even started. Still, Black Widow put up a hell of a fight which was fun to watch.

What I really enjoyed this battle was the verbal exchange. Especially since I understood every word of it. I guess having two Russian chicks catfighting is extra cool if you can read Russian. (And yes, they were extremely well drawn too. Super hot!!)

Geoff: That’s awesome that you can read Russian! I need to whip out my phone and check out the AR app to see what they are saying. Even if that wasn’t the case, it’s a nice touch. This is exactly why I like Yost’s work. He seems to live in that “nice touch” zone. All the better that he’s the head story editor for Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

I didn’t really think that Widow would have had much of a chance, but I knew she’d make it real tough on Magik. I loved that Natasha basically forced her hand by putting a gun right in her face after blowing away some demons.

Victor: Yeah. The gun to the head moment was cool. However, Magik could have killed her at any moment. She was basically toying with her. She does have some humanity left still. The cool part was at the end when the Phoenix force was coming to possess her and the other Extinction team members and she just stares emotionless into the sky. Very ominous. Makes you want to pick up AvX 5, just in case you didn’t. A nice touch.

What also got me VERY excited was the preview for next issue’s battle. Thor vs ???????? Is that Jean Grey?? Could it be a Phoenix possessed Hope??? Whoever it is, it should be an awesome battle. Also, Daredevil gets to slap around Psylocke a bit. I’m looking forward to it. What about you?

Geoff: I think it’s Emma that Thor’s up against. Her outfit looks more like what she turned into in AvX #5, but I could be wrong. This whole thing is going so nicely. The main series is doing its job well, and I don’t care what anyone else thinks of Vs., but it’s giving us what we want. It’s getting to the point where I feel so damn excited for every single AvX comic that it makes it difficult to pinpoint anything outside of “EVERYTHING”!

Victor: Maybe it is Emma. (Would be cooler if it was Jean!!!)

I’m agreeing with you for now. We are almost at the halfway point and I’m still extremely excited. Usually, at this point, I already have a general idea of where the “event” is going and how it will end. I’m currently clueless. My hopes for a Jean Grey rebirth are still high. My anticipation for some much needed Avenger beatdowns is running strong. My excitement for a real artist to draw the “event” is off the scale. Overall, to me at least, this has been the best Marvel “event” in over 5 years. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

So let’s grade this puppy. For awesome action, great art, and some brownie points for using a foreign language that I understand, I am giving this book a solid 95. The Rasputin Family stands victorious today.

Geoff: I’m going to agree with you on that 95. I think you had two writers that were solidly selected for each part, and the art teams were also excellently selected. We only have another week before the second act kicks off and I’d definitely be surprised if we find ourselves disappointed with the rest of the event.

Victor: I hope so. Marvel has done it to us before. I pray they don’t do it again. Till next week.

Geoff: See you then… Just make sure you don’t accept any cosmic powers that can burn this place to cinders in the meantime!

Tags: Avengers vs. X-Men Avengers Vs. X-Men: Vs. Generation Hope Slider X-Men