Avengers Vs. X-Men: Vs. #4 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 fourth issue of the companion series featuring battles that couldn’t fit into the main book. Let’s talk Avengers Vs X-Men: Vs. #4!
Avengers Vs X-Men: Vs. #4
Victor: AvX Vs. #4. Another massive battle issue. This time we get two amazing fighters going head to head as well as a God and a newly formed god. Let’s start with Daredevil vs. Psylocke. I really enjoyed this battle. It definitely went exactly like I expected it too. The action was pretty cool and drawn extremely well. I love the similarities between these two characters and how each of them fought for what they believed in. In the end, I was not happy with the outcome as I was picking the man in red for the win all the way. What did you think of it, Geoff?
Geoff: I actually liked that it ended in a draw. Because it was a battle rooted in what they believe in, it makes sense that there was no clear victor. You’re right, I think if it was just a tournament style fighter type of situation, you’d think Daredevil would actually have the upper hand. He’s more experienced, better measured, and his powers gives him that advantage. In the end, it really came down to him not wanting to put Psylocke in the ground because of those beliefs. Is it her fault if what she’s been shown or told to believe in turns out to be wrong? It was a better move for him to plant a seed of doubt in her and let that grow than for him to knock her out. Very well written and very nicely drawn.
Victor: Nice little jab there Geoff, but I still feel that the X-Men are right. Psylocke said it best in the opening to this fight. “They never cared about us. Time and time again, no Avengers ever came.” This has always been the case. Cap dies and the world mourns. Mutants get obliterated and no one comes to defend the last survivors. Instead, they send a bunch of Sentinels to “protect” them. Finally, with potential world peace on the horizon, now the Avengers pay attention. (OK. Enough preaching. This is about battle, not debate)
So the way these two pair up was nice. Psylocke had the same type of training that Daredevil has but she definitely outsmarted him and could have had this fight won. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. DD has got to stop being nice to the ladies. They keep on coming back to bite him in the ass.
Geoff: Yeah, ol’ Matty is definitely a sucker to the ninja chicks. What I can say about this fight is that, for the first time in this series, we get a little deeper into the heads of the characters. Vs. was meant to be all action all the time and that’s served us well. This time, Rick Remender puts us inside their heads. The visuals from Brando are amazing. The fight is solid, but underneath, there are some deeper things going on here. I think this might have been my favorite fight of the series so far.
Victor: I definitely liked it. Moving on to Thor vs Phoenix/Emma. What a major letdown here. I was hoping for so much more. The visuals could have been a thousand times better. The art on the cover was tremendous while the interiors lacked any sense of grandeur. Also, the fight was pretty one note. Thor used his muscle instead of his powers and weapons and paid for it with a vicious beatdown.
Geoff: Yeah. Honestly, Thor came off as a bit of a brute. I respect Kaare Andrews a lot and I actually did like his Bronze Age style of art on this story, but you’re right, it was a little more stylish than grand. I’m not arguing the outcome, but I almost thought this fight would work out to a draw as well. Thor is a warrior, and a god who has quite a bit of confidence in his abilities, but he didn’t seem to be very formidable at all here.
Victor: He just thought that pure violence was going to defeat the Phoenix. Didn’t he already lose to it in space? Shouldn’t he have come up with a strategy of some sort? Or did he just see a woman and ignore the Phoenix? What was the point of explaining the powers of Mjolnir and then not really use it to it’s full extent? I would have sent Emma to another dimension with the hammer’s warp powers. Instead, Thor just broke a rock. Sorry, that was just not well thought out.
Geoff: No, you’re absolutely right. Instead, Thor just looks like a big dumb animal. He should know he’s not up against some girl. You’re entirely right about that as well. He just knew what the Phoenix was capable of. He crashed into the Moon after dealing with it!
Victor: Still, the outcome was expected, I guess. Now I’m really looking forward to next issue. Storm vs. Black Panther. I hope its a verbal battle as well as a physical as these two throwing verbal punches would be a lot more poignant than a mere fist fight. I know nver to bet against the Black Panther, but I’m pulling for Storm in this one. Also, Angel vs. Hawkeye. Should be a no brainer but maybe Angel will pull out a miracle.
Let’s put this issue to a vote. I’m giving it an 80. The first fight rocked, but the second one had multiple issues from the art to the layouts to the lack of realism. What about you, Geoff? Where do you stand?
Geoff: I have to agree with you. The first battle was just perfectly played out, written, and drawn. It worked so well that the second battle, which should have been the headliner, just fell flat. I’ll go with that 80 as well.
Victor: Well then, I guess its so long for now. Until next issue’s hopefully awesome battles.
Geoff: Until then!
A COMIC BOOK BLOG RATING
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The first story is particularly well written and drawn. Great character work. | Second story loses a lot of the first story’s steam. Victor wasn’t a huge fan of the art and the plot was dull. |
| Rating |
4 Comments
Thor looking like an idiot who only swings a hammer has been going on for a while now and been a major complaint. Save for the occasional lighting bolt all he does is talk big and swing a hammer. It’s all he has done in his other fights with the Phoenix-Empowered characters so no surprise there. Even in his own title Thor is written like an idiot.
Thor had plot armor against Emma’s telepathy. The beat down was funny to watch though and the dialogue is very well written.
Thor losing to second rate telepaths is abjectly pathetic. Marvel might as well let Thor go back to non existence, because it would be better than seeing him get beat down in nonsensical ways.
A guy who has fought Galactus and the Celestials should be afforded much more respect, but Marvel just uses him as a punching bag these days and it is ridiculous.
cancel my subscription ….
I gotta disagree. I enjoyed the 2nd fight much more than the first. I really liked the stylized art. Kaare Andrews just made everything seem bigger and grander. I especially liked that there was a clear winner – none of this cop-out “draw” business – the DD/Psy wasn’t a draw, one of em just quit.
I generally like the Avengers side of the House more than the X-side, but – sorry Thor fans – the Phoenix force (even a fifth of it) is clearly a huge, powerful threat (and Thor’s fighting style really is just to hit stuff, sometimes with lightning – it’s cool, that’s just his style, and it usually works b/c he’s got god-strength – intelligence doesn’t have to be his strong suit, he’s got that whole “nobility” thing going on instead – get over it).