AvX: Consequences #1 Review

Avengers Vs. X-Men is over, but there are Consequences to be paid!  Our resident Avengers fan (Geoff Arbuckle) and our resident X-Men fan (Victor Kutsenok) come together again to discuss the events of the follow up series to the major Marvel event, AvX! So now, let’s rejoin our Marvel Zombies as they discuss AvX: Consequences #1!

AvX: Consequences #1

Victor: So the war is over. The dust has settled. Now it’s time to deal with the consequences. (Notice the cool way I managed to insert the title into my opening statement? I am a literary maniac!!)

So I just finished issue 1 of AvX Consequences and it went pretty much how I expected it too. As always, the X-Men get all the blame. The sins of the one outweighs the good deeds of the many. What a bunch of crock. So I’m supposed to believe that Captain America would allow Cyclops, the leader of the X-Men and figurehead of the damage that the entire Phoenix 5, to just be turned over to a regular prison? I don’t think so. Also, he would allow Cyclops to be abused and tortured? Sure!! Complete bullshit is what that is. That would never happen. Osborn was placed in maximum security. Banner was buried miles under the earth. But Cyclops gets to hang out in a regular jail cell. Once again, pure bullshit.

The rest of the book is pretty on target. Avengers are trying to clean up the mess they were a huge part of without actually admitting they were a part of the mess. We get set-ups for all of the Marvel NOW books that will be arriving in the next few months. And we get a nice set up for a long awaited re-match between Cyclops and Wolverine. And some questionable art.

What did you think Geoff?

Geoff: I enjoyed the book. It’s not the greatest thing ever published, but it was certainly enjoyable. I agree with you, there’s gotta be more going on with that prison. I believe there might be some corruption there. There were two scenes that I very much enjoyed though. The first was the scene with Cap, Wanda, and Hope. It was a nice, light, and (no pun intended) hopeful. I grew to really like Hope as AvX played out. I’d never really been exposed to her before, but I loved how tough she was. Sure, she’s headstrong, and a little unruly, but she only means the best and can only do what she was trained to do.

The other scene I really liked was between Cap and Wolverine. I just loved the line Wolverine had about doing his best impersonation during Xavier’s funeral (to see more, check out Uncanny Avengers #1). I thought both these scenes were incredibly well written by Kieron Gillen, who just so happens to be one of my very favorite writers at Marvel.

The art, from Tom Raney, who did some great work at Avengers Academy, did seem a little sub par for what I’ve seen before. I wonder if this book was slightly rushed.

Victor: I think you’re right on the rushed part. I am also a huge Avengers Academy fan and have never had any complaints with the art on that book. Maybe it was the pressure of doing so many characters that he’s never done before. We’ll see if next issue is an improvement.

I also liked the Hope, Cap, Wanda scene. That girl is incredibly impressive. My one question though is if Hope still has some Phoenix powers in her or, for that matter, any powers at all?

I enjoyed the scene in Wakanda. You would think the Black Panther would get over his ego and actually try to make up with Storm, a woman he’s loved for decades. Instead, he stands there like stone. Big mistake in going to war against Atlantis, I think. However, if anyone has a chance of defeating them, The Black Panther and his arsenal of weapons and ingenuity, is one of the few who can.

Geoff: I think time will tell for Hope. I honestly suspect we’ll see her join the Uncanny Avengers down the line. The Wakanda/Atlantis War may end up being a pretty major story line in the next year or so. Perhaps that will be the next Marvel Event. If it is, I’d personally like to see that play out in Annuals again instead of as a series/crossover in the main series.

Honestly, more than anything, that scene with Black Panther made me more sad than anything. I think I’m still feeling all the crap Marvel’s put Wakanda through. It really feels as though they’ve done so much to set up things and ideas but ultimately didn’t do anything with it. Black Panther deserves more!

Victor: The crap Marvel’s put Wakanda through? Please!!!. That was a drop of water in the ocean compared to the crap Marvel’s put mutants through. First with the genocide on Genosha, then with the Decimation during House of M? Now with them being branded as public enemy #1 once again. If you ask me, Marvel has a huge hard on for kicking the mutants in the balls every chance they can get.

Don’t get me wrong. I feel bad for the Black Panther. This was the first time his people have ever felt defeat and destruction on such a massive scale. Even the thing with Dr. Doom wasn’t as bad as this. But the X-Men can’t catch a break, ever. EVER!!!

And now the Avengers are going to hunt them down. Starting with Magneto and Danger. Ha!! Good luck with that. Next to Dr. Doom, Magneto is the one guy you should never ever try to piss off. He fought off the Phoenix once. Sure a much weaker version, but he did do it. Nope. Be smart and leave Magneto alone. Otherwise, those refugees that the Avengers are so desperate to protect, will flock to him instead and form an army. One more than capable of defending themselves from any threat. (But maybe that is what Marvel is trying to do anyway. Anything to not rehash the same plot over and over again.)

Geoff: I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a huge renaissance for the mutants in the near future.

What do you say we put this thing on the scoreboard? Me, I’ll give it a 75. Like I said, it’s not perfect, but it was simply nice. Gillen’s script is solid and he gives us a couple really good scenes. Raney’s art felt a little rushed, but not horrific. What say you, Victor?

Victor: I’ll actually give it an 85. While it lacked action, it did it’s job of setting up the future. A future that has potential. It made me curious as to what will happen next, and that is all a comic should do. Til next time!

Tags: Avengers Comics Books Avengers vs. X-Men AvX Consequences Kieron Gillen Slider X-Men