Avengers Vs. X-Men Part I—The Road to War

It’s a comic book trope almost as old as comic books themselves: a few heroes arrive on the scene, some sort of Three’s Company type misunderstanding ensues, they beat the crap out of each other, and then someone or something shows them the error of their ways and everyone laughs it off and heads down to the Regal Beagle for drinks.

And Mr. Furley becomes convinced one or more of them is gay.

In just a few weeks, the Avengers and the X-Men will tangle once again in the aptly named Avengers Vs. X-Men (or AvX if you want to sound cool) event and I’ll be getting you all you need to know about the wheres, whats, whos, whys, and hows all this month in Danger Rooms.

In other words, you might want to read or reread the stories I’m citing here. Nod nod, wink wink.

Now what would make two teams of superheroes with such a long history of fighting alongside one another have such a falling out that they would resort to blows?



Well, I’m glad you asked.

No, seriously, I am, or else this column would be really short.

Damn, they didn't ask. NOW what the hell am I going to write about?!

According to Marvel, AvX is the natural culmination of plans regarding both franchises since the days of the House of M, where the two teams had a difference of opinion over what to do about the Scarlet Witch losing her mind and killing a bunch of people.

The Avengers wanted to handle it in house since she was a member of their team gone rogue, while the X-Men felt that since she was a mutant they were the ones best equipped to contain and even punish her.

After her proclamation of no more mutants—even though there were inexplicably about 200 left so math is clearly not part of her power set—the Scarlet Witch disappeared and with the X-Men now members of an endangered species, the two sides kind of just let most of the lingering animosity dissipate.

It actually paled in comparison to the Tastes Great, Less Filling War of 1995.

But then the X-Men got some new life and Hope was born in the Messiah CompleX after a period of no new mutant births and they found themselves battling in a no hold barred threeway matchup with Mr. Sinister and his Marauders on one side and the anti-mutant Purifiers on the other.

Not long after the battle ended and Hope was sent to the future with Cable to be protected, the X-Men found themselves in Norman Osborn’s crosshairs.

Osborn had just assumed the reins of national security from Tony Stark—who fell in disgrace when it was discovered that the Skrull’s Secret Invasion was aided by their hijacking of his tech—and he was looking to stamp out all opposition to his power.

In a throwdown with Osborn's Dark Avengers, the world watched as Cyclops wisely took one for the team and allowed Osborn to beat him up on national television while he had Magneto and his science team raise the remains of Asteroid M to form the new mutant nation of Utopia.

Defeated, Osborn left the X-Men alone and was ultimately locked up shortly thereafter for leading a war on Asgard and getting his cornrows kicked in by Captain America during Siege.

This hairstyle on a middle aged white guy alone is enough to constitute a crime against humanity.

The X-Men soon had to deal with a madman of their own as Bastion sealed off Utopia from the world when Hope came back in Second Coming.

Manifesting what appeared to be the Phoenix Force, Hope destroyed Bastion, and Cyclops, for his efforts in mutant/human relations, received a medal from the president at Captain America’s recommendation, the two leaders pledging closer cooperation in the future.

But recently, the Scarlet Witch returned in the Children’s Crusade, once again the putting the X-Men and Avengers at odds on dealing with her, even as she begun the process of restoring mutant powers to those who lost them.

Seriously, how can this possibly go wrong, right?!

Meanwhile, Hope and her own team of new mutants found themselves at the center of a philosophical row within the X-Men during Schism and now Cyclops has a more proactive squad stationed on Utopia and Wolverine has taken it upon himself to rebuild the school in Westchester.

So both the X-Men and the Avengers have been through the wringer these past few years, desperate situations forcing them to become more entwined in one another’s affairs and while the final straw that will kick off AvX this month has not yet been revealed, it’s definitely something involving Hope and the Phoenix Force.

Much like Scarlet Witch, Hope is a mutant with vast and mostly unknown power, and if we’re adding the fuel of the Phoenix Force—which is hurtling towards Earth as of Marvel Point One—to the fire, the stage will be set for both sides trying to do what they feel is best not only for themselves, but for the world at large.

But who will be leading these two sides? Ah, that’s a question for another column…