Avengers vs. X-Men

[Hive]

I just finished reading this latest of Marvel's huge crossover events, and... man, this must be the worst one so far. I was hugely dissapointed over this on paper epic battle (only read the 12 main issues, though). And having not followed comics much lately, so many things confused me... so if there are some people in the know out here who can answer some questions for me, please do! Oh, and beware of spoilers for those unfamiliar with this story.

 

1) When did Cyclops go batshit insane, and why aren't the other X-Men calling him on it from the get-go with the exception of Wolverine? I thought this story arch was supposed to be "both teams are sort of good guys in a grey world", kinda like Civil War was. But right from the first issue, a lunatic Cyclops makes the entire X-Men extremely unsympathetic and obviously antagonistic... dissapointing. Well, I guess this was more of a rant than a question, really...

 

2) When did Xavier get the power to walk again?

 

3) When did Magneto turn good guy (again)?

 

4) When did Collossus become the Juggernaut, and what happened to the old one?

 

5) When did The Avengers expand their lineup to include EVERY hero on the planet, bar The Fantastic Four?

 

6) ...and where were the FF during all this? Also, why is The Thing no longer among them, and who has replaced him?

 

5) When did Illyana come back to life?

 

6) How did Namor become a member of the X-Men?

 

7) How was Hulk forgiven after World War Hulk, and what's he up to these days?

 

8) Didn't Gambit turn evil some time ago?

 

9) What happened to Angel/Archangel?

 

10) Who on earth is that mystical guy who lives in the Kung Fu city?

 

11) Did they finally get rid of that way too powerful old-style Superman-guy, The Sentry... since he was not involved?

 

I'm so confused!

[lazorbeak]

1) When did Cyclops go batshit insane, and why aren't the other X-Men calling him on it from the get-go with the exception of Wolverine? I thought this story arch was supposed to be "both teams are sort of good guys in a grey world", kinda like Civil War was. But right from the first issue, a lunatic Cyclops makes the entire X-Men extremely unsympathetic and obviously antagonistic... dissapointing. Well, I guess this was more of a rant than a question, really...

 

The X-Men split up last year during X-Men: Schism, with Cyclops, Emma, Namor and Magneto staying on Utopia while Wolverine re-opened the school in Jean Grey's name.

 

2) When did Xavier get the power to walk again?

 

Xavier was healed inexplicably by the events of M-Day.

 

3) When did Magneto turn good guy (again)?

 

It's a long story, but he basically is part of team Cyclops as of Schism.

 

4) When did Collossus become the Juggernaut, and what happened to the old one?

 

During Fear Itself, Colossus became the new avatar of Juggernaut in order to protect his sister.

 

5) When did The Avengers expand their lineup to include EVERY hero on the planet, bar The Fantastic Four?

 

There's like 4 avengers teams, and the Thing is on one of them for no reason.

 

6) ...and where were the FF during all this? Also, why is The Thing no longer among them, and who has replaced him?

 

Hickman's FF has been doing their own thing, and Ben is still a member. He's just somehow in both.

 

11) Did they finally get rid of that way too powerful old-style Superman-guy, The Sentry... since he was not involved?

 

I'm so confused!

 

Yes, Sentry was killed during Siege.

 

Anyway that's a start. And yes, it was pretty much terrible. At least the art looked better than Secret Invasion's.

[Basmat01]

And this is why I find it very hard to get into comics.too many cross overs and stuff. I hardly know what the hell is going on.

[Hive]

Thanks a bunch for the answers, lazorbeak.

[lazorbeak]

Yeah event comics tend to not be great jumping on points, either. Marvel's got a ton of new books that I don't know much about coming out now, but if you're looking for trades, Mark Waid's Daredevil has probably two trades and has been great, and Wolverine and the X-Men has been a lot of fun. Ed Brubaker just wrapped up his 8 year run on Captain America books, although you'd be better off starting at the beginning, and Hickman's Fantastic Four/FF has been interesting.

[Hive]

I really really hope The Phoenix Force doesn't ever again return. EVER. Man, have they ruined it by now...

[bigtplaystew]

Laz do you read any good indie stuff I can jump onto via trades? I can't deal with Marvel and DC stuff anymore because it's just too crazy for me at this point. But I definitely would be into picking up a good self contained trade or two.

 

Scalped is a personal favorite of mine. I hate to say "Something like that!" because IMO there is nothing like that, but those smaller stories to me are much more fun to read than the ongoing drama of the DC/Marvel universes.

 

Nothing wrong with it, I don't turn my nose up at it. I just don't want to get all involved. Because, like wrestling, they constantly make changes to characters I've loved since childhood and I almost always despise the changes. So rather than hit the boards with nerdy ferocity, I sit back and choose to let that world pass without me.

[lazorbeak]

Laz do you read any good indie stuff I can jump onto via trades? I can't deal with Marvel and DC stuff anymore because it's just too crazy for me at this point. But I definitely would be into picking up a good self contained trade or two.

 

Scalped is a personal favorite of mine. I hate to say "Something like that!" because IMO there is nothing like that, but those smaller stories to me are much more fun to read than the ongoing drama of the DC/Marvel universes.

 

Nothing wrong with it, I don't turn my nose up at it. I just don't want to get all involved. Because, like wrestling, they constantly make changes to characters I've loved since childhood and I almost always despise the changes. So rather than hit the boards with nerdy ferocity, I sit back and choose to let that world pass without me.

 

It was technically DC, but Gotham Central was one of the best crime/noir comics of the past decade, and it's all in trades. Other crime/noir stuff that's good includes Criminal and Incognito by Ed Brubaker. Allan Moore's Top Ten was a great 2 part trade that's part parody and part noir/police drama. Jason Aaron, the writer of Scalped, is the guy behind the aforementioned Wolverine and the X-Men, which is a goofy fun read (not what you would expect from most of Scalped). If you like superhero books but don't like the editorial limitations, Astro City, Invincible, and Mark Waid's Incorruptible are all pretty standard superhero comics but without all the editorial drama. Astro City in particular is really good at getting human stories out of a superhero world.

 

As far as indie stuff, Chew is a detective comic about a guy that gets psychic flashes from things he eats. Atomic Robo is an Indiana Jones-type adventuring robot built by Nicola Tesla that goes on science adventures. The Sixth Gun is a western about a set of supernatural handguns. Hellboy has a few more trades out than these other books but it's a fun adventure/horror hybrid.

 

Hopefully one of these sounds interesting. And I really enjoyed Scalped, too.

[Jaysin]

I know it's technically put out by Marvel, but Powers is fantastic. I haven't read any of Volume 3, but I knocked 1 and 2 out in two days because I couldn't put them down.

 

I also second Invincible. I love that one a lot.

[alden]

So i should skip avengers vs x-men.....i am loving uncanny avengers....thats a spin off i hear

[Hive]

So i should skip avengers vs x-men.....i am loving uncanny avengers....thats a spin off i hear

 

If you're an X-Men fan, then yes, skip it. Otherwise you'll be gravely dissapointed. The only reason for reading it would be to get the backstory for what's going on now, I guess.

 

Uncanny Avengers does sound like an interesting idea.