I haven't had a strong opinion about a Marvel event since "Age of Ultron." Since then, we had "Infinity" and "Original Sin". I did enjoy "Infinity" but did not review it because I didn't really have much to say. With "Original Sin", considering Marvel was already prepping for the next event, any impact I thought would come from the event, no matter how significant, would fall to the way side since there wouldn't be much room to explore it. That brings us to the recently concluded Marvel event, "AXIS", and considering this is my first Marvel event review since "Age of Ultron", that certainly means something about how I felt about it. Now I wasn't sure what to expect with the event since Marvel has been going from event to event without much breather, and wondered if I should even care. I was half worried because I haven't liked a Marvel event since "Avengers vs. X-Men" ("AVX"), but half excited because I've been enjoying Rick Remender's run on "Uncanny Avengers", which was leading up to this event, not to mention I could see "AXIS" as being part of an unofficial trilogy following "House of M" and "AVX". I ended up being surprised.
First some backstory: after "AVX" and the death of Charles Xavier, the Uncanny Avengers were formed to help bridge the gap between the team. Around the same time, the Red Skull stole Xavier's body, taking part of his brain and placing it as part of his own, and acquiring Charles' telepathic powers, using them to spread anti-mutant riots where he went. Though the Uncanny Avengers stopped him, the Skull got away, which led to the final arc in the series that lead directly to "AXIS". The Red Skull had kidnapped the mutant members of the team, Havok, Rogue, and Scarlet Witch, and placed them in a mutant concentration camp he set up on Genosha. Magneto had uncovered Skull's plan and was hell-bent on killing Skull for what he's done. We also learn during that arc that a small part of Charles' mind was still alive and was doing what he could from keeping Skull from accessing his full power. However, when Magneto smashed Skull's head in, believing to have killed him, it only allowed Skull to become the even more powerful Red Onslaught (Thanks a lot, Erik). That's where "AXIS" began.
Now the way Marvel did this event was in three acts, three issues each, over three months. For this review, I'm going to go through each act, discussing my thoughts. Let's get started.
ACT ONE: THE RED SUPREMACY
So when this event started, I wasn't that impressed. It was basically Avengers and X-Men against Red Onslaught. Eventually the two teams were aided by a group of villains recruited by Magneto, who escaped the battle to do so, helping because they don't want the world to be destroyed either. As you'd expect, it's pretty much a big overcrowded battle, but there are some good moments. For one, we find out that Skull used his telepathy to make Tony Stark build Iron Sentinels without him even knowing, planning to use them in his goal of eradicating mutants.
The other shining moment from this act comes from something we see a lot of in this event: great character moments. The first one coming from, believe it or not, Deadpool. After Tony's armor gets knocked out, Deadpool drags him to an area to help him recharge, and all the while, he keeps asking "Can I be an Avenger?" It's quite hilarious. Later on, apparently Tony begrudgingly allowed it, because Deadpool then pops up to attack Sabertooth singing "Then I saw her face, Now I'm an Avenger!", in the tone of the Monkee's "I'm a Believer." By that point, I think I was won over just for that moment.
We then get to a pivotal moment. A plan is devised to invert the personalities of Red Skull and Charles Xavier, placing Xavier in charge as the dominant personality, with Scarlet Witch and Dr. Doom using their powers of Chaos and Order to cast the spell. It works and it reverts Skull back to his human form and unconscious. The Avengers and X-Men argue over what to do with him, the Avengers wanting to lock him up and the X-Men wanting to find out if Xavier is back. It all comes down to Steve Rogers' decision, and as you'd expect he sides with the Avengers, which doesn't set well with the X-Men. Now this is a moment that makes me think back to "Avengers vs. X-Men" with the debate on who was in the right. While during that story I was on the Avengers side, in this instance, I was with the X-Men. Even though it was Skull's body, there was still a chance Xavier was in control. Honestly, I think it's discussions like this about characters' actions that make the best events rather than them saying "You should feel this way" about something. It's those feelings about characters that plays well into the next act of the event.
ACT TWO: INVERSION
With Red Skull defeated, it left many wondering what's left to this event. Well as the second act began, we started to see the heroes and villains behaving very differently. Carnage saves a family without killing anyone, Tony Stark is selling Extremis to people and drinking again, the X-Men have sided with Apocalypse (who is Evan Sabahnur/Genesis rapidly aged into his true form), and the Avengers plans to kill Red Skull so the X-Men can't get to him. As it turns out, the inversion spell not only affected Red Skull, but everyone that was on the island. That means the heroes will be acting more like villains and vice versa. There's even a moment where Jarvis tries to stop the Avengers from getting to Skull, only to be knocked away so callously. I have to say that when I was reading this, it was very disheartening to see these characters act like they are. Again, if you're this invested in a story, then the writer is doing a good job. On another note, seeing these inversion kind of makes me think this is how it would be if Marvel had their own Crime Syndicate world like DC does.
There's one moment that I think is a bit ridiculous though: apparently the inversion's affect on Hulk is that when he's sad, he becomes Kluh. That's all I'll mention about that before moving on.
As it turns out though, Red Skull has gone missing, and it causes the inverted Avengers to suspect everyone at this point. This leads to a meeting being called for all Avengers, but it turns out to be a trap, with everyone being shrunk down into an ant farm using Pym technology. Only Spider-Man and Nova escape.
Speaking of Spider-Man though, even though he doesn't really bring much in terms of story, he is just so damn entertaining to read in this event. Rick Remender certainly knows how to write the character, especially in the quips area. Before the inverted Avengers set their trap, Spidey has a good conversation with Nova, who he's kind of hazing since he's the new kid. He also knocks on Hawkeye for changing his costume every few years while his "bright red leotard", as Hawkeye put it, is timeless. Then there's when Spidey and Nova are being pursued by the Avengers; Fal-Cap threatens to snap Spidey's neck and he replies "Literally the least 'Captain America' line of dialogue ever." I don't know what Marvel plans to do with Spidey after "Secret Wars", whether they reboot "New 52" style or not, but I certainly hope they consider putting Remender on a Spidey book at some point in the future.
Spidey and Nova are eventually saved by an inverted Magneto, who takes them to Steve Rogers, who explains what's happened. Eventually, Apocalypse and the X-Men attack the Avengers in New York and threaten to kill every human in Manhattan with a gene bomb and this leads to an all out battle. While this happens, Rogers recruits the other inverted villains to help stop the warring teams and find a way to undo. The last one they recruit is Loki, who narrowly escapes a drunk and gambling Thor. I must say that even though Thor isn't technically a viking, it's kind of cool to see him act like one since vikings did believe in Norse Mythology. Of all people, it's Sabertooth who explains the big problem to Loki, and in a pretty damn good speech you'd probably expect from Wolverine. This is another character moment that is great to me. I never really liked Sabertooth and usually just saw him as a more savage and evil Wolverine but with finger claws. To see him act in a way that actually makes me like him, I give credit once again to Rick Remender for his writing.
For the most part of this act, it's exploration of the characters and how they've changed. It's similar to what was done in "House of M" for an issue before getting back to the main story.
ACT THREE: NEW WORLD DISORDER
As the third act begins, the inverted villains, referred to as the Astonishing Avengers, enter the fray of battle between the inverted Avengers and X-Men, acting as a distraction so Spidey and Deadpool (inverted into Zenpool) can stop Apocalypse and the gene bomb. While Deadpool tries to talk sense into Apocalypse (because Deadpool was a parental figure to Evan), Spidey works to defuse the gene bomb. This is another good moment for Deadpool, because I feel that even if he wasn't inverted, he still would have done what he could to bring the Evan side back out of Apocalypse. While that's going on though, Spider-Man is unable to defuse the bomb with only minutes left. Then enters Carnage to bring another great character moment out of this event. Carnage tells Spidey to clear out while he uses his symbiote to cover and contain the bomb so it doesn't hurt anyone. You guys get that: CARNAGE, of all people, is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. It actually tug at my heart strings, but at the same time we got a laugh because Carnage wants Spidey to build him a statue in his honor that plays "Free Bird" nonstop. But in all seriousness, bravo Remender! You actually made me feel for Carnage. CARNAGE! That's a guy who's character is nothing but "Kill! Kill! Kill!" and like Sabertooth, you actually made him something interesting. So the gene bomb is stopped, but the battle continues.
There's another significant moment that needs mentioned. During a battle between Scarlet Witch against Quicksilver, Magneto, and Dr. Doom, she casts a spell to strike down anyone who shares her blood. It affects her brother Quicksilver, but not Magneto, her father (?). That leads to the revelation that Magneto is not the father of the Maximoff twins. Now this ties into the theory that in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will be Inhumans, since Fox owns the rights to mutants and Magneto. It's another instance of Marvel trying to change things in the comics to fit the movies, and right now I'm not sure how I feel about that. I can see it from both sides, because this isn't the first time comics and movies have worked off another, but I can see how people would be upset about such a big retcon to one format just to fit the other. That said, I'll just wait and see how this plays out.
Eventually, an inverted Red Skull is found and has to be gotten to Dr. Doom and Scarlet Witch, possessed by Brother Voodoo's brother, so they can cast another spell to get everyone back to normal, and he's being attacked on all sides by Avengers and X-Men alike. Out of everyone, it's Tony Stark that most doesn't want to change back. While we've only been shown glimpses of the inverted Stark in the event, it's during these moments where we see just how vicious he's become. There's even one moment where he grabs Skull and speaks to the Xavier side still possibly in there, saying he's going to build and sell more Iron Sentinels and mock that that's what his legacy will bring. That's just really cold, even for Stark. I will say that when it comes to the inverted Tony Stark, reading him in these moment does make me interested in his new "Superior Iron Man" book, but I do have this thing about not getting books that start out as tie-ins to an event, so...yeah.
There's one last character moment that needs to be talked about though. Through all this melee, Thor and Loki are fighting again, and get this: Loki is actually able to pick up Mjolnir. Loki is worthy! It doesn't last long, but it is quite exciting to see a character that is constantly seen as a failure and outcast finally have a moment of greatness.
As you'd expect, the new spell is cast and everyone is reverted back to normal. Well, almost. Stark actually had a contingency plan where he activated a barrier to not be affected by the spell, and not only that, but Sabertooth and Havok are caught in the barrier as well. Because of that, those three character remain inverted. Stark's still an asshole, Sabertooth is still actually interesting, and Havok...eh, I don't care that much where he goes from here.
A week goes by and we find out that the formerly inverted villains prerecorded a message to take credit for the destruction caused by the Avengers and X-Men, claiming they took control of them, in order for them to retain their good names in the end. While it's a smart plan, I do think it lessens the impact this event has already had. Part of me thought this event would have been the main thing that lead to the events being shown in the "Time Runs Out" storyline running through "Avengers" and "New Avengers", but not now.
If there's one thing I think that's lacking in this event, it's the lack of exploring fallout. We get short views of characters during the last few pages that are being narrated by Sabertooth, but not much else. I think it would have been interesting to see how some of the heroes would have dealt with their actions while inverted, or if any of the villains may have truly wanted to become good. It would have also been nice to see how the new Uncanny Avengers team forms before the new volume starts; I don't plan to read it, but I still would have liked more than just one panel. I remember the last issue of "House of M", and we saw that the mutant population was decimated down to nearly 200 and that some heroes were reeling from the memories they have from the alternate timeline, like Spider-Man wanting them erased because of knowing the life he could have had with Gwen. I think I've complained about how Marvel events are drawn out and should be shorter, but I think this is a case where I think they should have made it longer; make the two prelude issues of "Uncanny Avengers" part of the series and have one last issue exploring the fallout, and it would have been twelve issues. That would have sufficed for me.
So with this event, I think others may have overlooked it for a number of reasons. For one, they were probably tired of seeing heroes vs. heroes again, but like "Trinity War", I think it's handled well. Also, Marvel already announced "Secret Wars" for their Summer event next year, and everyone's probably more hyped for that that "AXIS" is probably viewed as filler until then. But really, "AXIS" was very entertaining in my opinion. The art's hit and miss, but the writing is dead on, aside from a few doors still left open.
To close out, if you enjoyed previous Avengers/X-Men crossover stories like "House of M" and "Avengers vs. X-Men", I don't think you'll be disappointed in "AXIS".
STORY RATING: 7.5/10
RECOMMENDATION RATING: 8/10
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