The Phoenix’s return causes strife in the Marvel universe
Posted on Oct 10, 2012 in Opinion
Marvel Comics’ latest event, “Avengers vs. X-Men”, saw the two biggest teams in the Marvel Universe go head-to-head as the cosmic entity, the Phoenix, returned to Earth. The X-Men, led by Cyclops, believed the Phoenix would use Hope Summers, the Mutant Messiah, as its host to save the mutant race after the Scarlet Witch depowered all but 198 mutants in the “House of M” event in 2005. Captain America and the Avengers believed that the Phoenix would destroy the Earth and its host based on past experiences with it. Because of their different beliefs the Avengers and the X-Men went to war over Hope Summers.
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During the course of the events, Iron Man broke up the Phoenix into five parts as they possessed Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik who pushed back the Avengers and took Hope. The “Phoenix Five” then started fixing the problems of the world, but the Avengers worried their powers would grow unchecked, and Hope went with them to think of a solution. Cyclops then declared, “No More Avengers,” and had the X-Men hunt them down and powers of the Phoenix, which became the Dark Phoenix, just as Jean Grey did many years ago. In the final battle Cyclops murdered Professor Charles Xavier, but Hope Summers and the Scarlet Witch were able to defeat him and use the Phoenix together to restart the mutant race. Cyclops was arrested for his crimes against humanity in his time as the Phoenix and Captain America decided to put together a new team of Avengers consisting of Avengers and X-Men.
So who won the war?
The initial argument was over whether or not Hope could control the Phoenix and at the end she did manage to with the help of Scarlet Witch.
It could be said the X-Men won but there are many factors to look at. At the initial time of the Phoenix’s arrival on Earth, Hope was not yet ready to wield its powers. While the X-Men were right about what Hope could have done with the Phoenix–if she had taken its powers–the Avengers’ fears might have come true, and Earth may have been destroyed. While the mutant race may be back, it was not without cost because the Phoenix Five did a lot of damage as they went after the Avengers; attacking several nations and starting natural disasters.
The Avengers won the war while the X-Men were right in the argument. It seems like there are too many factors to decide who really won and lost, as is the case in real wars. I believe that neither side truly won or lost. The X-Men lost and the Avengers realized how little they’ve done in helping mutants. In the events of the war, friendships and marriages were ruined, moralities tested, and lives lost. This all leads into “Marvel NOW!” Many new books will be released over the next few months, starting with “Uncanny Avengers #1” which unites the two teams. The road ahead will be challenging, but the alliance can strengthen the heroes of the Marvel Universe.
Eric Kaemmerer
Contributor
ekaem2@uab.edu