Avengers VS X-Men # 12 (Round Twelve)

 By Mark Rodriguez

The Phoenix Force arrived on Earth and it was split into 5, lending its power to Scott, Emma, Namor, Colossus and Magik. After several defeats, only Scott and Emma remained with Phoenix powers. Xavier tries to make Scott stand down and after the Avengers and the X-Men joined forces to take them down. In desperation, Cyclops attacked Emma and took on the full powers of the Phoenix upon himself. Killing Xavier, Cyclops blames the others for pushing him this far and becomes the Dark Phoenix. 

The story opens 72 hours before the present with Tony explaining how The Scarlet Witch once said 'no more mutants' and her chaos magic somehow affected the world and rid the world of mutants. The Phoenix Force somehow took note of this and decided to bring mutants back, Hope being the first mutant born in a while. It was heralded that she was meant to take the full power of the Phoenix. Wanda's mutant magic and the Phoenix's divine power are caught in some crazy cycle line yin and yang. At this point they're out of ideas, they can't deflect or contain the Phoenix, breaking it apart didn't work out so well. They also can't control it or kill it, the only two that can hurt it are Wanda and Hope, so they are all they got. 

Wolverine says the Yin and Tang stuff sounds like Iron Fist talk. Tony says it's also part of the puzzle, he exhausted all sort of scientific means so now he's seeing things on a more spiritual level. His new idea relies on faith. The Thing says if they start passing Kool-Aid around, he's out of there. Captain America asks what he exactly wants Wanda and Hope to do. He says only one of them can answer that.

Wanda goes to talk to Hope who feels bad because she attacked Cyclops. She says she was training to save her people, not fight against them. Wanda says their fight will save the world and the Phoenix X-Men need to be stop because their path can only end badly. Hope says she should blame Wanda. She was the one that wiped out the mutants and put Cyclops on this path. She says Wanda ruined her life and walks over to her. 

Tony tells Steve that Wanda and Hope are the key and they just need them to get on the same page. They walk in to see the two of them fighting. 

Currently, Dark Phoenix Cyclops is blasting Hulk back as the heroes are engaging him in combat. In the Jean Grey School, the Cuckoos are tracking Cyclops and see how his rage is causing volcanos, tidal waves and other forms of destruction all over the world. The Avengers fly over the ocean which now on fire as Captain America tells everyone via radio that the world is ending and they know what to do, the Earth doesn't die on their watch.

Back to the fight, Cyclops blasts Ice Man while he has Red Hulk in a choke hold. All over the world all of Marvel's heroes are either fighting Cyclops, since the battle seems to be going global, or they're busy saving lives from all the natural disasters this fight is causing.

Captain America tells everyone to take him down. Cyclops says they have a better chance of stopping the sun from rising by throwing pebbles at it. He says he will create a new world from the ashes of the current one, but not for the likes of them. As Cyclops leaves, Captain America says they have to chase him.

Tony says they have no way to stop him fighting him like this. Captain America finally agrees to his plan. Tony tells whoever can listen that the Dark Phoenix is flying 50,000 feet above Tibet and needs to be taken back to Earth. Nova is the closest one there and tackles Cyclops down. Cyclops tries to get into his head but Nova focuses on flying down as fast as he can, as both collide onto the ground. Cyclops holds Nova who was injured during the explosive crater they caused. Just then Hope and Wanda arrive to stop him. 

We flashback to the earlier fight as Tony and Steve break it up between Wanda and Hope. Tony tells them they're about to have the fight to save the world and they're fighting each other instead. Steve says his Yin and Yang plan won't work, but Tony points out how much damage they did pointing it at each other, and to imagine how much damage they could cause pointing it in the same direction. 

As Wanda and Hope fight against Cyclops they remember their earlier fight and Hope training with Iron Fist. The rest of the heroes arrive and Tony explains that Wanda's powers hurt Cyclops and Hope can mimic her powers and use them as Iron Fist techniques. Captain America leads the heroes to continue the fight. 

As he is attacked by his former friends and allies, Cyclops laments how he wanted to create a more peaceful world for his future children where they didn't have to fight anymore, but somewhere along the way he went off track. Gaining some of his senses, Cyclops begs his friends to kill him before it's too late. He has a flashback of when Jean died the same way and goes back into Dark Phoenix mode. 

Cyclops raises flames all around him as he lost to his rage. Just then among the flames he sees a figure of a woman that looks like Jean telling him it's time to let go. Wanda and Hope doube-team Cyclops, knocking the Phoenix Force out of him. However, now Hope hears the Phoenix calling out to her. Wanda tells her to look away but Hope is now lost in a daze.

Back to the earlier fight, Hope thinks Steve is going to lecture her about how she's too hot-headed and short-tempered and should stay out of the fight. Steve says he's seen her train hard and how she took down Cyclops before, he's not worried about taking down the Phoenix but what will come after. He asks her what if the Phoenix is still after her? Steve says he sent good men to fight to prevent the Phoenix from taking her, and now he has to send them out to let it happen. Hope says she's not telling him to send them anywhere, she just wants them to not try and stop her. Captain America says she believes in herself, by why should he?

Hope says she's been told all her life she's been destined for something greater but that never happens. She doesn't want to change the world, and the Phoenix kills her, she'll gladly take that bullet if it means an end to all the fighting. She says she's tired of waiting to become something or the other, she just wants to be herself.

Back to the here and now, Hope has been consumed by the Phoenix but instead of causing destruction, she's putting out all the fires around the world. Hope introduces herself to the others as the Phoenix. Captain America tells everyone to not to move and give her a minute. Everyone is unsure if they traded one Dark Phoenix for another.

Hope says she has seen where the others have failed, but she will save the world as the White Phoenix. Wanda tells her this wasn't why she was chosen. Wanda tells her that she was born to be the Phoenix, but not to wield its power, but to let it go. Wanda says she was right, she was the cause of this whole mess, so now she wants to help end it. They hold hands and both say 'No More Phoenix' and with their combined powers, the Phoenix leaves Hope's body as well as the planet.

The Cuckoos notice that the Phoenix has vanished. It wasn't killed, it exploded and spread all over the world. Elsewhere, Spider-Man is trying to save a girl from a subway car that almost fell off a bridge. Just then the girl spouts wings and she is able to fly and save herself. The Cuckoos detect that there are now more mutants in the world. Spider-Man tells the others about this and asks if this is a good sign or a bad sign. Everyone is busy looking at Cyclops, who has now gotten back up from the fight. He can't open his eyes since he had ditched the visor earlier, but he can still see the blood on his hands. 

Later, Captain American visits Cyclops in a ruby quartz prison cell, ruby quartz being the only thing that can withstand his optic blasts. Cyclops says there's a point to where he doesn't remember what happened, he just knows he nearly destroyed the world and killed Charles Xavier. Cap says those are the top two of his many crimes. Cyclops will take full responsibility. The other X-Men are on the run and Cyclops says he will take the burden and they should leave the other be. Cap says he's not in a position to give orders anymore, Emma and the rest have to answer for what they've done. He understands that the Phoenix was a big factor in all this but he can't help them if they don't turn themselves in.

Captain America says he will also take his share of the blame. Cyclops was right back on Utopia. The Avengers have stayed out of mutant affairs, Cap has allowed the world to hate and fear the mutants for too long. He doesn't want to make that mistake again.

Elsewhere, Wanda and Clint are watching over several images of different members of the X-Men. Clint asks if Cap is putting together another Avengers team. Wanda says this time the team will be a little more Uncanny. 

Cyclops says this will be a new age between the X-Men and the Avengers. Cap says not to turn this into a win, he pitted friend against friend and causes wounds that will take years to heal, if they ever heal at all, not to mention he killed Xavier. 

Iron Fist watches the news as more mutants are being reported being discovered. He asks Tony if he was expecting this all along. Tony says between Wanda, Hope and the Phoenix there were too many variables. Maybe he was just insane. 

Cyclops tells Cap that the night before a man in cell block B suddenly started vomiting acid and almost got away. Since new mutants are being born, he says he was right that the Phoenix wasn't there to destroy them. Cap says only Cyclops was.

Elsewhere Thor invites Nova to join the Avengers after the fight he put up against the Phoenix.

Cyclops says there would always be sacrifices, he would trade places with Xavier if he could. Cap says the ends don't justify the means. He thinks they're done for now, unless Wolverine has something else to say, showing he was there the whole time. Wolverine says no, he has a eulogy to give. As Captain America and Wolverine walk off, Cyclops tells them that the thin about the Phoenix is there always has to be destruction before the rebirth. 

Elsewhere Hope smiles as she enjoy the beautiful day and flies off. 

My thoughts-

Man, this was one hell of a ride, from the Avengers and the X-Men fighting it out among themselves multiple times, to the sudden plot shift to the Phoenix splitting into 5 parts and the heroes having to take these guys down. And then Cyclops starting out from being kinda crazy in the beginning to where he just goes full-blown insane and even killing Xavier, his long time mentor and father figure. 

From my understanding, the X-Men and Avengers have fought a few times before but this one seemed to be make it a full blown event with tons of tie ins of almost every associated comic. It did suffer a bit from it since most of the actual fights were in the tie-ins, while the actual A-VS-X books kept the story going. 

Last time I said it was weird how in issue 10 Tony said he thought he knew why Hope could hurt Cyclops, it was explained here. It just felt very weird and jarring because there was an entire issue in between that didn't even bring it up that I thought it was a dropped plot point or something.

Xavier's death was shocking, though we did need something dramatic to really show that Cyclops went too far. And this was a death that stuck for several years, I mean the entire AXIS plot dealt with Red Skull running around with Xavier's brain. Of course now, 11 years later, Xavier is back, but it sounds like he got killed yet again, so um... yeah.... comics. But at the time back in 2012, I was just shocked that Cyclops did that.

As for Cyclops, back in retrospect, the corrupt hero being in a special cell that negates his powers reminds me a lot of the ending of Injustice Gods Among Us that would come out a year later with the corrupt Superman. In both cases, the heroes don't really see the error of their ways and still think what they did was for the greater good, regardless of lives lost. Despite what Captain America says, and despite the loss of Xavier, Cyclops still think the return of mutants was worth all the bloodshed. 

Overall it was a fun ride and for me it was my return to the world of Marvel back in 2012. I liked seeing all the things they were up to at the time. Red Hulk and Colossus with Juggernaut armor, Magik's dark look and all the costumes at the time. It was a fun time. My only question is where all the villains were while the good guys were busy fighting each other? I'm sure it would have over-complicated the story, but we could have at least seen a few scenes of the Phoenix 5 taking down some bad guys here and there among their world shaking duties. I doubt they would have wanted the likes of The Abomination or Carnage running around. 

The last thing to came to mind was that poor girl that Spider-Man tried to save that grew wings and had rocky-style skin. Unless she can turn from human to um... bug form at will, that poor girl's life just turned upside down.