Act II has begun in AVX and issue six shows that it’s gone beyond Avengers versus X-Men now. It’s more like humans versus mutants, specifically the Phoenix Force Five (which is an awesome team name, in my opinion) and the ones that live on the island of Utopia. The stakes have now been raised in this event. And, for the first time during this whole thing, I actually questioned my allegiance to the Avengers, even if it was only for a split second.

Besides the story really starting to pick up, this issue also marked the beginning of Olivier Coipel’s run with the series as he has taken over the art duties previously held by John Romita Jr. Though I am a fan of JRJ, Coipel’s art is pretty awesome. There’s a great example of it in the middle of the book where members of the Phoenix Force Five are stopping acts of aggression around the world. There are only four panels, but they take up the whole two pages, and they’re done extremely well. My favorite thing that Coipel brings to the table is his depiction of Hope. As I’ve said before, Hope is still a teenager, so she should resemble one. Some of the artists have been drawing her like she’s one of the older heroines like Rogue, Ms. Marvel, or Emma Frost. Most teenagers have very different body types than, say, their late-20-something cousin or their mom, and I think that Coipel is one of the only ones that I’ve seen to make that differentiation for Hope.

In terms of script, Jonathan Hickman has started to tie in more of the tie-ins very well. For example, I was wondering when they’d finally start to bring in the Iron Fist stuff from ‘New Avengers’. Despite the story over there dragging a bit (until this week), it is important, so I’m guessing that Danny Rand will be stepping up in the coming issues and I’m glad to see that happen.

Oh yeah, and I must have missed something big here, but I was under the impression that Charles Xavier was dead. I know that no one stays dead in comics for very long, but didn’t he just die? It’s a little thing, but I was just curious about it.

Anyway, at this point in the series, my stance on things is very similar to The Black Panther’s stance. T’Challa is an Avenger, but he’s wondering why the fighting continues still. I’m definitely going to keep reading to find out the answer.

Verdict: Buy

AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #6
Written By JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art By OLIVIER COIPEL, MARK MORALES, & LAURA MARTIN
Cover By JIM CHEUNG & JUSTIN PONSOR