For the fourth issue of the only comic that gives you an all out slugfest each issue, the creators gave us something a little different. In this issue of ‘AvX: Versus’, we got to see The Man Without Fear, Daredevil, face off against one of the most dangerous women in the Marvel Universe, Psylocke, and we bared witness to one of the Phoenix Five getting their hands dirty as Emma Frost took on the God of Thunder, Thor.

As I said, this issue’s fights were a bit different. For the first fight between Daredevil and Psylocke, it was a more cerebral fight. I don’t want to say it was meaningless, but Matt Murdock certainly utilized his reasoning skills as a lawyer as a weapon in this fight. So far, we just got hard-hitting slobberknockers in this series, but given that both combatants were trained to fight in other ways like using logic and ninja tactics, this battle was different. Not saying it was bad, but just different. It also spotlighted the fact that some mutants siding with the Phoenix Five may have rushed into a war that they’re not entirely behind. I hope that plays out somewhere along the line somewhere during this event, but not here in ‘Versus’ since it’s not really the place for it.

With the second fight, the biggest thing that made it stand out was the art style. It was a modern take on an old school type of comic book art. I guess one could describe it as pop art. No matter what you call it, writer/artist Kaare Andrews certainly caught my eye. He also provided a pretty epic full-page blow that answered a question that I had always pondered: What happens when Emma Frost’s diamond form is completely shattered? I’m sure the circumstances are different considering she’s possessed by the Phoenix Force, but it was still a cool thing to find out.

While I’m not exactly happy with the outcomes of this fight (and if you know who I’m rooting for, then you know why), but overall it was a step up from the last issue, which didn’t really do too much for me.

Verdict: Buy

AVX: VERSUS #4
Written by RICK REMENDER & KAARE ANDREWS
Art by BRANDON PETERSON & KAARE ANDREWS