Avengers #27

So this is a random issue I read, thanks to getting it as a birthday gift from a co-worker. Avengers #27 is right in the middle of the Avengers vs. X-Men crossover. I really have no idea what is going on. What ensues is a really bad day for Noh-Varr (the former Marvel Boy who now calls himself the Protector).

It turns out that the Avengers were able to absorb some of the Phoenix Force through Thor’s hammer.

This was a short-lived victory, as they were betrayed by Noh-Varr, who has announced that he is bringing this energy back to his people, the alien Kree race. And by doing this, he’s sent the Avengers on a collision course with the sun.

Thinking that this will gain him brownie points back on his homeworld, Noh-Varr finds out that the Kree’s guiding force the Supreme Intelligence intends to use this weapon to protect themselves and not save Earth. Noh-Varr then takes back the Phoenix Force, making himself an enemy to all Kree. He then winds up getting beaten up by the Avengers, who take the hot potato of Phoenix energy back, informing him that he is no longer welcome on earth. By the end of the issue, Noh-Varr has wound up alienating himself with both the Kree and Earth. It must be lonely, as he literally has nowhere to go.

I wonder if this is an actual writing off of the character, or if he’s going to later appear during the conclusion to this crossover. Maybe he might turn up with the Shi’ar or even the Skrulls?

What made this book so much fun was Walter Simonson’s art. It was perfectly suited for a mini cosmic epic like this. And quite frankly, it was Simonson’s art that made the book for me. Anyway, a fun issue and I can’t wait to get the complete run in a collected volume.

X-Sanction #2-4

It’s six months later and I’ve finally gotten past issue #1 of X-Sanction. This Loeb and McGuinness pretty much sets up the whole Avengers vs. X-Men crossover this summer in a quick manner.

The whole point of X-Sanction was to set up a rift between the two camps. Cable is protecting his adopted daughter Hope–the last mutant and the future savior of mutantkind–from the Avengers. And by protecting her, I mean killing the Avengers.

Cable is under the assumption that they will kill his daughter and he won’t allow that. Loeb uses a series of flashbacks to the future where Cable finds out that the Avengers wind up possessing several weapons designed to kill mutants. Because the Avengers are awesome, Cable is nearly dead thanks to being physically beaten and the techno-organic virus wreaking havoc on his body. Hope–now controlling the Phoenix force–is able to not only save her adopted father, but completely remove the techno-organic virus, something that has not been accomplished in the disease’s twenty plus year history.

What it also accomplishes is a huge distrust between Captain America and Cyclops, which again makes this a starting point for Avengers vs. X-Men.

So should you read this?

I’m going to say its you can pass it. Don’t get me wrong, it all made sense story wise and McGuinness’ art is always great. But at the same time, this is just a feeder story for another crossover.You can skip this and start straight at Avengers vs. X-Men #1 without losing anything.