Avengers & X-Men: AXIS #1 Review: Fighting Hate With Tech

A super hero event series usually needs some time to set the stage, but that’s not as true for AXIS, which has been building for a while. All you really need to know is explained in the opening summary pages, and it’s enough to let you know things look dire from the start. The Red Skull has stolen Professor X’s brain, gaining vast telepathic powers in the process, and Magneto killing him just did the Obi-Wan Kenobi to him, meaning it made him stronger, as he’s now Red Onslaught.

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With writer Rick Remender at the helm, the man who set this chain of events into motion in the first place, AXIS #1 doesn’t slow down once it gets going. Even though a majority of the issue is one long battle against the Red Skull and Ahab, a lot of things happen: reunions, revelations, reinforcements, and probably some other r-words that I’ve forgotten. People who complain about the decompression of modern comics shouldn’t have much to complain about here, as this issue covers a lot of ground, even if much of it is psychological/philosophical in nature.

The threat is both big and personal enough that it warrants the Avengers and X-Men coming together. Ultimately, though, the end hinges on one character in particular, and if you’ve been reading the solicitations for the rest of the series, you might be able to guess who it is. Suffice it to say that someone who is feeling pretty good about himself ends up getting knocked down a peg or two on the final page.

And since this is the first issue of a nine-issue series, that obligatory cliffhanger is there for a reason. It’s all a little looser than one might expect — and I mean both story and art, as Remender has almost every Avenger and X-Man cracking wise like they’re trying to out-Spider-Man each other, and Adam Kubert’s pencils seem a little rougher than some stuff we’ve seen from him in the past — but it’s not bad other than the fact that Red Onslaught’s big plan seems to be just killing all of the good guys and broadcasting a worldwide hate wave. I hope we get something a little more nuanced in the issues to come, and I think we will.

Before we get to the details, I need to remind you that there are …

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT!

The Avengers assemble in L.A. to take care of a villain who has covered the city in vegetation. It turns out to be Plantman, but the relatively routine takedown turns complicated when our heroes start hearing voices in their heads that use jealousy and hate to turn them against each other. Only Iron Man is immune. Tony is able to snap everyone out of it, but it turns out to be a worldwide phenomenon.

Red Onslaught is responsible, and Havok, Rogue, Scarlet Witch and Magneto are already on scene fighting him — and Ahab, can’t forget about him.

When Magneto discovers Cyclops, Quentin Quire and Genesis are being held captive, it threatens to set off a three-way battle between Erik and the Summers brothers, but Kid Apocalypse talks them out of it right before possibly getting himself killed.

Back at Avengers Tower, the team is waiting to get a fix on Red Onslaught’s location, while Iron Man learns why the Wasp is having doubts about the high price of heroism.

The big fight is still going on, with what’s left of Professor X inspiring Rogue to break the Skull’s control and Cyclops taking a spear for his brother. A big wave of both Avengers and X-Men comes to the rescue, Alex and Scott shake hands, and we’d be ready for a round of “Kumbaya” if it wasn’t for that giant tentacled thing with a huge red skull and vast psychic powers.

The heroes are feeling good enough about their combined might to make some jokes while getting ready to smash Onslaught, and Iron Man, in particular, gets in some gloating about how he’s been able to find a technological response to the Skull’s mental abilities.

Ah, but Onslaught has a pair of aces up his sleeve. It seems he’s been secretly manipulating Tony for a while, making use of the info he compiled on other heroes’ weaknesses and vulnerabilities during Civil War. And he just happened to have Tony build him two adamantium Stark Sentinels, even decked out in Iron Man style red and gold, “TO KILL YOU ALL.” Not much subtlety to this plan, you know?

There appear to be some continuity questions in this story as well, like the fact that Sam Wilson is already Captain America but Thor Odinson still has both arms, but maybe Thor #1 occurs after AXIS is over. That might explain why the new Goddess of Thunder isn’t helping out.

Favorite moment: Even though it’s Onslaught’s doing, Thor’s reaction to Sam Wilson giving orders is still pretty funny: “Thor will not clean weeds while there is battle to be had! If you desire gardening done — do it yourself little bird!”

Final thought: Thanks Marvel, for making Tony Stark the jerk for the 117th time. It must be mandatory for events at this point. Though I will say that somewhere, the Batman who builds Brother Eye is smiling and nodding in approval at you figuring out a way to defeat all your friends.

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