The Four Color Media Monitor

Tom Brevoort, already long a letdown, was interviewed by Midtown Comics, and first, lets know that this is nothing like Secret Wars:

4. The series also happens to be a fanboy’s dream: it’s full of answers to “who would win” questions. Is there a particular moment you’re looking forward to?

TB: I don’t know—I tend to be less about the fights and more about the individual character moments. But the Cap/Wolverine confrontation in #3 is pretty brutal. And what happens in #6, and the way that Olivier visualizes it all, is pretty stunning. And then there’s a colossal confrontation in AVX #8 that Adam (Kubert) just went to town on, and it’s one in which limbs are broken.

Even Secret Wars was nowhere near as viciously depicted as what he describes. I don't want to see what happens between Captain America and Wolverine either, because a violent clash between those two legends is not something I ever asked for. No, what I want to see is the two of them using their powers and skills to fight real criminal vermin, not each other. Even if they have their disagreements on how to fight crime, it's better to be battling the baddies than each other.

Brevoort also spoils the whole miniseries when he tells who won't be returning:

5. As for the Phoenix Force, will we see a possible return of a certain former Phoenix wielder?

TB: I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by letting people know definitively that Jean Grey does not come back during AVENGERS VS X-MEN.

Of course he's not, that's because most wise folks will save their money and not go out of their way to buy such a tedious excuse for superheroes clashing with each other. Some of the comments on the page confirm that too. What Grant Morrison did in 2004 - forcibly turning Jean back into the Phoenix, all for the sake of pairing Cyclops up with Emma Frost - even while still depicting her with pretentious characteristics - was an insult to the intellect. Morrison did all this without any real caring for the cast of characters, and even long after he left, that's still the main problem plaguing the whole series.

Brevoort may have actually helped guarantee this crossover won't have big sales long term, by letting people know they won't reverse one of the most tasteless things Morrison did towards the end of his run on X-Men. For now, what AvX certainly has going against it is that it's just a poor excuse for hero-vs-hero, which is not what someone like me wants to read mainstream comics for.

Labels: Avengers, bad editors, crossoverloading, marvel comics, violence, women of marvel, X-Men