Spoiler Warning: This story contains plot twists from Avengers vs. X-Men #11.
Uncanny Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel
Captain America, Thor, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, Rogue and Havok? All on the same team? Welcome to the Marvel NOW.
One of the most exciting announcements of next month’s relaunch is Rick Remender on a brand new concept – the first team composed of Avengers and X-Men working together. Remember tells Comic Book Resources how this book is directly impacted by the final events of AvX.
“The healing aspect of it. Given that you’ve got two bands of heroes charged with protecting earth and humanity. That’s their bottom line. It’s what they’re here to do. They’ve had a war, Charles Xavier is dead, and there are all sorts of emotional problems going on. If these guys don’t behave like ethical, strong people and heal in a public way, things aren’t going to get better. I think things have gotten much worse for mutant relations in the Marvel U. They’ve been hunted down, and then Wanda reduced them to 200. This is an opportunity for Steve Rogers to do what he didn’t do before and spur on an effort to put a public spin on mutants that’s positive.
When you see the day saved by Thor, Havok and Rogue, it sends a message that we’re all in this together. It creates unity and helps heal the rift that “AvX” left. That’s not going to be easy. I think that the wonderful stuff in “AvX” means that it’s just as fun to watch those guys heal as it was to watch them break down.”
One of the most enticing aspects of this book for me is the promotion of Havok to the big leagues. Remender talks about the roster and why Alex Summers is the right leader for this team.
“It was a huge conversation with Tom [Brevoort] and Axel. We went over the pros and cons of every character, and it really came down to the character’s fiber. We went through their fiber and who they are and why they’d be on this team. Some of them might not really belong on this team, but through the chaotic events that bring them together, they’re forced to find a way. Therein lies character arcs and drama. I looked a lot at what their interpersonal dynamics would be.
Knowing that coming out of “AvX” Scott Summers would no longer be the same character as he was and that since he went a little more “Magneto” and dark that Charles was dead, I really fell in love with the idea that Cap turns to Scott’s brother and says, “Alex, Charles is gone. Scott is gone. Somebody’s got to step up, and you’ve got time working with the government in X-Factor. You’re a student of Xavier. You’re a clean-looking guy and a college graduate. You’ve led a number of teams. This is you. This is where you’ve got to stand up.” And Alex has always been a bit of a black sheep, but he’s also one of my favorite X-Men. He was #1 of my list not just because of the context of why he works in the situation but also because I love that he’s the classic younger brother. Even though he wasn’t aware of Scott his entire life, as soon as he was, the dynamic they had was that Scott was the respected field marshall while Alex was the guy who was mostly off in the fringes. I love taking a character like that and putting him to the forefront where he leads a squad of Avengers whose job it is to clean up mutant/human relations.”
Uncanny Avengers #1 courtesy Marvel, a Comic Book Resources exclusive
John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men – the Joss Whedon era) is the artist on this title debuting October 10th.
For more with Remender and Axel Alonso plus more preview art here’s the CBR link to this week’s Axel-In-Charge – a weekly must read for Marvel fans.
By Editor
