XI

While some may say that the best thing about “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #9 is that it ends, writer Rick Remender and a slew of artists do leave behind some noticeable impressions that will impact the Marvel Universe. The exact depth remains to be seen, but by the end of the issue, not everything finds its way back to the way it once was. Without spoiling the story, a number of inverted characters remain inverted, while a majority of the Marvel Universe returns to pre-“AXIS” orientations. There is no magic reset button for the whole thing, which works to Remender’s credit as “Grinding Halt” closes out the tale of inversion and woe. The writer uses “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #9 to finish his story, to add another chapter to the saga he has been writing since “Uncanny X-Force,” and to construct some framework for the Marvel Universe yet to come. Most of the major players get some critical panel time as Remender checks in on what has changed and what remains in place. As evil as s

“Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #8 is a chaotic whirlwind through the remnants strewn across the battlefields of “World War Hate” as writer Rick Remender and artist Leinil Francis Yu continue the bickering and fussing between all of the wannabe heroes and would-be villains. The inversions are still in place throughout this issue, which leads to some interesting matchups despite the general laconic nature of the story. Eight issues in, good guys are still bad guys and some bad guys are still good, but Spider-Man and Steve Rogers are trying to put everything right. Remender writes a quick zoom-tilt-pan-tilt-zoom blitz through the various parties, dropping one-liners and groaners, monologue-worthy posturing and eye-rolling worthy chatter. The crux of the battle in “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #8 is close to what it was in “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #5 — or even “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #4. The players have inched across the board, but no true consequences are dealt in this issue. One

Though it can’t overcome the series’ overarching problems, Rick Remender and Adam Kubert’s “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #7 is an improvement on the last few issues. The story includes enough tension and action to actually keep the reader moving, and Remender narrows his focus effectively to a few key characters. “AXIS” continues to be messy, but here it delivers some action, emotional beats and momentum. (Oh, and did you hear about the retcon?) In issue #7, “AXIS” switches artists yet again, this time to Adam Kubert, previously seen on issues #1 and #2. Kubert’s work, like much of the issue, is a mixed bag. Some of the panels are wonderfully done: Deadpool’s rendition of “Get Together” over the battle is perfectly constructed, and Apocalypse’s violence is visceral and quaking. However, other panels feel rushed. Backgrounds and battle scenes are both dotted with generic, blobby faces, and even those faces in closer profile can sometimes change shape panel-to-panel. (Quicksilver is pe

With the results of the Inversion clearer than ever, Rick Remender, Terry Dodson and Rachel Dodson shamble towards the conclusion of the “AXIS” event in its 6th issue. The issue, which jumps from Avenger to Avenger and X-Man to X-Man, reads more like a character piece than a story-driven event — something that feels more suited towards an event tie-in rather than the main storyline itself. As fun as these episodic adventures read, “AXIS” #6 is chock-full of fluff to pad the plot, suffering from a meandering story and rushed artwork. That isn’t to say, of course, that “AXIS” #6 doesn’t nudge the story forward — but nudge is really the only way to define it. The issue is bookended by events relevant to the plot, that being the Gene Bomb and the assembly of a rogues gallery of Avengers. However, the Gene Bomb feels like a tired reiteration of the events of “Infinity,” which introduced the Terrigen Bomb. With the two events only a year off from each other — with the latter’s effects stil

“Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #5 steps up and makes something resembling order from the half-baked chaos that filled the four previous issues of this series. Part of the credit is due to artists Terry and Rachel Dodson bringing cleaner, sharper drawings and stronger panel layouts to the story. Part is also due to the simple identification of alliances from writer Rick Remender. Yes, some of that may be rudimentary beyond the halfway point in a nine-issue series, but the shift in art gives “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” a new lease on life and a chance to keep readers engaged. The issue opens with Spider-Man and Nova conveniently arriving at Avengers Tower at the same time, an opportunity Remender uses to inject some humor and sow some hope into “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #5. Remender repositions the story on the fly, highlighting the inversions of the affected characters in the process and making this comic book unpredictable and lively. Remender’s choice of setting Spider-Man and No

“Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #4 is all about the inversions as heroes act less heroic and villains are more philanthropic. Rick Remender writes a fine backbone to a one-shot, this issue flails about, not really doing much of anything save for setting the table. “AXIS” #4 opens the second “chapter” of the event series and is adequately titled “Inversion.” In keeping with the concept, the X-Men strut militaristically, FalCaptain America puts on a serious attitude that would make Snap Wilson seem like a Cub Scout and Remender introduces the Hulk’s Hulk. Oh, and Tony Stark has a drink. Other than that, “AXIS” #4 gives Carnage a little too much page time and then spends the rest of the issue freeing characters up for rattling sabers and stare down contests. Yu’s art is fine, even dynamic at times, but the story underneath it is trying way too hard to allow Yu’s art to really be cool. Yu handles the stare downs and saber-rattling effectively, and even has a few moments to really test his

“AXIS: Revolutions” #1 takes a look at the “violent outbreaks of hate” resulting from Red Onslaught’s attack in the main “AXIS” title. Writers Dennis Hopeless and Simon Spurrier take on the tasks of investigating the impact of Red Onslaught through the events surrounding Spider-Man and Doctor Strange respectively. The biggest problem is that, right away, continuity and synergy are abandoned in the quest for meaningful stories that ultimately develop into cliches and flat-out boring tales. Spider-Man, as usual, addresses the problem as it hits the streets of Manhattan, but in a morally loaded attempt at transforming an after-school special into a comic book story, Hopeless browbeats readers with the same message again and again. Nothing in “With Great Hate,” save for Spider-Man flippantly mentioning the Red Skull as the root cause, makes this tale a must-read for either Spider-fans or “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” event evangelists. This could easily have been a story in the 1990s “Sp

Though “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #3 is an improvement, Rick Remender still struggles to juggle this many characters, actions and emotions. Artists Leinil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan are similarly overtaxed, with art that’s successful when it has room to stretch — an unfortunately rare occurrence. The result is a rushed, cluttered story that doesn’t have time or space to give its events any sense of impact. To be fair to the creative team, I couldn’t imagine anyone executing this issue well. Magneto arrives in Genosha with a sizeable army of villains, all of whom need at least a passing introduction before joining the already crowded fray. The two Stark Sentinels need to be taken down, the Red Onslaught himself needs to be defeated, and the escalating tensions between the X-Men and Avengers need to be addressed. The script is so cramped that even when Evan appears as a seemingly full-grown Apocalypse, the X-Men don’t have space to bat a collective eyelid. By the time I got to

Breaking the fourth wall of the Kevin Shinick-written, Javier Rodriguez-drawn “AXIS: Hobgoblin” #1, the titular character advises readers to check in with “Axis” #3 first. That is sound advice both for this review and for the comic book experience itself, as Roderick Kingsley takes the spotlight and turns up his very best Billy Mays, convincing us all to become superheroes. Television writer/producer of “MAD” and “Robot Chicken,” Shinick is no stranger to the outer fringes of Spider-Man’s world, having written the comic book adventures of Carnage in “Superior Carnage” as well as various and sundry Marvel Universe heroes and villains in the pages of “Superior Spider-Man Team-Up.” This time, however, Shinick is able to pull the curtain back a bit and gives readers a face full of the machinations of Kingsley’s moneymaking empire. Shinick does it all with flair and pizzazz, giving Kingsley a rapt audience hanging on his every word. Even his enemies are interested in what Kingsley has do

It’s another event centering on Marvel’s two premiere superteams, only now they’re side-by-side instead of face-to-face in “Avengers & X-Men: AXIS” #2 by Rick Remender and Adam Kubert. The Red Skull, or Red Onslaught now, has been transformed after recent events in Remender’s “Uncanny Avengers” into the teams’ common foe, reading more liked a pumped-up issue of that series rather than a more significant event installment. This issue doesn’t really bring much of anything new, actually; in fact, it delivers a lot of the same shortcomings seen in past issues of the ongoing series. There’s little more contained in the issue other than a mishmash of contrivances, odd characterization and painful dialogue stretched out over a decompressed battle sequence that doesn’t advance the story until the very final pages. There’s also the revisitation of well-trodden story ideas, in this case yet another past revelation about Tony Stark that once again makes him into the seeming bad guy. He’s no