The Avengers vs The X-Men

If you have been following Marvel news you know that they have been teasing fans about the return of the Phoenix for some time. Now Marvel has decided to mix it up just a little more by announcing that not only will Phoenix be returning but that her return will pit two great Marvel franchises against one another. The Avengers will be battling it out against the X-Men in what will be a 12 issue story arc in April of 2012.

"The Avengers and X-Men have learned that the all-powerful embodiment of both death and rebirth known as the Phoenix Force is on a crash course for Earth…and it needs a new host to unleash its immeasurable power. But what is the shocking decision tied to the Phoenix’s return that will pit the Avengers against the X-Men? And when good friends become bitter enemies, what does this mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?"

Pitting two of Marvel's largest franchises may seem like a fun ploy to get money from the fans but if this story is anything like Civil War, it should definitely be interesting and worth reading. This comic will ship bi-monthly and will be available on the Marvel Comics app. Look for The Avengers vs The X-Men this coming April.

Source: Marvel

Marvel held a virtual press conference today which shed some light on the upcoming story. Look inside this post for further details. *Possible mild spoilers.

"Here's what the the talent behind the upcoming event had to say about Avengers vs. X-Men in this Nick Lowe-moderated chat:

• Aaron says part of the story comes out of years of stories where the X-Men are struggling against extinction.

• Matt Fraction talked about his excitement over pitting master strategists Cyclops against Captain America, bringing Scarlet Witch back into the Marvel U, and showing off new armor for Iron Man (I'm guessing it's adamantium armor).

• This will be Axel Alonso's first big event since taking over as Marvel's EiC.

• Alonso says the seeds of this story were planted way back during the introduction of the character Hope and like Civil War, it's a plot that will challenge readers to take a side.

• Tom Breevoort details the differences for this event: five writers working together with Bendis and Aaron building the skeleton of the whole thing and each writer getting an issue.

• Aaron: the goal with this story is to make it accessible to new readers while still having elements from the Phoenix's past.

• Breevoort: Avengers: X-Sanction is a prelude to this whole event with Cable given 24 hours to return to our time to fix/stop some event.

• The March Prelude issue is all-new material with stories about Hope and the Scarlet Witch written by Aaron and Bendis and (re)introducing readers to those characters.

• Fraction: the way Avengers member Hawkeye has of approaching problems will make him a wild card in the story.

• Bendis: Black Panther and Storm will find their allegiances split between the two teams.

• Breevoort: Marvel is aware of fan fatigue with big events, and will limit the tie-ins and spinoffs to Avengers and X-Men titles, meaning scaling back miscellaneous Hulk or FF tie-in minis.

• Books like Winter Soldier and Defenders will just be getting their start and therefore not really participating in this event.

• Avengers vs. X-Men will also have a currently unannounced sister title.

• A fan highlighted a big, curious absence in the series: there's no clear antagonist beyond the two teams.

• Providing art across the three acts of the story: John Romita Jr. on the first, Olivier Copiel on the second, and Adam Kubert on the third.

• December's conclusion of Avengers: The Children's Crusade will provide background and forward momentum for the Scarlet Witch.

• The cosmic characters of the Marvel U will be involved.

• Aaron: "[Charles] Xavier is going to have to be involved in some way or the other."

• Breevoort: X-Men and Avengers in training will be getting involved in the story (at least with a panel or two) as the story escalates.

• Bendis: S.H.I.E.L.D. will play a big role in the story as many players will get the opportunity to pick new sides as the organization gets reinvented.

• Breevoort: Avengers Assemble will be the only title in that line which will remain unaffected by Avengers vs. X-Men, given that that book is supposed to be the easy entry point for new readers anticipating the new movie."

Source: MTV Geek