Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #307

by Bob Harras, Scott Lobdell, Andy Kubert (Illustrations)

The island of Genosha has been a powderkeg since the X-Men overthrew its anti-mutant regime, and it's finally erupted into full-scale civil war! The president asks Professor X to mediate peace between human and mutant, but the situation is inflamed when Magneto's treacherous Acolyte Fabian Cortez makes a bid for power by kidnapping Luna, daughter of the Avengers' Quicksilver and Crystal - and Magneto's granddaughter! The X-Men and Avengers head for Genosha - but the situation spirals out of control when Magneto's right-hand man, Exodus, arrives looking to kill Cortez! Can even the X-Men and Avengers combined bring peace to a nation at war, defeat two madmen and save a child caught in the middle? Plus: the secret origin of Exodus and his twisted ties to the Avengers' Black Knight! Collecting AVENGERS (1963) #368-369, X-MEN (1991) #26, AVENGERS WEST COAST #101, UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #307 and BLACK KNIGHT: EXODUS.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, X Men, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 2012

About the author

Robert "Bob" Harras (born January 11, 1959) is an American comics writer and editor, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000 and currently serves as editor-in-chief of DC Comics.

Reviews

[Brian Poole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel celebrated the shared 30th anniversary of the Avengers and X-Men with a cross-over event that played up the ties between the teams. Fabian Cortez, fallen disciple of the recently incapacitated Magneto, kidnapped young Luna and took her to civil war-ravaged Genosha. Teams of Avengers and X-men (including Luna’s parents, Quicksilver and Crystal) defied the U.S. Government to infiltrate Genosha. Both teams struggled with the murky morality of the civil war, while Cortez threatened to kill Luna. The situation escalated with the arrival of Exodus, a phenomenally powerful acolyte of Magneto, for a brutal showdown.

Avengers/X-Men: Bloodties featured an array of serious creative talent, including John Romita, Jr., Bob Harras, Steve Epting, Roy Thomas, Andy Kubert and Jan Duursema. The story made excellent use of the connections between the two teams and also used the remove that the X-Men’s adventures had from the rest of the Marvel Universe to fuel dramatic tension. There was some well done character drama in this saga and contrasting the lives and approaches of the two teams was always a winning gambit. On the art side, the “Image” influence was creeping in but hadn’t blossomed into inanity yet. While many of the characters sported exaggerated physiques, they weren’t yet grotesque, though they were prone to dramatic poses. Other symptoms of mid-90s comic excess crept in, such as an overabundance of one- and two-page spreads, jagged lines replacing actual backgrounds and the unnecessary use of sideways pages. But overall, this was a fairly well done story that emphasized the connections between two of Marvel’s key franchises. This saga also precipitated the end of the long-running Avengers West Coast. This may not be an essential moment in Avengers or X-Men history, but is worth checking out for fans.

A version of this review originally appeared on www.thunderalleybcp.com

[Tawfek · Rating 3 out of 5]

reviews are on all single issues :D

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bloodties. Plotwise, Bloodties is a very nice sequel to both The X-TInction Agenda and Fatal Attractions that explores what happens when the remnants of Magneto's Acolytes fall upon the South-Africa-substitute nation of Genosha. Unfortunately, the writing never lives up to that thoughtful foundation. Instead, it's very slow because of heavy use of captions that don't necessarily add to the story The highlight of the comic ends up being not the overly long fight in Genosha, but rather Hawkeye and Widows' stand against the United Nations — and that's probably the most long-lasting repercussion of the story too. Meanwhile the X-Men and Genosha part of the plot ends up being just OK [5/10].

Black Knight: Exodus. This is a nice character piece for Dane and Sersi, but it's main strength is that it gives some background on Exodus, a '90s X-Men villain who was too often a characterless plot device [6/10].

[Myrmidon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crossover tra X-Men e Vendicatori in occasione del trentesimo anniversario delle due serie.
A Genosha, isola-nazione ben conosciuta ai lettori della testata mutante, si sta consumando una nuova crisi, nelle forme di un vero e proprio conflitto civile tra la popolazione umana e mutante, quest'ultima storicamente oppressa (fino a poco tempo prima, nell'isola vigeva un regime di apartheid nei confronti dei mutanti, di cui molti venivano ridotti in schiavi senza volontà propria, i cosiddetti "Mutati" a seguito di esperimenti scientifici, e sfruttati come manodopera).
Xavier, su richiesta del presidente, accetta di fare parte della delegazione da inviare a Genosha per negoziare una soluzione diplomatica, comunicando ai suoi X-Men di partire e ritrovarsi sul posto. Nel frattempo, Nick Fury convoca i Vendicatori e, giacché il governo federale teme che la loro partecipazione possa provocare un'escalation e diffondere la crisi in altri Stati, li ammonisce di non intervenire, ricordandogli che il loro statuto li vincola alle decisioni delle Nazioni Unite, che non hanno ancora deliberato sulla questione: un loro intervento sarebbe dunque considerato ingerenza illegittima in questioni interne a uno Stato sovrano.
Già riluttanti a seguire queste direttive mentre innocenti muoiono, i Vendicatori decideranno poi di infrangerle quando si scoprirà che il mutante Fabian Cortez, responsabile dello scoppio del conflitto civile, ha rapito la piccola Luna Maximoff, figlia di Crystal e Quicksilver, esponendola come simbolo della ribellione (in quanto nipote umana di Magneto, che molti ignorano trovarsi in stato catatonico) mentre sobilla e fomenta i mutati Genoshiani a insorgere e massacrare quanti più umani possibile.
La situazione è destinata a peggiorare, perché oltre a Cortez, c'è qualcun altro che afferma di essere l'autentico latore del verbo di Magneto: un mutante enigmatico e potente che si fa chiamare Exodus.

Personalmente, apprezzo molto questo crossover per le sue allegorie sociopolitiche: il massacro che si consuma a Genosha ricalca ovviamente quello di avvenimenti reali (Occhio di Falco, in polemica con i funzionari dell'ONU, menziona proprio la Bosnia, e solo un anno più tardi, nel '94, avremmo avuto il genocidio in Ruanda) che la comunità internazionale non è mai riuscita ad affrontare in modo celere ed efficace, assumendo decisioni e predisponendo interventi solo quando ormai era troppo tardi. Lo stiamo constatando tutt'oggi, del resto.
In questo caso, la situazione in cui i Vendicatori si ritrovano è peculiare, dato che il gruppo è riconosciuto e patrocinato dalle Nazioni Unite, ma questo implica anche che un loro intervento in una simile situazione, senza una delibera dell'ONU ad autorizzarli, risulterebbe illecito.
Per il resto, sempre bello vedere Vendicatori e X-Men interagire e collaborare tra loro: peccato solo che pochi anni più tardi si profilerà all'orizzonte quell'impareggiabile bordello che è la Saga di Onslaught...

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Avengers and the X-Men both intervene with the situation in Genosha, where things have gone horribly bad once again.

So this book is an anniversary to the original X-Men vs Avengers storyline, where Magneto was put on trial. It also serves as a bit of a wrap up to the X-Tinction agenda and the Fatal Attractions storylines as well. The ghost of Magneto is all over this book, even if he is not directly in it. We have a Genoshan island in civil war, we have Fabian Cortez taking Quicksilver's and Cyrstal's kid hostage, and we have Exodus coming to kill Fabian Cortez. So both teams really had their hands full in this one.

I thought this worked well for the most part. I liked that they showed us a bit of the political side of the Marvel Universe as half the Avengers stay behind to address the UN on why they should intervene even though the world is telling them not to, and the other half are... intervening. Also the two teams meeting was a fun moment with call backs to the previous storylines a plenty.

There were some issues with dialogue, exposition, and the fact that Avalon's power levels seem to adjust to whatever is convenient for the story at the time. But overall, this was a pretty fun book to read. A bit of a chore at times, but fun towards the end.

Recommended for people who like 90's Marvel.

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 1990s were the gold rush for comics, with everyone hopping on board the bandwagon. Speculators were the norm, buying multiple copies of everything. Pretty much any comic book could sell well in the '90s. Print runs were enormous, and as such, these comics are essentially worthless and can be found in every bargain box across the country.

This is the follow up to Fatal Attractions crossover, another hardcover which is rotting away in my backlog. Genosha's dirty little secret is revealed, and the tensions between humans and mutates is so thick that it is about to explode. Fabian Cortez kidnaps Crystal and Quicksilver's baby, and Exodus steals the baby from him. Another latter-day Metal-named group of villains, The Unforgiven, make a brief appearance. I'm surprised that there wasn't a villain named Overkill or Obituary. Lots of scratchy artwork and horrid over writing later and both Avengers and X-Men fight side by side to restore freedom to the mutates. Some bad costume redesigns and many pouches later and victory goes to the heroes.

The late, great, lamented Marvel Premiere Classic line was a sort of junior Masterworks line, where modern material was presented in a high quality format but at a much lower MSRP than the Marvel Masterworks. The line reached well over 100 books but petered out for reasons too varied for me to even begin to guess.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting set up: a crazy mutant, Fabian Cortez, steals Luna, the child of Crystal and Quicksilver, thus the granddaughter of Magneto in the back drop of a civil war between mutates and humans in the fictional country of Genosha. An opportunity to explore cross current connections between Avengers and X-Men, deepen (or complicate) the backstory of the mutant teams connected to Magneto. And to explore how we can respond to tragedy, inhumanity, oppression, and cruelty.

But the story is overly complicated with one too many villains, Fabian Cortez AND Exodus; too many characters across the two X-Men teams and the East and West Coast Avengers; and twisted threads of the civil war atrocities, Avengers bucking the United Nations political authority, the personal drama of Quicksilver and Crystal trying to rescue their daughter, and this vague threat of mutant domination.

Not the worst, but also not the best Marvel run.

[Jacob Alarcon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Really enjoyable read even though it slightly lacks the great character work of 80's X-Men and Avengers. Marvel in the 90s seems to be represented here by it's long list of characters and incredibly action packed panels. I also really love the Genosha storyline even if I'm a bit underwhelmed with Exodus as the main villain. Magneto living on through political ideology, however, is incredibly potent. Feels like a must read of 90s Marvel.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luna is kidnapped by an insane follower of Magneto, and taken to a civil war torn Genosha. Obviously the parents aren't happy and go to rescue her. Lots of action, and speeches about what is right. Nice to see the Avengers and Xmen working together. Sersi again shows how powerful she is. A good, popcorn type read.

[Maurício Dantas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A memória disso aqui é bem melhor que a leitura mesmo.

[Benoitcesoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great storyline that introduces the origins of Exodus and his connection to the Black Knight & Sersi.

[Christopher E. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book that represents an element of early 90s comics that is best left buried. Thrill as the slimy, contriving, backstabbing bastard that was Fabian Cortez is pushed out in favour of the mulleted, discoloured, overpowered Exodus who is about as interesting as a brick. Have to push the new characters to keep the sales up, one supposes. Exodus has progressed greatly in recent years, but this was a major tactical error at the time and not even an X-Men crossover could save lagging interest in the Marvel superteam they passed more than a decade earlier. Things would get worse for the Avengers before they got better, too.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a story that demanded to be told by all that had gone before it plot-wise. And it's a collection you'll want to read to continue reading either series of Avengers or X-Men. But in execution, it's overly wordy and poorly carried out. Even in the most basic way: it's hard to tell which word bubble to read in what order to make sense. The artwork it terrible, except a JRJR X-Men ish.

For me the saving grace of this collection is a Jim Cheung Black Knight story tagged on at the end. I'm a big Black Knight fan and a huge Jim Cheung fan. It's the only reason this book gets 4 stars from me.