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The X-Men vs. the Avengers #1-4
The X-Men Versus the Avengers
Paperback
Published January 1, 1993
About the author
Roger Stern
1,577 books113 followersRoger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 23, 2020
So 80s.
And I remember once liking this one a lot. With all the big battles and interesting characters, even from Russia.
Now this is just too long to amount of story, crappy art, stupid looking character designs and too much inner dialogue. Time has not been kind to this one.
And I remember once liking this one a lot. With all the big battles and interesting characters, even from Russia.
Now this is just too long to amount of story, crappy art, stupid looking character designs and too much inner dialogue. Time has not been kind to this one.
February 1, 2021
This is a strange one by Marvel standards, but not surreally strange. One the one hand, it is strange because Roger Stern intended a different ending for the series, while Tom DeFalco went for an ambiguous political approach that saw Magneto's case dismissed from the World Tribunal. On the other hand, the trial angle of the plot very closely mimics Uncanny X-Men #200 from the same era.
There are all sorts of interesting questions tackled inside, about crime, punishment, regret, redemption and the many facets of justice. One thing clearly emerges though: hate and fear breed more hate and violence, depicted among other things with mutant massacres, both attempted and successful (among which, the depiction of a totally normal - i.e. human - looking mutant child, lying in a pool of blood, something that would never even be attempted today and really does drive the point home). When it comes to those aspects, it is a brilliantly uncomfortable comic that forces one to think.
When it comes to the more traditional "super-teams fisticuffs", as well as the art, it is a beauty to look at, clean yet detailed, with one dominant characterization coming to mind: NOT LAZY. Furthermore, it manages to effortlessly present the varied opinions of characters on the aforementioned issues, the dissent among every group's ranks etc.
Also, this is before the fall of the Soviet Union, which intensifies the feeling of a different world.
This is '80s X-Men though, where "logical" justification was not always a priority, so there is a lot of "creative liberty", especially pertaining to science and Magneto's powers.
Overall, a very fun and eye-opening read.
There are all sorts of interesting questions tackled inside, about crime, punishment, regret, redemption and the many facets of justice. One thing clearly emerges though: hate and fear breed more hate and violence, depicted among other things with mutant massacres, both attempted and successful (among which, the depiction of a totally normal - i.e. human - looking mutant child, lying in a pool of blood, something that would never even be attempted today and really does drive the point home). When it comes to those aspects, it is a brilliantly uncomfortable comic that forces one to think.
When it comes to the more traditional "super-teams fisticuffs", as well as the art, it is a beauty to look at, clean yet detailed, with one dominant characterization coming to mind: NOT LAZY. Furthermore, it manages to effortlessly present the varied opinions of characters on the aforementioned issues, the dissent among every group's ranks etc.
Also, this is before the fall of the Soviet Union, which intensifies the feeling of a different world.
This is '80s X-Men though, where "logical" justification was not always a priority, so there is a lot of "creative liberty", especially pertaining to science and Magneto's powers.
Overall, a very fun and eye-opening read.
May 15, 2025
The title, as is well-known, promises a bit too much. I think they fight for about a page and a half. It's mostly about the perennial issue of mutant and human hostility, an allegory for human divisions along any number of stand in dividing lines. But it's more deeply about the struggles that come from people honestly trying to solve the problem in proper ways.
The internal consistency of the story is lacking, especially with regards to the "super powers". It seems to be the kind of device that can be elastically utilized to accomplish whatever the writer demands must happen. Who knew magnetism could also be used to fly, teleport, and control people's minds?
Most of the art is good, but nothing amazing, and when it comes to the ladies of the book, most of the artists' choices for the female characters are ridiculously gross.
The issue wrestled with in the book is interesting, and the conversation around it is batted about well between several of the main characters. The ending was very good along these lines. It's theme is a universal one that is evergreen.
The internal consistency of the story is lacking, especially with regards to the "super powers". It seems to be the kind of device that can be elastically utilized to accomplish whatever the writer demands must happen. Who knew magnetism could also be used to fly, teleport, and control people's minds?
Most of the art is good, but nothing amazing, and when it comes to the ladies of the book, most of the artists' choices for the female characters are ridiculously gross.
The issue wrestled with in the book is interesting, and the conversation around it is batted about well between several of the main characters. The ending was very good along these lines. It's theme is a universal one that is evergreen.
June 30, 2023
The Avengers fight the X-Men over whether or not Magneto will be brought to the World Court to stand trial for his crimes. An interesting Soviet super-team joins the fight for a while, but unfortunately they disappear before the end of the story.
This one is a fun adventure for people who, as kids, used to make their superhero action figures fight each other. I was worried the story would feel rushed because it's only four issues, but writers Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco do a good job of fitting a lot of story beats and concepts into a short amount of pages.
The 1980s X-Men were my favorites, but I didn't read the Avengers comics and found myself surprised by characters I knew little to nothing about, like Dr. Druid and this iteration of Captain Marvel. Although I can see why Dr. Druid never became a big deal. For someone with such a cool name and impressive powers, he's super boring.
Anyway, this was a lot of fun. Short and sweet, but filled with lots of drama and big ideas.
This one is a fun adventure for people who, as kids, used to make their superhero action figures fight each other. I was worried the story would feel rushed because it's only four issues, but writers Roger Stern and Tom DeFalco do a good job of fitting a lot of story beats and concepts into a short amount of pages.
The 1980s X-Men were my favorites, but I didn't read the Avengers comics and found myself surprised by characters I knew little to nothing about, like Dr. Druid and this iteration of Captain Marvel. Although I can see why Dr. Druid never became a big deal. For someone with such a cool name and impressive powers, he's super boring.
Anyway, this was a lot of fun. Short and sweet, but filled with lots of drama and big ideas.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews