We continue our reviews of the Avengers vs X-Men comic book series in this combined review of issues #7 - #11.

Avengers vs X-Men, issue #7 review

The heat is on. Issue #7 of the series has the Avengers back against the wall as the Phoenix 5 take the offensive.

Round 7 has all the elements of drama and spectacle in place, but ultimately falls a little short. The X-Men invade and secure Avengers Tower as they begin an effort to apprehend the Avengers. Evidently, the timely intervention of the Scarlet witch has upped the stakes for the X-Men. It appears that they haven’t forgotten nor forgiven Wanda’s treachery at the end of the House of M storyline, making her “Numero Uno” on the X-Men’s hit list. Meanwhile the Avengers are working feverishly to come up with an end game solution to the Phoenix force. Interestingly, the Phoenix force is starting to have aggressive side effects on many of its hosts. Particularly in the case of Namor, who not only tells off Cyclops, but then after some subtle manipulation by Emma frost, decides to take matters into his own hands declaring all-out war on the Avengers and invading the nation of Wakanda.

Coipel’s art is as impressive as ever. Much of the conflict jumps out of the panels and gets in your face. Laura Martin’s use of color is also a well displayed. Matt Fraction takes the writing credits for this issue. I enjoyed the engaging exchange between Tony Stark and T’Challa that is both severe and humorous at the same time.

The biggest problem with this issue for me was buying the idea that these Phoenix powered X-Men can’t seem to handle the Scarlet Witch. I mean these 5 have displayed incredible acts of near omnipotence, yet everything they seem to throw at the Witchy-poo seems to have little or no effect. I know Wanda’s powers have been growing over recent years, but c’mon! If she is that damn powerful, why can’t she just magically exorcise the Phoenix force out of the X-Men? As with some of the other issues, fragmented battle sequences make the story feel a tad choppy. Sorry Marvel, I’m not about to buy every single tie-in issue just to get the whole scope of the battle.

Round 7 isn’t so terrible, it’s just feels a bit uninspiring compared to rounds 5 & 6.

Final Grade: C+