The Avengers take the fight to Utopia, way to go Cyclops!

If you have kept up with the big crossover event in comics of the past, you know the storyline is going to have its share of problems. Stories like “Fear Itself” and “Final Crisis” seem to have potential, but ultimately fall short when it’s all said and done. Maybe it’s too soon to tell, but Avengers vs. X-Men could be following the same tired trend.

Issue #1 did an OK job giving readers some insight into the opposing views held by Captain America and Cyclops, and setting up the reason for these two teams to be at odds. With issue #2 it seems that any shot at diplomacy is long gone as the two teams eagerly go to battle with one another. I hate to say it, but as much as I enjoy a good superhero slugfest, I’m having a hard time feeling sympathetic to either side’s point of view.

That being said, if all you are looking for is action issue #2 delivers plenty of that. There are some fun moments like seeing Magneto and Cyclops having a role reversal, not to mention Magneto’s answer to a fast ball special. We also get a glimpse of how certain mutants view Wolverine for fighting with the Avengers. There is the comic book take on a domestic dispute featuring the Black Panther and Storm, and Rulk and Colossus seem determined to find out who is the strongest one of all. Meanwhile young Hope, who is the center piece of this skirmish, is no longer content to just sit on the sidelines, so she starts taking a more direct role in the conflict.