The Phoenix Force has long been connected to the X-Men, most notably red-headed telepaths, but the cosmic entity now has its sights set on a different team of superheroes. Jason Aaron, approaching his three year anniversary of writing the main Avengers title, makes it a habit of incorporating the Phoenix into his work. He continues that tradition in his current run of the Avengers. The Phoenix, one of seven forces with connections to the Avengers of 1,000,000 B.C., returns to Earth and pits nearly two dozen characters against each other for the right to serve as its next host. Aaron’s latest issue, which earns a 62-point review score, features several match-ups including Shanna the She-Devil versus Devil Dinosaur, American Eagle versus Luke Cage and Valkyrie versus the Orb. However, it is revealed that the Phoenix has a preferred host already: the King of Wakanda, and chairman of the Avengers, Black Panther. T’Challa passes his first test by defeating Man-Thing and scores a 10 point performance in his only appearance for the week.
Book the Week – King in Black #3 (Review score: 63 points). The Phoenix is not the only cosmic force the Avengers are currently facing. At the midway point of Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman’s event, Knull loses his hold over a few key Avengers including Captain America thanks to Dylan Brock turning the tide with his symbiotic severance skills. Thor comes to Dylan’s aid, grabbing the attention of Knull. The God of Thunder is not the only hero to heed the call in this issue as it ends with the Silver Surfer racing to Earth for a rematch of his own with the Black King.
Antagonist of the Week – Knull (Review score: 12 points). The Black King shows off why he’s such a deadly threat. Not only does he command an army of symbiote-possessed soldiers, but he has a vast set of powers through his mastery of the symbiotes. Knull shows off 11 of those powers including a Heal after Thor detaches his jaw with a mighty swing of Mjolnir, and a Size to grow a giant hand to grab at Dylan. He caps a strong performance in King in Black by wielding his Necrosword to impale Thor.
Hero of the Week – Young Cable (Review score: 13 points). Namor plays a role in the two biggest issues this week and scores the same number of points as Cable, but the young version of the time-displaced Summers son earns the title for cramming all of his action into one book. Cable hits for the Fantasy Comic League cycle by scoring a point in every stat category. He Teams Up and Leads his sister Prestige on a mission to rescue missing mutant children. He Saves the children while Defeating the mysterious Order of X leader. Finally, Cable’s Character Development comes from the fact that he learns Stryfe (the clone of his older self) is alive and the mastermind behind the mystery.
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Key: TU – Team-Up; LT – Lead Team; SC – Save Civilian; CD – Character Development; DA – Defeat Antagonist.
| Avengers #41 (62) |
| American Eagle – Flames, Melee, Strength, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Black Knight Black Panther – Agility, Claws, Flames, Flight, Intellect, Melee, Will Power, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force), DA (Man-Thing) Captain America Echo – Sense, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Howard the Duck – Flight, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Hulk (JW) – Durability, Morph Luke Cage – Durability, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Man-Thing – Flames, Melee, Size, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Moon Girl – Creature, Flames, Intellect, CD (Devil Dinosaur bonds with the Phoenix Force) Namor – Flames, Flight, Melee, Rage, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Shang-Chi – Will Power, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Shanna the She-Devil – Blade, Creature, Flight, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Valkyrie (JF) – Blunt, Flight, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) Wolverine – Sense Antagonist(s) Orb – Sense, CD (Bonds with the Phoenix Force) |
| Black Cat #2 (10) |
| Black Cat – Artifact, Creature, Explosives, Suit, Tech, Vehicle, LT Doctor Strange – Suit |
| Cable #7 (34) |
| Bei the Blood Moon Cable (Young) – Gun, Melee, Precision, Telekinesis, Telekinesis Offensive, Telepathy, Weapon, TU (Prestige), LT, SC, CD (Learns Stryfe is alive), DA (Order of X) Callisto Cyclops Cypher Domino Gentle Kid Omega Magik Marvel Girl Mondo Prestige – Flight, Reality, Telekinesis, Telekinesis Defensive, Telepathy, TU (Cable), LT, SC Stepford Cuckoos Antagonist(s) Stryfe |
| Iron Fist: Heart of the Dragon #1 (20) |
| Iron Fist – Agility, Energy, Energy Offensive, Melee, Weapon, TU (Luke Cage), DA (Undead ninja) Luke Cage – Melee, TU (Iron Fist), DA (Undead ninja) Antagonist(s) Lady Bullseye – Agility, Melee, LT Taskmaster – Agility, Melee, Thief |
| King in Black #3 (64) |
| Blade – Melee, TU (Invisible Woman) Captain America – Melee, Shield Offensive, TU (Thing) Captain Marvel – Flight, TU (Mr. Fantastic) Cyclops Hulk Invisible Woman – Telekinesis, Telekinesis Defensive, TU (Blade) Iron Man – Creature, Suit, TU (Mr. Fantastic) Magneto – TU (Mr. Fantastic) Mr. Fantastic – Tech, TU (Spider-Man), LT Namor – TU (Mr. Fantastic) Professor X – Telepathy, TU (Mr. Fantastic) Silver Surfer – Vehicle Spider-Man (PP) – TU (Mr. Fantastic) Thing – Melee, TU (Captain America) Thor – Blunt, Creature, Durability, Elements, Flight, Lightning, Melee, Strength, Weapon, TU (Mr. Fantastic) Venom Wolverine – TU (Mr. Fantastic) Antagonist(s) Knull – Blade, Claws, Creature, Durability, Ensnare, Heal, Melee, Possession, Sense, Size, Strength |
| Maestro: War and Pax #1 (7) |
| Antagonist(s) Maestro – Creature, Durability, Melee, Strength, LT, DA (Stalkers) |
| X-Force #16 (33) |
| Beast – Intellect Domino – Bionics, Flames Dr. Cecilia Reyes – Biokinesis, Intellect, Melee Forge – Flames, Suit, Weapon Kid Omega – Explosive, Gun, Suit, Telepathy, Telepathy Offensive Namor – Energy, Flight, Water, Weapon Stepford Cuckoos Wolverine – Claws, Claws Offensive, Melee, Suit, LT Antagonist(s) Black Tom Cassidy – Plants Offensive |
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