AvX Post Game Report, Week 7: Occupy the Jean Grey School

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***Well, hello. Are you avoiding spoilers for any of the following: Wolverine and the X-Men #10, X-Men Legacy #266 or New Avengers #26? Well, watch out, because all three are discussed in detail below!***

 

It's week seven of the ongoing Avengers vs. X-Men conflict, and May 9 brought three tie-in issues to talk about in this edition of our weekly Post Game: Wolverine and the X-Men #10 by Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo, X-Men Legacy #266 by Christos Gage and Rafa Sandoval, and New Avengers #26 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato.

THE BIG QUESTION:

Christos Gage is deeply entrenched in the world of AvX, writing both X-Men Legacy and Avengers Academy. The first issue of Legacy tying into the conflict brought a unique crew of Avengers to the campus of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, and Gage filled us in about how he built the cast for the story.

 

Newsarama: Christos, what can you share with us about how you picked the unconventional team of Avengers — She-Hulk, Falcon and Moon Knight — that show up at the Jean Grey School? I know there were limitations both story-wise and in the real world based on characters being tied up elsewhere in the story, but what particularly made that trio a good fit for the story, and a good match for the X-Men Legacy cast? Were any other Avengers characters considered? (Unrelated side question: Between Rogue, Gambit and Cannonball, does X-Men Legacy have the most accents per capita of any X-Men book yet?)

Christos Gage: In part it was about who was available, i.e. not in other books at that exact moment. But it also had to do with personal preference and who I thought was a good match, power-wise. Falcon, I just like, and he has a leadership quality I thought was needed. Plus, c'mon, Redwing and Lockheed going at each other. She-Hulk came to mind because, well, she's awesome; she's fought Rogue and Frenzy before; and Rogue "borrowing" her powers would create a very clear physical change, as well as a challenge, that we'll see next issue. As for Moon Knight, I thought he matched up well against Gambit, I knew his volatility could spark a fight — and let's face it, it's called "Avengers Versus X-Men" not "Inside The Actors' Studio" — and for a third reason you will see in #267. Plus we have Iron Man! I've seen speculation online that it's a remote controlled suit, or drone, or whatever… you'll find out in two weeks!

As for the accents, I have to admit, growing up with Chris Claremont's X-Men, I am a bit of a sucker for exaggerating them. And my wife is Southern, so I do like to see the region represented. Although I freely admit I am probably mangling Gambit's dialogue. I do spend a lot of time online researching Cajun terms, though, so I try.

THE BIG HITS:

 

X-Men Legacy #266: This issue satisfies this week's Avengers fighting X-Men quota, with the noticeably outmatched trio of Falcon, She-Hulk and Moon Knight showing up to ostensibly keep the peace — which lasts about as long as it takes for Frenzy to punch Moon Knight in the face (i.e., not long). Rogue and She-Hulk go it at as well (big week for She-Hulk, between this and Avenging Spider-Man #7), leading to Iron Man (or is it?) showing up to even the score.

Wolverine and the X-Men #10: Continuing to delve into Wolverine's psyche during AvX, this issue takes place shortly after the Battle of Utopia, with Logan returning to the Jean Grey School — and being visited by Cyclops, Emma Frost and Magik. While Scott isn't able to convince him (maybe he should have checked after Captain America had Wolverine violently ejected from a Quinjet), the mindwiped Angel is sympathetic to the cause.

 

New Avengers #26: More Phoenix/Iron Fist background in ancient China, with an appearance from Leonardo da Vinci. Yes, that one: He's a full-fledged character in the Marvel Universe since the Jonathan Hickman-written S.H.I.E.L.D. series. The parallels to this incident and the current one facing the Avengers and the X-Men become even clearer at the end of the issue, with da Vinci uttering the two magic words: "It's coming."

Worth noting:

- As expected from last week's Avengers vs. X-Men #3, despiting siding with Wolverine post-Schism Rachel Grey is officially, firmly on the side of Cyclops and the Utopia X-Men, as is Iceman.

- The newscaster in Wolverine and the X-Men #10 mentions a Dazzler vs. Spider-Woman fight — here's hoping we'll get to see that in an upcoming issue of AVX: VS.

- Earlier this week, Marvel teased that that the second act of Avengers vs. X-Men starts with "No More Avengers." Ominous, right?

 

NEXT WEEK: It's a fairly massive week for AvX and its various tie-ins, with Avengers vs. X-Men #4 (preview here), Avengers #26 (preview here), Avengers Academy #30 (preview here), AVX: VS #2 (preview here) and Uncanny X-Men #12 (preview here) all out. (Yes, AvX still has fewer tie-ins than most past Marvel events.)

AND FINALLY:

Got an Avengers vs. X-Men-related question you'd like us to ask in a future installment of the Post Game Report? Find us on Facebook or Twitter. 

More from Newsarama:

• AvX Post Game Report, Week 6: WOLVERINE vs. CAPTAIN AMERICA
• AvX Post Game Report, Week 5: AVENGERS Take the Early Lead
• AvX Post Game Report Week 4: The Time For Talk Has Passed
• AvX Post-Game Report, Week 3: The War at Home
• AvX Post-Game Report, Week 2: The Battle Begins
• AvX Post-Game Report, Week 1: AVENGERS VS. X-MEN #0

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