Avengers & X-Men: Axis #4

By Rick Remender, Leinil Francis Yu and Edgar Delgado

It has begun! This week in Avengers & X-Men: Axis we start to see the effect that the inversion is having on some of our favorite heroes. Rick Remender lets us see what happens when the Hulk gets sad, and we get a small glimpse of how the X-Men plan to deal with life after Wolverine.

This issue is very much a set up issue, but it has some important things that happen in it as well. Remender shows us a world where the Avengers are willing to kill to handle their problems, and it comes off as scary. While it’s not uncommon to be reading a book and hoping the hero kills the villain, it’s different to see a character like Captain America and Thor leading the charge. Remender is effective in giving the reader a quick look into a creepy future. Remender also writes a very touching scene with Hulk and Jarvis before things take a turn for the worse. Jarvis comes off great in this issue by the way. He’s the voice of reason many times before, and Remender uses him very well here. The one downside to the issue is that there weren’t enough X-Men. We get a couple of pages to whet our appetite, but it would have been nice to see more.

Leinil Francis Yu is on pencil for the second straight issue and Edgar Delgado is by his side for colors. One of the best things about Leinil Yu’s art is his use of shadows and shading in his work. This issue we see a ton of it, whether it’s Carnage swinging into frame to save the day or adding shadows to make the Avengers seem more villain like, Yu knows how to work his magic on the page. The colors by Delgado fit very well with Yu’s style and compliment the book immensely. The pair turns in a great effort that can be considered the best art on this series so far.

Avengers & X-Men: Axis has been an enjoyable read so far. This issue was a bit slower than the others, but it’s setting up the major events to come later in the series. Rick Remender is a writer you should have faith in, because he always seems to deliver when he needs to. The pencils by Yu have done wonders for his two issue stint and have added great depth to an already good story. This is an event that continues to get better with each issue.