We Have To Choose A Side, Don't We

In terms of Avengers vs. X-Men, whose side are you on?

The Avengers? The X-Men? Hope? The Phoenix Force?

Maybe you're rooting for Thanos to get out of the Cancerverse, still mightily angry about being used by Death, and out to bust some skulls to make himself feel better. Or for Magneto to go heel turn and trounce everyone. You know, something that brings all the heroes together against a common villain. Like the old days.

I rather like those last couple of ideas. Doesn't have to be those specifically, but something like, some baddie rising up and making all the good guys stop the macho posturing. I suppose that's what the Phoenix Force is for, but I've never much been a fan of it. Besides, I thought it was supposed to defend life, so what's it doing going cuckoo bananas? I've never understood that. Is it everything it experienced pretending to be Jean that made it nuts? You'd think it could get over that eventually. It's been years. Why can't the blasted thing just guard the M'Krann Crystal like it's supposed to?

Anyway, I can't say I'm rooting for a return of the Phoenix (Rachel Summers was the only one I was even marginally interested in). I'm really irritated by all the solicitations promising to connect Iron Fist to the Phoenix Force. What a stupid idea. He got his power by killing a giant dragon. Why does that have to connect to some outer space Fire Bird? Yes, the dragon is endlessly reborn so it can be killed again, like a phoenix, but cripes people, leave it alone. Don't dragon the Iron Fist mythology into the X-Men's crap!

I'm not any fan of Hope, and while we're at it, does it seem wrong her name is Hope Summers? She had a family before, didn't she? True, they were slaughtered, but it feels like an attempt by Cable (or Scott, or whoever gave her the name) to erase that part of her past. Like it doesn't matter, she's a Summers, she's the mutant savior, blah, blah. Since she was an infant, I don't suppose she remembers them, but it still feels strange somehow. Maybe just because there was no formal adoption, just Cable hightailing into the future with a baby.

I keep drifting off-track. Nothing new there. I suppose I have to be with the Avengers, if only because the other option is to side with Cyclops, and that isn't happening. Still, I'm concerned we're seeing the continued Fall of Steve Rogers. How having to be Boss of All Superheroes is going to make him into as much of a bad guy as it did Tony Stark. Which I would prefer not to see happen. In my youth, I disliked Cap as much as Cyclops. Stodgy, uptight, always making boring speeches and not just letting the "cool" characters do what they liked. Busiek's work on Avengers did quite a bit to turn that around, and I'd hate to see it lost.

Just have to hope for the best.