One of the biggest draws of Avengers vs. X-Men was the interaction between the mutants from the X-Men and the superheroes from the Avengers. It was during this series that we got to see who would beat whom in a battle and the consequences of those actions. Of all these matchups and interactions, the one with the most history is between Captain America and Namor, members of the World War II unit known as the Invaders. Captain America and Namor fought together in many battles until Cap’s faithful trip into the icy waters of the North Atlantic. This is the primary reason why I enjoyed New Avengers #29 so much.
In this issue, the Illuminati has been called together once again by Captain America, in hopes of using his brotherhood and friendship to stop the war between the Phoenix Five and the Avengers. Cap knows that the odds are perilously stacked again them, so this is his way of pleading with Namor to stop the madness. The other members of the Illuminati do not have the same faith in Namor as does Cap.
The dialogue between the Illuminati members is very well-written. The part where Professor Charles Xavier is exhibiting his suffering and pain over one of his “sons” going against everything that he was taught by him. For any fan of the X-Men, this is a very emotional scene. Iron Man also has several memorable (and humorous) discussions with each member of the Illuminati. Bendis’ use of Stark to lighten the mood on heavy scenes keeps the mood at an even keel throughout the comic.
In the end you empathize with the Avengers, especially Captain America. Every single member of the Illuminati has met his faith in Namor arriving at the meeting with doubt. When Namor finally shows himself to Cap at the end, you don’t get any sense of relief. To summarize the meeting between Cap and Namor, all you have to do is read the last line of the issue.
I really enjoyed this issue, and just loved the fact that they recognized the relationship between Captain America and Namor. You get to see how these two brothers-in-arms interact with each other as they fight for the opposite team. The addition of the Illuminati members was a nice touch too. You got to see the perspective of the war from the primary characters in the Marvel Universe. If you only get one of the tie-ins for AvX then this is the one issue to buy.
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