With this issue, the story of X-men versus the Avengers is coalescing into something intriguing. Jonathan Hickman’s script appears to foreshadow an ultimate showdown between the Phoenix and the combined forces of the Iron Fist and the Scarlet Witch. “The crimson heart, the dragon’s fist. Repelled the Phoenix of life and death. Preventing the celestial rebirth of earth.” The Marvel architects are taking a risk with this story, in that I suspect that some fans may see them as tarnishing the image of the X-Men. The X-Men are beginning to seem villainous in the way in which they are naively seduced by the power of the Phoenix. Similarly, some fans thought that Tony Stark was sullied by his taking the side of the government in “Civil War.” I think this is a risk worth taking. After all, believable heroes have flaws. This comic’s penciling is not among Olivier Coipel’s best work. Many of the male characters, Magneto, Captain America, Colossus, appear to be short, squat and thick around the middle. These are not heroic proportions.