The coming battle of Avengers vs. X-Men is fast approaching and many characters will find themselves faced with the decision of where their allegiance lies. It used to be that mutant heroes pretty much stuck to the X-teams. These days we're seeing more and more dip their toes into the Avengers' pool. Several characters are even currently members of both teams at the same time.

We don't know the specifics of what event will spark the flame that will consume both teams. What we have seen so far suggests that in involves the Phoenix Force returning to Earth and Hope Summers, the mutant messiah. We recently saw both teams fight each other in AVENGERS: CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (along with the Young Avengers) but this coming clash appears to be set for a bigger stage.

Being part of a team is a huge responsibility and the characters on both teams aren't ones to take their roles lightly. When the fighting begins, whose side will they fight for?

It should be made clear that this isn't necessarily a mutants versus non-mutants fight. Most likely a good portion of the fight will be over the life or fate of Hope Summers but it looks like it's more about dealing with a threat to the world and beyond (the Phoenix Force). The fact that Hope may be the chosen vessel for the Phoenix Force is an unfortunate position for her to be in.

Wolverine

Wolverine can be one of the noblest characters around. He will always do what is best for the greater good and isn't afraid to get his hands dirty if necessary. With X-Force, that's mainly what they do. They take out threats in a permanent fashion.

Wolverine has recently had a major clash with Cyclops, the poster boy for everything related to the X-Men. Their disagreement was over the treatment of the young mutants. Wolverine didn't feel they should be treated as mere soldiers, preparing for a fight that would cost them their lives. Moving to the East Coast, he opened up the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.

In this battle, Wolverine will be placed in an awkward position. He will have to choose between fighting alongside Cyclops once again or whether or not he is able to take out Hope, permanently. His affection and desire to raise and protect young (female) mutants might make the decision for him. He is dedicating his time to the young mutants. The fact that the Phoenix Force is involved may stir memories of Jean Grey within Wolverine as well. Despite his warrior attitude and willingness to do whatever it takes to end any threats, chances are he will fight alongside the X-Men in order to protect Hope.

Storm

Storm has barely been a member of the Avengers. As soon as she joined, it seemed she's spent more time unconscious on the team (from Norman Osborn's attack) rather than actually fighting alongside the team. Storm is one to have a level head and understands there are some decisions that need to be made. She will not condone killing as a solution.

If the fight is over dealing with Hope, it really depends on what the Avengers tactic will be. If the Phoenix Force is coming for her, how could they prevent it from taking and using Hope as a vessel? Death might be the only option but that's not how the Avengers deal with things. For Storm to decide, it will really depend on what methods are decided upon. But due to her short time with the team, chances are she will choose the X-Men over the Avengers.

Beast

Beast is another member that has spent long periods of his career on both teams. With one of the kindest hearts within both teams, he also has one of the most analytical minds. He will play out every possible scenario in his mind. He will approach the problem from all angles and come up with what he believes to be the best solution.

Beast isn't one to condone killing either and was outraged when he discovered Cyclops formed a killer squad of X-Men (with X-Force). Recently, as part of the Secret Avengers, Hank's decision lead to the death of many members of the Shadow Council. His decision saved millions of lives but it wasn't something he is proud of. If Hope poses a threat to the world (and universe), Hank may realize that she must be contained or stopped. Chances are he will side with the Avengers on this one.

Namor

Namor has spent time with the Avengers but has recently dedicated himself to the X-Men. He has stood by their side throughout all their conflicts of late. He has also spent a bit of time alongside Hope. This makes it clear that he will fight anyone that threatens her. The fact that Emma Frost is on the team also guarantees where his allegiance lies.

Scarlet Witch

Even though she's a mutant, Scarlet Witch has never been a member of the X-Men. With her recent guilt and attempt to to restore the mutant abilities to those that lost them during M-Day. I question whether or not she'll be a candidate for the Phoenix Force. She may not have telepathy, which seems to be a common trait, but she is (or was) an extremely powerful mutant. Because of any guilt she might feel over what she did to the mutants while in her crazed state, chances are she's going to side with the X-Men.

Quicksilver might be another factor in the equation. He was an Avenger and a member of the old X-Factor, making him linked to both team. He also has two extra layers of problems: first, he's nototrious for being overprotective of his sister; second, he still has something of a guilt complex for trying to use the Terrigen Mists to re-empower some mutants after the M-Day.

About Scarlet being a candidate for the Phoenix Force. Well, she isn't a telepath, but she has some measure of mental powers due to the mystic training.

namor was never much of an avengers more an invader. and scarlet witch to my knowing was only an avenger never an x-woman. just because she is a mutant doesnt mean she has to be involved.

Pretty much came to the same conclusions on these guys and gals. Though Wolverine was stated to be fighting Cap in a solicitation I think so it was kinda obvious on that one. Kinda think Wanda should be with Mutants on this issue after all, she played a role in their near extinction so she should be with them. But time will tell on that, though I kinda feel they should make her involved in an X-title after all this as a kinda way to attone and see what Mutantkind has been through. Pietro is gonna be a wildcard I'm sure.

Go back in time...

Namor and Hulk together TRYING to kick Thor's ass. (Did not happen.)

Wonderman and Beast drinking beer and playing cards with Nick Fury and The Thing.

Storm is married to the Black Panther. (That should be an Avengers vs, X-men title of it's own.)

The Scarlet Witch has been an Avenger most of her career... and if certain writers had not messed with her, she would be an outstanding character... instead of something sinister and stupid. (Like when they messed with Hank Pym!)

Wolverine is a solo act. He will do whatever the day calls for. He never "joined" any group!

You know i would like to see other factors than those listed on this blog. I wonder does it always revoled on those select individuals. Or maybe we can see someone on a different take. Taking up the charge on this and getting some more development out of this. And i agree on Quicksilver. He should be involed in this also.

I see Wolvie sitting on the sidelines for the duration of this event, not wanting to get involved. Then, at the last second, he'll show up with Jean's corpse in his arms, the Phoenix Force will rush to it, and BAM! Jean Grey is back...

Wanda won't side with the X-men since Cyke promised to kill her, also she has always been an Avenger (and remember the Avengers were trying to help her during Children Crusade while Scott and go wanted her in a wooden box) and only real connection to the X-Men was she fought them as part of the Brotherhood and Magneto is her dad. 
 
Quicksilver will stay with the Avengers since he won't be on the same team as his dad.
 
The Beast is hard to judge on one hand he's a Secret Avenger so he knows what must be done if necessary on the other hand, he has shown on other occassions (Dark Phoenix) that he is more loyal to the X-men than Avengers.
 
Namor will be with the X-men, cause Emma is there and the Avengers have no blondes he wants to bed
 
Storm on one hand  will side with the X-men side she cares for Hope but at the same time going against the Avengers would Damage her position on the team (especailly as she has recently joined) and may force her to fight her husband
 
Logan is the wild card, he hates Scott but does want anything bad to happen to Hope, at the same time he has a massive respect for Cap. Either way Logan has made it clear that he doesn't want the school involved, but he might not have a say in that

I see the Avengers X-men standing by the avengers as of now. With Beast and Wolvie generally PO'd with Scott. Storm is the real question. To me it makes no sense to put her on the Avengers just to break her off the team, especially with the ark basically showing the team getting their asses handed to them. Her marriage to Tchalla, her X-Men team, and recent come back has to play a part in this story.

I change my mind. As far as major marvel events go, the last two were quite awful. Siege was a mess and Fear Itself was almost as bad, and maybe the corniest set of comics ever 'assembled' (The X-Force spin off aside) HOWEVER, this most recent event has the potential to really push Marvel forward. I know, we've seen all this hero on hero stuff a million times, but the things that remain good about the marvel universe, the character, are set to all be very dynamic in this next arc. This could really get down to the nitty-gritty drama that Marvel does when it's working at full speed. I can see the moral conflict, self-preservation vs. the greater good setting up some amazing moral dilemmas. I'd like to see Cyke become almost Magneto like in ideology. Imagine, he's approved the killing of people for the greater good of mutant kind, but won't take out one of their own for the sake of all mankind. That's some bankrupt logic right there. All in all, I really hope Marvel pulls their heads out of their creative funk and get back to delivering good comics with depth. CALL Chris Clairemont! Catch my drift?

@wdchefdave: And props on the idea of a Black Panther/Storm crossover book. I'll probably just get the main arc but I would pick that up.

I wonder what hulk will do... or mabey he has his own problems.

for the most part. I think the young X men in wolverines school might get in this after all. Im not sure they would take pride in knowing utopia was being attacked. x factor will probably get involved with this. I couldnt see how havok could leave cyclops hanging. & the fact that there all mutants as well it sort of makes this there business too.

Sorry, I just love the line....."imperious sex her...?" I wonder if Namor shouts that in bed.

I agree with all of the placements on this article, except for Wolverine. I'm pretty sure that he'd be on the Avengers side.

1. He once promised Hope that, if it came done to it, de would be the one to 'stop' her and, on her own insistance, that he would make it 'stick'. Although he does have a predisposition to helping young, female mutants, I don't he's ever seen Hope in the same light as characters like Shadowcat and Oya.

2. You have to consider this politically. Utopia is its own, independant nation. This gives Cyclops a level of freedom which Wolverine- who's school is on US soil, thus making his team part of that country- now lacks. If Wolverine were to side with Cyclops, wouldn't he be putting the entire school at risk?

3. Wolverine REALLY isn't a fan of the Phoenix. In his mind, the PF is what took Jean away from him in the first place. More importantly, the fact that it is returning, and has chosen Hope as its host instead of ressurecting Jean once again, implies that she's really not coming back again. I think that knowledge would be enough to set Wolverine against the Phoenix, and, by extension, the x-men, in the battle.

Actually, I'm wondering if this event will see the return of Bishop trying to play the 'I Told you So!' card!

I was sad to see Bishop basically turn villian in the hunting of Hope, but I have to admit, He made a great 'bad guy' and he had some great throwdowns with Cable. Add that tiny little doubt that maybe he was right all along, I think he could be a major player in this storyline.

wolverine is already siding with the avengers

@KainScion: I did mention Scarlet Witch was never an X-Man. Plus that image of her fighting MODOK is from Avengers Vs. X-Men and there's also that cover with her and Hope. So she will be involved somehow. Only we haven't seen her on any of the other covers so who knows how much she'll be involved.

@frochez: Wolverine's the only one I really question. I went back and forth over him before writing. He's willing to do whatever is necessary but could he put down Hope if he had to? She's a kid and a red-head. Would he be able to do the right thing or start thinking about Jean?

Does this fight include the Fantastic Four considering Thing has his Future Foundation top on?

I don't care what side she is on, I just hope that the Scarlet Witch dies, permanently (or at least for a while)

Regardless of what side Namor is on his fight will be cool.

Wolverine fighting with the Avengers would be an interesting twist

As for Beast and Storm, I couldn't care less

All those X-men will remain X-men. Beast might be the one who would play both teams.

I don't even thing Beast would play both sides, from what we saw in X-sanction it looked like the Avengers weren't just fighting X-men, it looked like they were fighting mutants as a whole, Hank couldn't side with the Avengers on that. Period!

team X-Men!!! or team Avengers... not so sure anymore although the matchup promos so far lean in the favor of X-Men...but i love both teams...AHHH

I will feel like a traitor for choosing sides, so I will stay neutral.

Wolverine: Not sure, not enough information to show where his alleigences lie

Storm: X-Men

Namor: X-Men

Beast: Avengers

Scarlet Witch: Avengers

i want the scarlet witch to be with the x men and storm's and beast position should get panel time

While the concepts of super hero teams battling each other is a bit played out I will continue to say this is interesting because of some of the images released have made me really speculate. The Phoenix Force, Scarlet Witch, and other variables thrown in, could really make all this a great ride.

@KainScion said:

namor was never much of an avengers more an invader. and scarlet witch to my knowing was only an avenger never an x-woman. just because she is a mutant doesnt mean she has to be involved.

I agree about Namor, he had to co-operate with the X Men during Utopia or X Nation, but only for his people's sake. And they did say he was a latent mutant or something, but as for Scarlet Witch, she's had long ties with the X Men, fighting against them, altering mutant history, being Magneto's daughter (which makes her potentially powerful), her getting involved would make more sense than Namor.

When Jean was the Phoenix, Beast argued that to sacrifice one creature to save a million was not fair, (as scientific as he is). But it's true that that was Jean, and this is... and idk how much Beast has changed, i know he always cared too much

Question, isn't it at all possible that Hope is not the target of the Phoenix Force? Aren't there other possibilities like Rachel and Madelyn or someone else entirely possible hosts?

@KainScion: I did mention Scarlet Witch was never an X-Man. Plus that image of her fighting MODOK is from Avengers Vs. X-Men and there's also that cover with her and Hope. So she will be involved somehow. Only we haven't seen her on any of the other covers so who knows how much she'll be involved.

@Outside_85: They aren't popular enough right now for that to be the case. I do keep thinking they'll pull a curve ball and have it bring back Jean.

@krazyman27: Think Jean will show up during this, considering the amounts of hints that have been dropped over the years that she is still around.

@Outside_85 said:

Question, isn't it at all possible that Hope is not the target of the Phoenix Force? Aren't there other possibilities like Rachel and Madelyn or someone else entirely possible hosts?

Their connection is something in the past now (Rachel doesn't even have a major role, Maddie's dead again). The force left them for a reason. Not sure what the plot will be if the force took someone else. It's all about Hope now.

X-men will be x-men

I am a fan of x-men

Interesting! It would be very curious to see the Phoenix Force take Scarlet Witch and see how much her powers would grow and change, maybe they'd be amplified to the extent that all de-powered mutants recieved their x-genes back

@Outside_85 said:

Question, isn't it at all possible that Hope is not the target of the Phoenix Force? Aren't there other possibilities like Rachel and Madelyn or someone else entirely possible hosts?

I would love for Marvel to through a real curve ball and make the Phoenix Force's target an Avenger, and one that's not a mutant. Imagine Cap or Iron Man or Ms Marvel as Phoenix. Suddenly the whole thing flips and the X-Men are attacking the Avengers to stop the PF threat and the Avengers are fighting to protect one of their own.

Oy, were it up to me, I'd write all the aforementioned characters into realizing the sheer stupidity of the fight and just drop out altogether.

Seriously, superheroes fighting each other under these circumstances doesn't make them heroes. I've said it once, twice, three times, I'll say it again: modern superhero comics utterly, unforgiveably STINK. Yeah yeah.

@Darkmount1 said:

Oy, were it up to me, I'd write all the aforementioned characters into realizing the sheer stupidity of the fight and just drop out altogether.

Seriously, superheroes fighting each other under these circumstances doesn't make them heroes. I've said it once, twice, three times, I'll say it again: modern superhero comics utterly, unforgiveably STINK. Yeah yeah.

I do agree. It seems that the only stories Marvel knows how to write these days are heroes fighting each other. It didn't work with Civil War, Schism was barely readable, and now this event is just the same dance, different title.

@One_Eye: Maybe it's time someone took over Marvel (and DC as well) who knows how to ENTERTAIN, not milk fan interest by turning beloved characters into "American Gladiators". Modern superhero comics aren't entertainment--they're just bloodsports.

Actually, I'm wondering if this event will see the return of Bishop trying to play the 'I Told you So!' card!

I was sad to see Bishop basically turn villian in the hunting of Hope, but I have to admit, He made a great 'bad guy' and he had some great throwdowns with Cable. Add that tiny little doubt that maybe he was right all along, I think he could be a major player in this storyline.

I'd freaking love to see this!

Didn't the X-men try to kill Scarlet Witch? They're not still after her, are they?

Which sides do you choose? Civil War is happening again.

@PrimeDirective: I had to laugh at this.

@G-Man: Regarding Wolverine, he did hesitate when it came to killing Warren so how much more would he do so with Hope. I think you're spot on with this observation.

@Scarbearer: Funny comment. I'd be glad to see Bishop back in the picture.

I sure don't envy those guys for the decisions they will have to make in the days ahead. Yikes!

So no one is stopping to wonder where Quicksilver or X-23 are gonna stand throughout all of this?

I'm thinking Wolverine with Avengers. Not even applying his character here (I'm having doubts lately about the consistency there anyways), but I would see the creative talent adding another nail to the rift between him and Cyclops to secure the continuation of the Schism between the two for the next year or so, especially if WATXM sales keep holding.

In regards to having just read Children's Crusade #9, I'm almost eyebrow raised at Rogue, not solid but it was a moment to note.

Anyone else suffering fatigue from event after event after event?

I think some of these guys, Wolverine in particular and maybe Beast, are definitely gonna switch sides at least once throughout the course of the story. I doubt Storm or Namor will even temporarily side with the Avengers.

@brucecapell said:

@Outside_85 said:

Question, isn't it at all possible that Hope is not the target of the Phoenix Force? Aren't there other possibilities like Rachel and Madelyn or someone else entirely possible hosts?

Their connection is something in the past now (Rachel doesn't even have a major role, Maddie's dead again). The force left them for a reason. Not sure what the plot will be if the force took someone else. It's all about Hope now.

Well wasn't Madelyn sought out in the past because of her being a copy of Jean? (Btw, if I read Sisterhood correctly then Madelyn wasnt definitively killed, there wasnt a body atleast)

Anyone else suffering fatigue from event after event after event?

I choose the X-men, as Cyclops is an excellent strategist, it seems he'll go to great lengths to be victorius. Why the hell is Thor in all this? I've read no explanation as to how he's alive again.

All this fuzz just because the Phoenix is coming. For starters if the Phoenix is coming wouldn't its priority be Rachell Summers? She hosted the Phoenix for a good period before the Phoenix decided to realease her as a host and just leave a fraction of its power within her. On that same story the Phoenix is revealed as a cosmic entity possessing the ability to think for itself and reason. So why would it just swoop down on Hope without even a heads up????!!! The Phoenix learned diplomacy during previous stories so have writers wiped the slate yet again? Ignoring the past just to make a senseless story...that's what I hate from Marvel.