By [ad_1]
The upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men vs. Eternals war is shaping up to be more cataclysmic than any other superhero conflict in the Marvel universe yet.
The upcoming Avengers vs. X-Men vs. Eternals war is shaping up to be far more cataclysmic than any other superhero conflict in the Marvel universe yet. This is not just a rehashing of the decades-old Avengers vs. X-Men nor the Civil War stories. The issues at hand are not just about superhero registration but cosmic and metaphysical philosophies and practices at the core of the groups’ identity.
Kieron Gillen will helm the upcoming conflict and is already seeding the series in the current series he’s writing. In Eternals, by Gillen, the Avengers and Eternals are brewing for a showdown over Avengers Mountain. Gillen is also taking the writing reins of Immortal X-Men, a series focusing on the designs of the ruling Quiet Council of Krakoa—a governing body with competing members who are all committed to mutantkind.
These three groups have been involved with each other from the start. The Avengers and X-Men have had intertwined stories for years of which the Phoenix and the Scarlet Witch have been prime instigators of conflict. Individuals have held membership in both groups (Beast, Wolverine, Scarlet Witch, amidst others). The coming conflict was also seeded in the far past with the first Avengers. That group composed of Odin and the Phoenix and others came into direct conflict with the Eternals. Ajak even expresses regret for not having destroyed that group then.
Major changes have happened since the most recent Avengers vs. X-Men conflict. Since then, the X-Men have become a nation to themselves and have defeated death itself while uniting the disparate and conflicting aspects of mutantkind. While held together in loose bonds, the nation of Krakoa still stands united in the preservation of mutantkind and its future. This is not just two superpowered teams. These are authorities governing entire populations. Rather than just teams fighting each other, the populations these three groups represent are now vast. The conflicts will not just rage in urban locations like airports and alleys but span across the world, space, and potentially other dimensions.
Simultaneously, the Eternals have just come into conflict with the Avengers at the Avengers Mountain: a Celestial itself transformed into their headquarters. The Eternals were created by the Celestials and the one remaining on Earth, albeit dormant, holds answers to questions they have. Ajak was angry at her discovery of the Avengers’ use of a Celestial body as a domicile. Ajak, and other Eternals, hold the Celestials as deities. In a rage, Ajak asked, “What have they done to my beautiful god?! They have carved holed through the divine celestial! This is blasphemy!”
Undergirding all of this are secrets. The mutants wish to keep their resurrection protocols a secret and the Avengers came close to discovering those when the Scarlet Witch was murdered. And their note alone–the Eternals are keeping secrets too. The promo for Eternals #10 states: “The Avengers are done with secrets and demand the Eternals explain themselves! But the Eternals have other plans, as Ajak has made contact with her Celestial god! But will she receive the answers she’s been searching for?”
In fact, immortality may be the core of the conflict. The Eternals have always been in a cycle of rebirth, but Gillen’s recent storyline has revealed that this cycle actually comes with a cost: human life. The grounds for the conflict are being laid right now. The death of Wanda Maximoff and her soon after resurrection turned the heat up on the Avengers and the X-Men tenuous relationship. Can death be cheated infinitely? As the defenders of humanity, will the Avengers see the mutant and the Eternals subjugation of death as a potential risk too great? If humanity pays the price for the Eternals’ resurrections, could that also be the price for the mutant resurrection, unknowingly? The promotional teaser might allude to the question of death and the afterlife: “Judgement Day is Coming!” Classically, the phrase refers to the Biblical Judgement after the final resurrection of humanity. Perhaps, Judgement Day is coming for those who have continued to supersede death through their own tools of resurrection. Is it the Avengers who will deliver Judgement?
The last two Civil Wars saw hero face hero and friends face friends over the question of superheroes and their relationship with society at large. If the Eternals see the Avengers as blasphemous in their activity, they might stop at nothing to vindicate their gods. The issues driving the coming conflict are those of a truly metaphysical nature: resurrection and religion. Avengers, with gods themselves on the roster, face off against entities who have the power of gods. The mutants of Krakoa just terraformed and claimed Mars. The Eternals are representatives of the great Celestials. This is a conflict that will redraw the lines of the Marvel universe entirely.
About The Author
[ad_2]
