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Avengers vs.X-Men: Round One

The Combatants

Hawkeye aka Clint Barton is one of the longest serving Avengers, the team’s resident marksman, and widely regarded as the best shot in the world. Hawkeye doesn’t get much recognition in a field dominated by gadgets and superpowers, but he never backs down. This man has fought monsters, gods and alien armies with nothing but a bow and arrow, making him one of the biggest badasses in the Marvel universe. Even death couldn’t keep him out of the fight for long—he just put on a ninja costume and went right back to kicking ass with the New Avengers.

VS

Cyclops aka Scott Summers is the longtime leader of the X-Men. Red beams of concussive force shoot from his eyes whenever they are open, but he is able to control them with the help of a ruby quartz visor. Now he can take out targets with decimating precision. Scott has been fighting evil mutants, genocidal maniacs and interstellar tyrants ever since he was a teenager. Xavier’s first and most prized student has become the selfless and dedicated mutantkind needs. Although the extinction of his people seems certain, Cyclops refuses to surrender, and lets the world know that the X-Men can take all challengers.

The Throw down: This is one of the more even match-ups of the series. Both of these guys are serious shooters, and an epic sniper duel ending in a deadly rooftop chase seems almost obligatory. Cyclops has a few advantages there. He can hit anything he looks at, and his shot is always perfectly straight without correcting for wind or gravity. He can fire instantly and continuously without reloading, and will never run out of ammo. While Hawkeye is a master of the impossible shot and has a variety of trick arrows that range from pointy sticks to mini nukes, Cyclops is clearly more powerful, as he can punch a hole through a mountain without even trying, literally in the blink of an eye.

Hawkeye’s only hope is to bring the fight inside. He’s one the best hand to hand fighters in the world, and he should be, because Captain America trained him. This guy actually renounced his bow and went ninja for a while just to prove himself worthy of his resurrection. Although Cyclops likes to remind people whenever possible that he is far from helpless and actually can fight with his fists, in a close quarters encounter, Hawkeye would wipe the floor with him.

The Verdict: I’m going to say Cyclops wins this one. Hawkeye will put up a valiant struggle, but his only hope is to get close, and there are legions of supervillains who can tell you how hard that is. With superior firepower and tactical brilliance, Cyclops will emerge victorious.

The ending felt rushed and rather lackluster, as well. This ultimate angel of evil that has been destroying everything and everyone in his path falls surprisingly quick in the final battle, leaving the reader asking “Was that it?” Which is a pretty big letdown for an event that advertised itself as a battle royale.

The ending felt rushed and rather lackluster, as well. This ultimate angel of evil that has been destroying everything and everyone in his path falls surprisingly quick in the final battle, leaving the reader asking “Was that it?” Which is a pretty big letdown for an event that advertised itself as a battle royale.

But what it lacked in story, Fear Itself more than made up for it with some incredible artwork—unfortunately most of it is marred by the unnecessarily large banner ads on every cover.

But what it lacked in story, Fear Itself more than made up for it with some incredible artwork—unfortunately most of it is marred by the unnecessarily large banner ads on every cover.