Honestly, when I saw that Matt Fraction was writing this issue I hoped for the best because I absolutely did not like what I read of Fear Itself. However, Avengers vs X-Men is a solid series that probably isn't going to mess up the Marvel Universe and make fans drop the book. I don't believe that either The Avengers or X-Men will die or disband by the end, but the books have been great with their cliffhangers so far. This book was really good by Matt Fraction but he's done something that probably no one would predict.
I’ve never been a fan of Romita’s art in this series, I don’t know why but it just never clicked with me. A massive event such as Avengers vs. X-Men should have top-quality artwork but this issue really steps it up a notch. There are plenty of really detailed panels in here and the action is very understandable through my own perspective. There are only a couple panels that have you thinking “What exactly is he doing there?” but overall the artwork has been improved when it comes to the line-art. Colors and atmosphere are pretty much as they were before with some characters being red due to lighting but the background of the panel has no red lighting involved can be extremely awkward and annoying. If I were in charge of AvX, I would have made someone else the artist because the art is really the only thing bringing this series down in my opinion, but that opinion could change if a really bad writer joins the cast of amazing writers.
In this issue, we get a full package of events that we’ve been hinting at in past issues. We get Avengers and X-Men fighting each other as seen in the past, we get Hope finally being possessed by the Phoenix Force and we finally see what Tony Stark’s big idea to take down the Phoenix Force actually is (and it is really cool!). The battles we get showcase some new and some old ones but they only last for about 2 pages due to the book needing to get to its big plot twist. The whole issue has been narrated by Hope Summers who compares herself to the atomic bomb. This idea was really well done and gives you an insight as to how Hope feels about being a vessel for something that can destroy all of man [and mutant] kind. In this issue, everyone gets hit and injured pretty badly by something, whether it is from Hope or an Avengers/X-Men battle, by the end of the comic book almost everyone has a wound to show. This issue features cameos of 4 Marvel characters that are important to both teams and how they are reacting to this war. The people who appear are spoiled on the first page showing the cast of the book. This book delivers most of what we have seen before with epic twists sprinkled on top. If you are a Matt Fraction fan I definitely recommend it. The future of The Avengers and X-Men are definitely in question now.
There were a few things I really didn’t like about this issue. The coloring and atmosphere of the artwork is one thing that I didn’t like. I find that DC Comics has more of the talented artists right now. This book (if you bought a physical copy) is also bombarded with advertisements. They really interrupt the action and can start to cause confusion amongst the story. I don’t know about you guys, but I am an avid Marvel AR fan. Every time I buy a Marvel AR compatible comic book, I whip out my Android or iPhone and scan the page with the AR logo. This issue was really disappointing in that department. The cover had the typical motion comic recap but everything else inside were just sketch-to-page shorts and the worst part is that there were only two of them. The last one wasn’t even from AvX 5; it was actually from #4. Again, these are only things that I didn’t like about it from personal preference.
Avengers vs. X-Men #5 is a definite for the Marvel comic reader and Avengers vs. X-Men collector. I recommend checking this book out on Comixology if you do not have a store near you. I give this book 4.5/5 stars and 9/10. Thanks for checking out my reviews and please continue to check out my reviews as I may one day giveaway a digital copy to a comic book that I review!