COMICS: Marvel E-I-C Axel Alonso Explains The Significance Of "The Phoenix Five"

Act One of Avengers Vs. X-Men saw both teams frantically hunting down Hope Summers as the Phoenix Force headed towards Earth. In the most recent issue, The Avengers managed to succeed in stopping the entity bonding with Hope, but subsequently caused it to split into five and instead link itself with five other members of the X-Men. Talking to Comic Book Resources, Axel Alonso has elaborated on their role in the event going forward and teased some interesting bits and pieces of information about what we should expect in Act Two.

"The most immediate question is, 'Can the Phoenix Force be controlled?' Are these five individuals -- any one of them or all five collectively -- capable of controlling it? The Phoenix Force is destruction and rebirth, so it's safe top say they're going define exactly what that means. And as the teaser suggests, they have a chance to remake the word in their image. But what does that mean? You might be surprised."

"We carefully picked these five characters -- Cyclops, Emma, Colossus, Magik and Namor -- because of their personalities, their power sets, and the windows they offer into pockets of the Marvel Universe -- hint, hint. Namor, for instance -- you'll see why we picked him, as Act 2 unfolds."

"If you think of Act 1 ['AvX' #1-5] as a boxing match, it's safe to say the early rounds went to the Avengers, but the last round ended with a game-changing punch that sent the Avengers staggering to the ropes. That's where we pick up with issue #6. Cap, Iron Man, Thor and the gang have got to shake it off and figure out just who their opponent is now, and what their next move should be. And let me make one thing perfectly clear: Do not assume the Avengers are the good guys and the X-Men are suddenly the bad guys. I'd wager that the Phoenix Five are going to earn some fans -- including people who rooted for the Avengers in round 1."