COMICS: Marvel's Big 2012 Event Will Pit The AVENGERS Vs. X-MEN

USA Today has revealed Marvel's big plans for 2012, with further information expected to be announced by the company tomorrow. Spanning 12 biweekly issues with "Architects" Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman and Matt Fraction all on writing duties, the heroic teams are set to clash over the arrival of the Phoenix Force on Earth and its target of Hope Summers. The art will be provided by superstar trio John Romita Jr., Olivier Coipel and Adam Kubert.

A "zero issue" prologue will kick off the event next March from Bendis, with the premise being that the X-Men (although the teaser image below seems to indicate that Wolverine will side with his fellow Avengers despite being headmaster of the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning) want to prepare Hope to be the host of the Phoenix Force while the Avengers want the girl handed over to them in order to keep the world from potentially being destroyed if she fails to control the powerful entity.

"Avengers Vs. X-Men brings together the most powerful forces in comics for a super hero war like you’ve never seen before and will never see again. We all want to see the best of the best go against each other—Lakers & Celtics; Ali & Frazier; Yankees & Red Sox; and in comics it’s the Avengers fighting the X-Men," Axel Alonso, Editor-in-Chief, told MARVEL. "We’ve brought together the biggest writers, biggest artists and biggest characters for the biggest story we’ve ever told. This is the kind of high-octane action-packed story that fans demand while also having a profound effect on every character involved—and reshaping the Marvel Universe in its wake." Below is the official teaser image and description for the event.

The Avengers and X-Men have learned that the all-powerful embodiment of both death and rebirth known as the Phoenix Force is on a crash course for Earth…and it needs a new host to unleash its immeasurable power. But what is the shocking decision tied to the Phoenix’s return that will pit the Avengers against the X-Men? And when good friends become bitter enemies, what does this mean for the future of the Marvel Universe?