MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Last issue saw the fall of Namor as well as Wakanda. The Avengers have taken shelter in the mystical city of K’un Lun. In issue #9 we see the Avengers trying to regroup and free their fallen friends from a prison the X-Men have set up in a volcano.

This issue starts off with the whole start at the end and then on page 2 take us back to the beginning. As a side note I’m getting sick of this story telling device in TV and movies, but it works here. Spider Man is taking quite the beating at the hands of Colossus and then we find ourselves seventeen hours back to the present.

Spider Man is training Hope and gives here a nice little speech on what it means to be an Avenger. Meanwhile the Phoenix force is slowly corrupting it’s host leading Emma Frost to take on a very dark role serving retribution in the name of mutants. Storm has decided to defect to the Avengers after seeing her home of Wakanda utterly destroyed. Sadly Black Panther has decided that his marriage to Storm has seen its end and let’s her know it.

The Avengers mount up on a mission to rescue their friends from the X-Men. During the mission Spider Man steps up and really puts the actions to his words with Hope earlier on. I love Spider Man for his sense of duty even if know one else appreciates it or even likes him…J.J.J., I’m looking at you.

Overall this was a brilliant issue that really stepped up the story telling and gave us some more great insight into our heroes. The art was great in this issue though some of the panel layouts left me a bit confused causing me to have to re-read a bit to clear things up. I wish this series had been hitting these noted from the beginning, but it’s definitely better late than never.

4 out of 5 nerds.