Scott and Emma are the last two members standing of the Phoenix Five, the other three have fallen and the cosmic power has been divided up between the two lovers.
Warning, continuing reading will bring about spoilers.
In the first pages we see Captain America going to someone to ask for help against the X-Men, and when its revealed we hear "Hulk, will smash for you." Green Hulk has joined the Avengers in their fight, and this book starts with a huge hit to the geek heart.
The next group to join the Avengers is even a bit more shocking and a change to the overall battle and book. The X-Men show up on the Avengers doorstep to say their done with all of this battle, Iceman asks to have Professor X read their thoughts and see what they see and how they feel. The X-Men want to put an end to the Phoenix force and in turn save Scott and Emma from this force that is corrupting them.
And corrupting them it is, we see Emma and Scott enjoying dinner, Emma talks about how she is at the point of burning the whole world and starting over the human race. When she asks Scott if he wants that too, he is able to some how hold on to that control and say no. He tell her how he can hear it calling to him, but he knows its wrong. As always Scott Summers is the epitome of control and focus.
Dinner however is interrupted with an attack, Professor Xavier gets in their minds and demands that Scott ends the fight. The fight goes at a level that's nearly Earth shattering every Avenger, the Hulk, the X-Men all against Cyclops and Emma Frost. At the center of the fight stand Professor Xavier and Scott, both pleading for the other to stop. Professor demanding Scott shut this down and telling him he disappointed in Scott's actions. Scott, comes across as the upset child, screaming how he did what Charles was always trying to do, fix the world. He pleads with Xavier to not push him to do something he doesn't want to do.
Scott flies into the air in mid battle and while some think he's running, it turns out he's getting momentum to slam down into Emma Frost. He attacks Emma and chokes her to the point of her being knocked out, thus losing her Phoenix power. He then turns his attention back to hits Xavier with the Phoenix power and takes him down, but he also attacks Emma, and while at first everyone questions what he's doing some realize, he's taking the power for himself.
But with Cyclops being the one in sole possession of the power everything goes dark, literally, as one of the characters in the book says "all our nightmares have just come true." The Phoenix power has turned Cyclops to the Dark Phoenix and everything just got serious.
The power struggle between Professor X and Cyclops was heart wrenching, the tears running down Scott's face as he takes out the man who raised him. Asking him, why did you make me do this, the rest of the X-men look on in astonishment. Wolverine tells Hulk to do a fast ball special and throw him at Cyclops, but its too late. Cyclops stops the attack before it gets anywhere near him, without even looking at Logan. Its this final blow that he's delivered that pushes Scott over the edge and he becomes The Dark Phoenix.
This crushed me personally, as Cyclops is my favorite character in comics. Everything he's been through, the way he's developed as a character his persona is admirable, and to see this change was to know this is the end. How he'll come back from this point, I do not know.
The final issue will hit stands the week of October 3rd, you know I'll be on pins and needles until then in hopes that one of the best super heroes of all time can survive this story. Pax Utopia.
