Prologue Sam Alexander, a member of the
Nova Corps, arrives on the home planet of
Terrax with a warning, but before he can deliver it, Terrax engages him in battle. The battle is interrupted by the arrival of the
Phoenix Force, the threat that Alexander came to warn against. Terrax is seemingly destroyed in the aftermath as Alexander escapes, resumes his mission and travels to Earth, the next planet in the Phoenix's path.
Avengers: X-Sanction Cable (who was presumed dead after the
Second Coming event) returns from a desolate future after having been informed by Blaquesmith that the
Avengers are somehow responsible for the death of
Hope Summers and the terrible future. To prevent Hope's death, he devises a plan to take down the Avengers one by one before they can harm her. Next, Cable defeats
Iron Man using technology taken from a future suit of Iron Man's armor.
Red Hulk arrives and surprises Cable, but is narrowly defeated when Cable infects him with the techno-organic virus. Believing that Cable has gone too far, Blaquesmith sends in
Cyclops and Hope to stop him. Cyclops and Hope plead with Cable to release the Avengers, but are interrupted by the arrival of
Spider-Man and
Wolverine. While Cable is distracted fighting Spider-Man and Wolverine, Hope (guided by Blaquesmith) frees the captured Avengers, while the Red Hulk burns the techno-organic virus out of his body. Cable succumbs to the combined efforts of the Avengers and his own infection of the techno-organic virus, and is brought to
Utopia. Blaquesmith tells Hope that she can still save Cable by absorbing the techno-organic virus with the Phoenix Force. Once fully healed, Cable informs Cyclops that Hope is indeed the Phoenix, and that he needs his help to protect her when war comes with the Avengers.
Core miniseries In Washington D.C.,
MODOK Superior tries to assassinate an ex-
A.I.M. scientist, but the scientist is saved by the
Scarlet Witch with the help of
Ms. Marvel and
Spider-Woman. After the fight, Ms. Marvel invites the Scarlet Witch back to
Avengers Mansion, but
Vision turns her away for her actions in the
Avengers Disassembled storyline. On Utopia, Hope Summers sneaks out to fight crime in San Francisco against Cyclops' wishes, where she stops the
Serpent Society from robbing a bank. Cyclops and
Emma Frost follow Hope to the scene, but she tells Cyclops that he need not be afraid for her safety, and that she is ready for the Phoenix Force when it comes.
Act 1 – "It's Coming" Some days later, Sam Alexander crash-lands on Earth and delivers a vague warning to the Avengers before lapsing into a coma. Iron Man deduces that the threat is the Phoenix Force and it is returning to Earth. At the
X-Mansion, Wolverine tells Captain America that he believes the Phoenix is coming for Hope Summers. Captain America then travels to Utopia to ask Cyclops to hand Hope over to the Avengers so that they can place her into protective custody. Cyclops refuses, believing Hope to be the mutant messiah, and orders Captain America to leave. After a brief exchange, Captain America assembles the Avengers on Utopia. As war breaks out between the Avengers and X-Men on the beaches of Utopia, Emma Frost takes Hope inside the compound and leaves her with members of the Lights for her protection. Hope knocks out the Lights, believing that she is the cause of the war and insisting she is the one that must end it. Spider-Man and Wolverine infiltrate the compound and find Hope, but are defeated by her growing Phoenix powers. She then leaves Utopia as more X-Men and Avengers rush into the compound. Meanwhile, in deep space,
Thor leads the
Secret Avengers as they prepare to encounter the Phoenix Force. After convincing the Avengers that they have surrendered, Cyclops's Extinction Team escape from Utopia in order to track down Hope. The Avengers follow suit, using
Rachel Summers to operate
Cerebra, but they discover that Hope has masked her trail, unaware that Rachel is working as a double agent for Cyclops. Captain America and Wolverine then get into an altercation aboard the
Quinjet over how to handle Hope should they find her, with Wolverine believing that she must be killed, and he is ejected from the plane. Wolverine is rescued by Hope, who asks for his help to reach the
Blue Area of the Moon. Meanwhile, in space, Thor and the Secret Avengers are defeated by the Phoenix. On Earth, the Avengers and the X-Men search for Hope in
Wakanda, the
Savage Land,
Wundagore,
Latveria, and Tabula Rasa. Wolverine and Hope travel to the Moon, but on the way Wolverine signals Captain America, who follows them with a team of Avengers. The X-Men arrive soon afterwards, after Emma Frost scans Captain America's mind. As both sides begin to fight, a nearly-unconscious Thor falls to the lunar surface and points out that the Phoenix is coming. While both teams fight, Hope starts to lose control of herself and, fearing she was wrong about her ability to handle the Phoenix, asks Wolverine to kill her. Meanwhile, Iron Man and
Giant-Man prepare a disruptor weapon to kill the Phoenix. Iron Man uses the weapon to shoot the Phoenix, but instead of killing it, the blast separates it into fragments, which bond with Cyclops, Emma Frost,
Namor,
Colossus, and
Magik. The five mutants defeat the Avengers and head back to Earth with Hope. .
Avengers vs. X-Men #5 (June 2012).
Act 2 – "No More Avengers" Ten days after bonding with the Phoenix, the "Phoenix Five" have started reforming the world according to their will, providing free energy, food and water to all humanity as well as ending armed conflicts around the globe. The Avengers are summoned to the
White House and agree that despite their good efforts, the Phoenix Five must be stopped as their power grows unchecked. Believing Hope to be the key to defeating the Phoenix Five, the Avengers launch an operation to extract Hope from Utopia. They are nearly defeated by Cyclops, but are rescued by the Scarlet Witch. Hope agrees to go with the Scarlet Witch, as Cyclops vows that he will no longer tolerate the Avengers. During a confrontation between the Avengers and the X-Men, the Scarlet Witch injures Magik, while Emma Frost severely burns
Hawkeye. As the Phoenix Five heal Hawkeye, Cyclops reprimands them for their use of excessive force, but Magik demands that they must kill the Scarlet Witch and Namor reminds him that they are at war. In Wakanda, Hope tells the Avengers that the X-Men fear the Scarlet Witch. Meanwhile,
Black Panther and Iron Man research a way to stop the Phoenix Five, while
Iron Fist and
Lei Kung take Hope to
K'un-L'un for prophesied training under Spider-Man. As both teams keep fighting and taking prisoners around the world, Scarlet Witch injures Namor. Furious, Namor goes against Cyclops's orders and leads the
Atlanteans into war against Wakanda. As Namor attacks Wakanda, Iron Man takes Lei Kung to join Wolverine and Hope in K'un-L'un. Captain America then assembles every Avenger he can muster and manages to take down Namor in a hard-fought confrontation. Meanwhile,
Magneto informs Cyclops of Namor's assault on Wakanda. As the remaining Phoenix Five members arrive in Wakanda, Namor's portion of the Phoenix abandons him and divides itself among Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik and Colossus. The Avengers retreat to K'un-L'un, as
Professor X demands that Cyclops cease the Phoenix Five's actions or he will bring them down.
Act 3 – "There Can Only Be One" As days pass by, more and more Avengers are captured by the Phoenix Five, and Hope's training in K'un-L'un shows no results. Several X-Men feel uncomfortable about the way the Phoenix Five are treating their prisoners.
Storm arrives in Wakanda in the aftermath of Namor's assault and tells Black Panther that the captured Avengers are being held prisoner in a volcano in
Siberia. The Avengers then lead a rescue mission with the help of Storm and Professor X to break out their comrades but are stopped by Magik and Colossus. Spider-Man baits Magik and Colossus into taking each other out, allowing the Avengers to escape. As the Avengers arrive back in K'un-L'un, they are surprised by Cyclops, strengthened after absorbing Colossus and Magik's portions of the Phoenix force. The Avengers stall Cyclops as Hope retreats to find Lei Kung, who tells her that he has one final lesson and presents
Shou-Lao the dragon, the source of the Iron Fist energy. Hope absorbs the dragon's energy and manages to stave off Cyclops's advance. She falls back behind the Scarlet Witch and with a combination of both their powers, Hope sends Cyclops to the Moon. On the Moon, Cyclops comes to the realization that he will need Emma Frost's power as well in order to defeat Hope. Meanwhile, on Utopia, Magneto asks Professor X for his help as Emma Frost's rule becomes more tyrannical. A joint team of X-Men and Avengers including the
Hulk and Magneto physically confront Cyclops and Emma Frost on Utopia, while Professor X fights Cyclops mentally. Cyclops attacks Emma Frost to take her share of the Phoenix Force, and uses the power to kill Professor X. Cyclops then becomes
Dark Phoenix. Seventy-two hours earlier in K'un-L'un, Hope takes her frustration over the war out on the Scarlet Witch, but Captain America mediates, suggesting that their only chance to win is if they work together. In the present battle against the Dark Phoenix, the allies lose ground swiftly as the Dark Phoenix starts to burn the world. As a last resort, Captain America sends in Hope and Scarlet Witch, who together manage to take down the Dark Phoenix. The Phoenix escapes Cyclops's body and enters Hope. Together, Hope and the Scarlet Witch wish away the Phoenix, but only after Hope uses the power to extinguish the fires of the Dark Phoenix and restore the mutant population. In the aftermath, Cyclops is placed under arrest, but willingly accepts this, and Captain America decides to put together
a new team of Avengers in order to mend the bond between the two sides, while Hope joins the Jean Grey School.
Tie-ins AVX: VS During the battle on Utopia, Iron Man gains the upper hand in his fight with
Magneto by siphoning magnetic energy from Jupiter. Magneto attempts to counter by pulling in other interstellar objects and as a result senses the destructive force of the coming Phoenix. Iron Man then stops the fight in favour of helping others in their search for Hope. As he is leaving the scene, Magneto tells him to find his daughter, Scarlet Witch. Meanwhile,
Thing fights
Namor in the sea beneath Utopia, and
pins him beneath the teeth of a giant
anglerfish. In the Savage Land, Captain America fights
Gambit, who kinetically charges his suit, causing it to explode. However, Captain America manages to knock out Gambit. In Latveria, Spider-Man fights Colossus, who injures him. Despite his injuries, Spider-Man refuses to stop fighting, but flees when
Daredevil informs him that Hope is not in Latveria. During the battle in the Blue Area of the Moon, Red Hulk throws Colossus in the direction of Thing. Colossus in turn takes the Thing outside the Blue Area of the Moon. The Thing, repeatedly beaten and without oxygen to breathe, is defeated. Back in the Blue Area of the Moon, Magik drags
Black Widow to
Limbo, but she defeats Illyana's demon hordes and forces Illyana to take them back to the Moon. However, after they return to the Moon, Magik stabs Black Widow in the back with the Soulsword, rendering her unconscious. In New York City, Daredevil and
Psylocke fight to a draw as Daredevil makes Psylocke question her motives. In Ukraine, Thor shatters Emma Frost's diamond form, launching the shards into space. As the shards fall back to Earth, they rip through Thor's body and reassemble on the ground. Thor, severely injured from the shrapnel, succumbs to Frost's Phoenix powers. While the Avengers and X-Men search for Hope, Hawkeye fights
Angel in Wundagore. The battle is interrupted when Psylocke arrives at the scene; Hawkeye threatens to shoot her head unless Angel stops fighting. He complies, but is still shot by Hawkeye, and later reports it to Emma Frost. In Wakanda, Black Panther and Storm fight while reflecting about their life as a couple. The fight is interrupted by Wakandan citizens and Storm's fellow X-Men; before leaving with her allies, Storm takes out her wedding ring and leaves it there. In K'un-L'un, Hope Summers starts a fight against the Scarlet Witch, mimicking her powers. After both women nearly destroy reality, Captain America orders them to stop. However, after both lower their guard, Hope punches the Scarlet Witch in the face, knocking her to the ground. Elsewhere,
Havok defeats Captain America,
Domino knocks out the Red Hulk,
Edwin Jarvis throws
Toad out of a window in Avengers Tower, Hawkeye imagines Spider-Woman wrestling with Emma Frost, Storm and Psylocke,
Iceman defeats Iron Fist, and
Squirrel Girl and
Pixie play with Avengers and X-Men figurines, before finding out that the figurines were created by
Puppet Master out of mind-control clay, one day before the start of the hostilities between the Avengers and X-Men.
Avengers vs. X-Men: Infinite Sam Alexander travels to Earth at hyperspeed to warn Earth heroes that the Phoenix is coming before it reaches the planet. Due to lack of experience, he is unable to slow down when reaching Earth and crash lands in New York. Nova is rescued by the Avengers, but is unable to explain what is coming before passing out. After the Phoenix Five restructured Utopia, Cyclops's mind is overcome by all the thoughts in the island and he goes to the Blue Area of the Moon in search for a quiet place. There, he remembers
Jean Grey's sacrifice and creates a dust replica of Jean to discuss his situation. She points out that he cannot let the Phoenix make him lose touch with his humanity, and he heads back to Earth deciding that he needs to preserve the man that he has always been, not letting the Phoenix change him. In K'un-L'un, Iron Man and
Beast develop a mechanism fed by the Scarlet Witch's hex powers, which use her inner thoughts to consider all the data gathered on the Phoenix Five and the Avengers, in order to figure out their best scenarios to overcome the X-Men. The mechanism comes up with three scenarios, consisting of Iron Man, Thor and Wolverine, but all three end with Cyclops defeating his opponent. However, as Hope enters the room and the Scarlet Witch sees her, a new scenario appears, in which Cyclops is defeated, making Iron Man realize her crucial role in the battlefield.
Avengers Following the defeat of Norman Osborn and his
Dark Avengers,
Noh-Varr locates a secret A.I.M. base. The Avengers take out the base and arrest
Monica Rappaccini and the rest of the A.I.M. scientists that escaped following Osborn's defeat. After the battle, Noh-Varr checks in with the
Supreme Intelligence of the
Kree Empire who informs him of the coming Phoenix force and orders him to intercept and contain it at all cost... even if it means eliminating his Avenger teammates. In space, after the Avengers fail to stop the Phoenix, Noh-Varr analyzes the reason for their failure and discovers that Thor's
hammer can injure and absorb the Phoenix's essence. Thor (equipped with Beast's device to contain the Phoenix) is able to force it away from Earth. Before the team can celebrate, Noh-Varr declares that he will take the collected energy back to the Kree. While the Avengers wake up in their spaceship heading to a sun and try to escape death, Noh-Varr takes the Phoenix energy to the Supreme Intelligence; however, after the Intelligence declares that the energy will not be used to save Earth, Noh-Varr turns against it and escapes with the energy. The Avengers meet him, take the energy, and declare him an enemy of the team telling him never to return to Earth. Noh-Varr is left in Hala running for his life from the Kree. Considering the Phoenix Five a threat to Earth, Red Hulk decides to invade Utopia by himself and assassinate Cyclops. He is discovered by Emma Frost and confronted by several X-Men. Instead of imprisoning or murdering him, Cyclops sends Red Hulk back to the Avengers with an "X" carved in his chest. Nevertheless, Red Hulk considers that Cyclops lost the war the moment he spared his life. In Indonesia, Rachel leads a group of X-Men in a fight against Wolverine and the Avengers. Rachel finds Hope, but her mind is drawn to the psychic plane, where she meets Professor X. After realizing that he was just keeping her busy to give the Avengers an advantage, Rachel engages him in a psychic battle, knocking everyone out, except Spider-Woman and Professor X. Later, he states that he cannot fight his own students and erases his presence in the battle from everyone's minds. A S.H.I.E.L.D. facility is invaded by
Mister Negative and his henchmen, taking advantage of the war between the Avengers and the Phoenix Five, but Hawkeye and Spider-Woman defeat them while having a discussion about their relationship. It is later revealed that they were informed about Mister Negative's plan by
Madame Hydra, who wanted to get rid of her competition.
Avengers Academy The Avengers bring the mutant children left behind by the X-Men after the battle on Utopia to the
Avengers Academy to keep them from interfering in the war.
Hercules organizes a sports competition between the Academy students and the mutants to ease tensions between the groups, but after a while the mutants choose to exclude themselves. Meanwhile,
Sebastian Shaw breaks out of his holding cell and goes on a rampage. Hercules,
Tigra, and
Madison Jeffries try to stop him, but are quickly defeated. Elsewhere,
X-23 tries to decide whether she should join with her former friends from Utopia or her current friends at the Avengers Academy. After talking to
Finesse, she witnesses the young mutants from Utopia, now joined by
Ricochet,
Wiz Kid and
Hollow, confronting the Academy students. When
Juston Seyfert and his
Sentinel try to stop the young mutants, X-23 attacks the Sentinel and forces it to retreat, deciding that the young mutants should not be deprived of their free will to leave the Academy if they want to. Shortly after this, Shaw appears to the teenagers. Before a battle between both parties can become serious, X-23 and Finesse warn their friends that Shaw's body language indicates he does not mean to hurt anyone, but wants to help the mutant children escape. After both sides agree that the mutant children should not be confined against their will, Tigra suggests to fake a battle in order to justify their escape in front of the cameras at the Academy. After the fake battle,
Surge and
Dust invite X-23 to join them, but she declines. The young mutants leave, but
Loa decides to stay at the Academy. After the Phoenix Five return to Earth and start to reform the world, X-23 feels that Juston's Sentinel should be destroyed, as it still has the directive to exterminate mutants, but he argues that this directive is not its primary one, and that it learned to overcome it. As Emma Frost destroys Sentinels all over the world, she eventually arrives at the Academy and demands to either destroy the Sentinel or have its programming erased. Juston refuses, arguing that it would be like erasing the individual that his Sentinel has become; Giant-Man, X-23 and the other students decide that he is right and attack Emma. As the Academy staff and students fight Emma Frost, both sides discuss the ethics in her attempt to destroy Juston's Sentinel. Finesse asks for
Quicksilver's help, but he refuses, stating that Sentinels only exist as mutant-killing machines; nevertheless, instants after Emma destroys Juston's Sentinel, Quicksilver replaces its central processing core with the one from another robot, thus saving the Sentinel's "life" and memories. After Emma leaves the Academy, Giant-Man and Tigra announce that the Academy will be closed, to keep the students away from the war between Avengers and X-Men.
New Avengers Jessica Jones returns to Avengers Mansion with her baby after going into hiding because of death threats made by
Norman Osborn. Jessica tells
Luke Cage that she no longer feels that the mansion is safe for their daughter and asks him to leave with her but Luke retorts that they will not be safe anywhere. The argument is interrupted by the arrival of Captain America who explains the impending threat of the Phoenix and war with X-Men. Jessica then leaves the mansion while Luke heads off to Utopia with the Avengers to confront the X-Men. Centuries ago, the Yu-Ti
Nu-An had a recurring dream associating a red-haired girl with the Phoenix and a dragon. He later finds a matching red-haired girl named Fongji in the streets of K'un-L'un and has her trained as the Iron Fist. In the present, as Lei Kung reads this account, Nu-An tells him that those records have been sealed until the Phoenix returns and now he must teach Iron Fist what to do. In the past, Nu-An asks for
Leonardo da Vinci to come to K'un-L'un in order to help protect the world against the Phoenix's arrival; meanwhile, Fongji is submitted to a hard training, eventually manifesting the Phoenix powers. Nu-An orders her to battle the dragon
Shou-Lao as established by the ritual of the Iron Fist. Fongji is successful in her test and becomes the Iron Fist, shortly before Leonardo sees the Phoenix coming towards Earth. Fongji is able to bond with the Phoenix and remain in control of herself, but she feels that Earth is still not ready for its evolution and departs. In the present time, Daniel Rand (the current Iron Fist) tells Fongji's story to Hope and she is taken to the current Yu-Ti (whose visions indicate that she must be trained by Spider-Man). Spider-Man teaches Hope that "with great power, there must also come great responsibility" and makes her reflect about this as the potential Phoenix host. After being imprisoned in the X-Brig, Luke Cage, Spider-Woman and Hawkeye try to escape. After getting out of their cells and defeating many X-Men, they manage to escape Utopia - only to find out that all the action happened in their minds, as they are still imprisoned in
Danger's virtual reality program. Meanwhile, Captain America arranges another meeting of the
Illuminati in an attempt to talk with Namor after he is possessed by the Phoenix Force, but the meeting quickly falls apart; Professor X resents how the other four members are subconsciously blaming him for the current mess,
Mister Fantastic feels that the Phoenix Five are not actually doing anything wrong, and Doctor Strange and Iron Man feel that the meeting is pointless as they doubt that Namor will appear. When Namor arrives after the others have left, Captain America asks him to stand down, but Namor refuses, acknowledging that he still respects Captain as a friend and ally. After the battle against the Phoenix is over, a group of New Avengers transport Emma Frost to a prison, but their vehicle is attacked by a group of
Purifiers, eager to assassinate her. While being attacked by the Purifiers, Luke Cage thinks about his wife and daughter, and fights back. After the Purifiers are taken down and other Avengers arrive at the scene, Cage calls Jessica Jones, while Daredevil explains that Cage has quit the Avengers.
Secret Avengers Thor and the Secret Avengers try to capture the Phoenix in space but are defeated. Meanwhile, a group of Kree priests attempt to resurrect
Captain Marvel using a shard of the
M'Kraan Crystal, an act that draws the Phoenix away. The Secret Avengers then travel to Hala (the Kree homeworld) to regroup and encounter the resurrected Captain Marvel. Mar-Vell, Ms. Marvel and Noh-Varr attack the other Secret Avengers, capturing part of the team. The Vision discovers that a signal is being transmitted that is controlling all the Kree people, including the three Kree-related heroes, as Krees related to Mar-Vell impersonate the Supreme Intelligence and declare to the Kree people that the Phoenix coming to Hala will bring evolution to the worthy. The remaining Secret Avengers try to free the Kree from the mind control, but are defeated by Captain Marvel. After capturing them, Mar-Vell sees the Kree soldiers killing the people who were freed from mind control and tries to escape. After the Vision frees Mar-Vell, Ms. Marvel and Noh-Varr from the mind control, and after the Krees posing as the Supreme Intelligence kill themselves, the Secret Avengers fight to take the Phoenix away from Hala. Mar-Vell eventually realizes that the Phoenix is after the fragment used to revive him, and after telling Ms. Marvel that she is no longer under his shadow, he willingly allows it to remove the fragment, killing him in the process.
Uncanny X-Men Cyclops listens to
Doctor Nemesis's report that Hope's latest flare up of the Phoenix force would be noticed and prepares a contingency plan. At the same time,
UNIT advises Hope that she must choose her own destiny. Later during the fight between Colossus and Red Hulk, Colossus loses control of his
Juggernaut powers and damages the pillar that holds up Utopia. Colossus then forfeits his Juggernaut powers, resulting in his defeat. After Colossus's defeat, Cyclops orders Kate Kildare, his public relations specialist, to send an email warning all humanity that they will pay for the Avengers actions. After the X-Men escape from Utopia, Cyclops defines which X-Men will go to each of the five locations where Hope may be hidden. As Namor,
Sunspot and
Hepzibah are sent to Tabula Rasa, they come across Luke Cage, Thing and
She-Hulk and a battle ensues. Eventually, only Namor and the Thing are still standing, but their fight is interrupted by the Apex's Savage. Afterwards, Magik teleports Namor away, to take him alongside Cyclops's Extinction Team to the Blue Area of the Moon. On Earth, after the battles around the world, Magneto and Psylocke meet Storm and an unconscious
Doctor Nemesis at one of their hideouts. While they ponder whether they should go to the Moon to help Cyclops, the
Lights escape from the Avengers Academy and go to Utopia, as Hope left them a note telling them to look for UNIT. UNIT explains to the kids that the Scarlet Witch's spell of "No more mutants" angered the Phoenix, and that in other planet he witnessed the Phoenix host needing its five acolytes to calm it and succeed in bringing evolution; however, he omitted such information from Hope because he wants to witness what would happen if the host doesn't have its acolytes to succeed in controlling the Phoenix. Danger, controlled by UNIT, knocks the kids out and erases their memories about the conversation. As Magneto, Storm and Psylocke prepare to go to the Moon, Psylocke suffers a momentary psychic breakdown, at the same moment that the Phoenix bonds with the Extinction Team. While the Avengers and the X-Men fought each other,
Mister Sinister has built his own city (based on Victorian-era London) in the
Moloid tunnels in
Subterranea. The city is inhabited solely by clones of himself. After disposing of a rebel clone, he explains to one of his other clones that he has foreseen that the Phoenix Force would come after Hope, that the Avengers would try to stop it and clash against the X-Men, resulting in the Phoenix Five. He also knows that the Phoenix Five will soon come after him and intends to take the Phoenix energy away from them by using a group of
Madelyne Pryor clones. Colossus tries to get rid of
Cyttorak's possession but fails; afterwards, during a meeting of the Extinction Team, the Phoenix Five reveal to Magneto, Storm, Psylocke and Danger (still controlled by UNIT) that Sinister is the one who told Hope about the Phoenix force, and ponder on the danger that his goals may represent to the world. The Phoenix Five leave their teammates behind and track Sinister to Anchorage, Alaska (Cyclops's birthplace), finding out that he built his city underneath it. Sinister then orders his clones to enter into war against the Phoenix Five. One by one, the Phoenix Five members are taken down by Sinister's cloned creatures, including a cloned
Krakoa, until only Cyclops remains. He is eventually defeated by the Madelyne Pryor clones; shortly after, Magneto, Storm, Psylocke and Danger arrive at Mister Sinister's city and find out that their teammates were captured. As the Extinction Team tries to figure out a way of rescuing the Phoenix Five, UNIT suggests that Danger infiltrates Sinister's castle and let him get a closer look at the machinery of the clones. While Storm and Magneto fight the clones, Psylocke and Danger enter the castle; although both are discovered; Emma uses the opportunity to convince the Phoenix to fight back against Sinister's domination. The Phoenix Force eventually burns away the Madelyne clones and frees the Phoenix Five, who incinerate Mister Sinister and his whole city, declaring to their teammates that the world is safe... and theirs. Cyclops and Emma Frost have a psychic dinner and conversation while their bodies fight against the combined force of Avengers and X-Men, both noticing how each other is losing touch of her/his humanity. Meanwhile, Colossus and Magik escape captivity; while Piotr expresses guilt over the things he did and things he wished he had done, Illyana tells her brother that she succeeded in corrupting his soul, so as to make Colossus feel the same way she did. Kate Kildare thinks about how or if she should justify the Phoenix Five's actions. After Emma confesses having a psychic affair with Namor and inciting him to attack Wakanda, Cyclops proposes a toast in their minds; however, his body attacks Emma's, taking her share of the Phoenix and becoming the Dark Phoenix. Cyclops reflects about his power and his humanity during the battle against the Avengers and X-Men, until his conscience reaches the
White Hot Room, where Jean Grey calls him an idiot. He lets go of the Phoenix as Hope and the Scarlet Witch attack him, and wakes up handcuffed. After Beast criticizes Cyclops's actions and tells him about the new mutants appearing on Earth, Cyclops states that he takes full responsibility for his actions and that he would do it all again if it was necessary.
Wolverine and the X-Men Beast and Wolverine are alerted to the coming of the Phoenix Force, just as Captain America arrives at the X-Mansion to inquire about it. Beast volunteers to join Captain America's team of select Avengers to intercept the Phoenix in deep space. Wolverine warns the faculty of the crisis before joining the rest of the Avengers and heads off to Utopia to place Hope Summers (the Phoenix's likely target) in protective custody. Meanwhile, on the
Shi'ar Throneworld of Chandilar,
Gladiator prepares his ship to rescue his son Kid Gladiator (a student at the X-Mansion) after communications have failed and reluctantly ordering the
Shi'ar Death Commandos to find and kill the Phoenix's host. After the battle in Utopia, Wolverine returns to the school and is visited by Cyclops, who asks Logan for help. Both men discuss their stances regarding the Phoenix's incoming arrival and Wolverine refuses to join Scott's X-Men. However, some of his staff members and Angel decide to join Scott in the battle against the Avengers. Meanwhile, the Death Commandos arrive to Earth.
Warbird takes Kid Gladiator away from Earth, but he escapes and engages in battle against the Avengers; at the same time, Hope and Wolverine are attacked by the Death Commandos. Hope is gutted by Flaw, but the Phoenix Force manifests within her and she incinerates the Death Commandos. Although Wolverine intends to stab her, he figures out that he is not capable of killing a child. In the X-Mansion, Gladiator arrives and demands his son. After the Phoenix Five return to Earth and the Avengers take Hope away from Utopia, Cyclops sends Rachel to track Wolverine. She takes a squad of X-Men with her to Indonesia, where Logan and some Avengers fight them. Rachel finds Hope, but during a psychic confrontation between them, she empathizes with Hope's determination to find the Phoenix and lets her go, later lying to Cyclops that she did not manage to find the mutant messiah. Before Cyclops can force Rachel to tell the truth, Gladiator arrives in Utopia with many Shi'ar soldiers and demands his son, Kid Gladiator. Warbird reminisces about her past and how the Shi'ar taught her to be merciless, as she joins Gladiator, the Death Commandos, and the Shi'ar troops against the X-Men. Even though Gladiator is severely beaten by the Phoenix Five, she prevents Kid Gladiator from helping his father, as her orders are to keep the boy safe. After the battle is over, she takes an almost dead Gladiator to be treated at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Some days later, as the staff that remained at the school faces the difficulty of taking care of it by themselves, Colossus asks
Kitty Pryde on a date. She accepts, but at the dinner she expresses her concerns about the Phoenix Five losing control and criticizes the way they have been arresting the Avengers. Furious, Colossus blames the school for changing her mind about him, attacking the staff and burning Kitty's arm before regretting his own actions and leaving. Meanwhile, Iceman gets uncomfortable with the Phoenix Five's course of action against the Avengers, and returns to the school alongside Rachel and Angel after considering the Phoenix Five are no longer themselves. After the battle between Cyclops and the Avengers in K'un-L'un, the Avengers, Wolverine's X-Men and the Utopia teenagers gather at the X-Mansion.
Brood helps Iron Man with the calculations for his mechanism to fight Cyclops and Emma Frost, while the Utopia teenagers adjust to the new school,
Toad takes
Husk on a date and Gladiator orders his son to return home with him, before telling Warbird that she will remain on Earth to find her true purpose in life. Kitty declares Angel as the school's first graduate and invites him to be a graduate assistant there, before Wolverine takes him, Beast, Iceman, Rachel, Hope and Professor X to join the Avengers in battle against Cyclops. Meanwhile, two weeks after being incarcerated at Rikers Island by the Phoenix Five alongside his inner circle friends,
Kade Kilgore tells the reader about his past and how he turned out to be the person he is. In prison, he incites a riot and calls a helicopter to rescue him and his friends. They then decide to move to Westchester. While Wolverine leads the X-Men against Cyclops in Utopia; in Westchester, Husk quits the school staff and Kitty Pryde organizes a school dance.
Broo visits the church where
Oya goes, noticing changes in her personality, and finds out that the Hellfire Club kids are manipulating her mind and planning an attack against the school, aided by
Glob Herman. While the
Stepford Cuckoos notice new lights emerging in Cerebra and celebrate the appearance of new mutants, Broo's light disappears, as he is shot in the head.
X-Men: Legacy The staff members at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning have a meeting, where Rachel Summers and Iceman reveal their plan to join Cyclops's X-Men in their battle against the Avengers; the other teachers opt to stay at the school to protect the students and prevent them from joining the battle. Later, She-Hulk,
Moon Knight and
Falcon (alongside his pet bird Redwing) arrive at the school to prevent more mutants from joining the X-Men against the Avengers. Tensions arise between both groups, and although both parties try to stop a battle between She-Hulk and
Frenzy, some students try to attack She-Hulk. She retaliates, severely injuring them (inadvertently), causing
Rogue and other staff members to join the battle, while Redwing calls Iron Man to Westchester. After watching Iron Man easily knocking
Cannonball out, Rogue decides not to contain her powers and fully absorbs the Avengers' powers; however, she starts to lose control due to She-Hulk's inner fury and Moon Knight's multiple personalities. Meanwhile, Iron Man keeps defeating the staff members, but after Kitty Pryde phases through his armor, she finds out the armor is empty, thus allowing Rogue to attack with full strength, crushing the armor. After the unconscious Avengers are sent away from the school inside their jet, Rogue decides that she cannot keep neutral in this fight, and asks Kitty to let Iceman know that she will be joining them in battle. After the Extinction Team comes back to Earth bonded with the Phoenix Force, Cyclops sends Frenzy to Narobia to detain an armed militia. There, she saves a young girl forcibly married to a violent man which reminds her of her childhood, constantly beaten by an abusive father whom she accidentally killed one day while trying to defend herself. After Frenzy destroys the militia's weapons, the Stepford Cuckoos volunteer to remove all the bad memories from Narobia's citizens, but Frenzy asks them not to do it arguing that the painful memories will help them resist when another warlord tries to subjugate them. Meanwhile, after Rogue helps citizens in New Orleans, she is warned of a helicopter needing her help, and finds out that Ms. Marvel invented such story to get close to her. Both women fight and discuss their points of view on the Phoenix Five; eventually, Rogue defeats and immobilizes Ms. Marvel, but she gets uncomfortable when Magik imprisons Ms. Marvel in a piece of Limbo brought to Earth. Rogue regrets letting Magik put Ms. Marvel in her prison, thinking Illyana crossed the line, and returns to rescue the Avengers. However, Magik reveals that she let Rogue enter the prison as a test of her loyalty. As Rogue turned against her, Magik sends her to a different world.
Epilogue AVX: Consequences Seven days after Namor's attack, Wolverine and students from the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning fly to Wakanda to aid in the reconstruction efforts but are warned by Storm that they are not welcome and turn back after being fired upon. Hope Summers decides to live as a normal teenager, while Iron Man and
Captain Marvel search for Magneto to no avail. Captain America convinces Wolverine to visit Cyclops, who is being held in a specialized
private prison created for the reemerged mutant population, to learn where his Extinction Team might be hiding. Cyclops baits Wolverine into trying to kill him, but Wolverine lets up once he realizes that Cyclops wants to die and be made a
martyr. Once returned to general population, Cyclops is joined by Jake, the only other mutant inmate in the prison. The pair soon realize that all of the guards have left as three inmates approach them brandishing
shivs. Iron Man offers to help rebuild the mystical city of K'un L'un but Lei Kung turns him down and suggests that Iron Man focus on coming to terms with his own internal struggle of science and mysticism. At the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning, Magik informs Storm of Colossus's whereabouts, while Hope adjusts to life at a normal high school but still feels the need to search for Cable. In prison, Cyclops easily defeats his three attackers, due to his martial arts training, and rejects an offer to break him out, choosing instead to remain a political prisoner and not becoming a common criminal. Storm locates Colossus in Siberia, but decides not to turn him in because of the guilt he is suffering. Magneto arrives shortly afterwards and informs Storm, that he also has decided to leave Colossus alone. In prison, Cyclops allows Iron Man to study him for remaining effects of the Phoenix Force. As he is leaving, Jake is murdered by other inmates, prompting Cyclops to take up the earlier offer to break him out of prison. Magneto, Magik and Danger break Cyclops out of prison but not before Cyclops has Magik send Jake's murderers to limbo and has Danger disfigure the warden's face. The Avengers arrive to find the prison abandoned except for the
prison warden, who delivers a message from Cyclops to Wolverine, stating that he will support Wolverine's school and continue to fight for mutant rights. Meanwhile, Hope's search for Cable has gone futile but Cable appears to let Hope know that she need not continue to search for him and that he will be there for her when she needs him. ==Titles involved==