Synopsis / Summary / Plot
Last issue the Phoenix Force occupied and transformed Colossus, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik and Sub-Mariner (now referred to as the Phoenix Five). They returned from the Moon, bringing Hope Summers with them.
10 days later Prof X comes to an equally transformed Utopia. Magneto takes him to meet Cyclops. Xavier tells Scott the world is afraid of their new powers (including telepathy). Cyclops says they are remaking the world for the benefit of mankind. We see Magik in a South Africa made fertile (with Angel and Storm flying in the background), Colossus in Siberia where giant domes are enclosing equally fertile land, Namor getting pure water from the deep oceans, and Emma Frost with a new clean energy source in the Gobi desert.
Meanwhile other X-Men, young and older (we see Cannonball, Gambit, Glob Herman, Primal, Psylocke, Sunspot and Velocidad), enjoy themselves in peace on Utopia.
2 days later in Avengers Tower Captain America receives a report from Iron Fist. He and Luke Cage and Spider-Woman were investigating an appearance of Zzzax and his Electric Legion when Colossus appeared through the Siege Courageous. Cap wants to know if they spotted any useful weakness when Colossus fought the villains. But he didn't fight, he just persuaded them to become a power source for Eastern Europe. Supposedly the Phoenix Five are doing this kind of thing all the time.
Cap joins Beast, Black Panther, Iron Man and Wolverine in discussing what to do about the Phoenix Five. Iron Man doesn't want to use a better version of his Phoenix-killer weapon from last issue, lest it split the Force among more people. Wolverine continues to insist they have to kill the Phoenix-infected. Panther isn't sure they're doing anything bad. And Beast quits this brains trust.
Back in Utopia Cyclops asks Hope if she wants the Phoenix Force. Hope says yes, but Cyclops reminds her she rejected it on the Moon. And now that he and the others have it, he knows that they can do so much more with it than she could. Hope warns him that the Force wants even more.
Meanwhile we see Magik destroying tanks, Emma Frost destroying Sentinels, Colossus taking away (probably nuclear) missiles, and Namor lifting warships out of the sea. This is probably just after a later flashback where Cyclops (flanked by Emma Frost and Prince Namor) addresses the UN and declares "Pax Utopia - no more war". Black Panther is there as ruler of Wakanda.
In K'Un Lun Lei Kung reads about the legend of Fongji the female Iron Fist who repelled the Phoenix force hundreds of years ago, as described in New Avengers #25-27. An aged blind monk tells him tells him to fetch the current Iron Fist (Danny Rand).
3 days later Scarlet Witch has a vision of the future(?) where the Phoenix Force kills an impossible version of the Avengers (Cap alongside the really original team from the 1963 #1).
Cap, Iron Man and Panther meet with the President to discuss what can be done about the X-Men. T'Challa is uneasy, and takes himself out of the equation later when a plan is formulated to kidnap Hope, who they still think is the key.
Black Widow, Hawkeye and Wolverine join in the strategising. They can't risk a direct attack because the Phoenix Five would win the battle. They can't teleport in because Magik has that blocked. They're going to fly in from a 'passing' 747, wearing armour provided by Iron Man.
Mockingbird and Vision man the comms base, while Iron Fist, Spider-Woman and Thor join the attack team. They burst in and try to snatch Hope from the company of Primal, Transonic and Velocidad. But Cyclops and Emma Frost frustrate their intent.
However, Scarlet Witch pops in and offers to take Hope with her. Hope agrees to go, and Wanda magics her and the Avengers away.
Scott realises that the X-Men won't be safe as long as there are Avengers to oppose them. And he finishes the issue with the phrase "No more Avengers".