I loved almost all of this book. The major storyline through most of the series is fantastic. It's a follow-up/continuation/sequel to the Dark Angel Saga from Remender's Uncanny X-Force and I loved every moment of it.

The first and last few issues with the Red Skull and Xavier's brain and the lead up to Axis I could've done without, but I understand editorially mandated yearly EVENTS and they are part of the package when it comes to reading Big 2 superhero books. But still, the middle 20 issues are so great. ( )

I picked up this omnibus to try and catch up on what happened with the various teams between the Avengers vs X-Men and Original Sin events. This Unity Squad was formed in the wake of AvX by Captain America. He realized that the Avengers didn’t do enough to help and defend mutants, so he forms a new team: himself, Rogue, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine and led by Havoc. Wasp comes in as a PR consultant to help with the fallout from the Phoenix Five.

Though the book opens with Red Skull, the majority of the story centers around the struggle to stop new villains, The Apocalypse Twins. They grew up in Red Skull’s (future) concentration camps, until rescued by Kang the Conqueror. He has plans for them, but they have plans of their own – to create a mutant paradise and destroy Kang’s future. The only downside is that Earth will be destroyed by Celestials if they get their way. Bummer. The overall plot is incredibly well done, with intricate layers that are revealed throughout and a brilliant game of strategy with multiple players. Everyone is playing a side game. Thor actually sets the entire thing in motion, when as a young, unworthy god he enchants Jarnbjorn so that he can get revenge against Apocalypse. It was very clever how the story spanned ages, and also fitting considering Kang’s involvement.

As fantastic as the plot was, I had two big problems with this run that kept me from really enjoying it. First, the infighting among the “team” wore thin very fast. I love reading Avengers series because of the personal history and camaraderie among the characters. Aside from Wasp and Thor, who have critical roles but don’t appear that much, the characters with all the “screen time” here are X-Men, so this felt like an X-Men book. One where the team is fractured by the death of Xavier. Scarlet Witch and Rogue take the spotlight, and they fight incessantly; to their own detriment and that of the team. I understand why, but it made this a chore to read (and I like both of these characters). I wasn’t sure if I wanted the bad guys to win, jut to put them out of their misery - and mine! I don’t mind bickering among the characters, but it needs to be offset by humor and/or friendship.

The second problem is Red Skull. Honestly, he’s a one-dimensional villain that can’t sustain a story arc, so it was probably a good idea that the authors ditched him for most of the run. But, the result is that he was shoehorned back in. After the confrontation at the beginning, he shows back up after the Apocalypse Twins are defeated. Magneto unwisely beats him to a pulp and he somehow becomes the Red Onslaught. The next page is a giant “to be continued” directing readers to Axis as that’s where it’ll be resolved. It felt like a big FU to readers – why have him in this run at all if they were just going to punt his story over to Axis? The omnibus concludes with a weak story about Mojoworld that was just tacked on.

Overall, this was a solid run with an exceptional plot that was ultimately held back by an unnecessary villain and poor character relationships. I’m glad the teams went back to their usual rosters. ( )

Enjoyed the story and I appreciated the continuation of some story elements from Remender's Uncanny X-Force. I like Kang and the time travel elements were fun. I also liked how the time travel created some feeling of danger and uncertainty that allowed you to feel people were in real danger within the story.

However, here are a few things I think missed the mark: Frequent changing artists; Wasp seemed kind of slutty, hinting broadly about getting it on with a couple characters; Captain America getting mad at Wolverine when it came out he killed someone and angrily announcing he never should have been allowed on the team, Wolverine is off the team, and Avengers don't kill people (I know Cap being against killing has been a part of Marvel lore for a long time, but Cap is a WWII vet who must understand sometimes killing is the answer so this attitude from Cap is a stupid part of Marvel lore that should be ignored). I get that this last item needed to happen for story progression but it felt off for Cap to act this way and not really even give Wolverine a chance to explain. They've only know each other for decades.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and while it isn't as awesome as Remender's Uncanny X-Force, if you liked that run you will probably also like this one.
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