Civil War, World War Hulk, Fear Itself - the writers at Marvel Comics sure know how to make chart-topping crossover events, but a lot of these stories pit groups of heroes against each other far too often. After a while, comic fans become disinterested in reading about their favorite characters slugging it out over a disagreement. That apathy led to Avengers Vs. X-Men being criminally overlooked when it came out in 2012.

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But now that we've had some time to mull things over, we feel that AvX is an underappreciated gem! To prove that we're not just saying that to go against the grain, we'd like to present ten huge pros that AvX has in its favor.

10 Unlikely Characters Get Time To Shine

As good as they are, most of Marvel's event comics tend to revolve around the same group of characters - typically Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, and Wolverine. Now, we love those characters just as much as the next Marvel fan, but there's an entire Universe of heroes that could use some love!

Cap, Iron Man and Wolverine fill important roles in AvX's story, but they aren't the only characters at the forefront of the series. Rachel and Hope Summers get plenty of time to shine - with the story more or less revolving around Hope's connection to the Phoenix Force. Even Emma Frost gets a chance to shine (literally) as the story progresses.

9 Balanced Wakanda's Power Level

Capital of Wakanda

If we had to describe the nation of Wakanda in one word, we'd feel that "powerful" gets the job done nicely. But, over the years, Wakanda's been increasingly depicted as a flawless, borderline utopian nation. Is there a technological problem that the world's smartest minds can't solve? Just get a scientist from Wakanda to save the day! Is a dictator taking over other countries by force? They won't succeed against Wakanda.

AvX breaks this trend and allows Wakanda to lose battles and have faults. Some might think it's strange that we're discussing a nation like a character, but Wakanda fits that bill in more ways than one. If history's proven anything, it's that we prefer reading and writing about "powerful" characters, not the incredibly overpowered ones.

8 Fixed Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff as Scarlet Witch.

On the flip side of the characterization scale, we have the Scarlet Witch. Ever since the House of M event, Wanda hasn't quite been herself. Okay, that's putting things lightly. For years, Wanda was out of control - nearly battling it out with family members and friends on multiple occasions!

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AvX brings Wanda back down to Earth by making her take accountability for her actions. Scarlet Witch also becomes a key figure in the event's later issues, something we'll hit on again later.

7 The Phoenix Five

Phoenix Five

Okay, so the Phoenix Five are one of the more divisive aspects of AvX. Many fans aren't crazy about their designs, their actions, or the very concept of the team. But it's on that last point that we beg to differ - we think P5 brings some interesting ideas to the table.

For one, the team gave us greater insights into the Phoenix Force - giving us another perspective aside from Jean's relationship with it. We also personally appreciated the opportunity to see how other mutants would handle the burden of bearing that much power. Honestly, we'd like to see another Marvel writer revisit the concept in the future.

6 Essentially Everything Spider-Man Did

This might sound a little strange, but Spider-Man doesn't typically play an important role in Marvel's crossover events. In the Thanos War, Infinity Gauntlet, and Onslaught Saga, Spidey was a supporting character at best. It's crazy, isn't it - one of Marvel's most famous characters usually gets put on the sidelines during major events!

AvX rectifies this by making Spider-Man a key player in resolving things peacefully-ish. Spidey also becomes a positive role model for Hope Summers, who initially thought of him as a loser! From the beginning of the event to its bitter end, Spidey consistently tried to mend broken relationships and save lives.

5 "Yes, Hulk Will Smash For You"

To give other characters greater roles in AvX, many fan-favorite heroes had to take a backseat. Thor shows up to battle Emma Frost at one point, but he's not very prominent in the story overall. Even Reed Richards announces that the Fantastic Four won't partake in a battle between many of their closest allies.

RELATED: 10 Facts Every Marvel Fan Should Know About Future Imperfect, The Hulk's Darkest Timeline

For the bulk of AvX, the Hulk is also missing in action. However, when things become grim, Captain America asks him to join the fight. The Hulk responds with the above one-liner, showing everyone that he can put the greater good above personal vendettas - and that he's prepared to fight anyone, be they man, god, or cosmic entity.

4  It Retconned House of M

Avengers and the X-Men in House of M

When we laid into Wanda earlier, we weren't personally attacking her - if we nearly wiped mutants off the face of the planet, we'd be bummed out too. Our issues don't come from Wanda's initial reactions - it's the fact that she spent years harping over House of M without seriously trying to fix things.

Thankfully, we can't say the same about Scarlet Witch by the end of AvX. Wanda eventually regains her senses and commits to helping Hope Summers right her wrongs. Wanda and Hope ultimately bring mutantkind back from the edge of extinction using the Phoenix Force's power!

3 Hope Summer's Arc

Hosting the Phoenix Force and reviving an entire species aren't easy feats by any stretch of the imagination. As we've seen countless times, the Phoenix Force usually corrupts its hosts into twisted versions of themselves. Hell, the Phoenix Five were proof of this idea - nearly causing mass genocide for the sake of their "Pax Utopia!"

That's why it was so incredible to watch Hope Summers gradually become the perfect host for the Phoenix Force - eventually accepting the great power and responsibility that came with that role. Not only did Hope use her newfound abilities to end the conflict and restore mutantkind, but she also gave up the Phoenix's power willingly! No matter how you feel about anyone else in the story, you have to give Hope credit for making such a hard decision.

2 The "Cyclops Was Right" Debate

It's a meme now, but the "Cyclops was right" debate is one of our favorite parts of AvX. Was Scott Summers justified in taking drastic actions to protect mutant lives? Should the Avengers help mutantkind out more, before things get too heated?

Whether you think that Cyclops was a villain or a martyr largely comes down to perspective. To be honest, we're not worried about who's objectively right or wrong in the end - we love the ethical and philosophical debates that AvX inspired.

1 Avengers + X-Men

Uncanny Avengers X-Men

Even though this event began with the Avengers and X-Men trading blows with each other, it ended with both groups coming together like never before. In a way, Cyclops got his wish - a better, safer future for mutantkind.

We don't know how much of this will stick, what with the X-Men relaunch coming in October. However, we can say that we appreciated seeing X-Men finally gain the support of their peers, as well as their respect.

NEXT: The 10 Most Powerful X-Men Rosters Of All-Time, Ranked