WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Dead Man Logan #3 by Ed Brisson, Mike Henderson, Noland Woodard and VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
When the Phoenix Force returned to Earth in 2012, it sparked the Marvel crossover event Avengers vs. X-Men. Earth's Mightiest Heroes and Marvel's Merry Mutants were two of the most popular franchises at the publisher, with the ramifications of the war still felt to this day.
While Marvel hasn't attempted to duplicate its success with a sequel, the makings of an Avengers vs. X-Men II are in the works in the pages of Dead Man Logan. The 12-issue limited series is meant to be the swan song for Old Man Logan in the Marvel Universe, and he intends to settle the score with Mysterio once and for all before his time is up.
RELATED: Wolverine Will Finally Face Off Against Old Man Logan in April
However, once he finally finds Mysterio in Times Square, the confrontation pulls both the Avengers and the X-Men into immediate conflict with one another as the bad blood from the 2012 event rises to the surface.
Your Eyes Are Playing Tricks On You
Old Man Logan believes the Sinister Six is protecting Mysterio when the reality is it's all an elaborate illusion created by the villain. Instead of facing off against Taskmaster, the Lizard, Jack O'Lantern and Beetle, Old Man Logan is really fighting members of the Avengers: Captain America, Hulk (Jennifer Walters), Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes) and Iron Man.
The cabal of Miss Sinister, Sin, Crossbones and Mysterio watch the melee from the comforts of a penthouse while the rest of New York City tunes into a television broadcast. This is what tips the X-Men off to what's happening to Old Man Logan. Luckily, they came up with a failsafe to stop Old Man Logan if he should ever fall under Mysterio's spell. After the X-Men shut Old Man Logan down they attempt to leave with him, which the Avengers aren't having, of course.
Against his better judgment, Captain America allows Jubilee and the X-Men to leave with Old Man Logan. Iron Man doesn't trust the X-Men to clean up this mess, but according to Cap, "I'm not going to set off another Avengers versus X-Men war right now, Tony." The wounds from the previous war are still fresh in Cap's mind: Cyclops' murder of his mentor, Professor Charles Xavier, and his descent into a full-blown militant mutant. Cyclops became public enemy number one in the eyes of the public, and would ultimately die in another versus event, Inhumans vs. X-Men. He was recently resurrected in the finale to Extermination.
It's only a matter of time before Marvel decides to do an Avengers vs. X-Men II. The first installment proved to be so successful, and the publisher has shown it's not worried about reusing a popular name (i.e. Civil War II). There will soon be two perfect opportunities for a sequel -- the 10-year anniversary of the first Avengers vs. X-Men, and after Marvel Studios fully integrates the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Civil War II was timed to the release of Captain America: Civil War, and an Avengers vs. X-Men feature film would put extra eyeballs on a comic book storyline of the same name.
RELATED: Avengers vs X-Men Movie Imagined in Fan-Made MCU Posters
However, instead of an Avengers vs. X-Men movie starring Old Man Logan, it will more than likely be a Wolverine who is not Hugh Jackman going toe-to-toe with the Avengers.