The Phoenix throws the first punch of AXE: Judgment Day #1 preview

AXE: Judgment Day #1 kicks off the three-way throwdown between the Avengers, X-Men, and Eternals - and believe it or not, it's the Avengers who swing the first punch of the fight.

Even though the Eternals believe that mutants are descended from their ancient enemies and are the product of "excess deviation" that drives the conflict, thanks to the Eternals' desire to destroy all mutants, it's the Avengers who apparently get the jump on at least some of the Eternals, as seen in a newly released preview of interior pages from AXE: Judgment Day #1 from writer Kieron Gillen, artists Valerio Schiti and Marte Gracia, and letterer Clayton Cowles.

In the pages, Tony Stark dines out with former fellow Avenger and Eternals mainstay Sersi. As Tony asks why the Eternals and Avengers seem to be going to war, Sersi makes a joke about X-Men resurrection - before getting blindsided by Echo, the current host of the Phoenix Force, with a haymaker.

Here's the preview of interior pages, along with the issue's main cover from Mark Brooks and Sabine Rich: 

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Meanwhile, as Sersi is subdued, Cyclops of the X-Men muses to Jean Grey about how the Phoenix is now part of the Avengers (making a subtle reference to the story Avengers Vs. X-Men, in which the two teams battled for control of the Phoenix Force). But Jean is too distracted by the protestors who are angry about the recent revelation of mutantkind's ability to be resurrected to take much notice.

AXE: Judgment Day #1 goes on sale July 20.

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