Photos courtesy of WWE
By James Viscardi
When the biggest event of the year arrives in a hardcover collection on November 21, it will kick off with the best in the world.
Diehard Marvel fan and WWE Champion CM Punk has been tapped to write the introduction to the AVENGERS VS. X-MEN hardcover collection. Who could be more qualified to welcome fans to the most massive super hero smackdown in comic book history than a man who has turned back the challenges of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, John Cena and more?
We tracked down Punk to find out what he thought of AvX, plus whose side he took and more.
Marvel.com: After reading all 13 issues of AVENGERS VS. X-MEN, what were some of the stand out moments?
CM Punk: Geez, I don’t want to single anything out, honestly—it was all so good. I also just don’t want to give anything away. It’s a delicate subject. I get real cranky when people spoil things for me. I just think the combination of all those artists and all those writers, [who] for years have just been my favorites. I could go on and on and gush about every single one of them. And I mean, John Romita Jr.? He’s awesome.
The funny thing is about it is that I’ve never been a big mutant guy, it’s just one of those things [but] after reading this, I may go back and read some more. It’s the crazy thing with crossovers like these; I loved Civil War, and found out that there are more characters in the Marvel Universe to like. Reading the two biggest teams in Marvel history go toe to toe, and watching them end up fighting, I think the whole thing is interesting.
Marvel.com: You mentioned warming up to mutants, and finding new characters to like—were there any in particular?
CM Punk: Wolverine for starters. I think mutants in general I sided with a whole lot more, they even jived with my personality. Who would have thought? Right? I have a ton of respect now for the history and all the trials and tribulations that they’ve been through. I’ll say it: Cyclops was right.
Marvel.com: So who in the cast do you see yourself in?
CM Punk: I’m kind of a megalomaniac and see myself in a lot of characters. Who doesn’t want to think [they] are Wolverine? There [is] some Captain American and Cyclops in me, maybe coming from a dark place.
Marvel.com: Well speaking of Cyclops, that’s a guy who was coming from a place where he thought he was right and nobody, including the Avengers, would respect that.
CM Punk: [Laughs] Sounds familiar, no? I’ll say it again: Cyclops was right.
Marvel.com: I don’t know if you remember this, but before the event started, we got you on camera saying you would side with the Avengers. But now, having read it, are you siding with the X-Men and Cyclops more?
CM Punk: Not even a little bit more, all the way.
Marvel.com: So when you were asked to write the introduction to the hardcover, what was that like?
CM Punk: It’s a geek dream come true! Initially I had a bunch of ideas I was going to write for it, and then I just bought a keyboard for my iPad which I thought would have been easier. After a week of learning how to use the stupid keyboard, I just sat in front of it and started typing. It came to me so naturally and before I knew it, I had two pages of material. Stuff would just spill out of my head and I would just read it over and over again, then correct it, then read it, correct it, all as I went along. I’m not sure if that’s what most writers do, but I’m happy with the finished product. So to write the foreword, I was kind of taken back by it. It was a very cool thing to be a part of.
Learn more about CM Punk on WWE.com
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