*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Today sees the release of Avengers Vs X-men #11, which long toted the death of a major character. This is the first of 2 extra sized issues, and the penultimate chapter to the summer event that pitted X-men versus Avengers. However, it was no Avenger that brought death to the unsurprising X-men casualty today. Many fans will be utterly unsurprised and underwhelmed by the death of Charles Xavier today in the pages of AvX #11. The psychic mutant had long become a minor character, cast aside and severely overshadowed by his team of super powered mutant heroes. With solicits like those in X-men: Legacy #1, from the upcoming Marvel Now, that talk about Xavier’s legacy and focus more on his son, Legion, Xavier’s death doesn’t come as much of a shock. But what might actually surprise fans is who brought about Xavier’s demise: Scott Summers. Yes, Cyclops, the perfect boyscout of a student that was part of the first class of Xavier’s X-men is the man responsible for his teachers death. The death was written rather poetically by Brian Michael Bendis, the famous comic writer who has handled much of the Avengers titles over the past several years and is soon to begin writing the X-men later this year. Check out the page that brought about a 49-year old characters death below:

Charles Xavier, or Professor X, first appeared in X-men #1, way back in September of 1963. He died today in September of 2012, thanks to Avengers Vs X-men #11…in a rather simple and uneventful manner if honesty allows me to say as much. He didn’t even make it to his 50th anniversary as a comic character (though I wouldn’t be surprise if he returns to life just in time for that).

But the real surprise is that in this battle between Avengers vs X-men, it is not an Avenger that slays the man who named his X-men. It is in fact Cyclops, the current leader of the X-men and possessor of the Phoenix Force. Some may have seen it coming, others will have been blindsides, and a fair amount will just recognize it as the needed and expected kill of a summer comic event. Either way, this shall likely effect the Marvel Now universe in more ways than just X-men: Legacy having Legion return to a leading role in comics…though not nearly as much as almost any other character’s death in AvX might have. If you haven’t already, you can pick up Avengers Vs X-men #11 today. Check out the beautiful Sara Pichelli variant to issue #11 below, featuring Scott and Emma, for a little extra Cyclops damage: