THE HEIR RISES – THE RESISTANCE IGNITES! X YEARS LATER, the Revelation Territories stretch from the Atlantic to the Mississippi – a mutant utopia ruled by the heir of Apocalypse. But beneath the surface, rebellion brews. As a ragtag X-Men team strikes from the shadows, Revelation faces threats from within. It all begins here – the dawn of the AGE OF REVELATION! X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture officially kicks off the latest “X-Event” shaking up the X-Men comics and introducing a possible future to come.

While I used to be a diehard X-Men fan, in recent years I’ve dipped in and out of the line of comics. While there’s been some that have been intriguing, the comics haven’t quite clicked for me for various reasons. But, with a new event, I thought I’d commit and dive in reading every release to hit the shelves. X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture is the official start after a surprise zero issue that came out in July. In this future, Revelation has risen and taken over large parts of the United States after a virus was unleashed killing millions. Cyclops and Beast are pulled into the bodies of their future selves to see what has happened and help turn the tide with the resistance that remains. It’s a future that’s ominous as we’re teased this new mutant nation has a secret underneath.

Writer Jed MacKay‘s opening salvo is exactly that. We’re introduced and learn what’s going on as Cyclops learns what’s going on. We’re given just enough information to show that while the concept might be ideal for mutants, not is all that well. Something is wrong with what Revelation has done and secrets run underneath what he has built. What that exactly is, we don’t know, but it’s teased throughout the issue.

MacKay has delivered something that’s familiar but also unexpected. We’ve seen numerous futures, and how this fits into all of that is unclear, but this feels like a blend of a few of them while building off of recent storylines. We knew Doug Ramsey, now Revelation, the heir of Apocalypse, would eventually turn and here we learn just how powerful he has become giving us something new with his power and something to truly fear. We’ve yet to learn the “how” of what has happened, and hopefully through the main series as well as the numerous tie-ins, we get a better idea of how this world came to be.

As an opening chapter, X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture teases more than enough without giving away everything.

The art by Ryan Stegman is solid. It’s an interesting future with a very distinct look that feels very apocalyptic but not at the same time. With ink by JP Mayer, color by Edgar Delgado, and lettering by Clayton Cowles, everything about X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture feels lived in and worn. This isn’t just buildings destroyed and piles of destruction everywhere. Instead, there’s a logic to the locations we see with a blend of nature and the organic with familiar buildings. There’s a utility to it all. The characters too feel very “lived,” with a weariness and rugged feel to these X-Men and others feeling much more relaxed and clean and orderly. There’s some very clear thought into the design of it all. And with all of that, the action is solid. There’s some great moments and the end in particular delivers an epic feel to it all.

X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture is an interesting start to this event that feels like it’s the next debate about a mutant nation and homeland. What does peace and tranquility look like for this group? What should they do to achieve it? What has been done, what horrors are hidden, that have lead to this world? More is to be revealed and so far, this is a story that shows a lot of potential.

Story: Jed MacKay Art: Ryan Stegman
Ink: JP Mayer Color: Edgar Delgado Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.35 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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