The X-Men of Apocalypse are here in the Marvel Universe – and that’s a very bad thing for the Uncanny X-Men! X-Men of Apocalypse #1 pits the team against the Uncanny X-Men for a series that caters to the hardcore fans.

I’ve read a lot of X-Men and I couldn’t even tell you what the hell is up with the timelines in X-Men of Apocalypse. Written by Jeph Loeb, the series has a team of X-Men from the Age of Apocalypse traveling to the Age of Xavier… for some reason. In short, after the Age of Apocalypse was ended, that timeline never reverted. Now this AoA team of X-Men is traveling to revert it? It’s kind of hard to understand really what the point is and that’s just one of the issues of this series.

After an Alpha issue, X-Men of Apocalypse #1 hits the shelves almost two months exactly from that Alpha release. And, unless you were really excited and invested in that Alpha issue, this first issue adds very little to everything. The AoA X-Men team come across Nate Grey and battle it out with the usual trope that’s yawn inducing at this point and then go into a battle with the X-Men of that time period. And tropes are on the menu as the end teases more of the same with the second issue.

While the art pops, it’s a bit baffling why there’s any fighting at all and for once heroes just explain to the other heroes what they’re doing and why they’re present. It’s a story that feels pointless beyond cool art. And that includes the mission overall. They’re traveling to… erase their timeline which has already been erased? The motivations, and obvious cause of this anomaly, just feels rather odd in presentation and setup.

But, the art does pop. Simone Di Meo‘s art, especially the colors, look great and feel like a bit of an homage to the original series. Along with Richard Starkings on lettering, the characters and art looks solid with an almost Capcom vs. Marvel feel to the visuals and battles. But, it’s really the art that’s the draw, no pun intended. It’s action, fighting, and characters striking poses, for a story that’s overall thin.

X-Men of Apocalypse #1 is for the hardcore X-Men fans and really for the hardcore that long for the Age of Apocalypse. It’s a weird return to the world, especially with the “Age of Revelation” currently underway and with an ad for that storyline in this issue, it almost makes you think this is tied into that in some way. Who knows where this goes, but, like Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion, it feels like a mini-series whose end results will be more entertaining than what happens getting to them.

Story: Jeph Loeb Art: Simone Di Meo Letterer: Richard Starkings, Comicraft
Story: 7.0 Art: 8.25 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Pass

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle