There’s a lot to love about the unofficial main tie-in for Age of Revelation, Amazing X-Men, and it reaches its third and final issue this week. Cyclops and his not-so-merry X-Men are on the hunt to stop or even kill Revelation, but with a far more positive-minded Cyclops from ten years prior, who is keeping them in line. In the third issue, Glob marks another person on a whim, Pslyocke reveals why she’s a turncoat, and somehow, in all this dystopia, romance rears its head.
Amazing X-Men #3 opens with the team trudging through the forest in the Revelation territories. They escaped Providence, where Magik tested Cyclops, and now Cyclops wants answers from Psylocke. The first third of this issue explores whether Psylocke is a spy or being honest. It’s here that writer Jed MacKay reveals her true feelings, while revealing to the rest of the X-Men that Revelation must be stopped. In fact, his entire plan is shown, which is a must-read detail if you’re following the event.
The rest of the issue takes place over two scenes. The first is a big fight with Revelation scouts, which Mahmud Asrar renders beautifully. The level of detail is incredible, with dynamic action, and his ability to capture a character’s weight in a single panel is unparalleled. How Asrar isn’t drawing a triple-A book is beyond me, but it’s stellar work. The action scene is intense, even if a touch short, and by the end, you might hope Schwarzchild ends up on a mainline team at some point. His powers are unique and quite cool.
Revelation wants to get bulked up for the summer season.
Credit: Marvel
The last third of the issue should get fans talking, especially regarding Magneto’s R-LDS. It’s a wrinkle you won’t see coming, and it adds one more thing for fans to keep tabs on when the Age of Revelation reverts to the current timeline. Leading the charge is Cyclops, who continues to be the strongest written character of the bunch. MacKay has a great handle on him, and Cyclops shines even brighter in the face of a team that’s worn down and lost a lot of hope.
Closing out the issue is a tease of sorts, revealing something else for readers to take back to the current timeline involving Beast and Animalia. In all Beast’s ego and dry seriousness, one can imagine a romance could liven him up. It’s a little surprising that Animalia, aka Jen, is so cold with Beast, since to her, he hasn’t changed at all, but it’s big of her not to try to make a move.
Amazing X-Men #3 delivers a tightly structured, revelation-packed chapter that balances heartfelt character work with high-stakes action, all elevated by Asrar’s best-in-class visuals, making it one of Age of Revelation’s strongest tie-ins and a must-read for event followers.
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