The Age of Apocalypse is an X-Men storyline that I’ve had mixed feelings on. While the hook of “what if Charles Xavier never formed the X-Men?” is a great thought experiment, and Exiles – one of my all time favorite comics – wouldn’t exist without it, it’s one of those comics that overindulged in the tropes of the ’90s. But Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse #1 chooses to make sure that the story matches the visuals, resulting in a story that hits hard when you least expect it.
Following the events of Giant-Size Dark Phoenix #1, Ms. Marvel and the future Legion have been pulled into the Age of Apocalypse timeline. What’s worse: they’ve arrived on the day before the X-Men take on Apocalypse in a final battle. Kamala feels at the end of her rope…until she finds unlikely inspiration after meeting the X-Men of that time, particularly Rogue. Colin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing have made sure that the Giant-Size saga is more than just a trip down memory lane by exploring Kamala’s connections to the X-Men. Giant-Size X-Men (2025) #1 showed her bonding with Cyclops once again, while Giant-Size Dark Phoenix #1 did it with a Jean Grey that struggled with the weight of the Phoenix Force.
For Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse, the bond between Kamala and Rogue isn’t only one that makes sense, but it’s one that turns out to be pivotal. Rogue is the one person to whom Kamala’s able to admit that she is having doubts about her ability to stop Legion, and how rough being a mutant is; if there’s any of the X-Men who can understand that struggle, it’s Rogue. On the other end of the spectrum, every attempt made to reach Legion ends in failure since he isn’t human anymore. Lanzing and Kelly keep up a balancing act throughout the issue, delivering moments of triumph and tragedy alike: one moment you’ll get a rousing speech by Rogue and the next, Apocalypse is ripping someone apart.
Marvel
It’s all bolstered by an impressive combination of artwork by C.F. Villa and Rafael Loureiro. Both of them have proven themselves to be amazing artists, with Loureiro illustrating the insanely underrated Dazzler: World Tour and Villa turning in great work on Avengers and Black Cat. The two make for a great combo, filling plenty of splash pages with high-octane action. Rogue charging through the sky, Apocalypse racing into battle, the M’Krann Crystal literally splitting reality: it’s the type of stuff a Giant-Size issue is made for. Edgar Delgado helps set the mood with his colors, bringing in a muted palette that puts the “Apocalypse” in “Age of Apocalypse.”
As with most of the Giant-Size issues, there’s a “Revelations” story in the back pages, this time by Jeph Loeb and Simone di Meo. While it’s more or less meant to set up the upcoming Age of Apocalypse miniseries later this year, Loeb flips the script on the entire premise by asking “what happens to the Age of Apocalypse…without Apocalypse?” It also doesn’t hurt that di Meo draws some truly gorgeous imagery, including a knock-down, blood-soaked fight between Sabretooth and Weapon X.
Giant-Size Age of Apocalypse #1 shows that no matter the time or who’s on the roster, the X-Men will endure due to their resilience. It also offers a new look into one of the biggest eras in X-Men history, and hints at more to come. Though this might be a world that depicts the end of mutantkind, it feels like Marvel’s only getting started when it comes to revisiting the Age of Apocalypse.
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