So far, Age of Revelation has shown us pieces of what the world is like in 10 years, along with how a few of our favorite mutants are holding up. The villain of this event, Revelation, has mostly been seen briefly, skulking and plotting, but with little direct attention. Until now. X-Men: Book of Revelation #1 opens our eyes to what his little court of choristers is up to, and does a lot to reveal the war coming to Revelation’s doorstep.
X-Men: Book of Revelation #1 is an intriguing issue, introducing a new mutant named Elbecca Voss. She’s only a child and due to be the next chorister, a mutant that can aid Revelation in controlling others with his power, due to the death of a chorister in the opening event, Overture issue. After a brief introduction of Elbecca and the hint of a ghost in her room, the story carries forward with Revelations’ first steps to make her a chorister. It’s an opening that keeps you guessing, but also lets you into Revelations’ private areas.
From what we can tell, Revelation isn’t a bad leader. He speaks with authority and wants the people’s approval. He even tells Elbecca she can call him Doug if she wants. It’s the most normal he’s been shown so far, though later in the issue, he leans into his evil nature we’ve come to expect.
He’s the leader they want.
Credit: Marvel
With Topaz dead, this issue heavily leans into two of the four choristers, with Fabian Cortez being the far more evil-natured. Khora of the Burning Heart is an Arraki and has her own ways of doing things, but at least she has some grace. Fabian is a real problem for Elbecca, and he smells blood in the water due to her being only a child. It’s a dog-eat-dog world in the Age of Revelation, I guess. Her journey in this issue, from being unwelcome in Revelations’ court to its conclusion, makes her a prime candidate for fans to cling to.
Netho Diaz brings his usual strong level of detail we’ve come to expect from his X-Men issues. Revelation is humanized early on, but is downright scary later, showing Diaz’s ability to craft all sorts of emotions and vibes in character work. Diaz does some interesting things with layouts, with panels sometimes overlaid on a panel instead of breaking them up, or panels drawn with only black in them. Some of the choices reminded me of Mike Deodato’s work.
Most importantly for a tie-in book, this issue feels important to the larger story. I feel like I keep saying that, but events in this issue will very much affect a conflict soon to come to Revelation’s doorstep.
X-Men: Book of Revelation #1 delivers one of the most engaging and essential tie-ins of Age of Revelation yet, peeling back the curtain on its central antagonist while introducing a new, vulnerable mutant whose fate could reshape the event. Strong character moments combine well with Netho Diaz’s intricate art to create a story that’s both unsettling and surprisingly heartfelt. This emotional architecture lays the groundwork for the chaos to come.
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