Three months after the excellent X-Men: Age of Revelation Overture, Marvel Comics is finally releasing the finale. The end is nigh for Revelation as his enemies close in, and some of his most potent weapons, like Wolverine, are free to fight. In what can only be called a divisive event, this finale feels like a springboard for future stories while delivering one shocking moment after the next.
Love or hate Age of Revelation, everyone can admit the blockbuster art in the opening and closing chapters is worth the price of admission. Ryan Stegman is back for X-Men: Age of Revelation Finale #1, with Netho Diaz supporting on pencils, in a finale that’s one epic moment after another. We’re talking violent acts by Wolverine to major reveals that will inform MacKay’s ongoing X-Men series. This book has everything to satiate the visual-first fan, be it full-page splashes or crazy action.
X-Men: Age of Revelation Finale #1 opens with Xavier and Apocalypse arriving in Philadelphia from Arakko. Backed by an army, the two seek to end Revelation’s reign for a lot of good reasons. Meanwhile, Revelation reflects on the days of being Doug and enjoying video games. Similar to Book of Revelation #3, MacKay humanizes Revelation a tad before the fight really kicks into gear.
If you didn’t read the tie-ins you’ll probably be wondering why Wolverine isn’t a killing machine anymore.
Credit: Marvel
From there, the issue goes from one fight scene to another. First, MacKay has Xavier face Quentin Quire, which leads to quick thinking by Psylocke to please her fans. Given how little Xavier has been in this series, his fight is more of a distraction than a showdown we were anticipating or cared about. That said, knowing their history, it’s a pleasing battle for continuity fans to keep tabs on.
Much of the rest of the issue is Revelation postulating about why he must go on with his plan, and heroes trying to shut him up. The developments aren’t the most complex, with the events of this issue feeling more like a setup for more to come rather than a satisfying conclusion for the Age of Revelation heroes. There’s a compelling epilogue of sorts to set up Cyclops in future issues, and a new subplot to keep tabs on beyond that.
Ultimately, with the event over, this humble reviewer sees it as a compelling story idea that probably didn’t need so many tie-ins, but rather a story arc in X-Men that would have been epic enough on its own. In this way, it reminded me of X of Swords, which could be best enjoyed by reading the beginning and end and knowing a few details along the way. Was this issue and the event enjoyable? Yes, but with so many stories stretching out its reach, it didn’t quite succeed as an X-Men event to be remembered, but rather a kick start for more down the road.
X-Men: Age of Revelation Finale #1 is a visually explosive capstone that delivers shock moments and meaningful setup, but it stops short of being the definitive conclusion the event needed. As a springboard into MacKay’s future X-Men plans, it succeeds; as a standalone event finale, it feels stretched thin. Worth reading, especially for the art, but best appreciated as the end of a chapter, not the end of the story.
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