Age of Apocalypse by Scott Lobdell and Others [Book Four]

"This was never our place, never our time, not really. And if Bishop did his job, we will be but memories by the time the bombs fall. Come to me, my wife, my son. Let me love you...before time slips away...I never would have believed until I met you, beloved, that hope would be so dear to me. But then, a good man once gave me faith that all things were possible. He preached a dream of harmony...and told me any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for. He taught me well. Had I these long years to live over again, I might have made other choices. I might have done many things differently. But I would never have stopped fighting for the dream. That is your legacy, Charles Xavier. Now--as I hold my family to me before the end--I thank you for changing my life."

You gotta hand it to Erik Lehnsherr of the Age of Apocalypse story arc; he has been consistent in his Charles-loving, Charles-missing and Charles-monologuing for all the four volumes of this so-called fan-favorite alternate-universe storyline. It's the one thing that never fails to amuse and move me deeply. The soliloquy above definitely takes the Cherik cake and eats it too, honestly. I could not believe how much Magneto pined over Charles Xavier so goddamn hard for this story arc and it has made me immensely giddy as a shipper. It would be an understatement to say that everything that Erik for this alternate universe has become is all because of the loss and sacrifice of his late friend. The moments in between when he just lavishes on the heartache of losing Charles are so telling; especially for a supposedly straight man married to a woman and has a damn kid--whom he, coincidentally, NAMED AFTER HIS DEAD BEST FRIEND. 

Now I don't know if this was intentional or accidental but, in any case, I THANK Y'ALL PROFUSELY, Scott Lobdell and co., for writing Erik in such a magnificently angsty way every time he mentions Charles or contemplates about life with/without him. It's...unbelievably SHIPPY. It's like you guys did not even bother to be subtle about it, Jesus.

This volume collects the last roster composed of: GENERATION NEXT #4, X-CALIBRE #4, X-MAN #4 and #53-54, FACTOR X #4, GAMBIT AND THE X-TERNALS #4, AMAZING X-MEN #4, WEAPON X #4, X-UNIVERSE #2, X-MEN: OMEGA, BLINK #4, and X-MEN: PRIME

More on Cherik commentary later. Anyone who has been reading ANY of my X-Men comic book reviews should know by now I WILL ALWAYS TRY TO FIND A WAY TO TALK ABOUT XAVIER/MAGNETO PAIRING so just learn to deal with this quirk, will you? But I'll get back to it again because for now I have to talk about my general evaluation for everything that was grueling and otherwise only slightly enjoyable stories that comprised this landmark nineties saga, Age of Apocalypse. To summarize all of my points from the previous three reviews, here are the important highlights which I hope can help for you to decide whether or not you want to read this for yourself.

• If you want something for posterity's sake then go on and pick this up. Be warned, however, that these four volumes of the "complete saga" IS NOT PUBLISHED IN A CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER in spite of what the blurbs might say. Fuck those lying pieces of shit. Reading AoA using these four books will get really annoying because their ordering is fucked. I suggest that you consult online fansites about the recommended reading order and follow that flow instead once you acquire these standard volumes or, better yet, the thousand-plus-paged omnibus. I'm not sure if the omnibus finally got the ordering right. If it didn't either, then srsly, FUCK WHOEVER DECIDED TO PUBLISH THEM OUT-OF-ORDER. That's the most crucial thing to remember about reading AoA. The goddamn out-of-order publication of the issues certainly affected my reading experience for the worst.
• In the first volume, it should already be giving me a glimpse of who is Apocalypse and what he is capable of; what he plans to do exactly, and why is he a threat to the world. But all I got are crumbs of these things and the villains who act in his name are at best vaguely represented and under-utilized while others are barely competent. I don't understand the alternate reality that AoA operates in. No amount of world-building is sufficiently spent for readers to imagine and comprehend without the narrative bubbles for that being reduced to eye-rolling purple prose. The only thing I know is the fact that Xavier died so he never founded the X-Men so it was Magneto who took his place instead and now he plays the role of this tortured good guy who laments the lost dream he shared with his late friend while also doing a 'will-they-won't-they' dance with Rogue (WHICH IS AWESOME! THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME READING).
• By the 2nd volume, I realized that though Age of Apocalypse is considered to be one of the landmark stories in the X-Men universe, I'm starting to think that it's mostly because it went on and on and on AND ON, spanning for fourteen separate titles over the course of what I assume are two to three years. Quality-wise, I'm not convinced it's a worthy classic. There are just so many stuff going on and most of them don't make sense as a unit. If solely viewed as issues belonging to their respective titles, I suppose they can be excusable but the problem is the references and callbacks about other events from other titles will force you to look back because you can't expect to remember everything clearly while reading through issue after issue of expanded expositions, action scenes that serve no purpose, and what little character and emotional developments that are squeezed in between the action. I can't bring myself to care about the supposedly major scenarios happening because the abruptness of  scenes and the overall chopped way the stories are collected just distract me from fully immersing myself in this alternate world. 
• There are plenty of things to love about the third volume, however, like the fact that certain character relationships were finally allowed to grow. I'm talking about the issues with mother and son, Raven and Kurt; Logan and Jean Grey's doomed yet easy-to-root-for love affair; Gambit's complicated yet intriguing dynamics with the Externals; and Sabretooth and Blink's surrogate father-daughter moments in between.  Because that's what makes me read X-Men: THE RELATIONSHIPS in the context of the madness and discrimination, the deaths and the second chances that surround these rag-tag team of lovable freaks. In addition, three characters as individuals stood out for me the most for this volume and they have been performing rather impressively since the second volume began (aside from Magneto who, let's face it, spends a good seventy-percent of his page time pining over Charles): I'm talking about Rogue, Cyclops and Morph. GODDAMN MORPH who serves as a comic relief but who actually gives this fucking story arc an unmistakable heart in its messy core. Rogue here has been placed in stressful positions and yet she always comes up on top. That's my girl right there! Cyclops, on the other hand, actually plays the bad-guy role like a pro (EPIC FORESHADOWING, AMIRITE?) and Morph is so amazingly quirky and inappropriate sometimes but the fact that he always tries to make people laugh in spite of the bad timing of it all doesn't come off insensitive but rather sad and sympathetic. 
• Also, AoA is the story arc where ERIK LEHNSHERR IS OBVIOUSLY HARBORING STRONG UNREQUITED FEELINGS FOR THE LATE CHARLES XAVIER. 

My favorite part of Age of Apocalypse--when all is said and done--remains to be Magneto. This version of him is a noble, heroic mentor and founder of the X-Men, and he is quite simply breathtaking in so many ways. His courage, his clear sense of purpose, his vulnerability...everything about this version of Magneto is sympathetic and compelling. Unfortunately, he belongs to an alternate world that in the end had to be erased to prevent Apocalypse from dominating everything. And Erik knows this as well so he selflessly allowed Bishop to travel back in time to fix what has happened during the prelude, Legion Quest. This is very brave and altruistic of him, considering in his world he is considered a savior and a husband and father to Rogue and Baby Charles--but he will sacrifice that if it meant the survival of both human and mutant kind. He believed in a dream worth fighting for but in the end, he also believed some dreams have to be given up and sacrificed in order for something better and long-term to take their place and that is probably the world where Charles Xavier lived to found the X-Men and changed history--even if it is also a world where he, Erik Lehnsherr, is the villain. 

When nothing else about Age of Apocalypse made any sense for me, I decided to focus more on Magneto's character arc and I believe it's a redemption story for him too that comes full-circle after the painful strife during Fatal Attractions where he was a super-mega-douche asshole. That's the most recommended facet of this storyline for me. Anyway, let's go back to Cherik. As I stated time and time again, Magneto consistently keeps talking about Charles, volunteering the information readily even when no one asked him to, and even when he's under duress while facing Apocalypse himself, or ready to watch the entire world as he knew it get wiped out in the end. What matters for him ultimately is the chance to TALK ABOUT GODDAMN XAVIER:

Overall, Age of Apocalypse was not as "epic" as I was led to believe. Some of it is entertaining while others continue to baffle but if you find a way to focus on a specific title or a character then perhaps you could appreciate it more. Either way, reading this has been very confusing at the very least, with some of the issues barely making sense together or having any unifying theme or flow. When they do find the right stride, my annoyance level has already reached its limit that I can't even care as much. Still, this is a 'landmark' X-Men story from the nineties that you must read if you want to be a completeist and all that. Personally, I recommend it because of Magneto's characterization for this arc, especially his undying devotion to his shared dream with Charles Xavier.

RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Age of Apocalypse by Scott Lobdell and Others [Book Three]

BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS COLLECTION, but that's not really saying much, honestly. I think I've reached a point where reading this nineties landmark story has become very obligatory in scope which may have diluted whatever merit and enjoyment I may find as I peruse through its bulky content. But by this third volume, the issues compiled actually make more sense together than that of the previous two had on their belts. Lucky coincidence? Most probably. It's not as if Age of Apocalypse is the most finesse story arc there is for the X-Men universe. It lacks the kind of cohesiveness one might only expect from a story that is scattered throughout fourteen different titles. It's bound to get kooky and uneven somewhere in its breadth.

And by somewhere, I meant EVERYWHERE. But not this time, thank Loki. Collected for this third volume are the following: X-CALIBRE #2-3, ASTONISHING X-MEN #2-4, GENERATION NEXT #2-3, X-MAN #2-3, FACTOR X #3, AMAZING X-MEN #3, WEAPON X #3, GAMBIT & THE X-TERNALS #3 and X-UNIVERSE #1.  

The closest two things I can compare Age of Apocalypse with are the period-specific charm and grit of Batman: Knightfall series and the convuluted multi-arc approach of Batman Eternal which are two titles I have read and reviewed with all the god-given patience ever possible for a mortal woman last year, so I know just what the ever-loving fuck I'm talking about when I say that Age of Apocalypse is a combination of both, and more often than not contain the least of the things I have enjoyed from either title.

Look, the series in its entirety so far (I have one last volume to go) is not that bad and might even be fun and engrossing if you like this type of comic book style which is pretty much nineties in flavor and depth (or so I'm told). In the last two volumes, my complaints range differently. For the first one, I thought the fact that it wasn't even ordered chronologically defeated the purpose of collecting the issues in the first place. That meant that I was so fucking lost and confused with only the most ridiculous and unintentionally humorous moments to gravitate to and for me to latch on just so I'd bother continuing reading it. As for the second volume, I appreciated that I finally got some context and face-time with the titular villain Apocalypse himself, and I did find myself recognizing the qualities I knew and loved from these alternate-versions of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Rogue and Magneto. The last two for me are exemplary; the romantic angle to their relationship was played just right and the other characters who interact regularly with them (Quicksilver, Sabretooth, Blink, Morph and Gambit) have great respective chemistry with them. In fact, I think both the X-Men and the Astonishing X-Men issues are the ones I have most emotionally stake in than the rest of the roster. More on this later. In the meantime...

How does its own blurb describe Age of Apocalypse? According to the back cover: The critically acclaimed fan-favorite storyline that rocked the X-Men universe to its core is collected in chronological order across these four volumes.

YOU. LYING. PIECE. OF. SHIT. Why would you market this deception to readers?

Now, moving onto something more honest and not at all manipulatively interpreted to suit my own personal whim: as tradition, I'm allowed to pick a shippy Cherik moment from every volume and display it here like that precious artifact that it truly must be beheld as; sadly, there is only one here that came across as that but it's definitely a winner:

OH MY GOD NO SHIT, Erik, WE GET IT BY NOW. UGH. You're a creepy, obsessive man pining over your late best friend. And you've also been moping around about his loss consistently for three volumes now. There's no way we would miss the signs. WE GET IT. Charles Xavier was YOUR EVERYTHING and you're so DEVASTATED that he no longer lives so you had to name your son by Rogue with his own name too. Good lord--and I know this is asking too much--but can you please check your priorities and be less in love with him?

Now, what did I love about the third volume? How about the fact that certain character relationships were finally allowed to grow? I'm talking about the issues with mother and son, Raven and Kurt; Logan and Jean Grey's doomed yet easy-to-root-for love affair; Gambit's complicated yet intriguing dynamics with the Externals; and Sabretooth and Blink's surrogate father-daughter moments in between. 

Because that's what makes me read X-Men: THE RELATIONSHIPS in the context of the madness and discrimination, the deaths and the second chances that surround these rag-tag team of lovable freaks. In addition, three characters as individuals stood out for me the most for this volume and they have been performing rather impressively since the second volume began (aside from Magneto who, let's face it, spends a good seventy-percent of his page time pining over Charles): I'm talking about Rogue, Cyclops and Morph. GODDAMN MORPH who serves as a comic relief but who actually gives this fucking story arc an unmistakable heart in its messy core. Rogue here has been placed in stressful positions and yet she always comes up on top. That's my girl right there! Cyclops, on the other hand, actually plays the bad-guy role like a pro (EPIC FORESHADOWING, AMIRITE?) and Morph is so amazingly quirky and inappropriate sometimes but the fact that he always tries to make people laugh in spite of the bad timing of it all doesn't come off insensitive but rather sad and sympathetic. Ugh, I am loving these characters and I hope I get more of them in the next volume. I would like for the writers to flesh out the romantic relationship between Storm and Quicksilver too while they're at it because this was only mentioned in passing and it's always a crime against nature to under-utilize motherfucking Ororo Munroe. So they better sort their crap soon.

Now let's end this review with something sweet which features the most tender and humane moment Magneto ever allowed himself to become a part of and say aloud, concerning his AU son Charles and how he feels about the fact that to rewrite the world he lives in now will also mean he will lose his son. AoA-Magneto often knocks the wind out of me whenever he demonstrates what a sensitive soul he is:

RECOMMENDED: 8/10

Age of Apocalypse by Scott Lobdell and Others [Book Two]

According to this helpful site, everyone should start reading the collected epic editions of Age of Apocalypse starting with this second volume because it turns out that the first one should be the last one to read. So, by following that recommended order, does it also guarantee that readers can follow the storylines chronologically? HELL TO THE NO. 

The simple, inescapable reality (much like the alternate world everyone in this goddamn story is forced to live in) is that the published volumes for AoA are somehow OUT OF ORDER no matter which volume you start with. However, the one recommended the most that would be "less" confusing is by reading volumes 2, 3 and 4 and then make the first volume last because, er, JESUS LOKI CHRIST I DON'T KNOW. What do you want from me? A review that doesn't make me come off like I'm the most irritable bitch who ever woke up in the most cosmically wrong angle of the bed that also happens to be stranded in piranha-infested waters? Because that's how it felt while reading this second volume at its worst times. When it's okay, I just shrug my shoulders and move on. That's how underwhelming and frustrating my reading experience had been with Age of Apocalypse.

This volume features: X-MEN: ALPHA, AGE OF APOCALYPSE: THE CHOSEN, GENERATION NEXT #1, ASTONISHING X-MEN VOL. 1 #1, X-CALIBRE #1, GAMBIT AND THE X-TERNALS #1-2, WEAPON X VOL. 1 #1-2, AMAZING X-MEN #1-2, FACTOR X #1-2 and X-MAN #1

Maybe I should have read this BY INDIVIDUAL ISSUES after all which was the original plan from the beginning but I wanted to save myself some time sifting through single copies and opted to read using the collected editions instead. Midway through the first volume, I keep telling myself, "Eka, maybe there's still time. Maybe you can turn around and re-download the single issues and then just follow the recommended chronology list online instead" but I ignored that voice in my head and soldiered on. WHAT A STUPID MISTAKE. I can't help but think that maybe if I did that, I would have enjoyed and appreciated this story. But then I'd encounter some mediocre moment somewhere along the way of this second volume and just  mutter "well, fuck it, might as well", choosing to just bear this painfully dreary and baffling story as arranged in the worst way possible because I hate myself.

Now Age of Apocalypse is considered to be one of the landmark stories in the X-Men universe but I'm starting to think that it's mostly because it went on and on and on AND ON, spanning for fourteen separate titles over the course of what I assume are two to three years. Quality-wise, I'm not convinced it's a worthy classic. There are just so many stuff going on and most of them don't make sense as a unit. If solely viewed as issues belonging to their respective titles, I suppose they can be excusable but the problem is the references and callbacks about other events from other titles will force you to look back because you can't expect to remember everything clearly while reading through issue after issue of expanded expositions, action scenes that serve no purpose, and what little character and emotional developments that are squeezed in between the action. I can't bring myself to care about the supposedly major scenarios happening because the abruptness of some scenes and the overall chopped way the stories are collected herein just distracts me from fully immersing myself in this alternate world. 

I have two more volumes to go before the month ends and I intend to lower my expectations now so I won't get this prissy in my reviews because who wants to read me complain about an X-Men comic book? I don't like doing that. Nevertheless, I suppose if this is what the overall tonality and visual style of X-Men nineties comics sans Chris Claremont have to offer, then I should have just quit ahead with Fatale Attractions and Legion Quest because I actually loved those arcs. That being said, the one consistent thing that I have enjoyed about Age of Apocalypse is this version of Magneto; the benevolent mentor and idealist for the X-Men who wishes to defeat Apocalypse for the good of both human and mutant kind. He's driven, caring and adorably self-aware, often brooding over the death and legacy of Charles Xavier, his friend who sacrificed himself for Erik so Erik feels obliged to make his late friend's dream about a better world come true. His relationship with his son Pietro, his colleagues Sabretooth and Morph, and marriage with Rogue are actually depicted in a flattering light. There is trust among these characters--too bad that they're only featured a good quarter of a time in this three hundred sixty-seven-paged motherfucker.

Making Magneto as the central protagonist in this long-winded saga is a smart choice although he's often treated in the sidelines during the most opportune moments which only adds to my annoyance. Still, I also consider Weapon X (Logan) as yet another interesting version of the character who I think adapts the best in this alternate world alongside his girlfriend Jean Grey. Even bad-guy Cyclops is mildly entertaining, constantly torn between being a brute and a compassionate man whose allegiance is questionable. These are the few things for this volume that I did love. But the one thing that never fails to bring me absolute joy is the fact that ERIK LEHNSHERR IS OBVIOUSLY HARBORING STRONG UNREQUITED FEELINGS FOR THE LATE CHARLES XAVIER. 

I'm a Cherik shipper so you will never get me to see it in any other way but the evidence is even stronger for AoA, especially when you take into consideration how hang up he is about Charles dying, how determined he is that his loss won't be in vain, and how surprisingly distant he seems to be from his wife Rogue while being obviously fond of their son WHOM HE NAMED CHARLES. 

And then his control room is filled with Charles' images across his monitors, presumably as his stand-by wallpaper. It's insane how much this version of Magneto pines for the professor. There really is no other way to interpret his actions but as a man who has latent romantic desires for his best friend. Thank you, writers. Fuck subtlety when it comes to Cherik, am I right?

Overall, this second volume of Age of Apocalypse has left me feeling:

But, this is definitely better than the first collected edition...I think. I still have two more after this and I'm pushing through regardless of how awful I'm starting to feel now as I read this. A great bulk of the artwork also irritates me. This is how nineties visual style is, I guess, but Jim Lee's art has traces of the nineties style too but he managed to make his more refined and polished than most of these issues. I don't get it. I DON'T GET ANYTHING ABOUT AOA AT ALL except for the fact that Magneto is in love with Charles but we're supposed to pretend it's not the case. Don't expect my reviews to ever get better from this point. And you know what, I actually look forward to how Fox studios will adapt this into film next year. With what I've read so far, any deviation and condensed version is preferable for me.

MEH, OKAY. RECOMMENDED: 7/10

Age of Apocalypse by Scott Lobdell and Others [Book One]

THEY KILLED CHARLES XAVIER FOR THIS?

I loved the four-issued spectacle that was Legion Quest, mostly because Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr's friendship was the main focus of that, even if Charles' insane son David (Legion) had to mess that all up via time-travel and attempted murder (of Erik); and then kills his own father instead. Douche move, Dave. That story arc (which features the gayest Charles/Erik cover ever) was apparently the prelude for this one, the long-winded alternate reality that is Age of Apocalypse. It covers fourteen separate issues and THIS site has provided a great list for how to read this best chronologically and I only hoped the four 'Epic' books that collected all of these issues followed the same order. Unfortunately enough, they didn't. 

This was why the timeliness of it all as read in the first ten issues here seemed out of loop and readers may get frustrated by the severe lack of linear coherency alone. AND THEY SHOULD. It's not the tidiest collected work. Like, EVER.

Personally, while reading the ten issues in this volume, I found some standalone moments between and among characters that I enjoyed but only because of how cheesy or goofy they came  off. Here's the first thing you need to learn  about reading Age of Apocalypse: please do understand that it's basically not meant to be taken seriously and I dare anyone who would challenge this idea because to me it came off as pretty much just a ridiculous exercise on how much readers can care about the X-Men that they are willing to sift through the woefully unnecessary expositions featured in this hefty motherfucker.

Look, it's no Claremont prose which is often uniquely entertaining in spite of its cheese quality. Sure, I think the writers aspire to match that tonality and there are times it paid off. Other times, it's just alienating, bizarre and condescending, if not disappointingly flat or dumbfounding. AUs are supposed to offer something fresh and exciting but I'm only getting tiny gems along the way which only happened to draw me in because they're about characters I'm very involved in. 

For the first volume of Age of Apocalypse, here are the issues that were featured and it makes no sense why they are compiled together: (1) X-Men Chronicles #1; (2) Tales of the Age of Apocalypse #2, (3)Tales of the Age of Apocalypse #1; (4) X-Men Chronicles #2; (5) X-Man -1; (6) X-Man Annual ‘96; (7) Blink #1; (8) Blink #2; (9) Blink #3; (10) Blink #4

As I've mentioned before, that is not the advised reading order and yet here we are. I think I'll tackle my favorite moments instead for this review with some commentary as to why they made me giddy. Please take note that they are mostly absurd on their own and they probably stood out for me because I like the characters involved in the scenes. Nonetheless, Age of Apocalypse so far has been sorely a let-down. It's a mish-mash of separate events rather than a cohesive arc with multiple installments. Everyone is just doing their own thang, caught up with whatever bullshit battle, as all the characters are drawn like they're posing for an eighties glam rock cover band (IT'S VERY DISTRACTING). Speaking of which:

NUMBER 5 FAVORITE THING ABOUT AOA Book 1:

Cyclops and his puffy Bon Jovi-inspired hair; and Magneto's Fabio-styled braided silver locks.

It's like they're both compensating for Charles' bald absence or something.

NUMBER 4 FAVORITE THING ABOUT AOA Book 1: 

Morph as the comic relief. He's pretty endearing.

NUMBER 3 FAVORITE THING ABOUT AOA Book 1: 

Whatever the hell is going on with Jean Grey and Logan (known here as Weapon X).

This is my favorite spread because the illustration is SO. FUCKING. DORKY:

NUMBER 2 FAVORITE THING ABOUT AOA Book 1:

Magneto casually inserting Charles Xavier any chance he gets, constantly reminding everyone that he had a friend once who died saving him and he owed him everything that he has become now. And then cue sad, contemplative music (most probably). He also once referred to him as a "special person" which is totally an endearment.

NUMBER 1 FAVORITE THING ABOUT AOA Book 1: 

That odd love triangle among Magneto, Rogue and Gambit that made me laugh and laugh and cry a little about because IT ACTUALLY WORKED FOR ME AND I AM SORT OF ASHAMED. But I guess it's acceptable because Charles is dead in this AU so it's okay for Mags to move on, totally just hook up with Rogue, and every once in a while still mention and talk about Charles.

BEHOLD THE SOAP OPERA THAT IS MAGS X ROGUE X GAMBIT:

THIS IS SERIOUSLY THE ONLY THING WORTH READING IN VOLUME ONE!!

So who the fuck is Apocalypse? Why the fuck should I worry about him? As the first volume, this one should already be giving me a glimpse of what he is capable of, what he plans to do exactly, and why is he a threat to the world. All I got are crumbs of these things and the villains who act in his name are at best vaguely represented and under-utilized while others are barely competent. I don't understand the alternate reality that AoA operates in. No amount of world-building is sufficiently spent for readers to imagine and comprehend without the narrative bubbles for that being reduced to eye-rolling purple prose. The only thing I know is the fact that Xavier died so he never founded the X-Men so it was Magneto who took his place instead and now he plays the role of this tortured good guy who laments the lost dream he shared with his late friend while also doing a 'will-they-won't-they' dance with Rogue (WHICH IS AWESOME! THIS IS PROBABLY THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME READING).

Also, the Blink issues were...okay. I didn't know much about this character so having to read four issues about her had been rather trying for me. It's not that I didn't like her but I didn't feel the characterization for her and the role she took part in for her story were compelling enough. I can't understand how she fits into all of this yet.

I could only hope things will get better in the next three books.

KINDDA RECOMMENDED: 6/10

X-Men: Deadly Genesis by Ed Brubaker

Marvel stopped publishing new X-Men stories in 1970. It had been a five-year long absence then, and Len Wein and Dave Cockrum wouldn't stand for it so they wrote what will be known as the definitive reboot issue entitled Giant-Size X-Men #1. Introducing Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus for the first time as part of the new team for the X-Men, it was a spectacular gateway story that led to Chris Claremont's legendary sixteen-year run for The Uncanny X-Men starting with issue #94.

This monumental issue also addressed why the X-Men had been gone for five years. Apparently, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Havok, Lorna Dane, Angel and Iceman were sent to scout for a new mutant recruit in the remote island named Krakoa and were trapped there. Weirdly enough, Scott managed to escape and tell the Professor what has happened. Wasting no time as he left Scott to recover in the Xavier Mansion, Charles started going around countries to look for mutants that could aid in the rescue mission. And the rest is history where we get four additional characters who garnered respectively large fanbases as The Uncanny X-Men series went in the capable hands of Claremont, all thanks to Giant-Size.

For the 30th year celebration of this classic tale, Ed Brubaker wrote and published this piece. The covers for both Giant-Size and this one are comparable, with this latter one serving as an echo to the original story it was supposed to be based upon. But why is the cover for Brubaker's Deadly Genesis horrific? Why are our heroes portrayed as decomposing zombie corpses? Well, this is because X-Men: Deadly Genesis is more or less a RETCON of the events surrounding Giant-Size X-Men #1. But that in itself is actually misleading---Brubaker simply added a rather upsetting dark twist to what really happened during the rescue mission. It's a doozy.

And I'm going to spoil it here in my review.

First off, let's contextualize the continuity at this point. This was set after the major catastrophe mind-fuck that was House of M. Scarlet Witch loses her shit and attacks her fellow Avengers, killing Hawkeye. Meanwhile, her father Magneto just eloped with Charles Xavier in Genosha, both aiming to rebuild what was taken from the mutants there (told in Claremont's Excalibur III). Upon hearing the distressing news of his daughter's breakdown, he rescues her and therefore lets everyone in the world know that he is still alive (he had been officially declared deceased before; they had a burial and all that), including the Avengers who have been hunting him down. Charles was upset about this for obvious reasons. Their relationship was finally in a good place (they finally fucking agreed about something after twenty-something years of rivarly, for fuck's sake) and Erik did not have the common sense to keep it that way, exposing not only their clandestine arrangement (seriously, Xavier didn't even let the X-Men know he's running away with Erik) but also risking Genosha under potential threats coming from their enemies. 

In Brian Michael Bendis' House of M, Scarlet Witch remakes the world because she has reality-bending abilities that have become quite potent especially after she loses her sanity. Sooner or later, everyone in the Marvelverse (particularly the Avengers and the X-Men) recover their memories and confront her. Magneto was not pleased and almost kills her twin brother and his son Pietro. Pissed beyond fuck, Scarlet Witch punishes Magneto by declaring that the world will no longer have mutants and just like that she rewrote the x-gene out of near non-existence. The number of mutants all across the globe dwindled from thousands to a measly two hundred-plus. She has also rendered her own father stripped from his own electromagnetism. On the other hand, Charles Xavier is missing. The X-Men have to find him.

And this is where we find ourselves in Ed Brubaker's Deadly Genesis story.

Brubaker's Deadly Genesis is all kinds of awesome what-the-fuckery. A retcon story hasn't been this entertaining and mildly depressing as well as being pretty believable. Divided into six official chapters, the collection itself also has four special issues in between that discussed the origins of these certain young mutants (Petra, Suzanne, Darwin and Kid Vulcan) who will play significant roles in the climactic revelation later on in the story. In their frantic search for their beloved mentor, a strange surge of energy fucks up Emma and Kitty while they were using the Cerebra. As the two recover, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Havok have ghoulish visions from their past. 

Meanwhile, Cyclops, Wolverine and Rachel Summers (now Marvel Girl) go to their first lead in months concerning the professor's whereabouts. They encounter a new unnamed deadly foe who abducted Scott and Rachel and left Wolverine who goes to find Nightcrawler and Beast. The two have just received a message from Sean (Banshee) who wishes to meet with them, claiming he has uncovered a rather enigmatic video footage from the late Moira MacTaggert. They view the video and were surprised to find her talking shit about Xavier, saying that he was a bastard and that she should have never trusted him. On the other hand, Scott and Rachel try to figure out who has captured them, all the while said asshole starts brutally assaulting Rachel via telepathy, causing everyone in the X-Men connected to Rachel's consciousness to have visions yet again, particularly Scott who is beginning to put the pieces of a certain memory he couldn't understand why he even forgot.

The way the graphic novel collection was collected was clever; inserting the special four issues as breaks for every Deadly Genesis chapter has inevitably added to a reader's excitement as they eagerly want to know more about the mystery surrounding what Charles Xavier had done to earn MacTaggert's vehemence. These young mutants that readers have gotten to know fairly enough and sympathize with a bit in their respective special issue were not there to be fillers--it turns out that these lost and confused children were adopted by Moira MacTaggert, Charles' former fiancee and fellow geneticist. They have survived traumatic ordeals after their mutant powers started manifesting and MacTaggert was there to help them deal and harness their abilities under her care. So why is this discovery crucial all of a sudden? 

In the last issue, Scott and Rachel's captor finally revealed himself as Scott's long-lost younger brother Gabriel. The three of them lured Charles Xavier from hiding and it was revealed that he had also lost his mutant powers. He's now fully human. Still, Gabriel angrily forces the truth out of him with the help of Rachel's own telepathy. And the truth gets told:

SPOILER TERRITORY:

Before the events in Giant-Size X-Men took place, the rescue team composed of Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler (plus Sunfire, Thunderbird and Banshee) were, in actuality, THE SECOND TEAM assembled to save the original X-Men in Krakoa. It turns out that Charles Xavier has pleaded his case to Moira first, asking permission to train and send these teenagers she had just taken under her wing. Moira was understandably reluctant and dismissive of the idea but she wanted the kids to make their own decision about the matter:

This scene was rather heartbreaking, actually, when they all answered the professor's request with a resounding YES. Of course, they'll be happy to help. They've idolized the X-Men. They're youngsters who have been terrified of themselves since they learned what they are and how the world would react to them, and now they are finally given a chance to fight for something--to fight for good and help their heroes get back home--so of course, they'll assist the professor. It's goddamn Professor X, founder of the X-Men, and that title alone means they can trust him. Gabriel himself wants to become a part of the X-Men next to his big brother Scott. Charles purposefully reveals this information later on to make sure that Gabriel is properly motivated for the mission, and the boy can't to save his brother and tell him they're family. 

For the first time, he could actually belong and be with family at last.

So Professor X trained the youngsters within a few days but through telepathic manipulation, he was able to make them believe that it had been a handful of months. Because of that deception, the teenagers were able to travel to Krakoa, fearless and ready to take on the challenge. Sadly, it proved too much for all of them. Suzanne got killed first and Petra managed to dug underground with her powers to shield them from other attacks. Next, Darwin, with his reactive mutation, absorbs everyone's powers and preserves them inside Gabriel who was the only one to physically survive the attack. This all happened after they have just rescued Scott and sent him flying back to the mansion using the Blackbird. He makes telepathic contact with the professor upon landing, and together they explored the events in the island and witnessed them all die there (that was what they were led to believe). Devastated of losing his brother so soon, Scott loses consciousness. Charles had to inform Moira about what happened. He then asserted that he is going to make Scott forget about the first team and leave him to recuperate as he went on to recruit the second team which we know from Giant-Size X-Men. Moira had no choice but to comply, probably in fear that Charles will wipe out her memories too. To make sure that the truth will come out someday, she proceeded to make a video, narrating the tragedy of what has happened, probably in hopes of redeeming herself from her own role in the events.

Like I said, this is WHAT THE FUCK at its finest moment. Contextualizing Claremont's Excalibur III: Charles and Erik have their second chance of a stable partnership in that series and they have grown so much together there, but then both Bendis' House of M and Brubaker's Deadly Genesis happened and also retracted all their character development from Excalibur III to reveal that their past mistakes have caught up with them at last. Erik could never become a good father to the twins and so Scarlet Witch condemned him by taking away his powers and making the rest of mutantkind suffer the same thing. On the other hand, Charles had knowingly lied about a crucial piece of history and betrayed Scott's trust and soiling the rest of his X-Men's perception of him as a mentor and surrogate father. I've always known Charles Xavier is naturally deceptive. He said so himself in Excalibur III that secrets come easy for him. And now I find it a rather poignant parallel that while Magneto lost his daughter Wanda's trust and gets punished by her for it, Scott in this story also punishes Xavier by banishing him from the mansion. Look at the devastation of that exchange between the two below:

Charles Xavier is no longer a mutant himself and therefore he has no place with the X-Men. This has to be the most extreme invalidation of his character--and quite frankly he deserves it, much like Erik did when Wanda stripped him away of his powers. These two men have skeletons in their closet that came out at the  darkest of opportune moments, and now they are paying the price of their actions, even Charles who only had good intentions to start with, but his actions along the way ultimately paved the way to his own personal hell which included losing the respect of his students and his place in their community. Nothing could be worse than this.

RECOMMENDED: 9/10