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Marvelhas declare a 30th anniversary follow - up series to theX - Menfranchise ’s legendaryAge of Apocalypsecrossover event , butreader fervour has been jolly hampered by the idea among buff that they are catch in a loop , as the publisher persist in to deliver to the well of its most memorable storyline from the past .
As catalog on r / comicbooks , at least a subset of the Marvel fandom is not shudder by the estimation of a reprise of theAge of Apocalypsecharacters . Instead , many lecturer voiced their worry that it is all too conversant .
It ’s natural Marvel wants to do something to celebrate a milestone day of remembrance for one of their greatest achievements , yet this has the side - effect of calling care to the accomplishment itself . Age of Apocalypseis iconic because it was daring and unprecedented , and some lover , at least , want Marvel to revisit that in spirit , rather than retread old territory .
Marvel’s Age Of Apocalypse Anniversary “Sequel” Raises Fans Concerns, Rather Than Anticipation
X-Men Of Apocalypse: Alpha#1; Written By Jeph Loeb; Art By Simone Di Meo; Available September 3, 2025 From Marvel Comics
X - Men of Apocalypse , set up this declination , is a six - part serieswritten by Jeph Loeb , with art by Simone Di Meo ; bookended by theAlphaandOmegaone - blastoff number , the four - part main series will feature characters from the Marvel Multiverse’sAge of Apocalypsetimeline attempting to preserve their reality from demolition , which will lead in conflict with the mainstream Marvel Universe’sX - Mencharacters . The publishing house has anticipate prominent action , and even boastful implications for the franchise , but for a contingent of fan , the proclamation has been a source of fatigue , rather than excitement .
The X - Men ’s " Hellfire Gala " became a rooter - favorite tradition during the Krakoan Era ; now , it will return as a memorial for that mislay paradise .
A chief charge about funny record storytelling , specifically the superhero music genre , is that characters often decrease prey to a form of arrested development ; Marvel is particularly susceptible to this criticism in many ways , top dog among them the company ’s refusal to permit OG Spider - Man Peter Parker age with even a picayune minute of grace . From 2019 - 2024 , theX - Menfranchisewas often an exception to this , but following an innovative , frontwards - intellection era , even Marvel ’s mutants have commence to “ play the strike ” more often again , withX - Men of Apocalypsebeing just the latest , most prominent example .
From one linear perspective , X - man of Apocalypseis a revitalization of versions of theX - franchise ’s character who were radical at the time of their introduction , and in the intervening thirty years have become classical in their own right wing , warranting a spectacular day of remembrance comeback . On the flip side of that , some lover worry that the spectacle of return like this is on the dot the problem with Marvel Comics powerful now , as it hold the place of substantive unexampled storytelling using exciting fresh eccentric .
Marvel Fans Sounded Off Online About The Feeling Of Retreading Familiar X-Men Territory
User Blitzhelios Put It Best
To be fair , fans ' disinclination to be excited aboutX - Men of Apocalypsefeels less like a reflection on the plot of the serial itself , as described by Marvel ’s innovative allurement , and more an extension of the ecumenical unease at repetitive , or recursive , storytelling that has become commonplace at Marvel itself . This is perhaps best sum up up by one reddit substance abuser , /blitzhelios , who flick on a Doctor Manhattan quote fromWatchmen , which has become a meme in itself , suggesting that as time has progressed since 1995 , one thing has remained constant : Marvel keeps return toAge of Apocalypse .
[ Readers ] overall outlook on Marvel ’s “ continuation ” stories , and its tendency to revisit tentpole events , has become increasingly unbelieving the more the publisher has resorted to this “ trick . ”
In other words , it can be hard for Marvel readers to authentically react to news program of a account like this , because their overall expectation on Marvel ’s “ sequel ” account , and its leaning to revisit tentpole consequence , has become progressively skeptical the more the newspaper publisher has resorted to this “ trick . ” That state , this is just one growth of a larger water parting in comics , both among referee and creators ; there are those who require to produce , or consume , something “ new , ” and those who gravitate toward funnies as a nostalgic culture medium , and want to revisit classic stories .
Full Judgement Of The “Sequel” Must Wait Until Its Release
Of course , online fan sermon has its own tendency : to couch criticism in the harshest terms possible . That is why looking at the response toX - Men of Apocalypseon the cyberspace will grant words like " boring " and " copycat , " and worst of all , " derivative . " It is good to say that readers should wait to get a sense of the essence of the serial before going this far , but it is noteworthy in the sensation that it reveals a low opinion of the premiss of the story , with the consensus being that it is " more of the same . "
Complaints about repetitive Marvel storytelling are n’t without virtue , but should n’t sinkX - Men of Apocalypsebefore it is even released .
And , of course , this is only one persuasion among Marvel readers;others are shake forX - gentleman’s gentleman of Apocalypse’spotential , especially if it opens the room access to more stories set in theAge of Apocalypseworld , or more appearances by thealternate persistence ’s unforgettable versions of characterslike Wolverine , Gambit , and more . Further , the original series does deserve festivity , and for Marvel , this is one direction of premise a newfangled generation of fan to the groundbreaking crossing over . All that is to say , complaints about repetitious Marvel storytelling are n’t without merit , but should n’t sinkX - man of Apocalypsebefore it is even released .
No Story Is Ever Completely Over When It Comes To Superhero Comics
Not Even When Their Timeline Is Erased
Without question , recursive storytelling is an issue at Marvel Comics , as well as major rival DC ; superhero storytelling , at the scale of measurement of the two largest fellowship in the industriousness , both of whom maintain 100 - long traditions of publication , is very much often a " one step onward , two steps back " kind of creative sensitive . However , those steps backwards are not always entirely unenjoyable story . In fact , quite the inverse . There is a reason superhero stories are always attend to the past times , and that is because , as mention previously , so many readers are doing the same .
The Age of Apocalypse is perhaps the cool 10 - Men case of all time , and it ’s also impactful . Here ’s why the 9 original narrative are so significant .
Part of superhero storytelling involves excavation characters ' past lore to use in an impactful style in contemporaneous stories , on both the minuscule and tumid scale . X - human race of Apocalypseis an example of this , as much as it might also signify Marvel ’s indisposition to evidence entirely new stories disconnected from what came before . Whether this approaching serial examine its critics wrong , or exemplifies whatMarvelis doing wrong with theX - Men , will only become readable in due time when the serial hits shelvesand all readers can decide for themselves .
