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X-Men vs. Apocalypse #1
X-Men vs. Apocalypse, Vol. 1: The Twelve
Collects Uncanny X-Men #376-377, Cable #73-76, X-Men #96-97, Wolverine #145-147 and material from X-Man #59.
Setting his grand plan for godhood into motion, Apocalypse dispatches his agents to capture the world's most powerful mutants, the fabled Twelve: Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Iceman, Sunfire, Polaris, Cable, Bishop, Mikhail Rasputin, the Living Monolith and Magneto. Having himself planted the seeds of the Twelve legend, Apocalypse hopes to siphon their power, granting him omnipotency. Desperate to stave off his ascension, the X-Men must strike a temporary truce with Magneto to battle the warlord's forces as the Twelve are assembled -- and one longtime member seemingly sacrifices his own life to end the threat of Apocalypse once and for all!
Setting his grand plan for godhood into motion, Apocalypse dispatches his agents to capture the world's most powerful mutants, the fabled Twelve: Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Iceman, Sunfire, Polaris, Cable, Bishop, Mikhail Rasputin, the Living Monolith and Magneto. Having himself planted the seeds of the Twelve legend, Apocalypse hopes to siphon their power, granting him omnipotency. Desperate to stave off his ascension, the X-Men must strike a temporary truce with Magneto to battle the warlord's forces as the Twelve are assembled -- and one longtime member seemingly sacrifices his own life to end the threat of Apocalypse once and for all!
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2007
9 people are currently reading
186 people want to read
About the author
Erik Larsen
960 books75 followersAs a child growing up in Bellingham, Washington and Albion, California, Erik Larsen created seveal comic books featuring versions of a character named 'Dragon.' He eventually published a fanzine, which led to his doing professional work on a comic book called Megaton for creator Gary Carlson. It was here that he introduced the Dragon, a super powered superhero, to the comic-reading masses.
After a multitude of mailings, showing his work, Erik became aquainted with Jim Shooter, who was, at that point, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Erik eventually met Jim at a convention in Chicago and Jim was impressed enough with Erik's work that he consented to co-plot a story with him on the spot. That story was a battle between Marvel Comics characters Hulk & Thor. Although it wasn't actually published until years later, it did impress a variety of Editors enough to get Larsen some more high-profile work in the funnybook field.
Erik jumped around various books in this part of his career. He did an Amazing Spider-Man fill-in story at Marvel, a few issues of DNAgents for Eclipse, and he eventually took over the art chores on DC's Doom Patrol. Soon afterwards, he left DC and moved on to the Punisher for Marvel. Five issues of that book was about as much pain as that poor Minnesota boy could stand. Erik wanted to write and when a Nova serial was given the thumbs up to run in Marvel Comics Presents with Erik as the writer/artist, he gladly left the Punisher. But it was not to be! The powers that be had other plans for Nova and Erik's yarn didn't fit in with the impending New Warriors series. Editor Terry Kavanaugh gave Larsen an Excalibur serial to draw for Marvel Comics Presents while the poor bastard waited for his big break.
When ever-popular artist Todd McFarlane left his artistic duties on Amazing Spider-Man, Larsen was chosen to be his successor. That run was astoundingly well-recieved, and included popular stories like 'The Return of the Sinister Six', 'The Cosmic Spider-Man', and 'The Powerless Spider-Man'. Although he was comfortable with his position as Amazing Spider-Man penciller, he was frustrated drawing other people's stories. Larsen found that his ravenous desire to write had only gotten stronger. He left Amazing Spider-Man, quite pooped.
By this time, the New Warriors was going full tilt and Erik tossed together a proposal for a Nova ongoing series. While he waited for it to get the nod, Todd McFarlane left the new Spider-Man title that he had launched. Erik was called upon once again picked up the torch - and he ran with it. Larsen created a memorable albeit brief run on that title, despite a traumatic event in his personal life - his house burned to the ground, destroying all of his childhood drawings and comic books.
After this period, creator Rob Liefeld invited Larsen to help found a new comic book imprint called 'Image' at Malibu comics, alongside notorious creators Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Erik's flagship comic book at Image (which soon left Malibu and became the third lagest comic book publisher in the United States) was an updated version of his childhood creation -- 'The Savage Dragon.' Larsen has been succeeding with his ideas ever since, through his creations Freak Force, Star, SuperPatriot and the Deadly Duo as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which he helped revitalize and bring to Image.
As of 2004, Erik Larsen became the Publisher of Image Comics and shows no sign of slowing down.
After a multitude of mailings, showing his work, Erik became aquainted with Jim Shooter, who was, at that point, Marvel's Editor-in-Chief. Erik eventually met Jim at a convention in Chicago and Jim was impressed enough with Erik's work that he consented to co-plot a story with him on the spot. That story was a battle between Marvel Comics characters Hulk & Thor. Although it wasn't actually published until years later, it did impress a variety of Editors enough to get Larsen some more high-profile work in the funnybook field.
Erik jumped around various books in this part of his career. He did an Amazing Spider-Man fill-in story at Marvel, a few issues of DNAgents for Eclipse, and he eventually took over the art chores on DC's Doom Patrol. Soon afterwards, he left DC and moved on to the Punisher for Marvel. Five issues of that book was about as much pain as that poor Minnesota boy could stand. Erik wanted to write and when a Nova serial was given the thumbs up to run in Marvel Comics Presents with Erik as the writer/artist, he gladly left the Punisher. But it was not to be! The powers that be had other plans for Nova and Erik's yarn didn't fit in with the impending New Warriors series. Editor Terry Kavanaugh gave Larsen an Excalibur serial to draw for Marvel Comics Presents while the poor bastard waited for his big break.
When ever-popular artist Todd McFarlane left his artistic duties on Amazing Spider-Man, Larsen was chosen to be his successor. That run was astoundingly well-recieved, and included popular stories like 'The Return of the Sinister Six', 'The Cosmic Spider-Man', and 'The Powerless Spider-Man'. Although he was comfortable with his position as Amazing Spider-Man penciller, he was frustrated drawing other people's stories. Larsen found that his ravenous desire to write had only gotten stronger. He left Amazing Spider-Man, quite pooped.
By this time, the New Warriors was going full tilt and Erik tossed together a proposal for a Nova ongoing series. While he waited for it to get the nod, Todd McFarlane left the new Spider-Man title that he had launched. Erik was called upon once again picked up the torch - and he ran with it. Larsen created a memorable albeit brief run on that title, despite a traumatic event in his personal life - his house burned to the ground, destroying all of his childhood drawings and comic books.
After this period, creator Rob Liefeld invited Larsen to help found a new comic book imprint called 'Image' at Malibu comics, alongside notorious creators Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Valentino. Erik's flagship comic book at Image (which soon left Malibu and became the third lagest comic book publisher in the United States) was an updated version of his childhood creation -- 'The Savage Dragon.' Larsen has been succeeding with his ideas ever since, through his creations Freak Force, Star, SuperPatriot and the Deadly Duo as well as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which he helped revitalize and bring to Image.
As of 2004, Erik Larsen became the Publisher of Image Comics and shows no sign of slowing down.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
September 17, 2023
Finally after years of hints about The Twelve, we get the whole story, but what should have been a masterclass in Apocalypse lore just doesn't quite take; this volume is lucky to get 4 out of 12, Two Stars from me, such a shame as Erik Larsen is a super comic book serial creator. Yet another one of Chris Claremont's sub-plots that went on so long by the time it dropped it did nought.
2018 read
2018 read
May 31, 2016
I remember when I was still following the main X-books monthly, which was two decades ago and this was a story that I was quite excited for. The Twelve or the twelve mutants that were supposed to lead mutantkind into the future has been teased for so long. It even had a hype piece in Wizard Magazine. I got the first two chapters and then I had to move and I wasn't able to get my comics anymore. I was able to get snippets of the story in the intervening years, but it wasn't until recently that I was able to read almost all of the story (Marvel Unlimited did not have the X-Man chapters).
After two decades and I have to say that this story did not age gracefully. It did not help that the art of the chapters did not have a unifying element, it was jarring experience reading the chapters of this volume. It had too many artists and not all of them were very good. The plot was a bit of a stretch because I couldn't reconcile Apocalypse working with Skrulls; it just didn't make sense for this reader.
At least, I finally read almost all of the story after all this years, at least I had that going for me.
After two decades and I have to say that this story did not age gracefully. It did not help that the art of the chapters did not have a unifying element, it was jarring experience reading the chapters of this volume. It had too many artists and not all of them were very good. The plot was a bit of a stretch because I couldn't reconcile Apocalypse working with Skrulls; it just didn't make sense for this reader.
At least, I finally read almost all of the story after all this years, at least I had that going for me.
November 30, 2013
This is a story that's been a long-time coming, ever since The Twelve were first mentioned in the late '80s or early '90s. This volume deals with the concept fairly, has a lot of nice integration with the Cable series, and also has a great ending. With that said, the execution is just fair. There's too much plot-required capturing, too little character agency, and the writers were allowed to go wacky and bring in too many other concepts (most notably the Skrulls). Beyond that, it's fairly typical superheroics.
September 9, 2008
Absolute dreck. This is the storyline that caused me to drop, cold turkey, my monthly X-Men comic habit.
The ending with "Apocaclops" (or "Cyclopalypse" depending on which comic book fan site you frequent) is unintentionally hilarious, too!
The ending with "Apocaclops" (or "Cyclopalypse" depending on which comic book fan site you frequent) is unintentionally hilarious, too!
February 22, 2025
Ok... so this is one of those runs where nothing really happens until the end. The only solid thread before that is around Apocalypses new Death horseman, which isn’t Death-bird for some reason.. who is also a horseman but she’s War.
None of this makes any sense in context as it really emphasises at one point that Apocalypse recruits his horsemen by offering them something, so Angel wanted his wings, Caliban wanted the power to avenge the Mutant-Massacre, the old War wanted to be able to move.. but the new Death and War (Death-bird) what did they get?
Anyway there are lots of little continuity and logic problems like that I’m not going to get into them all. Oh.. and Famine is Ahab, apparently? Which is a guy named Rory i think, anyway he hung around with Excaliber back in the day and is 100% human (apart from the cyborg bits) so.. bit odd that he’s a horseman.
Sidenote: there’s an episode of the Sarah Connor Chronicles with a character played by Richard Schiff that seems based on Ahab.
The art is ugh... the mid-90’s is as bad but somehow feels more charming than this stuff.
The involvement of Apocalypse seems like it was meant to be a surprise, you have people in almost every comic wondering who is behind it all despite it being revealed in pretty much every issue.
Apocalypse’s plan seems dumb and nonsenseical but we’ll get to that. Lets start with the hero’s plan.
They launch an attack on Apocalypse with basically all of the people he wants to capture, while another section of the team go on a different rescue mission, a mission which Jean Grey would seem to have been very useful for given her personal connection to the target of that mission.
While this would also have avoiding giving Apocalypse everything he wants, great strategy guys!
The one bit which you might have thought would be interesting here is the reveal of who the 12 actually are. That really could have been an interesting mystery... but its not, in one or close to it they just get a list of all the names... great. Way to kill the tension.
Its all really bad.. until issue 377? The main event scripted by.. i don’t really pay attention to writer/artist names but i made a special note, this script was by Terry Kavanagh. He does a really admiral job of making this kinda make sense. He really manages to mostly make it work which is quite the achievement.
And yeah those last few issues are pretty good, but i can’t really rate it any higher given all the rest of the plot.
None of this makes any sense in context as it really emphasises at one point that Apocalypse recruits his horsemen by offering them something, so Angel wanted his wings, Caliban wanted the power to avenge the Mutant-Massacre, the old War wanted to be able to move.. but the new Death and War (Death-bird) what did they get?
Anyway there are lots of little continuity and logic problems like that I’m not going to get into them all. Oh.. and Famine is Ahab, apparently? Which is a guy named Rory i think, anyway he hung around with Excaliber back in the day and is 100% human (apart from the cyborg bits) so.. bit odd that he’s a horseman.
Sidenote: there’s an episode of the Sarah Connor Chronicles with a character played by Richard Schiff that seems based on Ahab.
The art is ugh... the mid-90’s is as bad but somehow feels more charming than this stuff.
The involvement of Apocalypse seems like it was meant to be a surprise, you have people in almost every comic wondering who is behind it all despite it being revealed in pretty much every issue.
Apocalypse’s plan seems dumb and nonsenseical but we’ll get to that. Lets start with the hero’s plan.
They launch an attack on Apocalypse with basically all of the people he wants to capture, while another section of the team go on a different rescue mission, a mission which Jean Grey would seem to have been very useful for given her personal connection to the target of that mission.
While this would also have avoiding giving Apocalypse everything he wants, great strategy guys!
The one bit which you might have thought would be interesting here is the reveal of who the 12 actually are. That really could have been an interesting mystery... but its not, in one or close to it they just get a list of all the names... great. Way to kill the tension.
Its all really bad.. until issue 377? The main event scripted by.. i don’t really pay attention to writer/artist names but i made a special note, this script was by Terry Kavanagh. He does a really admiral job of making this kinda make sense. He really manages to mostly make it work which is quite the achievement.
And yeah those last few issues are pretty good, but i can’t really rate it any higher given all the rest of the plot.
July 18, 2021
Context is important for this collection. If we view it from the lens that the Twelve storyline, which had been first mentioned in X-Factor #14 (cover date March 1987), led to this, it's been a long time coming. As well if we look at it from the angle of Cable's mission to the past (or the X-Men's present) in stopping Apocalypse and thereby stopping his dystopian future then his path led to here. If we look at it on both those points then the story in this collection is a disappointment, as it doesn't deliver on both counts.
However, if we view it from the angle that the monthly X-books were more or less floundering at this point after lurching post-Onslaught through: Zero Tolerance; the Seagle/ Kelly era that ended too quickly; Magneto War, and the Shattering before this, then it's really been a hodge-podge of underwhelming storylines that have under-delivered. And in that context, it's been better than the last year or two of stories. So it's not a bad story, Apocalypse is a much better adversary than Bastion was. And in comparison to Magneto War, it does at least look to be cleaning up some past unresolved continuity, rather than feel like just setting up the new status quo going forwards.
As for the individual issues, it's a mixed bag. There are 3 Wolverine issues, one which is oversized, and 4 Cable issues, one which is over-sized also. So it's not just strictly the X-Men team. Artwise Leinil is firing on all cylinders in Wolverine #145. On the opposite end, Cable has the cartoony style of Bernard Chang, at odds with tag-teaming Cable's creator Rob Liefeld, who's as divisive an artist as they come. This is actually only the 2nd Liefeld comic I've read and it's interesting - Cable #75 is an issue of awkward posing, action shots and gritted teeth, as well as being utterly devoid of any storytelling.
The X-Men issues are fine, these are popcorn blockbuster fun. If you overthink it all, it doesn't make much sense. But I'd been feeling so burned out by the previous storylines that I did not mind this arc at all. It's the X-Men vs Apocalypse and while it's not their greatest match-up, it's still fine on that level.
However, if we view it from the angle that the monthly X-books were more or less floundering at this point after lurching post-Onslaught through: Zero Tolerance; the Seagle/ Kelly era that ended too quickly; Magneto War, and the Shattering before this, then it's really been a hodge-podge of underwhelming storylines that have under-delivered. And in that context, it's been better than the last year or two of stories. So it's not a bad story, Apocalypse is a much better adversary than Bastion was. And in comparison to Magneto War, it does at least look to be cleaning up some past unresolved continuity, rather than feel like just setting up the new status quo going forwards.
As for the individual issues, it's a mixed bag. There are 3 Wolverine issues, one which is oversized, and 4 Cable issues, one which is over-sized also. So it's not just strictly the X-Men team. Artwise Leinil is firing on all cylinders in Wolverine #145. On the opposite end, Cable has the cartoony style of Bernard Chang, at odds with tag-teaming Cable's creator Rob Liefeld, who's as divisive an artist as they come. This is actually only the 2nd Liefeld comic I've read and it's interesting - Cable #75 is an issue of awkward posing, action shots and gritted teeth, as well as being utterly devoid of any storytelling.
The X-Men issues are fine, these are popcorn blockbuster fun. If you overthink it all, it doesn't make much sense. But I'd been feeling so burned out by the previous storylines that I did not mind this arc at all. It's the X-Men vs Apocalypse and while it's not their greatest match-up, it's still fine on that level.
May 6, 2020
Finally, the secret of the Twelve! First mentioned back in March 1987 in the pages of X-Factor #14, the "fabled Twelve" are a "dozen mutant humans who will one day rise up and lead all of mutantkind in war against Homo sapiens in the twilight of Earth." There were several claims and partial lists of potential candidates, but it was not until Kitty found Destiny's diary that we get a complete list:
- Magneto
- Polaris
- Storm
- Sunfire
- Iceman
- Cyclops
- Phoenix (Jean Grey)
- Cable
- Bishop
- Mikhail Rasputin
- Professor X
- Living Monolith.
That is an impressive list, but the story was still a pretty big let-down. We waited 12 years for this, and we get another attempt by Apocalypse to possess X-Man's body? Apparently, leading all of mutantkind in a war against humans means being a battery for a supervillain's extraterrestrial machine.
Apocalypse's allies didn't seem to add much value. I would even say that it distracted from what could've been solid reveal. Even after rereading it, I am still puzzled why Alan Davis wanted to add the Skrulls. They never really fit well in an X-Men centric story. It was an odd collection of established characters that took the positions of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen. I had a difficult time buying Ahab (Famine) and Deathbird (War) joining as subordinates to Apocalypse. Wolverine (Death) was brainwashed, but I didn't collect the Wolverine issues that delved more into how this happened and how he regained his own mind. That leaves Caliban (Pestilence) who was already Death in the past, so why did he change?
The Twelve was one of those X-Men mysteries that longtime fans like me really talked about all the time. Alan Davis gave us closure, but it was not all that satisfying. Maybe that is because I set my expectations too high, or maybe it is because the premise didn't take into account any of the dropped clues, fan conjectures, or original purpose of the Twelve.
- Magneto
- Polaris
- Storm
- Sunfire
- Iceman
- Cyclops
- Phoenix (Jean Grey)
- Cable
- Bishop
- Mikhail Rasputin
- Professor X
- Living Monolith.
That is an impressive list, but the story was still a pretty big let-down. We waited 12 years for this, and we get another attempt by Apocalypse to possess X-Man's body? Apparently, leading all of mutantkind in a war against humans means being a battery for a supervillain's extraterrestrial machine.
Apocalypse's allies didn't seem to add much value. I would even say that it distracted from what could've been solid reveal. Even after rereading it, I am still puzzled why Alan Davis wanted to add the Skrulls. They never really fit well in an X-Men centric story. It was an odd collection of established characters that took the positions of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen. I had a difficult time buying Ahab (Famine) and Deathbird (War) joining as subordinates to Apocalypse. Wolverine (Death) was brainwashed, but I didn't collect the Wolverine issues that delved more into how this happened and how he regained his own mind. That leaves Caliban (Pestilence) who was already Death in the past, so why did he change?
The Twelve was one of those X-Men mysteries that longtime fans like me really talked about all the time. Alan Davis gave us closure, but it was not all that satisfying. Maybe that is because I set my expectations too high, or maybe it is because the premise didn't take into account any of the dropped clues, fan conjectures, or original purpose of the Twelve.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 11, 2024
The Twelve is a good, not great, Marvel crossover series where Apocalypse gears up for total war on mutantkind to finally bring about the Age of Apocalypse. Aided by his Four Horsemen and extraterrestrial Skrulls, Apocalypse works to prevent a prophecy of 12 powerful mutants eventually defeating him by launching preemptive strikes upon them. The compilation features a few different X-Men titles, mostly Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Cable, and Wolverine from late 1999/early 2000. There are a few different artists and writers. For those who enjoyed the first Age of Apocalypse crossover from 1995, this is probably the closest it comes to occuring in the "normal" universe.
Cable #75 is probably the strongest of all the comics. Rob Liefeld's illustrations of Apocalypse are some of the best I've seen anywhere. The unyielding burning hatred in his facial expressions is precisely how Apocalypse should always look and his battle with Cable is intense. Wolverine as the Horseman Death also brings about classic AoA vibes. Alan Davis and Tom Raney also provide very good stories and penciling for the X-Men books.
Archangel's story is also interesting. A former Horseman himself, his longstanding rivalry with Wolverine also comes to a head. They have always been two of the most interesting X-Men and their differences make their interactions more fascinating. Cable is also coming face-to-face with what he believes to be his destiny, the purpose of his entire existence... preventing the distant future he grew up in by destroying Apocalypse once and for all.
A lot of the art is cartoon-ish and the story doesn't flow at a consistent pace, but it sets the stage for Volume 2: The Ages of Apocalypse.
Cable #75 is probably the strongest of all the comics. Rob Liefeld's illustrations of Apocalypse are some of the best I've seen anywhere. The unyielding burning hatred in his facial expressions is precisely how Apocalypse should always look and his battle with Cable is intense. Wolverine as the Horseman Death also brings about classic AoA vibes. Alan Davis and Tom Raney also provide very good stories and penciling for the X-Men books.
Archangel's story is also interesting. A former Horseman himself, his longstanding rivalry with Wolverine also comes to a head. They have always been two of the most interesting X-Men and their differences make their interactions more fascinating. Cable is also coming face-to-face with what he believes to be his destiny, the purpose of his entire existence... preventing the distant future he grew up in by destroying Apocalypse once and for all.
A lot of the art is cartoon-ish and the story doesn't flow at a consistent pace, but it sets the stage for Volume 2: The Ages of Apocalypse.
September 8, 2018
This would be another two star entry in the Alan Davis era of the X-Men except for a couple of side story issues. The collection begins with an excellent Wolverine issue by Erik Larsen and Leinil Francis Yu. It's miles beyond Yu's previous X-Men work, and unlike any other X-Men art of the era.
There's also Rob Liefeld's two best issues ever of Cable. Drag him for his inconsistency all you want, his two Cable issues here are undeniably his style, but they seem much more confident (as opposed to over-confident) and mature than anything I remember seeing from him before or since.
The constant complete changes in art style between each chapter is a bit jarring, but for the most part, all of the art looks deliberate and unrushed, which is a vast improvement over the last few volumes of X-books.
The main X-story, on the other hand, is still just an absolute mess of Skrulls and Apocalypse, and prophecies, and deep continuity. It's exhausting, but at least it looks good.
I recommend it for Apocalypse fans, continuity freaks, and anyone looking for proof that Rob Liefeld is capable of making good art.
There's also Rob Liefeld's two best issues ever of Cable. Drag him for his inconsistency all you want, his two Cable issues here are undeniably his style, but they seem much more confident (as opposed to over-confident) and mature than anything I remember seeing from him before or since.
The constant complete changes in art style between each chapter is a bit jarring, but for the most part, all of the art looks deliberate and unrushed, which is a vast improvement over the last few volumes of X-books.
The main X-story, on the other hand, is still just an absolute mess of Skrulls and Apocalypse, and prophecies, and deep continuity. It's exhausting, but at least it looks good.
I recommend it for Apocalypse fans, continuity freaks, and anyone looking for proof that Rob Liefeld is capable of making good art.
November 2, 2017
I was very excited for this graphic novel, I had read bits as comics when I was a preteen, but could never find the missing parts of the story, so naturally I was very intrigued.
This graphic novel was really more about Cable then the x-men, which was fine, I didn't know much about Cable and his segments were interesting. The real problem with the story is it was very disjointed and jumped around. When ever a group of X-men were gearing up to fight, it would show them in a pose and then jump away, and this happened whenever almost any character was prepping to fight.
In addition several characters are seen preparing, or are mentioned, but don't really pop up again in the story, such as Canonball and his group.
Perhaps the story worked better when it was initially published and if you have the prior knowledge about the characters subplots, but I found myself getting excited for scenes or interactions, and then the story would jump to the next scene, only coming back to show the results.
Overall this was just ok, perhaps I should have let it stay in my nostalgic memory :/.
I may try picking up the second volume, just to see if any of the story gets concluded better, but I am not positive if it is worth it.
This graphic novel was really more about Cable then the x-men, which was fine, I didn't know much about Cable and his segments were interesting. The real problem with the story is it was very disjointed and jumped around. When ever a group of X-men were gearing up to fight, it would show them in a pose and then jump away, and this happened whenever almost any character was prepping to fight.
In addition several characters are seen preparing, or are mentioned, but don't really pop up again in the story, such as Canonball and his group.
Perhaps the story worked better when it was initially published and if you have the prior knowledge about the characters subplots, but I found myself getting excited for scenes or interactions, and then the story would jump to the next scene, only coming back to show the results.
Overall this was just ok, perhaps I should have let it stay in my nostalgic memory :/.
I may try picking up the second volume, just to see if any of the story gets concluded better, but I am not positive if it is worth it.
April 21, 2017
Continuing my X-men catchup project - a slightly ridiculous (and ridiculously expensive) project wherein I collect and read the X-books from roughly the point at which I quit reading in my younger days. I have been slowly amassing these books over the last few years and am now at a point where I can begin reading without major gaps...
This story is, well, a bit of a mess. It is an enjoyable read in and of itself. But for a story that was about a decade in the making, it ended up being pretty forgettable. There's a little too much of the soap opera angle going on for me in this one - too many brainwashings and "we used to be friends but now we must be enemies" sort of melodrama. While I enjoyed the act of reading it, I doubt that it will be one that I return to.
This story is, well, a bit of a mess. It is an enjoyable read in and of itself. But for a story that was about a decade in the making, it ended up being pretty forgettable. There's a little too much of the soap opera angle going on for me in this one - too many brainwashings and "we used to be friends but now we must be enemies" sort of melodrama. While I enjoyed the act of reading it, I doubt that it will be one that I return to.
June 3, 2019
Fuck yeah.
The last few issues of this collection are some of the most intense and exciting X moment I’ve ever read. This is definitely the most exciting shit since Onslaught. Damn!
We knew Apocalypse was a dangerous badass. We knew it from Age of Apocalypse... but we never truly saw it until now. The climax of this story (and ensuing cliffhanger) are nothing short of breathtaking.
The art fluctuates, but maintains a decent standard and at it’s worst, serves the story. Tom Raney provides some guest pencils that are out of this world, though. You’ll know it when you see it.
This is another capstone. It’s been building since Magneto War and through The Shattering. This is the big game, and it will continue into Ages of Apocalypse. Can’t wait to crack it open!
The last few issues of this collection are some of the most intense and exciting X moment I’ve ever read. This is definitely the most exciting shit since Onslaught. Damn!
We knew Apocalypse was a dangerous badass. We knew it from Age of Apocalypse... but we never truly saw it until now. The climax of this story (and ensuing cliffhanger) are nothing short of breathtaking.
The art fluctuates, but maintains a decent standard and at it’s worst, serves the story. Tom Raney provides some guest pencils that are out of this world, though. You’ll know it when you see it.
This is another capstone. It’s been building since Magneto War and through The Shattering. This is the big game, and it will continue into Ages of Apocalypse. Can’t wait to crack it open!
January 26, 2024
With the X-Men franchise sagging, "The Twelve" is like a Hail Mary pass. It's presented as the be all/end all story for the villain Apocalypse. Unfortunately, the Hail Mary plunks on the 12 yard line with everyone waiting in the endzone. There are solid developments to be found, including an outstanding sequence with Kitty, Death and a scimitar. But the story has some big problems it can't overcome, including the introduction of the "mutant Skrulls," Apocalypse's laughably-convoluted power-draining machine setup, and the unintentionally hilarious story-ending double splash page. The X-Men desperately needed new life, and this wasn't it.
May 4, 2016
The beginning of this volume was strong and really had me interested; the middle was still going pretty steady; interest toward the mid-end plummeted, like a rock. The storyline kept jumping around, the various plots didn't intersect well (if at all), and there was a lot that is left unexplained. I had really high hopes at the beginning so this is more of a disappointment. (Why is even HERE!?!?!) There was also a lot of repetition in thought bubbles or squares.
August 23, 2013
Old stuff, and not great. I got into comics just a little after all this business and I might have loved it back then, but today it's dated as only late 90's X-Men can be. In fact, that area might be the least interesting time for the X-Men yet. This has some decent moments, but as a whole, it's too long and full of exposition.
April 5, 2014
This was just plain awful. Too much characters doing stuff nobody understood why they were doing stuff. And then they pause and talk endlesly how crappy it is for mutants and how Xavier's dream is good. And go on doing something.
There were couple good ideas at the very end of the book. Maybe that justifies the existence of this.
There were couple good ideas at the very end of the book. Maybe that justifies the existence of this.
January 28, 2016
Not as good as I was hoping it would be considering the build up for years in the comic books about who the "12" were and what that meant to Apocalypse's rise to power. Reading it as a graphic novel made the thread of the plot feel disjointed. I'm still thrilled to be reading about some of my favorite characters, but there was enough material present that it could have been a stronger storyline.
October 5, 2010
I didn't have enough backstory to really be able to appreciate this. It's proabably not fair to rate it so low, but it was work to get through. Reminds me to appreciate how overwhleming superhero comics can be to the uinitiated.
March 11, 2019
Very bad story. Very bad art. I remember looking forward to this story when I was a kid and being dissapointed, and felt the same way re-reading it for this trade. It doesn't even end. It highlights the worst of 90s storytelling trends in comics, and thankfully led to better things.
April 5, 2015
I remember reading this when it was first published...back then I sort of liked it but now I can safely say I was sort of wrong.
The art is poor, the characterisation is weak in places and the story reeks to high heaven.
Generally a bit of a mess even by 90 ' comic standards.
The art is poor, the characterisation is weak in places and the story reeks to high heaven.
Generally a bit of a mess even by 90 ' comic standards.
July 16, 2018
Most of the issues in this collection were ok but nothing special, but it gets an extra star or two for Wolverine #147 which one of the best issues there is, in my opinion.
The art quality is all over the place. Some of it is great, most isn't.
The art quality is all over the place. Some of it is great, most isn't.
August 13, 2018
I was enjoying this, a lot, thinking it was much better than people have it credit for. It was always the "most disappointing" Apocalypse story. But it was so good, so epic. ..until the last issue in this volume. It really fell hard.
January 7, 2011
The essence of a plot is here, but the speed just picks up and lets down repeatedly. This should have been like 3 comics instead of like 12.
January 10, 2017
Meh. Taken me forever to read this. The art was mess and the story was all over the place. I normally love anything X-Men but this was a travesty of a story...
April 1, 2017
Eh. Some fun moments, but there was barely any Apocalypse til the last issue.
September 1, 2017
There's just too many crossovers in this line. It makes for disjointed stories. I'd love to read a story that just took place in one of these titles.
March 17, 2025
A lot of this is pretty connfusing. But it worked out alright.
Reread in 2025. I liked it more .
Reread in 2025. I liked it more .
July 21, 2023
Great story arc. The artwork was beautiful. Worth reading.
August 22, 2022
Uneven, and definitely doesn't live up to it's potential, but I still found it compelling. I'm intrigued enough to pick up the next chapter.
June 26, 2014
I remember reading these individual issues when I was growing up, and with the recent resurgence of Apocalypse interest, I thought I'd try them again.
Overall, not as great as I remember, and not anywhere near to the amazing "Age of Apocalypse" storyline, but still good nonetheless.
All these nostalgic comics I've been rereading are reiterating for me how much the power of a great story is alive in even a genre long shunned by "serious readers".
Recommend, and especially with the new movie in the works.
Overall, not as great as I remember, and not anywhere near to the amazing "Age of Apocalypse" storyline, but still good nonetheless.
All these nostalgic comics I've been rereading are reiterating for me how much the power of a great story is alive in even a genre long shunned by "serious readers".
Recommend, and especially with the new movie in the works.
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