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X-Men: Age of Apocalypse
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Vol. 3: Omega
Collects Weapon X (1995) #3-4, Generation Next #3-4, Gambit and the X-Ternals #3-4, Astonishing X-Men (1995) #4, X-Man #4, X-Calibre #4, Factor X #4, Amazing X-Men (1995) #4, X-Universe #2, X-Men Omega, Age of Apocalypse: The Chosen.
The original Age of Apocalypse saga comes to an explosive end as the alternate-universe X-Men's desperate gambles bear fruit! Gambit recovers the artifact that might end Apocalypse's reign before it began, while Weapon X obtains the means to destroy his kingdom — and Generation Next pays the ultimate price rescuing Illyana Rasputin! But even armed with all the pieces to their puzzle, can the X-Men and their allies storm Apocalypse's stronghold, rescue Magneto, pull off their plan and restore the original Marvel Universe? Who will live? Who will die? And who will escape the destruction of the Age of Apocalypse?
The original Age of Apocalypse saga comes to an explosive end as the alternate-universe X-Men's desperate gambles bear fruit! Gambit recovers the artifact that might end Apocalypse's reign before it began, while Weapon X obtains the means to destroy his kingdom — and Generation Next pays the ultimate price rescuing Illyana Rasputin! But even armed with all the pieces to their puzzle, can the X-Men and their allies storm Apocalypse's stronghold, rescue Magneto, pull off their plan and restore the original Marvel Universe? Who will live? Who will die? And who will escape the destruction of the Age of Apocalypse?
359 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 29, 2015
9 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Larry Hama
1,954 books151 followersLarry Hama is an American writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 3, 2018
The final volume of the Age Of Apocalypse brings all of the disparate storylines together as Magneto and his X-Men stage one final battle against Apocalypse in a last ditch effort to rewrite the timeline and return to the Marvel Universe they all know and love.
There’s definitely a sense of finality permeating this entire volume. All of the Age Of Apocalypse ongoings are barrelling towards an ending, and those are all going to contribute to the X-Men: Omega one-shot that brings up the rear. The idea that everything is riding on these teams of X-Men to save all of reality is very obvious, and the stakes really feel as high as they are.
I was surprised by Generation NeXt and Weapon X most of all here I think – the first two issues of both titles were easily the weakest of the ongoings, but the final two issues of each here really turn things around. I think the focus shift for both of them really helps – Gen NeXt moves away from the unlikeable Kitty and Colossus until the end of the last issue, while Weapon X is more Wolverine-centric now that Jean Grey has moved across to Factor-X. It’s almost like they become the books they were trying to be at the beginning, so it’s a good turnaround.
I do love how all of the disparate story threads tangle together at the end. X-Men: Alpha spat out all these ideas that turned into the ongoing series, which have woven off into their own storylines, only to reconvene as part of X-Men: Omega to put a capstone on the story. Some of them are more important than others, obviously, but everything that goes on in each of the series returns in full force for the conclusion, so my hat is off to the editors that must have had so much trouble corralling this story into shape.
The final issue is both hopeful and depressing, as the Age Of Apocalypse collapses around the characters, while Bishop makes one last attempt to save the timeline. It’s a huge issue full of action and more than a few shocking deaths, and it’s great to see all these characters finally united after being pushed to different edges of the event since the beginning. It’s a good ending, and mirrors the way the story opened quite nicely.
I won’t mention the art again too much, since the same applies as it did to the previous two volumes. I will note that I didn’t expect Roger Cruz to get X-Men: Omega all to himself – he’s not a particularly big name in comics as far as I’m aware, so to snag a gig like that must have been nice for him, and he draws all 48 pages of the story too without any fill-ins so that’s surprising, although he does have about 6 inkers.
Age Of Apocalypse isn’t a flawless story – Apocalypse himself doesn’t feel like enough of a threat even right at the end, but the sheer magnitude of the event and the way that it’s pulled off is something that Marvel should really be proud of. Each book contributes something while having its own identity, and a whole world is created and destroyed in less than six months of comics. The legacy of the Age Of Apocalypse speaks for itself, really.
There’s definitely a sense of finality permeating this entire volume. All of the Age Of Apocalypse ongoings are barrelling towards an ending, and those are all going to contribute to the X-Men: Omega one-shot that brings up the rear. The idea that everything is riding on these teams of X-Men to save all of reality is very obvious, and the stakes really feel as high as they are.
I was surprised by Generation NeXt and Weapon X most of all here I think – the first two issues of both titles were easily the weakest of the ongoings, but the final two issues of each here really turn things around. I think the focus shift for both of them really helps – Gen NeXt moves away from the unlikeable Kitty and Colossus until the end of the last issue, while Weapon X is more Wolverine-centric now that Jean Grey has moved across to Factor-X. It’s almost like they become the books they were trying to be at the beginning, so it’s a good turnaround.
I do love how all of the disparate story threads tangle together at the end. X-Men: Alpha spat out all these ideas that turned into the ongoing series, which have woven off into their own storylines, only to reconvene as part of X-Men: Omega to put a capstone on the story. Some of them are more important than others, obviously, but everything that goes on in each of the series returns in full force for the conclusion, so my hat is off to the editors that must have had so much trouble corralling this story into shape.
The final issue is both hopeful and depressing, as the Age Of Apocalypse collapses around the characters, while Bishop makes one last attempt to save the timeline. It’s a huge issue full of action and more than a few shocking deaths, and it’s great to see all these characters finally united after being pushed to different edges of the event since the beginning. It’s a good ending, and mirrors the way the story opened quite nicely.
I won’t mention the art again too much, since the same applies as it did to the previous two volumes. I will note that I didn’t expect Roger Cruz to get X-Men: Omega all to himself – he’s not a particularly big name in comics as far as I’m aware, so to snag a gig like that must have been nice for him, and he draws all 48 pages of the story too without any fill-ins so that’s surprising, although he does have about 6 inkers.
Age Of Apocalypse isn’t a flawless story – Apocalypse himself doesn’t feel like enough of a threat even right at the end, but the sheer magnitude of the event and the way that it’s pulled off is something that Marvel should really be proud of. Each book contributes something while having its own identity, and a whole world is created and destroyed in less than six months of comics. The legacy of the Age Of Apocalypse speaks for itself, really.
March 20, 2023
This volume brings all the main storylines/titles together for the final showdown against Apocalypse. Some dark choices, far darker than I ever thought they'd go, and some excellent character evolution here. I really enjoyed everyone finally coming together and the big brawl was pretty satisfying. I can't believe I never read this event before now.
February 18, 2019
I've been wanting to finish this saga ever since I received a gift set of Amazing X-Men 1-4. Unfortunately, I didn't have reliable access to a comic store at the time, and tracking down compilations has been an exercise in frustration that has finally, FINALLY borne fruit some 23 years later. I mean, I haven't been searching constantly that entire time, but whenever I DID look, I could find nothing at any bookstore, comic store, comic con, or online store. So that undoubtedly affects my rating of these 3 volumes, which I am reviewing all together.
Placed in the context of someone who grew up on the 90's X-Men cartoon, this storyline inverted everything we thought we knew about mutants and superheroes. Through a misguided and botched attempt to rewrite history, the mutant Legion accidentally killed his own father, Charles Xavier, before the schism between Xavier and his best-friend-turned-archnemesis Magneto. As a result, Magneto devotes himself to fulfilling Charles's dream and founds the X-Men himself. However, without Xavier's leadership, history works out quite differently. A different crop of mutants get recruited to the team. Magneto and his X-Men are unable to stop the rise of Apocalypse, who makes his bid for power much, much sooner than he did in the previous timeline.
As a result, the world without Charles Xavier quickly becomes an apocalyptic (pun intended) wasteland, with the world divided between Apocalypse and the mutant supremacists who joined him, and the human resistance. Some that we know as villains (Magneto, Sabertooth, and Mystique, among others) are now heroes or at least doing their best to resist. Others, whom we know as steadfast heroes (Cyclops, Havok, Beast, and more) are now faithful servants of evil. Some who were dead in the regular timeline are alive here, and vice versa. Even non-mutants are affected, some of whom never became heroes (or villains) at all. Everything is different. It's awesome.
What surprised me while reading the compiled stories from these altered titles is how quickly it was over. Seeing that each title ran for only ~4 issues makes me feel like it ended too quickly. A lot of backstory is hinted at that we never saw play out on the page. A lot more COULD have been done before each of the heroes' various goals (liberating the slave pens, rescuing Illyana, stealing a piece of the M'Kraan Crystal, finding Destiny in Avalon, and so on) came to fruition. I can imagine that extending this alternate universe for an entire year would have been too much at the time, but I really wish they had been able to do so.
Still, it was nice to see all the pieces of the story that I could only guess at back in the day. It's also a great reminder that Marvel has had half a century of experience in interweaving stories between multiple titles, which they've become even more famous for in the movies in the last decade or so.
Placed in the context of someone who grew up on the 90's X-Men cartoon, this storyline inverted everything we thought we knew about mutants and superheroes. Through a misguided and botched attempt to rewrite history, the mutant Legion accidentally killed his own father, Charles Xavier, before the schism between Xavier and his best-friend-turned-archnemesis Magneto. As a result, Magneto devotes himself to fulfilling Charles's dream and founds the X-Men himself. However, without Xavier's leadership, history works out quite differently. A different crop of mutants get recruited to the team. Magneto and his X-Men are unable to stop the rise of Apocalypse, who makes his bid for power much, much sooner than he did in the previous timeline.
As a result, the world without Charles Xavier quickly becomes an apocalyptic (pun intended) wasteland, with the world divided between Apocalypse and the mutant supremacists who joined him, and the human resistance. Some that we know as villains (Magneto, Sabertooth, and Mystique, among others) are now heroes or at least doing their best to resist. Others, whom we know as steadfast heroes (Cyclops, Havok, Beast, and more) are now faithful servants of evil. Some who were dead in the regular timeline are alive here, and vice versa. Even non-mutants are affected, some of whom never became heroes (or villains) at all. Everything is different. It's awesome.
What surprised me while reading the compiled stories from these altered titles is how quickly it was over. Seeing that each title ran for only ~4 issues makes me feel like it ended too quickly. A lot of backstory is hinted at that we never saw play out on the page. A lot more COULD have been done before each of the heroes' various goals (liberating the slave pens, rescuing Illyana, stealing a piece of the M'Kraan Crystal, finding Destiny in Avalon, and so on) came to fruition. I can imagine that extending this alternate universe for an entire year would have been too much at the time, but I really wish they had been able to do so.
Still, it was nice to see all the pieces of the story that I could only guess at back in the day. It's also a great reminder that Marvel has had half a century of experience in interweaving stories between multiple titles, which they've become even more famous for in the movies in the last decade or so.
December 27, 2022
The conclusion to the Age of Apocalypse storyline kind of represents the collection as a whole: it's a mixed bag of some good, some bad, and some that made me question why this was the plan.
I think the good includes the main event stories like Astonishing X-Men and a couple of the peripheral stories (like X-Universe and some of Factor-X).
Then there were stories that had a good premise but the execution was not there. I love Nicieza writing Gambit, for example, but what I wanted from that story was to see more of Gambit and his X-Ternals doing more of the Robin Hood thing rather than going to space.
Then there were stories like Generation Next (which had some of the best art of the whole line) or X-calibre that just seemed pointless in the long run.
Really, I think my problem with this story is that we are seeing the AoA in the 11th hour. I wanted Apocalypse to be more feared and see more of his rise to power. Most of what makes Apocalypse intimidating in this even is told to us rather than shown and then almost immediately, his forces are being defeated and his Horsemen either defecting or losing.
And I know, this is a superhero comic so of course the bad guys will lose, but to me, there needed to be more build-up. The X-Men are not strangers to really dark futures and I know it all gets undone anyways, so what's the harm in showing the bad guys win a little? This felt like skipping Empire Strikes Back and moving on immediately to teaming up with the Ewoks and destroying the Second Death Star.
So, I'm glad I read this all finally and I think the world was interesting and had a ton of potential, but at the end of the day, much of the potential was wasted.
I think the good includes the main event stories like Astonishing X-Men and a couple of the peripheral stories (like X-Universe and some of Factor-X).
Then there were stories that had a good premise but the execution was not there. I love Nicieza writing Gambit, for example, but what I wanted from that story was to see more of Gambit and his X-Ternals doing more of the Robin Hood thing rather than going to space.
Then there were stories like Generation Next (which had some of the best art of the whole line) or X-calibre that just seemed pointless in the long run.
Really, I think my problem with this story is that we are seeing the AoA in the 11th hour. I wanted Apocalypse to be more feared and see more of his rise to power. Most of what makes Apocalypse intimidating in this even is told to us rather than shown and then almost immediately, his forces are being defeated and his Horsemen either defecting or losing.
And I know, this is a superhero comic so of course the bad guys will lose, but to me, there needed to be more build-up. The X-Men are not strangers to really dark futures and I know it all gets undone anyways, so what's the harm in showing the bad guys win a little? This felt like skipping Empire Strikes Back and moving on immediately to teaming up with the Ewoks and destroying the Second Death Star.
So, I'm glad I read this all finally and I think the world was interesting and had a ton of potential, but at the end of the day, much of the potential was wasted.
April 15, 2018
90's comics get a lot of laughs for being over the top and Extreme. But I loved many of them. The Age of Apocalypse storyline is one of my favorites and the finality of the ending felt really haunting. Great work and a must read for X-Men fans.
April 22, 2020
To the very last page, Age of Apocalypse holds up and unlike every other super hero story it actually concludes. I know Marvel has returned to this storyline multiple times since but for the reader this is a self contained story and a consistantly great one at that.
September 4, 2018
the epic conclusion!
January 23, 2020
Very Interesing
March 8, 2020
wow... just wow... i love this event so much. this finale was incredible, heart breaking, nail voting, etc. and now i'm even more mad that x-men ruined apocalypse in the movie
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May 4, 2021Read
November 11, 2016
An astonishing accomplishment. Now I can understand why X-Men Age of Apocalypse is so wonderful. It took a bit of work on my part as a reader. Since this past summer I've been working my way through Uncanny X-men and related titles to fill in my Gap Years, those I'd never read after dropping comics as an older teen-ager/college student. Roughly spanning 1981- where we are now in 1995 with this volume.
Let me first admit, I attempted reading A of A a couple of years ago and couldn't get past dated-ness of the whole thing. And it also seemed a bit difficult to get into. What a fool I was.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude, the book, got me over the difficult to get into thing. The dated-ness fell apart having read the preceding 14 years of the X-Universe.
And wow! What a creative explosion of talent: in a couple of senses.
It's an enormous Marvel event quite unlike anything that's come before it. It's utterly, wholly original. There's also a bevvy of new artists. Artists who are now among Marvel's upper echelon. 5 years into the decade and the 90's have finally arrived. We're finally really and truly reaping the benefit of computers in art, lettering and most of all color. There's a color explosion going on. A huge stark contrast to 80's books that seemed to want to use as few as colors as possible.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, the main story is told now across three trade paperback. They are lovely editions and a slight improvement on the earlier one. In the trades Dawn and Twilight you get the extras but you can skip them if you wish. Dawn has the Blink mini-series and I'd recommend it.
The main story is an epic feast that you'll want to rip through like any good page turner. I do recommend starting with the OOP X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude. It's a much better beginning to the story than what you will find in either the trades or the Omnibus.
Oh, yeah. I totally loved it. Especially Blink, Creed and Morph. Now I get why the Exiles are so beloved. Well, other than being stars of a great series of their own.
Let me first admit, I attempted reading A of A a couple of years ago and couldn't get past dated-ness of the whole thing. And it also seemed a bit difficult to get into. What a fool I was.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude, the book, got me over the difficult to get into thing. The dated-ness fell apart having read the preceding 14 years of the X-Universe.
And wow! What a creative explosion of talent: in a couple of senses.
It's an enormous Marvel event quite unlike anything that's come before it. It's utterly, wholly original. There's also a bevvy of new artists. Artists who are now among Marvel's upper echelon. 5 years into the decade and the 90's have finally arrived. We're finally really and truly reaping the benefit of computers in art, lettering and most of all color. There's a color explosion going on. A huge stark contrast to 80's books that seemed to want to use as few as colors as possible.
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse, the main story is told now across three trade paperback. They are lovely editions and a slight improvement on the earlier one. In the trades Dawn and Twilight you get the extras but you can skip them if you wish. Dawn has the Blink mini-series and I'd recommend it.
The main story is an epic feast that you'll want to rip through like any good page turner. I do recommend starting with the OOP X-Men: Age of Apocalypse Prelude. It's a much better beginning to the story than what you will find in either the trades or the Omnibus.
Oh, yeah. I totally loved it. Especially Blink, Creed and Morph. Now I get why the Exiles are so beloved. Well, other than being stars of a great series of their own.
June 3, 2016
Magneto's grand scheme to reverse history is coming to fruition. Nightcrawler brings the mutant Destiny to New York to confirm Bishop's claim that the alternate, proper history has Charles Xavier alive and Apocalypse no where in sight (so, a better world). Colossus has freed his sister from a horrible prison in the Rockies and brings her to help get Bishop back in time so he can prevent Charles's death. Gambit has gotten a piece of the M'kraan Crystal also needed to travel back in time and to other timelines. A lot of other plot lines are added to keep things exciting.
While the book does move quickly to an expected conclusion, the story still feels like it is padded with a lot of unnecessary subplots. Sure, they add color and let the reader see re-imagined X-Men and have some cool action sequences. But they could easily be dropped with hardly any consequences for the main story.
The art is a bit grungier than usual comic art and is interesting for a while but gets a little wearisome for me. About half of the X-Men have tattoos around their eyes or wild, unkempt hair, which is supposed to make them look edgier, but looks more like a fad from the 1990s (when the comics were written). I understand the choices narratively but don't find them enjoyable.
For a big epic sprawling story The Age of Apocalypse ultimately feels rather ho-hum. It lacks any great moments or character insights. The drama is as compelling as most "fix the time stream" stories, which I usually find not too compelling. All the big sacrifices people make in the alternate time seem less weighty when that time is basically erased by the end of the story.
Overall, this is an average series. There is a fourth volume with supplemental material and stories but I've already had too many extras, so I won't be reading number four.
While the book does move quickly to an expected conclusion, the story still feels like it is padded with a lot of unnecessary subplots. Sure, they add color and let the reader see re-imagined X-Men and have some cool action sequences. But they could easily be dropped with hardly any consequences for the main story.
The art is a bit grungier than usual comic art and is interesting for a while but gets a little wearisome for me. About half of the X-Men have tattoos around their eyes or wild, unkempt hair, which is supposed to make them look edgier, but looks more like a fad from the 1990s (when the comics were written). I understand the choices narratively but don't find them enjoyable.
For a big epic sprawling story The Age of Apocalypse ultimately feels rather ho-hum. It lacks any great moments or character insights. The drama is as compelling as most "fix the time stream" stories, which I usually find not too compelling. All the big sacrifices people make in the alternate time seem less weighty when that time is basically erased by the end of the story.
Overall, this is an average series. There is a fourth volume with supplemental material and stories but I've already had too many extras, so I won't be reading number four.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews