Age Of Apocalypse #1 (Marvel)
A world where nothing seems the same. Where people once heroes, are now tyrants. Where we humans are on the verge of extinction. Where mankind’s last hope seemingly lies in the hands of one William Stryker.
Confused? You shouldn’t be. Welcome to an extension of the acclaimed Age of Apocalypse (AoA).
Now I know many of you, if not all, are familiar with the original Age of Apocalypse saga. This one will make you want more. The story so far says that though Apocalypse is dead, his hatred and his mission live on. The humans are losing. All hope lies in the hands of an unlikely team called The X-terminated.
The Good:
The story so far is intriguing. It makes me want to go back and read it again. Gripping, exciting and left me wanting more and more and more. The artwork is fantastic, the colouring style gives it the perfect feel of a world in chaos and disarray.
The fact that the story is being narrated by a human reporter from the main Marvel Universe (a.k.a Universe 616) adds a nice touch. He is transported to the AoA by Dark Beast, a resident of this world who somehow got pushed to the 616 universe when Apocalypse was killed - as were a few others - and has been a thorn in many sides since.
And the big-bad carried over from the (re)introduction of AoA recently in Uncanny X-Force is actually Wolverine, once a great hero called Weapon X, now a tyrant known as Weapon Omega who is carrying on the mission of Apocalypse.
The Bad:
The members of The X-terminated are a strange choice for me. I mean that their counter parts are, well, characters we’ve come to know and hate. BUT, they are different here. It would be nice I suppose to see a new evolution for them.
The status of Jean Grey and Sabretooth - changing who they are so much was and still is bold.
It’s just little things like this which make me think twice. Let’s see what the future may hold for all of them.
The Funny:
Even in a dark, devastated world, life has a way of throwing you a funny bone.
Our team of the X-terminated - William Stryker as Prophet. Graydon Creed as Horror Show (who’s costume looks straight out of the Army of Two video game).
Stryker knocking the s**t out of Sabretooth.
Graydon Creed screaming for lots of Coffee in a bar.
Graydon telling someone to “See the Shiny knife” in the middle of a fight.
SCORE : 8.5 / 10.
