Theron Couch
Charles Xavier died in 1995, and everything changed. Every X book came to a screeching halt. Nothing quite like this had happened before, and X-Men fans collectively shouted, “WTF!” Thirty years have passed, and Age of Apocalypse still reigns as one of the best and most memorable X events ever. For me it remains the gold standard of all comic book events. So what better time than the 30th anniversary to review, gush over, critique, and otherwise talk about Age of Apocalypse?
But of course, before the Age of Apocalypse, there was…
Charles Xavier’s son, seemingly brain dead since being inhabited by the Shadow King during the Muir Island Saga, wakes up and decides to give his dad a gift. His plan is to travel back in time to Israel and kill Erik Lehnsherr before he and Xavier split philosophies and Erik became Magneto. Legion’s jaunt back in time accidentally pulls Storm, Iceman, Psylocke, and Bishop with him. All five lose their memories temporarily. Legion regains them when his powers manifest accidentally. The four X-Men get some of their memories back after Cable travels back and gives them a telepathic nudge. In the present, the M’Kraan Crystal has destabilized and galaxy after galaxy is being consumed by an advancing crystalline wave. Back in the past, the X-Men fail to stop Legion, who is poised to kill Erik. Xavier jumps in the way of Legion’s attack, dying in Erik’s place. With Xavier dead, Legion, Storm, Iceman, and Psylocke get sucked out of existence. Only Bishop remains. Meanwhile in the present, the universe ends for all the X titles.
What follows is a handy, dandy Legion tracker.
X-Factor #108
W: John Francis Moore & Todd Dezago | P: Jan Duursema | I: Al Milgrom | C: Glynis Oliver | L: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
X-Factor #108 is basically “Mystique Quest” as X-Factor follows the assassin who they believe is dead but who is actually alive and planning on killing Legion in revenge for him killing Destiny in Uncanny X-Men #255 when his mind was still fractured into different identities (got that?). This issue has really nothing to do with Legion Quest (and isn’t branded as such), but it adds a little backstory to Legion and Destiny.
X-Factor #109
W: John Francis Moore & Todd Dezago | P: Jan Duursema | I: Al Milgrom | C: Glynis Oliver | L: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
X-Factor spends the issue chasing Mystique, but she’s no longer relevant for our purposes. It’s revealed that Legion’s mind isn’t fractured anymore and the real David personality is in charge. Legion sees Destiny in a dream and apologizes for killing her before insisting he’s “gonna make it all better.” He says the same thing in what may or may not be a telepathic conversation with his father (which is actually happening in Uncanny X-Men #319). At the end of the issue Legion floats away.
Uncanny X-Men #319
W: Scott Lobdell | P: Steve Epting | I: Dan Green & Tim Townsend | C: Steve Buccellato, Paul Becton & Matt Hicks | L: Chris Eliopoulos
Uncanny X-Men #319 is a very quiet issue, focusing on character interaction in the calm between Phalanx Covenant and Legion Quest. Warren and Betsy’s relationship is advanced, and this is a key issue for readers tracking Lobdell’s long running Iceman character arc. This issue also features the full conversation between Legion (pretending to be Erik) and Xavier that was hinted at in X-Factor #109. Somewhat intriguing is that Xavier comes close to doing to himself what writers have been doing to him for over 20 years: deconstructing his influence, undermining his moral authority, and pushing back on the idea that the world would absolutely be better if he hadn’t faced opposition. In the process of doing so, Xavier essentially tells Legion, still pretending to be Erik, why his plan won’t work (even had it been correctly executed).
X-Men #39
W: Fabian Nicieza | P: Terry Dodson | I: Matt Ryan | C: Kevin Somers, Marie Javins & Digital Chameleon | L: Bill Oakley
The story focused on Scott’s grandfather is intriguing as an overall human examination. But it doesn’t really connect to Scott in an emotional way. X-Men #39’s Legion component is the weakest from the issues that precede Legion Quest proper. It returns to Legion’s fixation on Destiny as a catalyst for his upcoming actions but doesn’t feel as emotionally connected as the scenes in previous issues.
Uncanny X-Men #320 – essential issue, Legion Quest Part 1
W: Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid | P: Roger Cruz | I: Tim Townsend | C: Steve Buccellato | L: Bill Oakley
Legion Quest proper kicks off strong in Uncanny X-Men #320. The in media res beginning is effective and possibly essential in this case. The short sequence that introduces Legion’s presence in the desert might have provided a viable opening. But the brief dialogue with Legion could have ground the issue to a halt just as it was approaching an extended action sequence.
Narrative wise, the issue keeps its cards close to its vest, merely dropping hints about the event’s parallel storylines, Legion in the past and the M’Kraan Crystal in the present. This can be dangerous. Backloading exposition can drag down the plot and character stories just as they are approaching the climax. For now, though, it makes for a compelling first issue.
Cruz’s art frequently employs sharp angles, even sometimes with characters. But it’s worth noting that his style is very restrained compared to what he is about to serve up in Age of Apocalypse. Townsend creates thick outlines at times, but not distractingly so. Their work on characters in closeup gives almost everyone a harsh edge that wouldn’t work in all circumstances but serves this issue well.
X-Men #40 – essential issue, Legion Quest Part 2
W: Fabian Nicieza | P: Andy Kubert | I: Matt Ryan | C: Kevin Somers | L: Bill Oakley
X-Men #40 moves at much slower pace than Uncanny X-Men #320. For the purposes of the larger story, this works well. It’s a pause between storms since a second confrontation with Legion is a foregone conclusion. That said, the brief scene with the amnesiac X-Men doesn’t play as well. It’s necessary but little more than a status check–”Remember these guys?”
Nicieza does a good job introducing the Xavier/Erik relationship of this era. X-Men #40 makes clear that the two characters enjoy a friendship despite keeping secrets about themselves. These two characters are central to the issue and the larger event. Legion Quest can’t work if their relationship isn’t explored and believable. Nicieza treats them well.
Kubert doesn’t miss an opportunity to deliver an action pose in this issue despite a decided lack of action. He also isn’t very subtle when it comes to characters’ facial expressions and/or physicality when they’re not fighting. But in an issue that is narratively slower, the intense art helps keep the pages turning.
Uncanny X-Men #321 – essential issue, Legion Quest Part 3
W: Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid | P: Ron Garney | I: Tim Townsend, Dan Green & Josef Rubinein | C:Steve Buccellato | L: Chris Eliopoulos
A lot of ground remains to be covered when Uncanny X-Men #321 begins. Despite being halfway through its four issues, Legion Quest is in a comic book holding pattern at this point. Perhaps the biggest story point that feels like it’s running in place is the partly amnesiac Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, and Storm. To solve that, Shi’ar time travel technology (plot device one) sends Cable (plot device two) back in time long enough to unlock their memories.
Second to that is the mystery of exactly what Legion’s plan is. The last page finally reveals the truth of it (at least as far as Legion Quest is concerned–previous non-essential issues strongly hinted at his intentions). The cliffhanger reveal of what Legion’s plan is works well enough, but it steps all over the four X-Men getting their memories back and completely ignores the controversial incident between Gaby and Legion.
Garney’s art is a pretty good Andy Kubert imitation (or their styles at this time were just very similar) and he provides a kind of visual throughline from X-Men #40 and into X-Men #41.
Cable #20
W: Jeph Loeb | P: Ian Churchill | I: Bud Larrosa w/ Hilary Barta & W.C. Carrani | C: Mike Thomas | L: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
Running concurrently with the present day events in Uncanny X-Men #321 and X-Men #41, Cable #20 elaborates on various characters’ final moments. Obviously Cable takes center stage–he shares a heartfelt moment with Cyclops and Jean, his “parents” from Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, and he and Domino share a passionate kiss. Beast and Angel have character beats that overlap with X-Men #41. This is as close to an essential issue that a non-essential issue can get. For readers who want more time with these characters as they face their impending deaths, it’s a must have.
X-Men #41 – essential issue, Legion Quest Part 4
W: Fabian Nicieza | P: Andy Kubert & Ron Garney | I: Matt Ryan | C: Kevin Somers & Digital Chameleon | L: Bill Oakley & NJQ
This runs the risk of being one of the most whiplash inducing comics ever. The story repeatedly jumps between an ongoing fight of great intensity and quiet, simple moments of characters facing and accepting inevitable death. Fortunately, Nicieza doesn’t lose track of the more emotional beats in either time period–especially between Xavier and Erik. The result is a throughline–no matter how big a shift between the bombastic and the quiet, Nicieza never loses track of the emotional centers of either.
Kubert, Garney, and Ryan handle the pure spectacle of the battle very well. The styles don’t match entirely, but they are similar enough that there are no jarring transitions. That’s certainly a risk because the breaks in who does what on which pages is not a clean one, happening between scene changes or split between past and present.
Legion’s Bungled Quest
Though leading into a major X book event (easily one of the most successful and memorable), Legion Quest is itself a kind of event. As a matter of construction, Legion Quest has tie-ins beyond the main four issues (one of which, Cable #20, is almost required reading). Further, the narrative’s stakes are nothing short of universe shattering. Age of Apocalypse could very well not exist, and Legion Quest would still carry the potential for a major X crossover.
That said, Legion Quest is not without its flaws–one of which is considerable.
Legion Quest’s exposition is very backloaded. Parts 2 and 3 advance the plot very little, dedicating most of their space to developing Erik, Xavier, and their burgeoning friendship. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Age of Apocalypse rests entirely on Xavier’s willingness to sacrifice his life for Erik and Erik’s willingness to take up Xavier’s dream. Unfortunately that means X-Men #41 has the dual responsibility of featuring Legion’s entire assault on Erik and the impending end of the universe in the present.
The only place where the story totally drops the ball is in not offering any backstory about the M’Kraan Crystal. This will ultimately come up during Age of Apocalypse proper. But for now, readers not familiar with the history have to just go with what they’re being told and ignore that no one in the present seems to be trying to fix the problem.
Yet those flaws pale in the face of the giant elephant in the timestream: Legion changing his appearance so he looks like his father in order for him to (apparently) hook up with his mother. And to go even further, his mother’s appearance at the end of Uncanny X-Men #321 suggests it wasn’t consensual. It’s possible Lobdell had a complex idea that justified this sequence. But if he did, it did not make it into the finished issue. As a result, it just sits there, a very uncomfortable moment that has nothing to do with the larger story and which has aged particularly badly.
These shortcomings don’t undermine what Legion Question gets right, though. Something not often looked at is how this entire story rests on Legion’s attempt to find approval from a father who is never going to give it. That idea is repeated over and over from X-Factor #109 onward. Legion’s chosen means of helping his father may be high concept and somewhat convoluted, but his motivation isn’t. In a strange way, it almost makes him sympathetic despite what he is trying to do.
Some of Legion Quest’s best material are the present day sequences that see the X-Men face their certain death with the end of existence. The Gambit/Rogue interaction is particularly memorable and has consequences that reverberate for years. Likely overlooked is Hank’s rumination on dedicating his life to science above all else only to face a fate that science can’t save him from.
The Cable tie-in, though not essential to the story, adds even more depth–especially where Scott, Jean, and Cable are concerned. The writers of all three series infuse these sequences with a strange peacefulness. As opposed to their action packed missions when everything is on the line and anything could happen to any of them, the X-Men face their inevitable death here with peace and even acceptance. In the end, they go quiet into that good night. The result is some of the best pure character work you’ll ever find in an X book.
The most important thing Legion Question had to nail, though, is the Xavier/Erik relationship. It had to be strong enough to make Xavier’s sacrifice and Erik’s change in philosophy believable. The former wasn’t too difficult given how Xavier was written at the time. But Erik’s complete change in philosophy is a harder sell and required much more work. Large portions of X-Men #40 and Uncanny X-Men #321 are devoted to establishing their relationship and how their implicit debate about the future of mutants was in its earliest stages. X-Men #41 builds it up even further as the two men battle Legion, and Erik expresses shock that he could become the man Legion describes. Lobdell, Waid, and Nicieza stick the landing here and successfully create the character that will believably become the Magneto that Age of Apocalypse needs.
Legion Quest and Age of Apocalypse brought me back to Marvel comics. Changing the past by killing Xavier, putting Magneto in his role, and renaming the entire X line? It’s impossible to explain the real-time shock to modern readers who weren’t there to experience it.
But that is quite enough about Legion Quest…
