“The entire project, I believe, started with editor Bob Harras showering. It was at some point within that lathering cycle that he came up with a question.” –Fabian Nicieza
“Bob and I eventually got together in person. We started talking about ‘How can we create a world where the X-Men aren’t really the X-Men?’ Eventually, we decided that the only thing that would really change the team is if Professor X had died. So we’re like, ‘Can we go back in time and kill Professor X?'” –Scott Lobdell
“Bob was a big Star Trek fan. I think the Next Generation episode “Yesterday’s Enterprise” had a huge impact on the conception of this story. That idea of Tasha Yar getting a second chance. This other new reality is created, and it inspired what we wanted to do with AoA.” –Ben Raab
X-Men Alpha – essential
W: Scott Lobdell & Mark Waid | P: Roger Cruze w/ Steve Epting | I: Tim Townsend w/ Dan Panosian | C: Steve Buccellatto | L: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
It’s been years since Legion kill Charles Xavier was killed in Israel. Apocalypse has conquered North America and culled most of its human population. The X-Men, under Magneto’s leadership, do what they can to save the remaining humans from Apocalypse’s forces. Enter Bishop, now an old man with fractured memories. Coming face to face with Magneto for the first time since Israel, Bishop accuses him of murdering Charles Xavier. He further claims that this world is wrong in some way, though his details are vague. On the off chance that Bishop is correct, Magneto has Rogue explore Bishop’s memories and learns that he comes from a timeline where Charles Xavier is alive and Apocalypse hasn’t come to power. As Magneto considers whether or not to act on what he’s learned (or even if he can), a crystal wave approaches Earth.
X-Men Alpha’s plot is barebones at best. It’s almost entirely a world building and character introduction exercise. It smartly introduces the world via its existing characters as opposed to a fish-out-of-water viewpoint character who knows things are wrong. It’s true that Bishop brings with him the obligatory memories of the original timeline; however, in Age of Apocalypse, he is more of a catalyst than a character. He induces Magneto to action but does little else useful to the overall storyline. Bishop will pop up in Age of Apocalypse issues here and there for some dialogue and later to have his memories explored by Apocalypse, but at no point is he a main character (in contrast to the Flashpoint event years later when Barry is the viewpoint character who not only knows the world has changed but is the driving force to fix it).
Obviously characters living in an alternate timeline wouldn’t know they’re living in an alternate timeline. But the issue’s creators go one step further and add a story subtitle: “A new era in the lives of the Amazing X-Men.” That phrase implies, especially in light of one of the titles being Amazing X-Men, that this is how the world has always been. The readers know better, of course, but it’s a clever notion–”Actually, it’s been this way all along.”
This first Age of Apocalypse issue also makes one thing abundantly clear. The brief sequence where Rogue examines Bishop’s memories establishes that this timeline branched off from the events depicted in Legion Quest. Indeed, X-Men #41 featured a very brief scene of Apocalypse realizing the time for him to act had arrived much sooner than anticipated. Later Age of Apocalypse issues will add more detail, but it’s clear that the writers tried to make the consequences as logical as possible.
Magneto, Xavier, and the Better X-Men
Interestingly, the X-Men in the Age of Apocalypse feel like a more cohesive unit than those in the original timeline. That is clear in X-Men Alpha, and it will only become more evident as the event proceeds.
A large part of that cohesion is the bond between Pietro and Magneto and the marriage between Magneto and Rogue, both already on display here but seen even more in later issues. Rogue especially provides a key bit of stability. Indeed, Magneto has what Charles Xavier never did–a true family support system. Yes, both Xavier and Magneto exist within a found family situation. But it’s obvious here, even a decade before writers began deconstructing Xavier and pulling characters away from him, that Magneto possesses something Xavier never did. It very much balances the character.
Even so, Magneto’s own thoughts in X-Men Alpha (and even more so in subsequent issues) make clear that he believes he has failed to live up to Charles Xavier’s dream and in that way is responsible for what has happened–for what never would have happened had Xavier survived. Of course, if we return to X-Men #41 (and as we’ll see later in X-Men Chronicles #1), it’s clear that Apocalypse moved much earlier in this timeline than in the original one–and not because of anything Charles Xavier wasn’t alive to do. He was instead motivated by the very battle in which Xavier fell. Had Xavier survived, Apocalypse’s earlier assault on humanity would still have been a logical outcome of Legion’s attack.
This entire dynamic is a fascinating reminder of how both Magneto and Charles Xavier were viewed in this era. The writers walk the line of not blaming Magneto for Apocalypse’s success while still suggesting his stewardship of Xavier’s dream is inferior. The clear implication is that Charles Xavier is necessary for the best possible human/mutant relations outcome. This argument actually flies in the face of the dream sequence conversation between him and Legion in Uncanny X-Men #319 where he discounts his own importance. In setting up Legion Quest, Lobdell actually made the case for why Xavier isn’t as important as Age of Apocalypse suggests.
The Bad, the Worse, and the Ugly
Magneto was not the only one to switch sides, of course. A few villains ended up on the side of the angels–the biggest and most surprising being Sabretooth. The writers didn’t really neuter him, though. He’s still a “kill first, no questions later” kind of guy. X-Men Alpha also offers a look at three wild cards. Logan and Jean are off on their own, working with the humans in Europe, independent of the X-Men. And Angel runs a club and is loyal mostly to money and personal safety. But the big surprises are all the characters reimagined as villains.
The most shocking change isn’t even a hero that turned evil in Age of Apocalypse. Instead, it’s a villain who became strangely reasonable–at least relative to the original timeline. Sinister is by no means on some kind of redemptive journey in Age of Apocalypse, but he also isn’t out to see the world destroyed–something Apocalypse himself has no problem with.
Sinister has also taken on a kind of father figure role with Scott Summers. As evil mutant henchmen vying for control of Apocalypse’s empire go, Sinister really isn’t so bad.
The Summers brothers going bad is somehow not surprising. Sinister is connected to Scott’s past. And even in the mid-90s, Alex is already written as a jerk with a sometimes dubious moral compass. The fun factor in the Summers’ switch in loyalties is the dynamic of Alex being above Scott in the chain of command. Age of Apocalypse was and still is one of the very few times that Scott isn’t in charge (discounting Xavier’s presence as he almost never led in the field). Yet even here, Scott’s self-righteous streak remains intact.
Factor X and Gambit and the X-Ternals feature still more good guys gone bad. The final count of heroes turned villains is much higher than the reverse. With more backstory there could be an interesting nature vs. nurture discussion to be had. There’s something of that here with Sinister and Scott. But in most cases the writers don’t go that deep.
Then there’s McCoy. No original timeline hero became as truly evil as he did. At first a Hank McCoy who experiments on and tortures living people seems implausible if not impossible. But with only a few moments’ thought it becomes believable. The real Hank McCoy experimented on himself, after all–that’s how he became blue and furry in the first place. As Legion Quest drew to a close, Hank ruminated on how he had devoted his life to science, viewing it as the solution to all problems. The only difference between the two McCoys is a sense of morality (and the original timeline version even by this point had made a few dubious choices). In any case, morality is not something that the Age of Apocalypse has in abundance.
The Art of Apocalypse
X-Men Alpha is the first opportunity readers have to see most of the event’s major characters. They will all stay largely on model in every series that features them. Many of them have a larger than life quality–seemingly bigger and more powerful than their original timeline counterparts. Apocalypse is the best example. He is almost totally redesigned and is a more imposing figure than he ever was in the original timeline. X-Men Alpha delivers the most memorable Age of Apocalypse depiction..
Larger than life isn’t limited to Apocalypse, though. Magneto seems to have shoulder pads that go on for days and days. McCoy is an overmuscled beast who actually does deserve the name. Holocaust, an Age of Apocalypse creation, is massive. The list goes on.
Most of the other characters simply have an edge to them. Various tattoos, shorter or longer hair relative to their counterparts, the occasional beard or missing limb, and so forth.
Looking at this issue specifically, Cruz’s work is a very good match for this world. His style in X-Men Alpha is broad and exaggerated compared to his preceding issues of Uncanny X-Men. His first Uncanny X-Men issue following the Age of Apocalypse hews closer to his work here than his work prior. Beast is a prime example. He is fairly restrained in appearance prior to X-men Alpha, then almost cartoonishly evil here, and finally broad and exaggerated (but not evil looking) afterward.
Other artists make similar choices, either developing a style specific to Age of Apocalypse or pushing their own style in a new direction following Age of Apocalypse.
X-Men Alpha is an impressive tone-setter, both narratively and visually. It sets the stage for the world, leaving the larger plot’s nuts and bolts to the new series’ first issues to follow. And by far the most important of those is Astonishing X-Men #1.