Apocalypse is back… again.
The X-Men franchise is still in the process of finding itself in the All-New, All-Different Marvel era. While the overall quality of the franchise has improved over the past several months, only one title (All-New Wolverine) feels like it’s living up to its full potential. With that in mind, maybe a three-month crossover isn’t necessarily what these books need at the moment. This issue kicks off “The Apocalypse Wars,” as the not-so-merry mutants again clash with their immortal foe. It’s a solid start, but it’s very telling that the best material in this issue is that which focuses on the team dynamics, not on setting up the conflict to come.
Jeff Lemire’s script starts off strong as Storm sags under the mounting pressure of leading her team and begins rekindling her relationship with the now much older Wolverine. Once he throws a jealous Forge into the mix, Lemire has all the makings of good character drama. Humberto Ramos’ art usually isn’t well-suited to quiet moments like that, but somehow it works here. Ramos conveys the weariness of both Storm and Old Man Logan, the latter of whom seems to have every tragedy and hardship in his life chiseled into his grizzled face. Ramos also impresses during the alter action sequences, especially as Cerebra partakes in a Godzilla-sized wrestling match with Sugar Man. Some of his panels are too cramped for their own good, however, and there are the usual cases where his exaggerated facial work isn’t quite matched to the tone of a given panel.
Sadly, the issue slowly goes downhill from there as the X-Men confront Sugar Man (never the most compelling of X-villains) and the issue lays the groundwork for the Apocalypse conflict to come. There’s an unfortunate amount of expository dialogue here for a book that’s only been around for a few months. This series has often disappointed in its habit of reusing old X-Men tropes, and there’s not a great deal of excitement in seeing the X-Men visit yet another dystopian future and encounter yet another group of familiar heroes transformed into Horsemen. The real challenge for this crossover is going to be in establishing how it differs from previous Apocalypse-related conflicts rather than banking on nostalgia and the appeal of having the “real” Apocalypse back in action. Been there, done that.
This issue also includes a backup tale that, while having seemingly nothing to do with the larger crossover, allows Lemire and artist Victor Ibanez to focus on Magik and her new charge, Sapna. It’s great to see the relationship between Illyana and Doctor Strange from Brian Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men come back into play, though Sapna herself could stand to be fleshed out beyond her power set. Ibanez’s more naturalistic art style suits the tone oft he story, and he’s no slouch when it comes to rendering otherworldly monsters either.
It seems a little soon to be kicking off a crossover among the three core X-Men books when all three series are still trying to establish their voice and build a compelling new status quo for the franchise. And it’s not surprising that Extraordinary X-men is generally at its best when it’s focusing on the team’s interpersonal drama rather than the impending clash with Apocalypse. This crossover won’t succeed unless it can find ways to shake up the familiar X-Men vs. Apocalypse formula.
