{"id":10149,"date":"2024-06-12T22:37:43","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T21:37:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=10149"},"modified":"2024-06-12T22:50:03","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T21:50:03","slug":"x-men-heir-of-apocalypse-1-annotations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=10149","title":{"rendered":"X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #1 annotations"},"content":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>X-MEN: HEIR OF APOCALYPSE #1<\/strong>
\nWriter: Steve Foxe<\/strong>
\nPenciller: Netho Diaz<\/strong>
\nInker: JP Mayer<\/strong>
\nColour Artist: Alex Sinclair<\/strong>
\nLetterer: Clayton Cowles<\/strong>
\nEditor: Annalise Bissa<\/strong><\/p>\n

And on we go. X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse<\/em> is a four-issue miniseries shipping over June and July. It has a weird position on the schedule. On the one hand, this is one of the first X-books from the new office, it picks up a major plot point from X-Men<\/em> #35, and the premise generally seems as if it ought to be significant. On the other hand, the fact that it appears between the end of Krakoa and the launch of the new X-Men titles – alongside a bunch of Wolverine minis and Blood Hunt<\/em> tie-ins – positions it as a decidedly second-tier release. Still, it’s as significant as X-books are going to get in the remainder of June.<\/p>\n

As I said in the post about Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt \/ X-Men<\/em><\/a>, I’m thinking of altering the format of these posts in what I expect to be a less inter-connected line going forward. Besides, the new regime seems to be much more relaxed about doing its own footnotes. So let’s see how the approach I used for the FCBD issue works out here…<\/p>\n

THE STATE OF MUTANTKIND<\/strong><\/p>\n

We’re after X-Men<\/em> #35 but before any of the relaunched X-Men titles, and so this is another book which is awkwardly coy about the status quo of the mutants from Earth.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Arakko is another matter. It still exists, and it looks like the Arakko mutants who came to Earth to fight Orchis in Fall of the House of X<\/em> returned home afterwards. The population are rebuilding after the civil war, and Apocalypse is in charge. At least according to him, he’s still guiding this society in the way that he used to guide Krakoa. For Apocalypse, in a way, this is continuity Krakoa.<\/p>\n

The Krakoan gates no longer work, but travel to Arakko is still possible (at least for Angel). We’re not told how he got there, but he does say that it wasn’t “easy” – so presumably he either called in some favours from the superhero community, or just got someone like Magik to transport him. Apocalypse seems to have no particular difficulty in communicating from Arakko to Earth.<\/p>\n

APOCALYPSE<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we last saw Apocalypse in X-Men<\/em> #35, he was rebuffed in his attempt to reclaim his leadership role on Krakoa, and decided that it was time to “choose an heir”. This issue positions his reasons a little differently: Apocalypse is devoting himself to Arakko, and so he wants someone else to take up his role of guiding mutantkind on Earth. He also claims on page 23 that he offered to guide Earth and “was rejected”, which isn’t actually what happened in X-Men<\/em> #35 – he was rejected by the Krakoans, not by the mutants who remained on Earth. Either way, though, he seems to have accepted that he’s not wanted as a leader on Earth, and he’s looking for someone else to rise to the task.<\/p>\n

To this end, he’s dusted off a test facility that he built centuries ago (with statues of the original Horsemen at the front), and he’s going to use it to test twelve candidates. According to him, the contest is “to determine who might succeed me in my great work on Earth” and “ensure that the mutants of Earth are ready to meet the challenges they will face in the days ahead.” Quite what the winner gets is not specified. Forge says that he was “promised no duels to the death”, but there are certainly a lot of death traps around. Admittedly, they don’t seem very effective against of the contestants.<\/p>\n

Apocalypse hasn’t clearly reverted to villain mode here. He reiterates his Hickman-era back story of being separated from his family when Arakko and Krakoa were parted, and his mission of preparing the mutants left behind to be strong enough for Arakko’s return. He sees Krakoa and Arakko as having been “made whole once more” during the Krakoan era (which is a bit of a stretch, since they were on different planets), and he aims in the long run to reunite mutantkind again. He talks in utopian terms about the loss of Krakoa and how his successor will restore it.<\/p>\n

It’s not entirely clear what Apocalypse expects his successor to do. He approaches a range of mutants and invites them to participate in his tournament; he tries to persuade people to join in but doesn’t press the point if they refuse. Many of the people he approaches have no discernible interest in following in his footsteps and some of them are openly there just to find out what he’s playing at. Most of them (but not all) are heroes. Most of them are more interested in co-operating than in fighting. Apocalypse has assured them that they are not expected to fight one anotherIt’s possible that Apocalypse is planning to do something to keep the winner line (as Archangel assumes), but it’s also possible that Apocalypse genuinely wants and expects his “heir” to go their own way.<\/p>\n

It might be significant that there are twelve contestants in his tournament, since Apocalypse had some connection with the Twelve back in the day (albeit that it was eventually revealed just to be a bunch of mutants who he could use to power himself up).<\/p>\n

THE CONTESTANTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rictor<\/strong> is back to treating Apocalypse as a spiritual mentor He’s delighted to have been approached by Apocalypse for this tournament, despite their argument in X-Men<\/em> #35. He’s aware that Apocalypse had planned for him to represent the element of earth in his ritual in X-Men Red<\/em> #17 and wound up having to substitute Sunfire in the role; he clearly feels that he somehow let Apocalypse down. He’s very keen indeed to win this tournament – he feels sure that this is the purpose that Apocalypse was grooming him for throughout Excalibur<\/em>. After all, Apocalypse seems to be asking for nothing more than the sort of leadership Rictor always approved of on Krakoa.<\/p>\n

Despite his enthusiasm to win, Rictor is more than happy to work with his fellow X-Men to overcome Apocalypse’s traps – that’s what being a mutant is all about, right?<\/p>\n

Mirage<\/strong> says that she had to “be convinced” to join this tournament, but doesn’t explain what the argument was. She has little apparent interest in winning, and as soon as an explosion goes off in the area, she abandons the contest to focus on doing hero stuff.<\/p>\n

Gorgon<\/strong>, who died in “X of Swords” and was resurrected with a childlike persona, has reverted to his original personality. He explains that he “died again” (in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic<\/em> #55, back in October 2022) and was reset to his true self when he passed through the Waiting Room. This seems consistent with Fall of the House of X<\/em> #4, which implied that Wrongslide would be restored to his original personality when resurrected. Apparently he was shoved to the back of the queue until Rise of the Powers of X<\/em> happened – he tells us that he missed the fall of Krakoa, and blames it on “power-mad fools” who “undermined” the nation. It’s not entirely clear who he has in mind, or whose version of events he’s relying on.<\/p>\n

We get a single panel flashback of Apocalypse inviting Gorgon to join the contest, on the grounds that he’s “ruthless”. Gorgon seems to have just finished killing some people in a bar fight. Gorgon is <\/em>willing to follow Mirage’s lead and investigate the explosion, but only because he thinks it could be part of the trial.<\/p>\n

Mr Sinister<\/strong> is still getting to grips with rebuilding his resources after the fall of Krakoa. We’re not told why Apocalypse invited him, but of course he was one of Sinister’s creations in the first place (or at least, the original Nathaniel Essex was, being transformed into the first Mr Sinister in Further Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix<\/em>). Sinister treats Apocalypse’s physical death traps with mild amusement, and is confident that nobody present can kill him “in any way that matters”. That said, he does submit to being held at gunpoint by Cable, so apparently he can <\/em>be hurt by relatively conventional weapons. Possibly he’s back to using back-up clones, and while he’d survive a “death” here, he’d still be eliminated from the contest. He evidently thinks there’s a prize to be won here. He only goes to investigate the explosion because Exodus forces him to; he tries to sneak away to get on with the original plot.<\/p>\n

Cable<\/strong> is a particularly remarkable person for Apocalypse to invite, given that Cable grew up in a world dominated by Apocalypse and views Apocalypse as his archenemy. Cable pretty much claims that he’s only come along to find out what Apocalypse is up to. He’s willing to help the other contestants.<\/p>\n

Armageddon Girl<\/strong> is the former Nature Girl, making her first appearance in a print comic since being drastically retooled in a lengthy X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic<\/em> storyline. Basically, she’s gone completely off the deep end after everyone else rejected her turn to eco-terrorism, and even Gaea couldn’t talk her back to her senses. True to this new persona, Armageddon Girl is absolutely convinced that she’s the person to steer the planet. She’s dismissive of Cable’s attempts to help her, and of Cypher’s concern for her mental health.<\/p>\n

Exodus<\/strong> was last seen fighting Apocalypse in X-Men<\/em> #35, and despite some threats by Apocalypse in that issue, he still seems to have his full power. Apocalypse reminded us in that issue that he had created Exodus in the first place, by ramping up his powers in the Black Knight: Exodus<\/em> one-shot. While Exodus has accepted the invitation, he seems to be here simply to keep an eye on Apocalypse. He views the contest with disdain and calls Apocalypse “the Great Satan”. That said, he’s still offended that Sinister was admitted to a contest supposedly intended to steer the destiny of mutantkind. He also insists on dragging everyone else along to investigate the explosion, “to keep the sanctity of the contest.” But he seems to still consider himself the good guy, and even shows some concern that Apocalypse might engineer some attack on ordinary humans.<\/p>\n

Wolverine (Laura Kinney)<\/strong> is already working with Forge, Cypher and Emma Frost when we first see her. A brief flashback shows that Apocalypse approached her along with Synch and Magik, and the other two turned him down. Something about Apocalypse’s offer (“an opportunity to serve again on a much grander scale”) piques Laura’s interest, though. Emma at least hints at some doubts about whether Laura might betray her in order to win the tournament. Laura is also uncharacteristically derisive about Cypher being involved.<\/p>\n

Cypher <\/strong>is still wearing his Krakoan era costume with one missing sleeve, but he no longer has a techno-organic arm. He admits to being surprised about being invited, and says it “really feels like someone else should be here instead.” He doesn’t explain why he came.<\/p>\n

Forge, Penance\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Emma Frost<\/strong> round out the twelve contestants; at least in this issue, they give no particular reason for being there and don’t get much to do.<\/p>\n

OTHER X-MEN<\/strong><\/p>\n

Synch<\/strong> summarily refuses to have anything to do with this contest, and suspects that Apocalypse never expected him to say yes.<\/p>\n

Magik<\/strong> is not interested because she “just got rid of my throne in Limbo”. If Magik thinks that the winner gets to rule Earth, she seems remarkably blas\u00e9 about the whole thing. She probably just thinks Apocalypse is a bit of a crank and means that she has no interest in trying to pursue his agenda.<\/p>\n

Archangel<\/strong> and Sunfire<\/strong> are both approached as former Horsemen, whom Apocalypse proudly claims to have strengthened through suffering. In Warren’s case, that’s Apocalypse making him into the Horseman Death back in X-Factor <\/em>#21 (1987). Sunfire became the Horseman Famine in X-Men<\/em> #183 (2006), though he only stuck around for a few issues. Apocalypse did restore his amputated limbs, so in that sense he certainly strengthened Sunfire. Perhaps understandably, Sunfire just politely declines on the grounds that he doesn’t think this is his “path”.<\/p>\n

Archangel, on the other hand, is absolutely furious and takes Apocalypse to be looking for someone to transform into a Horseman. He may be right, but Apocalypse didn’t actually say it. To be fair, though, Archangel had a previous stint as a corrupted “successor to Apocalypse” in Rick Remender’s X-Force <\/em>run, and it’s reasonable enough if he thinks that’s what’s in prospect for the winner.<\/p>\n

Since we’re now post-Krakoa, Archangel also tries to rationalise why he tolerated Apocalypse on the Quiet Council: basically, he was willing to bite his tongue for the greater good when Krakoa was a thing, but now that it’s off the table he doesn’t need to pretend any more. That seems fair enough.<\/p>\n

VILLAINS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Genocide. <\/strong>Genocide is the son of Apocalypse and Famine, introduced in Uncanny X-Force<\/em> #13 (2011), part of the Rick Remender run. He shows up here claiming to be the “only rightful heir” to Apocalypse, and since he’s previously served as the leader of Apocalypse’s Clan Akkaba cult, he seems to have a point. While the contestants suspect that he’s there as part of Apocalypse’s trial, Apocalypse (alone) calls him an “unexpected visitor”, so apparently he’s really just upset at not being called.<\/p>\n

Genocide was last seen in Uncanny X-Men<\/em> #10 (2016), where he was seemingly killed by Magneto, though there’s a degree of wiggle room. It’s at least conceivable that the Krakoans might have resurrected him during the period when Apocalypse was on the Quiet Council.<\/p>\n

SPECIFICS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Page 9 panel 1: “Even after we fought on Krakoa. Even though I wasn’t on Arakko when you needed me.”<\/strong> X-Men<\/em> #35 and X-Men Red<\/em> #17.<\/p>\n

Page 12 panel 1: “dying in Otherworld had turned you into a sniveling coward.”<\/strong> Gorgon dies in Cable<\/em> vol 4 #6 (2020), and returns in Way of X<\/em> #4 (2021).<\/p>\n

Page 14 panel 2: “I stood up to Gaia herself for the right to guide [Earth’s] future.” <\/strong>X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic<\/em> #91.<\/p>\n

Page 17 panel 4: “I just got rid of my throne in Limbo.” <\/strong>New Mutants<\/em> #28 (2022) – but that’s Marvel time for you.<\/p>\n

Page 22: “When Earth was young, I watched my homeland cleaved in two…”<\/strong> This speech is just a recap of Apocalypse’s standard back story from the Krakoan era, though as noted above, his claim that “Krakoa and Arakko were made whole once more” is a bit weird.<\/p>\n

Page 23 panel 1: “I offered my steady hand. I was rejected.”<\/strong> X-Men<\/em> #35, though it was Krakoa rather than Earth that rejected Apocalypse.<\/p>\n

Page 23 panel 2: “my journeys across Krakoa, Arakko and Otherworld…” <\/strong>I’m not quite sure what Sunfire means by a journey across Krakoa, but he did set up home on Arakko in Gerry Duggan’s X-Men<\/em>, and had a lengthy (from his perspective) excursion to Otherworld in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic\u00a0<\/em>#106-111.<\/p>\n

Page 26 panel 1: “Krakoa and I thought you had the potential to bring so much peace and growth to the planet with your gift.”<\/strong> Cypher and Krakoa colluded to help Nature Girl escape Krakoa in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic<\/em> #12.<\/p>\n

Page 32: “You set me loose on this world, Father!” <\/strong>Genocide presumably just means that Apocalypse created him in the sense of being his father; it was Archangel (as Apocalypse’s successor) who actually introduced him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition. X-MEN: HEIR OF APOCALYPSE #1 Writer: Steve Foxe Penciller: Netho Diaz Inker: JP Mayer Colour Artist: Alex Sinclair Letterer: Clayton Cowles Editor: Annalise Bissa And on we go. X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse is a four-issue miniseries shipping over June and July. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-annotations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10149"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10153,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10149\/revisions\/10153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}