Warning! Spoilers ahead forX-Men: Age of Revelation!
X-Men’supcomingAge of Revelationhas generated a lot of buzz among readers, but it also makes one thing clear: there is no long-term plan for the franchise, and that is something fans have to learn to live with. The last few years' worth ofX-books have shown the ups and downs of planning ahead for Marvel’sX-Office, and it seems they have settled on focusing more on the short-term.
In his latest Substack post, Tom Brevoort, Marvel’s Senior Editor in charge of theX-Menfranchise, gave some insight into howAge of Revelationwas conceived, and how it will affect the current “From the Ashes” line-up of books.
In short, Brevoort isn’t worried about putting the currentX-titles on the shelf, but some fans are questioning the move.
X-Men’s “Age Of Revelation” Event Is Replacing All The Franchise’s Current Titles At A Pivotal Time In Their Development
Age of Revelationis the latest line-wideX-Mencrossover; it is intended as a pseudo-sequel and 30th anniversary celebration of the pivotalAge of Apocalypseevent, published in 1995. Part ofwhat madeAge of Apocalypsegroundbreakingwas that it replaced all existingX-Mentitles at the time with new, alternate universe substitutes.
The currentX-Menera is billed as “From the Ashes,” and it follows the conclusion of thefive-year-long Krakoan Saga, which stands alongsideAge of Apocalypseamong the most audacious reinventions ofX-Menlore in franchise history. Indefinitely hitting pause on the current slate ofX-titles could have a very different effect than the move did in ‘95.
Even beforeAge of Revelationhas officially commenced, some fans are already a little nervous about the crossover putting existing ongoing titles likeUncanny X-Menout of commission. When asked “how long” the altered titles are going to “supplant” existing ones, Senior Editor Tom Brevoort replied:
AGE OF REVELATION will last as long as it lasts…which is my way of saying that it’s all right to stop and focus on what we’re going to be doing rather than worrying about the horizon and what might be on it next. But yes, during this period for the most part these books will replace the associated Marvel books they’re growing from.
Yet despite Brevoort encouraging fans not to worry, the question will continue to come up.
What questions like this should tell Marvel isn’t so much thatX-Menfans want to know the beats of stories ahead of time, but rather that they like to believe there is a plan for their favorite franchise, and their beloved mutant heroes. Yet the hard truth is that there’s no grand designat play in the “From the Ashes” era.
“Age Of Revelation” Seeks To Replicate The Succes Of “Age Of Apocalypse,” But The X-Men Franchise Is Very Different 30 Years Later
In 1995, readers didn’t necessarily know if theAge of Apocalypsechange was permanent. The switch was billed as the new status quo for the franchise, and it was only at the climax of the crossover that the old status quo was restored. Now, Marvel looks to repeat this formula, exceptAge of Revelationcomes in a very different context.
At the time ofAge of Apocalypse, books likeX-Men,Uncanny X-Men, andX-Factorhad been running for years. Their soap-operatic interweaving narratives were a tangled web, which could be hard for all but the most hardcore fans to follow every strand of. As much as it was a bold, innovative publishing gamble,Age of Apocalypsewas also a welcome break.
Age of Revelation, by contrast, comes at a formative time for the current era ofX-Men; while some early “From the Ashes” books have already been canceled, the franchise’s main titles are just starting to get into a rhythm. Now, that rhythm is going to be interrupted for an extended period of time.
There is a certain peril in that, as exciting asthe detour intoRevelation’sdark futuremight be. Whatever momentumX-MenandUncanny X-Menand the franchise’s other titles have built up is going to be sacrificed at the expense of a totally different story. This suggests the franchise’s future is being written on the fly, which puts some readers ill-at-ease.
The X-Men Franchise Is Focused On The Present, But X-Fans Are Always Conscious Of The Future
On his Substack, Tom Brevoort also shed some light on the genesis ofAge of Revelation, which further indicates the short-term nature ofX-Men’scurrent creative direction. Brevoort wrote:
In the case of AOR, at the point where we began to talk about the anniversary of AGE OF APOCALYPSE, I threw the question out to the whole of our X-Writers and Jed was the one who came back and said that he had something he thought might fit the bill.
In other words, the event was relatively quickly conceived of, in terms of how radically it reshapes Marvel’s currentX-Menlandscape.
By contrast, the precedingKrakoan Era, which lasted from 2019 to 2024, was the product of a strong plan. Or, at least, it started out that way. AuthorJonathan Hickman developed the Krakoan reboot with a long-term outlook, but when he left the franchise mid-way through, that plan was quickly and significantly altered.
There are benefits to both approaches for Marvel’s creators, but among theX-Menfandom, the clear preference is for the franchise to have a clear overarching trajectory.Age of Revelationmight be shaping up to be a thrilling event, but it shows that, for better or worse, Marvel’sX-Office is focused on “now,” not thinking about “later.”
The question now is whether fans will be as relieved to get back to their regularly scheduledX-Menprogramming at the end ofAge of Revelationas whenAge of Apocalypseended. Alternatively, Marvel might run the risk of fans growing more invested in this new timeline, and less interested in the ongoing narratives whenX-Men’s"From the Ashes" paradigm resumes.
