X-Men # 38, Uncanny X-Men # 319, X-Men # 39, X-Factor # 108-109, Uncanny X-Men # 320, X-Men # 40, Uncanny X-Men # 321, Cable # 20, and X-Men # 41
Just a few things we need to address before we get moving along, here, gang.
First of all, we've reached the "Age of Apocalypse," which is a few massive crossover and story. Therefore, I've broken it down into various segments and have decided to go for a similair format we used with "Cleaning Out the X-House."
Secondly, I think I should talk very briefly about the role "Age of Apocalypse" seems to have played in the readership and overall X-Men fandom. From what I've seen, X-Men readers are divived in three ways:
1) That this is among the greatest X-Men stories ever to be produced (after "The Dark Phoenix Saga," according to some polls I've seen).
2) That this story is good, but not nearly as good as the 70/80s X-books and 2000s X-books.
3) That this was the story that turned readers off the X-Men.
Interesting make-up, huh?
So, let's go diving in, I'll share my thoughts and you can read them and not post any comments because I have no audience. :(
"Legion Quest" is pretty much the must-read kick-off of the "Age of Apocalypse." It is what starts off the massive change in the X-Men's universe.
David Haller (aka Legion) has comatose for quite a while. Recently, though, he's been having dreams about Destiny, the woman he had killed a number of years earlier. As he's having these dreams, we see the X-Men struggle with personal issues:
Trust problems between Gambit and Rogue. Scott's grandfather crashes his plan and meets up with Adam-X (the X-Treme!) and remarks how similar Adam and his grandsons are. Bobby and Rogue head up to have dinner with Bobby's parents and we once again learn just how much of an ignorant jerk his Dad is. Jean and Betsy resolve their differences. Warren and Betsy grow closer. Gambit threatens Sabretooth regarding Rogue.
It's not long, then, when Legion visits his Dad in Charles' dreams. In said dream, Charles and Erik (Magneto) talk about the effects that Erik had on Charles' dream of Mutant/human existence. David then shows his father that Erik ruined the dream by making Mutantkind viewed negatively in the public eye.
And that's when the shit hits the fan.
X-Factor track down Mystique to Israel, where David is currently being treated whilst comatose. Mystique is after him for killing Destiny in the first place, having been manipulating Forge for a good while to get to this position. They confront her in David's room with Gaby Haller (David's Mom), when he suddenly wakes up, his mind whole and no longer suffering from Multiple-Personalities. Mystique makes a run for it with X-Factor in pursuit. Meanwhile, David's got Destiny yapping in his mind and goes after both X-Factor and Mystique to deal with them. He sends X-Factor away, has a heart-to-heart with Mystique, and then wanders off.
And then, the X-Men get involved. Bishop, Phoenix, Iceman, Storm, and Psylocke head to Israel to deal with David. They discover that the Israeli army and PLO are working side-by-side near a massive energy dome erected by David to keep them out. The X-Men find a way in, fight with Legion, and learn just what he's up to. He plans on going back to when his father and Magneto were friends (about the time he was concieved) and killing Magneto so that he is unable to taint Charles' dream.
Storm, Psylocke, Bishop, and Iceman are all drawn back 20 years with him, leaving Phoenix in the present. She calls for help and the rest of the X-Men show up (being Cyclops, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, Archangel, and Professor X) to figure out what's going on. They then call upon Cable and Domino to access Cable's time machine, which is unfortunately deep under the ocean surface and unreachable (for the most part). If that's not enough, Lilandra contacts the X-Men, telling them that M'Kraan Crystal is acting all funky and the results of Legion's time tampering is causing the universe to crystalize.
In an attempt to reach the X-Men in the past and let them know what's happening with the M'Kraan Crystal, Cable is projected to Bishop and the others. As it turns out, the past X-Men are suffering with a bought of partial amnesia. Luckily, Cable's "reach out and touch someone" to Bishop works out and the X-Men go after Legion as he attacks the young Magneto. Legion tears through the X-Men and prepares to deliever the final blow to Magneto . . . when Xavier shoves himself in the way, saving his friend at the sacriface of his own life.
And Charles Xavier is dead, twenty years earlier. Legion, Storm, Iceman, and Psylocke are pulled from that time peroid and tossed back home to align themselves with the new changes in teh timeline. Bishop is left behind, as he is a chronological anomaly. In the present, the crystal wave comes to Earth. Xavier says a tearful good bye; Scott and Jean come clean about Redd and Slym with Cable; and as the wave overcomes them, Rogue kisses Gambit. The entire Earth - all of the X-Teams - are crystalized by the reality bending properties of the M'Kraan Crystal. Then everything (all of the Universe 616) shatters as per the crystalization wave.
So let's do a review of these events.
For the most part, "Legion Quest" is a good read. David Haller shines as a messed up character who (even though a little more than crazy) is willing to do anything for his father. His motives and demeanor are almost childlike, which works because David hasn't been David since he was a boy. Now, the X-Men themselves in dealing their deaths, are suberb. We see character arcs leap forward, esspecially with the Summers family and Rogue/Gambit. I also feel the need to appluad the acknowledgement of the crystalization effects in the other books released that same month (though I don't have them all and decided not to include the ones I do have) in the final pages. We really get a feel for where we're leaving these X-Men we know and love.
Now, for as good as "Legion Quest" is, there's a question that lingers for me. Why now? Was David somehow aware of the conflicts within his father (such as the results of wiping out Magneto's mind)? Did his telepathic powers make him hear the results of the EMP that Magneto launched during "Fatal Attractions?" Was it perhaps that he sensed that Mystique was after him and decided whatever he was going to do, he had better hop-to? And why Israel twenty years ago? Why not go after Magneto during the Holocaust? Or right after he stole Baron whathisnamefromHydra's gold? I suppose, though, now that I think about it, this time could be significant for David as it was the time he was concieved. (I feel the need to point that David kissed his Mom, disguised as Charles. It's slightly implied there's more to it. Could it be that David is his own father? VOMIT!)
The best part of "Legion Quest," at the end of the day, is showing Charles and Erik as actual friends. Before, all we had was "we were friends once" and three panels of them hanging out with Gaby between their first meeting and their battle with Hydra. Bringing the Charles/Erik friendship up front and center allows more grounding for us to see them not as advaries, but as buddies. It also makes us give a damn when they have to face off with Legion and when Charles sacrifaces himself for Erik.
Some great temporal drama here, folks. It only lead to bad things for the X-Men.
~W~
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