With 86 years of history, Marvel Comics has some truly incredible and beloved stories to its credit and it’s not really a mystery why. The company that began as Timely Comics in 1939 is the home of some of the most iconic superheroes, such as Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Iron Man, and more. It’s also the home of wildly popular superhero teams, including the X-Men who, since 1963, have been giving readers their own, action-packed and often deeply human stories that often serve as commentary on issues of bigotry, discrimination, and justice. But even among the numerous X-Men stories that have left indelible marks on not just comics but pop culture writ large, there is one X-Men story that stands out as perhaps one of the best ever — and the moment that kicked it all off happened 31 years ago today.
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That event is “Age of Apocalypse” and while we think of the Age of Apocalypse event as having begun with X-Men: Alpha in January 1995, the story actually started with a prelude event, “Legion Quest.” The story saw David Haller/Legion (son of Charlies Xavier) travel back in time with the intention of killing Magneto/Erik Lehnsherr. But things don’t actually go quite as planned and Legion ends up going to the wrong time. Legion’s actions end up creating a terrible new timeline, one that leads to the arrival of Apocalypse arriving and bringing about a genocidal war. It’s a story that has dramatic and far-reaching impact on the Marvel Universe — and the event that made it all possible took place in X-Men #41, first published on December 20, 1994.
All of “Legion Quest” Is Important, But X-Men #41 Changed Everything
As I’ve noted, the proper “Age of Apocalypse” event didn’t properly start until early 1995 and, technically, the “Legion Quest” prelude event itself began with X-Men #38 published on September 20, 1994, but it’s X-Men #41 that changed everything and set off an event that is still shaping the Marvel Universe, thanks to the more recent “Age of Revelation”. In X-Men #41, which is the fourth and final installment of the “Legion Quest” storyline, despite the X-Men’s best efforts, Legion — who has travelled a little too far back in time and landed at a point where Xavier and Magneto are still friends — attempts to kill Magneto but Xavier intervenes.
There is a truly epic moment in the comic where we see Xavier actually intervene with the narration telling us “For Charles Frances Xavier, there was never a choice. Today, all his perceptions of reality were ripped away — and he saw a glimpse of what his life might have been. Four noble men and women — mutants, like him — who, in his name, were willing to risk their all to save a man who would become their enemy. And one desperate madman willing — almost eager — to kill in that name. His name. His friend. Charles Frances Xavier could not allow that. And in one desperate move, his future — his life — are sacrificed. For there was never a choice.”
While there may have never been a choice for Xavier, that choice does have consequences. Legion is taken out of existence because, with Xavier dead, he’s never born. Magneto, horrified by what has happened, abandons his own ideas of mutant dominance and instead takes up Xavier’s dream. And elsewhere, Apocalypse is keeping an eye on things and sees this as a perfect time to conquer the world. Nothing would be the same.
Age of Apocalypse Set a Gold Standard For Alternative Timelines
“Age of Apocalypse” is by no means the first alternative timeline story for the X-Men or Marvel Comics, but it’s certainly one that stands out as how you do one right and on a large scale — which is probably why it’s a story that we keep coming back to. The story has been revisited in comics in various forms a few times and has inspired other media as well. An episode of X-Men: The Animated Series, “One Man’s Worth” was inspired by the event and even Deadpool & Wolverine referenced the event, with Deadpool traveling to the Age of Apocalypse timeline to recruit that Wolverine. And, of course, there’s the “Age of Revelation” event which isn’t necessarily a follow up to “Age of Apocalypse” but a commemoration of the iconic event, featuring Apocalypse’s heir Revelation/David Ramsey and the new mutant utopia he leads in a dark future. That event hasn’t exactly reached the same heights as “Age of Apocalypse”, but it’s still evidence of just how impactful the original event really was — and how important what happened 31 years ago today truly ended up being.
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