5 Things Marvel’s Age of Revelation Needs to Do to Become Successful

The new X-Men crossover series Age of Revelation has introduced a new alternate-world storyline into the Marvel mutant comics. The series’ name has led some fans to see it as a retread, but it also allows Marvel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Age of Apocalypse, which premiered in 1995. To win over fans and make this new series actually mean something, Marvel needs to avoid pitfalls that could turn people against it and never give it a fair chance. The main series kicked off in October 2025 with a boom, showing that Douglas Ramsay was one of the most powerful mutants, as long as he had his followers to support him, and he even took out powerhouses like Wiccan and Franklin Richards.

If Marvel wants Age of Revelation to succeed, it needs to avoid some major stumbling blocks that could destroy the X-Men series from the start.

5) Age of Revelation Needs to Avoid Apocalypse

The start of Age of Revelation had Apocalypse there from the beginning, as he was waiting alone at his Autumn Palace when Professor X showed up to ask for help on what to do about Douglas Ramsay. Apocalypse regretted choosing Ramsay, saying he should have selected Rictor. He still has control over his lands, but it is clear he is not willing to take the battle to Ramsay.

While this is a celebration of the Age of Apocalypse anniversary, this series should not make Apocalypse a central part of the storyline. The last thing Marvel should want is for readers to keep comparing the story to Age of Apocalypse, which means eliminating Apocalypse from the comics, aside from mostly having him as a background player. There are plenty of other heroes who should lead the way, with Cyclops at the top of the list.

4) The Time Travel Can’t Retread Days of Future Past

The first Age of Revelation teasers featured Cyclops talking about going back in time to convince his younger self to make different decisions to prevent this future from happening. That makes little sense, because most of the X-Men know that they can’t change their timeline, but this likely means Cyclops is more interested in making sure Revelation can’t destroy other timelines as well.

That said, it is essential that this doesn’t follow a storyline that is too similar to Days of Future Past, the first time the X-Men went back in time to prevent an apocalyptic future. That simply had the X-Men stop Mystique from an assassination attempt. This has to be much more complicated, and nothing can be that easy. Age of Revelation has to be better than Days of Future Past to keep it memorable.

3) Douglas Ramsay Has to Remain Powerful Throughout

For decades, Douglas Ramsay was considered the most worthless mutant alive. He could speak and understand any language, human, alien, or computer. He didn’t even know he was a mutant at first. What made Douglas so hated by many readers was that he was arrogant and cocky, and he never deserved respect, despite his big talk.

Something changed on Krakoa when Ramsay forced his way into the center circle as the only person who could speak to and for the island. His machinations caught the attention of Apocalypse, which is why he chose Douglas to be his successor. Revelation has proven to be a charismatic and dangerous messiah figure, and he has to remain strong. If Douglas loses everything in the end and returns to being a worthless mutant, Age of Revelation will lose all its importance in the end.

2) This Has to Make Cyclops Mean Something Again

According to reports, the Age of Revelation series is supposed to boost Cyclops back up again. This is a big deal. He became one of the X-Men’s most hated heroes many years ago, and since Krakoa, he hasn’t really done anything to warrant anyone caring about him. This is a character who needs redemption more than any other, and he needs something to happen to make him a genione hero again, and not the moping X-Men leader he has become since Krakoa fell.

If Cyclops is going to be the catalyst who stops Revelation and saves his timeline from falling as this one did, he has to do it as the hero that he was always meant to be. There is supposed to be a solo Cyclops series that debuts next year, and this series needs to show that he finally deserves a solo showcase once again.

1) The Ending Has to Make Real, Lasting Changes to the X-Men

A lot has already happened in the broken Age of Revelation timeline. Wiccan was depowered, and Franklin Richards was killed. This shows how powerful Douglas Ramsay has become. When this storyline ends, things will remain normal in the mainline Marvel Universe on Earth-616, but there needs to be more to it than that.

Clearly, crossovers like Age of Apocalypse and Days of Future Past had longer-lasting effects on Earth-616. However, these alternate-Earth crossover series mean nothing beyond being What If stories if they don’t have real, lasting effects. If anyone wants to remember Age of Revelation in five years, this has to change the status quo on Earth-616; otherwise, it is nothing more than yet another crossover series, and instantly forgettable in a company that makes multiple of them every year.

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