It’s been a few weeks since this cross-over finished so I
thought we’d take a final look at Age of X and what it did for the X-Men
franchise as a whole. Chapter 5 is the big reveal, but not the big finisher. We
learn that not only is it Legion behind everything it’s actually a part of his
mind that’s eaten the rest of his psyche and taken the shape of the deceased Moira. Xavier is freed and he begins the big reveal by reaching out to
every ones minds. This comes in time for the morning attack which divides the
mutants as they want to know what’s really going on.
With Chapter 6 we see Xavier, Kitty, Magneto and Legion
squaring off against Moira as the rest of the mutants battle her programed
attack against the fortress. In the end Legion absorbs her and dissolves her,
but for once in his life appears to have a whole brain again. He then goes
about putting the universe back the way they know it while leaving himself
standing outside the world holding the universe in his hand. Alluding to more
to come from him? Another Mutant paradise perhaps? Time will tell. As everyone
is transported back into their bodies and familiar costumes we see that maybe
one of Legion’s creations has made it back with them. Frenzy seems to feel that
they are still married and is very upset when Emma comes and steals Scott away.
Since I haven’t been reading the normal X-Men I can’t say for sure if she was
there before Age of X or not. I’d like to think it’s more interesting that
she wasn’t, but I’m sure I’m wrong.
In the Aftermath issue Xavier and Doctor X give Legion a power watch that allows him to tap into his different personalities that all have different powers without losing control to that personality. Think Ben 10 only for a mutant with "God" powers. The most interesting part of this issue is everyone dealing with the left over memories from their time in the world. Several mutants ask for their memories to be wiped so they never remember the events, while others want to keep them; like Frenzy who is very much in love with Scott and confronts him about it. This issue does more to build the relationships of the X-Men by having them deal with the events in a realistic way. Writer Mike Carey builds the mutants and their relationships better than any other writer has done in the last five years.
The ending to Age of X was predictable, but ended the only way it
really could. It was still good and the fact that Legion is still out there and
can function on his own without losing his mind has potential for being a good
story. The downside is that this really could have been a fresh start for the
worn out mutants, at the very least Aftermath isn't just ignoring what happened and has added some interesting contrast to the team.
If Marvel had the
guts they could have played this out one of two ways. The first is that the X-Men
involved are forever gone from earth 616 and we get to discover this new world
they live in. The other option which has far more appeal is that these new
incantations of them are brought back to the 616 and left as they are. Meaning
Xavier and the telepaths are the only ones with any sort of memory of how things
were and the rest of them must now adapt to the world. Still hated and feared,
but not attacked daily. Not only could it have spiced up the relationships
between the characters it would have been an interesting contrast between the
characters that do remember and the ones that don’t. The potential for new
stories is huge and Marvel could have
slipped it in under the radar. Instead we just have a bunch of confused people that will eventually regress into their normal selves.
As it is, this was just an interesting side story with
barely any ramifications and a bigger event already in the works behind it to
undo anything Age of X may have done. If anything writer Mike Carrey has
given future writers a new playground to create in and a new generation of
readers their own Age of Apocalypse to enjoy and remember.
Overall Score –
7.7/10 (It would be lower if not for Aftermath)
*Wait for the Trade
Paper Back*
Check out chapters 1 & 2 and 3 & 4.