The X-Men’s Age of Revelation Goes Out with a Bang… and a Whimper

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2025 was a big year for the X-Men, with Marvel launching a lot of new X-Men comics and several major storylines under the “From the Ashes” initiative. However, fans weren’t particularly thrilled with any of them, especially the year’s final event, “Age of Revelation.” This event was meant to honor the 30th anniversary of the hugely popular “Age of Apocalypse” storyline. Given that “Age of Apocalypse” originally came out earlier in the year in 1995, positioning these anniversary stories at the end of 2025 felt a little odd. Marvel’s editor-in-chief, C.B. Cebulski, is a known fan of “Age of Apocalypse” – he even wrote a tenth-anniversary miniseries pretending to be Japanese – so a lot of related content was expected. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to the original.

Honestly, this event hasn’t lived up to the hype. “Age of Apocalypse” was incredible, but “Age of Revelation” just hasn’t reached that level. It’s not bad overall, and there have been some really great series within it – I especially loved Unbreakable X-Men and The Last Wolverine – but it won’t be remembered the way “AoA” is. This event really needed to stick the landing, and it mostly missed. This final issue, Age of Revelation: Finale #1, is a good wrap-up, but like most of what came before, it has some strong points mixed with weaknesses that are hard to ignore.

Age of Revelation: Finale Leans Into the Problems with the Story While Giving Readers an Important Ending

Okay, so Age of Revelation: Finale #1 delivers exactly what you’d expect from the X-Men team of Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman – a fast-paced, visually dynamic story. But, and this is a big but, it really doubles down on what I felt was the weakest aspect of this entire Age of Revelation arc. We learned in Book of Revelation #3 that Revelation’s plan was utterly bonkers – turning Earth into a living planet using mutant biomass, essentially making it a new Ego the Living Planet – and this issue is all about the final showdown. We’ve got Cyclops’s X-Men, a thankfully non-brainwashed Wolverine, and even Apocalypse and the forces of Arakko all converging to try and stop him. It’s a massive battle, but whether it works is another story.

The story delivers the exciting action sequences you’d expect from MacKay and Stegman, but honestly, the villain’s plan doesn’t make much sense. The core problem is that Doug easily manipulated everyone, ensuring he always wins, no matter what. Like the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline, the heroes ultimately fail. While this is intended to motivate the current Cyclops, it feels like the story relies too heavily on past events, overshadowing any new ideas. Ultimately, Doug’s plan succeeds, and the story ends on a depressing note, mirroring the conclusion of “AoA”.

Despite the problems, a surprising truth about Beast has come to light. Throughout the Amazing X-Men series, his behavior felt off, and the reason was finally revealed: this isn’t the original Beast, but a version from the Krakoa era who’s leading a group called 3K. This is a huge development with significant consequences for the X-Men. Given how dangerous Beast was shown to be in X-Force (Vol. 6), it’s a brilliant move to bring him back as a major villain.

The situation is especially dangerous because Beast from the Krakoan era has access to a decade’s worth of future knowledge. While 3K has already been a major threat to the X-Men, now they have a leader who knows what’s coming. He understands the flaws in the X-Virus and Revelation’s plans to unleash it, and even knows how to create a virus that could potentially turn humans into mutants. This dramatically changes the dynamic between the X-Men, 3K, and Revelation. Though X-Men (Vol. 7) hasn’t always pleased fans, writer MacKay has introduced an exciting new development.

X-Men (Vol. 7) Has More Potential Than Ever

The series has been inconsistent, and this new installment continues that trend. It’s an okay story, but doesn’t quite reach ‘good.’ The final chapter really highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of the narrative. While Revelation’s victory wasn’t inherently bad, the flawed plan he used to achieve it doesn’t make anyone involved look competent – not Revelation himself, and certainly not those he manipulated. Ultimately, this issue further proves that Revelation hasn’t been a compelling villain.

The reveal that Beast is the one behind everything is a clever twist with real potential. Fans have been speculating about this possibility since the story started, and it’s satisfying to see it confirmed. This development gives the current run of X-Men (Vol. 7) a much-needed boost. While the “Age of Revelation” storyline as a whole isn’t likely to be remembered as a classic, or even particularly good, the ending does introduce some intriguing ideas that could be explored further. It’s almost fitting that this story is a bit uneven, considering the current state of the X-Men comics.

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2025-12-31 22:15