X-Men’s New Apocalypse Replacement Is Turning Out To Be A Disastrous Heir

by

The X-Men are known for their memorable villains, and Apocalypse is definitely one of the best. Originally introduced as the main threat in the first volume of X-Factor, he quickly became a formidable foe for the original X-Men team. The storyline “The Age of Apocalypse” really boosted his popularity, and he’s since become a major, Thanos-level villain within the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe. Over the years, Apocalypse has become a complex character that fans love to dislike. A particularly compelling part of his story is his constant search for a powerful successor – someone strong enough to endure the future he envisions.

Over the years, many characters in the X-Men comics have taken on the mantle of Apocalypse, most recently Doug Ramsey, now known as Revelation. The current storyline, “Age of Revelation,” is set in a future where Revelation rules the world. Unfortunately, fans aren’t impressed, and Revelation isn’t measuring up to previous successors of Apocalypse. Both the story and the character himself are falling short of expectations.

Revelation Isn’t a Tenth as Cool as the Best Apocalypse Heirs

Throughout Apocalypse’s long history, several characters have been seen as potential successors. These include Holocaust, his son from an alternate reality (though a similar character named Genocide never truly fit the role), the alternate version of Wolverine from the Age of Apocalypse, Archangel, and the Apocalypse Twins. Some also suggest his children with Genesis, the First Horsemen, could be considered heirs, but they functioned more as devoted servants than as true successors.

Each of these characters had compelling strengths. Holocaust was a standout villain in the early volumes of Astonishing X-Men. Logan briefly became the new Apocalypse after using the Death Seed to save the world, becoming a massive threat that required cloning Scarlet Witch and using her powers to defeat him. Archangel’s transformation into Apocalypse in the “Dark Adestrongel Saga” is considered a high point in X-Men history. The Apocalypse Twins proved incredibly cunning, even managing to trick powerful beings like Kang the Conqueror and the Celestials, and nearly conquered Earth before the Avengers Unity Squad traveled through time to stop them. Each of these successors felt genuinely dangerous, fitting perfectly into the kind of empire Apocalypse would build.

Revelation never really seemed like a threat. He hasn’t felt like the terrifying Apocalypse everyone fears, and a lot of that is because he’s actually Doug Ramsey. Doug is arguably the least powerful of all the X-Men. While being able to understand any language is helpful, it doesn’t exactly strike fear into enemies. Unlike the other ‘heirs,’ he didn’t receive powerful armor, and he needs help from the Choristers to even maximize his abilities. The idea behind Apocalypse is that only the strongest survive, but Revelation hasn’t demonstrated that kind of strength – he’s just outsmarted some of his opponents. (To be fair, Cyclops is good, but deceiving him isn’t incredibly difficult.)

Beyond that, the quality of these stories is exceptional. “Age of Apocalypse” remains a fan favorite and a landmark story even three decades later, and the “Dark Angel Saga,” along with the issues of Uncanny X-Force leading up to it, are truly outstanding. The Apocalypse Twins, who served as the primary villains in Uncanny Avengers (Vol. 1) #6-22, proved to be incredibly powerful, defeating even the strongest X-Men and Avengers while executing a complex plan involving stolen multiversal artifacts and deceiving cosmic beings. They are worthy successors to Apocalypse – arguably even surpassing him, especially in the case of the Twins. While Apocalypse had a clever scheme, his success relied heavily on a virus wiping out many heroes. The other heirs clearly outshine him.

Revelation Never Should Have Became Heir of Apocalypse

The concept of an heir to Apocalypse has been around for a long time, and it’s given us some truly memorable villains. Unfortunately, Revelation isn’t one of them. He’s a frustratingly smug and predictable villain whose main power is mind control. Unlike Apocalypse or other heirs, he isn’t particularly frightening or compelling. The story centered around him hasn’t generated much excitement either – reactions are very mixed, with some readers finding it acceptable and others disliking it.

It’s strange that Marvel sidelined the powerful Apocalypse in favor of a less compelling character. The most impactful part of the “Age of Revelation” storyline, for me, was in World of Revelation #1, where Apocalypse admitted he’d made a mistake choosing Doug as his successor. It’s the most honest statement the X-Men team has made in a while, especially since Tom Brevoort became editor. Honestly, this new direction feels like it’s not working, and Marvel will need a significant turnaround to make this storyline feel worthwhile.

https://comicbook.com/comics/news/10-best-x-men-stories-of-all-time-dark-phoenix-grant-morrison-chris-claremont-krakoa/embed/#

Read More

2025-10-26 19:44