X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse #1 annotations
As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.
X-MEN: HEIR OF APOCALYPSE #1
Writer: Steve Foxe
Penciller: Netho Diaz
Inker: JP Mayer
Colour Artist: Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Annalise Bissa
And on we go. X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse is a four-issue miniseries shipping over June and July. It has a weird position on the schedule. On the one hand, this is one of the first X-books from the new office, it picks up a major plot point from X-Men #35, and the premise generally seems as if it ought to be significant. On the other hand, the fact that it appears between the end of Krakoa and the launch of the new X-Men titles – alongside a bunch of Wolverine minis and Blood Hunt tie-ins – positions it as a decidedly second-tier release. Still, it’s as significant as X-books are going to get in the remainder of June.
As I said in the post about Free Comic Book Day 2024: Blood Hunt / X-Men, I’m thinking of altering the format of these posts in what I expect to be a less inter-connected line going forward. Besides, the new regime seems to be much more relaxed about doing its own footnotes. So let’s see how the approach I used for the FCBD issue works out here…
THE STATE OF MUTANTKIND
We’re after X-Men #35 but before any of the relaunched X-Men titles, and so this is another book which is awkwardly coy about the status quo of the mutants from Earth.
Arakko is another matter. It still exists, and it looks like the Arakko mutants who came to Earth to fight Orchis in Fall of the House of X returned home afterwards. The population are rebuilding after the civil war, and Apocalypse is in charge. At least according to him, he’s still guiding this society in the way that he used to guide Krakoa. For Apocalypse, in a way, this is continuity Krakoa.
The Krakoan gates no longer work, but travel to Arakko is still possible (at least for Angel). We’re not told how he got there, but he does say that it wasn’t “easy” – so presumably he either called in some favours from the superhero community, or just got someone like Magik to transport him. Apocalypse seems to have no particular difficulty in communicating from Arakko to Earth.
APOCALYPSE
When we last saw Apocalypse in X-Men #35, he was rebuffed in his attempt to reclaim his leadership role on Krakoa, and decided that it was time to “choose an heir”. This issue positions his reasons a little differently: Apocalypse is devoting himself to Arakko, and so he wants someone else to take up his role of guiding mutantkind on Earth. He also claims on page 23 that he offered to guide Earth and “was rejected”, which isn’t actually what happened in X-Men #35 – he was rejected by the Krakoans, not by the mutants who remained on Earth. Either way, though, he seems to have accepted that he’s not wanted as a leader on Earth, and he’s looking for someone else to rise to the task.
To this end, he’s dusted off a test facility that he built centuries ago (with statues of the original Horsemen at the front), and he’s going to use it to test twelve candidates. According to him, the contest is “to determine who might succeed me in my great work on Earth” and “ensure that the mutants of Earth are ready to meet the challenges they will face in the days ahead.” Quite what the winner gets is not specified. Forge says that he was “promised no duels to the death”, but there are certainly a lot of death traps around. Admittedly, they don’t seem very effective against of the contestants.
Apocalypse hasn’t clearly reverted to villain mode here. He reiterates his Hickman-era back story of being separated from his family when Arakko and Krakoa were parted, and his mission of preparing the mutants left behind to be strong enough for Arakko’s return. He sees Krakoa and Arakko as having been “made whole once more” during the Krakoan era (which is a bit of a stretch, since they were on different planets), and he aims in the long run to reunite mutantkind again. He talks in utopian terms about the loss of Krakoa and how his successor will restore it.
It’s not entirely clear what Apocalypse expects his successor to do. He approaches a range of mutants and invites them to participate in his tournament; he tries to persuade people to join in but doesn’t press the point if they refuse. Many of the people he approaches have no discernible interest in following in his footsteps and some of them are openly there just to find out what he’s playing at. Most of them (but not all) are heroes. Most of them are more interested in co-operating than in fighting. Apocalypse has assured them that they are not expected to fight one anotherIt’s possible that Apocalypse is planning to do something to keep the winner line (as Archangel assumes), but it’s also possible that Apocalypse genuinely wants and expects his “heir” to go their own way.
It might be significant that there are twelve contestants in his tournament, since Apocalypse had some connection with the Twelve back in the day (albeit that it was eventually revealed just to be a bunch of mutants who he could use to power himself up).
THE CONTESTANTS
Rictor is back to treating Apocalypse as a spiritual mentor He’s delighted to have been approached by Apocalypse for this tournament, despite their argument in X-Men #35. He’s aware that Apocalypse had planned for him to represent the element of earth in his ritual in X-Men Red #17 and wound up having to substitute Sunfire in the role; he clearly feels that he somehow let Apocalypse down. He’s very keen indeed to win this tournament – he feels sure that this is the purpose that Apocalypse was grooming him for throughout Excalibur. After all, Apocalypse seems to be asking for nothing more than the sort of leadership Rictor always approved of on Krakoa.
Despite his enthusiasm to win, Rictor is more than happy to work with his fellow X-Men to overcome Apocalypse’s traps – that’s what being a mutant is all about, right?
Mirage says that she had to “be convinced” to join this tournament, but doesn’t explain what the argument was. She has little apparent interest in winning, and as soon as an explosion goes off in the area, she abandons the contest to focus on doing hero stuff.
Gorgon, who died in “X of Swords” and was resurrected with a childlike persona, has reverted to his original personality. He explains that he “died again” (in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #55, back in October 2022) and was reset to his true self when he passed through the Waiting Room. This seems consistent with Fall of the House of X #4, which implied that Wrongslide would be restored to his original personality when resurrected. Apparently he was shoved to the back of the queue until Rise of the Powers of X happened – he tells us that he missed the fall of Krakoa, and blames it on “power-mad fools” who “undermined” the nation. It’s not entirely clear who he has in mind, or whose version of events he’s relying on.
We get a single panel flashback of Apocalypse inviting Gorgon to join the contest, on the grounds that he’s “ruthless”. Gorgon seems to have just finished killing some people in a bar fight. Gorgon is willing to follow Mirage’s lead and investigate the explosion, but only because he thinks it could be part of the trial.
Mr Sinister is still getting to grips with rebuilding his resources after the fall of Krakoa. We’re not told why Apocalypse invited him, but of course he was one of Sinister’s creations in the first place (or at least, the original Nathaniel Essex was, being transformed into the first Mr Sinister in Further Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix). Sinister treats Apocalypse’s physical death traps with mild amusement, and is confident that nobody present can kill him “in any way that matters”. That said, he does submit to being held at gunpoint by Cable, so apparently he can be hurt by relatively conventional weapons. Possibly he’s back to using back-up clones, and while he’d survive a “death” here, he’d still be eliminated from the contest. He evidently thinks there’s a prize to be won here. He only goes to investigate the explosion because Exodus forces him to; he tries to sneak away to get on with the original plot.
Cable is a particularly remarkable person for Apocalypse to invite, given that Cable grew up in a world dominated by Apocalypse and views Apocalypse as his archenemy. Cable pretty much claims that he’s only come along to find out what Apocalypse is up to. He’s willing to help the other contestants.
Armageddon Girl is the former Nature Girl, making her first appearance in a print comic since being drastically retooled in a lengthy X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic storyline. Basically, she’s gone completely off the deep end after everyone else rejected her turn to eco-terrorism, and even Gaea couldn’t talk her back to her senses. True to this new persona, Armageddon Girl is absolutely convinced that she’s the person to steer the planet. She’s dismissive of Cable’s attempts to help her, and of Cypher’s concern for her mental health.
Exodus was last seen fighting Apocalypse in X-Men #35, and despite some threats by Apocalypse in that issue, he still seems to have his full power. Apocalypse reminded us in that issue that he had created Exodus in the first place, by ramping up his powers in the Black Knight: Exodus one-shot. While Exodus has accepted the invitation, he seems to be here simply to keep an eye on Apocalypse. He views the contest with disdain and calls Apocalypse “the Great Satan”. That said, he’s still offended that Sinister was admitted to a contest supposedly intended to steer the destiny of mutantkind. He also insists on dragging everyone else along to investigate the explosion, “to keep the sanctity of the contest.” But he seems to still consider himself the good guy, and even shows some concern that Apocalypse might engineer some attack on ordinary humans.
Wolverine (Laura Kinney) is already working with Forge, Cypher and Emma Frost when we first see her. A brief flashback shows that Apocalypse approached her along with Synch and Magik, and the other two turned him down. Something about Apocalypse’s offer (“an opportunity to serve again on a much grander scale”) piques Laura’s interest, though. Emma at least hints at some doubts about whether Laura might betray her in order to win the tournament. Laura is also uncharacteristically derisive about Cypher being involved.
Cypher is still wearing his Krakoan era costume with one missing sleeve, but he no longer has a techno-organic arm. He admits to being surprised about being invited, and says it “really feels like someone else should be here instead.” He doesn’t explain why he came.
Forge, Penance and Emma Frost round out the twelve contestants; at least in this issue, they give no particular reason for being there and don’t get much to do.
OTHER X-MEN
Synch summarily refuses to have anything to do with this contest, and suspects that Apocalypse never expected him to say yes.
Magik is not interested because she “just got rid of my throne in Limbo”. If Magik thinks that the winner gets to rule Earth, she seems remarkably blasé about the whole thing. She probably just thinks Apocalypse is a bit of a crank and means that she has no interest in trying to pursue his agenda.
Archangel and Sunfire are both approached as former Horsemen, whom Apocalypse proudly claims to have strengthened through suffering. In Warren’s case, that’s Apocalypse making him into the Horseman Death back in X-Factor #21 (1987). Sunfire became the Horseman Famine in X-Men #183 (2006), though he only stuck around for a few issues. Apocalypse did restore his amputated limbs, so in that sense he certainly strengthened Sunfire. Perhaps understandably, Sunfire just politely declines on the grounds that he doesn’t think this is his “path”.
Archangel, on the other hand, is absolutely furious and takes Apocalypse to be looking for someone to transform into a Horseman. He may be right, but Apocalypse didn’t actually say it. To be fair, though, Archangel had a previous stint as a corrupted “successor to Apocalypse” in Rick Remender’s X-Force run, and it’s reasonable enough if he thinks that’s what’s in prospect for the winner.
Since we’re now post-Krakoa, Archangel also tries to rationalise why he tolerated Apocalypse on the Quiet Council: basically, he was willing to bite his tongue for the greater good when Krakoa was a thing, but now that it’s off the table he doesn’t need to pretend any more. That seems fair enough.
VILLAINS
Genocide. Genocide is the son of Apocalypse and Famine, introduced in Uncanny X-Force #13 (2011), part of the Rick Remender run. He shows up here claiming to be the “only rightful heir” to Apocalypse, and since he’s previously served as the leader of Apocalypse’s Clan Akkaba cult, he seems to have a point. While the contestants suspect that he’s there as part of Apocalypse’s trial, Apocalypse (alone) calls him an “unexpected visitor”, so apparently he’s really just upset at not being called.
Genocide was last seen in Uncanny X-Men #10 (2016), where he was seemingly killed by Magneto, though there’s a degree of wiggle room. It’s at least conceivable that the Krakoans might have resurrected him during the period when Apocalypse was on the Quiet Council.
SPECIFICS
Page 9 panel 1: “Even after we fought on Krakoa. Even though I wasn’t on Arakko when you needed me.” X-Men #35 and X-Men Red #17.
Page 12 panel 1: “dying in Otherworld had turned you into a sniveling coward.” Gorgon dies in Cable vol 4 #6 (2020), and returns in Way of X #4 (2021).
Page 14 panel 2: “I stood up to Gaia herself for the right to guide [Earth’s] future.” X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #91.
Page 17 panel 4: “I just got rid of my throne in Limbo.” New Mutants #28 (2022) – but that’s Marvel time for you.
Page 22: “When Earth was young, I watched my homeland cleaved in two…” This speech is just a recap of Apocalypse’s standard back story from the Krakoan era, though as noted above, his claim that “Krakoa and Arakko were made whole once more” is a bit weird.
Page 23 panel 1: “I offered my steady hand. I was rejected.” X-Men #35, though it was Krakoa rather than Earth that rejected Apocalypse.
Page 23 panel 2: “my journeys across Krakoa, Arakko and Otherworld…” I’m not quite sure what Sunfire means by a journey across Krakoa, but he did set up home on Arakko in Gerry Duggan’s X-Men, and had a lengthy (from his perspective) excursion to Otherworld in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #106-111.
Page 26 panel 1: “Krakoa and I thought you had the potential to bring so much peace and growth to the planet with your gift.” Cypher and Krakoa colluded to help Nature Girl escape Krakoa in X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #12.
Page 32: “You set me loose on this world, Father!” Genocide presumably just means that Apocalypse created him in the sense of being his father; it was Archangel (as Apocalypse’s successor) who actually introduced him.
What an absolutely terrible comic. Just poorly conceived and constructed, through and through.
I had a flicker of hope that the deliberate number of participants might be a nod to the storyline that wasn’t (and that got clumsily resolved by editorial mandate, during the Davis run).
I just about believe there *could* be the glimmer of a storyline there, if only by repurposing the concept of the twelve as a mutant circuit, integrating into the latter Krakoa mythology/technology.
But there’s just too many “why’s” here. I don’t understand why these are the candidates – but I also don’t care, in the slightest, and much less if this is how they’re going to be written.
We’ve just wrapped up the latter half of the long, protracted end of the Krakoan era – couldn’t we do with some breather issues in between? Some realistic downtime, or just time spent with the characters as they respond to the sheer scale of all of these changes? Shit, can we get something nice and boring written by Scott Lobdell or something, where people laugh and grieve a little?
Instead, it’s crypto-Apocalypse at its worst, ancient Egypt via “Indiana Jones”, squiggly and ugly inking overwhelming the subpart art, and Warren Worthington shirtless in Mars because… Sure, why not.
And then to cap it off with this absolute relic of a character, who went from being grotesquely offensive to flagrantly insensitive through the flip of a coin and a quick look at Merriam-Webster…
Just… just… Why?!?
Weird, albeit interesting comic.
The format of your recap feels like it works pretty well, especially for first issues that are putting pieces on the board.
The editor’s note saying this takes place after X-Men 35 was mocked because if you read both issues it’s obvious this issue takes place after X-Men 35.
Doug’s line about expecting Lin Li to bring peace and growth to the planet instead of harm seems to be an attempt to explain why he let her go.
Doug being here really doesn’t work. In both this issue and Wolverine 49 he’s portrayed as a liberal idiot who just expected Sabretooth and Lin Li to change their ways without realizing how difficult that is. Apocalypse is not the kind of person who would choose a liberal idiot as his successor.
The “no duels to the death” seems to be an attempt to justify why most of these characters would participate, since most of them wouldn’t agree to a contest where one or more of the losers would die.
@Salome H.- The answer is that this was commissioned before Breevort took over and then Breevort made sure it fit with the other From the Ashes issues. Unfortunately one result is that some important plot developments (such as how Alex got de-zombified and split with Maddie) will be dealt with is the Unlimited issues and not in a print issue.
Note that Apocalypse is using technology this issue and not relying exclusively on magic like he did during the Krakoan era.
Speaking of Cypher’s missing sleeve, what’s Warlock up to right now? I seem to recall Orchis’ Nimrod integrated him or something, but did he get free or is he currently dead alongside Nimrod?
@Joe- He was freed in the Uncanny Spider-Man series.
Poor Warlock. The only thing writers seem to know what do do with him is have bad guys harvest his organs. The original Phalanx, Mr Sinister and Cable’s arm, evil future Cypher and his LockTech, now Orchis. He should be in Silver Surfer or something, being all cosmic-level in potential.
Didn’t like this. The exposition, which there was a lot of, was heavy handed. The reason for a lot of the characters to willingly put up with Apocalypse is flimsy at best. If they wanted to use these characters some form of coercion from Apoc would had worked better IMO. The art was bland and boring.
The new format is fine, Paul. And my late thanks for the care in following the Krakoa era.
Steve Foxe just doesn’t seem to write X-books that I would find appealling. Or maybe he is being saddled with books that are a tough sell? I still fail to see a reason for “Dead X-Men” to have existed.
I think that, commercial concerns aside, Jonathan Hickman had the right idea. While his recently concluded “G.O.D.S.” series seems to have received little notice, it is IMO an excellent piece of work and really shows how he benefits from not limiting himself to pieces with decades of continuity baggage.
“Laura is also uncharacteristically derisive about Cypher being involved.”
I suppose we can No-Prize it that when nearly all your formative experiences revolve around how important it is to be great at fighting, you’re going to be dismissive of someone who’s only as good as a pretty good martial artist (and then only when writers remember he can read body language). Wolverine was a dick about Cypher’s involvement back in Second Coming, too, right up until Doug saved all of mutantkind.
“[Rictor]’s aware that Apocalypse had planned for him to represent the element of earth in his ritual”
It strikes me that they never did explain why Apocalypse chose the guy whose power is shooting vibration waves to be an earth elemental or whatever, rather than Magma, whose power is being ATTUNED TO THE EARTH. It’s 2024, Poccy, misogyny isn’t cool anymore! [Pending several upcoming elections.]
Aaaanyway, I hate that Dani’s and Doug’s involvement is tempting me to pick this up. Maybe I’ll wait for it to get a trade and borrow it from the library.
@Drew , Re: Rictor IKR ?! But apparently , as of Tini Howard’s Excalibur way back in 2020 , Julio developed a secondary mutation to become the non-flaming male counterpart of Magma LOL
I may be mistaken or misremembering, but from what I recall of 2020 Excalibur and of Apocalypse, his style just runs towards encouraging people to select themselves and let them deal with the consequences instead of going out of his way to pick up people who would have logically applicable skills for the task at hand.
Besides, it was something of a plot point that Rictor was in awe of Apocalypse and apparently gained new mystical powers in Otherworld that might or might not be explained later (I assume they were not).
Also, did Apocalypse even know where Magma was at that point in time?
Apocalypse just needed to look through some background scenes to find Magma. That’s where she always is.
Maybe she’ll get a solo series under Brevoort? *fingers crossed*
Was there ever a story where Magma went back in time to the actual ancient Rome? I feel like there could be something done there. And you could do something with the players active in that time period – Selene, obviously, Apocalypse, why not, that sad vampire legionnary of Selene’s, whatshisname, Eli Bard?
While I agree with many of the critiques this comic is earning in these comments, it is still so much more fundamentally competent and professional than FotHoX or the final stretch in X-Men.
@ Si: “He should be in Silver Surfer or something, being all cosmic-level in potential.”
I mean, he played a part in DnA’s very cosmic-focused Nova series 15+ years ago during the Annihilation: Conquest issues. The story was more in the “individuating from his unhealthy family” side of things, so while not brand new terrain for the character it definitely did not involve organ harvesting. And he did get to be part of some really epic action sequences drawn beautifully by Wellington Alves. (Obviously it’s been some time since then and doesn’t address his handling these days, but if you’re looking for cosmic Warlock stories and hadn’t seen one yet, there you go.)
Rictor was always linked to the earth. His first appearance stated that he caused the recent (real life) earthquake in Mexico. It’s been long-standing that his powers are greater where tectonic plates are under tension. And when he lost his powers in Decimation, he spoke about not being able to feel the earth any more.
Relieved to know that this is a mini. First shot out of the gate of Brevoort-era X-Men? Doesn’t feel good.
It’s the little things, like the title font, which feels like it’s trying hard to be a throwback title and giving us sort of pulp-reminiscent adventure. Partway in, I just got bored. I thought the whole point of the end of the Krakoa-era was to make Apocalypse irrelevant and take him off the board for a bit. Now we’re back to Apocalypse (no longer -:A:-) as arch villain, Mister Sinister hand-wavey back for no apparent reason, and everyone is acting rather stupid.
I was open to post-Krakoa, but something about this feels tiresome and dull.
@Si- but he’s always been able to affect objects that have no connection with the Earth with his vibrations. And he never could control the Earth until Tina Howard started writing him.
@mchan- What do you mean “Sinister hand-wavey back for no apparent reason”? The last we saw of him he teleported away.
Today I learned that Genocide is NOT the same character as Nemesis, formerly known as Holocaust, but is in fact a vaguely alternative version. Not that this matters, because apparently I just forgot so much of Remender’s X-Force run with the Apocalypse Seed and all that. Makes sense for this chowderhead to pop back up if we’re basically doing an Apocalypse Greatest Hits storyline though. Ozymandias next, anyone?
I still question the evolution of Rictor as earthquake-making/vibration channeling guy to “modern druid” but I guess secondary mutations can explain a lot of weird stuff if necessary.
The real question is, who WILL become the Heir of Apocalypse, given how many of these characters aren’t interested, and/or are already spoken for in upcoming stories.
My shortlist of the twelve official candidates in descending likelihood, even being generous:
Rictor
Exodus
Armageddon Girl
Gorgon
And of those, Rictor really is the one most set up and suitable to follow Poccy’s plan. I guess. Maybe this story will surprise us.
@The Other Michael- Cable would also be an interesting choice.
You’re right- it can’t be Emma, Forge, Laura, or Monet since they’re already spoken for/
Sinister I think will die and come back when Breevort has a concrete plan for him.
As for Doug or Dani- they’re possibilities but I don’t really see it.
I expect that there will be surprise twists and all this will become more Battle Royale as the series progresses. There’s a good chance there will be no “heir” at all, but if there is, it would have to be a C lister or someone who is already a bad guy.
But who in their right mind says “Apocalypse is up to something, I’d better do everything he says until his trap for me is revealed”?
Monet is spoken for?
The true Heir will be the Apocalypse we made along the way
@Kryzsiek- Monet is currently appearing in the Scarlet Witch series as Pietro’s girlfriend, although Gail Simone has said she wants to use Monet.
[…] HEIR OF APOCALYPSE #1. (Annotations here.) This is a truly weird month for the X-books. Krakoa is finished, but the new X-Men titles […]
Hey, Gorgon exists again. Why was he just nowhere at the back end of Krakoa if he was back to his regular settings?
@Dave- I think the idea is this- Gorgon gets killed in X-Men Unlimited 55. He gets resurrected in X-Men Forever 3 with everybody else and is restored to his previous personality.
“Sinister treats Apocalypse’s physical death traps with mild amusement, and is confident that nobody present can kill him “in any way that matters”. That said, he does submit to being held at gunpoint by Cable, so apparently he can be hurt by relatively conventional weapons.”
Nobody present can kill him in any way that matters *to them*, since a replacement clone will be along soon. But *this instance* of Mr. S would still be dead, and he would understandably rather avoid that.
Without any clear idea of what being Apocalypse’s heir *means*, I am left with a feeling that this story has no stakes at all.
What ever happened to Evan?
Also, i would have nominated Frenzy in place of others that seem to have no relevance to Apocalypse (ahem, *Gorgon*) and probably a few others if i wanted to spend time to even think about it
Apocalypse (…or somebody else) killed Evan in Age of X-Man, right before Krakoa, so the ‘no clones’ rules barred his resurrection and then… everyone forgot him once they’ve started bringing back clones?
But any writer can bring him back and say that he was krakoa’d, we just didn’t get to see him.
Apocalypse was a collective punching bag for whole pages in his previous and very recent appearance.
Just because his ego won’t allow him to accept that he is not a main mover and shaker it will not follow that he is.
This series won’t necessarily end up with Apocalypse finding some sort of acolyte to represent his interests on Earth. That is just what he is claiming to want right now.
Hopefully we will have the opportunity for some (Archangel, Rictor, Exodus and Cable before most) to spell out what they see as the natural role (if any) for such a character in this day and age.
A wild guess is that the series may exist in large part to invite readers to provide answer candidates. I am curious myself. Apocalypse isn’t a character that I see as having staying power, yet he keeps turning up.
“ Monet is currently appearing in the Scarlet Witch series as Pietro’s girlfriend,”
Pietro’s mid-life crisis? No point in him buying a sports car, so I guess the young girlfriend is next option.
After this writeup, I can’t help but think that Apocalypse won’t think that any of the contestants are worthy of being his heir, and he’s going to have to come back to Earth to be a villain once in a while. It’s back to basics!
@Sam- Foxe said in an interview here:
https://aiptcomics.com/2024/06/03/x-men-monday-254-steve-foxe-apocalypse/
“And it has to be said loud and clear: there is no fake-out here. By the end of this event, one of these 12 mutants will have a new name, a new look, and a new mission as the Heir of Apocalypse.”
That is slightly surprising, Michael. But given that statement, here are my guesses.
Armageddon Girl
8/10. She has the proper mindset, has decided that she knows best about Earth.
Cable
9/10. No obvious use for him right now. Has the proper personality. From a plot perspective, it would be interesting to see him deal with the conflicts coming with the role.
Cypher
7/10. Quite the dark horse. Has the potential to grab the attention of more and larger groups than most other candidates, which is a very big advantage. Has shown increased agency and willingness to deceive in recent years. Is too easily underestimated.
Emma Frost
2/10. I just don’t see her choosing to present herself as the legacy of a domineering man.
Exodus
8/10. Incredibly powerful, therefore useful. On the rebound from losing both Hope and Krakoa. From a meta perspective, is perfectly positioned for new histories after being visible and well written in Immortal X-Men.
Forge
3/10. Not really a role that plays to his personality or strengths.
Gorgon
5/10. Could happen, but not a very likely path ahead. I get a sense that he does not particularly want to be seen as an emissary from Apocalypse.
Mister Sinister
6/10. A bit of an odd thought, but Sinister is nothing if not ambitious and adaptable. That he is utterly untrustworthy may be perceived as an advantage by Apocalypse, who always liked a bit of a challenge.
Mirage
6/10. Somewhat aimless right now. Has leadership qualities. May be willing to try edgier ways after Krakoa.
Penance
4/10. Just not a good fit IMO.
Rictor
5/10. Seems to think of himself as the natural choice, but that would be both unlikely and too obvious. I think that he is much too willing to follow, and I expect that Apocalypse would think that too.
X-23
1/10. Not impossible, I guess.
I think I have it. There’s one thing unifying each of these characters, except Armageddon Girl, who is a red herring. They all have magnificent hair. Apocalypse wants to find the mutant with the best hair, so they can donate some for a transplant. For all his power, Apocalypse is still bald.
It’s Hair of Apocalypse.
I would rather Doug and Dani go back into New Mutants limbo than either of them get “a new name, a new look, and a new mission.” Haven’t they both been through enough identities at this point?
No spoilers, but I just finished reading Immortal Thor issue #8, that came on Unlimited. It kind of ruins Armageddon Girl denying Gaia herself so recently. A pity, it was a good reflection on the nature of extremism. Maybe this comic will shape Armageddon Girl further.
I think we’ve also forgotten to ask ourselves an important question about these twelve mutants: which one is Mystique in disguise?
My top 3 candidates (in no particular order) are Wolverine, Forge, and Cypher.