Marvel Rundown: X-MEN OF APOCALYPSE ALPHA #1 is a blast to the past

FACE FRONT True believers! After last week’s exile from Shi’ar space., the mighty Marvel Rundown is back once again to take a look at this week’s hottest Marvel titles. Prepare to be astonished by the X-Men of Apocalypse as they venture to the main 616 universe to fix a grave error. In the rundown you will find yourself amazed by Captain America #3, behold the Nova force with Imperial War: Nova #1, and be shocked by the One World Under Doom #7, and 

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X-Men of Apocalypse Alpha #1

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: Simone Di Meo
Letterer: Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Tyler Smith

The much-hyped X-Men “event” is here with the release of X-Men of Apocalypse Alpha #1. I am reluctant to call it an event given that it seems to be limited to a mini-series and there is also another more significant Age of Apocalypse themed event releasing in the coming weeks with X-Men Age of Revelation. If that seems like a lot of Age of -blank- it’s because it is. Age of Apocalypse is a beloved event for a lot of reasons. That’s why Marvel feels like returning to the concept in some form or fashion every 5 years. I get it. This year also marks the 30^th anniversary of AoA. I understand Marvel’s desire to do a big blow out celebration. Again, I get it. What I don’t get is why did Marvel have to stack them on top of each other? Flavorwise, Age of Revelation has more in common with Age of X and Age of X-Man than AoA. It is a thematic call back to the classics. I appreciate those stories far more than when Marvel revisits the AoA universe of Earth-295. It is diminishing returns, folks. That universe has run its course at least 3 times now. Let it stay dead.

Art by Simone Di Meo

As for X-Men of Apocalypse Alpha #1, it confirms what I already feared about this trip back to the 295: It is all flash and no substance. I will never understand why, in 2025, Marvel and DC both decided to bring Jeph Loeb back from the wilderness to write two high profile nostalgia sequels. When the news broke that Loeb was going to write this mini-series I shuddered. As a writer, Jeph Loeb has a knack for being partnered with some of the finest artists of that era that created some amazing looking comics BUT read poorly. Loeb loves to use narration, which isn’t a problem, that just imposes on itself and wants to sound important. That is very much the case in this issue. We have a third person narration throughout the issue that tries to make the stakes seem larger and harken to emotional roots. The problem is that it feels very vapid. Loeb is trying to make it weighty and rich but it comes off as a poor man’s Chris Claremont.

Art by Simone Di Meo

The overreliance and failure of the narrator compounds on another flaw of Loeb- his character work. Loeb’s never been the best with characters. Often writes them in the broadest and archetypal sense. Take Gambit and Rogue, they are the focus on the issue. Loeb presents them in their most basic characterizations and doesn’t do anything interesting but try to force the unrequited love angle for Gambit. There just isn’t any weight to these characters.

Art by Simone Di Meo

Writing characters in broad strokes can be an effective when paired with an interesting plot or twists but we don’t see either of these. The plot revolves around restoring the AoA timeline as the correct timeline and the X-men of Apocalypse questioning why they didn’t die in the nuclear holocaust. I don’t like to review the book I wish I read instead of what I read, but I can’t help but wonder how much better this comic would have been if it tried answering the later question instead.

Simone Di Meo is a talented artist who renders some of the most polished looking pages I have ever read. They are slick and have this amazing color treatment for them. It is a shame that it is buried under the mountain of narration boxes Loeb puts in the book. The character models are refined from the classic look of the 90’s AoA to best fit their art style. However, as sequential pages, art leaves a lot to be desired. It is hard to follow the action on the page as each panel feels more like an illustration instead of telling a story. There is not much consistency between the pages, and the backgrounds are mere footnotes making it hard for the reader to get their bearings. It is a pretty looking comic, but I got a headache trying to read it.

I am going to be honest; I did not like this book. I didn’t have high expectations going in but I was shocked by how mediocre it was. This issue was dull and confusing to read at the same time. The plot is not interesting at all and the promise of 90’s Nate Grey is not enough to entice me to read the rest of the series outside of coverage for The Marvel Rundown.

Art by Simone Di Meo

Final Verdict: SKIP

Rapid Rundown!

• Captain America #3
  • Captain America continues to throw his mighty shield in Captain America #03, written by a personal favorite of mine, Chip Zdarsky, and with art by Valerio Schiti. Steve is still in Latveria and is now a captive of Doom, but instead of being hauled around in chains, Doom does what Doom does best and talks with Captain America. The issue alternates between Steve and Doom’s conversation and the rescue of the hostages from Dave and the Howling Commandos. Both are extremely interesting, especially since Dave’s personal struggle is an element that the story plays well with, and Doom’s fascination with Captain America, the original Nazi puncher, is not only of sound reasoning but also makes their relationship very interesting.
    Zdarsky intertwines this issue with the tragedy of war and its devastating consequences while also focusing on Captain America’s place in it all. From his darker costume to his loyalty to America. This isn’t new ground for Steve Rogers, but Zdarsky plays it well, especially with a final twist that really ups the stakes of the issue and the action. The fight between Steve and a Doombot is gorgeous thanks to Schiti, and the way the issue ends is devastating and exciting. It’s time for Captain America to lighten up, even if it means admitting Doom was right. This is a great reminder to be reading Captain America by this new creative team, because the next issue looks like it’s going to be a real page turner. -LM

• Imperial War: Nova Centurion #1
  • Any Imperial tie-in has a lot to live up to after She-Hulk, in my estimation. It was a perfect test run for a fun new story featuring a familiar character in a new, entertaining setting. It was not a direct tie-in to the events of the main book but used those events to tell something new and exciting. Nova Centurion is, unfortunately, the opposite. Not only is it directly continuing from the previous issue of the main series, it gives the reader no new information and needlessly fleshes out a story point, Nova finding out the group behind the war, that was handled already in a few panels. The whole issue—with shared writing credits given to Jed MacKay and Jonathan Hickman—takes place in a dreamscape composed of Nova’s survivor’s guilt. But instead of exploring that meaningfully, Nova and the Worldmind super consciousness just draw out the details we learned in Imperial #3 from a slightly different angle. If the Imperial event exists to act as a springboard for future Marvel Cosmic stories like Annihilation did years ago, this one-shot totally fails. The art is solid  superhero work, full of gritted teeth and melodramatic shouting by Matteo Della Fonte. He does what he can with a dull script, and I’d love to see him get to do something with real emotion or action. Ven Nitro’s colors are muted and naturalistic, a stark contrast to the bright pop scifi of the other Imperial books, which suits the more somber (and boring) tone of this issue’s story and dialogue. Cory Petit’s lettering finds a way to work the heavy conversations naturally into the art without overwhelming things. It’s hard to imagine how reading this issue might in any way enhance the reading of the main story, and outside of the events of the book, does little to further Nova’s character. It’s one of the worse books I’ve read from Marvel in some time from conception to execution in some time and feels like an empty cash grab. – TR

• One World Under Doom #7

  One World Under Doom #7

  • To juxtapose the early days of Doom scheming and fighting a Captain America fresh out of the ice, One World picks up after the worldwide debate between him and Mr. Fantastic, and the devastating revelation that Doom has been using Latverian citizens to power his magic, forcing the world to see him for the authoritarian dictator that he is. The following ten days highlight the repercussions of Doom’s exposure, he shows his true self, forcibly putting down any resistance, getting his propaganda machine to spin for him, and revoking free speech. Writer Ryan North stays on that soapbox, giving readers another round of social comic-tary with the parallels of how this thing we call the great American experiment is under attack from authoritarian rule. But in all the ways that matter, our heroes have the easier task as they assemble to make one massive assault against Doom and his dinosaur. And this is where artist R.B. Silva and color artist David Curiel get their groove on with the visually dynamic storytelling and hyper vibrant artwork that we have come to expect from this team. The big battle finds ways to be fresh and energetic without the reader getting lost in the mayhem of the battle. To add to that, they worked in a nice old school touch with a zipatone effect, tip of the hat to them. North, Silva, and Curiel have been building up events, and I’m ready for them to bring it home. – GC3

Can’t wait for next week’s books? Catch up with past iterations of the Rundown!