The following contains spoilers for X-Men: Before the Fall – Heralds of Apocalypse #1 by Al Ewing, Stefano Landini, Luca Pizzari, and Rafael T. Pimentel, which is on sale now.
With the release of this week's X-Men: Before the Fall – Heralds of Apocalypse #1, the X-Men get one step closer to their next (and perhaps last?) crossover event, Fall of X. The sprawling crossover will affect every corner of the X-Men comic book universe, and in the pages of X-Men Red, the Fall of X tie-in will involve the Genesis War.
Apocalypse and Genesis have returned following the events of the X of Swords crossover, and that means bad news for the mutants of Arakko. Al Ewing discussed the future of the Genesis War with Marvel.com and revealed some fascinating insights into what Storm and the X-Men are about to face.
How are Apocalypse and Genesis different?
When asked how Apocalypse and Genesis have changed since we last saw them, Ewing had a fascinating explanation that the real key was how have they changed BEFORE that point, noting, "Between their parting thousands of years ago and their meeting again in X OF SWORDS, both went through a lot that the other didn’t see. Not to mention that memories change over time as well. So now they’re together again and relearning one another, and we’ll see if they can surmount their differences or at least work through them. Unfortunately, this couple operate on a grander scale, so the definition of "working through things" might involve a planet-wide war."
This also ties into the way that Apocalypse and Genesis have evolved, as Ewing explains that recent X-Men events have actually had an impact on Apocalpyse, " Apocalypse has learned from the Krakoan era, as much as he’s helped to teach. His "survival of the fittest" ethos has evolved, and he’s eager to display his new thinking. This isn’t a face turn, because in his own mind, Apocalypse is beyond simple considerations of "heels" and "faces"—so it may not be good news for the people of Arakko, or for the people of Earth." However, as Ewing explains, Genesis doesn't see that as evolution, but rather, weakness, He points out that "Genesis sees Apocalypse as weaker. That can be interpreted as a basic matter of power, but I chose to interpret it as being less willing to see what Genesis considers the harsh realities of life—despite their life experiences at this point being very different."
What is Storm going to face in the Genesis War?
When asked about the general conflict between Storm and Genesis over what is the best path forward for Arrako (the very heart of the Genesis War), Ewing explains, "Storm believes that the path Arakko has taken, from terraforming and settling Mars onwards, is the right path. Genesis doesn’t. As far as she’s concerned, Arakko took a serious wrong turn as soon as they were out from under her thumb, and for their own good, she needs to be back in charge. And since one of the things she thinks they were wrong about was not conquering Earth, we should probably hope Storm wins."
Obviously, with two powerful mutants like Storm and Genesis, we will see some exciting battles. When asked what he was most excited about with their upcoming clash, Ewing teased, "What they come into battle on. That makes no sense now, but it will."
X-Men: Before the Fall – Heralds of Apocalypse #1 is on sale now.
Source: Marvel Comics