Overall, X-Men: Before the Fall Heralds of Apocalypseis a brilliant story that should easily excite anyX-Menfan. The coming war with Genesis promises more interaction with Apocalypse, which has been sorely needed. His question of strength will soon be hanging over the heads of every Krakoan as they survive in the wake of the Fall of X. Read Full Review

X-Men Before the Fall: The Heralds of Apocalypse extends into and well beyond the activities in other X titles. Before The Fall X because it is about what took place before there were X-Men. En Saban Nur did not want an Age of Apocalypse. Only a life with Genesis and the monuments of their love. Now just as Annihilation did in the past, Orchis threatens his chance at peace. This comic is a revelation of what is to come. Read Full Review

X-Men Before the Fall: Heralds of the Apocalypse #1 lays a strong groundwork for the next phase in the history of Krakoa and Arakko. Read Full Review

X-Men: Before the Fall Heralds of Apocalypse #1 provides an important and focused comic book. With this comic book Al Ewing fills in some of the gaps of Apocalypse post-House of X/Power of X continuity while laying the groundwork for his potentially big role in the upcoming Fall of X event. It is definitely a must read for X-Men fans of the Krakoa Era. Read Full Review

Ewings work is a progression of what has been done by others over the years, going all the way back to Louise Simonsons creation of Apocalypse back in the late 1980s. The elements that Ewing is exploring are almost present enough in the one-shot to stand alone as a compelling pseudo-mythological story...but not quite. Read Full Review

This may not be necessary reading, but for those invested in the current and upcoming X-sagas, it sets the stage nicely. Read Full Review

As written by Al Ewing, Before The Fall Heralds of Apocalypse is equal parts epic in tone but otherwise small in scale. The bulk of the issue is essentially one long fight scene with bits of conversation and exposition seeded throughout, but Ewing knows what hes doing. He makes it an enthralling read with such high stakes on the line for both, while the extended art team (Luca Pizzari, Stefano Landini, Raphael Pimento, Ceci de la Cruz) sells his script with gorgeously rendered art. YMMV whether or not this issue is an essential read (prelude-y interludes like these vary on that scale) but for those looking to reunite with an old friend (foe?) before shit goes down for the X-Men, youll probably want to sit down with this one. Read Full Review

X-Men: Before the Fall The Heralds of Apocalypse #1 is a hot mess. Super deep attempts at philosophical nonsense open this bad boy which later leads into a battle between Genesis and Apocalypse that amounts to nothing. Sure, Ewing provides a little background on Genesis and how it wasn't necessarily the mask that caused her to do what she did. Nevertheless, if you can comb through the thick swamp of trivial dialogue to even figure out any of the conversations delivered in X-Men: Before the Fall The Heralds of Apocalypse #1, more power to you. Read Full Review

So frankly, not a heck of a lot going on. Exposition-heavy setup issue that isn't going to make much sense unless you've read a lot of recent Apocalypse-lore in the other X-books. Read Full Review

We're headed for Fall of X and There is no mystery for me. It's building but I just don't care for it. Al Ewing is always good with his words and setup but as usual this will read better collected in line with previous and future work.

Story is laying down bricks. It might be better in retrospect but as a self-contained story it feels like we're on the sidelines, not in the game.

I agree with what two other users stated in their, respective, reviews, in that this is probably an issue you can skip. Listen, this was a fairly enjoyable book and everything, but nothing really felt that important here. Yes, we see more Apocalypse for the first time since he left to Amenth at the end of X of Swords back in 2020, but it doesn't really feel like his appearance here mattered that much. One other thing about this issue was the fact that I almost forgot three different artists worked on this. It wasn't until one of the pages towards the end that I noticed two drawings of Apocalypse looked different. I'm not really a fan of artists changing in the middle of an issue, and this was no different. I can understand it when it changes depending on the location or time period, but this was straight-up out of nowhere in this issue. It doesn't help that this book alternates between time periods already, so the opportunity as there. more

This comic is mostly just a retread of Hickman-era Arakko plots, which is unfortunate because Hickman's Arakko was a deathly boring place before it blossomed on Mars under the more nuanced human touch of Ewing's work. It starts well and ends well, but most of what falls between is just reruns of the weakest parts of the Hickman era. The art team does nice work, and although there are three artists credited, the visuals are nicely unified in a style that feels indebted in places to the late great Carlos Pacheco. Not an unworthy read despite the uninspiring remit, but ultimately a skippable one.

X-MEN: BEFORE THE FALL: HERALDS OF APOCALYPSE #1 is a one-shot story meant to lay additional groundwork ahead of the upcoming ‘Fall of X’ event. It was written by Al Ewing with art by the trio of Stefano Landini, Luca Pizzari, and Rafael T. Pimentel. After reading this one-shot I feel like I’m the one who has fallen, specifically into a time machine and was displaced across multiple timelines. It’s a story that picks up seemingly after both the events of X-Men: Red #12 from earlier this month and the climax of the ‘X of Swords’ event from 2020. I’m not really sure what I just read but I guess I have to write about it…

Fair warning to anyone who hasn’t spent a ton of time brushing up on their Okkaran history — this issue could get confusing. It assumes readers have followed some of the bigger storylines related to the timeline of Okkara, Arakko, and Krako, and the events that caused Okkara to split in two.

Unseen in comics since the aforementioned ‘X of Swords’ event, Apocalypse, or “A” if you need a refresher, takes center stage in what can best be described as a philosophical reflection on what the meaning of strength is. In a tongue in cheek moment, we learn that Apocalypse’s name really meant Revelation, but it has been bastardized over the course of centuries due to those who grew to fear him. This discrepancy in the meaning of his name is rooted in real-world etymology, as the Greek word ‘apokalypsis’ literally means revelation.

Juxtaposed against Apocalypse/Revelation’s views on what strength means are the views of his wife, Genesis. The two reflect on various moments in time from their lives and end up at swords against one another after their debate turns into a full blown fight over their diametrically opposed views on how strength is defined via times of war and peace.

In the end, Apocalypse/Revelation survives what should have been a fatal wound only to yield to Genesis and allows her to leave via an Okkara gate. While not explicitly mentioned, it is implied that she is headed to war with the mutants on Earth.

My biggest problem with this one-shot is that it felt like it’s purpose wasn’t to tell a new story. By no means was this the fault of Ewing’s writing, which tried mightily to lift a stale plot into an elevated conversation. However, it came off as a means of reintroducing certain concepts and characters that had been not been seen in some time, while putting pieces into place for events in the coming months. Which I guess is fine in the grand scheme of things, but it felt like a disservice to the the momentum Apocalypse/Revelation was building towards in 2020. The evolution of his character and worldviews was one of the more interesting developments of early Krakoa and there was always something missing when we lost his narrative after ‘Fall of X.’ For me, this was an underwhelming reintroduction to the character after so many years.

It’s not easy to have three artists on one issue, but Landini, Pizzari, and Pimentel did what they could with the artwork. Styles and techniques felt consistent throughout the all 35 pages, though at times it felt too consistent. Given the timeline jumping that occurs throughout the book, varying the art may have helped readers transition between the in-story timelines more easily. Otherwise their lines are clean and their character designs are plenty detailed. The action sequences offer some of the best panels.

Overall, I’m not sure X-MEN: BEFORE THE FALL: HERALDS OF APOCALYPSE #1 is a must-read for the current X-book narrative. Some of it’s major moments could likely have been one or two pages of backstory in other titles, allowing us to explore more meaningful plot development. This does give me pause for the upcoming Sinister Four one-shot, though how can you make Nathaniel Essex boring??

Rating: 5/10 more