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3rd Apr '13 3:58:51 PM MacronNotes

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F[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AoATrope.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:350:What happens when [[TheChosenOne One man]] dies? [[TheBadGuyWins THIS!]]]]

In 1995, this crossover from MarvelComics among the [[Comicbook/{{X-Men}} X-Titles]] began when Legion, son of Professor Xavier, travelled back in time to kill {{Magneto}}, but ended up killing his own father instead. This story, itself a minor crossover called ''Legion Quest,'' led to the main Age of Apocalypse crossover.

For four months the X-titles were replaced by miniseries that took place in the AlternateUniverse that had come about [[ForWantOfANail for want of an Xavier]]. This BadFuture VillainWorld was a [[{{Dystopia}} dystopian]] [[CrapSackWorld Crap Sack]] where heroes were villains, villains were heroes, and AnyoneCanDie. The non-mutant comics weren't part of the crossover, though a two issue miniseries ''X-Universe'' did show what happened to the non-mutant Marvel heroes in the new history. ScottLobdell directed the overall story arc and some of ChrisBachalo's best work is featured in this series. The series were renamed as follows:

* ''Uncanny X-Men'' - ''Astonishing X-Men''
* ''X-Men'' - ''Amazing X-Men''
* ''X-Men Unlimited'' - ''X-Men Chronicles''
* ''Wolverine'' - ''Weapon X''
* ''X-Force'' - ''Gambit & The X-Ternals''
* ''X-Factor'' - ''Factor X''
* ''Excalibur'' - ''X-Calibre''
* ''Generation X'' - ''Generation Next''
* ''Cable'' - ''X-Man''

TheConstant was Bishop. Hailing from an alternate future, he was already a chronal anomaly and thus unaffected by the change. He was the only one who remembered the world 'as it should be' and convinced the heroes to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong, even though it would mean that their own timeline would cease to exist. It turned out that the world was doomed anyway, as both hemispheres would have been leveled by nuclear attacks. Some characters managed to escape the closing of the temporal singularity and entered normal {{Continuity}}. One who failed to make it back was the remarkably popular Blink, the second of her lamented deaths. [[DeathIsCheap Death may be cheap]], but she did not return until five years later in ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'', a series about a team of characters who are all UnstuckInTime.

On the tenth anniversary a sequel miniseries was produced, which isn't very popular among fans; among other things, it shows little evidence of the devastation evident in the original series. There was also a "What If" story pitting the survivors of the original series against Galactus. A recent arc in Uncanny X-Force seems to have paved the way for a new ongoing series in 2012 for the survivors.

A shining example of the DarkerAndEdgier comics of TheNineties: a ''literal'' post-Apocalyptic warzone.
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!!Tropes featured in the series:

* AlternateUniverse
* AndThisIsFor:
-->'''Apocalypse''': So be it, whelp. Any last words?
-->'''X-Man''': Four, in fact. '''THIS ONE'S FOR FORGE!''' *kick to the face*
* AnyoneCanDie: It's an AlternateUniverse, and a particularly {{Grimdark}} one at that, so this trope is in full effect. Longtime but not actually iconic characters in main continuity are {{Red Shirt}}s here. 
* ApocalypseNot: The ten-year revival series makes the world look much less nasty in comparison to the original run.
* ARealManIsAKiller: Colossus expects the younger mutants to kill one another during training to ensure survival of the fittest.
* BadassNormal: Gwen Stacy stands out the most, compared to her counterpart in the normal continuity, but many other other non-mutant Marvel heroes (who managed to escape Apocalypse's human cullings...Peter Parker and half of the ComicBook/FantasticFour did not) qualify as well.
* BerserkButton: Did anyone ''not'' see {{Magneto}} getting [[RoaringRampageofRevenge at least a little upset]] about people being hoarded into concentration camps by a supposedly "Superior Race"?
** If [[WorldWarII Holocaust]] had thought about where his name came from for just a minute, it would be obvious why he's on Magneto's hit list.
* BlackAndGrayMorality: Forget about Magneto. In a setting where the [[FantasticRacism mutant Nazis]] have already conquered or wiped out half the world and the remaining humans are willing to nuke them in self-defense, Sabretooth and the Sentinels are good guys. 
* BlessedWithSuck: Averted, in normal continuity, Chamber's power causes most of his chest and face to melt off, but in this reality, he simply had a hole drilled in his chest to let the energy escape.
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Nemesis (Holocaust's previous persona, before being nearly killed by [[{{Irony Magneto]]), Havok.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Mikhail-
* CanonForeigner: Among others, Charles Lehnsherr, Dead-Eye, and Switchback. The only thing the [=AoA=] Arclight, Bastion, and Wolverine share with their classic Marvel Universe namesakes are the names. The classic Arclight is a woman (AoA Arclight's a man), the normal MU Bastion appeared as a mutant-hater ''after'' AoA, and the [=AoA=] version of the classic {{Wolverine}} goes by the name Weapon X. Sugar Man had no known counterpart in the classic Marvel Universe, but as noted below he, plus Dark Beast, X-Man, and Holocaust (whose respective counterparts are Beast, Cable, and the recently-revealed Genocide), did literally immigrate from the [=AoA=] reality to the classic universe in the finale.
* CanonImmigrant:
** A version of Abyss--one of Apocalypse's horsemen--later appeared in the normal MarvelUniverse, but due to Apocalypse not ruling the world, he was a hero and Damask's 616 counterpart is {{ComicBook/Excalibur}} villain Emma Steed. Oh, and thanks to recent events in ''Uncanny X-Force'', there's now a 616 version of Holocaust, calling himself Genocide.
** Holocaust, Sugar Man, Dark Beast, X-Man, [=AoA=] Sabretooth and [=AoA=] Blink are literal examples of this; the former four found their way into the classic MU during the finale (X-Man interacted with his counterpart, Cable, a few times and Dark Beast once impersonated his counterpart, the classic Beast) and the latter two, via ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}.'' Given Holocaust died, he's unlikely to meet his newly-revealed 616 counterpart, Genocide, unless he's resurrected.
** More recently, [=AoA=] Blob, who joined Daken's Brotherhood of Mutants and [=AoA=] Nightcrawler, who has joined XForce
* CatchPhrase: Apocalypse's constant referrals to the "chosen" and the "forgotten".
* CoDragons: The Horsemen of Apocalypse (Sinister, Holocaust, Abyss and Prelate Rasputin). Former Horsemen (Candra, Gideon, War, Death, Maximus/Death II, Bastion, Sabretooth).
** The Elite Mutant Force serve as Co-Dragons for Sinister (Cyclops, Havok, Cannonball, Amazon, Northstar, Aurora, the Bedlam Brothers, Marrow, the M Twins)
*** Cyclops becomes the TokenGoodTeammate.
* CloningBlues: 
** The Infinites are genetically engineered {{Mooks}}
** The Madri also count. They are also a ReligionOfEvil that worships Apocalypse.
** Maximus killed [[TheInhumans his entire family]] and cloned twisted versions of them to serve him as his EliteMooks.
* LesCollaborateurs:
** The Marauders, human terrorists serving Apocalypse: Dirigible (Wilson Fisk), Red (Norman Osborn), Arcade and Owl.
** The Reavers, cyborgs enhanced with Apocalypse's technoorganic virus.
* DeathWorld: Several continents have been wiped out by nuclear weapons, most of the rest of the planet is an irradiated wasteland, genocidal death squads hunt down and wage war on the surviving human race and "race-traitors", dissenters and opponents of the tyrannical regime can expect to be thrown into concentration camps to try and survive sadistic experiments, and North America is divided between the EvilOverlord and his [[CoDragons most trusted and dangerous lieutenants]], who rule their territories as personal kingdoms. The world is intentionally [[CrapsackWorld crapsack]] as Apocalypse believes everyone has to earn the right to live and will come out stronger for it by surviving and prospering on this nightmare planet.
* DidTheyOrDidntThey: Fans were convinced that Rogue and Magneto hooked up in a previous storyline (despite WordOfGod), perhaps the reason why they were a genuine couple in this series.
* TheDisembodied: The villain Holocaust.
* DontYouDarePityMe: {{Quicksilver}} learned that his father had been kidnapped by his worst enemy, his half brother had vanished, and a virtual stranger had also been captured. He had to decide to rescue the stranger. When his girlfriend Storm tried to sympathize, he refused to talk with her because if he thought of what he was doing, he would not be able to do it.
* DragonWithAnAgenda: Sinister, Holocaust and Prelate Rasputin have their own plans.
* EliteMooks:
** The Mutant Elite Force, who serve Sinister
** The Brotherhood of Chaos, associated with Abyss
** The Pale Riders
** Domino's Bounty Hunters
* TheEmpire
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt
* EverybodysDeadDave: This is the nature of the report [[spoiler:Colossus gives about Generation Next to Blink and the rest of the X-Men--his entire class of students (for those keeping score, that's Chamber, Vicente, Mondo, Husk, and Skin) was sacrificed to save Ilyana and repair the timeline]].
* EvilOverlord: Apocalypse himself is one of these in this story. Holocaust and Mikhail have similar plans of their own.
** [[spoiler:Logan (Weapon X) in the Dark Angel Saga]]
* EvilAlbino: Some depictions of Northstar and Aurora.
* FaceHeelTurn and HeelFaceTurn: 
** Numerous characters are on different sides in this reality, including Sabretooth, Exodus, Cyclops, Havok, and Dark Beast, who even crossed over to the main MarvelUniverse and became a recurring X-Villain.
** In universe examples include Cyclops and Strong Guy among others. 
**  [[spoiler: Wolverine as of the Dark Angel Saga in Uncanny having become the heir to Apocalypse, with a BrainwashedAndCrazy Storm, and Bobby Drake.]]
* FlipFlopOfGod: Readers were told that although changing the past usually produces an alternate universe that exists in addition to, but doesn't replace, the main one, Legion's great power enabled him to break this rule and change actual Marvel history. Nevertheless, the Age of Apocalypse universe was later treated as a normal alternate universe.
** It was explained that the real reason for the main MarvelUniverse being destroyed (temporarily) is the M'Kraan Crystal being breached; since there is a single M'Kraan Crystal that exists simultaneously in all realities, breaching it in one reality creates a cascade effect that will wipe out the entire multiverse. When this was averted, things went back to normal.
* FutureBadass: Almost everyone in the series is a future badass version of themselves; the one glaring exception is Illyana Rasputin, who never went to hell in this continuity and is therefore a little girl rather than a teenaged demon-sorceress. 
* GoThroughMe: During a massive battle, Colossus sees that his little sister is in trouble and rushes to save her, with gusto. Iceman steps up and says something along the lines of "No can do pal, if you want to get out of here you'll have to go through m-"... and the next panel shows Colossus smashing Iceman into a million pieces. [[spoiler:Though that wouldn't actually kill him now after some power {{Ret Con}}s.]]
* {{Irony}}: {{Magneto}} has always been concerned about a human genocide against mutants. Instead, there ends up being a mutant genocide against humans.
** [[WorldWarII The Holocaust]] almost killed Magneto. Magneto almost-kills Holocaust
* KillEmAll: As one would expect from a dystopian alternate timeline, numerous Marvel characters were killed off as part of the backstory, and many more die over the course of the main story. And then, in the finale, [[spoiler:the [[{{Muggles}} human]] resistance sends a massive airship fleet to Apocalypse's domain to NukeEm All. Even though Apocalypse has already been killed. Later, a ComicBook/WhatIf story shows the handful of survivors, human and mutant, trying to rebuild...and then [[PlanetEater Galactus]] shows up.]]
* MarkedBullet: Mystique, also the source of the title 'X-Calibre'.
* MadScientist: Sinister. And his apprentice turned NumberTwo, Beast, who not only performs gruesome experiments to create more powerful mutants, but [[ForTheEvulz just for fun.]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Quite a few, including Mr. Sinister and Holocaust. And of course the titular Apocalypse.
** In a wonderful case of {{Irony}} Holocaust was almost killed by {{Magneto}}.
* NotSoDifferent: Colossus philosophy after years of war is quite similar to that of Apocalypse.
* OmnicidalManiac: Holocaust. While Apocalypse wants the fittest to survive, Holocaust wants to kill everyone in the world.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad - Slightly subverted in that some members of the Pale Riders (Dead Man Wade) and the bounty hunters (Caliban) ''are'' quirky, but the squads are rather efficient.
* ReligionOfEvil: The Madri, and the Brotherhood of Chaos. The regime itself promotes the idea of Apocalypse as a GodEmperor and PhysicalGod
* LaResistance - The X-Men and the Human Resistance
* PsychicNosebleed: X-Man gets this when he overstresses himself using his power; it's one symptom of his eventual SuperPowerMeltdown (see below).
** Jean Grey gets one too, when she overloads the Brain Trust with psychic energy.
* PunchClockVillain: The Bedlam Brothers
* TheQuisling:
** Keeper {{Daredevil|Murdock}}, who serves as TheConsigliere and TheDragon to Mikhail Rasputin
** Dr. Bruce Banner, who serves as TheMole to Mikhail, who provided him mutant test subjects, allowing Banner to become "The Thing", [[ComicBook/IncredibleHulk the Hulk's]] Age of Apocalypse counterpart.
* RememberThatYouTrustMe
* RetCanon: The classic Sunfire later sported his [=AoA=] counterpart's look, ironically as a horseman of Apocalypse while Shadowcat briefly employed a claw device similar to the one used by her [=AoA=] self.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: Bishop, as usual.
* TheSpartanWay: Colossus' method of training young mutants.
* TheStarscream: 
** Sinister (without the "Mister") betrays Apocalypse and seeks to destroy him because Sinister believes no lifeform will survive his plans.
** Holocaust is also implied to have more extreme plans.
* SuperPowerMeltdown: X-Man was engineered by Sinister to eventually (and literally) burn out from the strength of his psionic power. 
* TheTimeTravellersDilemma: Fixing things to how they should be means the end of the line for everyone in this dimension, which gives Magneto pause when he considers the son he has with Rogue.
* TruceZone: Heaven, the nightclub run by Warren Worthington III, he himself attempts to play the TrueNeutral role, providing entertainment to the elite of Apocalypse's regime, but also information to "terrorists" like the X-Men or Gambit's X-Ternals.
* UnexplainedRecovery: Even though the usual "This is a 'What If' so let's kill everyone we can' rules apply, one character actually enjoyed a normal [[DeathisCheap comic book resurrection]], albeit as an after the fact RetCon brought about by editorial bungling. [[spoiler:Cyclops was intended to die in the end, but as many fans pointed out, the depiction of his death makes no sense; Havok's power shouldn't be able to even hurt him, much less kill him. So in the epilogue miniseries, he was established to be alive again (though he never appears).]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: 
** Not counting the ten-year revival ([[FanonDiscontinuity many fans don't]]), Psylocke is the most notable no-show, though WildMassGuessing suggests that she was lobotomized as part of Apocalypse's Brain Trust (a collection of disembodied telepathic brains that serve as Big Blue's primary psychic defense), thus explaining her brother Brian's almost manic dedication to bringing Apocalypse down.
*** The Psylocke in the ten-year revival is most likely Kwannon, the Chinese telepathic assassin who body-switched with Betsy Braddock in the main universe, who remained in possession of her original body in this reality.
** The lack of magic or magic users like Comicbook/DoctorStrange or X-Men ally Amanda Sefton has also been noted.
*** It's safe to assume Strange died during the culling, when he still was merely a human surgeon, along with Peter Parker, Reed Richards and Johnny Storm. And Cap's probably floating in a block of eyes, somewhere in the Artic. 
* WolverineClaws: In addition to Logan, Shadowcat wears a gauntlet with three retractable claws.

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21st Feb '13 7:19:35 AM Arha

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9th Feb '13 3:33:20 PM RookEncounte

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