Marvel teased an event recently called “X-Termination” with little to no details attached, leaving us to speculate. We guessed some kind of “Age of Apocalypse” crossover with “Wolverine and the X-Men” or “Uncanny X-Force” based on the image, but as it turns out we were only 1/3 right.
As revealed today on CBR, “X-Termination” is a crossover between “Astonishing X-Men,” “X-Treme X-Men” and “Age of Apocalypse,” in which AoA Nightcrawler (last seen in “Uncanny X-Force”) endeavors to get back home, and apparently ends up crossing paths with the X-Men in a negative way. The event kicks off in “Astonishing” #60, written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Matteo Buffagani, and Liu confirms that there is something bigger going on beyond just Nightcrawler wanting to go home.
One of the main things the story will explore, however, is the nature of reality and the perception of it. As Liu explains in regards to their being a Wolverine in every universe of this story,
Each of these universes, everyone in these universe — it’s real to them. There are consequences for each one of these Wolverines. Really, one of the core themes of this crossover will be exploring the idea of identity and reality. You’re asked what the limits are for your ability to sacrifice for a world that’s not yours. If it’s an alternate reality, maybe it doesn’t feel real to you, maybe it feels like television to you. It feels so remote, but there are real lives at stake. It’s all about figuring out what matters and what are the personal stakes, not just for your world, but for everyone else’s.
That certainly sounds like an intriguing notion.
And, as always, the events of this crossover will have some sort of significant impact on the Marvel Universe. Granted, that line is used to describe every event, but given the multiverse hopping nature of the associated books, there’s potential for this story to either end “AoA” and “X-Treme”, or at the very least create some sort of new difficulty between Marvel Characters crossing into other dimensions.
Anything’s possible at this point. For a full interview about the event with Liu, head over to CBR.
