This is the strangest of Marvel’s Point One initiatives as a jumping on point for Uncanny X-Force. Instead of giving you a jumping on point for this series, issue 19.1 of Uncanny X-Force is a jumping on point for something completely different. Rick Remender sets up the ongoing Age of Apocalypse series starting in March written by David Lapham and Roberto De La Torre. It’s only tangentially connected to Uncanny X-Force due to this story taking place after the Dark Angel Saga. Joining Rick Remender in this endeavor is Billy Tan, considering the dark tone of this story, his art is a good fit for this story. Though how invested you’re going to be is another situation entirely.
At the beginning of Uncanny X-Force you’re introduced to the character Prophet, giving you the vibe that this is not going to be a typical “hero” character so to speak. If you read Point One or looked at anything online, he’s the Age of Apocalypse version of William Stryker best known from Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson’s God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel. He’s a religious zealot in training until events of the Age of Apocalypse, he notes in his introduction, turns him down a different path. Rick Remender throughout his characterization of him, you can understand why he does what he does, yet Prophet is inherently unlikable. The rest of this issue goes down a similar road.
After the Prophet introduction, Remender catches you up with what’s left of the team that was involved in the Dark Angel Saga. Then the issue becomes a chaotic mess of plot, outside of Magneto’s segments in the title. It all involves what the labs of the Last City of Man have been trying to do with the cloned body of his daughter Wanda, better known as the Scarlet Witch. Leading to Magneto showing why you don’t try and mess with his family and Billy Tan did a solid job in illustrating his power in that scene. 
Remender did a good job with that sequence, then we return to the chaotic plot of doom.
Trying to explain the general chaos within this issue outside of the Prophet intro and Magneto’s scene isn’t easy. Remender is trying hard within Uncanny X-Force to get you to care about the Age of Apocalypse. Trying to make you invested in these characters that are going to be part of that series. Needless to say, you have a group called the Black Legion that attacks the city. Just becoming this absolute mess of action scenes cobbled together, with apparently Weapon X (Wolverine) in Apocalypse’s armor, leading the charge. By the time it’s all said and done, I have officially realized I really don’t care about the Age of Apocalypse in 2012.
Just to say something here, normally I like Rick Remender. He’s a good writer and I’ve been enjoying my return to reading Uncanny X-Force. When the Age of Apocalypse came out back in the day, I had fun with that event. There are small moments in this issue that could be interesting, processing it all though and you wonder just what’s happening here. Yet seeing this again in 2012 just doesn’t entirely work as well in my opinion. Billy Tan’s art was one of the best parts about the story. The Sentinel designs were fun to look at, then I feel his art got drowned out in the chaotic mess of plots colliding together. I’m not turned off by Uncanny X-Force by any means since this has nothing to do with that book. It’s a pilot for the Age of Apocalypse and if this is any indication of what we’re in for, the Age of Apocalypse should have stayed in the 90′s.
