Bunn's "Uncanny X-Men" Wade Into The "Apocalypse Wars"

CBR: Why is Archangel alive and a member of Cullen Bunn and Ken Lashely's January-launching "Uncanny X-Men?" What persona is in control of his body? And what does his return mean for his teammates? These are some of the questions Bunn and Lashley will tackle in April when they kick of the second arc of the series, which is part of the recently announced "Apocalypse Wars" storyline.

CBR News: This spring, the X-titles will kick off a new publishing style event dubbed "Apocalypse Wars" with the second arc of each of the three core X-Books. How would you describe this crossover event?

Cullen Bunn: "Apocalypse Wars" is more of a thematic crossover, with each of the core X-Books featuring an Apocalypse-centric tale. There might be a little connective tissue between the three titles, but the stories will stand on their own.

Apocalypse has been a significant part of the X-Men's world since the 1980s and you're a long time X-Men fan. What was your initial impression of Apocalypse, and ultimately, what do you feel En Sabh Nur and his related characters have added to the X-Men mythos?

I was a huge fan of Apocalypse from his very first appearance. He's always ranked fairly high, not only as one of my favorite X-villains but as one of my favorite super villains, period. He's a force of nature, a villain who is one of the very first mutants, who has on numerous occasions wiped the floor with the X-Men. I love how his mythology has changed and expanded over the years, making the X-mythos as a whole seem all the more epic. I'm excited to be adding to those tales in my own way.

Your story focuses on the cast member with the biggest ties to Apocalypse: Archangel, who is making a mysterious return after being seemingly destroyed in "The Dark Angel Saga" storyline from Rick Remender's "Uncanny X-Force" run. What made you want to bring the character back?

For years -- long before I was ever writing for Marvel -- I would daydream about the team I would want to use if I was writing "Uncanny X-Men." That fantasy team I was developing changed a lot, but Archangel was always a part of it. I've just always liked that version of the character.

Archangel will be the center of quite a bit of mystery in the first arc of my run. In the "Apocalypse Wars" story, I'll reveal how ended up back in this form and how he ended up on the team. The big question, of course, is if the Dark Angel persona is still alive and well.

What can you tell us about Archangel's personality and role in "Uncanny X-Men" leading up to this story?

Not to be a stick in the mud, but I don't want to reveal anything about Archangel until the first issue comes out! All I'll really say is that he's back to being the blue, metal-winged, featherblade-hurling figure we know and love -- sort of. Almost as soon as Archangel appears in the first issue of the series, readers will realize that something very important is different about him. Those differences will be explored in the Apocalypse arc.

"The Archangel problem" is something that is on the minds of each and every one of the X-Men. Some of them have seen firsthand how bad things can get if Archangel goes off the chain. Magneto and Psylocke in particular are very concerned by the possibilities. They are watching for signs of dangers to come. When they receive a message that hints at a possible dark future, they race to uncover what few clues they can find before the apocalyptic shoe drops.

Psylocke, was romantically involved with Archangel and was the one who destroyed him in the "Dark Angel Saga." Her ex-lover Fantomex also played a significant role in that story. How big of a role will they play in this tale?

Psylocke and Fantomex play a huge role in this story -- and it is not as a power couple. The dynamic between them is icy, to say the least. In fact, many readers have asked me if we're ever going to see Psylocke and Fantomex go toe-to-toe. Well, this arc will provide the brawl they've been waiting for. There's a lot of anger and bad blood between Psylocke and Fantomex, and it comes to a head in a confrontation I've listed in early outlines as one of the most vicious battles we've seen in the Marvel universe.

What other faces will we see in "Apocalypse Wars?"

Clan Akkaba is at work in this story, and you can't really have a proper Apocalypse story without the Four Horsemen, so we'll be meeting a new incarnation of those villains as well.

But that's not all!

In addition to the Apocalypse story, this arc will also provide a secondary tale featuring the return of a fan-favorite villain who has some familial ties to one of our X-Men!

The X-Men's battles with these characters will be depicted by Ken Lashley, whose action scenes just crackle with power and emotion. What's it like working with Ken?

This is a pretty dark story, but with lots of super heroic overtones, and I can't wait to see what Ken does with this diverse group of characters and locales. He drew one of our fantastic variant covers for issue #1.

I'm happy to report that Greg Land will be part of our art team for this arc as well. He'll be providing covers.

Finally, we've talked about what your "Apocalypse Wars" arc means for some individual members of your team, but what can you tell us about what the story means for the "Uncanny X-Men" as a whole? What sort of challenges is the team facing when your story begins? And how would you describe the group's overall dynamic? Are they gelling as a team by this point?

This is a story that will really shake things up for this team -- and I wouldn't say they will be gelling all that well to begin with. The Uncanny X-Men will not be the same going into this story as they are coming out of it. We'll be looking at a major shift in the team dynamic, and some significant changes for two of the characters.

Coming out of this arc, after facing an all new new incarnation of Akkaba and the Horsemen, the group will be facing yet another new version of a classic X-antagonist: the Hellfire Club.

Extraordinary/Uncanny X-Men #1 J. Scott Campbell Store EXCLUSIVE Cover

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X-MEN: APOCALYPSE | Official Trailer

#tbt: Uncanny X-Men #256

#tbt: Uncanny X-Men #256 – In Hong Kong, Matsuo Tsurayaba approaches the Mandarin with an offer of an alliance between his organization and the Hand, a ruthless clan of assassins. Matsuo's deal is for the Hand to help the Mandarin build an empire unparalleled by any in the past, in exchange for gainful employment in its service. To begin their alliance, Matsuo offers a gift; that of an ultimate assassin. This assassin is the long missing Psylocke, who has emerged from the Siege Perilous amnesiac and found by the Hand. Her body has been transformed into an asian one. Written by Chris Claremont and Art by Jim Lee. Read full summary here.

"Uncanny X-Men" Debuts New Covers

"Uncanny X-Men" #2 cover by Greg Land; #2 variant by Kris Anka

Marvel Announces "Apocalypse Wars" X-Men Event

CBR: It looks like 2016 is going to be a big year for Apocalypse. The longtime X-Men villain will pose a major threat to the mutant team in next year's "X-Men: Apocalypse" film and, as revealed during a panel at Brazil's Comic Con Experience, the immortal Darwinian supervillain will also return to the pages of the X-Men comics in an undisclosed capacity as part of a new event.

During a presentation at the convention, Marvel talent manager Rickey Purdin announced "Apocalypse Wars." The event will run through the three main team books in the X-Men line: "Extraordinary X-Men," "All-New X-Men" and "Uncanny X-Men".

CBR can confirm the "Apocalypse Wars" report. The villain himself last appeared in 2014's "Avengers vs. X-Men: AXIS," although a number of characters tied to the villain star in the new X-Men books. Kid Apocalypse is a member of "All-New X-Men's" teen team and Archangel, a character heavily influenced by the villain, is returning in the pages of "Uncanny X-Men."

X-Men: Apocalypse Trailer Description Surfaces

ComicBook.com: Italian film site Cinefilos has posted a description of the first full trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse, which was reportedly shown at the Italian film industry summit CinemaDays Sorrento.

We ran Cinefilos’ description through Google translate, and then adjusted for common sense. Here’s what we believe the trailer describes:

"The trailer opens with Jean Grey waking from a nightmare. She tells Professor Xavier something along the lines of, “I have seen the end of the world. There was only death.” 

There’s a montage of footage of the young mutants at Xavier’s school, followed by a scene of Moira MacTaggert telling Xavier that they’ve discovered a god-like mutant who may be the origin of the species.

Cut to a shot of an intimidating hooded figure being followed by Psylocke and Storm. They search for mutants, and the hooded figure lists the many names he has been known by over the centuries. He says that the world needs to change, and be remade by mutants. The three of them find Magneto. Magneto asks, “Who are you?” The figure pulls down his hood to reveal the face of Apocalypse.

There’s a montage of the destruction caused by Apocalypse.

We see a shot of Xavier looking frightened. Either he or Jean says, “It can control all of us.” We’re shown two opposing groups of mutants (likely Apocalypse’s Horsemen and Xavier’s students and/or allies). Apocalypse sends a burst of energy through Xavier and his wheelchair, and Jean screams.

There’s a slow motion scene of Quicksilver running through the hallway leading towards Cerebro.

Mystique tells Xavier, “I came to fight.”

Professor X enters the Cerebro chamber, and his eyes become black. He says, “I’ve never felt like this before,” and is possibly possessed by Apocalypse.

The final shot is of a bald Professor X."

It sounds pretty much the same as what was shown at San Diego Comic Con, so it seems we may be getting a polished version of that footage debuting in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens this month. There could still be small alterations – sometimes things change between domestic and international releases – but it will probably be pretty close to what we’ve translated from Cinefilos’ description.

Uncanny X-Men #1 Advanced Preview

#tbt: Uncanny X-Men #226

#tbt: Uncanny X-Men #226 – Freedom Force has the unconscious Rogue, Psylocke and Dazzler as captives. Both teams are unsure what to do. Dazzler comes around and blinding Freedom Force, she tries to get away with her teammates, though Spiral, unaffected by the blast, rushes over and magically attaches Destiny’s mask to Dazzler’s face, blinding her. Both Psylocke and Rogue attack Spiral, but neither is able to best her. Written by Chris Claremont and Art by Marc Silvestri. Read full summary here. 

Cullen Bunn Q&A on "Uncanny X-Men"

Psylocke has often been crowned "one of he deadliest fighters in the MU" but it's honestly something we don't get to see a lot of. Is there a chance for some good combat sequences for her?

Cullen Bunn: You’ll be seeing a lot more of Psylocke as a combatant, but it will only be one facet of her character. That said, I just turned in an outline for a future issue where I described Psylocke in the middle of one of the most vicious battles we’ve ever seen. (source)

I was going to ask if Psylocke was going to have any stand out scenes because I feel she is not considered a strong fighter or telepath. But I just read some of your responses and I want to say Im highly anticipating your run and super excited about the first issue.

Bunn: You’ll love Psylocke even more once this book gets going. (source)

Will Psylocke still have her "addiction to killing" in Uncanny?

Bunn: You’re not going to see an “addiction to killing” but she is not opposed to it, either. She’s a little more grounded, I think, and she has some other things are becoming more important to her. (source)

With Magneto leading this team will Psylocke be acting as his second in command? They seemed to be forming a begrudged kinship in Gillen's Uncanny, can we expect to see that carried over?

Bunn: While this is Magneto’s team, I think he almost sees Psylocke as a co-leader. She has his respect in this series. That doesn’t mean he lets her in on all his secrets, though! (source)

If you could describe each member(that we know about) of Uncanny X-men with just one word what would they be?

Bunn: Magneto - Driven

Psylocke - Burdened

Sabretooth -  Penitent

Monet - Angry

Archangel - Enigma

Fantomex - Spy

Mystique -  Mercurial 

[Redacted] - [Redacted] (source)

Can we expect a crossover with Extraordinary at some point? How do you think Ororo, Bob, Kurt and Colossus will feel with Magneto, M, Betsy and Warren in a X-Force style team?

Bunn: It’s likely you’ll see the team interacting on some level, but don’t expect an immediate full-fledged crossover. (source)

Will the Uncanny X-Men team be a secret or not team?

Bunn: I haven’t said… but you’ll have your answer in the first arc! (source)

In terms of villains who'll be showing up in Uncanny X-men is there any chance of seeing Selene return? She's always been a favourite of mine and I was really happy to see her brough back in X-men recently, was wondering if there's any chance of her showing up here.

Bunn: There’s definitely a chance! I have loved Selene since Uncanny X-Men 189! I have a plan mapped out for the series, though, so it probably won’t be straight away. (source)