Comic Book Review: X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula

Not much to say about this. I got it because the title made me chuckle. It's a four part mini-saga, about the X-Men mega villain Apocalypse having an epic clash with Brom Stoker's Dracula. Van Helsing makes an appearance, and there are numerous references to Apocalypse' cult following, and how it works. A fun little read.

The most interesting thing about this book were the thoughts I had about the character of Apocalypse. I like X-Men, but I've never read any of the Apocalypse stuff. I've heard of Apocalypse, and read about him and what his part in the X-Men universe is, and I've studied Machiavelli and villains and rulers and world changing people. Being familiar with all these things I had formed an idea what Apocalypse' character was like. I figured he'd be cold, calculating, patient, probably soft-spoken. A villain as larger-than-life as I'd seen Apocalypse to be, in the context of what I decided he needed to be, led me to form that picture.

This book shattered that view. Apocalypse was a loud, short-tempered firebrand. I was disappointed by his character.

Except in one moment: Near the end, the vampire army was descending to kill everyone, all the few survivors on Apocalypse' side were in a shack barricading every cranny and fearing the night, yearning for the dawn. In that moment, Apocalypse sat outside, cross-legged and waiting for the fight. He'd taken it personally, and he was going to deal with it personally by damn. That was interesting.

Mostly, this is a hilarious read.