Marvel Comics' FCBD X-Men #1 teases the next big Marvel event - "Dark Ages." Marvel's publishing plans for 2020 were dramatically disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, and it's caused chaos for their annual cycle of events.
This week has seen the delayed launch of the "Empyre" event, in which the Kree and Skrull armadas appear to have united in an attack against Earth. The "Outlawed" event - intended to star all Marvel's young superheroes - appears to have shrunk substantially. In contrast, the upcoming X-Men event called "X of Swords" has actually increased, and will now be 24 issues in length. That's proved a controversial decision, making "X of Swords" particularly expensive. Now, it looks as though Marvel is finally getting their house in order for the rest of the year.
This week's FCBD X-Men #1 contains a teaser for an upcoming event set for fall 2020. Written by Tom Taylor and with art by Iban Coello, it promises to see New York City - and possibly the entire world - shrouded in darkness. This is the beginning of the "Dark Ages."
The FCBD X-Men one-shot contains a short story set at the beginning of the "Dark Ages." Tony Stark is at ground zero in New York City when a mysterious crisis hits. It begins with unexpected earthquakes; these aren't particularly uncommon in New York, which has a history of tremors running all the way back to 1737. But it's safe to assume these are no normal quakes, because they are followed by a mysterious energy surge that shuts down all technology. Planes fall from the sky - and so does Tony Stark, who suffers a grievous injury. Pepper, for her part, is almost trapped in an elevator when she attempts to get to the bunker beneath Stark Tower.
At this stage, it looks as though the "Dark Ages" have only affected New York City; Tony attempts to reach out to Captain America for backup, and Steve Rogers appears to have no idea what's going on. But the teaser promises this is "a saga of the Marvel Universe," hinting whatever has affected New York will go on to threaten the entire planet. The teaser in FCBD X-Men #1 doesn't offer a hint as to the cause of this catastrophe, and it leaves Tony Stark in no fit state to investigate. The injury Tony Stark suffers is likely to take him out of play, meaning he's not going to be able to figure things out for himself. Meanwhile, other genius intellects like Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four are also going to be crippled now they've lost their tech. One thing's for sure; there won't be an easy way out of the "Dark Ages."