Marvel has officially unveiled the next era ofX-Mencomics, titledThe Age of Revelation, and it’s already promising a dark and brutal new chapter for mutantkind. Alongside the announcement, Marvel revealed a chilling cover that teases a grim future for the X-Men, with Cyclops seemingly at the center of the chaos.
On July 31, 2025, Marvel dropped the briefest of teasers both on their official website and on X, revealingthe name of the X-Men’s next era: The Age of Revelation, set to launch in October 2025. Along with the release window, Marvel confirmed that a full announcement will arrive sometime next week, offering more details about this next chapter for mutantkind.
In the meantime, fans were treated to their“first glimpse at the future X years from today”witha striking cover by Humberto Ramos, who may also be the lead artist on the upcoming project.
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Is Cyclops at the Center of the X-Men’s Dark New Future?
While details are extremely sparse at the moment regarding theX-Men’s next chapter in the Marvel Universe, it is clear that Marvel has taken the saying“a picture is worth a thousand words”to heart. The bulk of their announcement is conveyed through Humberto Ramos’s cover forThe Age of Revelation, which may be one of the darkest and most powerful X-Men covers to date.
The art features what appears to be a war-torn battlefield, surrounded by desolation and heavy rain that obscures the landscape and details. Yet it is not the background that makes this cover so bleak. It isthe haunting image of mutants, including Cyclops, crucified on X-shaped crosses.
These X-shaped crosses are known as saltires, more commonly referred to asSt. Andrew’s Crosses, named after the Christian martyr who was believed to have been crucified in this position.The visual is visceral and unsettling, especially since one of the victims is Cyclops, one of themost iconic and beloved X-Men characters.
While the identities of the other crucified mutants are harder to distinguish,Cyclops stands out due to his recognizable visor and chest belts.He is otherwise stripped down to his pants, with his hands and legs strapped to the saltire. His body is stretched in the shape of an X, mimicking the cross he is bound to.
MARVEL: This October, the Age of Revelation arrives. Find out more in next week’s official announcement. Until then, get your first glimpse at the future X years from today in the teaser image by Humberto Ramos.
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Beyond the emotional weight that Ramos’s cover carries, it is also a stroke of creative brilliance to incorporate the St. Andrew’s Cross. Its“X”shape will undoubtedly cause fans to view the“X”in“X-Men”in an entirely new light.In this bleak future, the X has been transformed into a symbol of persecution and execution.
This shift in meaning is especially dark when considering that theX has long invoked a sense of hope in readers. It is proudly worn on the heroes’ costumes and has come to represent the strength and unity of mutantkind. However, by tying the dead or dying bodies of various mutants to these crosses, Marvel has given the“X”in“X-Men”its darkest meaning yet and teased a grim, possibly tragic future for these iconic heroes.
The Age of Revelationis available in October 2025 from Marvel Comics!
