X-Men: the New Age of Apocalypse by Various (too many to list)

Bishop was sent to the X-men from the Future, in order to prevent a horrible future from taking place. For those left behind, they have had to become warriors under the leadership of Magneto, who is married to Rogue. They hope they can survive for the sake of their young son.

But when the world is under threat of death and ending, Magneto frantically tries to use his powers to stop the atom bombs from falling which could end in the death of the entire world. Apparently, he succeeds, but he knows that he had nothing to do with the salvation of the world. It was Jean Gray who saved everyone, and it killed her. Logan, who was only fighting for her sake, tells Magneto to bury her body and leaves forever. He no longer wants anything to do with people.

Magneto tries and fails to tell everyone who really saved them, and ends up accepting their acclaim for being the world's salvation. Everyone wonders if they have prevented the future they sent Bishop back to the past for, but no one really knows. Magneto and the remaining X-Men try to rebuild the world, and Magneto, with his cred as the savior of the world, is put in charge of all the mutants. In turn, he hunts down the bad ones who still want to hurt humans. But his secret is known by one of the worst criminals of all, Nathaniel Essex, also known as Mr. Sinister. He threatens to expose Magneto as the liar he is if Magneto doesn't leave himself and a few other mutants alone.

Magneto reluctantly goes along with the plan, but the necessity of hunting down Mutants has him sending the one person who he knows can get through to Logan to recruit the mutant to his side. Logan's daughter contacts her father and asks for his help on Magneto's behalf. Logan, not realizing he had a daughter, reluctantly agrees. But the girl may also be a plant... or a clone.

Soon enough, Magneto's plans are unravelling when Mr, Sinister attempts to take his wife and son hostage, and the truth about who saved the world comes out. But Jean's body is not in her grave, and it appears that she was never really dead after all. Can Magneto and the Mutants survive a revived and Brainwashed Jean, and determine who Logan's daughter really is? Can they also survive the brainwashed heroes and villains that Sinister has surrounded himself with, and get back their friends while saving their world once again? Or will this be the true end of their world.

This comic book really was different, as we get to see some truly different versions of the characters in the X-men we have come to know and love. Rogue not in love with Remy, but Magneto, of all people, and being able to control her powers, and having a child with Magneto. How this was possible wasn't explained (at least, not in this book), and this is a follow-up to the Age of Apocalypse one-shot comic. Despite not having read that comic, it wasn't all that hard to follow along with what happened here.

The first part of the story has Colossus getting tired of fighting and killing and leaving the rest of the X-Men to be with Kitty Pryde, his wife. Magneto asks them to take over training other young mutants and shows them pictures of the ones he has in mind. The comic also makes reference to the Guthrie clan, who attack the X-Men at one point because they abandoned Paige Guthrie in one of the Hives set up by Apocalypse. Apparently, her family came for her and rescued her, and now they all hate the X-men for leaving them.

This one shot was very strange, but also rather enjoyable for all that. If you just accept what comes without trying to analyze it, it's possible to not know the backstory and end up being able to read it for the story it has. I'm sure it would have been more interesting and explicable If I'd read the Age of Apocalypse, but it wasn't truly necessary. Recommended.