The Age of Apocalypse, an altered reality where a mutant madman seized control of the planet and remade it in his own image. As fear gripped the populace, few would dare challenge Apocalypse's rule. However, the X-Men, a band of mutant freedom fighters, rose up, rebelled and eventually defeated this diabolical despot.
Now, Magneto and his band of mutants have become the appointed protectors of the people. Many of Apocalypse's elite mutant shock troopers still roam free and it's up to the X-Men to bring them to justice. Their ranks have grown along with their legend and the X-Men continue to fight for a future they once thought they had all but lost.
The final battle in Apocalypse's stronghold for the M'Kraan Crystal saw many casualties, and marked the deployment of both Apocalypse's sea wall defense perimeter and the Human High Council's nuclear arsenal, which threatened to destroy the whole world. During the battle, Magneto battled Apocalypse to the death, ripping the mutant in half with his magnetic powers. Also during the battle, Bishop, Destiny, and Illyana traveled into the M'Kraan Crystal. Destiny and Illyana's powers helped send Bishop back in time to the point where Xavier was about to be killed by Legion. Bishop managed to stop Legion, and the two were consumed by the backlash of psi-energy.
The Age of Apocalypse, and all memory of it, was seemingly erased with the prevention of Xavier's assassination and the restoration of the Earth-616 timeline. However, the Earth-295 timeline had actually been saved by Jean Grey. Her enhanced Phoenix powers stopped the weapons from destroying the world and maintained reality.
Sinister claimed to Magneto that he was responsible for the continuation of this reality. Everyone else believed it to be Magneto, who took the credit in order to be the figurehead for mutant-kind. He pledged to keep Sinister's secret, which meant turning a blind eye to his experiments.
Over the coming years, Magneto and his X-Men rebuilt the world and freed all the surviving humans from the slave pens. The old world system was reestablished, and Magneto was elected the head of Mutant Affairs in America. Magneto opened a school for mutants in Xavier's mansion and began hunting down all of Apocalypse's surviving henchmen and bringing them to justice. Under constant pressure, Magneto finally went after Sinister.
The ensuing confrontation revealed that the timeline had actually been saved by Jean Grey, the genetic descendant of Alpha, the first mutant. Her enhanced Phoenix powers stopped the weapons from destroying the world and maintained reality. The X-Men won the battle and freed Jean from Sinister's control. Shamed by his lie, Magneto turned himself over to the authorities in a self-imposed punishment for his deception. The X-Men vowed to remain together and fight for equal rights for humans and mutants.
