Welp, that’s finally over and it looks like the world is still in one piece. At least we have that to look forward to for the next four or eight years. And no matter which way you voted or which candidate you supported, odds are someone out there is pretty sure the world is over right now.

So how about a list of apocalypses?

There are all kinds!

Surviving in the post-apocalypse is a very common setting for entertainment. We’ve got movies, cartoons, video games, songs, books, comics, probably some poems. There’s a metric ton of this sort of thing. And seeing as how half the country (if not the world) is in an apocalyptic sort of mood today, I’ve decided to run down my favorites! Join me after the jump!

6. Mad Max: Fury Road

Those have got to be fun to ride

The world of Mad Max is pretty brutal and insane — but that was one hell of a fun movie! Aside from Fury Road, I’ve only seen one other Mad Max movie, so I don’t really count the original trilogy. I’m only interested in the one with guzzoline and aqua cola and riding eternal, shiny  and chrome, to the gates of Valhalla! It’s crazy and wild, but there are good people out there, who win in the end. And Furiosa is awesome. Witness me, readers! Witness me!

5. The newer Planets of the Apes

They just wanted it more

It’s an ape apocalypse! That’s pretty darn cool. I’ve never seen any of the original Planet of the Apes movies, unless you count the musical, Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off. And Tim Burton’s attempt at the franchise was lame. But the new movies, with motion capture Caesar, are pretty gnarly and cool. All them apes are learning school and guns and war, while sometimes still being friends with the stupid humans. It’s as if Candy Apple Island had taken over the whole world.

Speaking of Simpsons references…

4. That one Simpsons episode that ends in the far future with two Bart-themed factions going to war

Love the hats

A future where one army is decked out in Bartman masks is the sort of future I can get behind. We’ve known since the late 80s that Bart Simpson was destined to end the rule. He’s a bad influence to the children, after all. And personally, I side with the Bartman soldiers. They are cooler, and “Cowabunga” is a damn cool battle cry. But woe be to those who follow the betrayer, Milhouse. He doesn’t understand the power of Bart, the Last Prophet of God.

3. Age of Apocalypse

Probably would have made a cooler movie

There’s probably no cooler or bigger post-apocalypse in comics than the Age of Apocalypse! If you went and saw the latest lame X-Men movie this Summer, then you know that Apocalypse is this big, bad, blue dude who causes all sorts of trouble. He’s the same way in the comics. And for about half a year back in the 90s, Marvel decided to do something super fun: lets switch over all of our popular X-Men comics into an alternate reality where Apocalypse has conquered America! Suddenly, all of the characters were altered, the teams were changed and history was re-written in X-Men comics, and it was awesome! New stories, new twists, Sabretooth is a badass hero, Magneto is leader of the X-Men, comics are bold and cool and crazy! It was eventually all undone, but for those few months, the Age of Apocalypse was real.

2. The Walking Dead

Remember when Rick had a horse?

Walking Dead is a pretty darn cool show. I know a lot of people have turned it off, and a even more people complain, but I’m still enjoying myself. This is a fully-realized, fleshed-out zombie apocalypse, and it’s pretty cool on top of everything else. I like watching the story of Rick Grimes & Friends as they navigate their own post-apocalypse. I love being spoiled on the comic, giving me hope for the show going forward. And I especially love playing as the badass Clementine in the Walking Dead video game! She’s the hero the apocalypse needs!

1. Fallout

Washington is a tough old bird

Now this is a fun post-apocalypse! I joined the Fallout fan fest with Fallout 3, and I haven’t looked back since! These are incredibly fun and inventive video games, pitting your protagonist hero against a wacky, 1950s-inspired, post-nuclear terror land! Sometimes you meet nice people living in dilapidated cities and sometimes you’re outnumbered by gnarly steampunk raiders who turned to a life of crime in the Wasteland. Maybe you check out the ruins of Las Vegas and bet it all on black, or maybe you fall in love with newspaper reporter in the shanty town at Fenway Park. Fallout is a near endless exploration of a very nifty, very jazzy post-apocalypse!

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