In the Marvel Universe, mutants are humans who are born with a genetic trait called the X-gene which grants them natural superhuman abilities, generally manifesting during puberty. Due to their differences from the majority of humanity, mutants are subject to prejudice and discrimination; many X-Men stories feature social commentary on bigotry, justice, and other political themes. The X-Men have fought against a variety of enemies, including villainous mutants, human bigots, supervillains, mystical threats, extraterrestrials, and malevolent artificial intelligence. In most iterations of the team, they are led by their founder Charles "Professor X" Xavier, a powerful telepath who runs a school for mutant children out of his mansion in Westchester, New York, which secretly is also the headquarters of the X-Men. Their stories have frequently involved Magneto, a powerful mutant with control over magnetic fields, who is depicted as an old friend of and foil to Xavier, variously acting as an adversary or as an ally.
Background and creation
In 1963, with the success of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and the Fantastic Four, co-creator Stan Lee wanted to create another group of superheroes but did not want to have to explain how they got their powers. In 2004, Lee recalled, "I couldn't have everybody bitten by a radioactive spider or exposed to a gamma ray explosion. And I took the cowardly way out. I said to myself, 'Why don't I just say they're mutants? They are born that way.'"[3]
In a 1987 interview, Kirby said:
The X-Men, I did the natural thing there. What would you do with mutants who were just plain boys and girls and certainly not dangerous? You school them. You develop their skills. So I gave them a teacher, Professor X. Of course, it was the natural thing to do, instead of disorienting or alienating people who were different from us, I made the X-Men part of the human race, which they were. Possibly, radiation, if it is beneficial, may create mutants that'll save us instead of doing us harm. I felt that if we train the mutants our way, they'll help us – and not only help us, but achieve a measure of growth in their own sense. And so, we could all live together.[4]
Lee devised the series title after Marvel publisher Martin Goodman turned down the initial name, "The Mutants," stating that readers would not know what a "mutant" was.[5]
Within the Marvel Universe, the X-Men are widely regarded to have been named after Professor Xavier himself. The original explanation for the name, as provided by Xavier in The X-Men #1 (1963), is that mutants "possess an extra power ... one which ordinary humans do not!! That is why I call my students ... X-Men, for EX-tra power!"[6]
DC Comics's Doom Patrol, which debuted several months before X-Men, was suspected by its creator Arnold Drake and its fans of having had the basic concept copied to a great degree – including a wheel-chair using leader – by Marvel Comics to create the X-Men. Other fans also speculate that Doom Patrol share similarities with another Marvel superhero team that preceded them, the Fantastic Four.
The original X-Men members that were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, showing their original design
Early X-Men issues introduced the original team composed of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Angel, and Iceman, along with their archenemy Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants featuring Mastermind, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Toad. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil and later included storylines and themes about prejudice and racism, all of which have persisted throughout the series in one form or another. The evil side in the fight was shown in human form and under some sympathetic beginnings via Magneto, a character who was later revealed to have survived Nazi concentration camps only to pursue a hatred for normal humanity. His key followers, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, were Romani. Only one new member of the X-Men was added, Mimic/Calvin Rankin,[7] but soon left due to his temporary loss of power.[8]
The title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. In 1969, writer Roy Thomas and illustrator Neal Adams rejuvenated the comic book and gave regular roles to two recently introduced characters: Alex "Havok" Summers (Cyclops' brother, who had been introduced by Roy Thomas before Adams began work on the comic) and Lorna Dane, later called Polaris (created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko). However, these later X-Men issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66 (March 1970), later reprinting a number of the older comics as issues #67–93.[9]
Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). Cover art by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum.
In Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum introduced a new team that starred in a revival of The X-Men, beginning with issue #94. This new team replaced the previous members with the exception of Cyclops, who remained. This team differed greatly from the original. Unlike in the early issues of the original series, the new team was not made up of teenagers and they also had a more diverse background. Marvel's corporate owners, Cadence Industries, had suggested the new team should be international, feeling it needed characters with "foreign appeal".[10] So each character was from a different country with varying cultural and philosophical beliefs, and all were already well-versed in using their mutant powers, several being experienced in combat.
The "all-new, all-different X-Men"[11] were led by Cyclops, from the original team, and consisted of the newly created Colossus (from the Soviet Union/Russia), Nightcrawler (from West Germany/Germany), Storm (from Kenya), and Thunderbird (a Native American of Apache descent), and three previously introduced characters: Banshee (from Ireland), Sunfire (from Japan), and Wolverine (from Canada). Wolverine eventually became the breakout character on the team and, in terms of comic sales and appearances, the most popular X-Men character, even getting his own solo title. However, this team would not remain whole for long; Sunfire, who never really accepted the other members, quit shortly after their first mission, and Thunderbird died on the next. Filling in the vacancy, a revamped Jean Grey soon rejoined the X-Men under her new persona of "Phoenix". Angel, Beast, Iceman, Havok, and Polaris also made significant guest appearances.
The revived series was illustrated by Cockrum, and later by John Byrne, and written by Chris Claremont. Claremont became the series' longest-running contributor.[12] The run met with critical acclaim and produced such landmark storylines as the death of Thunderbird, the emergence of Phoenix, the saga of the Starjammers and the M'Kraan Crystal, the introduction of Alpha Flight and the Proteus saga.[13] Other characters introduced during this time include Amanda Sefton, Mystique, and Moira MacTaggert, with her genetic research facility on Muir Island.
The 1980s began with the comic's best-known story arc, the Dark Phoenix Saga, which saw Phoenix manipulated by the illusionist Mastermind and becoming corrupted with an overwhelming lust for power and destruction as the evil Dark Phoenix. Other important storylines included Days of Future Past, the saga of Deathbird and the Brood, the discovery of the Morlocks, the invasion of the Dire Wraiths and The Trial of Magneto!, as well as X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, the partial inspiration for 20th Century Fox's movie X2: X-Men United, which was released on May 2, 2003.[14]
Uncanny X-Men #227 (March 1988) by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri
By the early 1980s, X-Men was Marvel's top-selling comic title. Its sales were such that distributors and retailers began using an "X-Men index", rating each comic book publication by how many orders it garnered compared to that month's issue of X-Men.[15] The growing popularity of Uncanny X-Men and the rise of comic book specialty stores led to the introduction of a number of ongoing spin-off series nicknamed "X-Books." The first of these was The New Mutants, soon followed by Alpha Flight, X-Factor, Excalibur, and a solo Wolverine title. When Claremont conceived a story arc, the Mutant Massacre, which was too long to run in the monthly X-Men, editor Louise Simonson decided to have it overlap into several X-Books. The story was a major financial success,[16] and when the later Fall of the Mutants was similarly successful, the marketing department declared that the X-Men lineup would hold such crossovers annually.[17]
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 (flagship) – a team of young mutants with superhuman abilities led and taught by Professor X (1963–1970); the team expanded when Xavier recruited mutants from around the world (1975–1985); a reformed Magneto became the headmaster after Xavier had left Earth (1985–1988); the team later relocated to the Australian Outback after the events of TheFall of the Mutants (1988–1989); after the X-Men is disassembled, the team reformed to fight the mutant-rights abuse of Genosha (1991).
X-Factor, vol. 1 – the Original Five set up a business advertised as mutant-hunters for hire, and secretly trained the captured mutants to control their powers and reintegrate them into society (1986–1991).
Excalibur, vol. 1 – Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Rachel Grey teamed up with Captain Britain and Meggan to form a group of mutants based in Europe after the apparent death of the X-Men during The Fall of the Mutants (1988–1992).
X-Men in Training
New Mutants, vol. 1 – a group of teenaged students of the School for Gifted Youngsters gathered by Professor X
Other Teams
Alpha Flight, vol. 1 – Canada's premiere team of super-heroes organized under the auspices of the Canadian government's Department H.
Blue and Gold
Artist Jim Lee signing a hardcover collected edition of his work on X-Men (Vol 2) at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
In 1991, Marvel revised the entire lineup of X-Men comic book titles, centered on the launch of a second X-Men series, simply titled X-Men. With the return of Xavier and the original X-Men to the team, the roster was split into two strike forces: Cyclops's "Blue Team" (chronicled in X-Men) and Storm's "Gold Team" (in The Uncanny X-Men).
The first issues of the second X-Men series were written by Claremont and drawn and co-plotted by Jim Lee. Retailers pre-ordered over 8.1 million copies of issue #1, generating and selling nearly $7 million (though retailers probably sold closer to 3 million copies),[18] making it, according to Guinness Book of World Records, the best-selling comic book of all-time. Guinness presented honors to Claremont at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.[19][20][21]
Another new X-book released at the time was X-Force, featuring the characters from The New Mutants, led by Cable; it was written by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza. Internal friction soon split the X-books' creative teams. In a controversial move, X-Men editor Bob Harras sided with Lee (and Uncanny X-Men artist Whilce Portacio) over Claremont in a dispute over plotting. Claremont left after only three issues of X-Men, ending his 16-year run as X-Men writer.[22] Marvel replaced Claremont briefly with John Byrne, who scripted both books for a few issues. Byrne was then replaced by Nicieza and Scott Lobdell, who would take over the majority of writing duties for the X-Men until Lee's own departure months later when he and several other popular artists (including former X-title artists Liefeld, Portacio, and Marc Silvestri) would leave Marvel to form Image Comics. Jim Lee's X-Men designs would be the basis for much of the X-Men animated series and action figure line as well as several Capcom video games.
There were many additions to the X-Men in the 1990s, including Gambit, Cable, and Bishop. Gambit became one of the most popular X-Men, rivaling even Wolverine in size of fanbase after his debut in Uncanny X-Men #266 (Aug. 1990). Many of the later additions to the team came and went, such as Joseph, Maggott, Marrow, Cecilia Reyes, and a new Thunderbird. Xavier's New Mutants grew up and became X-Force, and the next generation of students began with Generation X, featuring Jubilee and other teenage mutants led and schooled by Banshee and ex-villainess Emma Frost at her Massachusetts Academy. In 1998, Excalibur and X-Factor ended and the latter was replaced with Mutant X, starring Havok stranded in a parallel universe. Marvel launched a number of solo series, including Deadpool, Cable, Bishop, X-Man, Gambit, Maverick, Rogue, Storm, Magneto, Beast, Domino, Warlock, Magik, Iceman and Sabretooth, but few of the series would survive the decade.
X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 (flagship) – initially featured the Gold Team strike force led by Storm (1991–1995); later featured a team of X-Men recruited by Gladiator to defend the Shi'ar Empire against the Phalanx (1997); the Gold and Blue strike force merged to face new threats including Onslaught, Dark Beast, Shadow King and Magneto (1997–2000); later featured a squad led by Gambit during the Revolution revamp (2000–2001). The title is replaced by Astonishing X-Men during the Age of Apocalypse event.
X-Men, vol. 2 – initially featured the Blue Team strike force led by Cyclops (1991–1995); later featured a new core group consisting of Cannonball, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm and Wolverine took on Sebastian Shaw and Bastion during the events of Operation: Zero Tolerance (1997); members of the Excalibur team joined the combined Gold and Blue strike force (1997–2000); later featured a squad led by Rogue during the Revolution revamp (2000–2001). The title is replaced by Amazing X-Men during the Age of Apocalypse event.
X-Force, vol. 1 – Cable re-organized the New Mutants into the para-military mutant strike team (1991–1995); the team move in with the X-Men at the X-Mansion and effectively become the X-Men's junior team (1995–1997); the team later move to San Francisco to set up a new headquarter (1997–2001); the team becomes a covert ops superhero team under the leadership of Pete Wisdom during the Revolution revamp (2001). The title is replaced by Gambit & the X-Ternals during the Age of Apocalypse event.
X-Men in Training
Generation X, vol. 1 – students at the Massachusetts Academy mentored by Banshee and the former villain White Queen (1994–2001). The title is replaced by Generation Next during the Age of Apocalypse event.
Other Teams
X-Factor, vol. 1 – the new team worked for the Pentagon replacing Freedom Force as the government-sponsored team (1991–1997); Forge later leads the mutant team as an underground government strike force (1997–1998). The title is replaced by Factor X during the Age of Apocalypse event.
Excalibur, vol. 1 – the British team expanded and stays with Moira, making Muir Island their new base (1992–1998). The title is replaced by X-Calibre during the Age of Apocalypse event.
Alpha Flight, vol. 2 – A new team formed by the reinstated Department H which is involved in clandestine and criminal activities.
Morrison era
In 2000, Claremont returned to Marvel and was put back on the primary X-Men titles during the Revolution revamp. He was later removed from the titles in 2001 and created his spin-off series, X-Treme X-Men. X-Men had its title changed to New X-Men and writer Grant Morrison took over. The book is often referred to as the Morrison-era, due to the drastic changes they made, beginning with "E Is For Extinction", where a new villain, Cassandra Nova, destroys Genosha, killing sixteen million mutants. Morrison also brought reformed ex-villain Emma Frost into the primary X-Men team, and opened the doors of the school by having Xavier "out" himself to the public about being a mutant. The bright spandex costumes that had become iconic over the previous decades were replaced by black leather street clothes reminiscent of the uniforms of the X-Men films. Morrison also introduced Xorn, who would figure prominently in the climax of his run. Ultimate X-Men set in Marvel's revised imprint was also launched, while Chuck Austen began his controversial run on Uncanny X-Men.
Several short-lived spin-offs and miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as Emma Frost, Mystique, Cyclops, Iceman, Blink, Chamber, Mekanix (featuring Kitty Pryde), and Nightcrawler. Many of the second-tier X-books were relaunched with new titles: Cable became Soldier X and Deadpool became Agent X.
A new series titled X-Statix spawns from and replaces X-Force; it is a series that explores the crossroads between heroism and being a celebrity, and how being a mutant is only acceptable as a medium of disposable entertainment. It was known best for being a series that killed most of the introduced cast and having one of the highest team turnover rates for a superhero comic. The most prominent member to come out of X-Statix was Doop who is a green glob reminiscent of Slimer from Ghost Busters.
Another series, Exiles, started at the same time and concluded in December 2007 which led to New Exiles in January 2008 written by Claremont.
New X-Men, vol. 1 (flagship) – The X-Men took in dozens of students expanding the school from a training center to a legitimate school (2001–2004).
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 – Nightcrawler and Angel co-lead the X-Men's primary field team to face new threat (2001–2004).
X-Treme X-Men, vol. 1 – Storm formed a globe-trotting team to hunt down missing copies of the Destiny's Diaries (2001–2004).
X-Men in Training
New Mutants, vol. 2 – features a new group of teenage mutants attending the Xavier Institute.
Other Teams
Exiles, vol. 1 – a revolving team roster from different realities, which have been removed from time and space, employed by the Timebroker to fix broken realities.
X-Statix – featured a group of young mutants marketed to be media superstars.
NYX – featured a group of teenage mutants as they attempt to survive on the streets of New York City.
Weapon X, vol. 2 – featured The Underground, a group assembled by Cable to oppose the activities of the third installment of the Weapon X Project.
X-Men ReLoad
X-Men ReLoad was the name given by Marvel Comics to their May 2004 revamp of the X-Men titles, including new visual designs for the characters.[citation needed] The revamp was prompted by Grant Morrison's departure from New X-Men. As a result of the revamp, Chris Claremont moved from writing X-Treme X-Men to writing Uncanny X-Men, with Alan Davis doing the art. Chuck Austen moved from writing Uncanny X-Men to New X-Men, which returned to its old name of simply X-Men, with Salvador Larroca, who had been working with him on Uncanny X-Men doing the art. Finally, Joss Whedon entered as the writer of the new title Astonishing X-Men, with John Cassaday as artist. X-Treme X-Men was cancelled. X-Statix ended in October 2004. Also, the X-Men returned to more traditional (if not slightly revised) costumes, as opposed to the black leather uniforms from the movies. New X-Men: Academy X was also launched focusing on the lives of the new young mutants at the institute. This period included the resurrections of Colossus and Psylocke, a new death for Jean Grey, who later returned temporarily in the X-Men: Phoenix - Endsong, as well as Emma Frost becoming the new headmistress of the institute. The institute, formerly run as a school (until the depowering of 98% of the mutant population), served as a safe haven to mutants who are still powered.[citation needed]
Several short-lived spin-offs and miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Madrox, X-23, Gambit and Rogue. Cable and Deadpool's books were merged into one book, Cable & Deadpool.
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 (flagship) – Cyclops leads the team of X-Men and they start presenting themselves as superheroes again.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 – Storm and her team continued operating as officially sanctioned mutant law enforcers (2004–2006); post Deadly Genesis, it featured Xavier taking a team to space to hunt Vulcan when he seeks vengeance on the Shi'ar Empire (2006–2007); the team returned to Earth to fight a group of rogue Morlocks (2007).
X-Men, vol. 2 – Havok led a new field team consisting of Polaris, Iceman, Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine and Juggernaut (2004–2006); later featured Rogue assembling a rapid response team featuring the most dangerous X-Men former villains (2006–2007).
X-Men in Training
New X-Men: Academy X – the school is rebuilt after Xorn's attack and Emma Frost and Cyclops are named headmasters, organizing the student body into different squad who train together.
New X-Men, vol. 2 – After House of M and Decimation, Emma Frost disbanded all former training squads and integrated those students she deemed capable of combat to a new team.
Other Teams
Excalibur, vol. 3 – Professor X and Magneto formed a team to rebuild the devastated mutant nation of Genosha.
X-Factor, vol. 3 – a mutant detective agency founded by Madrox based on Mutant Town.
New Excalibur – After Decimation, Captain Britain brings together a new team of Excalibur as the British government decided to become more pro-active with metahuman affairs.
District X – Bishop is assigned to the Mutant Town to investigate rising crime rates.
X-Force, vol. 2 – Cable re-assembles the team in order to stop an immortal creature called Skornn.
Weapon X, vol. 2 – featured Wolverine, Fantomex and Agent Zero quest to find the recently revived John Sublime.
Exiles, vol. 1 – the team learned the true nature of the Timebroker and later traveled through different realities to chase Proteus.
Alpha Flight, vol. 3 – Sasquatch recruits novice Canadian heroes to rescue the members kidnapped by the Plodex.
Messiah Trilogy
In 2007, the "Messiah Complex" storyline saw the destruction of the Xavier Institute and the disbanding of the X-Men. It spun the new volumes of X-Force, following the team led by Wolverine, and Cable, following Cable's attempts at protecting Hope Summers. X-Men was renamed into X-Men: Legacy which focused on Professor X, Rogue and Gambit. Under Cyclops's leadership, the X-Men later reformed in Uncanny X-Men #500, with their new base located in San Francisco.[23]
In 2009, "Messiah War," written by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost to serve as the second part in the trilogy that began with "Messiah Complex," was released. Utopia, written by Matt Fraction, was a crossover of Dark Avengers and Uncanny X-Men that served as a part of the "Dark Reign" storyline. A new New Mutants volume written by Zeb Wells, which featured the more prominent members of the original team reunited, was launched. Magneto joined the X-Men during the Nation X storyline to the dismay of other members of the X-Men, such as Beast, who left the team.[24] Magneto began to work with Namor to transform Utopia into a homeland for both mutants and Atlanteans.[25] After the conclusion of Utopia, Rogue became the main character of X-Men: Legacy. In 2010, "Second Coming" concluded the plot threads on Messiah Complex and Messiah War.
Several short-lived miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as Daken, Cable, Psylocke, Namor: The First Mutant and X-23.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 (flagship) – The X-Men open their new base in San Francisco and invite the world's mutant to join them (2008–2009); Cyclops later decided to move the mutant population to Utopia and off U.S. soil to avoid further persecution by the government (2009–2011).
X-Men Legacy, vol. 1 – featured Professor X's road to recovery as well as the encounters he faced during Messiah CompleX (2008–2009); later featured Rogue as mentor to the younger mutants under the protection of the X-Men on Utopia (2009–2011).
New Mutants, vol. 3 – the original team is reunited to form a new field team for the X-Men.
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 – the X-Men serve as protectors of San Francisco City.
X-Men, vol. 3 – featured team-ups between characters of X-Men and other superheroes such as Blade, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and the Future Foundation.
X-Men in Training
Young X-Men – a group of young mutants tricked by Donald Pierce disguised as Cyclops.
Generation Hope – Hope leads a new team, consisting of five new mutants ("five lights") that appeared on Cerebro after she manifested her powers.
Other Teams
X-Force, vol. 3 – Wolverine leads a more militaristic black-ops branch of the X-Men.
X-Factor, vol. 3 – the agency briefly moved to Detroit, Michigan and expanded to include several new partners.
Dark X-Men – Norman Osborn formed his own group of X-Men during the riots at San Francisco.
Alpha Flight, vol. 4 – the Canadian team provides rescue efforts for the victims during the events of Fear Itself.
Exiles, vol. 2 – a new team of heroes are brought together by Morph, acting as the new Timebroker.
"Schism" through "Regenesis"
In 2011, the aftermath of the "X-Men: Schism" storyline led to the fallout between Wolverine and Cyclops. During the "Regenesis" storyline, Wolverine's team was featured in a new flagship series titled Wolverine and the X-Men, Wolverine rebuilt the original X-Mansion and named it the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Meanwhile, Uncanny X-Men relaunched for the first time ever and served as the flagship title for Cyclops' Team. In 2012 "Avengers vs. X-Men" served as a closure to the "House of M" and "Decimation" storylines. It featured the death of Professor X and the reappearance of new mutants after the return of the Phoenix Force.[26][27]
Several short-lived miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as Storm, Gambit andMagneto: Not a Hero (featuring Magneto and Joseph).
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Warbird and Blink. The "Avengers vs. X-Men" storyline also took place during this period.
Cyclops' X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 2 – the flagship of the Cyclops' team with the Extinction Team dealing with potential threats to mutantkind's survival.
X-Men, vol. 3 – Storm's field team operating from an aeroplane to neutralize threats before reaching crisis levels.
New Mutants, vol. 3 – Cyclops tasked the New Mutants as a clean-up team to resolve loose ends.
Generation Hope – a rapid response team locating new lights as they manifested with Rogue and later Shadowcat serving as liaison
Wolverine's X-Men
Wolverine and the X-Men, vol. 1 – the flagship of the Wolverine's team featuring the faculty and student of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
X-Men Legacy, vol. 1 – Rogue leads a team acting as the school's security detail
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 – Wolverine's field team forming after the attack of the Marauders.
X-Men in Training
Wolverine and the X-Men (also served as the flagship title)
Other Teams
Uncanny X-Force, vol. 1 – a black ops team led by Wolverine with members from the previous strike force.
X-Factor, vol. 3 – Havok stepped back in to co-lead with Polaris after the disappearance of Madrox.
X-Treme X-Men, vol. 2 – a group of heroes from alternate dimensions led by Dazzler to defeat the Ten Evil Xaviers.
X-Club – the X-Men's Science Team dealing with the mutant birth crisis and the effects of M-Day.
Age of Apocalypse – featured the X-Terminated, human resistance fighters banded together to save the human race by taking out Weapon X and his new mutant regime.
Time-Displaced Original X-Men
In 2012, as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, all X-Men titles (except Astonishing X-Men & Wolverine and the X-Men) were canceled, including Uncanny X-Men, X-Men: Legacy, X-Men and New Mutants. New flagship title All-New X-Men was launched which featured the original five X-Men members who were brought to the present day by Beast and were made a separate team led eventually by Kitty. The relaunched Uncanny X-Men featured Cyclops, his team and the new mutants, taking up residency in the Weapon X facility, which they have rebuilt into a school — the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants. An all female book titled simply X-Men was also launched. During All-New Marvel Now!, Astonishing X-Men was cancelled and in its place another flagship title Amazing X-Men was launched which featured the return of Nightcrawler and became the flagship title of Wolverine's team. Also, Wolverine and the X-Men was relaunched and turned into mutants-in-training book. In 2013, for the 50th anniversary of the X-Men, "Battle of the Atom" was published which involved members of both X-Men schools trying to decide what to do about the time-displaced original X-Men, culminating in a confrontation with a version of the Brotherhood and the X-Men from an unspecified future date. In 2014, Wolverine was killed off in the "Death of Wolverine" story arc, as the conclusion of a storyline that saw him lose his healing factor after he was infected by an intelligent virus.
Several short-lived miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as X-Men Legacy (featuring Legion), Cyclops, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Storm and All-NewDoop.
All-New X-Men, vol. 1 – the flagship of the X-titles with the original X-Men brought from the past to the present to confront their future counterparts.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 3 – the flagship of the Cyclops' team with Cyclops and the remnants of his Extinction team taking up a revolutionary course to promote mutant rights.
Wolverine's X-Men
Amazing X-Men, vol. 2 – the flagship of the Wolverine's team featuring a field team with initial mission to search for the deceased Nightcrawler.
X-Men, vol. 4 – an all-female team dealing with new threats from Arkea and a new Sisterhood.
X-Men in Training
Wolverine and the X-Men, vol. 2 – the summer term on the Jean Grey School that focused on Logan's legacy on his students Quentin Quire, Evan Sabahnur and Idie Okonkwo.
Spider-Man and the X-Men – Spider-Man leads a Special Class to investigate the students as requested by Wolverine before his demise.
Other Teams
Cable and X-Force – a fugitive team led by Cable to face the threats that he saw in his visions.
Uncanny X-Force, vol. 2 – a proactive team of misfit X-Men led by Psylocke.
All-New X-Factor – a corporate-sponsored X-Factor team hired by Serval Industries.
X-Force, vol. 4 – the remnants of Cable's X-Force and Psylocke's X-Force merge to form a superhuman black ops.
Wolverines – a group of mutants with healing factor are captured by the Paradise escapees to help them find the adamantium-petrified body of Wolverine.
In 2015, as part of "All-New, All-Different Marvel", three team books were launched: the second volume of All-New X-Men, the fourth volume of Uncanny X-Men and Extraordinary X-Men.[28] X-23 took on the mantle of Wolverine and got a new solo series and Old Man Logan also received a new ongoing series when the character found himself in (from his perspective) an alternate past. During this period, the mutants dealt with the threat of the Terrigen cloud that circulated the world and appeared to be toxic to them, placing the X-Men at odds with the Inhumans. The X-Men also dealt with Apocalypse resurfacing, and the truth of what happened between Cyclops and the Inhumans that led to his death. Storm's team resided in Limbo and worked to bring mutants to safety away from the Terrigen. Magneto's team took on a more militant approach. Beast worked alongside the Inhumans to attempt to find a way to alter the state of the Terrigen, but later discovered that it couldn't be altered and would have rendered Earth toxic for mutants. This revelation caused the X-Men to declare war against the Inhumans, but this conflict ended when the Inhumans learned what was happening, with Medusa sacrificing the Terrigen cloud to save the mutants.
Extraordinary X-Men – the flagship of the X-titles with X-Men relocated to Limbo following the release of the Terrigen Mists.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 4 – Magneto leads a team of deadly mutants to deal with threats to mutantkind.
All-New X-Men, vol. 2 – the time-displaced original X-Men embarking on a roadtrip in an attempt to live normal lives.
ResurrXion
In 2017, the ResurrXion lineup was launched with X-Men: Prime. It introduced new titles; X-Men Blue, X-Men Gold, Weapon X, new volumes of Astonishing X-Men and Generation X, new solo series for Cable, Jean Grey, and Iceman, and continuation of the Old Man Logan and All-New Wolverine run. With the Terrigen gone, the X-Men vacated Limbo and moved to Central Park where they returned to their heroic roots instead of constantly living in fear for their survival. Other notable changes include Kitty Pryde as the new leader of the X-Men, the time-displaced X-Men working with Magneto, Old Man Logan turning Weapon X into a black ops team, and mutant characters crossing over from Earth-1610 to the Earth-616 universe. Early 2018 saw the Phoenix Force returning to earth and mysteriously resurrecting the original Jean Grey. A new series featuring the original Jean leading a team of X-Men called X-Men Red was released later that same month. Rogue and Gambit's relationship became a focal point during the Rogue & Gambit miniseries and again in the Till Death Do Us Part story arc in X-Men Gold, which saw the two finally tie the knot, and once more during the Mr. & Mrs. X miniseries, which saw the new couple attempt to take their honeymoon but end up involved in an intergalactic conspiracy. Other noteworthy plot points included Wolverine's return coinciding with the arrival of a mysterious new villain named Persephone, Psylocke's return to her original body, Magneto's steady return to villainy, and the time-displaced X-Men facing the consequences of their presence in the 616 timeline, and the return of Cyclops. 2019 saw a new volume of Uncanny X-Men released beginning with a 10-part weekly story arc. Several solo series were launched, including Legion, Multiple Man, Domino, Shatterstar and X-23, before the revamp of the entire X-Men lineup.
Mainly Charles Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine and Jean were resurrected and time-displaced X-Men returned to their original timeline during the Extermination event.
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Pyro, Gentle, Scout, Trinary, Wolfsbane and Multiple Man. Notable story arcs of this decade are "Weapons of Mutant Destruction" (2017), "Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey" (2017–2018), "Poison X" (2018), "Extermination" (2018), "Hunt for Wolverine" (2018), "Return of Wolverine" (2018–2019), "X-Men: Disassembled" (2018–2019) and "Age of X-Man" (2019). The X-Men were also involved in the "Venomized", "Secret Empire" and "War of the Realms" storylines.
X-Men
X-Men Gold – the flagship of the X-titles with Kitty Pryde leading the X-Men at the new location at Central Park; an ad hoc team is led by Iceman while Kitty Pryde and her team are in prison.
X-Men Blue – the time-displaced original X-Men mentored by Magneto; an ad hoc team is led by Polaris while the Original Five is lost in space.
X-Men Red, vol. 1 – the resurrected Jean Grey leading a team to have the mutants recognized as a nation.
Astonishing X-Men, vol 4 – an ad hoc team of X-Men members reunited in London to fight the Shadow King; later featured a ragtag team of X-Men co-led by Havok and Beast against the threat of the Reavers.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 5 – Jean Grey leads the remnants of the Gold and Red team after Nate Grey resurfaces proclaiming himself the mutant messiah and reshaping the world in his own view; Cyclops and Wolverine reformed the team following the dissolution of the X-Men after fighting X-Man.
X-Men in Training
Generation X, vol. 2 – Jubilee's group of students at the rechristened Xavier Institute.
Other Teams
Weapon X, vol. 3 – a black ops team of heroes and villains working together to take down a new Weapon X program.
New Mutants: Dead Soul – a team of former New Mutants and X-Factor members founded by Karma to investigate paranormal occurring.
X-Force, vol. 5 – original X-Force members Domino, Shatterstar, Cannonball, and Warpath are on the hunt for Kid Cable.
Exiles, vol. 3 – The Unseen recruits champions from alternate universes to save the multiverse from the Time Eaters.
On May 14, 2019, Marvel announced they would cancel all the X-Men titles and relaunch the entire lineup. Jonathan Hickman will have full creative control and will start with two rotating bi-weekly six-issue limited series called House of X and Powers of X.[29] After the 12 issues are released, Hickman will pen the flagship title and several new and traditional titles will be released.[30] It was subsequently announced in July 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con that there would be six new X-titles as part of Marvel's Dawn of X campaign.[31] Following the end of the X of Swords crossover, the sequel relaunch Reign of X will encompass a new era in the X-titles.[32]Destiny of X featured the Second Krakoan Age of X-Men after the events of Inferno and X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine.[33] Mutantkind's unparalleled growth and prosperity on the island nation Krakoa was threatened during the Fall of X by the human supremicist organization Orchis.[34] Marvel teased the X-Men's final battle for Krakoa's future in the two interconnected titles Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X.[35]
Several miniseries and one-shots started featuring several X-Men in team-up and solo series such as Giant-Size X-Men (featuring Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Fantomex, Storm and Thunderbird), Wolverine, Cable, Juggernaut, Sabretooth, Rogue and Gambit, Astonishing Iceman, Children of the Vault (featuring Cable and Bishop), Uncanny Spider-Man (featuring Nightcrawler), Jean Grey, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant and Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace.
X-Men, vol. 5 – the flagship title launched during Dawn of X featuring world-building stories of the mutant renaissance.
X-Men, vol. 6 – the flagship title launched during Reign of X featuring a new team of chosen champions of mutantkind.
Immortal X-Men – one of the flagship titles launched during Destiny of X focusing on the politics within the Quiet Council of Krakoa. The title is replaced by Immoral X-Men during the Sins of Sinister event. The storyline is concluded in the limited series X-Men Forever.
X-Men Red, vol. 2 – one of the flagship titles launched during Destiny of X featuring the Planet Arakko under the guidance of the conflicting factions of Storm's Brotherhood and Brand's X-Men Red, and later with Genesis' Great Ring. The title is replaced by Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants during the Sins of Sinister event. The storyline is concluded in the limited series Resurrection of Magneto.
Other Teams
Dawn of X
Marauders, vol. 1 – Captain Kate Pryde led a pirate team traveling the world for the supply and trade of the Krakoan drugs and smuggling of mutants into and out of nations hostile to Krakoa.
Excalibur, vol. 4 – Betsy Braddock (as Captain Britain) and her team explore the connection between mutant powers and magic in the Otherworld. The storyline is continued in the series Knights of X.
New Mutants, vol. 4 – Magik led a spacefaring team of classic New Mutants and Generation X members, and later acts as mentor to younger mutants in Krakoa; a second team of outreach party seek young mutants who have chosen not to come to Krakoa. The resident New Mutants' adventure continued in New Mutants: Lethal Legion.
Fallen Angels, vol. 2 – Kwannon (as Psylocke) recruits Cable and X-23 for a personal mission which could jeapordize all of mutantkind.
X-Force, vol. 6 – the mutant black-ops team dealing with the security of Krakoa.
Hellions – a team of mutant troublemakers given an outlet for their gene-given desires.
X-Factor, vol. 4 – a team investigating and enforcing the Resurrection Protocols. The storyline in continued in the series X-Men:Trial of Magneto.
Reign of X
S.W.O.R.D., vol. 2 – the mutant nation's forefront representatives to the outer universe.
Children of the Atom – a group of young vigilantes operating in New York City posing as mutants.
Way of X – Nightcrawler assembled a team focused on the path of answers for mutantkind's spirituality. The title is concluded in the one-shot X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation.
X-Corp – a corporate team headed by CXOs Warren and Monet staffed with some of the brightest and most deviant minds in mutantkind.
Destiny of X
Marauders, vol. 2 – Captain Pryde leads a new crew for rescuing mutants.
Knights of X – Captain Britain leads a team of ten knights into Otherworld in a quest to search the Siege Perilous. The title concluded in the series Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain.
Legion of X – the mutant police force formed by Nightcrawler and Legion. During the Sins of Sinister event, the title is replaced by Nightcrawlers featuring Sinister's private army of chimera assassins.
X-Terminators, vol. 2 – a limited series featuring Wolverine, Dazzler, Jubilee and Boom-Boom battling armies of vampires.
Sabretooth & the Exiles – the mutants exiled in The Pit are in pursuit of an escaped Sabretooth. The title is a continuation of the Sabretooth solo series and is concluded in the Sabretooth War arc of the Wolverine series.
Bishop: War College – Bishop training young mutants as War Captains in training for Krakoa.
Fall of X
Uncanny Avengers, vol. 4 – a new lineup of the Unity Squad formed to foster the unity between humanity and the mutant nation of Krakoa.
Dark X-Men, vol. 2 – Madelyne Pryror formed a team based out of Limbo to fill the void left by the X-Men.
Realm of X – a team of mutantkind's fiercest warriors sent on a mystical mission in Vanaheim to fight the White Witch.
Alpha Flight, vol. 5 – two Alpha Flight squads, split between human and mutant members, are secretly working together to transport mutants to Chandilar.
Dead X-Men – the fallen heroes murdered in the Hellfire Gala are guided by Askani on a sacred mutant mission to find for an intact biological Moira mind in one of Sinister's close-engine timelines.
During the panel at SXSW 2024, a new era of mutant mythos is announced with the X-Men scattered across the planet as they attempt to rebuild themselves in the wake of the acclaimed Krakoan Age.[36]
Flagship Teams
X-Men, vol. 7 – Scott Summers is leading a team from their base in Alaska using Cerebra to secure mutantkind’s future.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 6 – Rogue leads a team of outlaw heroes from their new base of operations in New Orleans.
Exceptional X-Men– Emma Frost and Kate Pryde mentor an all-new team of young mutants in Chicago.
Other Teams
X-Force, vol. 7 – Forge leads a mutant team in off-the-books missions to solve the increasing threats across the planet.
NYX, vol. 2 – a group of young mutants navigating New York City free from the X-Men’s guidance and Krakoa’s protection.
X-Factor, vol. 5 – Angel and Havok co-lead a government-sanctioned team for mutant propaganda.
The X-Men have a rogues gallery of enemies they fight on a regular basis, the most well-known being Magneto, the mutant Master of Magnetism and Professor X's former friend.
The X-Men use many recurring plot-devices and motifs for their various story arcs over the years that have become commonplace within the X-Men canon.
Reflecting social issues
The conflict between mutants and normal humans is often compared to real-world conflicts experienced by minority groups in America such as African Americans, various religious or non-religious groups, (ethnic minorities, autistic individuals, the LGBTQ community, etc.)[37][38] It has been remarked that attitudes towards mutants do not make sense in the context of the Marvel Universe, since non-mutants with similar powers are rarely regarded with fear; X-Men editor Ann Nocenti remarked that "I think that's literary, really – because there is no difference between Colossus and the Torch. If a guy comes into my office in flames, or a guy comes into my office and turns to steel, I'm going to have the same reaction. It doesn't really matter that I know their origins. ... as a book, The X-Men has always represented something different – their powers arrive at puberty, making them analogous to the changes you go through at adolescence – whether they're special, or out of control, or setting you apart – the misfit identity theme."[39] Also on an individual level, a number of X-Men serve a metaphorical function as their powers illustrate points about the nature of the outsider.
The X-Men are hated, feared and despised collectively by humanity for no other reason than that they are mutants. So what we have here, intended or not, is a book that is about racism, bigotry and prejudice.
Antisemitism: Explicitly referenced in recent decades is the comparison between antimutant sentiment and antisemitism. Magneto, a Holocaust survivor, sees the situation of mutants as similar to those of Jews in Nazi Germany.[41][47] At one point he even utters the words "never again" in a 1992 episode of the X-Men animated series. The mutant slave labor camps on the island of Genosha, in which numbers were burned into mutant's foreheads, show much in common with Nazi concentration camps,[47][48][49] as do the internment camps of the classic "Days of Future Past" storyline.[50] In the third X-Men film, when asked by Callisto: "If you're so proud of being a mutant, then where's your mark?" Magneto shows his concentration camp tattoo, while mentioning that he will never let another needle touch his skin. In the prequel film X-Men: First Class, a fourteen-year-old Magneto suffers Nazi human experimentation during his time in the camps and witnesses his mother's death by gunshot.
LGBT themes: Some commentators have noted the similarities between the struggles of mutants and the LGBT community, noting the onset of special powers around puberty and the parallels between being closeted and the mutants' concealment of their powers.[54] In the comics series, gay and bisexual characters include Anole, Bling!, Destiny, Karma, Mystique, Psylocke, Courier, Northstar (whose marriage was depicted in the comics in 2012), Graymalkin, Rictor, Shatterstar, Shade, the Ultimate version of Colossus and later Iceman after revealing that he is a mutant; the comics version of the character was then revealed to be gay in 2015. Transgender issues also come up with shapechangers like Mystique, Copycat, and Courier who can change gender at will. It has been said that the comic books and the X-Men animated series delved into the AIDS epidemic with a long-running plot line about the Legacy Virus, a seemingly incurable disease thought at first to attack only mutants (similar to the AIDS virus which at first was spread through the gay community).[55] In the film X-Men: First Class,Hank McCoy is asked by his CIA boss why he never disclosed his mutant identity, and his response was "you didn't ask, I didn't tell".
Communism and socialism: Occasionally, undercurrents of the real-life "Red Scare" are present or the events of the Red Scare in history are alluded to. Senator Robert Kelly's proposal of a Mutant Registration Act is similar to the efforts of United States Congress to try to ban communism in the United States.[49] In the 2000 X-Men film, Kelly exclaims, "We must know who these mutants are and what they can do," even brandishing a "list" of known mutants (a reference to Senator Joseph McCarthy's list of Communist Party USA members who were working in the government).[56]
Religion: Religion is an integral part of several X-Men storylines. It is presented as both a positive and negative force, sometimes in the same story. The comics explore religious fundamentalism through the person of William Stryker and his Purifiers, an antimutant group that emerged in the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. The Purifiers believe that mutants are not human beings but children of the devil, and have attempted to exterminate them several times, most recently in the "Childhood's End" storyline. By contrast, religion is also central to the lives of several X-Men, such as Nightcrawler, a devout Catholic, and Dust, a devout Sunni Muslim who wears an Islamic niqāb.[52]
Subculture: In some cases, the mutants of the X-Men universe sought to create a subculture of the typical mutant society portrayed. The Morlocks, though mutants like those attending Xavier's school, hide away from society within the tunnels of New York. These Morlock tunnels serve as the backdrop for several X-Men stories, most notably The Mutant Massacre crossover. This band of mutants illustrates another dimension to the comic, that of a group that further needs to isolate itself because society won't accept it.[57][58] In Grant Morrison's stories of the early 2000s, mutants are portrayed as a distinct subculture with "mutant bands," mutant use of code-names as their primary form of self-identity (rather than their given birth names), and a popular mutant fashion designer who created outfits tailored to mutant physiology. The series District X takes place in an area of New York City called "Mutant Town."[45] These instances can also serve as analogies for the way that minority groups establish subcultures and neighborhoods of their own that distinguish them from the broader general culture. Director Bryan Singer has remarked that the X-Men franchise has served as a metaphor for acceptance of all people for their special and unique gifts. The mutant condition that is often kept secret from the world can be analogous to feelings of difference and fear usually developed in everyone during adolescence.[citation needed]
Genocide: Genocide and its psychological aftereffects, primarily survivor guilt, are recurring elements in some of the most significant X-Men story arcs. Magneto was a survivor of The Holocaust and witnessed the genocide of his people, severely scarring him emotionally and leaving him with a strong distrust of humanity. Because of this he constantly toes the line between ally and enemy of the X-Men. The iconic Days of Future Past story line saw an alternate future where Sentinels committed genocide on most of the world's mutants.[59] In Rachel Summers' original timeline, she was captured by humans and turned into a 'hound' used to hunt down other mutants in order to capture and kill them, leaving her extremely traumatized by the experience and knowledge that she unwittingly assisted in the genocide of her own people. Bishop's childhood consisted of him being trapped in a mutant concentration camp, leaving him so emotionally scarred as an adult that upon returning to the past he was prepared to kill a baby who might have caused his future. When Cassandra Nova committed genocide on Genosha, the event left both Emma Frost[60] and Polaris[61][62] traumatized by survivor's guilt as they were amongst the limited few survivors. While taking some time off in Germany, Nightcrawler witnessed the genocide of numerous mutants. The event left him as an emotional shell of who he used to be because of the trauma of what he witnessed until he had psychic therapy with Jean to help him cope.[63] Other characters who have either committed or have survived genocide include Mystique, Callisto, Apocalypse, Onslaught, Bastion, Mister Sinister, Hope Summers, Cable, and the Phoenix Force.
Time travel
Many of the X-Men's stories delve into time travel either in the sense of the team traveling through time on a mission, villains traveling through time to alter history, or certain characters traveling from the past or future in order to join the present team. Story arcs and spin-offs that are notable for using this plot device include Days of Future Past, Messiah Complex, All-New X-Men, Messiah War, and Battle of the Atom. Characters who are related to time travel include: Apocalypse, Bishop, Cable, Old Man Logan, Prestige, Hope Summers, Tempus, and Stryfe.[64] A major notable period in the X-Men's history began in 2012s All-New X-Men when Beast used time-travel to bring the original five 1960s X-Men into the present. These time-displaced characters subsequently starred in their own title X-Men Blue before returning to their original timeline in 2018s Extermination event.
Death and resurrection
One of the most recurring plot devices used in the X-Men franchise is death and resurrection, mostly in the sense of Jean Grey and her bond with the Phoenix. Though not as iconic as Jean and the Phoenix, many other X-Men characters have died and come back to life on occasion. Death and resurrection has become such a common occurrence in the X-books that the characters have mentioned on numerous occasions that they are not strangers to death or have made comments that death doesn't always have a lasting effect on them (for example, "In mutant heaven, there are no pearly gates, only revolving doors"). X-Necrosha is a particular story arc that sees Selene temporarily reanimate many of the X-Men's dead allies and enemies in order for her to achieve godhood. In the Krakoan era, the characters invent a method of resurrecting mutants who have died; becoming a significant story element across the various x-men books.
Fate
Many of the characters deal with the topic of fate. In particular, Destiny's abilities of precognition have affected certain plot points in the X-Men's history long after she was killed off due to both the X-Men and their enemies constantly searching for her missing diaries that foretell certain futures. The topic of fate takes center stage yet again in a story arc called "The Extremists" involving attacks against the Morlocks due to one of them seeing a dark future for their people.[65] Some characters believe they already know their own fates, such as Apocalypse believing he is fated to rule the mutants or Magneto believing he is fated to lead the mutants to rise up against humans. Other characters such as Jean, Prestige, Evan Sabanur, Hope Summers, and Warren Worthington III have all been wary of their fates and have all taken measures to alter their futures.
Space travel
Space travel has been a common staple in the X-Men books beginning with the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix sagas. Since then space has been involved in many stories involving the X-Men's allies and occasional rivals the Shi'ar along with stories involving the Phoenix Force. Space has been the setting for many stories involving the likes of The Brood, such as the story arc where the villainous species was first introduced.[66] Through space noteworthy characters like The Starjammers and Vulcan (lost brother of Cyclops and Havok) were introduced. Space Travel played a major role in Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men via the introduction of S.W.O.R.D. and especially in one of the final story arcs under his authorship called "Unstoppable".[67][68] Other notable story arcs involving space included "X-Men: The End", "Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire", "X-Men: Kingbreaker", "War of Kings", and "The Black Vortex".
Sanity
The topic of sanity has been addressed in many of the major heroes and villains of X-Men. Most famously this is addressed in Jean Grey when she gains near omnipotence through the Phoenix and Professor Xavier after he violently uses his powers against Magneto, unintentionally creating Onslaught. Mystique's sanity wavers throughout the franchise as her constant transformations causes more and more of her mind to fracture.[69][70] Ever since swapping bodies with Revanche, Psylocke has occasionally struggled to maintain her sanity due to her more aggressive nature and new powers. The character Deadpool is famous for his blatant lack of sanity. After Magneto stripped Wolverine of his metal bones, Wolverine began to become increasingly feral throughout most of the mid to late 1990s X-Men comics. The nature of Rogue's powers affecting her sanity due to her retaining the memories of others has been a central plot device on many occasions, most famously retaining Ms. Marvel's psyche throughout most of the 1980s. Most recently Emma Frost's sanity has become fractured ever since Cyclops died in her arms, causing her to declare war against Inhumans.[71] Other characters who have had issues with sanity include Cyclops, Sabretooth, Magik, Quentin Quire, X-23, and Prestige.
Political warfare
In the Marvel Universe, mutant rights is one of the hot controversial political topics and is something that is addressed numerous times in the X-books as a plot device. While some politicians like Valerie Cooper have legitimately tried to help the X-Men, most have made it their mission to discredit the X-Men in order to eliminate mutants once and for all. Senator Robert Kelly began his platform on a strong outspoken anti-mutant sentiment until he changed his mind after being rescued by mutants later on in his career. When Sabretooth's human son Graydon Creed ran for office, the X-Men sent in Cannonball and Iceman to discreetly join his campaign team and find anything on his anti-mutant agenda. This continued until it boiled to a head when his assassination led to "Operation: Zero Tolerance." Some of the issues presented in the comics serve as allegory to modern issues in the real world, such as Lydia Nance suggesting mass mutant deportation.[72]
Ideological differences
Characters in the X-Men franchise espouse a variety of political ideologies, and these differences are a frequent catalyst for conflict. The most prominent ideological clash in the X-Men franchise is that between Xavier and Magneto; despite later interpretations of the two as analogues for Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, writer Chris Claremont (who originated Magneto's backstory and history with Xavier) saw them as more comparable to David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin.[73] Xavier's ideology has drawn comparisons to assimilationism and model minority politics, while Magneto, originally depicted as a mutant supremacist, is later portrayed as a liberationist advocating self-determination through mutually assured destruction. Callisto is a separatist, who seeks to protect the Morlocks through isolationism. Emma Frost is portrayed as rejecting social movements, opting to use the capitalist system for her personal benefit, or for that of individual mutants in her care. Apocalypse is characterized as a social darwinist who believes that mutants can only survive through the rule of might. The Mutant Liberation Front commits acts of terrorism to liberate mutants wrongly incarcerated by the government. Even when individual characters expressing conflicting ideologies are portrayed as either misguided or villainous, their motives and beliefs are often treated by the X-Men with nuance, sympathy, and respect; for example, during Secret Wars, when The Avengers take issue with Magneto's placement among the heroic team by The Beyonder, the X-Men defend him as an ally, despite disagreeing with his methods.[74] Pulitzer-winning national security journalist Spencer Ackerman has stated that "the importance of the X-Men as a universe of stories, as a mythos, is that we should always be debating who is right."[75]
Media and popular culture
The character of Mojo, an extraterrestrial being and media mogul from the Mojoverse, serves as a satirical embodiment of the pervasive influence of media on society. Created by Nocenti and Art Adams, Mojo's grotesque appearance and obsession with television ratings are a direct commentary on the often exploitative nature of entertainment media.
Mojo's realm, where citizens are addicted to his gladiator-like television programs, mirrors the real world's fixation with reality TV and the spectacle of media. It raises questions about the ethical boundaries of entertainment and the societal impact of media consumption. The character's creation was influenced by Nocenti's readings of media critics such as Marshall McLuhan, Noam Chomsky, and Walter Lippmann, reflecting concerns about how media shapes public perception and discourse.
The X-Men's encounters with Mojo often highlight the dangers of media manipulation and the commodification of individuals. These narratives underscore the importance of critical thinking and media literacy as tools to combat the potential indoctrination by mass media. The character's storylines serve as allegories for the real-world implications of media control over information and the shaping of societal norms.
In the broader context of the X-Men universe, Mojo's machinations can be seen as a metaphor for the media's role in perpetuating social issues. His control over the Mojoverse parallels the control media conglomerates have over public opinion and the dissemination of information. The X-Men's resistance against Mojo's tyranny is symbolic of the struggle against the monopolization of media and the fight for a free and independent press.[76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85]
Historically, the X-Men have been based in the Xavier Institute of Gifted Youngsters/X-Mansion located in Salem Center, Westchester County, New York, and are often portrayed as a family. The Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters/X-Mansion is often depicted with three floors and two underground levels. To the outside world, it acted as a higher learning institute until the 2000s, when Xavier was publicly exposed as a mutant at which point it became a known mutant boarding school. Xavier funds a corporation aimed at reaching mutants worldwide, though it ceased to exist following the 2005 "Decimation" storyline. The X-Men benefit from advanced technology such as Xavier tracking down mutants with a device called Cerebro which amplifies his powers; the X-Men train within the Danger Room, first depicted as a room full of weapons and booby traps, now as generating holographic simulations; and the X-Men travel in their Blackbird jet.
Fictional places
The X-Men introduced several fictional locations which are regarded as important within the shared universe in which Marvel Comics characters exist:
Asteroid M, an asteroid made by Magneto, a mutant utopia and training facility off of the Earth's surface.
Avalon, Magneto's space station that served as the primary base for him and his Acolytes to create a mutants-only safe haven after Magneto drastically reverted to his villainous ways. Originally created by Cable.[86]
Genosha, an island near Madagascar and a longtime apartheid regime against mutants. The U.N. gave control to Magneto until the E Is for Extinction story saw Genosha destroyed via mass genocide.
Krakoa, a living island which is currently home to the X-Men and other mutants. It is an official country.
Limbo, a hellish dimension heavily populated by demons. Whoever possesses the Soulsword bears control over and can draw power from Limbo. In Extraordinary X-Men, the X-Men made a sanctuary in Limbo called X-Haven their home after Terrigen started making earth uninhabitable for mutants.
New Tien, a mutant-run region on the west coast of the United States where mutants outnumber humans. It was created after Hydra took over the United States. Emma Frost secretly leads New Tien by telepathically possessing New Tien's puppet rulerXorn.[87]
Savage Land, a preserved location in Antarctica which is home to a number of extinct species, most notably dinosaurs, and strange tribes.
Utopia, Cyclops had Asteroid M raised from the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the San Francisco as a response to the rise of anti-mutant sentiment to form a mutant nation.
Cultural impact and legacy
Critical response
Abraham Riesman of Vulture included the X-Men in their "12 Teams That Defined Superhero Storytelling" list.[88] Laura Bradley of Vanity Fair included the X-Men in their "Stan Lee's Most Iconic Characters" list.[89]Comic Book Resources ranked the X-Men 1st in their "Marvel: 10 Most Powerful Teams" list,[90] 2nd in their "Every Marvel Superhero Team" list,[91] and 2nd in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams" list.[92] Michael Doran of Newsarama ranked the X-Men 3rd in their "Best superhero teams of all time" list.[93] Chris Isaac of Screen Rant ranked the X-Men 3rd in their "15 Best Superhero Teams Of All Time" list.[94] Jason Serafino of Complex ranked the X-Men 4th in their "10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics" list.[95] Geoff Boucher of Deadline ranked the X-Men 4th in their "Stan Lee's Legacy: Ranking The Hollywood Heroes Co-Created By The Marvel Comics Icon" list.[96]
Impact
The insecurity and anxieties in Marvel's early 1960s comic books such as The Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and X-Men ushered in a new type of superhero, very different from the certain and all-powerful superheroes before them, and changed the public's perception of superheroes.[97]
The superhero team has been described as an allegory to real-life struggles experienced by people rejected by society.[98][99]
Ramzi Fawaz argues that X-Men presents a feminist revision of the idea of a superhero team: "As a corollary to its critique of normative identity, The X-Men shifted the traditional locus of affective and political identification in mainstream superhero comics from white male heroes to powerful and racially diverse female superheroes whose emotional strength anchored mutant kinships and whose superpowers granted them unprecedented ability to reshape the material world."[100]
Other versions
Age of Apocalypse – In a world where Professor X is killed by his son David/Legion before he can form the X-Men, Magneto leads the X-Men in a dystopian world ruled by Apocalypse. Created and reverted via time travel.
Age of X – a world in which anti-mutant sentiment became even worse due to a series of events and thus led to the United States government hunting down mutants with Sentinels and leading to "The Decimation" which severely reduced the mutant population and Magneto leads the mutants who are based in Fortress X.
Days of Future Past – Sentinels have either killed or placed into concentration camps almost all mutants. Prevented by the time-traveling Kate Pryde/Widget (the adult Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat).
House of M – Reality is altered by Scarlet Witch, with her father Magneto as the ruler of Genosha and in which mutants are the dominant group with humans as second-class citizens. 2005's crossover event, it concludes with a reversion to the normal Marvel Universe, albeit with most mutants depowered.
Marvel 1602 – Mutants are known as the "Witchbreed" in this alternate reality set during the time of The Inquisition. Carlos Javier creates a "school for the children of gentlefolk" to serve as a safe haven and training ground for which he calls mutantur (or changing ones) and normal humans (the mondani). The roster consists of the original 5 members and analogues of Sunspot, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.[101]
Marvel 2099 – Set in a dystopian world with new characters looking to the original X-Men as history, becoming X-Men 2099 and X-Nation 2099.
Marvel Noir – The X-Men of this reality are a group of delinquent teenagers led by Charles Xavier who believes that sociopathy is the next step in human evolution.
Mutant X – Set in a world where Scott Summers was captured along with his parents by the Shi'ar and only Alex escaped, allowing him to be the eventual leader of this Universe's X-Men ("The Six"). The Mutant X universe reimagines Mr. Fantastic, Nick Fury, and Professor X as villains and Doctor Doom and Apocalypse as heroes.
Time-displaced X-Men – The time-displaced team was introduced as such in All-New X-Men vol. 1 #1, by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen, and brought to the present with time travel. They were kept as regular characters, as Bendis intended to explore their reactions to the fate of their adult selves.[102] The team was the main focus of the Battle of the Atom crossover, some months later. Bendis also used them for crossovers with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Miles Morales, that he also wrote.[103] This was one of the few crossovers between the Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel universe; Bendis preferred to write them sparingly.[104]All-New X-Men has a vol. 2 in 2015, by Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley.[105] The comic was cancelled after the end of the Inhumans vs. X-Men crossover, and the team was now published in the X-Men Blue comic. The teenager Jean also got a solo series after the end of ResurrXion, by Hopeless and Victor Ibanez, that explored her relation with the Phoenix Force.[106] The teenager Cyclops joins the Champions, a comic book focused on teenager heroes but unrelated to the X-Men mythos.[107] They guest-starred in the Venom comic, in the "Poison-X" arc. The story took the villains from the Venomverse arc and led to the Venomized crossover.[108] The team were featured in the Extermination crossover, where they went back to their original timeline.[109]
Ruins – Although the actual X-Men don't appear, alternate versions of its members and villains are shown to have suffered under horrific circumstances. Charles Xavier is a tyrannical President of the United States, Jean Grey is a prostitute, Magneto and Mystique die, Wolverine suffers from poisoning from his adamantium skeleton, Emma Frost heads the Church of the Next Generation and forces children of her followers to undergo surgery, Cyclops as well as Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde are imprisoned at a Texas jail and Sabretooth is part of a fascist cannibalistic militia based in Oklahoma alongside Bucky Barnes and Jack Monroe.
Ultimate X-Men – Set in the reimagined Ultimate Marvel universe. The X-Men are younger, wear black and gold uniforms and supernatural/cosmic elements are downplayed. Additionally Colossus is gay unlike his main universe counterpart, Magneto is not a Holocaust survivor and is more villainous, mutants were created by the Super-Soldier Serum, Cable is Wolverine and Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat dated Spider-Man.
X-Men Forever – An alternate continuity diverging from X-Men, vol. 2 #3, continuing as though writer Chris Claremont had never left writing the series.[110]
X-Men Noir – Set in the 1930s, with the X-Men as a mysterious criminal gang and the Brotherhood as a secret society of corrupt cops.
X-Men: The End – A possible ending to the X-Men's early 2005 status quo.
X-Men '92 – Follows "Secret Wars", the X-Men of the 1992 TV Series, received their own comic book series.[111]
X-Men, also known as X-Men: The Animated Series, is an animated superhero television series that aired in the United States for five seasons from October 31, 1992 to September 20, 1997, on Fox's Fox Kids programming block. It was Marvel Comics' second attempt at an animated X-Men television series after the pilot X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men was not picked up. Set in the same fictional universe as Spider-Man, Earth-92131, it was followed by a revival, X-Men '97, which began airing on March 20, 2024, on Disney+.
Pyro is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.
Nightcrawler is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum, he debuted in the comic book Giant-Size X-Men #1. By the time of his creation, there was already another Marvel character with the same name, but with a hyphen (Night-Crawler), which was later changed to Dark-Crawler to avoid confusion.
Magneto is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in The X-Men #1 as an adversary of the X-Men.
Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #129 and was co-created by writer-artist John Byrne and writer Chris Claremont. A mutant, Pryde possesses a "phasing" ability that allows her to pass through objects, hence she is intangible while using this ability. This power also disrupts any electrical field she passes through, and lets her simulate levitation.
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men is an animated television pilot originally broadcast in 1989 on the Marvel Action Universe television block, featuring Marvel Comics' mutant superheroes of the X-Men. The pilot aired infrequently in syndication and was later released on video. It later served as the basis for Konami's X-Men arcade game.
Mister Sinister is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Marauders in The Uncanny X-Men #212, and later seen in silhouette in The Uncanny X-Men #213, with both issues serving as chapters of the 1986 "Mutant Massacre" crossover. Mr. Sinister then made his first full appearance in The Uncanny X-Men #221. His appearance was designed by artist Marc Silvestri.
Uncanny X-Men, originally published as The X-Men, is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X-Men, a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led and taught by Professor X.
X-Treme X-Men is the name of two comic book series published by Marvel Comics, the first from 2001 through 2004, and the second from 2012 through 2013. All 46 issues of the first series were written by Chris Claremont, and featured a globetrotting X-Men team led by Storm. The first 24 issues were drawn by Salvador Larroca, and the final 22 issues were drawn by Igor Kordey.
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills is an original graphic novel published in 1982 by Marvel Comics, starring their popular superhero team the X-Men. It was written by Christopher Claremont and illustrated by Brent Eric Anderson. The book served as the primary inspiration for the 2003 film X2, which saw Claremont return to write the novelization. Inspired by the rise of televangelism in the 1980s, the story deals with the overall religious extremism against mutants.
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate X-Men exist alongside other revamped Marvel characters in Ultimate Marvel titles including Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Ultimates.
"Days of Future Past" is a storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book The Uncanny X-Men issues #141–142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps. An adult Kate Pryde transfers her mind into her younger self, the present-day Kitty Pryde, who brings the X-Men to prevent a fatal moment in history that triggers anti-mutant hysteria.
X-Mansion and Xavier Institute are the common names for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier, a character in X-Men comics. It serves as the base of operations and training site of the X-Men. It is also the location of an accredited private school for mutant children, teenagers, and sometimes older aged mutants, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. The X-Mansion is also the worldwide headquarters of the X-Corporation.
X-Men: Legacy is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring the mutant superhero team the X-Men.
Amazing X-Men is the name of two X-Men comic book series from Marvel Comics. The first was a limited series published during the Age of Apocalypse storyline. The subsequent ongoing series began in November 2013 in the aftermath of Battle of the Atom and was initially written by Jason Aaron with art by Ed McGuinness, featuring a lineup of long-time X-Men characters led by Wolverine. The first story arc features the return of Nightcrawler, who had been dead since the 2010 story line, X-Men Second Coming. The second series ended in 2015, with issue 19 being the last issue.
In American comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is a human being that possesses a genetic trait called the X-gene. It causes the mutant to develop superhuman powers that manifest at puberty. Human mutants are sometimes referred to as a human subspecies Homo sapiens superior or simply Homo superior. Mutants are the evolutionary progeny of Homo sapiens, and are generally assumed to be the next stage in human evolution. The accuracy of this is the subject of much debate in the Marvel Universe.
The X-Men are a fictional superhero team created by Marvel Comics that appear in comic books and other forms of media.
X-Men is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the titular team of superheroes, published by Marvel Comics, beginning in September 2010.
X-Men: Regenesis is a comic book branding used by Marvel Comics that ran through the X-Men family of books beginning in October 2011, following the end of the X-Men: Schism miniseries. This realignment of the mutant population is ahead of the 2012 Marvel event Avengers vs. X-Men which begins during Regenesis with the mini series Avengers: X-Sanction and brings back Cable, who was previously thought to be dead following the events of X-Men: Second Coming.
↑ "Stan Lee". Archive of American Television. March 22, 2004. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
↑ Conversations With The Comic Book Creators by Leonard Pitts, 1987; also published on The Kirby Effect: The Journal of the Kirby Museum website as "1986/7 Jack Kirby Interview", 6 August 2012.
↑ Nickerson, Al (August 2008). "Claremont and Byrne: The Team that Made the X-Men Uncanny". Back Issue! (29). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 3–12.
↑ Brown, Scott (May 9, 2003). "The NeXt Level". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
↑ O'Neill, Patrick Daniel (August 1993). "Hitting the Right Chord". Wizard: X-Men Turn Thirty. pp.84–85.
↑ Grant, Paul J. (August 1993). "Poor Dead Doug, and Other Mutant Memories". Wizard: X-Men Turn Thirty. pp.66–69.
1 2 O'Neill, Patrick Daniel (August 1993). "The Future is Now". Wizard: X-Men Turn Thirty. pp.12–25.
1 2 Raafat, Ahmed; Nasser, Ali (May 2006). "Spotlight X-Men". TeenStuff (99). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
↑ Powell, John (July 14, 2000). "The X-Men slay Batman". Jam!. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
↑ Trushell, John M. (August 2004). "American Dreams of Mutants: The X-Men—"Pulp" Fiction, Science Fiction, and Superheroes". The Journal of Popular Culture. 38 (1). John Wiley & Sons: 149–168. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3840.2004.00104.x.
↑ Ash, Roger (August 2008). "Ann Nocenti and Arthur Adams Bet on a Longshot". Back Issue! (#29). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 26–31.
Weinstein, Simcha (2006). Up, Up, and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero. Baltimore: Leviathan. Note: Contains a chapter on the X-Men, with special emphasis on Jewish characters Magneto and Shadowcat.
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