The X-Men are a
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
team appearing in
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, first appearing in
''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter
Jack Kirby and writer/editor
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its
1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer
Chris Claremont
Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
, it became one of the most recognizable and successful franchises of Marvel Comics. They have appeared in numerous books,
television shows, the
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
''X-Men'' films, and
video games
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
. The ''X-Men'' title may refer to the superhero team itself,
the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise including
various solo titles and team books such as the
New Mutants,
Excalibur, and
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants#New Muta ...
.
In the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
,
mutants are humans who are born with a genetic trait called the X-gene which grants them natural superhuman abilities. Due to their differences from the majority of humanity, mutants are subject to prejudice and discrimination and many X-Men stories feature social commentary on bigotry and justice. The X-Men have fought against a variety of
enemies
Enemies or foes are a group that is seen as forcefully adverse or threatening.
Enemies may also refer to:
Literature
* ''Enemies'' (play), a 1906 play by Maxim Gorky
* '' Enemies, A Love Story'', a 1966 novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer
* '' Enem ...
, including villainous mutants, human bigots, supervillains, mystical threats, extraterrestrials, and malevolent artificial intelligences. 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.
The current iteration of the official X-Men team is headquartered in The Treehouse, a
Krakoa
Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Initially depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa has since gro ...
n base in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and the roster is voted on by their fellow mutants in elections held at periodic
Hellfire Gala
"Hellfire Gala" is a comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics through the ''X-Men'' related title. It is the first storyline featured in the " Reign of X" relaunch after the " X of Swords" storyline. It is a twelve-chapter storyline. Krakoa ...
s. No longer working in secret, they fight publicly for the safety of mutants, to build bridges between Krakoa and human nations, and to protect the Earth and Solar System from extraterrestrial threats.
Background and creation
In 1963, with the success of
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
,
the Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...
,
Thor
Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...
,
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
, and
the Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first s ...
, co-creator
Stan Lee
Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...
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.
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.
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.
Within the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
, the X-Men are widely regarded to have been named after
Professor X
Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
avier 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!"
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
's
Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...
, 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 bound 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 Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
.
Publication history
Original run
Early ''X-Men'' issues introduced the original team composed of
Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
,
Marvel Girl
Marvel Girl is an alias used by at least three fictional Marvel Comics superheroines:
*Jean Grey, best known as a founding member of the X-Men
*Valeria Richards, daughter of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman (of the Fantastic Four)
*Rachel ...
,
Beast,
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
, and
Iceman, along with their archenemy
Magneto and his
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
The Brotherhood of Mutants (originally called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, sometimes referred to as BoEM or B.O.E.M) is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as being devoted ...
featuring
Mastermind,
Quicksilver
Quicksilver may refer to:
* Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson
* "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby
* ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...
,
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
, and
Toad
Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands.
A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...
. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil and later included storylines and themes about
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classification of another person based on that person's per ...
and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, 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
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
. Only one new member of the X-Men was added,
Mimic
MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...
/Calvin Rankin, but soon left due to his temporary loss of power.
The title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. In 1969, writer
Roy Thomas
Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...
and illustrator
Neal Adams
Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...
rejuvenated the comic book and gave regular roles to two recently introduced characters:
Havok/Alex Summers (who had been introduced by Roy Thomas before Adams began work on the comic) and Lorna Dane, later called
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
(created by
Arnold Drake and
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator.
His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...
). However, these later ''X-Men'' issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66, later reprinting a number of the older comics as issues #67–93.
Claremont Era
In ''
Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 (1975), writer
Len Wein
Leonard Norman Wein (; June 12, 1948 – September 10, 2017) was an American comic book writer and editor best known for co-creating DC Comics' Swamp Thing and Marvel Comics' Wolverine, and for helping revive the Marvel superhero team the X-Men ( ...
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
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
, 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
Cadence Industries Corporation, formerly known as Perfect Film & Chemical Corporation, was an American conglomerate owned by Martin S. Ackerman. From 1968 through 1986, Cadence Industries was the parent company of Marvel Comics Group (formerl ...
, had suggested the new team should be international, feeling it needed characters with "foreign appeal". 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" were led by Cyclops, from the original team, and consisted of the newly created
Colossus
Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to:
Statues
* Any exceptionally large statue
** List of tallest statues
** :Colossal statues
* ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor
* ''Col ...
(from the Soviet Union/Russia),
Nightcrawler (from West Germany/Germany),
Storm (from Kenya), and
Thunderbird (a Native American of
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
descent), and three previously introduced characters:
Banshee (from Ireland),
Sunfire
Fire is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems (since 2010, part of Oracle Corporation). The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-ba ...
(from Japan), and
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
(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
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
also made significant guest appearances.
The revived series was illustrated by Cockrum, and later by
John Byrne, and written by
Chris Claremont
Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is a British-born American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Claremont, Chris. ''Marvel ...
. Claremont became the series' longest-running contributor. 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
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers have often appeared in the pages of the ''X-Men'' comic books. The Starjammers first appeared in ''X-Men'' #104 (Ap ...
and the M'Kraan Crystal, the introduction of
Alpha Flight and the
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...
saga. Other characters introduced during this time include
Amanda Sefton
Amanda Sefton (real name Jimaine Szardos) (also known as Daytripper and the second Magik) is a fictional character and a witch appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Her lover is Kurt Wagner, Nightcrawler of the X-Men.
...
,
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
"The Dark Phoenix Saga" is an extended X-Men comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics, focusing on Jean Grey and the Phoenix Force. It was written by Chris Claremont with art by John Byrne.
The Dark Phoenix Saga commonly refers to the s ...
, 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
"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 transfer ...
'', 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
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
's movie ''
X2: X-Men United'', which was released on May 2, 2003.
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''.
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
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', soon followed by ''
Alpha Flight'', ''
X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', ''
Excalibur'', and a solo ''
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
'' title. When Claremont conceived a story arc, the ''
Mutant Massacre
"Mutant Massacre" was a 1986 Marvel Comics crossover storyline. It primarily involved the superhero teams the X-Men and X-Factor. The solo hero Thor, the New Mutants, Power Pack and Daredevil crossed over for an issue each in their own comic boo ...
'', 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, and when the later ''
Fall of the Mutants
"The Fall of the Mutants" was a comic book crossover event by Marvel Comics spanning January to March 1988. It spanned three issues each of ''Uncanny X-Men'' #225-227, ''X-Factor'' #24-26, and ''New Mutants'' #59-61; unlike most crossovers howev ...
'' was similarly successful, the marketing department declared that the X-Men lineup would hold such
crossovers
Crossover may refer to:
Entertainment
Albums and songs
* ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album)
* ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987
* ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album)
* ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album)
* ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
annually.
Throughout the decade, ''Uncanny X-Men'' was written solely by Chris Claremont, and illustrated for long runs by John Byrne, Dave Cockrum,
Paul Smith,
John Romita Jr.
John Salvatore Romita (; born August 17, 1956), known professionally as John Romita Jr., is an American comics artist best known for his extensive work for Marvel Comics from the 1970s to the 2010s. He is the son of artist John Romita Sr.
Early ...
, and
Marc Silvestri
Marc Silvestri (born March 29, 1958) is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He serves as CEO of both Top Cow Productions and Image Comics.
Early life
Marc Silvestri was born on March 29, 1958 in Palm Beach, Florida.Rosenberg, ...
. Additions to the X-Men during this time were
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat,
Rogue
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
,
Jean Grey/Phoenix,
Psylocke
Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional Mutant (Marvel Comics), mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men.
The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddoc ...
,
Dazzler,
Longshot,
Jubilee,
Forge
A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to th ...
and
Gambit. In a controversial move,
Professor X
Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
relocated to outer space to be with
Lilandra Neramani, Majestrix of the
Shi'ar Empire, in 1986. Magneto then joined the X-Men in Xavier's place and became the director of the New Mutants. This period also included the emergence of the
Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...
, the arrival of the mysterious
Madelyne Pryor
Madelyne Jennifer Pryor is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Paul Smith (comics), Paul Smith, the character first appeared in ''Uncann ...
, and the villains
Apocalypse
Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...
,
Mister Sinister,
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
, and
Sabretooth.
*X-Men
** ''
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 (1980–1985); 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 ''The'' ''Fall 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
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
,'' 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
![12](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/12.5.19JimLeeXMenV2HCByLuigiNovi2.jpg)
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
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
''. 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
Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...
. 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), making it, according to
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
, the best-selling comic book of all-time. Guinness presented honors to Claremont at the 2010
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
.
Another new X-book released at the time was ''
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants#New Muta ...
'', featuring the characters from ''
The New Mutants
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', 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. 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
Marc Silvestri (born March 29, 1958) is an American comic book artist, creator and publisher. He serves as CEO of both Top Cow Productions and Image Comics.
Early life
Marc Silvestri was born on March 29, 1958 in Palm Beach, Florida.Rosenberg, ...
) would leave Marvel to form
Image Comics
Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...
. Jim Lee's X-Men designs would be the basis for much of the ''
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'' animated series and action figure line as well as several Capcom video games.
The 1990s saw an even greater number of X-books with numerous ongoing series and miniseries running concurrently. X-book crossovers continued to run annually, with "
The X-Tinction Agenda" in 1990, "
The Muir Island Saga" in 1991, "
X-Cutioner's Song" in 1992, "
Fatal Attractions" in 1993, "
Phalanx Covenant
"The Phalanx Covenant" was a crossover storyline that ran through Marvel Comics' X-Men family of books in September and October 1994. One of its unique aspects was that the X-Men themselves only played a minor role in the story.
Plot
The X-Men ...
" in 1994, "
Legion Quest
"Legion Quest" is a six-part Marvel Comics crossover event involving the X-Men, published in 1994–1995. It was a prelude to the Age of Apocalypse extended storyline.
Tie-in issues
Prologue ''X-Factor'' #109
# ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #320
# ''X-M ...
"/"
Age of Apocalypse" in 1995, "
Onslaught
Onslaught may refer to:
Characters
* Onslaught (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics supervillain
* Onslaught (DC Comics), a DC Comics team of Quraci terrorists
* Onslaught (Transformers), the leader of the Combaticons in the ''Transformers'' series
G ...
" in 1996, "
Operation: Zero Tolerance" in 1997, "
Hunt for Xavier" in 1998, "The Magneto War" in 1999, "
Apocalypse: The Twelve" / "
Ages of Apocalypse
"The Ages of Apocalypse" is a series of sub-chapters to Marvel Comics' "The Twelve" saga, wherein En Sabah Nur finds himself trapped in the body of Scott Summers (Cyclops of X-Men) after a failed attempt to possess Nate Grey. Using his newfound ...
" in 2000 and "Eve of Destruction" in 2001. Though the frequent crossovers were criticized by fans as well as editorial and creative staff for being artificially regular, disruptive to the direction of the individual series, and having far less lasting impact than promised, they continued to be financially successful.
There were many additions to the X-Men in the 1990s, including
Gambit,
Cable, and
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
. Gambit became one of the most popular X-Men, rivaling even
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
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
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
,
Maggott
Maggott (Japheth) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was briefly a member of the X-Men.
A flamboyant South African mutant who spoke in exaggerated Afrikaans slang, Maggott was adve ...
,
Marrow,
Cecilia Reyes
Dr. Cecilia Reyes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Scott Lobdell and Carlos Pacheco, the character first appeared in ''X-Men'' (vol. 2) #65 (June 1997). She belongs to the subspeci ...
, and a new
Thunderbird. Xavier's
New Mutants grew up and became ''
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants#New Muta ...
'', and the next generation of students began with ''
Generation X
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
'', 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
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'' 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
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
'', ''
Cable'', ''
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
'', ''
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
The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
,'' 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 (comic book), ''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
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
,'' 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 (2000 comic book), 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 (2001 series), 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 (film series), 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 (comic book), ''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 (Marvel Comics), Exiles,'' started at the same time and concluded in December 2007 which led to ''New Exiles'' in January 2008 written by Claremont.
Notable additions to the X-Men have been
Emma Frost, Danielle Moonstar, Husk (comics), Husk and Northstar (Marvel Comics), Northstar while former villain Juggernaut (comics), Juggernaut became member of the X-Men. Notable story arcs of this era are "E Is For Extinction" (2001), "Planet X (comics), Planet X" and "Here Comes Tomorrow".
* X-Men
** ''New X-Men (2001 series), 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 (comics), 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. 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#Volume three (2004–present), 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 (2004 series), 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 (character), 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 Decimation (comics), depowering of 98% of the mutant population), served as a safe haven to mutants who are still powered.
Several short-lived spin-offs and miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as ''Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Madrox, X-23,'' Gambit (comics), ''Gambit'' and Rogue (Marvel Comics), ''Rogue''. Cable (character), ''Cable'' and ''
Deadpool
Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...
s books were merged into one book, ''Cable & Deadpool''.
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Armor (comics), Armor, Pixie (X-Men), Pixie and Warpath (comics), Warpath, while former villains such as Lady Mastermind,
Mystique, and
Sabretooth became members of the X-Men. Notable story arcs of this decade are "Gifted (comics), Gifted" (2004), "House of M" (2005), "X-Men: Deadly Genesis, Deadly Genesis" (2005–2006), "Decimation (comics), Decimation" (2006) and "X-Men: Endangered Species, Endangered Species" (2007). The X-Men were also involved in the "Civil War (comics), Civil War" and "World War Hulk" storylines.
* X-Men
** ''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 Vulcan (Marvel Comics)#The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire, vengeance on the Shi'ar Empire (2006–2007); the team returned to Earth to fight a group of rogue Morlocks (2007).
** ''X-Men Legacy, 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 (2004 series), 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
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', 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 (comic book), 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 "X-Men: Messiah Complex, 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
X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants#New Muta ...
'', following the team led by Wolverine, and ''Cable'', following Cable's attempts at protecting Hope Summers (comics), 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.
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 (comics), Utopia'', written by Matt Fraction, was a crossover of Dark Avengers and Uncanny X-Men that served as a part of the "Dark Reign (comics), 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. Magneto began to work with Namor to transform Utopia into a homeland for both mutants and Atlanteans. After the conclusion of ''Utopia'',
Rogue
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
became the main character of ''X-Men: Legacy''.
In 2010, "X-Men: Second Coming, 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''.
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Pixie (X-Men), Pixie, Karma (comics), Karma, Sunspot (comics), Sunspot, Magma (comics), Magma, Magik (Illyana Rasputin), Magik, Namor, Domino (comics), Domino, Tabitha Smith, Boom Boom, Fantomex and X-23. Other notable story arcs of this era are "X-Men: Divided We Stand, Divided We Stand" (2008), "X-Men: Manifest Destiny, Manifest Destiny" (2008–2009), "X-Infernus", "Utopia (comics), Utopia" (2009), "Nation X" (2009–2010), "Necrosha" (2009), "Curse of the Mutants" (2010–2011), and "Age of X" (2011). The X-Men were also involved in the "Secret Invasion", "War of Kings", "Siege (comics), Siege", "Chaos War" and "Fear Itself (comics), Fear Itself" storylines.
* X-Men
** ''
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 (comic book), 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.
** ''Hope Summers (comics), 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 (comic book), X-Force,'' vol. 3 – Wolverine leads a more militaristic black-ops branch of the X-Men.
** ''
X-Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', 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 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 "X-Men: Regenesis, Regenesis" storyline, Wolverine's team was featured in a new flagship series titled ''Wolverine and the X-Men (comics), Wolverine and the X-Men'', Wolverine rebuilt the original X-Mansion and named it the X-Mansion, 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.
Several short-lived miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as ''Storm'', ''Gambit and'' ''Magneto: Not a Hero'' (featuring Magneto and Joseph).
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Warbird and Blink (comics), 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 (comic book), 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 (comics), 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 (comics), 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
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...
'', 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.
** ''List of X-Men members#X-Club, X-Club'' – the X-Men's Science Team dealing with the mutant birth crisis and the effects of Decimation (comics), 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 (comic book series), 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 Marvel NOW!#All-New Marvel Now!, 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-New'' ''Doop.''
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Firestar (Marvel Comics), Firestar and M (Marvel Comics), M. Notable story arcs of this era are "Battle of the Atom" (2013), "Age of Apocalypse#"X-Termination", X-Termination" (2013), "Death of Wolverine" (2014), "AXIS (comics), AXIS" (2014) and "The Black Vortex" (2015).
* Cyclops' X-Men
**''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 (comic book), 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 (comics), 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 (comic book), 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.
Terrigen Cloud
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''. 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 Mist, 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 (Marvel Comics), 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.
Notable additions to the X-Men have been Old Man Logan#Earth-21923 version, Old Man Logan and Cerebro, Cerebra. Notable story arcs of this era are "Apocalypse Wars" (2016), "Death of X" (2016) and "Inhumans vs. X-Men" (2016-2017). The X-Men were also involved in the "Civil War II" and "Monsters Unleashed (comics), Monsters Unleashed" storylines.
* X-Men
**''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-dispaced 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
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
,'' 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, New York, 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 Ultimate Marvel, 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 (Marvel Comics)#Simon Lasker, Pyro, Gentle (character), Gentle, Scout, Trinary, Wolfsbane (comics), Wolfsbane and Jamie Madrox, 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 (comics), Secret Empire" and "The War of the Realms, 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
Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...
'', 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 (comic book), X-Force'', vol. 5 – original X-Force members Domino, Shatterstar, Cannonball, and Warpath are on the hunt for Kid Cable.
**''Exiles (comic book), Exiles'', vol. 3 – The Unseen recruits champions from alternate universes to save the multiverse from the Time Eaters.
Krakoan Age of X-Men
On May 14, 2019, Marvel announced they will 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, ''House of X'' and ''Powers of X''. After the 12 issues are released, Hickman will pen the flagship title and several new and traditional titles will be released. It was subsequently announced in July 2019 at
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
that there would be six new X-titles as part of Marvel's Dawn of X campaign. Following the end of the ''X of Swords'' crossover, the sequel relaunch Reign of X will encompass a new era in the X-titles. 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''.
Notable addition to the X-Men has been Synch (comics), Synch. Notable story arcs of this era are "X of Swords" (2020), "
Hellfire Gala
"Hellfire Gala" is a comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics through the ''X-Men'' related title. It is the first storyline featured in the " Reign of X" relaunch after the " X of Swords" storyline. It is a twelve-chapter storyline. Krakoa ...
" (2021), "Scarlet Witch#The Trial of Magneto, Trial of Magneto" (2021), "Moira MacTaggert#Inferno, Inferno" (2021), "X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine" (2022), "Judgment Day (Marvel Comics), Judgment Day" (2022), "Dark Web (Marvel comics), Dark Web" (2022–2023) and "Sins of Sinister" (2023). The X-Men were also involved in the "Empyre", "King in Black" and "Devil's Reign" storylines.
* Dawn of X
** ''X-Men (comic book), X-Men,'' vol. 5 – the flagship of the X-titles featuring world-building stories of the mutant renaissance featuring an overlapping cast members. Some of the stories include the introduction of Apocalypse's grandson, Summoner, leading in to the ''X of Swords'' crossover; a new villain group called Hordeculture, featured later in the ''Empyre'' tie-in; Professor X, Magneto and Apocalypse attending the World Economic Forum; Mystique's side mission during the attack on Orchis in ''House of X'' and the follow up mission to destroy Nimrod, leading into the ''Inferno'' storyline; the mutant rite Crucible, which is followed up in ''Way of X''; an ad hoc team of Wolverine, Synch and Darwin assault of the Vault; the King Egg of the Brood race, a follow-up on a story started in the ''New Mutants''; a tie-in to the ''Empyre'' event featuring Vulcan, and Magneto and the rest of the mutant nation fighting the Cotati; Cyclops, Marvel Girl and Storm helping with the kidnapping of Xandra, Majestrix of the Shi'ar Empire; and the X-Men election following its disbandbment upon the formation of the Krakoan government.
** ''Marauders (comic book), Marauders,'' vol. 1 – a rebranding of the supervillain team featuring Kitty Pryde (as Captain Kate Pryde), Storm (comics), Storm,
Iceman,
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, Pyro (Marvel Comics), Pyro and
Emma Frost as pirates who travel the world via ship controlling the supply and trade of the Krakoan drugs and protecting mutantkind by smuggling of mutants into and out of nations hostile to Krakoa.
** ''Excalibur (comics)#Excalibur (vol. 4) 2019, Excalibur,'' vol. 4 – a title starring Betsy Braddock, who takes over the mantle of Captain Britain from her brother Brian Braddock, alongside
Rogue
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
,
Gambit,
Jubilee, Rictor (comics), Rictor and Apocalypse (Marvel Comics), Apocalypse.
** New Mutants#New Mutants, volume 4, ''New Mutants'', vol. 4 – spacefaring team led by Magik (Illyana Rasputin), Magik with a roster including Sunspot (comics), Sunspot, Wolfsbane (comics), Wolfsbane, Mirage (Marvel Comics), Mirage, Karma (comics), Karma, Cypher (Marvel Comics), Cypher, Mondo (comics), Mondo and Chamber (comics), Chamber, and co-starring the
Starjammers
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers have often appeared in the pages of the ''X-Men'' comic books. The Starjammers first appeared in ''X-Men'' #104 (Ap ...
. A second team consists of Armor (Marvel Comics character), Armor, Tabitha Smith, Boom-Boom Glob Herman, Glob, Maxime and Manon as an outreach party seeking young mutants who have chosen not to come to Krakoa. The New Mutants alumni started training young mutants in Krakoa amidst the threat of the Shadow King during the ''Reign of X'' relaunch. Magik gave up Limbo to Madelyne Pryor during the first arc of the ''Destiny of X'' relaunch.
** Fallen Angels (comics)#Volume 2, ''Fallen Angels'', vol. 2 – a revival of the 1987 title, this incarnation stars Kwannon (Marvel Comics), Kwannon (as Psylocke) who recruits
Cable and X-23 for a personal mission which could jeapordize all of mutantkind.
** ''
X-Force
X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in ''New Mutants#New Muta ...
,'' vol. 6 – the mutant black-ops team which will consist of Beast (Marvel Comics), Beast,
Jean Grey, Sage (comics), Sage, Domino (comics), Domino, Wolverine (X-Men), Wolverine,
Colossus
Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to:
Statues
* Any exceptionally large statue
** List of tallest statues
** :Colossal statues
* ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor
* ''Col ...
and Kid Omega dealing with the threat of XENO and Mikhail Rasputin. During the ''Destiny of X'' relaunch, the team faced off Cerebrax (a sentient Cerebro unit) and added Deadpool and Omega Red to their roster.
** ''
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
,'' vol. 7 – featuring the titular mutant of the same name dealing with the Flower Cartel, the Vampire Nation and the Arakki mutant Solem. Wolverine teamed up with Deadpool during the ''Destiny of X'' relaunch.
** ''Hellions (Marvel Comics)#Dawn of X Hellions, Hellions'' – a team of mutant troublemakers given an outlet for their gene-given desires with initial cast consisting of Empath (comics), Empath,
Havok,
Mister Sinister, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, Kwannon (character), Psylocke, Scalphunter (Marvel Comics), Scalphunter, and Wild Child (comics), Wild Child.
** ''Cable (character)#Nathan Summers (time-displaced version), Cable,'' vol. 4 – featuring the younger version of the titular character dealing with the abduction of mutant children and the return of Stryfe.
** X-Factor (2020 comic book), ''X-Factor'', vol. 4 – a team investigating when a mutant dies and how to keep the rules of reincarnation which will consist of
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
, Rachel Summers, Prestige, Northstar (character), Northstar, Daken, Eye-Boy and Prodigy (David Alleyne), Prodigy.
*Reign of X
**S.W.O.R.D.#S.W.O.R.D. volume 2, ''S.W.O.R.D.'', vol. 2 – the mutant nation's forefront representatives to the outer universe which consists of Abigail Brand,
Magneto, Cable (character)#Nathan Summers (time-displaced version), Kid Cable, Joanna Cargill, Frenzy, Eden Fesi, Manifold, Wiz Kid and Fabian Cortez.
**''Children of the Atom (comics), Children of the Atom'' – a group of young vigilantes operating in New York City posing as mutants.
**''Way of X'' – featuring a team
Nightcrawler assembled focused on the path of answers for mutantkind's spirituality. The title is concluded in the one-shot ''X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation.''
**''X-Corporation, X-Corp'' – a team headed by CXOs Warren Worthington III, Warren and M (Marvel Comics), Monet staffed with some of the brightest and most deviant minds in mutantkind.
**''X-Men (comic book), X-Men,'' vol. 6 – a new team of chosen champions of mutantkind formed after the team's disbandbment upon the formation of the mutant homeland. The initial roster of
Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
,
Marvel Girl
Marvel Girl is an alias used by at least three fictional Marvel Comics superheroines:
*Jean Grey, best known as a founding member of the X-Men
*Valeria Richards, daughter of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman (of the Fantastic Four)
*Rachel ...
,
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
, X-23, Wolverine, Rogue (Marvel Comics), Rogue,
Sunfire
Fire is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems (since 2010, part of Oracle Corporation). The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-ba ...
and Synch (comics), Synch officially debut during the first Hellfire Gala. Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Synch, Magik, Havok, Iceman, Forge and Firestar are elected into the new team roster during the second Hellfire Gala.
**''X-Men Unlimited#Infinity Comics, X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic'' – a Marvel Unlimited exclusive series featuring a rotating adventures of the Krakoan mutants. Story arcs included Wolverine against A.I.M in "Latitude" and "Longitude", Nature Girl's vendetta against humanity in "X-Men: Green," Juggernaut and Deadpool against The Warden in "Paradise Lost," Madrox and Strong Guy's adventures in "Downtime," Maggott and his slugs' resurrection in "Eany Come Home," the attack of the mutant language in "Cypher in Cryptolect," and the secret mission of the mutants who lost the second election in "Secret X-Men."
**''Sabretooth (character), Sabretooth,'' vol. 4 – featuring the titular mutant dealing with his time at The Pit and other prisoners sent in the hole.
**''Secret X-Men'' – a one-shot title featuring a team of mutants who lost the first election on a secret mission to save the Shi'ar empire.
*Destiny of X
**''Immortal X-Men –'' one of the flagship series starring the Quiet Council of Krakoa with Magneto leaving the Krakoan leadership. During the ''Sins of Sinister'' event, the title is replaced by ''Immoral X-Men''.
**''Marauders (comic book), Marauders,'' vol. 2 ''–'' Captain Pryde leads a new crew (Psylocke, Bishop, Daken, Somnus, Aurora, Tempo and Cassandra Nova) for rescuing mutants.
**''Knights of X –'' Captain Britain leads a team of ten knights (Rictor, Shatterstar, Gambit, Rachel Summers, Bei the Blood Moon, Gloriana, Kylun, Shogo, Mordred) into Otherworld in a quest to search the Siege Perilous.
**''Legion of X –'' the mutant police force formed by Nightcrawler and Legion including Juggernaut, Pixie, Blindfold and Doctor Nemesis. During the ''Sins of Sinister'' event, the title is replaced by ''Nightcrawlers'' featuring Sinister's private army of chimera assassins.
**''X-Men Red,'' vol. 2 ''–'' a title featuring the Planet Arakko under the guidance of the conflicting factions of Storm's Brotherhood and Brand's X-Men Red. During the ''Sins of Sinister'' event, the title is replaced by ''Storm & the Brotherhood of Mutants''.
**''X-Terminators'', vol. 2 – a limited series featuring Wolverine, Dazzler, Jubilee and Boom-Boom battling armies of vampires.
**''Deadpool'', vol. 9 – featuring the titular mutate as he auditions for the elite group known as the Atelier.
**''Sabretooth & the Exiles'' – featuring the mutants exiled in The Pit (Nekra, Oya, Madison Jeffries, Melter, Third Eye, Nanny, Orphan-Maker, Toad) in pursuit of an escaped Sabretooth.
**''Bishop: War College'' – a limited series featuring Bishop training young mutants (Armor, Surge, Cam Long, Aura Charles, and Amass) as War Captains in training for Krakoa.
**''Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain'' – a title featuring Captain Britain's new mission after the Otherworld is restored in ''Knights of X''.
**''Rogue & Gambit'' – a limited series featuring the couple's next adventure after the departure from their previous teams.
*Other Titles:
**''X-Men/Fantastic Four'' – a limited series focusing on Franklin Richards (comics), Franklin Richards of the
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
being offered to join the X-Men nation of Krakoa.
**''Giant-Size X-Men'' – a series of one-shots focusing on different X-Men members. Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Fantomex, Storm and Thunderbird are featured in the series.
**Empyre#Empyre: X-Men, ''Empyre: X-Men'' – tie-in to the event ''Empyre'' featuring a team of mutants fighting against the Cotati (comics), Cotati and the Genoshan zombies.
**''Juggernaut (comics), Juggernaut,'' vol. 3 – featuring the titular character of the same name dealing with his quest for Cyttorak and working for Damage Control.
**''X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing'' – Magik and her team of monster mutants, the Dark Riders, help with the threat of the Man-Thing.
**''Cable: Reloaded'' – tie-in to The Last Annihilation crossover featuring Cable and the All-New X-Terminators helping the Guardians of the Galaxy defeat Dormammu.
**''The Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men/Black Knight'' – tie-in to the ''Death of Doctor Strange'' event featuring Black Knight (Dane Whitman)#Advent of Knull and revelations, Black Knight and Faiza Hussain, Excalibur protecting London from the demonic X-Men.
**''Devil's Reign: X-Men'' – tie-in to the ''Devil's Reign'' event featuring
Emma Frost and her time working for the Kingpin (character), Kingpin.
**''X-Men and Moon Girl'' – the X-Men assist Moon Girl in her fight against the High Evolutionary to save Devil Dinosaur.
**''Ms. Marvel and Wolverine'' – Wolverine teams up with Ms. Marvel when a mysterious threat lands in New York City compromising Krakoan tech/security.
Team roster
The X-Men team lineup has varied throughout the years and splintered into several other newer teams.
The original team lineup introduced
Cyclops
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; el, Κύκλωπες, ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguish ...
,
Jean Grey,
Beast,
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
, and
Iceman as well as
Professor X
Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
.
Later issues brought fan favorites and frequent members
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
,
Storm,
Colossus
Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to:
Statues
* Any exceptionally large statue
** List of tallest statues
** :Colossal statues
* ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor
* ''Col ...
,
Nightcrawler,
Rogue
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
, Kitty Pryde,
Jubilee,
Gambit,
Emma Frost,
Psylocke
Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional Mutant (Marvel Comics), mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men.
The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddoc ...
,
Havok,
Dazzler,
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
, Bishop (Marvel Comics), Bishop, Forge (character) , Forge and
Banshee, among others.
Enemies
The X-Men have a gallery of enemies they regularly face, the most common of which being Professor X’s friend-turned-enemy
Magneto.
Other foes include Mystique (character), Mystique,
Emma Frost, Apocalypse (character), Apocalypse,
Mister Sinister, the mutant-hunting robot Sentinel (comics), Sentinels, villain teams such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the
Hellfire Club
Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...
, and racism and discrimination from the human race.
Themes and motifs
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, (Muslims, those with autism, the LGBT community, LGBTQ community, etc.) 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 Human Torch, 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." 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.
* Racism: Although this was not initially the case,
Professor X
Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writ ...
has come to be compared to civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. and
Magneto to the more militant Malcolm X.
(Magneto, in the X-Men (film), first film, quotes Malcolm X with the line "By any means necessary.") X-Men comic books have often portrayed mutants as victims of Riot, mob violence, evoking images of the lynching of African Americans in the age before the civil rights movement. Sentinels and anti-mutant hate groups such as Friends of Humanity, Humanity's Last Stand, the Church of Humanity (comics), Church of Humanity, and William Stryker, Stryker's Purifiers (Marvel Comics), Purifiers are thought to often represent oppressive forces like the Ku Klux Klan giving a form to denial of civil rights and amendments.
:1980s storylines involving the fictional island nation of Genosha, where mutants are segregated and enslaved by an crime of apartheid, apartheid state, are widely interpreted as a reference to the contemporary situation of apartheid in South Africa.
''Chamber (comics), Chamber'' (2002) explicitly cites the Norman Rockwell painting ''The Problem We All Live With''. The miniseries portrays using the mutant context affirmative action in the United States, affirmative action, New York National Guard, National Guard troops escorting a new student, sympathetic and antagonistic majority members, and majority-supremacist terrorism. Some mutants avoid confrontation and seek integration, while more militant mutants play the race card, reject their slave name, human-given names, and denounce those who do not as Stepin Fetchit and Uncle Tom.
* Antisemitism: Explicitly referenced in recent decades is the comparison between antimutant sentiment and antisemitism. Magneto, a The Holocaust, Holocaust survivor, sees the situation of mutants as similar to those of Jews in Nazi Germany.
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,
as do the internment camps of the classic "
Days of Future Past
"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 transfer ...
" storyline. 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.
* Multiculturalism, Diversity: Characters within the X-Men mythos hail from a wide variety of nationalities. These characters also reflect religious, ethnic or sexual minorities. Examples include Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat, Magneto and Sabra (comics), Sabra who are Jews, of Jewish descent. Dust (comics), Dust and M (Marvel Comics), M who are Muslim,
Nightcrawler who is a devout Catholic. Neal Shaara, Neal Shaara/Thunderbird who is Hinduism, Hindu. Jubilee is Chinese American,
Gambit is born to Cajun parents from New Orleans, Louisiana and
Rogue
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
is from Caledecott County, Mississippi both of whom are White Southerners, Southerners. Warpath along with his deceased brother the first Thunderbird are Apache, Native Americans of Apache descent.
Storm represents two aspects of the African diaspora as her father was African American and her mother was Kenyan. Karma (comics), Karma was portrayed as a devout Catholic from Vietnam, who regularly attended Mass and confession when she was introduced as a founding member of New Mutants, the New Mutants. This team also included Wolfsbane (comics), Wolfsbane (a devout Scottish people, Scottish Presbyterian), Danielle Moonstar (a Cheyenne (ethnic group), Native American of Cheyenne descent), Cannonball (comics), Cannonball, and was later joined by Magma (comics), Magma (a devout Greco-Roman classical religionist). Different nationalities included Wolverine, Aurora (comics), Aurora, Northstar (Marvel Comics), Northstar, Deadpool and Transonic (comics), Transonic from Canada; Colossus and Magik from Russia; Banshee and Siryn from Ireland; Dust from Afghanistan; Psylocke, Wolfsbane and Chamber (comics), Chamber from the United Kingdom; Sunfire, Armor (comics), Armor, Surge (Marvel Comics), Surge and Kenji Uedo, Zero from Japan; Sunspot from Brazil; M from Monaco; Nightcrawler from Germany; Sabra from Israel; Karima Shapandar, Omega Sentinel, Neal Shaara, Kavita Rao and Indra (comics), Indra from India; Velocidad (comics), Velocidad from Mexico; Oya (comics), Oya from Nigeria; Primal (comics), Primal from Ukraine; etc.
* LGBT rights in the United States, LGBT themes: Some commentators have noted the similarities between the struggles of mutants and the LGBT social movements, LGBT community, noting the onset of special powers around puberty and the parallels between being closeted and the mutants' concealment of their powers. In the comics series, gay and bisexuality, bisexual characters include Anole (comics), Anole, Bling (comics), Bling!, Destiny, Karma, Mystique, Psylocke, Courier, Northstar (Marvel Comics), Northstar (whose marriage was depicted in the comics in 2012), Graymalkin (comics), Graymalkin, Rictor, Shatterstar, Shade, the Ultimate Colossus, 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 (Marvel Comics), 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). In the film ''X-Men: First Class,'' Beast (comics), Hank McCoy is asked by his CIA boss why he never disclosed his mutant identity, and his response was ''Don't ask, don't tell, "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 Registration acts (comics)#Mutant Registration Act, Mutant Registration Act is similar to the efforts of United States Congress to try to ban communism in the United States.
In the 2000 ''X-Men (film), 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).
* 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 ''X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, 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 (comics), Dust, a devout Sunni Muslim who wears an Islamic niqāb.
* 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
"Mutant Massacre" was a 1986 Marvel Comics crossover storyline. It primarily involved the superhero teams the X-Men and X-Factor. The solo hero Thor, the New Mutants, Power Pack and Daredevil crossed over for an issue each in their own comic boo ...
'' 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. 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#District X (comic), District X'' takes place in an area of New York City called "Mutant Town."
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.
* Genocide: Genocide and its psychological after-effects, 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
"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 transfer ...
story line saw an alternate future where Sentinels committed genocide on most of the world's mutants. 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 X-Men: Messiah Complex, kill a baby who might have caused his future. When Cassandra Nova committed genocide on Genosha, the event left both
Emma Frost and
Polaris
Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...
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 Grey#Time-displaced incarnation, Jean to help him cope. Other characters who have either committed or have survived genocide include Mystique, Callisto (comics), Callisto, Apocalypse, Onslaught, Bastion (comics), Bastion,
Mister Sinister, Hope Summers, Cable, and the Phoenix Force (comics), 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
"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 transfer ...
'', ''X-Men: Messiah Complex, 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, Eva Bell, Tempus, and Stryfe. 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 (comics), Selene temporarily reanimate many of the X-Men's dead allies and enemies in order for her to achieve godhood.
Fate
Many of the characters deal with the topic of fate. In particular, Destiny (Irene Adler), 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 (comics), Morlocks due to one of them seeing a dark future for their people. 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, Apocalypse (comics)#Evan Sabahnur, 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
Spacefaring, 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 Brood (comics), The Brood, such as the story arc where the villainous species was first introduced. Through space noteworthy characters like The
Starjammers
The Starjammers are a fictional team of space pirates appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Starjammers have often appeared in the pages of the ''X-Men'' comic books. The Starjammers first appeared in ''X-Men'' #104 (Ap ...
and Vulcan (Marvel Comics), Vulcan (lost brother of Cyclops and Havok) were introduced. Space Travel played a major role in Joss Whedon, Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men via the introduction of S.W.O.R.D. (comics), S.W.O.R.D. and especially in one of the final story arcs under his authorship called "Unstoppable". 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. Ever since swapping bodies with Revanche (Marvel Comics), 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 Carol Danvers, 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. Other characters who have had issues with sanity include Cyclops, Sabretooth, Magik (Illyana Rasputin), 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 (comics), 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 (comics), 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.
Ideological Difference
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. 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 Liberation movement, liberationist advocating self-determination through mutually assured destruction. Callisto (comics), 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 (character), 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 Liberation movement, 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 Avengers (comics), 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. 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."
Setting
The X-Men exist in the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
along with other characters featured in Marvel Comics series and often interact with them. The X-Men/mutant corner of the Marvel Universe has been informally called "X-Universe". For instance,
Wolverine
The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for "gluttony, glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is ...
was an antagonist to
the Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk'' (May 1962). In his comic book ...
before joining the X-Men and has ties to other heroes such as Captain America, Black Widow (Marvel Comics), Black Widow, Thing (comics), the Thing, Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), Elektra (comics), Elektra and
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
.
Quicksilver
Quicksilver may refer to:
* Quicksilver (metal), the chemical element mercury
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Quicksilver, a bluegrass band fronted by Doyle Lawson
* "Quicksilver" (song), a 1950 hit for Bing Crosby
* ''Quicksilver'' (sound ...
and
Scarlet Witch
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
are former Brotherhood of Mutants members who joined the Avengers (comics), Avengers, as have other X-Men characters such as
Beast.
Rogue
A rogue is a person or entity that flouts accepted norms of behavior.
Rogue or rogues may also refer to:
Companies
* Rogue Ales, a microbrewery in Newport, Oregon
* Rogue Arts, a film production company
* Rogue Entertainment, a software com ...
got her powers via absorbing Carol Danvers (then called Ms. Marvel) who has also interacted with the X-Men.
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat has been part of the Guardians of the Galaxy and dated Star-Lord, she also served as a mentor to Franklin Richards (comics), Franklin Richards the mutant son of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman of the
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...
. Storm (comics), Storm was once the Queen of Wakanda and the wife of Black Panther (comics), Black Panther, as well as a temporary member of the Fantastic Four. Rachel Summers was the girlfriend of Franklin Richards. Iceman (comics), Iceman and Angel (comics), Angel have also joined Champions (1975 team), the original Champions alongside Black Widow, Ghost Rider and Hercules (Marvel Comics), Hercules as well as having frequent partnerships with Firestar (comics), Firestar and Spider-Man as "The Amazing Friends".
Sabretooth was an Iron Fist (comics), Iron Fist villain before becoming Wolverine's archenemesis. And both the X-Men and the Avengers formed a team called Uncanny Avengers (aka Avengers Unity Division) after Avengers vs X-Men, a conflict over the Phoenix Force. The global nature of the mutant concept means the scale of stories can be highly varied. The X-Men's enemies range from mutant thieves to galactic threats.
Historically, the X-Men have been based in the X-Mansion, Xavier Institute of Gifted Youngsters/X-Mansion located in North Salem, New York, 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 (comics), 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.
* Genosha, an island near Madagascar and a longtime crime of apartheid, 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
Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in ''Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. Initially depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa has since gro ...
, a living island which is currently home to the X-Men and other mutants. It is an official country.
* Limbo (Marvel Comics), 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.
* Madripoor, an island in South East Asia, near Singapore. Its location is shown to be in the southern portion of the Strait of Malacca, south west of Singapore.
* Mojoverse, an alternate dimension ruled by the tyrant
Mojo
Mojo may refer to:
*Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* MOJO HD, an American television network
* ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film
* '' ...
focused on creating violent Reality television, reality entertainment usually featuring captive mutants
* Murderworld (comics), Murderworld, fictional twisted amusement park designed by the Marvel supervillain known as Arcade.
*
Muir Island, a remote island off the coast of Scotland. This is primarily known in the X-Men universe as the home of
Moira MacTaggert's laboratory.
* Mutant Town (also known as District X), an area in Alphabet City, Manhattan, populated largely by mutants and beset by poverty and crime.
* New Tien, a mutant-run region on the west coast of the United States where mutants outnumber humans. It was created after Secret Empire (comics), Hydra took over the United States. Emma Frost secretly leads New Tien by telepathically possessing New Tien's puppet ruler Xorn.
* Savage Land, a preserved location in Antarctica which is home to a number of extinct species, most notably dinosaurs, and strange tribes.
* Shi'ar, Shi'ar throneworld Chandilar, the home world of the X-Men's occasional wikt:extraterrestrial, extraterrestrial allies The Shi'ar.
* Asteroid M#Fifth version/Utopia, 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
Impact
The insecurity and anxieties in Marvel's early 1960s comic books such as ''Fantastic Four (comic book), The Fantastic Four'', ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), 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.
Accolades
* In 2012, ''Complex Magazine, Complex'' ranked the X-Men 4th in their "10 Best Superhero Teams In Comics" list.
* In 2020, ''CBR.com'' ranked the X-Men 1st in their "Marvel: 10 Most Powerful Teams" list.
* In 2021, ''CBR.com'' ranked the X-Men 2nd in their "Every Marvel Superhero Team" list and 2nd in their "Marvel: The 10 Strongest Superhero Teams" list.
* In 2022, ''Newsarama'' ranked the X-Men 3rd in their "Best superhero teams of all time" list.
Other versions
* ''
Age of Apocalypse'' – In a world where Professor X is killed 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
"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 transfer ...
'' – Sentinel (comics), 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
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Her first appearance was in ''The X-Men'' #4 (March 1964) ...
, 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 Decimation (comics), depowered.
* ''Marvel 1602'' – Mutants are known as the "Witchbreed" in this alternate reality set during the time of Inquisition, The Inquisition. Carlos Javier creates a "school for the children of gentlefolk" to serve as a safe haven and training ground.
* 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 Mister Fantastic, Mr. Fantastic, Nick Fury, and Professor X as villains and Doctor Doom and Apocalypse as heroes.
* ''Marvel Comics 2, MC2'' - In this alternate future,
Jubilee forms the X-People in response to anti-mutant sentiment. Members include Angry Eagle, Simian, Spanner, Torque, Nancy Lu, Push, Bluestreak (comics), Bluestreak, J2 (comics), J2, and Wild Thing (comics), Wild Thing.
* 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.
[Truitt, Brian (September 8, 2013)]
"Sunday Geekersation: Bendis takes pride in his X-Men"
''USA Today''. 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. This was one of the few crossovers between the
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...
and the Ultimate Marvel universe; Bendis preferred to write them sparingly. ''All-New X-Men'' has a vol. 2 in 2015, by Dennis Hopeless and Mark Bagley. 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 (comics), Phoenix Force. The teenager Cyclops joins the Champions (2016 team), Champions, a comic book focused on teenager heroes but unrelated to the X-Men mythos. They guest-starred in the ''Venom (comic book), Venom'' comic, in the "Poison-X" arc. The story took the villains from the ''Venomverse'' arc and led to the ''Venomized'' crossover. The team were featured in the ''Extermination'' crossover, where they went back to their original timeline.
*''Ruins (comics), 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 Prostitution, 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.
* ''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: The Animated Series, X-Men '92'' – Follows "Secret Wars", the X-Men of the 1992 TV Series, received their own comic book series.
In other media
The X-Men team has featured in multiple forms of media including the
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
X-Men (film series), live-action film series, X-Men in television, multiple animated shows, live-action shows, List of video games featuring the X-Men, multiple video games, numerous novels, motion comics, soundtracks, action figures, and clothing.
See also
* List of Marvel Comics superhero debuts
*
Doom Patrol
Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics. The original Doom Patrol first appeared in ''My Greatest Adventure'' #80 (June 1963), and was created by writers Arnold Drake and Bob Haney, along with artist Bruno Premiani. Doom Patrol has appe ...
, a similar team of super-powered misfits appearing in comics published by
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
.
* Harbinger (comic book), Harbingers/Psiots, another group of superpowered outcasts appearing in comics published by Valiant Comics.
References
Further reading
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* Note: Contains a chapter on the X-Men, with special emphasis on Jewish characters Magneto and Shadowcat.
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:X-Men
X-Men,
1963 comics debuts
Civil rights movement in popular culture
Marvel Comics American superheroes
Comics characters introduced in 1963
Characters created by Jack Kirby
Characters created by Stan Lee
Comics adapted into animated series
Evolution in popular culture
Marvel Entertainment franchises
Marvel Comics adapted into films
Marvel Comics adapted into video games
Marvel Comics superhero teams
Marvel Comics mutants
Marvel Comics titles
Mutants in fiction
X-Men supporting characters
X-Men titles