X-Men - WikiHQ

The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to low sales, following its 1975 revival and subsequent direction under writer Chris Claremont, it became one of Marvel Comics's most recognizable and successful franchises. They have appeared in numerous books, television shows, 20th Century Fox's X-Men films, and video games. The X-Men title may refer to the superhero team itself, the eponymous comic series, or the broader franchise, which includes various solo titles and team books, such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force.

In the Marvel Universe, mutants are humans born with a genetic trait called the X-gene, which grants them natural superhuman abilities, generally manifesting during puberty. Due to their differences from most humanity, mutants are subject to prejudice and discrimination; many X-Men stories feature social commentary on bigotry, justice, and other political themes. The X-Men have fought against various enemies, including villainous mutants, human bigots, supervillains, mystical threats, extraterrestrials, and evil artificial intelligences. In most iterations of the team, they are led by their founder, Charles Xavier / Professor X, 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, acting as an adversary or ally.

Background and creation

In 1963, with the success of the Fantastic Four, co-creator Stan Lee wanted to create another group of superheroes. Unlike Lee's earlier creations such as Spider-Man who acquired their powers through scientific means, Lee decided that this new group of heroes were "mutants", born with powers as he had grown weary of creating separate origins for each superhero.

In a 1987 interview, Kirby said:

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

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 X-Men are widely regarded to have been named after Professor X. 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!"

Publication history

1960s

thumb|left|The original X-Men members who were created by [[Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, showing their original design]]

The first issue, cover-dated September 1963, introduces the original team, with Marvel Girl presented as a new pupil at Charles Xavier's school, apparently the first female student, and meeting Cyclops, Beast, Angel, and Iceman. Cyclops, whose eyes shoot powerful beams unless they are controlled by a visor, is the central protagonist. Beast is apelike in appearance but speaks in sophisticated diction; Iceman is hedonistic and energetic; Angel comes from a wealthy background and has wings protruding from his back; and Marvel Girl is hyperfeminine. The masculine characters often express their attraction to Marvel Girl. The first issue also introduces the team's archenemy, Magneto. Magneto appears frequently throughout the series.

Early The X-Men issues (#4 and #5) go on to introduce Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, featuring Mastermind and Toad. Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were initially introduced in issue #4 as members of the Brotherhood, but later reformed and joined the Avengers. The comic focused on a common human theme of good versus evil; issue #8 first introduces the theme of prejudice against mutants, which eventually comes to function as an allegory for racism or other forms of bigotry. Issue #12 introduces Cain Marko, the Juggernaut, Professor Xavier's stepbrother, and implies that Marko was responsible for the accident that paralyzed Xavier. Issues #14 to #16 (November 1965 - January 1966) introduce the Sentinels, mutant-hunting robots designed by Bolivar Trask. The title lagged in sales behind Marvel's other comic franchises. Writer Roy Thomas and Werner Roth replaced Lee and Kirby by issue #20 (May 1966). Issue #28 introduces Banshee; initially an antagonist, Banshee will go on to become a member of the X-Men.

In 1969, Thomas and illustrator Neal Adams briefly rejuvenated the comic book. They gave regular roles to two recently introduced characters: Alex Summers (Cyclops' brother, later known as Havok, who had been introduced by Roy Thomas before Adams began work on the comic) and Lorna Dane, later called Polaris (created by Arnold Drake and Jim Steranko). Issue #64 introduced Sunfire, a Japanese mutant. However, these later X-Men issues failed to attract sales and Marvel stopped producing new stories with issue #66 (March 1970), later reprinting a number of the older comics as issues #67–93.

1970s

thumb|right|[[Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). Cover art by Gil Kane and Dave Cockrum.]]

In Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum introduced a new team that starred in a revival of The X-Men. The new team featured in a reboot of the ongoing X-Men series, which Chris Claremont began writing with issue #94, with Cockrum continuing as illustrator. This new team replaced the previous members with the exception of Cyclops, who remained. This team differed greatly from the original, now "an international cadre of mutants with diverse and often traumatic personal histories". Unlike in the early issues of the original series, the new team was not made up of teenagers. Marvel's corporate owners, Cadence Industries, 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 (from the Soviet Union/Russia), Nightcrawler (from Germany), Storm (from Kenya), and Thunderbird (a Native American of Apache descent), and three previously introduced characters: Banshee (from Ireland), Sunfire (from Japan), and Wolverine (from Canada). Wolverine had been previously introduced as an antagonist of the Hulk. However, this team would not remain whole for long; Sunfire 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. Claremont emphasized the character development of Grey, whose powers increased dramatically as she adopted a new name, Phoenix in issue #101 (October 1976). Angel, Beast, Iceman, Havok, and Polaris also made significant guest appearances. Claremont introduced a significant non-mutant supporting character, Moira MacTaggert, in issue #96; MacTaggert operates a genetic research facility on Muir Island. Claremont became known for his strong female characters, sometimes called "Claremont Women." The series presents Storm and Phoenix as close friends, in a manner that scholar Ramzi Fawaz views as allegorical for alliances between liberal feminists and emerging Black feminism. 1977 presented a new space opera story line, "The Phoenix Saga", that particularly emphasizes the alliance of these two characters; Fawaz calls it "arguably the most canonical story line in The X-Mens publishing history." The story includes the Shi'ar Empire, Lilandra Neramani, and the Starjammers.

Beginning with issue #108 (December 1977), John Byrne replaced Cockrum as the primary artist. Claremont and Byrne had previously collaborated on the Iron Fist and Luke Cage series. Their run met with critical acclaim, and produced such landmark storylines as the introduction of Alpha Flight and the Proteus saga. Other characters introduced during this time include Amanda Sefton and Mystique.

Wolverine is initially overshadowed by the other characters, although he creates tension in the team as he is attracted to Jean Grey, who is Cyclops' girlfriend. While Claremont considered writing Wolverine out of the series, Byrne advocated for his continuing inclusion, partly because the character is Canadian and this is also Byrne's nationality. Wolverine became increasingly developed and popular as a character, becoming the breakout character on the team. X-Men #100 introduces the "fastball special", a combat maneuver in which the super-strong Colossus throws Wolverine at a distance as if he were a projectile weapon; this tactic recurs in many future battles. Stories of the late 1970s establish Wolverine's murky past and unstable nature, which he battles to keep in check. Wolverine's name was revealed as "Logan" in X-Men #103 (February 1977); X-Men #116 (December 1978) first introduces Wolverine's healing factor, and issue #124 (August 1979) first suggests that he has a reinforced skeleton.

1980s

The 1980s began with the comic's best-known story arc, the "Dark Phoenix Saga", which saw Phoenix manipulated by Mastermind, now a member of the Hellfire Club, and becoming corrupted with an overwhelming lust for power and destruction as the evil Dark Phoenix. The Hellfire Club also included the telepathic femme fatale Emma Frost, who became an increasingly significant character. The story results in the death of Jean Grey. The disco singer mutant, Dazzler, previously introduced in her own miniseries, also appeared in the story and eventually joined the X-Men. This story arc also introduces a new character, the exuberant young girl Kitty Pryde. Thirteen years old, Pryde is Marvel's first canonically Jewish superhero. Immediately after, Claremont and Byrne created "Days of Future Past", in which Wolverine and Kitty Pryde experience a dystopian future for mutants. Byrne left the series shortly after its completion. The Morlocks, deformed mutants who live underground, first appear in The Uncanny X-Men #169 (May 1983). In 1983, Cyclops meets Madelyne Pryor, eventually revealed as a clone of Jean Grey. Other important storylines include the saga of Deathbird and the Brood, the invasion of the Dire Wraiths and The Trial of Magneto!, as well as X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, the partial inspiration for 20th Century Fox's film X2: X-Men United (2003). In this period, Claremont and Byrne particularly emphasized the theme that mutants are oppressed by human bigotry.

upright|thumb|Uncanny X-Men #227 (March 1988) by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri

By the early 1980s, X-Men was Marvel's top-selling comic title. Its sales were such that distributors and retailers began using an "X-Men index", rating each comic book publication by how many orders it garnered compared to that month's issue of X-Men. The growing popularity of Uncanny X-Men led to the introduction of a number of ongoing spin-off series, such as the ongoing New Mutants, about a younger adjunct team, which began in 1982. As Fawaz puts it, "Unlike the X-Men, the New Mutants were brought together not for the purposes of an egalitarian peace-keeping mission but to learn the proper use of their powers, which they experienced as monstrous physical burdens threatening their own safety and that of their loved ones." He describes them as presenting the "most diverse cast of any mainstream superhero comic," including Karma (Vietnamese), Danielle Moonstar (Cheyenne), Sunspot (Brazil), Cannonball (southern U.S.), and Wolfsbane (Scotland), and Magik (Russia). In 1984, Claremont collaborated with Bill Sienkiewicz for the New Mutants' "Demon Bear Saga", which was critically acclaimed.

Spin-off miniseries included the first four-issue Wolverine solo miniseries (September–December 1982), by Claremont and Frank Miller, as well as the following six-issue Kitty Pryde and Wolverine by Claremont and Al Milgrom (Nov. 1984 – April 1985). Other miniseries included Storm and Illyana: Magik (1983) and X-Men and the Micronauts. In 1983, Alpha Flight, a group of Canadian superheroes created by Byrne as Wolverine's original team, received their own ongoing series.

Comics scholar Douglas Wolk describes autumn 1985 as the "peak of X-Mens world beating phase", when a single month produced the double-sized Uncanny X-Men #200, the two-part miniseries X-Men/Alpha Flight, an X-Men Annual, a New Mutants Special Edition, and Heroes for Hope, a fundraiser for relief of the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia. The following year, a new series began, resurrecting Jean Grey and re-uniting the original X-Men under the name X-Factor. The series was initially written by Bob Layton, without Claremont's participation.

In a controversial move, Professor X 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. The Darwinian villain Apocalypse first appeared in X-Factor #6 (July 1986). Longshot who had been first introduced in his own miniseries the previous year, joined the X-Men in Annual #10 (1986). Longshot came from another dimension called the Mojoverse, ruled by a mad dictator obsessed with TV named Mojo, who also became a recurrent adversary of the X-Men.

When Claremont conceived a story arc in 1986, the "Mutant Massacre", which was too long to run in the monthly X-Men, editor Louise Simonson decided to have it overlap into several X-Books. In the story, many of the Morlocks are slaughtered by new villains, the Marauders. The story line brought Sabretooth into conflict with the X-Men and particularly Wolverine. The story was a major financial success.

In 1987, Claremont wrote a new crossover, "The Fall of the Mutants", in which the team appears to have been killed but actually relocates to Australia. In the course of the story, Angel has his wings removed; Apocalyapse turns him into a cyborg and replaces them with new mechanical wings, and he takes on the name "Archangel." Over the next years, the main title had multiple disconnected protagonists. Sales began to decline. The success of the crossovers Mutant Massacre and The Fall of Mutants in countering these flagging sales led the editors to decide internally that multi-title crossover stories would appear annually.

Mister Sinister, another villain fixated on Darwinism like Apocalypse, first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #221 (1987). Marvel launched an ongoing Wolverine title written by Claremont with art by John Buscema in November 1988. Uncanny X-Men #235 (October 1988) introduces the oppressive nation of Genosha, an allegory for apartheid in South Africa. 1989 saw the publication of the Inferno crossover, in which the X-Men struggle to rescue Magik from demonic forces. The Uncanny X-Men #244 (May 1989) introduces Jubilee, a Chinese American teenager, to the X-Men team. Marc Silvestri became one of the most prominent artists for the series in the late 1980s.

In the Claremont era, Storm is the most prominent character and the main protagonist. The shapeshifter Mystique is the most commonly appearing villain of the period. Other new additions to the X-Men during this time were Rogue, Psylocke, and Forge.

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 (1975–1985); a reformed Magneto became the headmaster after Xavier had left Earth (1985–1988); the team later relocated to the Australian Outback after the events of The Fall of the Mutants (1988–1989).
X-Factor, vol. 1 – the Original Five set up a business advertised as mutant-hunters for hire, and secretly trained the captured mutants to control their powers and reintegrate them into society (1986–1991).
Excalibur, vol. 1 – Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Rachel Grey teamed up with Captain Britain and Meggan to form a group of mutants based in Europe after the apparent death of the X-Men during The Fall of the Mutants (1988–1992).
X-Men in Training
New Mutants, vol. 1 – a group of teenaged students of the School for Gifted Youngsters gathered by Professor X.
Other Teams
Alpha Flight, vol. 1 – Canada's premiere team of super-heroes organized under the auspices of the Canadian government's Department H.

1990s

Gambit first appeared Uncanny X-Men #266 (Aug. 1990) and became one of the most popular X-Men of the decade, also pursuing a romance with Rogue. The "X-Tinction Agenda" crossover took place in 1990, featuring artists Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and Jon Bogdanove. In August 1991, the New Mutants title was cancelled and replaced by X-Force, a best-selling title written and illustrated by Liefeld. In this series, the New Mutants join a more militant team led by a mysterious cyborg, Cable.

thumb|Artist [[Jim Lee signing a hardcover collected edition of his work on X-Men (Vol 2) at Midtown Comics in Manhattan]]

In October 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. Initially written by Claremont and illustrated by Jim Lee, the first issue of this series is the highest selling comic book issue in history, selling more than eight million copies. 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, the best-selling comic book of all time. Guinness presented honors to Claremont at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.

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). A new character, Bishop, a soldier from another dystopian future, soon joined the Gold Team.

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. At the time of his departure, he was the longest-running author of the series. Marvel replaced Claremont briefly with John Byrne, who scripted both books for a few issues. Byrne was then replaced by Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell, who would take over the majority of writing duties for the X-Men until Lee's own departure months later when he and several other popular artists (including former X-title artists Liefeld, Portacio, and Marc Silvestri) would leave Marvel to form Image Comics. Jim Lee's designs would be the basis for much of X-Men: The Animated Series.

Lobdell and Nicieza, along with Peter David, wrote a new crossover series with artists such as Brandon Peterson, Jae Lee, Andy Kubert, and Greg Capullo, centered on battles with Cable's clone, Stryfe. The story revealed that Cable is actually the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, who grew to adulthood in an alternate future and returned to the present by means of time travel. The "Fatal Attractions" crossover in late 1993 concerned the return of Magneto, who ripped out Wolverine's adamantium skeleton, leading to his taking a leave of absence from the team. Gambit also appeared in his own miniseries, beginning in November 1993. Cyclops and Jean Grey got married in X-Men #30 (March 1994). In November 1994, a next generation of students began with Generation X, featuring Jubilee and other teenage mutants led and schooled by Banshee and ex-villainess Emma Frost at her Massachusetts Academy. Rogue also starred in her own miniseries, beginning in January 1995.

1995 saw "Age of Apocalypse", a massive crossover in which all the X-Men related titles were temporarily cancelled and replaced by new miniseries taking place in a dystopian future, recalling the earlier Days of Future Past series. This was followed by "Onslaught" in 1996, "Operation: Zero Tolerance" in 1997, "The Hunt for Xavier" in 1998, "The Magneto War" in 1999, "Apocalypse: The Twelve" / "Ages of Apocalypse" 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.

Several short-lived spin-offs and miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as Nightcrawler, Jubilee, Madrox, X-23, Gambit and Rogue. Cable and Deadpool books were merged into one book, Cable & Deadpool.

Notable additions to the X-Men have been Armor, Pixie and 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" (2004), "House of M" (2005), "Deadly Genesis" (2005–2006), "Decimation" (2006) and "Endangered Species" (2007). The X-Men were also involved in the "Civil War" and "World War Hulk" storylines.

In September 2006, Storm married Black Panther.

In 2007, the "Messiah Complex" storyline saw the destruction of the Xavier Institute and the disbanding of the X-Men. It spun the new volume of Cable, following Cable's attempts at protecting Hope Summers. X-Men was renamed into X-Men: Legacy which focused on Professor X, Rogue, and Gambit. Under Cyclops's leadership, the X-Men later reformed in Uncanny X-Men #500, with their new base located in San Francisco. In April 2008, a new X-Force series was launched, now led by Wolverine. Joss Whedon's run of Astonishing X-Men ended in July 2008.

In 2009, "Messiah War," written by Craig Kyle and Chris Yost to serve as the second part in the trilogy that began with "Messiah Complex," was released. Utopia, written by Matt Fraction, was a crossover of Dark Avengers and Uncanny X-Men that served as a part of the "Dark Reign" storyline. A new New Mutants volume written by Zeb Wells, which featured the more prominent members of the original team reunited, was launched. Magneto joined the X-Men during the Nation X storyline to the dismay of other members of the X-Men, such as Beast, who left the team. Magneto began to work with Namor to transform Utopia into a homeland for both mutants and Atlanteans. After the conclusion of Utopia, Rogue became the main character of X-Men: Legacy.

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, Karma, Sunspot, Magma, Magik, Namor, Domino, Boom Boom, Fantomex and X-23. Other notable story arcs of the late '00s are "Divided We Stand" (2008), "Manifest Destiny" (2008–2009), "X-Infernus", "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", "Chaos War" and "Fear Itself" storylines.

X-Men
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).
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 (flagship) – Cyclops leads the team of X-Men and they start presenting themselves as superheroes again.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 – Storm and her team continued operating as officially sanctioned mutant law enforcers (2004–2006); post Deadly Genesis, it featured Xavier taking a team to space to hunt Vulcan when he seeks vengeance on the Shi'ar empire (2006–2007); the team returned to Earth to fight a group of rogue Morlocks (2007).
X-Men, vol. 2 – Havok led a new field team consisting of Polaris, Iceman, Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine and Juggernaut (2004–2006); later featured Rogue assembling a rapid response team featuring the most dangerous X-Men former villains (2006–2007).
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 1 (flagship) – The X-Men open their new base in San Francisco and invite the world's mutant to join them (2008–2009); Cyclops later decided to move the mutant population to Utopia and off U.S. soil to avoid further persecution by the government (2009–2011).
X-Men Legacy, vol. 1 – featured Professor X's road to recovery as well as the encounters he faced during Messiah CompleX (2008–2009); later featured Rogue as mentor to the younger mutants under the protection of the X-Men on Utopia (2009–2011).
New Mutants, vol. 3 – the original team is reunited to form a new field team for the X-Men.
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 – the X-Men serve as protectors of San Francisco City.
X-Men, vol. 3 – featured team-ups between characters of X-Men and other superheroes such as Blade, Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and the Future Foundation.
X-Men in Training
New Mutants, vol. 2 – features a new group of teenage mutants attending the Xavier Institute.
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 squads who train together.
New X-Men, vol. 2 – After House of M and Decimation, Emma Frost disbanded all former training squads and integrated those students she deemed capable of combat to a new team.
Young X-Men – a group of young mutants tricked by Donald Pierce disguised as Cyclops.
Generation Hope – Hope leads a new team, consisting of five new mutants ("five lights") that appeared on Cerebro after she manifested her powers.
Other Teams
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. Later the team learned the true nature of the Timebroker and later traveled through different realities to chase Proteus.
X-Statix – featured a group of young mutants marketed to be media superstars.
NYX – featured a group of teenage mutants as they attempt to survive on the streets of New York City.
Weapon X, vol. 2 – featured The Underground, a group assembled by Cable to oppose the activities of the third installment of the Weapon X Project. Later featuring Wolverine, Fantomex and Agent Zero quest to find the recently revived John Sublime.
Excalibur, vol. 3 – Professor X and Magneto formed a team to rebuild the devastated mutant nation of Genosha.
X-Factor, vol. 3 – a mutant detective agency founded by Madrox based on Mutant Town.
New Excalibur – After Decimation, Captain Britain brings together a new team of Excalibur as the British government decided to become more pro-active with metahuman affairs.
District X – Bishop is assigned to the Mutant Town to investigate rising crime rates.
X-Force, vol. 2 – Cable re-assembles the team to stop an immortal creature called Skornn.
X-Force, vol. 3 – Wolverine leads a more militaristic black-ops branch of the X-Men.
X-Factor, vol. 3 – the agency briefly moved to Detroit, Michigan and expanded to include several new partners.
Exiles, vol. 2 – a new team of heroes are brought together by Morph, acting as the new Timebroker.

Early 2010s

In 2010, "Second Coming" concluded the plot threads on Messiah Complex and Messiah War. Nightcrawler died in X-Force #26 (June 2010). In 2011, the aftermath of the "X-Men: Schism" storyline led to the fallout between Wolverine and Cyclops. During the "Regenesis" storyline, Wolverine's team was featured in a new flagship series titled Wolverine and the X-Men, Wolverine rebuilt the original X-Mansion and named it the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Meanwhile, Uncanny X-Men relaunched for the first time ever and served as the flagship title for Cyclops' Team. In 2012 "Avengers vs. X-Men" served as a closure to the "House of M" and "Decimation" storylines. It featured the death of Professor X and the reappearance of new mutants after the return of the Phoenix Force. 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 were Warbird and Blink.

In 2012, as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch, all X-Men titles (except Astonishing X-Men & Wolverine and the X-Men) were canceled, including Uncanny X-Men, X-Men: Legacy, X-Men and New Mutants. New flagship title All-New X-Men was launched which featured the original five X-Men members who were brought to the present day by Beast and were made a separate team led eventually by Kitty. The relaunched Uncanny X-Men featured Cyclops, his team and the new mutants, taking up residency in the Weapon X facility, which they have rebuilt into a school — the New Charles Xavier School for Mutants. An all female book titled simply X-Men was also launched. During All-New Marvel Now!, Astonishing X-Men was cancelled and in its place another flagship title Amazing X-Men was launched which featured the return of Nightcrawler and became the flagship title of Wolverine's team. Also, Wolverine and the X-Men was relaunched and turned into mutants-in-training book. In 2013, for the 50th anniversary of the X-Men, "Battle of the Atom" was published which involved members of both X-Men schools trying to decide what to do about the time-displaced original X-Men, culminating in a confrontation with a version of the Brotherhood and the X-Men from an unspecified future date. In 2014, Wolverine was killed off in the "Death of Wolverine" story arc, as the conclusion of a storyline that saw him lose his healing factor after he was infected by an intelligent virus.

Several short-lived miniseries started featuring several X-Men in solo series, such as X-Men Legacy (featuring Legion), Cyclops, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Storm and All-New Doop.

Notable additions to the X-Men have been Firestar, M and ForgetMeNot. Notable story arcs of this era are "Battle of the Atom" (2013), "X-Termination" (2013), "Death of Wolverine" (2014), "AXIS" (2014) and "The Black Vortex" (2015).

Cyclops' X-Men
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 2 – the flagship of the Cyclops' team with the Extinction Team dealing with potential threats to mutantkind's survival.
X-Men, vol. 3 – Storm's field team operating from an aeroplane to neutralize threats before reaching crisis levels.
New Mutants, vol. 3 – Cyclops tasked the New Mutants as a clean-up team to resolve loose ends.
Generation Hope – a rapid response team locating new lights as they manifested with Rogue and later Shadowcat serving as liaison
All-New X-Men, vol. 1 – the flagship of the X-titles with the original X-Men brought from the past to the present to confront their future counterparts.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 3 – the flagship of the Cyclops' team with Cyclops and the remnants of his Extinction team taking up a revolutionary course to promote mutant rights.
Wolverine's X-Men
Amazing X-Men, vol. 2 – the flagship of the Wolverine's team featuring a field team with initial mission to search for the deceased Nightcrawler.
X-Men, vol. 4 – an all-female team dealing with new threats from Arkea and a new Sisterhood.
Wolverine's X-Men
Wolverine and the X-Men, vol. 1 – the flagship of the Wolverine's team featuring the faculty and student of the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
X-Men Legacy, vol. 1 – Rogue leads a team acting as the school's security detail
Astonishing X-Men, vol. 3 – Wolverine's field team forming after the attack of the Marauders.
X-Men in Training
Wolverine and the X-Men (also served as the flagship title)
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
Uncanny X-Force, vol. 1 – a black ops team led by Wolverine with members from the previous strike force.
X-Factor, vol. 3 – Havok stepped back in to co-lead with Polaris after the disappearance of Madrox.
X-Treme X-Men, vol. 2 – a group of heroes from alternate dimensions led by Dazzler to defeat the Ten Evil Xaviers.
X-Club – the X-Men's Science Team dealing with the mutant birth crisis and the effects of M-Day.
Age of Apocalypse – featured the X-Terminated, human resistance fighters banded together to save the human race by taking out Weapon X and his new mutant regime.
Cable and X-Force – a fugitive team led by Cable to face the threats that he saw in his visions.
Uncanny X-Force, vol. 2 – a proactive team of misfit X-Men led by Psylocke.
All-New X-Factor – a corporate-sponsored X-Factor team hired by Serval Industries.
X-Force, vol. 4 – the remnants of Cable's X-Force and Psylocke's X-Force merge to form a superhuman black ops.
Wolverines – a group of mutants with healing factor are captured by the Paradise escapees to help them find the adamantium-petrified body of Wolverine.

2015-2016

thumb|right|upright|Variant cover of [[Extraordinary X-Men #17, Dec. 2016 (flagship series of this era) during the "Inhumans vs. X-Men" story arc. Art by Jorge Molina.]]

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 cloud that circulated the world and appeared to be toxic to them, placing the X-Men at odds with the Inhumans. The X-Men also dealt with Apocalypse resurfacing, and the truth of what happened between Cyclops and the Inhumans that led to his death. Storm's team resided in Limbo and worked to bring mutants to safety away from the Terrigen. Magneto's team took on a more militant approach. Beast worked alongside the Inhumans to attempt to find a way to alter the state of the Terrigen, but later discovered that it could not 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 and 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" 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-displaced original X-Men embarking on a roadtrip in an attempt to live normal lives.

ResurrXion

In 2017, the ResurrXion lineup was launched with X-Men: Prime. It introduced new titles; X-Men Blue, X-Men Gold, Weapon X, new volumes of Astonishing X-Men and Generation X, new solo series for Cable, Jean Grey, and Iceman, and continuation of the Old Man Logan and All-New Wolverine run. With the Terrigen gone, the X-Men vacated Limbo and moved to Central Park where they returned to their heroic roots instead of constantly living in fear for their survival. Other notable changes include Kitty Pryde as the new leader of the X-Men, the time-displaced X-Men working with Magneto, Old Man Logan turning Weapon X into a black ops team, and mutant characters crossing over from Earth-1610 to the Earth-616 universe. Early 2018 saw the Phoenix Force returning to earth and mysteriously resurrecting the original Jean Grey. A new series featuring the original Jean leading a team of X-Men called X-Men Red was released later that same month. Rogue and Gambit's relationship became a focal point during the Rogue & Gambit miniseries and again in the Till Death Do Us Part story arc in X-Men Gold, which saw the two finally tie the knot, and once more during the Mr. & Mrs. X miniseries, which saw the new couple attempt to take their honeymoon but end up involved in an intergalactic conspiracy. Other noteworthy plot points included Wolverine's return coinciding with the arrival of a mysterious new villain named Persephone, Psylocke's return to her original body, Magneto's steady return to villainy, and the time-displaced X-Men facing the consequences of their presence in the 616 timeline, and the return of Cyclops. 2019 saw a new volume of Uncanny X-Men released beginning with a 10-part weekly story arc. Several solo series were launched, including Legion, Multiple Man, Domino, Shatterstar and X-23, before the revamp of the entire X-Men lineup.

Mainly Charles Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine and Jean were resurrected and time-displaced X-Men returned to their original timeline during the Extermination event.

Notable additions to the X-Men have been Pyro, Gentle, Scout, Trinary, Wolfsbane and Multiple Man. Notable story arcs of this decade are "Weapons of Mutant Destruction" (2017), "Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey" (2017–2018), "Poison X" (2018), "Extermination" (2018), "Hunt for Wolverine" (2018), "Return of Wolverine" (2018–2019), "X-Men: Disassembled" (2018–2019) and "Age of X-Man" (2019). The X-Men were also involved in the "Venomized", "Secret Empire" and "War of the Realms" storylines.

X-Men
X-Men Gold – the flagship of the X-titles with Kitty Pryde leading the X-Men at the new location at Central Park; an ad hoc team is led by Iceman while Kitty Pryde and her team are in prison.
X-Men Blue – the time-displaced original X-Men mentored by Magneto; an ad hoc team is led by Polaris while the Original Five is lost in space.
X-Men Red, vol. 1 – the resurrected Jean Grey leading a team to have the mutants recognized as a nation.
Astonishing X-Men, vol 4 – an ad hoc team of X-Men members reunited in London to fight the Shadow King; later featured a ragtag team of X-Men co-led by Havok and Beast against the threat of the Reavers.
Uncanny X-Men, vol. 5 – Jean Grey leads the remnants of the Gold and Red team after Nate Grey resurfaces proclaiming himself the mutant messiah and reshaping the world in his own view; Cyclops and Wolverine reformed the team following the dissolution of the X-Men after fighting X-Man.
X-Men in Training
Generation X, vol. 2 – Jubilee's group of students at the rechristened Xavier Institute.
Other Teams
Weapon X, vol. 3 – a black ops team of heroes and villains working together to take down a new Weapon X program.
New Mutants: Dead Soul – a team of former New Mutants and X-Factor members founded by Karma to investigate paranormal occurring.
X-Force, vol. 5 – original X-Force members Domino, Shatterstar, Cannonball, and Warpath are on the hunt for Kid Cable.
Exiles, vol. 3 – The Unseen recruits champions from alternate universes to save the multiverse from the Time Eaters.

Krakoan Age of X-Men

On May 14, 2019, Marvel announced they would cancel all the X-Men titles and relaunch the entire lineup. Jonathan Hickman would have full creative control; this began with two rotating bi-weekly six-issue limited series called House of X and Powers of X. After the 12 issues are released, Hickman penned the flagship title and several new and traditional titles were released. It was subsequently announced in July 2019 at San Diego Comic-Con that there would be six new X-titles as part of Marvel's Dawn of X campaign. 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. Mutantkind's unparalleled growth and prosperity on the island nation Krakoa was threatened during the Fall of X by the human supremicist organization Orchis. Marvel teased the X-Men's final battle for Krakoa's future in the two interconnected titles Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X.

Several miniseries and one-shots started featuring several X-Men in team-up and solo series such as Giant-Size X-Men (featuring Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Fantomex, Storm and Thunderbird), Wolverine, Cable, Juggernaut, Sabretooth, Rogue and Gambit, Astonishing Iceman, Children of the Vault (featuring Cable and Bishop), Uncanny Spider-Man (featuring Nightcrawler), Jean Grey, Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant and Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace.

Notable addition to the X-Men have been Synch, Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), and Rasputin IV. Notable story arcs of this era are "X of Swords" (2020), "Hellfire Gala" (2021), "Trial of Magneto" (2021),"Inferno" (2021), "X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine" (2022), "Judgment Day" (2022), "Dark Web" (2022–2023), "Sins of Sinister" (2023) and "Weapons of Vengeance" (2023). The X-Men were also involved in the "Empyre", "The Last Annihilation", "King in Black", "Devil's Reign", "Contest of Chaos" storylines.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margins:auto; width=95%; font-size: 95%;"

!width="15%"|Team

!Details

|X-Men, vol. 5

|The flagship title launched during Dawn of X featuring world-building stories of the mutant renaissance.

|X-Men, vol. 6

|The flagship title launched during Reign of X featuring a new team of chosen champions of mutantkind.

|Immortal X-Men

|One of the flagship titles launched during Destiny of X focusing on the politics within the Quiet Council of Krakoa. The title is replaced by Immoral X-Men during the Sins of Sinister event. The storyline is concluded in the limited series X-Men Forever.

|New Mutants, vol. 4

|Magik led a spacefaring team of classic New Mutants and Generation X members, and later acts as mentor to younger mutants in Krakoa; a second team of outreach party seek young mutants who have chosen not to come to Krakoa. The resident New Mutants' adventure continued in New Mutants: Lethal Legion.

|S.W.O.R.D., vol. 2

|The mutant nation's forefront representatives to the outer universe.

|Children of the Atom

|A group of young vigilantes operating in New York City posing as mutants.

|Way of X

|Nightcrawler assembled a team focused on the path of answers for mutantkind's spirituality. The title is concluded in the one-shot X-Men: The Onslaught Revelation.

|X-Corp

|A corporate team headed by CXOs Warren and Monet staffed with some of the brightest and most deviant minds in mutantkind.

|Marauders, vol. 2

|Captain Pryde leads a new crew for rescuing mutants.

|Knights of X

|Captain Britain leads a team of ten knights into Otherworld in a quest to search the Siege Perilous. The title concluded in the series Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain.

|Legion of X

|The mutant police force formed by Nightcrawler and Legion. During the Sins of Sinister event, the title is replaced by Nightcrawlers featuring Sinister's private army of chimera assassins.

|X-Terminators, vol. 2

|A limited series featuring Wolverine, Dazzler, Jubilee and Boom-Boom battling armies of vampires.

|Sabretooth & the Exiles

|The mutants exiled in The Pit are in pursuit of an escaped Sabretooth. The title is a continuation of the Sabretooth solo series and is concluded in the Sabretooth War arc of the Wolverine series.

|Bishop: War College

|Bishop training young mutants as War Captains in training for Krakoa.

|Uncanny Avengers, vol. 4

|A new lineup of the Unity Squad formed to foster the unity between humanity and the mutant nation of Krakoa.

|Dark X-Men, vol. 2

|Madelyne Pryror formed a team based out of Limbo to fill the void left by the X-Men.

|Realm of X

|A team of mutantkind's fiercest warriors sent on a mystical mission in Vanaheim to fight the White Witch.

|Alpha Flight, vol. 5

|Two Alpha Flight squads, split between human and mutant members, are secretly working together to transport mutants to Chandilar.

|Dead X-Men

|The fallen heroes murdered in the Hellfire Gala are guided by Askani on a sacred mutant mission to find for an intact biological Moira mind in one of Sinister's close-engine timelines.

From the Ashes

During the panel at SXSW 2024, a new era of mutant mythos is announced with the X-Men scattered across the planet as they attempt to rebuild themselves following the Krakoan Age. It introduced flagship titles for X-Men, Uncanny X-Men and Exceptional X-Men, new volumes for X-Force, NYX, X-Factor and Weapon X-Men, solo series for Jean Grey, Wolverine (Logan), Storm, Dazzler, Mystique, Psylocke, Wolverine (Laura Kinney) and Magik, and a new series for Sentinels.

Notable addition to the X-Men have been Kid Omega, Temper and Animalia. Notable story arc of this era are "Raid on Graymalkin" (2024), "X-Manhunt" (2025), "Giant-Size X-Men" (2025), and "Age of Revelation" (2025). The X-Men were also involved in the "Blood Hunt" and "One World Under Doom" storylines.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margins:auto; width=95%; font-size: 95%;"

!width="15%"|Team

!Details

|X-Men, vol. 7

|Scott Summers is leading a team from their base in Alaska using Cerebra to secure mutantkind's future.

|Uncanny X-Men, vol. 6

|Rogue leads a team of outlaw heroes from their new base of operations in New Orleans.

|Exceptional X-Men

|Emma Frost and Kate Pryde mentor an all-new team of young mutants in Chicago.

|NYX, vol. 2

|A group of young mutants – Kamala Khan (codename Ms. Marvel), Laura Kinney (codename Wolverine), Anole, Prodigy and Sophie Cuckoo – navigate New York City as the mutant community adapts to the post-Krakoan Age.

|X-Factor, vol. 5

|Angel and Havok co-lead a government-sanctioned team for mutant propaganda.

|X-Force, vol. 7

|Forge leads a mutant team in off-the-books missions to solve the increasing threats across the planet.

|Weapon X-Men, vol. 2

|A lethal striketeam (Wolverine, Cable, Deadpool, Thunderbird and Chamber) targeting enemy stronghold.

Shadows of Tomorrow

Announced during NYCC 2025, the relaunch of the X-Men line of comic books will see the team united in the aftermath of Age of Revelation. The announcement confirmed continuation of the series X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, and Wolverine, new ongoing series Inglorious X-Force, Generation X-23, and Wade Wilson: Deadpool, and new limited series Storm: Earth's Mightiest Mutant, Cyclops, Rogue, and Magik & Colossus. A later announcement was made for a new ongoing series X-Men United featuring Emma Frost founding the Graymatter Lane and limited series for Moonstar and Bishop.

Notable story arc of this era is "DNX" (2026). The X-Men were also involved in the "Armageddon" storyline.

Team roster

{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"

! style="width:20%;" |Team/Membership type

! style="width:80%;" |Member

!Main team members