You know ’em, you love ’em, it’s Marvel’s- maybe comics’- greatest team, the Adjectiveless, Exceptional, Astonishing, Wolverine & The, New, Immortal, X-Men! They’ve been around for over 60 years now, and insanely popular for 40+ of those years. Combining that with the fact that for many of those years there have been numerous titles running simultaneously, you end up with thousands of X-Men comics!

Out of those thousands there are so, so many great stories. The Marvel universe’s best and most important moments are full of X-Men stories. There are so many amazing ones, and many of them so drastically different, that creating any kind of ranking is both impossible and panic inducing, so instead of ranking I will do what I did with our buddy Spider-Man and just list ten great X-Men stories that have connected with me for whatever reason over the years.

These are not necessarily my ten favorite X-Men stories, but I love all of the ones listed today. There are so, so many more I could include that it’s maddening, but I’ll save those for another future installment.

So, let’s get to it! Here are, in no particular order, 10 great X-Men stories!

“Romp” & “Hands Across the Water”
Written By: Scott Lobdell
Art By: Joe Madureira
Found In: Uncanny X-Men 312-313

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A prelude of sorts to the big X-event “The Phalanx Covenant”, this quick 2-part story features Gambit, Storm, and Wolverine’s old pal from Madripoor, Yukio, as they face off against some Phalanx, disguising themselves (at first, at least) as regular humans, and revealing the terror of their techno-organic based abilities. Storm’s relationship with Yukio is explored (remember, Yukio’s the one that talked Storm into the mohawk and leather vest look- maybe Storm’s best), as is her relationship with Gambit. Speaking of the ol’ Cajun, Gambit fans will enjoy this one. He really gets some awesome moments, including what was, to the point of this story’s publication, the largest explosion he had ever created.

A fun, fast-paced tale that not only has some great character moments for both Gambit and Storm, but has some nice touches from previous continuity, some really great early Joe Mad artwork, a bunch of action, some mystery, and a seemingly unbeatable foe. Also, an intriguing subplot and cliffhanger involving the White Queen and the evolution of Iceman’s powers! What more could you want?

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“Age of X”
Written By: Mike Carey
Art By: Mirco Pierfederici, Clay Mann, Steve Kurth
Found In: Age of X: Alpha 1, New Mutants (vol 3) 22-24, X-Men Legacy (vol 1) 245-249, Age of X: Universe 1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man, oh man, did people sleep on Mike Carey’s X-Men. It might be one of the best runs in any ‘X’ book, ever, and his crossover event between X-Men Legacy (previously titled X-Men and New X-Men) and New Mutants is no exception.

We’re not sure how it’s the case and what is really going on, but somehow reality has been changed. Magneto is the general of all of the surviving mutants, gathered together at Fortress X, and every day they battle humanity (even the Avengers!) for their survival. Featuring some really great re-designs and some truly messed up character backgrounds like the tortured Basilisk aka Cyclops or the ‘cured’ Wolverine, and some interesting ideas for characters like Frenzy, Rogue, Legion, Storm and Namor. Then there’s what’s going on with Shadowcat, and… well, you just have to read the story.

There is a mystery aspect and a ticking clock to this story, as someone discovers that reality is not as it should be, but they have to be very, very careful if they’re going to fix anything before it’s too late! One of my favorite Marvel re-imaginings.

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“Two Series That Are One” or “The First Krakoan Age Begins!”
Written By: Jonathan Hicman
Art By: Pepe Larraz (House), R. B. Silva (Powers)
Found In: House of X (mini) 1-6, Powers of X (mini) 1-6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don’t think I can adequately describe how much I loved these series. House of X established the new status quote of the Krakoan nation, particularly the secret of their resurrections and mutantkind’s return to full strength (or close to it), and Powers of X quite literally dragged the X-Men kicking and screaming into the future. Jonathan Hickman continues his impressive run of all-time great Marvel runs on X-Men and it starts right here.

Professor X discovers a secret Moira Mactaggart has been hiding from him, and it changed his outlook on… well, everything. As a result, he and Moira team with Magneto and begin taking the steps to build a mutant nation. We see its beginnings, its ending, and what comes after. Or, at least, what could. In our glimpse of the future in Powers of X you see Apocalypse’s X-Men, the last ones standing against the real foe of the series (no spoilers here!), and how they use one mutant’s gift to try to guide the present to make sure that future doesn’t occur. Sort of like Days of Future Past, but somehow darker.

We are also introduced to one of the greatest X-Men villain groups ever created in the organization Orchis, made up of the worst of the worst from everyone from AIM to Hydra to the Friends of Humanity and all with a serious hatred of mutants. Expect some great artwork, some crazy twists, and some of the most memorable moments in recent X history!

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“Gifted”
Written By: Joss Whedon
Art By: John Cassaday
Found In: Astonishing X-Men (vol 3) 1-6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This entire run is freaking fantastic and is easily one of the best in X-Men history. That said, I am specifically talking about the first 6 issues here.

How do you follow up Grant Morrison’s groundbreaking and controversial New X-Men?  You hire the guy (at the time) most known as the creator of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly in Joss Whedon, and you pair him with the brilliant John Cassaday of Captain America and Planetary fame, and you let them go to work.

Gifted does a number of things: it establishes the new line-up, focusing on the returning (after quite a long absence) Kitty Pryde, sets up the villainous Ord and the idea of the faraway Breakworld, introduces the SHIELD sister organization SWORD and its leader, Abigail Brand, and even brings back a fan favorite X-Man in one of the most memorable moments in X-Men history.

Featuring some gorgeous artwork, new costumes, the invention of the Cure for the mutant gene, some outstanding characterization, and the required Wolverine vs a teammate fights (both Beast and Cyclops), not to mention one of the all-time fastball specials, you really can’t go wrong with Astonishing X-Men: Gifted.

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Messiah CompleX
Written By: Ed Brubaker, Mike Carey, Peter David, Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost
Art By: Marc Silvestri, Billy Tan, Scott Eaton, Humberto Ramos, Chris Bachalo
Found In: X-Men: Messiah Complex 1, Uncanny X-Men (vol 1) 492-494, X-Factor (vol 3) 25-27, New X-Men (vol 2) 44-46, X-Men (vol 1) 205-207

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It had been some time since we had a big crossover between all of the main X-Men books (nearly 10 years at the time this came out), and Messiah Complex started the cycle back up again with a hell of a bang. It’s since cemented itself as one of the most fondly remembered and well-regarded X-events yet. Featuring an unbelievable writing group and some really great artwork (Marc freaking Silvestri draws the opening chapter), this is a big story with some big changes to the status quo, many of which stuck around for quite a while.

This takes place a number of years after the events of “House of M”, in which the Scarlet Witch used her powers to flatline the mutant race, leaving a race that once numbered in the millions to under 200 people. Endangered, the threats became more and more serious, and every time a mutant died they lost nearly a whole percent of their population. The Beast had worked with everyone he could think of, human or mutant, hero or villain, he didn’t care but couldn’t find a solution to undoing what the Scarlet Witch had done.

Then, out of nowhere, a new mutant is born, and the race is on! The X-Men, Mr. Sinister and his Marauders, and the human group of anti-mutant fanatics called the Purifiers all want this girl, each for (obviously) very different reasons, and it’s a matter of who is going to get to the baby first! Will it be the X-Men, now a centralized unit under the command of Cyclops? Mr. Sinister and his psychotic Marauders, featuring their usual members plus the likes of Gambit, Sunfire, Mystique, Lady Mastermind, AND Magneto’s old Acolytes? The monstrous Purifiers plan to kill the baby and snuff the hope of new mutants out forever. How does the new X-Force come into play and who fills their ranks? And there are two X-Men with mysterious motives, each with very different plans for the baby: how do Bishop and Cable factor into this?

Don’t forget the literal monster Predator X that recently escaped from a Weapon X facility and is designed to hunt mutants: it’s got the scent of the X-mansion and is coming fast! It’s a real bad time, Predator X! Knock it off!

In typical X-Men fashion, things keep going from bad to worse in this one, and it’s a lot of fun to see how the X-Men can possibly even have a chance to win the day.

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“Children of the Atom”
Written By: Joe Casey
Art By: Steve Rude, Michael Ryan, Essad Ribic
Found In: X-Men: Children of the Atom (mini) 1-6 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Like Joe Casey and Scott Kollins’ Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes mini-series, “Children of the Atom” focuses on the original (and best) class of students at Xavier’s school and the build-up to their first big fights with bigotry and hatred, not to mention a certain Master of Magnetism.

Casey does an excellent job of letting us see what each of the X-Men has going on in their heads in the early days of their mutations, and while Steve Rude doesn’t finish the mini-series, the issues that he does complete look amazing.

It’s great to see the bigotry getting a spotlight in the story and not just being paid lip service. It really gets home how scary it is for these kids: they can’t control what’s happening to them and the slightest slip-up could mean being ostracized, disowned by their family, or even much worse. We even see, in the event of a character created for this story, what happens when one of the militant anti-mutant people react when suddenly they have mutant powers, and not the kind that lets you stay pretty.

If you like stories set in the origin or early days of the Marvel universe, this is highly recommended. If you like straightforward stories about mutants dealing with jerk ass skinheads, you can’t do much better than this, and if you’re just here for the awesome mutant powers and the occasional confrontation with a super scary ‘evil’ mutant, well, you’re in the right place! A criminally overlooked series.

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“God Loves, Man Kills”
Written By: Chris Claremont
Art By: Brent Anderson
Found In: God Love, Man Kills Original Graphic Novel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ultimate example of the X-Men vs bigotry, this might be Chris Claremont’s ultimate statement, his “if you can only read one”, on the X-Men. Anti-mutant sentiment is at its peak, and a televangelist named William Stryker (not a colonel, Fox, you dolts) is really stirring the pot and stoking the flames of hatred. He’s on TV all the time, condemning mutants and leading to an increase in violence against mutants, especially mutant children.

This brings Magneto into the story, as you might imagine, and he is not amused.

Brent Anderson’s artwork is fantastic here, the line-up used is classic Claremont X-Men, and there are some cool uses of powers, but all of that is really incidental to the main point of the story. The irony of it all is that someone like Kurt Wagner, who is always condemned for his demonic-like appearance, would risk his life as Nightcrawler to save a piece of shit like Stryker from the ‘normal’ looking mutants like a Magneto, who would (rightly) just as soon drop a safe on Stryker rather than let him breath another moment.

One of the best X-Men stories ever told, and possibly the best X-Men story told by the best X-Men writer.

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“Endgame”
Written By: Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio, Chris Claremont
Art By: Whilce Portacio
Found In: X-Factor (vol 1) 65-68

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before Marvel launched X-Men #1 with Chris Claremont & Jim Lee and reconfigured the entire line of books, they had to wrap things up on the existing titles. The original X-Men had regrouped around the resurrected Jean Grey a number of years prior as X-Factor, and had developed an intense rivalry with the ancient mutant, Apocalypse. The big A had already permanently disfigured their group, turning the carefree, high-flying Angel into the dark, brooding, angel of death, Archangel.

That was just a warm-up.

In this story Apocalypse kidnaps Cyclops’ son Nathan Summers, and takes him to his base on the moon (which is in the blue area of the moon the Inhumans are from and where the Phoenix killed herself) where he is surrounded by his underlings, the Dark Riders. Teaming with the Inhuman royal family, X-Factor attacks Apocalypse and his forces on the freaking moon!

Can X-Factor save young Nathan? Is the assistance of the likes of Black Bolt and Karnak enough to overcome the nearly invincible Apocalypse? What line does Apocalypse cross that will change the X-Men forever? Can Cyclops finally truly defeat his new archenemy? A major turning point in X-Men history, a kick ass Apocalypse fight, and some great Whilce Portacio artwork make this a highly recommended story for me.

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“E Is For Extinction”
Written By: Grant Morrison
Art By: Frank Quitely
Found In: New X-Men (vol 1) 114-116

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the mid-to-late 90’s the X-Men had hit a lull in their popularity and the creativity of the title. Long gone were the days of Chris Claremont pushing the limits of what the book and its characters could be (although Claremont himself had just come back, the magic wasn’t there the 2nd time around). Suddenly here comes Grant Morrison, comic book great and all-around madman, to shake the book up like it hadn’t been since Giant-Sized X-Men #1!

Eschewing the colorful super hero costumes for uniforms more in tune with the recently released X-Men movie and streamlining the team down to Professor X, four X-Men, and students (soon joined by a new mutant in Xorn and a reformed villain in Emma Frost), Morrison hit the ground running with ‘E is for Extinction’. This story sets the tone for Morrison’s ‘take no prisoners’ attitude on his run, and in the first issue has one of the most significant moments in Marvel history.

Frank Quitely’s artwork is just absurdly beautiful. He’s not at We3 or All-Star Superman level yet at this point in his career, but it’s really great, nonetheless.

Can Cyclops and Wolverine get along long enough to complete a mission? What’s going on with Scott and Jean’s marriage? Who are some of these new kids? Who is this Cassandra Nova, and why does she look sort of familiar? Also, what’s she doing with a Trask? Did someone say South American wild sentinels, built by OTHER SENTINELS? What the living shit? Who is this X’orn, and what’s his deal? And why does Professor X have a gun to his head!?!

3 insane issues that push the X-Men into the 21st century and begins one of the most notable runs in Marvel history. A must read.

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“Psylocke”
Written By: Chris Claremont
Art By: Alan Davis
Found In: Uncanny X-Men (vol 1) 213

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While this is technically part of the “Mutant Massacre” storyline, and introduces Psylocke to the team, both big deals, this is (rightfully so) known for one reason, and that is that it’s the first on-panel real fight between Wolverine and his worst enemy: Sabretooth.

This Sabretooth, written by the legendary Chris Claremont and drawn by the horribly underrated Alan Davis, is one of the scariest Marvel villains ever. It’s a damn shame they didn’t keep the momentum he gained here up for longer, because here he is written as a bigger, stronger, faster, meaner Wolverine with a mean streak 20 miles wide.

Sabretooth invades the X-mansion, but the team is decimated by the Marauders’ attack on the Morlock tunnels (Sabretooth, himself a Marauder, knows this, and knows they are without the likes of Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and Colossus, and Magneto and the New Mutants are not on the grounds). Psylocke tries to keep away from him, but this is pre-ninja Psylocke, and she has no chance against Sabretooth.

Thankfully, Wolverine does.

The fight here is so insanely well choreographed by Davis; it’s one of the very best fights in Marvel history. Just a master class in how to introduce a villain and immediately make him truly scary. Even if you don’t care about Sabretooth or Wolverine or even the freaking X-Men, I would recommend this issue for the Davis pencils, alone. Great, great stuff.

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That’s it for today! There are so, so many more awesome X-Men stories to choose from, and I’ve already got a long list of ones to choose from for the next time I do this. In the meantime, please check out any and all of the stories mentioned above if you haven’t had a chance to read them yet! Next time I’ll mention some Wolverine stuff, some New Mutants goodness, maybe even some X-Force stuff, and will almost certainly drop some more Krakoa era greatness on ya!