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 leads down the road to madness.

So, that being said, the following are not necessarily my favorite X-Men stories, but I love them all the same. There are still so many more I could include, so we may have a couple more installments of these, but for now check out our first installment here, the second one here, and one on Spider-Man here!

 

“Beginnings”
Written By: Scott Lobdell, Mark Waid
Art By: Roger Cruz, Steve Epting
Found In: Age of Apocalypse Alpha, 1995

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s pretty obvious we’re big fans of the Age of Apocalypse around here (see here, here and here, for instance), and while it doesn’t end with its best foot forward, it sure as heck started that way!

In an extremely ambitious move, Marvel cancelled all of their X-titles! Shortly after, they launched the Age of Apocalypse, starting with this Alpha issue, which does the herculean task of introducing this new timeline, showing the world and how it works, introducing new concepts (ie Magneto is the main good guy, Beast is evil, Apocalypse rules most of the world, etc) and showing us who these new X-Men are and how they operate, then setting up the status quo for every book about to spin-off of the Alpha issue. All of that needing to get done in one story is pretty daunting, but Lobdell and Waid pull it off. Roger Cruz’s pencils don’t match the quality of the Joe Madureira cover, but he still does a really nice job and the character designs (done by everybody and their cousins) are outstanding, for the most part.

Magneto and his X-Men save a derelict Bishop from some of Apocalypse’s henchmen, and Bishop, who was present when the timeline split from what we know and became this, remembers how things were supposed to be and tells Magneto, who kind of remembers him from pre-AoA stuff and gives him the time of day. Choosing to believe Bishop, Magneto gathers his soldiers and gives them their missions. None of which will be easy, because in addition to an Apocalypse that’s stronger than we’ve ever seen, he has his Horsemen (including the likes of Mr. Sinister) and they each have their own soldiers and armies (featuring names like Cyclops, & Havok)!

A terrific introduction to a really awful timeline that captured the imagination of readers in the mid-90’s like nothing else, this Alpha issue is really fun and gets all of the recommendations.

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“Mutant Genesis”
Written By: Chris Claremont
Art By: Jim Lee
Found In: X-Men (vol 2) 1-3, 1992

 

While it’s still a damn shame that editor Bob Harras essentially forced Chris Claremont out the door in favor of letting artists write their own stories and making some of the worst X-Men comics EVER, before Claremont left, he threw out one of his best Magneto stories! Granted, it doesn’t hurt having top of his game Jim Lee drawing your story, but this is still a really good one!

Magneto has semi-retired to his space base, Asteroid M, and just wants to remove himself from the mutant/human thing for a while. But then a group of mutants seeks him out, and the hold him in a religious reverence, almost like a messiah or a God. Calling themselves his Acolytes, their presence draws him back into the thick of things, and more importantly, draw him into conflict with the X-Men again!

The X-Men have JUST regrouped, with the original 5 leaving behind X-Factor to return to the mansion, and their roster is rather large, but this story mostly focuses on Cyclops’ blue team (Wolverine, Beast, Jubilee, Rogue, Gambit and Psylocke) as they battle the Acolytes and attempt to stop Magneto. But can they win the argument against Magneto? Who exactly are these Acolytes, and can they even be trusted by Magneto? Who is Fabian Cortez and what is his end game? Why are the X-Men fighting the other X-Men? All those questions (and more!) can be answered in these three classic issues!

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“Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire”
Written By: Ed Brubaker
Art By: Billy Tan, Clayton Henry
Found In: Uncanny X-Men 475- 486, 2006-07

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you like it when the X-Men deal with cosmic threats or when they are dealing with the Shi’Ar, this is the story for you!

Following up on the reveal that Cyclops and Havok’s younger brother was not killed before he was born, but rather forcibly removed from his mother’s womb and artificially grown to be a Shi’Ar slave, the new Summers brother, Gabriel, aka Vulcan, has gone off to Shi’Ar space to get his revenge. Gabriel is an omega level mutant, meaning there is no measurable upper limit to his ability (in his case, energy manipulation). Knowing he can very well rip the Shi’Ar empire a new one, Professor X gathers a team to follow him.

The Professor wants to both protect his wife, Lilandra, who is the empress of the Shi’Ar, and to save his former student (it’s a long story) Gabriel from succumbing to his trauma and hatred. Havok is accompanying the professor because he wants to save/stop Gabriel. Polaris is tagging along to protect Havok, but also because she’s still in love with him. Marvel Girl (Rachel Grey/Summers) is coming along under the guise of protecting everyone, but they know for her it’s really a revenge trip after the Grey family was killed by the Shi’Ar to prevent any more Phoenix hosts from potentially emerging. Nightcrawler, Darwin and Warpath seem like odd choices for the team, but each of them is absolutely crucial to the success of the mission by the end.

Can Havok stand up to his brother’s power? Can the Professor save Lilandra? How will Corsair react the learning his child is alive? What is Vulcan’s ultimate goal? What is Deathbird really up to? Who in the heck is Korvus and what is the blade of the Phoenix? Will Summers family drama finally destroy the universe? Find out here!

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Wolverine/Havok: Meltdown
Written By: Walt & Louise Simonson
Art By: Jon Muth, Kent Williams
Found In: Wolverine/Havok: Meltdown limited series 1-4, 1988

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a kind of weird one. Marvel was trying to promote their EPIC line, which was a precursor to prestige format books, so they decided to make one starring some X-Men. The characterizations are very decidedly non-Claremont-y, since it’s technically not in continuity at this point (that may have changed since then, who knows?), but the husband and wife team of Walt and Louise Simonson is the next best thing! Havok is on full himbo status, immediately falling in love with any woman that shows him the slightest attention, and Wolverine is as ugly as he’s ever been drawn, but there’s something about this story that’s always drawn my attention.

It could be the Cold War era Soviet spy stuff, the nuclear-powered villain, or just the fact that while I’ve always enjoyed the rivalry/friendship of Cyclops and Wolverine, the drinking buddies friendship of Havok and Wolverine is a lot more fun, or maybe a combination of all of the above, but I’ve always liked this story and revisit it every few years, even if the pacing is all over the place. This isn’t the best story, but it’s unique, and there really isn’t another X-Men story like it.

Another appeal is the way the artwork is handled. Each artist draws one character: Jon Muth draws Havok and Kent Williams would draw Wolverine. It’s… an interesting approach. You don’t see it very often (if ever), and while it might not be your cup of tea you have to at least respect the attempt at trying something new.

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“Truth & Consequence”
Written By, Art By: Alan Davis
Found In: Excalibur vol. 1 #61, 1992

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This could very well be the best issue of Excalibur. Rachel Summers’ Phoenix returns, and she’s got a hell of a challenge in front of her. No, it’s not Magneto, or Apocalypse, or Sinister, or even Saturnyne. It’s Phoenix V Galactus!!!! Face front, true believers, it’s the battle of the milennium!

You heard that right. The devourer of worlds squares off with the Phoenix, and it is awesome. It’s one of those fights that is so cool that almost any competent artist could bring it to life, but we get the legend himself, Alan “How Am I Still Underrated” Davis bringing his a-game, and like his excellent Wolverine/Sabretooth fight from the Mutant Massacre story, it is gorgeous.

The Phoenix notices a disturbance while soaring through space, and upon investigation finds Galactus about to feed on a planet. Phoenix demands he stop, as the planet bears and supports life, but he just kind of ignores her, so she blows up his machinery! This gets the big G’s attention, and he decides the little bird needs to be taught a lesson, and they engage in combat. Shockingly, the Phoenix seems to win the fight, but is Galactus truly beaten? Can he defeat the Phoenix force with… words? And what will Meggan’s reply be to Captain Britain’s huge question?

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“X-Aminations”
Written By: Peter David
Art By: Joe Quesada
Found In: X-Factor, vol 1 #87, 1992

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smack in the middle of the loud, popcorn-movie atmosphere of the early 90’s x-books came this issue, in which the government sponsored X-Factor team is forced to meet with a psychiatrist for mandatory counseling. The psychiatrist? None other than the Hulk’s own Doc Samson, super shrink!

In what could have been a very skippable issue, and in the hands of a lesser writer could have landed like a wet thud, Peter David and a young Joe Quesada turn in one of the single best Marvel issues of the 1990’s.

Peter David peels back the layers on all of his characters, and we get insight into things like the Multiple Man’s identity issues, Polaris’ body dysmorphia, Havok’s inferiority complex, Strong Guy’s insecurities and health risks, Wolfsbane’s attachment issues, and of course, why Quicksilver has always been a bit of an ass…

No world ending stakes, no huge action set piece, just character work for the whole issue, and it’s wonderful!

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“Madrox: Multiple Choice”
Written By: Peter David
Art By: Pablo Raimondi
Found In: Madrox 1-5, 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter David returns to the X universe after a decade away in this noir thriller starring Jamie Madrox: The Multiple Man!

In typical Peter David fashion, he finds a new take on a character he had already spent years writing, and it completely changes the way the character works (in a good way!). In this case he establishes that Jamie has learned that he can create a duplicate, send them out to learn new things and have new experiences, and when he reabsorbs the duplicate he retains that information and those skills! As one would, after he learns this, he creates a bunch of duplicates and sends them out all over the place, which will pay off and bite him in the ass both in this story and throughout the follow-up reboot of X-Factor.

This five-issue story not only introduces us to a new take on Multiple Man, but it re-establishes much of David’s old X-Factor cast and sets them in a film noir detective thriller. It works so insanely well that what looked like it was going to be a cool but disposable Marvel Knights mini-series became the foundation for one of the best runs of the 2000’s.

If you have any interest in X-Factor, the Multiple Man, crime stories, mysteries/whodunnits, or a dark sense of humor, track this awesome series down!

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“The Sword is Drawn”
Written By: Chris Claremont
Art By: Alan Davis
Found In: Excalibur Special Edition 1, 1987

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beginning of the weirdest, most fun X-team ever, this one-shot brings Captain Britain and characters from his book by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, ie Meggan, Gatecrasher, Technet, and the Warwolves and blends them with former X-Men Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Rachel Summers/Phoenix in a madcap action/comedy title by X-legends Chris Claremont and Alan Davis.

This one-shot isn’t the very best of Excalibur, but it does a very nice job of introducing concepts readers outside of the UK might not have been familiar with and blending the magic-based multiversal madness of Captain Britain with the ‘nothing ever stops getting worse no matter what’ approach the universe takes to the X-Men. What you end up with is a fun story that leaves you excited to read about this new, seemingly randomly assembled team and looking forward to their ongoing series (which was often great!).

Excalibur was a very fun book, but often required some pre-existing knowledge of Marvel U concepts and characters. Projects like this one-shot do a nice job of introducing a lot to the uninitiated without overwhelming or bogging the story down. The main team is full of amazing characters, but some of the real appeal is the weirdo side characters, like Gatecrasher and Technet, or the weirdness of Saturnyne and Otherworld. A lot of that stuff is seeded or outright used here, and the always incredible Alan Davis brings it all to life like nobody else can.

Excalibur might not be on everyone’s radar, because it never had Wolverine or pouches and guns all over the place, but it might be the most fun title of any of the X books of its era.

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“Multiple Birth”
Written By: Peter David
Art By: Valentine De Landro
Found In: X-Factor, vol 3 #39, 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No spoilers at all for this one! Peter David’s X-Factor vol 3 is one of the very best X-book runs ever, and issues like this are a big reason why.

Focusing on lower-tier X characters like Multiple Man, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, M, Quicksilver and Siryn allowed David to really take some huge swings, because none of them appeared elsewhere regularly or had solo titles. The characters mentioned previously, as well as the likes of Polaris, Longshot, Rictor and Shatterstar all were put through some serious paces during David’s epic run, and none more-so than two characters I won’t name to avoid spoilers and what they go through in this issue. It is, in a word, horrific.

It’s rare for a mainstream superhero book to pull a twist like this off as well as they do, and almost impossible to do it without it being spoiled online somewhere beforehand. Not this one! This one was quietly picked up by thousands or readers on new comic book day, and by the next day pretty much every single one had put something online somewhere that essentially said something along the lines of “X-Factor 39: What the FFFFUUUUUUUU-”

The entire run comes as highly recommended as one can be, as it is one of the best runs from one of Marvel’s best decades and might be the great Peter David’s best work that doesn’t have the Hulk in it, but if you can’t be bothered to commit to the whole run, at least track this issue down. It will either change your mind about X-Factor or it will scar you for life. Who knows, maybe both!

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“Deadly Genesis!”
Written By: Len Wein
Art By: Dave Cockrum
Found In: Giant-Sized X-Men #1, 1975

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the most famous issues in the history of Marvel publishing, Giant-Size X-Men is the kickoff to a whole new era of X-Men, a title that had previously been one of the only ongoing titles Marvel had actually cancelled! You almost certainly know the story already, but essentially the old X-Men are sent to investigate a new mutant signal that appears on Cerebro, and they travel to the remote island of Krakoa to find this new mutant. Unfortunately for them, they don’t realize until it’s too late that Krakoa itself is the mutant! It captures the X-Men, leaving only Cyclops to escape to try to get help for his friends.

Desperate to save his students, Professor X recruits a new team, this time a very diverse, international team that doesn’t feature teenagers, but rather full grown adults! The Marvel universe as a whole was never the same after this issue, in the best of ways, because we were introduced to huge mainstays like Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus, the criminally underrated Thunderbird, and former villains Banshee and Sunfire. Oh, yeah, also some little guy called Wolverine, or whatever.

Led by Cyclops, this new team travels back to Krakoa to rescue the original team, and we get a massive team-up of the new and old before we are left with the question, voiced by Angel, “What in the world are we going to do with 13 X-Men?” This book spun out into the returning X-Men title, which would be given to a young, inexperienced writer by the name of Chris Claremont, and the rest is history.

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That’s it for today’s installment! Fear not, true believers, we have plenty more stories to recommend for you! We can cover everything and anything, from the Simonsons on X-Factor to the Larry Hama/Marc Silvestri Wolverine to Kiern Gillen’s Uncanny X-Men to Grant Morrison’s New X-Men to Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men to some classic 90’s crossover goodness to a cantankerous old wolverine to revisiting the Age of Apocalypse to Jim Lee’s X-Men to Rick Remender’s Uncanny X-Force and oh-so much more. See you then!