The X-Men are about to get bigger than ever before. Disney purchasing 20th Century Fox was a huge step for the team, opening the door for them to finally join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The upcoming Avengers: Doomsday sees the return of the Fox team in what is probably going to be their swan song, with rumors of a whole new X-Men appearing in the years and movies to come. X-Men ’97‘s second season is on the way, a show that wears its comic influences on its sleeve. A whole new generation of readers are going to get exposed to the team, and are already getting into them, and they’re going to need a guide. Lucky for them, there’s this list.
The team has the most complicated history in comics, but there are some amazing jumping on points. These will allow even the newest readers to get into the team and open doors to the future. These seven stories are perfect starter tales for new X-Men fans, giving them everything they need to love the team’s comics.
7) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #281-286
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The ’90s were the X-Men’s decade, with a major reboot kicking off in 1991 in Uncanny X-Men and the all-new X-Men (Vol. 2). Both will be on this list and we will start with issues #281-286, by Jim Lee, John Byrne, Scott Lobdell, and Whilce Potracio. These six issues take readers from the Hellfire Club to the future to Japan and another dimension, with Sentinel attacks, time-traveling supervillains, and interdimensional attackers taking on Storm, Jean Grey, Iceman, Archangel, Iceman, and Colossus, all with the introduction of Bishop on top of that. It’s purse ’90s cheese with flashy art, simple plots, and a whole lot of X-Men fun.
6) Giant-Size X-Men (Vol. 1) #1
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Giant-Size X-Men (Vol. 1) #1, by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum, was the beginning of the road to superstardom for the team. When the X-Men are captured by the mutant island Krakoa, Cyclops and Professor X bring together a new team to rescue them. This is the first appearance of Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Thunderbird, Wolverine’s first mission with all of them, and the ultimate passing of the torch. It’s perfect for a new fan, opening the doorway to Chris Claremont’s run on the book in X-Men (Vol. 1) #94, and the greatest stretch of X-history.
5) House of X/Powers of X
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The X-Men’s Krakoa Era is a must-read, and the two books that are one, by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, R. B. Silva, and Marte Gracia, are the way into it. House of X/Powers of X takes across space and time to see the ultimate destiny of the war between mutants and humanity, as the X-Men create a mutant nation with major power in the world, which sends ripples in every direction. That’s just the beginning in this story that will take you to some mindblowing places. The Krakoa Era didn’t end up the best, but the first couple of years are wonderful, and every fan needs to read this landmark story.
4) God Loves, Man Kills
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God Loves, Man Kills, by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson, is one of the best X-Men stories ever, and the perfect encapsulation of everything great about the team. This story sees mutant children turning up dead, leading to the X-Men and Magneto investigating the situation and teaming up when they learn what they’re up against: a hate-mongering Christian pastor and his twisted Purifiers. This story is from 1982, and it unfortunately still resonates all these years later. This is everything an X-story needs to be, and it will knock new readers’ socks off.
3) “Gifted”
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Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 3) #1-6, by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, was the beginning of a whole new era of the X-Men. Jean Grey was dead and the team had to move on, except this time with Emma Frost in Cyclops’s bed and a returning Kitty Pryde trying to find her place with them. An attack by a powerful alien and a mutant cure rock the team to their foundations, leading to a shocking return. This is peak modern X-Men, borrowing liberally from the Claremont era, and creating a story that is catnip for new readers. Grade-A action, amazing characterization, and some of the coolest art you could want make this the story that every new readers needs.
2) “E Is for Extinction”
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New X-Men was an X-revolution, and it led to an era that changed the team forever. New X-Men #114-116, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, is the classic “E Is for Extinction”. The X-Men have ditched the colorful spandex for black leathers and superheroics for mutant schooling and rescue. As Beast makes a shocking discovery, Jean and Xavier work with the new mutant finder Cerebra, and Cyclops and Wolverine out on a mission, a new villain rears her ugly head. She wants one thing and she’ll kill every mutant she can to get her wish, leading to one of the most bloody moments in mutant history. This isn’t your grandpa’s X-Men, and it lives up to the “new” appellation in the title.
1) X-Men (Vol. 2) #1-3
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1991 was the end of Chris Claremont’s 17-year run on the team, and he ended with a bang. X-Men (Vol. 2) #1-3 was the last time that Claremont teamed up with superstar artist Jim Lee at Marvel (although they would later work together on Image Comics’s WildC.A.T.s) for a story that pit the new X-Men Blue Team against Magneto and his new mutant henchmen the Acolytes. This is a gorgeously drawn and sumptuously written comic that gives a new reader everything they need to know. Millions of people read this comic and became X-fans in the early ’90s, so the proof is in the pudding.
What’s you favorite new reader-friendly X-Men story? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!