December is going to be an exciting time for Marvel fans. While there is plenty to look forward to all through the year, December is particularly exciting because that’s when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters — and with it, the X-Men make their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s far from the first time the heroes will have been on the big screen, but with the MCU being the biggest live-action Marvel franchise ever, the arrival of the mutants is one that has excited fans for years.
Of course, not everyone is as familiar with the X-Men as die-hard comics fans which means now is a great opportunity to get to know the iconic superhero team well before we see them on screen again. Here are the best seven X-Men comics to check out ahead of the X-Men’s arrival in the MCU. And hey, even if you already know and love the mutants, these aren’t bad stories to revisit. In fact, some of them are simply great comics that are definitely must-read.
7) House of X/Powers of X
While the X-Men have seen many changes and had many adventures (and tragedies) over the years, the majority of their history has largely maintained the status quo with the mutants seeking to be an accepted part of society even though that same society has feared and even hated them all along the way. That changed dramatically with 2019’s House of X/Powers of X. Written by Jonathan Hickman, the series completely upended everything we knew and expected from the X-Men and ushered in the Krakoan Age.
In House of X/Powers of X, the X-Men (and mutant kind) broke away from general society, deciding instead to live on the living island of Krakoa where they declared themselves to be a sovereign nation. It was a huge shift and more than that, brought in a lot more sci-fi to overall mutant and X-Men mythos (Resurrection Protocols, anyone?) It also changed how the X-Men were perceived more broadly, making them much more of an antagonistic group, at least in the eyes of some.
6) Days of Future Past (Uncanny X-Men #141-142)
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
As one of the most essential stories in the entirety of X-Men history, Days of Future Past has to be on the reading list for just about any list about the X-Men and comics. Written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne over just two issues, the story introduced a dystopian future for the X-Men if the failed to prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly as, in the future, that assassination was the moment that anti-mutant sentiment really goes off the rails, leading to a bleak future where mutants are killed or put into camps. The story also gives readers a look at older versions of major characters and ends up setting the stage for more dark future storylines in X-Men comics.
Technically, this storyline has already been adapted for live-action with 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, the fifth film in the X-Men series. Between that and just how major of a story it is in X-Men canon, it’s a must read.
5) X-Men #1 (1991)
Chris Claremont and Jim Lee’s X-Men #1 from 1991 was a huge deal. It was the relaunch of the X-Men, which was a big deal all on its own and was a massive sales success, but it was also a huge shift for the X-Men story. You see, while Magneto had originated as an antagonist for the X-Men, over the years the character had gone through some changes and eventually ended up as member of the team and even the headmaster of the Xavier School. X-Men #1 flipped things back to Magneto being the bad guy but did it in such a way that he was now a much more complex villain.
It’s the portrayal of Magneto as a complex villain for the X-Men that has been a huge influence over pretty much every approach to the character since, particularly when it comes to Magneto in live-action. Oh, yeah, and Lee’s art in X-Men #1 is game changing as well.
4) New X-Men
Grant Morrison’s New X-Men is another run that completely changed the X-Men and makes for a must-read on just about any list involving the X-Men and comics recommendations. The run contains the storyline E for Extinction, which saw the debut of Cassandra Nova as well as the destruction of Genosha. It’s a major moment in X-Men history, revamping the entire franchise but also shifting the status quo just a bit for the mutants — in particular with the introduction with the idea of a “secondary mutation” which, in this story, saw Emma Frost get her diamond powers.
E For Extinction is another story that we’ve already seen adapted — specifically with X-Men ’97, which is itself connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making it a particularly important read before the X-Men make their real debut.
3) Astonishing X-Men
Joss Whedon’s 2004 to 2008 run on Astonishing X-Men is another must-read, particularly because it’s a direct continuation of Morrison’s run, but also because it focuses in on the X-Men more as characters and as a team rather than the various threats and adventures they have to deal with. It’s a run that deeply humanizes the X-Men, digging into the dysfunctional relationships and the flawed individuals that the heroes actually are.
In a sense, Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men functions to make the iconic heroes more three dimensional than we typically see them. It’s a run that really lets the reader invest in the characters and identify with them more. The run also introduces some new elements into the overall X-Men canon, including the organization, S.W.O.R.D.
2) Giant Size X-Men #1
Giant Size X-Men #1 might be the most essential single-issue X-Men story that anyone can read as it’s the start of the version of the X-Men that most people are familiar with today. While the issue was written by Len Wein, Chris Claremont contributed to the plot and, for many, signals the start of Claremont’s era. The story sees Professor X recruit a new team to rescue the original X-Men who have disappeared while on a mission to the island of Krakoa. It also reveals that Krakoa is more than just an island but is also a mutant itself.
Giant Size X-Men #1 helps to establish the idea of a larger X-Men team. It gives us characters such as Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Thunderbird, and completely changes the X-Men team roster and dynamic forever.
1) The Dark Phoenix Saga (Uncanny X-Men #129-138)
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Let’s establish something right off the top: this works best if you include Uncanny X-Men #101-108 into this overall story. While The Dark Phoenix Saga is technically the storyline from issues #129 through 138, the events of #101 through 108 are critical as they see Jean Grey become enmeshed with the Phoenix Force which sets the stage for everything after.
While Jean Grey survives the X-Men’s mission in space, the powers of the Phoenix Force begins to become more than she can handle, corrupting her. Manipulated by Mastermind, Jean helps the Hellfire Club capture the X-Men, which in turn leads to Jean giving herself fully over to the Phoenix powers she’s been trying to keep at bay. Now the Dark Phoenix, Jean strikes down the X-Men, heads off to a distant galaxy, and ends up becoming a planetary threat after she destroys the civilization of an entire planet. There’s so much more that happens but suffice it to say that it is a turning point for Jean Grey as a character and is absolute essential reading as it’s influenced many other X-Men stories and adaptations over the years — and is still one of the best X-Men arcs in all of Marvel.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!