Roster
Alaska Team:
- Cyclops
- Beast
- Magneto
- Kwannon
- Juggernaut
- Magik
- Kid Omega
- Temper
New Orleans Team:
- Rogue
- Gambit
- Wolverine
- Nightcrawler
- Jubilee
Origin
Original Team Roster
The original team of X-Men was formed by Professor Charles Francis Xavier to fulfill his dream of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. Using his vast telepathic powers and with help from his supercomputer Cerebro, he located five mutants to help him in his prospects by forming the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.
- Scott "Slim" Summers was the Professor's first student. Gifted and cursed with the ability to open dimensional portals with his eyes that produce a concussive force of destructive energy, he was forced to wear a visor made of ruby quartz to contain his blasts. Because of the look and shape of his visor, he took the code name Cyclops.
- Robert "Bobby" Drake, a young man from Long Island, New York, was recruited after the sudden onset of his powers incapacitated one of his peers. He was jailed, for 'his own protection' against the angry and confused citizens of his town. Soon afterward, the wall of his cell was blown out and he was approached by Cyclops, who presented him with an offer to join the academy. He was given the name Iceman after his power to manipulate moisture and create ice.
- Henry "Hank" McCoy, born in Dunfee, Illinois to Norton and Edna McCoy was a genius with the brutish look. He excelled in athletics due to his physical nature but also studies profusely. When he began to attract animosity for his appearance and mutation, he was approached by Xavier to join his school. Hank took the name "Beast" as his mutation granted him larger hands and feet, much like a gorilla and super strength to match.
- Warren Kenneth Worthington III was already a costumed crime-fighter in his own right who went by the name "the Avenging Angel." He was born to millionaire parents and was kept in a private school, forced to hide his physical mutation. He was recruited by Professor X and he retained the codename "Angel" due to his large feathery wings.
- Jean Grey was already a student (of sorts) of Professor X prior to the formation of the X-Men. After experiencing the death of her best friend, Annie, her telepathic powers were activated, forcing the young mutant to feel and sense her friend's passing. She was coached and helped by the Professor as he locks her powers away to keep her safe. As she develops telekinetic gifts she is invited to the school to become the sole female addition to the team. She takes the name "Marvel Girl."
The students are trained to use their gifts by Professor X who deems them the X-Men due to their extra abilities. The team becomes a tightly knit group, growing up from teenagers and learning to properly use their powers. Their first mission is against the evil mutant, Magneto, who is the self-proclaimed "Master of Magnetism." He attacked Cape Citadel and the X-Men prevented any damage or casualties.
During the initial run of X-Men, they face Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the teleporting Vanisher, the villainous Factor Three, and the alien Lucifer. Early in the series, Professor X is presumed dead and it is learned that he had been replaced, at his request, by the Changeling, a villain who wished to reform his criminal ways. The X-Men are also joined by the mutant Mimic, who has the ability to utilize up to five mutant abilities at a time. Mimic sought out the X-Men in an attempt to make his powers permanent, but was defeated and became an ally for a short time. The team was then joined by two new recruits; Havok, the plasma generating brother of Cyclops; and Polaris, the green-haired, magnetism-manipulating future confirmed daughter of Magneto. Eventually Beast left the team to pursue scientific endeavors.
Lineups
- Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman and Angel
- Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Mimic and Changeling
- Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Polaris and Havok
- Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, Polaris and Havok
Creation
The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, making their first appearance in X-Men #1 in 1963. Stan Lee created the title 'X-Men' when publisher Martin Goodman turned down the original name ' The Merry Mutants' because he felt that people would not understand what a mutant actually was. Throughout the Marvel Universe, it is believed that the X-Men were named after Professor Xavier, their mentor but it is claimed that they were actually named after the X-Gene, the gene that created mutants.
One of the reasons for creating X-Men was the amount of mail Marvel was getting from the readers demanding a new superhero team because of all the solitary heroes in Marvel roster. Stan Lee wanted the heroes to have similar origin background, and because "I could not get everyone bitten by radioactive spider", Lee came up with the "Homo Superior" concept.
Some have pointed out that it is possible that the team was inspired by DC Comics' Doom Patrol. At the time Marvel was a new force on the comics scene and took a lot of its motivation and inspiration from DC (for instance the Fantastic Four were patterned after the Challengers of the Unknown). The similarities between numerous characters, and especially Professor X to the Chief have led to this speculation.
Team Evolution
The Early Years
The Silver and early Bronze ages of comics published stories more in line with the standard at the time, meaning issues that consisted of self contained stories with little overall development of characters. One of the developments of Marvel is that the company became much more interested in character development, but this change was slow and the early years of the X-Men were marred with the same problems as other comics, if perhaps to a lesser degree.
Late 70's
Deadly Genesis/Giant-sized X-Men
The first big shake-up for the team came when the original team (plus Havok and Polaris, minus Beast) were abducted by the living island of Krakoa. First Professor X sent a brand new team of untried students trained by Moira MacTaggert. This team included Kid Vulcan, Darwin, Sway,and Petra, but they were quickly overtaken by the island. Petra and Sway were killed but Vulcan was left in suspended animation (partially due to Darwin's powers). When Krakoa released Cyclops to bring more mutants to feed on, Professor X gathered several young mutants who already had experience in their powers: Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Thunderbird, Sunfire, and Banshee. Due to Professors X's mental manipulations, Vulcan's team was completely forgotten and Storm's team became known as the X-Men second generation. Following this mission, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, Havok, and Lorna Dane (as well as Sunfire) all left the team allowing the remaining new members and Cyclops to become the new X-Men.
New X-Men
The newly formed team was comprised of diverse but strong personalities, making them very different from the original team. The new team consisted of adults rather than impressionable teenagers, and both Scott and Xavier found it challenging to get the team to work together. On their second mission, the team battled Count Nefaria, and despite earlier warnings, Thunderbird sacrificed himself for his teammates, and became the first X-Man to die in the line of duty. Subsequent missions had also put the new team against former X-Men members such as Havok and Lorna Dane (now going by the name of Polaris), who were under the influence of Shi’ar agent Eric the Red, and Kierrok and his N’gari. It was during these early periods that readers got their first glimpses of Moira MacTaggert, Black Tom Cassidy, and Lilandra.
During a Christmas trip to New York City, the X-Men and Marvel Girl were attacked by Sentinels, which led to the capture of Jean, Banshee and Wolverine. The remaining X-Men were dispatched to space to save the Starcore space station and their teammates. The team was attacked by Erik the Red, and robot duplicates of the original team along with Havok and Polaris. On the escape back to Earth, the spaceship was badly damaged and could not be piloted through use of auto pilot. After telepathically absorbing the information necessary to pilot the ship from Dr. Peter Corbeau, Marvel Girl volunteered to fly the ship back to Earth. She assumed that by creating a psionic shield of telekinetic energy she would be safe, and simultaneously forced Cyclops to sleep as she flew the ship back to Earth. Unfortunately, her body could not handle the strain and she perished. However, she is approached by a mysterious force that calls itself the Phoenix, and breathes new life into her. Her old burnt body is discarded as she was absorbed into the new body created by the force, perfectly identical to her old self in appearance. The ship landed in the Hudson Bay with all the X-Men safe, but they could not find Jean. While searching for Jean, she emerged from the river in a completely different costume and a fiery voice, and declared a new identity as the Phoenix. The team was uneasy but grateful that Jean had survived, but they quickly noticed that her powers were much more than they were before. She easily performs feats that she was never able to as Marvel Girl. At this point Xavier starts having visions of an alien being.
Phoenix Saga
Immediately after, the team (except Scott and Charles who were looking after Jean) battled the Juggernaut and Black Tom Cassidy in Ireland, but before they were defeated, Jean as the Phoenix saved them. Cassidy was working for Erik the Red, a member of another race (Shi'ar) whom along with the help of Firelord, former herald of Galactus (deceived into helping him), seeks to destroy the X-men. Phoenix manages to fight off Firelord, but Xavier is approached by a human-like being from another faraway galaxy, looking for his help. She(Lilandra), a Shi'ar, was led there by the telepathic connection she felt to Xavier from such a tremendous distance. She felt that only Xavier, with his abilities could help her and the universe from the impending disaster. However, Erik the Red (who is part of her race) manages to kidnap her and returns to his home planet via a teleporting device. Phoenix used her powers to revive this device, and the X-men find themselves confronted with the Alien race. Their emperor is in possession of the M'kraan Crystal, which Phoenix discovers to be able to destroy the entire universe by creating a black hole if activated. The X-men defeat the Shiar forces and Phoenix manages to deactivate the crystal using her new found psionic powers and bring the X-men back to earth. Much later, Jean is hypnotized by Mesmero and using her telepathic abilities to enhance his powers, Mesmero takes over the entire X-Men and make them work at a circus. They are however saved by Beast who returned from the Avengers. Wolverine manages to provoke Jean into becoming Phoenix, which brings back her memories and she frees everyone from Mesmero's control.
At that point, Magneto appears and easily defeats Mesmero. He confronts the X-men in a caravan, and uses it to transport them to his base beneath a volcano in the antarctic. Their, the X-men fight magneto, but are defeated due to a lack of teamwork and coordination. Magneto ties them up to chairs that inhibit their basic bodily functions rendering them totally helpless. After he departs to Asteroid M to do research, Storm manages to free the team and the X-men ambush and defeat Magneto when he returns. However, the facility collapses, and Jean and Beast are separated from the rest, with each party thinking the other dead. Scott's group end up in the savage land while Jean and Hank manage to reach their mansion, where she informs the professor of the remaining X-men's demise. The X-men meanwhile protects the savage land from a resurrected god and manages to find their way back to their home which was abandoned. They track Jean to Muir island, where she is with Moira Mactaggart and there after a joyful reunion they face Proteus, Moira's deadly reality warping mutant son who kills people and takes over their bodies for survival. Proteus kills Moria's husband and takes over his body. With his memory and needs, Proteus goes after his 'wife' Moria, and manages to defeat most of the X-men in the process but is killed by Colossus. Sean Cassidy (Banshee) and Moira then begin their life together.
Line-up
- Professor X, Kid Vulcan, Darwin, Petra and Sway
- Professor X, Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, Havok, Polaris, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird, Sunfire and Banshee
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird and Banshee
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Banshee
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee and Phoenix
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Phoenix
Early 80s
Dark Phoenix
In one of the most well-known X-Men stories, Jean Grey began to lose control over her powers and personality. She became much more aggressive in dealing with wrong doers. While saving the mutant Dazzler from a Hellfire Club task force, she completely dismantled a car with ease. During this time, the team had recruited a young mutant from Deerfield, Illinois named Katherine "Kitty" Pride. Kitty along with Storm, Colossus and Wolverine are captured by the Hellfire Club and held hostage but was eventually rescued through the efforts of an escaped Kitty and the remaining X-Men, mainly because of Phoenix defeating their leader Emma Frost single handedly.. The members of the Hellfire Club's inner circle were meanwhile plotting on brainwashing Jean into becoming a member. A former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Mastermind, was primarily responsible for the psychic manipulation of Jean Grey. He initiated "time slips" to convince her that she was living in the past as his lover, himself being disguised as the extremely handsome Jason Wyngarde. Even though he was not a telepath, this was made possible using a mind-tap mechanism designed by Emma Frost, allowing him to plant false memories into Jean's mind. The X-men go to the hellfire club where Mastermind manages to put Jean under his control, this time under immediate orders from Sebastian Shaw, causing the 200 year time slip in her mind to think of herself as the Black queen. The X-Men attempted to intervene, but it only led to their capture with the exception of Wolverine, who makes a famous stand against the club's security and Inner Circle. Jean eventually overpowered Mastermind, and through the powers of the Phoenix, she put his mind in touch with the universe, which essentially overwhelmed his mind into catatonia. Her actions had caused her to become overwhelmed by her own powers, with each use of her limitless abilities causing her to get drawn nearer and nearer to her own dark persona, causing her mind to become highly unstable. Without warning, she transforms into the physical manifestation of her dark side as they were preparing to leave the area.
She and X-men engage in a fight, with her trying to destroy them and them, desperately trying to bring her old self back. She defeats them easily, and flies off into outer space, into another galaxy, where she consumes a star for sustenance, causing the deaths of all it's billions of inhabitants. She is detected by a Shi'ar space ship. Having seen what she did to the star system, Lilandra, the Shi'ar empress orders the ship to attack the Phoenix, but the ship is destroyed. Dark Phoenix then returned to Earth, to Jean's house where her family resides. There, she seemingly reverts to her old self and is happy to see her parents and sister, but when she senses the fear in them, she becomes Dark Phoenix again, threatening to kill them. She is stopped by the X-Men along with Beast and Beast confronts Jean in an attempt to calm and help her. With the aid of equipment created by Beast to disrupt Jean's power, they are able to temporarily overpower her but are defeated in the end, but Professor X, aided with the help of Jean from within the Phoenix, engages in a psychic battle with Dark phoenix and manages to defeat the Phoenix persona, putting psychic restraints into her to prevent another transformation.
When all seems well, the X-Men are interrupted by Lilandra and the Shi'ar imperial guard. As empress, Lilandra is bound by Shi'ar laws to kill the Phoenix for the crimes she had committed against their empire, which was the "eating" of a star, and condemning a planetary system to death. The team is transported to the Blue Area of the Moon and Xavier reads Lilandra's mind and invokes Arin'n Haelar, a duel of honor that cannot be denied. The X-Men face off against the Imperial Guard of the Shi'ar. Once the X-Men are defeated, and upon seeing Scot getting cut down in front of her Jean loses control of her powers and personality, and the Dark Phoenix persona arises once again. Before Lilandra could order the destruction of the solar system to prevent Phoenix from becoming a threat again, Professor X instructed the X-Men to subdue Jean. But they only manage to weaken her, and only Scott is left with her in the end. Jean tells Scott through tears that she can no longer bear to live as someone who claimed so many lives, and used a Kree weapon to commit suicide, but not before telling him how much she loved him. Scott then realizes that it was her plan all along that if Lilandra's forces failed to kill her, she would take her own life.
Days of Future Past
With the death of Jean Grey, Cyclops left the team and Angel returned. Professor X promoted Storm to team leader and they welcomed Kitty Pride, now codenamed Sprite, onto the team. In an attempt to deter an assassination plot on Senator Kelly by Mystique's Brotherhood of Mutants, Kitty's psyche had switched with that of an alternate time line. In that time line, the world is ruled by Sentinels, and mutants were sent to internment camps and killed. Most of the known X-Men at the time had perished with the exception of Colossus, Storm, Wolverine and Magneto. They were joined with the son of Invisible Woman and Mr Fantastic, Franklin Richards, and the daughter of Cyclops and Jean Grey, Rachel Summers. In order to prevent the apocalyptic future, Kitty traveled back to the past to prevent the death of Senator Kelly. She is successful, however, the alternate time line that she had encountered remained intact.
The next few months are tumultuous for the X-Men. Angel leaves again, while Cyclops intermittently returns, Colossus’ sister Illyana is aged to a teenager, Storm is almost turned into a vampire, Arcade attacked the x-men, the mansion is destroyed and Colossus is gravely injured. The X-Men, along with house guest Carol Danvers, traveled to space with the Starjammers and were kidnapped by Lilandra’s sister Deathbird and the terrifying Brood. This lead to Danvers being transformed into the cosmically powered Binary and the X-Men almost being transformed into Brood creatures themselves. The X-Men returned to Earth to destroy the Brood embryo inside Professor X and discover that in their absence, the Professor has gathered a new group of young mutants, the New Mutants. Kitty was briefly demoted to the junior team until she proved herself against a Sidri Hunter on her own.
God Loves Man Kills
The group calling themselves the Purifiers is laying waste to mutants across the country. They kill entire families, even children without remorse. Two children are killed and hanged in their school playground by a purifier strike team led by Anne, fanatically devoted to her cause. A heated debate is raging between Professor Xavier and Rev.William Stryker on TV, discussing the presence of mutants and their danger to humanity. As Xavier, accompanied by Cyclops and Storm return home from the Studio, they are ambushed and seemingly killed, with the attack made to look like an accident. Their attackers are revealed to be the Purifiers, headed secretly by Stryker himself. As the other X-men investigate the crash site, Wolverine finds out that the bodies recovered did not belong to the three X-Men. They sense an ambush and surprises the hidden purifier team with a direct attack. When things go out of hand, Magneto comes to their aid and they easily take care of the group. The operatives are taken prisoners and tortured by Magneto till they reveal the truth about Stryker and his ministry. Stryker's goal is the annihilation of mutantkind from the face of the Earth. Decades ago, when he realized his own child was a mutant, he killed his wife and child and tried to suicide, but was saved. He regarded this as God's message and considered himself as God's instrument to rid the world of mutants. For years he prepared, gathering resources and people to serve his cause, forming his ministry and thus his 'crusade' against the homo 'superior'.
Professor X is being subjected to chemical torture by Stryker, along with Dr Ramsey. His intention is to break the professor's mind and turn him into a puppet, and thus use his telepathic powers to attack every mutant in existence. After the torture, striker appeals to the Professor, who is no longer aware of his predicament to use his powers to kill Scott and Storm as a test run, which he seemingly carries out, unaware of what he is doing.
Meanwhile Kitty Pryde and Illyana spot a monitoring device outside facing the mansion. When they investigate, they are captured by the purifier Anne and taken to a secluded location for execution. However, Kitty escapes and manages to contact the X-men (despite being chased by Anne), who along with Magneto come to her rescue. However Illyana is still in Anne's custody and taken to their base. The X-men later kidnap Ramsey and from him learns what Stryker is planning to do with Xavier. Magneto attacks the Purifier's stronghold and rescues Illyana along with Storm and Scott (who are revealed to be barely alive, luckily just enough to fool Dr Ramsey's monitoring systems). Anne escapes this attack.
The Reverend commences the final phase of his plan by equipping the professor with a Cerebro-like device that amplifies his sensitivity, and orders him to seek out mutants and people with mutant genetic potential and eradicate them. On Madison Square Garden, he gives a public sermon as the attack is being carried out. The X-men who were preparing to assault Xavier's location is incapacitated. Magneto arrives and tries to stop his sermon but Stryker directs Xavier to focus on Magneto, who is terribly damaged. The crowd goes into chaos and the X-men, led by Cyclops seize this opportunity to attack Xavier. As the professor continues his attack, more and more mutants, including a senator present in the crowd experience pain and bleeding as due to cerebral hemorrhage. Ironically, Anne, who is beside Stryker experiences the same pain and Stryker, seeing she has mutant genes throws her off the podium (despite her intense resistance), killing her. The X-men penetrate deep into the building fighting of the pain and the Purifier forces and manage to stop Xavier, putting an end to the danger. They confront Stryker, who publicly justifies his act as the work of God and prepares to shoot Kitty when he is shot himself by a policeman.
Later, at the X-mansion, Magneto tries to persuade Xavier and the rest of his X-men to join his cause to create a world where mutants rule. The Professor, disillusioned by recent events almost agrees but is stopped by Scott, who gives him hope. As Magneto leaves, he warns that if the X-men fail in their ideals, it will be his turn.
Mastermind's return and Madelyne Pryor
The X-Men discovered that Angel had been kidnapped by a community of underground dwelling mutants calling themselves Morlocks and led by a fierce woman named Callisto. In a duel to the death, Storm fought Callisto for Angel’s life and the leadership of the Morlocks. Storm won, but spared Callisto’s life and allowed her to lead in her absence and by her rules.
In a shocking change to the team, an unexpected visitor comes to the mansion seeking asylum. Former Brotherhood of Mutants member, Rogue, comes to the Professor seeking help with controlling her power. She isn't accepted into the team right away and but proves herself by saving Lady Mariko, Wolverine's betrothed, in Japan who was about to be assassinated. During their stay in Japan, Storm spends time with a thief, Yukio, and realizes that her own personality had changed considerably from the time she joined the X-Men. She found herself resorting to violence more often and easily, and was even ready to kill on certain occasions. In accordance, she adopts a more punk look, cutting her incredibly long hair into a Mohawk and wearing leather and spikes. Combined with her Morlock vest, it is a vast change from her previous looks and temperament. However, on the day of the wedding, Mariko rejects Logan to the team's dismay. As she leaves, the readers are given a brief glimpse of Jason Wyngarde, thus confirming a master plan is in the works.
Meanwhile, Scott, who was on leave, while boarding the plane to visit his family in Canada is shocked to see his pilot - a woman bearing a near perfect resemblance to Jean Grey. Her name was Madelyne Pryor, and they get intimately close within days, as Scott reveals why he is so fixated on her. She meets up with the X-men who have returned from Japan and they are all shocked to see her, but thinks it is mere coincidence. Scott himself however can't shake the feeling that she may in some way be related to Jean, especially after learning that Pryor was the sole survivor of a plane crash that occurred just when Jean died. Later, Scott proposes to Pryor and she accepts, but when he asks her if she really is the reincarnation of Jean, chaos begins as Phoenix seemingly takes her place and knocks him unconscious. It is revealed that Mastermind had recovered from catatonia imposed by Phoenix and seeks revenge against those who loved Jean. The 'Phoenix' later attacks the X-men and they are all led to believe that Jean Grey is back. Xavier, when he uses the Cerebro to learn the truth, is electrocuted. Scott, when he awakes from a dream, finally puts two and two together to arrive at the conclusion that things are not what they seem to be. He devices and executes a plan to lure Wyngarde to the open, which involves evading all the X-men (who are tricked into thinking he is Phoenix) and making Rogue acquire the unconscious Xavier's telepathic powers, which makes her see the truth from Scott's mind. She projects the truth to the X-men just in time when they are attacked by Wyngarde along with Pryor (who is deceived), but defeats him. Wolverine finds out that Mariko does indeed love him and it was all mastermind's ploy from the start. After paying one last visit to Jean's grave, Scott and Madelyne get married in a grant function.
The Summers Family Expands
Soon after on a mission with Alpha Flight against Loki, they discovered that Madelyne was pregnant. This led more and more to her wishing Scott would leave the X-Men.
Shortly after this Rachel Summers, Cyclops’ daughter from Days of Future Past timeline arrived in the present. She became fast enemies with Selene, the new Black Queen of the Hellfire Club and was rescued by Xavier. She joined the X-Men without revealing to Cyclops who she really was. She eventually claimed the power and name of the Phoenix from her mother's holo-empathic crystal.
Unbeknownst to the rest of the X-Men, Professor X’s body wasn’t recovering from a severe beating he had received months earlier by mutant haters. He was slowly on the path to dying and refused to burden his students with it. At this point, he also invited Magneto to stay at the mansion with them as he had begun to repent for his past misdeeds. Also at this time, it was decided that Storm and Cyclops could no longer share the leadership responsibilities and there must be a decision made. They agree to a duel in the Danger Room of which the powerless Storm wins.
Lineups
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Beast and Angel
- Professor X, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Angel and Sprite
- Professor X, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Sprite
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Rogue
- Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue, Rachel Summers and Magneto
Late 80s
At the trial of Magneto in France, Fenris, the twin children of Baron Von Strucker attack Magneto as well as Xavier and Gabrielle Haller. They are defeated but Xavier’s body almost gives out. While he is on the verge of death, he asks Magneto to take over the school for him and then he is taken off to space with the Starjammers. In the months that followed, the team fought the Beyonder as part of the Secret Wars II. Rachel was stabbed by Wolverine when she attempted to assassinate Selene. In the resulting battle between the X-Men, the Hellfire Club and Nimrod, Rachel is whisked away to the Body Shoppe unknown to anyone else.
Mutant Massacre
A group of deadly mutant hunters, the Marauders, start to attack and kill off the Morlocks. Meanwhile, a psychic Marauder, Malice possesses Dazzler, while she's playing in Lila Cheney's band after being outed publicly as a mutant. With Storm being the current leader, she is immediately informed of what is happening below. The team heads into the tunnels and Shadowcat and Nightcrawler are seriously injured. Shadowcat is now trapped in a permanent phased state and Nightcrawler is left in a coma. Colossus also loses control and snaps Riptide's neck. The school is turned into a makeshift hospital for the Morlocks and X-Men who are injured. X-Factor and Thor join the X-Men and New Mutants in ridding the tunnels of the Marauders but the entire civilization is nearly wiped out. X-Factor also sees its own tragedy as Angel is mauled by the Marauders and his wings are ripped apart by Blockbuster and only the timely intervention of Thor saves him. The team also welcomes Psylocke who fought Sabretooth to a standstill and protected the injured at the mansion.
Following the Massacre, the team is also joined by Longshot, a refugee from Mojoworld who appeared one day in the Danger Room. They go to one of Lila Cheney's shows to rescue Dazzler from Malice, and she also joins the evolving team. Meanwhile, in New Mexico, Havok is having dreams of going to the mansion and being attacked by the X-Men. He travels to New York and finds the team staying in the Morlock tunnels, and he learns about the Marauders and the massacre. He says that he wants to help and Havok rejoins the X-Men, while back in New Mexico, Polaris is attacked by the Marauders in the desert. She takes them down before revealing that she's been possessed by Malice and will be the Marauders new leader.
During this period Storm and Magneto jointly accept an invitation to join the Hellfire Club to represent the X-Men in the greater scheme. Storm and the team also begin to think that it may be time for the world to think the X-Men are dead. The X-Men receive a distress call from San Francisco from Madelyne Pryor and head to California to rescue her. In San Francisco, they find her being pursued by the Marauders. Havok is horrified to see Polaris leading the evil mutants, but still takes a killing shot at her to stop her from killing Madelyne. At this point the Marauders true leader is revealed to be Mr Sinister and he forced his team to move into the now mostly deserted Morlock tunnels. Madelyne decides to stay with the X-Men since she believes Cyclops to have abandoned her and her son to be missing.
Fall of the Mutants
For more information regarding this arc, see: Fall of the Mutants
While investigating a disturbance at Eagle Plaza, the home of Forge, the X-Men are confronted by Mystique's newly formed Freedom Force. During the battle, both teams see injuries, but the conflict ends when the sky opens and a deadly prophecy from Destiny occurs.
The scene turns to chaos as Dallas is taken by hordes of cavemen and Native Americans. A citadel also appears in the sky covered by an impregnable vortex. With the combined powers of the X-Men, they invade and find the guardian Roma imprisoned by the Cheyenne mystic, Nazé. Joined by a newly repowered Storm and Forge, the team is forced to sacrifice their own lives to defeat Nazé. The event is televised worldwide, so they X-Men are believed dead by both friend and foe. Little does the world know, Roma offers to restore the heroes to life and the team decides to let the world believe them dead.
Outback and Inferno
For more information regarding this arc, see: Outback and Inferno
The X-Men have now gone from outlaws to figures hiding in the shadows. After Roma's gift of rebirth, Storm uses the X-Men's appeared death to their advantage and moves them to an old Reavers base in the Outback of Australia. The team is now free to strike freely at their enemies and soon enough take advantage of their deadly nemeses, the Marauders.
Manipulation by Mr. Sinister and the recent revelation that Jean Grey was indeed alive slowly forced Madelyne Pryor into a psychosis.
She became unhinged and captured Jean Grey and her baby Nathan Christopher. In conjunction with the demons of Limbo, New York was turned into a demonic version of itself complete with twisted versions of the X-Men. With the New Mutants combating the demons and sealing Limbo and the combined forces of the X-Men and X-Factor, Madelyne was defeated and the team confronted Sinister. After being blasted by Cyclops' optic blast, he was seemingly killed
After the events in Inferno, the X-Men returned to the Outback. The team slowly began to fall apart as they stayed separated from their friends. Rogue sacrificed herself to the Siege Perilous to save the team from the Nimrod/Mastermold robot, Storm was taken prisoner and de-aged by the Nanny (with the team believing her to be killed by Havok), and Longshot leaves the team to find himself. Wolverine was off on a solo mission with no contact to the team.
After receiving a call from Lorna Dane, the remaining X-Men travel to South America and are then brought to the Savage Land along with Lorna by Savage Land Mutates under the control of Zaladane, who claimed to be Polaris' sister. After Zaladane takes Lorna's magnetic powers from her, she develops new powers that cause her to grow taller, stronger, and become invulnerable. After the battle is done the four X-Men are transported back to the outback by Gateway. The team finally dissolves when Psylocke telepathically influences the remaining members into the Siege Perilous in order to save them from a precognitive vision she had of their deaths by the Reavers. Having been cheated out of their revenge on the X-Men, the Reavers took all their aggression out on Wolverine who returned from his solo mission. He was defeated and crucified by the Reavers and would have died if not for being rescued by Jubilee.
At this time every member sees a drastic change in their lives. Polaris travels to Muir Island and joins the group there to defend against a Reavers attack. Psylocke emerges in Japan and is transformed into a Japanese ninja sharing her personality with Kwannon, who now inhabits her body. Colossus appears believing himself to be artist Peter Nicholas and begins dating a changed Callisto. Rogue is found in the Savage Land and is cured to help a multiple personality disorder. She joins Magneto, Ka-Zar and Nick Fury for a revolution against the mutates and Zaladane who have ravaged the land. Dazzler emerges briefly only to be found some time later with Longshot fighting against Mojo in the Mojoverse. Storm is de-aged and joined by a thief, Gambit, and the two form an alliance. For a time, there is no established X-Men team, only featured solo adventures of the Outback team and Forge and Banshee's quest to find the missing X-Men.
Line-ups
- Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue, Phoenix II and Magneto
- Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Magneto, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler and Havok
- Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Magneto, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler, Havok and Madelyne Pryor
- Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler, Havok, Colossus and Madelyne Pryor
- Forge, Banshee, Polaris, Siryn, Legion, Amanda Sefton, Sunder, Moira MacTaggert and Multiple Man
Muir Island Saga
For more Information regarding this arc, see: Muir Island Saga
The X-Men are reunited in space and for the first time members like Psylocke, Jubilee and Gambit had met Professor X. The team is assembled by Lila Cheney in order to help Lilandra and the Professor bring order to the empire. Many of the team as well as the royal family had been replaced by War Skrulls. The team prevails and for the first time in years, Professor X joins his students back on Earth.
Meanwhile, Moira MacTaggert had her own band of mutants on Muir Island which included the super strong Morlock, Sunder; the sonic screaming Siryn, Nightcrawler's former girlfriend, the sorceress Amanda Sefton; the Professor's schizophrenic son Legion; Madrox the Multiple Man; as well as former X-Men Banshee, Forge and Polaris. The team had fended off an attack from the Reavers with the help of the Freedom Force with casualties. The team started to take a darker tone, most noticeably in the behavior and dress of Moira MacTaggert. The Shadow King had been influencing the attitudes of everyone on the Island, intending to use Polaris and her new powers to become a physical entity.
The X-Men are transported to the island thanks to Lila again and are met with X-Factor. The battle ends when Professor X confronts the Shadow King on the astral plane. The result is a defeated Shadow King and a crippled Xavier.
Lineups
Muir Island X-Men
- Banshee, Forge, Polaris, Moira MacTaggert, Sunder, Legion, Multiple Man, Amanda Sefton and Siryn
X-Men
- Professor X, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Psylocke, Rogue, Jubilee and Gambit
X-Factor
- Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast and Archangel
Blue and Gold
Professor X and the X-Men began anew in Westchester, reuniting new members with old. With a membership of sixteen, the X-Men break into two strike forces, the Gold and Blue teams. The teams, led by Cyclops and Storm respectively, combined the classic members with newer X-Men, with Banshee and Forge serving as Mansion staff members and reservists. The teams were as followed:
Blue
- Cyclops, Beast, Wolverine, Rogue, Psylocke, Jubilee and Gambit
Gold
- Storm, Jean Grey, Iceman, Archangel, Colossus and Bishop
X-Cutioner's Song
For more information regarding this arc, see: X-Cutioner's Song
While speaking about equality at a Lila Cheney concert, Xavier was attacked and put into a comatose state, supposedly by Cable, the newest leader of the New Mutants now known as X-Force. While searching for Cable and preserving the Professor's life, Cyclops and Jean Grey are captured by the real attacker, a psionic mutant known as Stryfe. The X-Men join with the new government sponsored version of X-Factor and members of X-Force to clear Cable's name and find the missing X-Men. It is revealed that Stryfe is a clone of Cable and therefore, in a way, a child of Scott and Jean. His rage comes from his supposed abandonment. In order to save the Professor, the team calls upon Apocalypse to counteract the virus making its way through his body. In the end, Stryfe is defeated and the Professor is saved.
Fatal Attractions
For more information regarding this arc, see: Fatal Attractions
Even though the X-Men defeated Stryfe, saved the Professor and rescued Jean and Cyclops, Stryfe still managed a victory in form of a legacy. The Legacy Virus was a disease that attacked only mutants and caused their powers to become powerfully out of control to a fatal end. The virus hit close to home with mutants suffering that had close ties to the X-Men like Pyro, Revanche and Colossus' young sister Illyana Rasputin. Illyana, who had been reverted to childhood following the events of the Inferno, was still a latent mutant in her current form and was the first casualty of the virus. It hit Colossus hard as he had just lost both of his parents soon before. The X-Men held a vigil in her honor with all X-Teams in attendance to mourn her death. Wishing to pay his respects and offer asylum to any and all mutants interested, Magneto crashed the funeral in a show of misplaced aggression. He attacked the X-Teams and if not for the intervention of Colossus, would have lost. Colossus then states that he has lost faith in the dreams of other men, namely Xavier, and wishes to make his own path in a new world and joins Magneto in Asteroid M.
The X-Men waste little time putting together a strike force to infiltrate Asteroid M and discover the true intent of Magneto and the Acolytes. The Professor chooses a small team of Quicksilver, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Jean Grey and himself. The mission is successful until confronted by Magneto. In his rage, Magnus attacks the X-Men and makes short work of most of the team. In one of the most shocking moments in comic history, he aggressively fights Wolverine and rips out his adamantium skeleton. The Professor decides that enough is enough and his former friend cannot be saved and wipes his mind. Jean Grey then takes over leadership and forces the team back to the craft while keeping the Professor breathing and Wolverine alive. In the end, Wolverine is left in a feral state with very little active healing ability and unsure of his life and purpose.
With the Acolytes now in a power struggle, Fabian Cortez assumes leadership over Magneto's followers. He kidnaps Magneto's granddaughter and daughter to Quicksilver and the Avenger, Crystal and claims her in the name of Magneto. This enrages the Avengers and the X-Men who join forces to save Luna and take back Genosha. Cortez is defeated and Exodus takes a leadership role with the Acolytes.
Phalanx Covenant
For more information regarding this arc, see: Phalanx Covenant
After recently returning to the mansion, Banshee notices small oddities with the mansion and its inhabitants. He investigates and finds that the X-Men have been replaced by an unworldly batch of beings who are targeting mutants. With Jubilee, Sabretooth and Emma Frost, he escapes to search for the next team of X-Men as noted by Cerebro. Meanwhile, Jean Grey and Cyclops have been on vacation away from the X-Men, saving themselves from imprisonment by the Phalanx. They join with Cable and Wolverine and search for the missing X-Men. Professor X, who had been offsite as well, gathered X-Force, X-Factor and Excalibur together in an old Acolyte base to form a plan. Knowing that the X-Men have been compromised, the other X-Teams split into three strike forces: one to infiltrate the Phalanx with " Douglock", a resurrected Warlock with the memories of Doug Ramsey; one to confront a cluster of the Phalanx serving as the breeding grounds to a new generation of Earth born Phalanx; and one team to stay at the Acolyte base if all else fails. Forge is successful in creating a feedback which disables the birth of the new Phalanx. Douglock and his team stop the heralding beacon from summoning the rest of the Phalanx.
Cyclops team finds and rescues the captured X-Men almost simultaneously and discovers that Cameron Hodge plays a huge role in allowing the Phalanx entry and knowledge of our world. Banshee saves all but one of the new mutants and he and Emma Frost convert the Massachusetts Academy to a school to train the teenage team of Generation X.
Lineups
X-Men
- Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Banshee, Rogue, Gambit, Psylocke, Archangel, Bishop, Jubilee and Professor X
X-Factor
Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Forge and Random
Excalibur
- Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Captain Britain, Meggan, Daytripper, Douglock, Rachel Summers
X-Force
- Cable, Domino, Cannonball, Siryn, Warpath, Shatterstar, Rictor, Boom-Boom, Feral
Generation X
- Banshee, Emma Frost, Jubilee, Synch, Husk, Skin, M, Chamber, Penance
1990s X-Men
Many X-Overs included
- "The X-Tinction Agenda" The government of Genosha captured mutants and used them as prison labor.
- "The Muir Island Saga" The original X-Factor and Xavier returned to the X-Men to deal with the evil Shadow King.
- " X-Cutioner's Song" Cable's clone and arch-enemy Stryfe, framed the X-Force leader for an attempt on Professor X's life. He also captured and tormented Cyclops and Jean Grey, the genetic parents of both Cable and Stryfe, who were revealed to be time-travelers.
- " Fatal Attractions" Magneto returned, ripping out Wolverine's adamantium and forcing Xavier to mind wipe him. Continues in " Bloodties" and causes the " Onslaught" X-Over.
- " Phalanx Covenant" A collective consciousness infected with the Transmode Virus infiltrated the X-Mansion, kidnapped a small bunch of previously unknown mutants and plotted to eliminate mutant-kind. This crossover results in the teenage mutant group, Generation X.
- " Legion Quest" Professor X is killed by his time-traveling son Legion before he had ever formed the X-Men. This causes an alternate reality to unfolded in which Apocalypse rules North America and Magneto leads the X-Men as a resistance force ( Age of Apocalypse).
- " Onslaught" Professor X lost control of his powers, producing an evil, near-omnipotent secondary personality called Onslaught, which battled the X-Men, The Avengers, and the Fantastic Four.
- " Operation: Zero Tolerance" An anti-mutant army, leading by Bastion, is given government license to hunt down the X-Teams and other mutants.
2000s X-Men
- Grant Morrison revamped the X-Men with his New X-Men run. This was the core X-men book. There weren't any X-Overs in this time. The major story-lines are "E for Extinction", "Riot at Xavier's", "Assault on Weapon Plus", "Planet X" and "Here Comes Tomorrow".
- After New X-Men, Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men became the flagship X-title. It lasted only four story arcs: "Gifted", "Dangerous", "Torn" and "Unstoppable".
- " House of M": after creating an alternate reality, where the mutants are the dominant race, the Scarlet Witch shut off the X-gene in almost the entire mutant population. Wolverine got his memories back.
- " Decimation": the decimation of the mutant race after the events of "House of M".
- " Messiah CompleX": the first mutant birth after "House of M". Different parties fight over the baby.
- " Divided We Stand": the X-Men is disbanded after the events of Messiah Complex.
- " Manifest Destiny": the mutants find a new home in San Franciso.
All New, All Different Marvel
Post-Secret Wars and Conflict with the Inhumans
Following the collision of realities in Secret Wars, an eight-month gap proceeded the multiverse-spanning crossover. Little is known about what has transpired in that time other than that the Inhuman Terrigen Mist, that had been floating in the atmosphere prior to Secret Wars and is responsible for granting the alien race their uncanny abilities, has slowly been poisoning mutants, rendering them infertile, causing their powers to go haywire, and even spreading a disease among mutants called M-Pox that potentially could be transferred to humans. During this time, several characters have alluded to the death of (present day) Cyclops and an incident he was responsible for that increased fear and hatred among humans against all of mutantkind.
All-New X-Men
The time-displaced original X-Men (sans Jean Grey) have dispersed across the country in an attempt to live normal lives. The past versions of Iceman, Beast, and Angel reunite to embark on a road trip and are joined by former Jean Grey School students Oya and Genesis, who have both had their fair share of hard times. When time-displaced Cyclops encounters a group of Cyclops fanatics named the Ghosts of Cyclops, he ends up battling them in a school library which causes both him and another young mutant named Thirst to be arrested. During their time in jail together, Thirst questions whether the young Cyclops is a disgruntled child of his group's idol. Scott reveals that he is indeed the real Cyclops and is in fact ashamed of his future self's actions.
Extraordinary X-Men
Following the demise of the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning, ex-headmistress Storm heads up efforts to combat the effects of the Terrigen Mist that is poisoning all mutants as well as the resulting public backlash due to the spread of M-Pox. To prevent the spread of disease, she has transported nearly all of her former students as well as both human and mutant refugees, to X-Haven, a terraformed deposit of the demonic dimension Limbo, which Magik presides over. However, following an attack by Mister Sinister that takes down nearly half of the team (including their main defense from demonic invasion--Magik), the refugees of X-Haven are forced to step up to protect their new sanctuary.
Uncanny X-Men
Consisting of Magneto, M (Monet St. Croix), Psylocke, an inverted Sabretooth, and a lifeless "droid" Archangel, this group of extreme mutants have banded together to take preventative action against dangerous threats towards mutantkind. Initially taking down the mysterious Someday Enterprises, who had been exploiting mutants by providing a cyrogenic service to take willing mutants out of play until the Terrigen crisis had been averted, the group encounters Apocalypse's minions the Dark Riders, whose mixed mutant/Inhuman membership intend to take out healers from the playing field in order for nature to decide who is fit to survive in this new world: mutants or Inhumans.
IVX: Inhumans Vs X-Men
A flashback later reveals that Cyclops discovered that the Terrigen Mist was poisonous to Inhumans after finding a dying Jamie Madrox. Outraged, Cyclops sends out a psychic message to the world, revealing the truth of the Terrigen. He and his team then set out to destroy the Terrigen Clouds to prevent the extinction of the mutant race. Alchemy manages to destroy one of the two clouds before succumbing to the effects of the Mist and dying. Cyclops vows to destroy the second one, but is confronted by Black Bolt and Medusa, the Inhuman leaders. A fight ensues, and Black Bolt kills Cyclops when he sees him preparing to fire an optic blast. However, it is later revealed that Cyclops had died quite some time ago, and that Emma was simply using his image in order to give him a more meaningful death that could be used to rally the mutants against the Inhumans.
In the present, Beast discovers that there is no stopping the Terrigen Mist from spreading. The remaining cloud is becoming more saturated, and once it shrinks, will dissipate into the atmosphere, rendering the entire planet uninhabitable for mutants. Beast meets with representatives of the various X-teams and suggests that the X-Men prepare to leave the planet, but instead, Emma and Magneto propose a war to destroy the final cloud. The mutants launch an assault on New Attilan, leading to an all-out war between the X-Men and Inhumans. As this is going on, a team of young Inhumans led by Ms. Marvel discover that the Terrigen Mist is killing mutants, and work with Forge and the young Cyclops to try and find a way to stop the conflict. Moon Girl and Iso are able to explain the truth to Medusa, who voluntarily destroys the cloud herself. However, Emma is not sated by this, and unleashes an army of Sentinels that have been programmed to kill Inhumans. The X-Men and Inhumans unite to stop Emma, and upon her defeat, the conflict ends.
ResurrXion
In the aftermath of the conflict with the Inhumans, the X-Men set out to rebuild. Two new X-Men teams formed: X-Men Gold and X-Men Blue. The X-Mansion is relocated to Central Park in New York, with the X-Men wanting to show themselves to world and get back to their roots, led by Kitty Pryde as headmistress. Meanwhile, Magneto takes the time-displaced original X-Men under his wing to Madripoor, acting as their new mentor figure. Meanwhile, Jimmy Hudson, Wolverine's son from the destroyed Ultimate Marvel universe, is revealed to be residing in the mainstream universe after the events of Secret Wars. Jubilee is tasked with leading a new iteration of the Generation X team, consisting of Bling!, Nature Girl, Eye Boy, Quentin Quire, Hindsight and Morph with the help of Chamber and Husk.
X-Men Gold
The X-Men Gold team consisting of Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, Old Man Logan and Rachel Grey, faces a familiar foe in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. However, this time, the team is under Mesmero's influence. The X-Men succeed in defeating and imprisoning him, rescuing Magma in the process, who was under his mind control, as well as taking Cleevus, an unknown alien, into custody in order to further examine him. Following the events of Secret Empire, Cleevus was able to escape and return to the Negative Zone, where he is from, and seek revenge on the X-Men.
A new foe to the X-Men is the mutant-hating activist, Lydia Nance. She has publicly expressed that mutants are a threat to the human race, hoping to wipe them out from existence. It is also revealed that she has paid Mesmero to form the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in order to make mutants look bad in the public eye. Mesmero managed to escape prison with two of his teammates, Avalanche and Pyro, and planned a public attack on the X-Men. While succeeding in stopping them, the X-Men also caused more harm than good as the whole scene was public, and the police were forced to take them into custody, which was Lydia Nance's plan all along. The X-Men were eventually in prison, making Iceman the interim leader of the X-Men Gold team. After learning about Lydia Nance and Mesmero's plans, Pyro decided to leave them and seek asylum with the X-Men. Iceman accepted to take in Pyro as a provisional X-Man.
Line-ups
X-Men Gold: Kitty Pryde, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Old Man Logan, Rachel Summers
X-Men Blue: Magneto, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel
and later: Wolverine (Jimmy Hudson), Bloodstorm, Polaris.
Major Storylines
- The Dark Phoenix Saga
- Days of Future Past
- God Loves, Man Kills
- Mutant Massacre
- Fall of the Mutants
- Inferno
- Days of Future Present
- X-Tinction Agenda
- Muir Island Saga
- X-Cutioner Song
- Fatal Attractions
- Phalanx Covenant
- Age of Apocalypse
- Legion Quest
- Onslaught
- Children of the Atom
- Operation: Zero Tolerance
- The Twelve
- Dream's End
- Eve of Destruction
- E is for Extinction
- Riot at Xavier's
- Assault on Weapon Plus
- Planet X
- Here Comes Tomorrow
- Gifted
- House of M
- Decimation
- Unstoppable
- Deadly Genesis
- Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire
- Endangered Species
- Messiah Complex
- Divided We Stand
- Manifest Destiny
- X-Infernus
- Messiah War
- Utopia
- Nation X
- Necrosha
- Second Coming
- Curse of the Mutants
- The Five Lights
- Age of X
- Schism
- Regenesis
Original X-Men Spin-Off
X-Men: First Class Vol. 1
The original X-Men team; Cyclops, Iceman, Marvel Girl, Beast and Angel, face off new nemesis and team-up with other super heroes. They face off a living plant in Greenland, they enter the mind of Professor Xavier, team-up with Dr. Strange, Thor and Gorilla Man The team also deal with Skrulls, the Lizard and work love problems with Angel and the Scarlet Witch.
X-Men: First Class Special
In this one issue Iceman and Beast try to recruit a museum "statue". The team listens to bad poems and we figure out that Jean had a pet dragon.
X-Men: First Class Vol. 2
A new series goes on with Jean having some girl bonding with the Invisible Girl. Have the team isolated in Island X where Mastermind tricks them to stay there. The team takes some vacations. They face off the Hulk and lose their powers during a Sentinel attack. Later because of a Catalyst they over power and defeat the Sentinels. Later then the X-Men see their future selves and how they could end up. Showing Iceman as a huge monster, Beast is a beast and Jean is a Phoenix. Later the Scarlet Witch is auditioned to be a SHIELD agent and then turns them down. After a mission everybody gets sick except for Cyclops so he has to deal with a maniac and death. The team later teams-up with the Continueteens and defeat Mysterio. The Team then gets a sudden change in members since Angel finds a civilization where he's accepted no matter how he looked while looking for his aunt. While Angel was enjoying being accepted the X-Men get an android as a 5th member of the X-Men, but it turned out that he ended up being consumed by lava because he wanted to look human but couldn't although Jean saved his brain. Back home the team talked on how they missed Angel.
Alternate Realities
Age of Apocalypse
After Legion killed his own father Xavier, the X-Men of the Age of Apocalypse reality was led by Magneto. They fight against Apocalypse´s hordes of evil soldiers. There were two teams, Astonishing and Amazing, and members included Rogue, Blink, Iceman, Sabretooth, Morph, Banshee, Storm, Dazzler, Exodus, Nightcrawler, Quicksilver, Sunfire and Wild Child. They are more violent and, in some occasions, could use fatal actions.
When the X-Men found Bishop and learned about the main reality, Magneto created and make alliances with parallel groups of mutants and heroes to finally destroy Apocalypse. X-Calibre: Nightcrawler goes through Infernal Gallop to find Destiny, in order to verifies Bishop´s story. Gambit and the Xternas: They should steal M´kraan Crystal in Shi´ar Empire. Generation Next: Led by Colossus and Shadowcat, they must rescue Illyana, Colossus sister and the last time travel mutant.
Ultimate X-Men
Professor Xavier starts an X-Men team which includes Cyclops, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Storm, Beast and Colossus. Later while fighting Sentinels the team recruited Iceman. The Brotherhood of Mutants sent a spy to infiltrate the X-Men group to kill Professor X. They sent Wolverine. Magneto, The Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Toad, Multiple Man, the Blob and Mastermind form the Brotherhood and they had kidnapped the President´s daughter. The X-Men saved her and in the last moment Wolverine had a change of heart and instead of killing Xavier he tried to kill Magneto, while he sent Sentinels to kill humans. In the end Xavier killed Magneto with the help of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch.
Xavier then started helping Wolverine to find out where were the people who gave him the metal implants. Weapon X did all the implants and they found it. Then the X-Men were abducted by Weapon X and were tortured and they even made Beast blue.
Ultimate Alpha Flight arrived and seemingly kill Iceman and now the X-Men face these strange super powered team. Beast puts Iceman back together but Alpha Flight arrive to take Northstar, something that Colossus isn't very happy about. Alpha Flight was under the influence of a power enhancing drug called Banshee. Taking Northstar had Colossus so mad Dazzler, Nightcrawler, Rouge and him went after Alpha Flight. Cyclops went along to prevent anything stupid from happening. The Acolytes appeared into the picture and caused the death of Northstar. Colossus and the rest of the people who went along went under Banshee drug and enhanced their powers. Dazzler could maneuver her powers to create anything, Rouge could keep the power she absorbed, Nightcrawler could go to greater lengths, Colossus became stronger, and Cyclops could control his eye beams and fly.
Jean Grey had taken it into her own hands to lead the X-Men and she was driving them around pretty hard. Nightcrawler contacted her saying that they needed help from themselves because they were addicted to the power enhancer. Wolverine had figured out that he was positive to have been dosed with Banshee so he went to Peter Parker for help to sort things out. Kitty and Peter were dealing with Banshee addicts themselves when Wolverine arrived. Peter explained that he was positive because he was Banshee the drug was made by taking properties of him. The X-Men went after the addicted X-Men and fought it off. Jean went off for a moment while she talked to her father as Phoenix when then she fell unconscious. Logan blamed Colossus for it so he took his heart out for it.
Both X-Men embark on a flight until Phoenix stops it all. Everyone cools down for the exception of Cyclops that flies to the moon. During the fight Wolverine looses a leg to Colossus. Phoenix show to Colossus that Northstar is okay except that he is paralyzed from the waist down. Colossus and Wolverine are fixed up by Jean after that and then Jean heads to the moon. Wolverine using some of the Banshee Colossus bought he tracked it down to Muir Island blaming Xavier for it. Jean talked to Scott and after that he said he wanted to keep the power the Banshee started wearing off so she put his glasses back on. The Prof. was who created Banshee from Wolverine along with Magneto but Moira distributed it. She fought Wolverine with her "Screaming" powers. In the end Wolverine destroyed the whole facility. Quicksilver then arrived an told Moira that Magneto had newer plans for the near future.
20 Years into the future a new X-Men team that consisted of Captain America, Wolverine, Shadowcat, Rogue and a male Phoenix wanted to prevent the events of Ultimatum so they traveled back in time to stop it.
Reed and Sue were going to go on a date when the future X-Men arrived trying to kill Reed. Reed not having any internal organs couldn't be killed so they kidnapped him. The rest of the Fantastic Four went to the present X-Men for help. Reed discovered that the future male Phoenix was actually his son Franklin Richards. Then future Wolverine attempted to kill Phoenix. Then the rest of the future X-Men discovered that future Wolverine was actually a Sentinel from the future. By the time the FF and present X-Men got there many Wolverine Sentinels had been destroyed had killed Rouge and had taken Reed into the future. Captain America was dying and Jean unmasked him revealing he was actually Scott. He told the group that himself, Jean and the original Cap had been stripped away of their powers so he took over as Captain America after Steve Rogers aged 100 years, then he died. In the future Iceman was captured by the Sentinels and Reed escaped his cell when he followed a trail of fire. Thinking it to be Johnny he then saw the future Fantastic Four: Invisible Woman, Iron Thing, Namor and Firestar.
The future X-Men, or what was left of them told the present X-Men and FF that the reason that they needed to stop it all was because the new ruler was getting rid of mutants. That new ruler was Sue. Future Sue convinced present Reed to fix a machine that would strip away people of their powers just like Cyclops´s Reed gave to her request while the present X-Men, present FF, and future X-men went into the future to find out what was going on. Ben and Firestar found out that both of them in the future were in love and Iceman found himself being killed by Namor. Sue met Nihil again then just to find out that he was actually future Reed. Future Phoenix turned everyone in to his mother. Reed then took away future Sue´s powers since clearly she had gone crazy because of her brother´s death. Everyone let the future hero´s free from a prison in the Negative Zone Sue had made to maintain the super powered heroes. The present FF and X-Men went back to their own time and Sue and Reed left to be alone. Sue told Reed she was worried that would eventually happen to them, but Reed assured that it would not. Sue left and then from a drawer Reed took out a ring, sure that, that future would not happen.
Ultimatum and Beyond
In Ultimate X-Men #100 we find that The Academy of Tomorrow has been attacked by Madrox on behalf of Magneto. There are several multiples of Madrox with bombs strapped to their chest and when the Cyclops, Iceman and Rogue arrive the school is in flames and Northstar and Polaris are shown as dead. It is assumed that anyone inside has perished. During Ultimatum, a number of the X-Men are killed, including Dazzler, Nightcrawler and Beast, who die when Magneto's tidal wave hits New York. Magneto then kills Charles by ambushing him in his office and snapping his neck, while Angel is mauled to death by Sabretooth. Wolverine is killed by Magneto during the final battle, and Magneto himself is soon after killed by Cyclops. Cyclops himself is the final victim, dying after Quicksilver sends a bullet through his skull at super speed.
Following the events of Ultimatum, the remaining X-Men are reduced to a small, scrappy band of survivors. They are forced to contend with a Sentinel attack from William Stryker, Jr. while they fight to stay alive in this new world. For a time, the team is also joined by Johnny Storm, formerly of the Fantastic Four. Their ranks also expand to include Jimmy Hudson, the son of the deceased Wolverine. During this time, the team is also joined by characters Armor and a new mutant named Mach 2, who clashes with Kitty Pryde over leadership. Around this time, a mutant cure is offered, with many people taking it.
The X-Men are eventually gifted a small mutant reservation by Steve Rogers, the new American president. The soil is irradiated, but they are (with the help of a new mutant named Blackheath) eventually able to concoct a new type of seed that will grow in any environment. When the time-displaced Earth-616 X-Men land in the Ultimate Universe, they team up with Miles Morales and the Ultimate X-Men on a mission to fight Ultimate Doctor Doom. The Ultimate X-Men make their last appearance in Secret War, where they are part of the Ultimate heroes warring against the Earth-616 heroes. In the end, both groups unite to face God Doom.
Nocturne's Home Reality
In Nocturne's home reality, Wolverine killed Professor Xavier in a berserker rage and became paralyzed when he died. Wolverine became the new leader of the X-Men team which consisted of Nightcrawler who was field commander, Nocturne, Kitty Pryde, Armageddon, Plague who was a embodiment of the Legacy Virus and the Phoenix Force who inhabited Colossus' dead body.
X-Men 2099
The X-Men of 2099 were Cerebra, Krystalin, Desert Ghost, Meanstreak, Bloodhawk, La Lunatica, Skullfire, Metalhead, Sham, Junkpile and Serpentina.
Main article: X-Men 2099.
Earth X
The X-Men on Earth X were led by Cyclops, just calling himself Mr. S. Members were Dogface, Tower, Double-Header, Charmer and Mermaid.
Mutant X
The X-Men in the Mutant X reality was led by Magneto. Members were Mystique, Nightcrawler, Polaris, Quicksilver, Rogue and Cerebro.
The Original Line-up was Beast ( Brute), Angel ( Fallen), Jean Grey, Havok and Iceman.
Former members included Bloodstorm, Shadowcat and Colossus.
Here Comes Tomorrow
The X-Men of the Here Comes Tomorrow reality was lead by Cassandra Nova. Members were Wolverine, Beak ( Tito Bohusk), Tom Skylark and Rover, E.V.A. and Martha Johanson.
Earth-1815
In this reality, where the Exiles were sent on their first mission, Professor X was evil and intended to kill all humans. He lead the X-Men, and members included: Juggernaut, Chamber, Domino, Human Torch and Spider-Woman ( Jessica Drew).
X-Men NOIR
In this reality (set in the 1930's), the X-Men are a gang of sociopaths (instead of mutants) who were led by the now incarcerated physicist Professor Charles Xavier. Professor Xavier believes sociopath is the next step in human evolution. The X-Men are framed for killing their own member Jean Grey by way of three cuts over the back and face. Leader of the police force known as " The Brotherhood" named Magnus is put in charge of the investigation. As the search for the X-Men continues more and more of them are found dead. When a member of the city's police tracks down the X-Men's new leader Scott Summers and is informed that someone is setting them up. When he tells them to go to the police Scott responds. "We're the X-Men, and no one is on our side". Meanwhile a mysterious man in a bright red cape is investigating the crimes himself.
After Warren Worthington is thrown from a roof top and Hank McCoy is shot and killed in a run in with The Brotherhood, Magnus orders the Brotherhood to take down Sebastian Shaw (a powerful mob boss) and his Hellfire Club. Magnus believes with the X-Men out of his way and the Hellfire club killed off, the city will be "his". He meets with Anne-Marie Rankin to learn the whereabouts of the last few X-Men but she kills him instead. The caped figure later realizes that Jean Grey is not dead. What happened was that she killed Anne-Marie Rankin and took her place, because she wanted to avoid being studied by Xavier or exploited by Magnus. She then says she knows that the caped figure cannot kill her and pulls a gun on him but he then reveals that he is the twin brother of who she thinks he is and then pushes her off the roof causing them both to fall to their death.
His twin, accompanied by Scott finds their bodies and says that he lost him years ago by what he had become. He recants about how when he and his brother both worked at a prison they started the whole cape thing because it made the inmates think he was in two places at the same time (making it seem like he has super powers). They meet up with Logan and sail off together.
Egg's Men
In the Showcase No. 65, It's revealed on Earth-Twelve the X-Men exist as the Egg's Men. Led by Dean Egghead, the Egg's Men were evolutionary throwbacks.
The Cancerverse
In The Cancerverse, the "Ex-Men" are an army of grotesque and feral bio-weapons who gestate inside large tumor-like eggs that are being grown within the bodies of gargantuan bio-organic warships.
The Ex-Men were first seen when one of the warships began birthing millions of eggs into the debris field composed of dead ships and interstellar flotsam from other realities and future timelines and began to hatch from the eggs.
With the aid of Talon from The Fraternity of Raptors, Ch'od, Raza and a handful Imperial Guardsmen tried fending the abominations off until Quasar ( Wendell Vaughn) and Oracle could successfully warn the Shi'ar Empire of the coming darkness.
But just when all hope of defeating the creatures and their warships seemed lost, Gladiator ditched a Galactic Council Meeting and arrived at the debris field to help turn the tides in favor of The Imperial Guard Fault Exploration Team by focusing on destroying the warships while the others deal with The Ex-Men.
Earth 4011 (Wolverine The End)
In the future, after the death of the Professor, according to Logan, the X-men became a fascist group who care more about their image then doing the right thing. Two of their more prominent members are Kristin and Sarin.
Other Media
Television
The X-Men made their first animated appearance on the 1960s The Marvel Superheroes. This was a television series with all the original X-Men line-up (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the Iceman ). Originally, Grantray-Lawrence Animation wanted to make a Fantastic Four cartoon but Hannah Barabara got the rights to it, so they substituted them with the X-Men. The X-Men made their appearance in the Sub-Mariner episode " Doctor Doom's Day". Strangely enough, they were never actually referred to as the X-Men. They were, instead, referred to as the Allies for Peace, however the characters all went by their names from the comics and had their original designs from the comics as well. Magneto also made a guest appearance on Hannah Barabara's Fantastic Four Cartoon. Reed Richards bamboozles him by using a wooden gun and when Magneto tries to manipulate he cannot and thinks powers have faded.
Having two members of the X-Men (Iceman and Firestar, retroactively) as regulars on the show it only makes sense that the X-Men guest-starred in quite a few episodes of "Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends," starting with a flashback in the episode titled "The Origin of Iceman." Appearing in this episode are the original X-Men (Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and the Iceman) and Professor Xavier. The X-Men's next appearance in this show was in the episode "A Firestar is Born", including appearances from Professor X, Cyclops, Angel, Wolverine, Storm, and even Juggernaut (plus Magneto and a Sentinel in cameo appearances).
In 1989, Marvel Productions made a pilot episode for a potential X-Men series. The pilot was entitled Pryde of the X-Men. It followed Kitty Pryde joining up with the X-Men. This series featured Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. It also had several members of the brotherhood including Magneto, Toad, Juggernaut, Pyro, The White Queen and many others for the X-Men to fight. The series was never picked up.
X-Men: The Animated Series premiered in 1992 with its unfinished pilot Night of the
Sentinels Part 1. It was run on Fox's Saturday morning line up. Its team regular roster was made up of Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Gambit, Wolverine, Storm, and Beast. The show did feature other X-men as well, such as Colossus, Nightcrawler, Forge, Havok, Polaris, Cannonball, Banshee, Iceman, Angel, Longshot, Cable, Bishop and an original character named Morph (who would later be introduced in the comic universe in the Exiles comics). The show was immensely popular and lasted 5 seasons. When it aired in Japan it got an entirely new opening complete with animeesque animation and j-pop lyrics. The rest of the show was basically the same. The series also spawned it's own comic spin-off which was entitled X-Men: Adventures. This series lasted 15 issues and then was cancelled. The TV series also earned #13 in IGN's top 100 animated series, surpassing shows such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Avatar: The Last Air Bender.
The WB tried it's own X-Men show in 2003. It was called X-Men: Evolution, with a tone and cast inspired by the movies. Its original team roster consisted of: Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Storm. They are joined by Nightcrawler, Shadow Cat, Spyke, Rogue, and Beast.
Over the course of the show, more characters such as Angel, Boom-Boom, Multiple, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Berserker, Jubilee, Gambit, Colossus, and X-23 appeared, giving the show one of the largest cast of mutants to date.
The series was set in the fictional New York town of Bayville, and featured teenage versions of the X-Men. The teens were opposed by members of the Brotherhood, who in this show consisted of teen versions of Quicksilver, The Blob, Avalanche, and Toad, and were led by Mystique. Scarlet Witch joined the Brotherhood in the later seasons, proving to be a powerful enemy. Other villains included Magneto and Sabretooth, as well as Apocalypse, who acted as the main antagonist of the show's final season.
The series is notable for introducing the original characters Spyke and X-23, both of whom were created exclusively for the show. The series proved popular enough that Spyke inspired a similar X-Force member in the comics called The Spike, while X-23 officially appeared in the comics shortly after the show ended.
The show ran for 4 seasons before ending. This show also inspired a comic book spin-off but it was cancelled after 9 issues due to low sales.
2009 saw the release of Wolverine and the X-Men. The show revolves around Wolverine taking over as leader of the X-Men when Charles Xaiver goes missing. The series only ran for one season before being canceled due to financial issues.
Wolverine appeared in the kid friendly show Super Hero Squad, other X-Men have made an appearance and played supporting roles, including Storm and Iceman.
The X-Men also appeared in the 12-episode anime series, known simply as X-Men. In the series, the X-Men were sent to Japan and save Armor from the U-Men, a human cult who harvests mutant organs to gain superhuman abilities. As the show progresses, the X-Men come into conflict with the Hellfire Club and Mastermind, as well as Takeo Sasaki, Professor Xavier's illegitimate son.
In 2014, the same year as the release of the Days of Future Past movie, the X-Men guest-starred in several episodes of the Toei-produced Japanese anime series Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers.
The team in the series consisted of Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and Iceman, with Cyclops and Beast as additional members who were captured by Loki and trapped in DISKs in the first story arc.
During the course of the story, the team encountered and recruited Noriko Ashida, a young Japanese girl who would end up going by the code name Surge.
Films
The first X-Men movie, released in 2000, introduced the main lineup of characters to be used through the trilogy. This included Wolverine, Rogue, Professor X, Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey. The main premise was the mutant registration act. Magneto and his brotherhood (Mystique, Sabretooth, and Toad) attempted to create a machine to turn normal humans into mutants.
X2 was released in 2003. The movie introduced several new characters to the film franchise, including Nightcrawler. It also expands on the back story of several younger mutants introduced here and in the first movie. The movie is centered around William Stryker's goal to destroy all mutants. The X-Men are forced to work together with their enemies in order to stop a worldwide genocide. This move also explores Wolverine's roots, seeing his return to the Weapon X base and facing off against a Stryker-controlled Lady Deathstrike.
X-Men 3: The Last Stand was released in 2006, following a major change in the creative team behind the films. The younger mutants begin to take a more central role in this film, as a love triangle is developed between Iceman, Shadowcat, and Rogue. This film also introduces the rest of the original X-Men lineup: Beast and Angel. It addresses many of the key character's origin stories, including Jean Grey. This film draws heavily on the "mutant cure" stories from the comics, while threading in a Dark Phoenix-like story.
In 2009 the first solo spin-off movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released, it focused on Wolverine's origin story from childhood through his adamantium infusion. The plot is based on William Stryker's goal of creating the perfect weapon, Deadpool/Weapon XI, to hunt and destroy mutants. Gambit makes his first movie appearance, and Cyclops is shown in his youth. Versions of Silver fox and Emma Frost are also included. Other members of the Weapon X program, such as Blob, Agent Zero, and Sabretooth, are depicted in the film.
X-Men: First Class, The fifth film in the series, released in 2011, is a prequel to the first three movies. It is set during the 1960’s and focuses on the relationship between a young Charles (Professor X) and Eric (Magneto), as well as the early days of the first X-Men team.
2013 saw the release of the second spin-off film, The Wolverine. The movie was set in Japan and fetured the debuts of longtime X-Men characters such as Mariko Yashida, Harada, and Viper.
The seventh movie, X-Men: Days of Future Past, was released in 2014 to rave reviews. The movie, which is a sequel to both First Class and The Last Stand, sees the remaining X-Men sending Wolverine back in time from the 2020's to the 1970's in order to stop a young Mystique from murdering Bolivar Trask and inadvertently giving rise to a future controlled by the Sentinels. The movie features the largest cast of X-Men to date, including newcomers Quicksilver, Bishop, Warpath, Blink, and Sunspot.
A follow-up, X-Men: Apocalypse, would be released in 2016. The film was set in the new timeline created at the end of the previous movie, focusing on Professor X, Magneto and Mystique, as well as young versions of Cylcops, Jean Grey and Nightcrawler. Apocalypse was featured as the main villain. Unlike Days of Future Past, Apocalypse received mixed reviews, though it did well overseas.
Another spin-off, entitled Deadpool, was released the same year. Unlikely Apocalypse, it received positive reviews and was a huge hit at the box office. A sequel was announced for 2018.
Logan, the final Wolverine movie to feature Hugh Jackman, was released in 2017. The film was both a critical and box office success.
The final Fox X-Men film was The New Mutants in 2020.
At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Feige name dropped "the Mutants" at the Marvel Studios panel, indicating a Phase 4 X-Men film is in the works.
Video games
Early X-Men games
The first X-Men video game was released by Josh Toevs and LJN for the NES and was called The Uncanny X-Men. That same year (1989) a computer game was also released called X-Men: Madness in Murderworld.
Konami also created an X-Men arcade game in 1992, which featured six playable X-Men characters: Colossus, Cyclops, Dazzler, Nightcrawler, Storm, and Wolverine.
The game was based on the unsold Pryde of the X-Men pilot, and featured the X-Men fighting various enemies in order to defeat Magneto and rescue the Professor and Kitty Pryde from Asteroid M. Characters such as the Sentinels, the Reavers, Pyro, the Blob, Nimrod, Emma Frost, the Juggernaut, Mystique, Wendigo and the Living Monolith were featured as enemies.
X-Men proved to be a huge success, and is often cited as one of the best X-Men games ever made, and one of the best Marvel games in general.
X-Men games co-starring Spider-Man
In 1992, the X-Men teamed up with Spider-Man for Spider-Man/X-Men: Arcade's Revenge for every major system of the time.
The X-Men made a few appearances in Spider-Man 2: Enter Electro. Professor X ( Daran Norris) and Rogue ( Jennifer Hale) run a Danger Room simulation for the player to train in. Beast ( Dee Bradley Baker) appears in the first level to demonstrate the controller functions to the player.
Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo's X-Men games
In the 1990s, Sega released two popular X-Men video games for its Sega Genesis; X-Men and X-Men 2: Clone Wars.
Wolverine starred in a solo game in 1994 for both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis called, Wolverine: Adamantium Rage.
In 1994, the X-Men got their own game for the Super Nintendo called X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse.
Fighting Games
The X-Men also starred in many 2-D fighting games such as 1994's X-Men: Children of the Atom (Capcom). The game was inspired by the animated TV show, and featured Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Colossus, Psylocke and Iceman as playable characters, with Omega Red, a Sentinel, Spiral and Silver Samurai appearing as playable villains. The Juggernaut and Magneto appeared as the two boss characters (unplayable in the arcade version, but playable in the home versions via cheat codes), while Akuma appeared as secret character. The plot was a loose adaptation of the Fatal Attractions storyline from the comics, with the X-Men battling evil mutants in order to confront Magneto on Asteroid M.
Wolverine, Psylocke, Magneto and Juggernaut were subsequently featured in 1995's Marvel Super Heroes, another fighting game from Capcom. Marvel Super Heroes featured a more diverse roster of characters from other franchises like Spider-Man and the Avengers. The plot was a loose adaptation of the Infinity Gauntlet crossover from the comics, with the heroes of Earth uniting to save the universe from Thanos.
Capcom followed this up with X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), a crossover with the popular series of Japanese fighting games. Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Juggernaut and Magneto returned from Children of the Atom, while Rogue, Sabretooth and Gambit made their debuts as playable characters in the series. Apocalypse served as the game's final boss, transforming into a gigantic form. X-Men vs. Street Fighter was the first formal installment of the Marvel vs. Capcom series (as well as Capcom's broader Capcom Vs. series, which would include installments like Capcom vs. SNK, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom and Street Fighter X Tekken). It also introduced the popular tag feature to the series, with players selecting two characters who could swap out during battle.
The game proved successful enough to spawn another installment, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, in 1997. Only Wolverine and Omega Red returned as playable characters, while Apocalypse served as the sub-boss. This time, Cyber-Akuma, a version of Akuma who had been transformed into a Horseman of Apocalypse, appeared as the true final boss. Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, followed in 1998, with Wolverine and Gambit being the only returning X-Men characters. The plot was loosely adapted from the Onslaught crossover, with Onslaught serving as the final boss. Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes debuted in 2000, and thanks to upgraded hardware, brought back a massive number of X-Men characters from the past games, including Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Omega Red, Colossus, Rogue, Gambit, Silver Samurai, Sabretooth, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Magneto, Spiral, the Sentinel and Iceman. The game also added new fighters Cable and Marrow into the mix.
After the X-Men license passed from Capcom to Activision, Activision and Paradox Development (the makers of the Wu-Tang Clan fighting game) released X-Men: Mutant Academy in 2000. The game was released to tie into the first live-action movie, and actually featured the movie costumes as alternate outfits for the characters. Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm, Beast, Gambit and Phoenix appeared as the playable X-Men, while Mystique, Toad, Sabretooth and Magneto showed up as boss characters who could be unlocked. Apocalypse was also featured as a secret character, while Pyro appeared as an exclusive boss character in the Game Boy version. The game was followed by X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 in 2001, which added Forge, Havok, Juggernaut, Nightcrawler, Professor X, Rogue, Psylocke and Spider-Man to the cast. When the next generation of game consoles rolled around, Activision released a third and final game in the series, X-Men: Next Dimension, for the PS2. Wolverine, Storm, Cyclops, Phoenix, Beast, Forge, Gambit, Psylocke, Magneto, Toad, Nightcrawler, Mystique, Rogue, Pyro, Bastion, Dark Phoenix, Betsy (an alternate version of Psylocke with different powers), Bishop, Lady Deathstrike and the Sentinel were all playable. The game had an original story which featured Bastion as the main antagonist. X-Men: Next Dimension was notable for being one of the first games to use the X-Men's then-recent leather outfits from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's New X-Men run, rather than the Jim Lee-designed outfits that had been used in all of the Capcom fighting games. It was also notable for bringing in Patrick Stewart, the actor who portrayed Professor X in the live-action films, to voice him in the game. The Activision games played similar to the Capcom games, with Next Dimension outright lifting moves from the Marvel vs. Capcom series.
Magneto, Storm and Wolverine also appear in Electronic Arts' 3-D fighting game Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects. Unlike the Capcom and Mutant Academy games, Marvel Nemesis was not very successful upon release. Electronic Arts began work on a new Marvel fighting game (with working titles ranging from Marvel Chaos to simply Marvel). Characters like Wolverine, Phoenix and Juggernaut were planned to appear, but the game was cancelled.
After Electronic Arts lost the rights to make Marvel games, Capcom was able to release Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, in 2011. Wolverine, Storm, Magneto and the Sentinel returned, while Phoenix, Deadpool and X-23 made their debuts as playable characters.
Film-based games
To coincide with the release of the third film, Activision has released X-Men: The Official Game which filled in gaps between X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, such as explaining Nightcrawler's absence from the third film.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Two role-playing video games entitled X-Men Legends (2004) and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (2005) were also released to great success. Patrick Stewart reprised his role as Professor X from the live-action films.
Deadpool, Iceman, Storm, and Wolverine are playable in the major Marvel video game, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, the follow-up/spiritual successor to the X-Men Legends games. Colossus is playable on the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 versions of the game, and Jean Grey is playable on the GBA version. Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Professor X, and Psylocke appear as NPC's on all versions while Beast, Forge, Karma and Dr. Moira MacTaggert were mentioned by different characters. In addition, during a cut-scene, Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Gambit, Magneto, Professor Xavier, Psylocke, and Shadowcat were seen defeated by Doctor Doom alongside the Hulk. Xbox 360 owners were later able to download eight new playable characters for the game, including X-Men heroes and villains: Cyclops, Magneto, Nightcrawler, and Sabretooth.
In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Wolverine, Deadpool, Iceman, Storm, Gambit, and Jean Grey are featured as playable characters while Cyclops and Psylocke are exclusive to PS2, PSP and Wii and Colossus appears as an NPC. In the briefing that follows the Wakanda incident, Captain America and Iron Man mention that the other X-Men members have been absorbed into The Fold. Psylocke, Cable, Magneto and Juggernaut were later added as downloadable characters for Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.
X-Men Destiny
A host of new and old X-Men characters are set to appear in this game due for release in Fall 2011. Character's confirmed so far include Cyclops, Emma Frost, Northstar, Iceman, Nightcrawler, Surge, Pixie etc. In the game player's will choose one of three ready made character along with one of the three core powers which include Density Control, Energy Projection or Shadow Matter. In the game the player's will choose the fate of their chosen character which will decide whether they fight with the X-Men or the Brotherhood of mutants. Other X-Men villains will appear in the game including Magneto, Quicksliver, Toad etc and the Purifiers.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order
After an extended hiatus, the X-Men returned to the world of console video games with 2019's Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, a Nintendo Switch exclusive. The X-Men are prominently featured in the game's initial roster, with Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Deadpool and Magneto all appearing as playable characters. Additionally, Cyclops and Colossus were later added to the game as free DLC characters. In 2020, a DLC pack called X-Men: Rise of the Phoenix, was released, which added Jean Grey, Gambit, Iceman and Cable to the game.
Novels
Five Decades of X-Men
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Star Trek: The Next Generation / X-Men: Planet X
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The Ultimate X-Men
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X-Men
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X-Men 2
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X-Men & Spider-Man: Time's Arrow Book 1 - The Past
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X-Men & Spider-Man: Time's Arrow Book 2 - The Present
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X-Men & Spider-Man: Time's Arrow Book 3 - The Future
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X-Men & The Avengers: Gamma Quest Book 1 - Lost and Found
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X-Men & The Avengers: Gamma Quest Book 2 - Search and Rescue
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X-Men & The Avengers: Gamma Quest Book 3 - Friend or Foe?
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X-Men: Codename Wolverine
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X-Men: Dark Mirror
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X-Men: Empire's End
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X-Men: Law of the Jungle
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X-Men Legends
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X-Men: Mutant Empire Book 1 - Siege
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X-Men: Mutant Empire Book 2 - Sanctuary
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X-Men: Mutant Empire Book 3 - Salvation
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X-Men: Prisoner X
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X-Men: Shadows of the Past
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X-Men: Smoke and Mirrors
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X-Men: Soul Killer
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X-Men: The Chaos Engine Book One - Doctor Doom
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X-Men: The Chaos Engine Book Two - Magneto
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X-Men: The Chaos Engine Book Three - Red Skull
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X-Men: The Chaos Engine Trilogy
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X-Men: The Jewels of Cyttorak
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X-Men: The Last Stand
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X-Men: The Legacy Quest Trilogy Book One
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X-Men: The Legacy Quest Trilogy Book Two
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X-Men: The Legacy Quest Trilogy Book Three
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X-Men: The Legacy Quest Trilogy Omnibus
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X-Men: The Return
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X-Men: Watcher On the Walls
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Merchandise
The X-Men have been featured in countless forms of merchandise over the years. The first X-Men figures were of Wolverine and Magneto, which were included in Mattel's Secret Wars line. The X-Men got their big break when the Marvel license transferred to ToyBiz, who began producing figures based on the comics. This soon expanded to include the 90s animated series, and the resulting toys proved extremely popular. As time went on, ToyBiz also produced figures for the live-action X-Men movies and the X-Men Evolution cartoon. The X-Men began appearing in ToyBiz's 6-inch Marvel Legends line, and eventually proved popular enough that they fronted their own spin-off line called X-Men Classics.
The license later transferred to Hasbro, who produced some figures for X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but largely stopped making movie figures based on the franchise after that. The X-Men have continued to appear in Hasbro's Marvel Legends and Marvel Universe lines, and were also featured in the child-oriented Super Hero Squad and Marvel Mashers lines.
Additionally, throughout the years, many different companies have produced X-Men clothing and apparel. Halloween costumes featuring X-Men characters were also common, especially during the height of the franchise's mainstream prominence during the time the original movies were coming out. Even with the franchise's popularity having peaked some time ago, Wolverine remains a popular Halloween costume choice for children.
Funko has also produced a selection of X-Men bobbleheads (with the characters also appearing in the company's spin-off lines like Dorbz), while Diamond has featured the X-Men in their Marvel Select and Minimates lines.The X-Men have also been featured in the HeroClix figure game multiple times, and have even been the subject of their own waves. Hot Toys also produced some X-Men collectible figures based on the movies, ending with Days of Future Past in 2014. The X-Men have also been featured in kits from Lego. On the statue front, numerous companies such as Bowen Designs, XM Studios and Kotobukiya have produced statues featuring characters from the X-Men comics and movies.