1963–1970: Original run Created by writer-editor
Stan Lee and artist
Jack Kirby, the series launched in September 1963. Lee originally wanted to title the book
The Merry Mutants, but Marvel’s editorial team insisted on using X-Men instead. The first issue introduced the original five X-Men (
Warren Worthington III/Angel,
Hank McCoy/Beast,
Scott Summers/Cyclops,
Robert "Bobby" Drake/Iceman, and
Jean Grey/Marvel Girl) and their teacher,
Charles Xavier/Professor X as well as their nemesis, the
supervillain Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto. Although Lee would deny it, it was noticed by contemporary writer
Arnold Drake, that the concept of the series emulated his own earlier series for
National Periodical Publications's (now
DC Comics)
Doom Patrol, in many respects. However, National's editorial staff did not support Drake's concerns. Initially published bimonthly, it became a monthly with issue #14 (November 1965). Lee's run lasted 19 issues, and featured the X-Men battling villains such as Magneto's
Brotherhood of Mutants (which included the siblings
Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and
Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver); the
Sentinels, giant robots programmed to destroy all mutants, and their creator
Bolivar Trask; and
Cain Marko/Juggernaut, Xavier's stepbrother transformed by a mystical gem and seeking revenge on Xavier. The series was placed firmly in the
Marvel Universe, with guest appearances by
Namor the Sub-Mariner in #6 and the
Avengers in #9. The jungle adventure hero
Kevin Plunder/Ka-Zar and the
Savage Land were introduced in issue #10.
Roy Thomas wrote the series from #20–43 (May 1966 – April 1968). Thomas and artist
Werner Roth created
Sean Cassidy/Banshee in #28 (Jan. 1967).
The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with
The Avengers #53 (June 1968). After brief runs by
Gary Friedrich and
Arnold Drake – the latter of whom introduced the new X-Men
Lorna Dane/Polaris and
Alex Summers/Havok, and during which the series adopted a new logo designed by
Jim Steranko – Thomas returned to the series with issue #55 and was joined by artist
Neal Adams the following issue for an acclaimed run of stories. After a battle with the
Hulk in issue #66 (March 1970), the title ceased publishing original material and featured reprints in issues #67–93 (December 1970 – April 1975).
1970–1975: Other appearances Despite the title going into reprints for the next five years between #67–93, the X-Men continued to appear in other Marvel titles throughout this period in a guest-starring capacity or cameo appearance, either as a team or in solo adventures. The Angel appeared without the X-Men in a three-part story involving the murder of his father at the hands of his uncle, Burt Worthington, a.k.a. the Dazzler, in
Ka-Zar #2 (Dec. 1970) and #3 (March 1971), and
Marvel Tales #30 (April 1971). Iceman made a guest appearance in
Amazing Spider-Man #92 (Jan. 1971), where he battles Spider-Man after mistakenly assuming he abducted Gwen Stacy. Later, after realizing his error, they team up against corrupt politician, Sam Bullitt. Iceman appears alone once again in
Marvel Team-Up #23 (July 1974), where he teams up with the
Human Torch to battle
Equinox. Cyclops, Marvel Girl, and Angel also make a brief appearance. The Beast starred in his own series in
Amazing Adventures #11–17 (March 1972 – March 1973) after accepting a position with the
Brand Corporation, and decides to leave the X-Men for good. The original team appeared briefly in a flashback in #11 (March 1972) and in a present-day cameo appearance in #15 (November 1972). Professor Xavier and Marvel Girl briefly appeared in
Amazing Adventures #12 (May 1972), and the Angel helped the Beast defeat the
Griffin in
Amazing Adventures #15. After his run on that series ended, the Beast battled against the Hulk alone in
Incredible Hulk #161 (March 1973), concluding a storyline which began in
Amazing Adventures. Havok and Polaris, as recounted in a flashback in
Incredible Hulk #150 (April 1972), leave the X-Men after a bitter quarrel with Iceman and move to New Mexico. In a present-day appearance in the same issue, they encounter and battle the Hulk, who mistakes Polaris for his former lover
Jarella, and a biker gang. As a team, the X-Men assisted Spider-Man in capturing
Morbius in
Marvel Team-Up #4 (Sept. 1972), written by
Gerry Conway, after one of Xavier's colleagues is abducted by the vampire. In
Adventure into Fear #20 (Feb. 1974), it is recounted in a flashback how Morbius escaped from the X-Men's mansion. Professor Xavier and Cyclops appeared in a brief cameo. They appeared in
The Avengers #110–111 (April–May 1973), written by
Steve Englehart, where Professor Xavier and the X-Men are abducted by Magneto after an ambush at Xavier's mansion, and later rescued by the Avengers, Daredevil, and the Black Widow. Soon after, members of the X-Men, including Iceman, Angel, Beast, Havok and Polaris, and members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are secretly being abducted by a group of hooded figures known as the
Secret Empire. At this point, only Professor Xavier, Cyclops and Marvel Girl remain active, and, after a brief cameo at the end of
Incredible Hulk #172 (Feb. 1974), where they discover an unconscious Juggernaut after a battle with the Hulk, seek out the help of Captain America and the Falcon. This led to the first "Secret Empire" storyline, which ran in
Captain America #172–175 (April–July 1974), also written by Steve Englehart. Professor Xavier made a few brief appearances of his own without the X-Men during this time. In
The Avengers #88 (May 1971), written by
Roy Thomas and
Harlan Ellison, he made a cameo appearance assisting Reed Richards and
General Thunderbolt Ross in containing the Hulk, and later appeared briefly onscreen in
Shanna the She-Devil #5 (Aug. 1973) to warn
Shanna of an unknown mutant threat,
Nekra. In
The Defenders #15–16 (Sept–Oct. 1974), written by
Len Wein, Xavier teamed up with the Defenders to battle against Magneto and his reformed Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. It was in this battle that Magneto and the Brotherhood were reduced to infancy by
Alpha the Ultimate Mutant. Xavier made one final solo appearance during this period in
Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb. 1975), where he assisted the Fantastic Four in subduing
Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man.
1975–1991: Chris Claremont era looks through a copy of a hardcover
X-Men volume that collects many of the issues he wrote, March 2012.
X-Men was relaunched in May 1975 with
Giant-Size X-Men #1, by
Len Wein and
Dave Cockrum. The title featured a new, international team consisting of Scott Summers (Cyclops) of the United States,
Ireland's
Sean Cassidy (Banshee), the
Japanese mutant
Shiro Yoshida (Sunfire), and
James "Logan" Howlett (Wolverine) from
Canada, along with new characters
Ororo Munroe (Storm) from
Kenya, the
German Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler),
Piotr "Peter" Rasputin (Colossus) from
Russia in the
Soviet Union, and
John Proudstar (Thunderbird), a Native American. The original plan was to continue
Giant-Size X-Men as a quarterly, but instead original stories were printed in the book, again initially bimonthly.
Moira MacTaggert, a human ally of the X-Men, and later to be established as a former fiancé of Xavier, debuted in #96. This was followed by the first
Shi'ar space opera story. Cockrum was replaced as penciller by
John Byrne as of #108. Byrne became co-plotter, and during his run the series became a monthly title again. and MacTaggert's son
Proteus. In 2010,
Comics Bulletin ranked Claremont and Byrne's run on
The X-Men second on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels". The "
Dark Phoenix Saga" in 1980 led to a change in the line-up of the team, with the death of Phoenix (Jean Grey), and Cyclops leaving the team to mourn her. Comics writers and historians Roy Thomas and
Peter Sanderson observed that "'The Dark Phoenix Saga' is to Claremont and Byrne what '
the Galactus Trilogy' is to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It is a landmark in Marvel history, showcasing its creators' work at the height of their abilities." The storyline also saw the introduction of recurring antagonists the
Hellfire Club, and its Inner Circle consisting of
Sebastian Shaw,
Emma Frost,
Harry Leland,
Donald Pierce, along with
Mastermind, previously a member of Magneto's Brotherhood. Teenage mutant
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat was introduced in #129 (Jan. 1980) and joined the X-Men in #139.
Alison Blaire/Dazzler, a disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130 (Feb. 1980), but did not join the team, instead having a solo title. A new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by
Mystique, was introduced in the "
Days of Future Past" storyline (#141–142, Jan–Feb 1981) in which a time-travelling Kitty Pryde tried to avert a dystopian future caused by the Brotherhood assassinating presidential candidate Senator
Robert Kelly. Byrne plotted the story wanting to depict the Sentinels as a genuine threat to the existence of the mutant race. He then left the series after #143, being replaced by a returning Cockrum, who in turn was succeeded by
Paul Smith and
John Romita Jr. By the mid-1980s,
The Uncanny X-Men had become one of the best-selling
American comic books, turning many of the writers and illustrators into industry stars and leading to numerous spin-offs and
miniseries. Erik Magnus Lehnsherr/Magneto was gradually revealed to be more complex: #150 established that he was a survivor of the
Holocaust, and in #161 it is shown that he and Professor Charles Xavier had known each other before Xavier had founded the X-Men.
Anna Marie LeBeau/Rogue, a member of
Raven Darkholme/Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, defected to the X-Men in #171 (July 1983). Raven Darkholme/Mystique's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants changed sides and became the government-backed
Freedom Force in #199. Their first action was to capture Magneto, who had begun associating with the X-Men during the "
Secret Wars II" crossover. Magneto surrenders himself, but escapes after his trial is abandoned, he takes over the headmastership of the school after Xavier leaves for space in #200 (Dec. 1985). The
Morlocks, a group of disfigured mutants living underneath
New York City, were introduced in #169 (May 1983). Storm became their leader in #170. She was de-powered accidentally by government forces aiming for Rogue, and met
Forge, a mutant with the power of invention. After Storm left the team temporarily to return to her native Africa, Nightcrawler became field leader. The character
Rachel Summers from the future
dystopia presented in "Days of Future Past" had been shown to arrive in the present day in
New Mutants #18, and then made appearances in
Uncanny X-Men from #184 on and was revealed to be Cyclops' daughter. Claremont attempted to write Scott Summers/Cyclops out of the series, by having him marry
Madelyne Pryor in #175 (Nov. 1983); she gave birth to his son in #201 (Jan. 1986). The
X-Factor series was launched two months later and featured the original five X-Men. This meant the resurrection of Jean Grey (performed by
retcon, the character appearing from #101 having never really been her), and having Scott Summers/Cyclops abandon his wife and child. Claremont strongly objected to the latter, and was hostile towards the title until
Louise Simonson became writer. The end of 1986 saw the first
crossover between X-Men titles, the "
Mutant Massacre", which saw a large number of Morlocks killed by the
Marauders, acting under orders from the mysterious
Nathaniel Essex/Mister Sinister The late 1980s saw several other crossovers: 1988's "
Fall of the Mutants" and 1989's "
Inferno", which resolved the issue of Madelyne Pryor by revealing her to have been a clone of Jean Grey created by Sinister. The cast was shaken up, with the addition of
Psylocke, Dazzler,
Longshot and Havok in early 1987, as well as the first appearances of NPR-TV reporter Manoli Wetherell in #226 (1988), new teenage mutant
Jubilation Lee/Jubilee in #244 (1989), and
Remy LeBeau/Gambit in
Uncanny X-Men #266 (1990). The X-Men left their traditional residence in
Westchester County, New York, and lived variously on
Alcatraz,
Muir Island, and the
Australian outback. The "
X-Tinction Agenda" crossover, in which the X-Men,
X-Factor and the
New Mutants fight against the government of
Genosha for mutant rights, was published in the fall of 1990. The title became twice-monthly from 1988 to 1990 every summer, and helped to launch the careers of artists
Marc Silvestri and
Jim Lee. In 1991 another
X-Men title was launched, titled simply
X-Men; both titles were now published monthly. Claremont wrote the first three issue of this series, in which the X-Factor and X-Men teams reunited with Professor Xavier at the school. Claremont left Marvel after disputes with
Bob Harras and artist
Jim Lee (of
X-Men). Claremont's final issue of
Uncanny X-Men was #279, during the "
Muir Island Saga", which is set before those events.
1991–2011: Post-Claremont era holding some of the 1990s issues of the series on which he rose to stardom as an artist After Claremont's run, the X-Men were divided into two color-coded squads, with a Blue team headlining the adjectiveless
X-Men title, while the Gold team, consisting of Warren Worthington III/Archangel, Piotr "Peter" Rasputin/Colossus, Jean Grey, Robert "Bobby" Drake/Iceman and Ororo Munroe/Storm, appeared in
Uncanny. This roster was later joined by
Lucas Bishop, another refugee from the future. After Claremont's departure, Jim Lee continued as plotter, while John Byrne scripted from #281–286. Byrne was replaced as scripter from #287 by
Scott Lobdell, who was fully credited as writer from #289. The "
X-Cutioner's Song" crossover was released in the fall of 1992 and resulted in the outbreak of the
Legacy Virus, a mutant-specific plague which continued as a story element in X-Men comics until 2001. created by a time-travelling assassin killing Xavier; it was replaced by
Astonishing X-Men. Lobdell was writing
X-Men as well from 1995. Lobdell was replaced by
Steven T. Seagle with issue #350 (Dec. 1997). He was replaced in turn with
Alan Davis, as plotter, from issue #366 (Mar. 1999) to #380. Davis's run included "
the Twelve" crossover from #370–375, in which Apocalypse sought the only 12 mutants, which also ran in his
X-Men title, again being treated as a biweekly publication. As part of the
Revolution relaunch, Chris Claremont made a brief return from #381 (June 2000) to #389, at which point he transferred to the new
X-Treme X-Men title, as
Grant Morrison took over
X-Men (vol. 2) and that became the flagship X-Men title. The
Nation X storyline focused on the return of the re-powered Magneto, and him coming to Utopia. The
Second Coming crossover saw the return of
Hope Summers, the baby from the "Messiah Complex" arc, to the present day, as a young adult; and the emergence of the "Five Lights", the first new mutants to have arisen (apart from Hope) since the Decimation.
Nightcrawler was killed during this storyline and
Beast left in protest after his discovery of Cyclops' secret death squad,
X-Force.
Kieron Gillen took over co-authorship of the series with #531, and became sole writer from #534.1.
2012: Volume 2 The original series ended with #544 and relaunched as a new volume after the events of the
X-Men: Schism miniseries, wherein half the X-Men, led by Wolverine, returned to New York, to found a new school. The new volume featured the Extinction Team, containing members of the X-Men whom Cyclops had retained to deal with potential threats to the mutant race's survival. Gillen's run led into, and crossed over with, the
Avengers vs. X-Men storyline and finished with issue #20 in October 2012. The volume ended with Cyclops, who had become increasingly hardline during Gillen's run, in prison for his actions during that storyline. Gillen wrote a five-part epilogue,
AvX: Consequences.
2013–2015: Volume 3 As part of
Marvel NOW!, a new volume of
Uncanny X-Men was launched in February 2013 with an April 2013 cover date, written by Brian Michael Bendis, who is also writing another X-Men title,
All-New X-Men, and drawn by Chris Bachalo. It features
Cyclops and remnants of his Extinction Team recruiting new mutants to help them prepare for what Cyclops believes to be an inevitable revolution, coinciding events of the first
All-New X-Men story arc. This volume saw Cyclops leading his team to an abandoned
Weapon X facility to train new recruits and prepare for impending war against the humans, who see Cyclops as a terrorist's due to his actions in
Avengers Vs. X-Men. Eventually, Kitty Pryde and the time-displaced X-Men join his cause after facing a team of X-Men from a dystopian future. It lasted 36 issues, with the final issue reverting to the legacy numbering of
Uncanny X-Men #600.
2016–2017: Volume 4 As part of
All-New, All-Different Marvel,
Uncanny X-Men was relaunched, written by
Cullen Bunn with art by
Greg Land. The relaunched
Uncanny X-Men team features Magneto leading Psylocke, the Archangel, M, Mystique,
Fantomex and Sabretooth, while a different team led by Storm will be called the
Extraordinary X-Men. Cyclops's fate after Battleworld is shown in the
Death of X miniseries (Cyclops was exposed to the Terrigen Mist and died from M-Pox). The tagline for the relaunched series is "Bigger threats require more threatening X-Men", and is considered to be a continuation of Bunn's previous work on the
Magneto solo series. The series will deal with threats that arise as a result of a new, more dangerous world post-
Secret Wars. Summing up the team, Bunn states "They're upholding Xavier's dream, but they have no right to do so." This incarnation of the team features
Lucas Bishop,
Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler,
Jean Grey,
Ororo Munroe/Storm,
Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock/Psylocke,
Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar,
Robert "Bobby" Drake/Iceman,
Hank McCoy/Beast,
Laura Kinney/X-23,
Lorna Dane/Polaris,
Jubilation Lee/Jubilee,
Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat and
Sam Guthrie/Cannonball as well as trainee X-Men
Hisako Ichiki/Armor,
Victor Borkowski/Anole,
Megan Gwynn/Pixie,
Idie Okonkwo/Oya,
Robert Herman/Glob,
Santo Vaccarro/Rockslide. Following the 10th issue, the series began focusing on a new team of X-Men featuring
Scott Summers/Cyclops,
James "Logan" Howlett/Wolverine,
Alex Summers/Havok,
Jamie Madrox/Multiple Man,
Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane,
Illyana Rasputin/Magik,
Danielle Moonstar/Mirage,
Xi'an Coy Minh/Karma. After this volume, all X-Men titles were cancelled and two intertwining six-issue miniseries written by
Jonathan Hickman, called "
House of X" and "
Powers of X", began a weekly run in July 2019 and concluded on October of the same year. Shortly after those were completed, the
X-Men series relaunched with
X-Men #1, accompanied by the other related teams' regular series, such as
Marauders,
X-Force,
Excalibur,
New Mutants,
X-Corp,
Wolverine,
X-Men: Giant Size, and reviving 1987's
Fallen Angels; all part of the 2019 story arc "
Dawn of X", which searches to unite all mutantdom and settle down as a whole species.
2024–present: Volume 6 It was announced that a new
Uncanny X-Men series would return. The first issue was released on August 7, 2024, cover-dated October 2024, and is written by
Gail Simone and pencilled by
David Marquez. The members of this team are Wolverine, Gambit, Jubilee, Rogue, and Nightcrawler. In the series, the team are sought out by a group of teenage mutants, known as the
Outliers, for help because they are being pursued by the creature Hag. This team consists of
Ransom,
Jitter,
Calico, and
Deathdream, and the X-Men subsequently agree to take them in and train them. ==Contributors==