The X-Men have been on quite a road over the years. The team first appeared in the Silver Age of Comics, when Marvel couldn’t do any wrong. Well, except for the X-Men. The group of young mutants just didn’t resonate with audiences like youthful characters such as Spider-Man and Human Torch. However, things have changed over the decades. The mid ’70s saw the team get another chance at stardom, and since then they have become one of the hottest teams in the history of comics. They’ve since made the move into the greater pop culture, starring in animated series, movies, and video games.
The X-Men have starred in awesome stories, and those tales have given the team some major milestones. These milestones have made the group who they are, but some of them are more important than others. These ten X-Men milestones are the biggest in their history, and have given readers some of the greatest moments in comics.
10) The End of Krakoa
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
The Krakoa Era changed the team for five years, taking them to new heights. However, everything in comics has to end at some point. While the status quo was popular with fans, widescale change doesn’t really fly in superhero comics anymore, especially with movie synergy being a thing. So, the Krakoa Era ended with “Fall of X”, which ran through every mutant series of late 2023 until the summer of 2024. The Krakoa Era ended with X-Men #35/Uncanny X-Men #700, and shifted the team to a new place in the hierarchy of the Marvel Universe.
9) Avengers vs. X-Men
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Avengers vs. X-Men doesn’t get the credit it deserves and most people don’t realize how important it is. The story, by Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron, John Romita Jr., Olivier Coipel, and Adam Kubert, was the culmination of the Schism phase of the Utopia Era and led to Bendis taking over as the main writer of the team. On top of that, the story re-powered the mutant race, undoing the changes made by House of M. While the team would soon go back to being marginalized, this story laid the groundwork for where we are now by bringing mutants back as an important facet of the Marvel Universe.
8) House of X/Powers of X
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
House of X/Powers of X, by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and R.B. Silva, began the blockbuster Krakoa Era of the X-Men. It came after years of Marvel marginalizing the mutants because they didn’t own the film rights to the team, and it was the biggest storyline mutants had in years. This story introduced numerous new ideas to the books, gave them their own country and power in the world, and gave pushes to some characters who hadn’t been used as much as they should have over the years. The Krakoa Era has become important to the bedrock of Marvel’s mutant history and will always be an integral part of X-Men lore.
7) House of M
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
House of M, by Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel, changed the X-Men’s status quo for years. The story was sold as a crossover between the two most popular teams in comics in 2005 — the Astonishing X-Men and the New Avengers — and took readers to an alternate universe created by Scarlet Witch, one where mutants were at the height of their power, and Magneto ruled a mutant world. The story ended with Scarlet Witch depowering the vast majority of the mutant race, something that would become the cornerstone of every X-Men story from 2005 to 2012. It led to an all-new X-Men that would give readers years of good stories.
6) “Age of Apocalypse”
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
“Age of Apocalypse” is one of the most beloved stories in the history of the X-Men. It’s easily the most beloved Marvel alternate universe and has had a huge impact on the team over the last 30 years. The story took the team into an alternate universe where Xavier had been killed before he could found the X-Men. This led to Apocalypse attacking the world, with Magneto forming the X-Men to battle against the ancient mutant dark lord. The story, told over two bookends, nine four-issue miniseries, and two two-issue miniseries, was a watershed moment in the group’s history, and its impact is still felt today in stories like “Age of Revelation”.
5) New X-Men #114
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
New X-Men is an amazing chapter in X-Men history. Grant Morrison’s 40-issue run writing the group was one of the most fruitful periods in the team’s existence. Morrison took the ingredients that had made the X-Men special and remixed them. This revolutionary approach to the team began with New X-Men #114, as Morrison and Frank Quitely dragged mutants into the 21st century. This is an amazing comic; Morrison started as they meant to go on with their big, imaginative ideas and remixing of the group, and Quitely’s art was different from anything that the team had seen before in a good way. This issue is everything an X-Men story could be, and it’s monumentally important to the group’s history.
4) X-Men (vol. 2) #1
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Chris Claremont made the X-Men into superstars, with Uncanny X-Men becoming one of the bestselling comics of the ’80s. Claremont’s last story with the team, working with artist Jim Lee, gave the group a reboot that would lead to some of their most successful years. X-Men (Vol. 2) #1 is the bestselling comic ever, selling eight million copies (many of which you can still find in comic stores) and led to the creative reboot that made the team the most popular in the ’90s. If you love X-Men: The Animated Series or X-Men ’97, you owe it to this book.
3) “The Dark Phoenix Saga”
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
“The Dark Phoenix Saga” has become a legendary story in the history of the Marvel Universe. Chris Claremont and John Byrne’s classic ended the story of Jean Grey as Phoenix… or so we thought. This story birthed numerous ideas that would run through X-Men history until the present. It changed Jean Grey as a character forever, with dying becoming an important part of her oeuvre of stories, and changed the way the team looked at their mission. On top of that, it also introduced Kitty Pryde, Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and the rest of the Hellfire Club. This story is not only of amazing quality, but hugely influential for the team.
2) “Days of Future Past”
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
“Days of Future Past” changed comics forever, but it doesn’t often get credit for that. If you like dark alternate future storytelling, then you love Claremont and Byrne’s classic. This story brought the dark Sentinel-controlled future to the X-Men, and would create an alternate Earth that birthed fan favorite characters like Rachel Summers and villains like Ahab. It got so popular that Claremont returned to it, and is one of the few X-Men stories directly adapted to the big screen. This two-issue story is everything you could want from the group, and holds an important place in the history of the X-Men and the Marvel Universe.
1) X-Men (Vol. 1) #101
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
X-Men (Vol. 1) #101, by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, is another story that a lot of fans forget when they think about what the most important X-stories are. This is the introduction of the Phoenix Force, which would become one of the most important parts of the team’s history. It’s impossible to picture the group without the Phoenix Force; it’s impossible to even think of the Marvel Universe without it. Nearly every major X-story was in some way touched by it, as the entire Phoenix Saga, from this issue to the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga”, has played a huge role in numerous character’s stories. This is an underrated gem from the team’s history, and it’s time we all talked about how important it’s been to the group.
What are your favorite X-Men milestones? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!