Uncanny X-Men, originally published as The X-Men, is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X-Men, a group of mutants with superhuman abilities led and taught by Professor X.
The title was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, met with a lukewarm reception, and was eventually cancelled in 1970. Interest was rekindled with 1975's Giant-Size X-Men and the debut of a new, international team. Under the guidance of David Cockrum and Chris Claremont, whose 16-year stint began with August 1975's Uncanny X-Men #94, the series grew in popularity worldwide, eventually spawning a franchise with numerous spin-off "X-books", including New Mutants, X-Factor, Excalibur, X-Force, Generation X, the simply titled X-Men, and a number of prefixed titles such as New X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and All-New X-Men.
Publication history
1963â€"1970: Original run
Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the series launched in September 1963, introducing in its first issue the original five X-Men (Angel, the Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvel Girl) and their teacher, Professor X, as well as their nemesis, the supervillain Magneto. Initially published bi-monthly, it became a monthly with issue #14 (November 1965). Lee's run lasted 19 issues, and featured X-Men battling villains such as Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants which included the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver; the Sentinels giant robots programmed to destroy all mutants, and their creator Bolivar Trask; and 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 in #6 and the Avengers in #9. The jungle adventure hero Ka-Zar and the Savage Land were introduced in issue #10. Roy Thomas wrote the series from #20 (May 1966) to #44 (May 1968). Thomas and artist Werner Roth created the Banshee in #28 (Jan. 1967). In issue #42 (Mar. 1968) the comic took the dramatic step of killing off Professor X, intended at the time to be permanent. The X-Men #45 (June 1968) featured a crossover with The Avengers #53 (June 1968). After brief runs by Gary Friedrich and Arnold Drake â€" the latter of which introduced the new X-Men Lorna Dane and 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. Writer Dennis O'Neil and Adams revived Professor Xavier in #65 by revealing that it was actually an Xavier imposter named the Changeling who had died in issue #42. After a battle with the Hulk in issue #66 (March 1970), the title ceased publishing original material and featured reprints in issues #67 (Dec. 1970) through #93 (June 1975).
1975â€"1991: Chris Claremont era
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 Cyclops, Banshee, Sunfire and Wolverine, along with new characters Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Thunderbird. The original plan was to continue Giant-Size X-Men as a quarterly, but instead original stories were printed in Uncanny, again initially bimonthly. Chris Claremont's first issue as writer, #94, had all the original X-Men (bar Cyclops) leave, along with Sunfire; Thunderbird was killed in #95. Moira MacTaggert, a human ally of the X-Men, and later to be established as a former fiancée of Xavier, debuted in #96. Marvel Girl became the Phoenix in issue #101. 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. For the remainder of the decade the X-Men fight enemies such as Stephen Lang and his Sentinels, Magneto, Banshee's cousin Black Tom and the Juggernaut, the Shi'ar Erik the Red and the Imperial Guard, Arcade, Wolverine's former colleagues, Canada's superhero team Alpha Flight, 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 for 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. The new teenage mutant Kitty Pryde was introduced in #129 (Jan. 1980) and joined the X-Men in #139. The Dazzler, a disco-singing, roller-skating mutant, was introduced in #130 (Feb. 1980), but did not join the team, instead somehow headlining her own solo title.
A new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, led by Mystique, was introduced in the "Days of Future Past" storyline (#141-#142, Janâ€"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.
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 Magneto and Professor Xavier had known each other before Xavier had founded the X-Men. Rogue, a member of Mystique's Brotherhood, defected to the X-Men in #171 (July 1983). Mystique's Brotherhood 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 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 from #184 and was revealed to be Cyclops's daughter.
Claremont attempted to write 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 #100 having never really been her), and having Cyclops abandon his wife and child. Claremont strongly objected to the latter, and was hostile towards the title until Louise Simonson became writer.
Artist Arthur Adams began a long association with the team by drawing The Uncanny X-Men Annual #9 (1985) and would serve as the artist on several of the annuals in the next few years.
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 Mister Sinister. The late 1980s saw several other cross-overs: 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; the first appearance of NPR-TV reporter Manoli Wetherell in #226 (1988); new teenage mutant Jubilee in 1989, Forge in #255 (1989), and Gambit in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 (1990). The X-Men left Westchester, and lived variously on Alcatraz, Muir Island and in the Australian outback. The "X-Tinction Agenda" crossover, in which the X-Men, X-Factor and the New Mutants fight against the Genoshan government for mutant rights, was published in the fall of 1990.
The title became twice-monthly from 1988 to 1990, 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 was #279, during the "Muir Island Saga", which is set before those events.
1991â€"2011: Post-Claremont era
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 Archangel, Colossus, Jean Grey, Iceman and Storm, appeared in Uncanny. This roster was later joined by Bishop, another refugee from the future. After Claremont's departure, Jim Lee continued as plotter, while John Byrne scripted from #281 to #286. Byrne was replaced as scripter from #286 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.
Crossovers continued through the 1990s. The "Fatal Attractions" crossover of 1993 saw the X-Men battle Magneto again, and the "Phalanx Covenant" story of 1994 focused mostly on the techo-organic Phalanx. Uncanny briefly ceased publication during the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline in 1995, which dealt with an alternate present 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 twelve 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 the X-Men vol. 2 and that became the flagship X-Men title. From 2001 Lobdell made a short return, and then Joe Casey and Chuck Austen wrote runs into 2004. The title became bimonthly from 2003 to 2004.
The X-Men: Reload reshuffle of titles in 2004 led to Claremont returning to Uncanny with issue #444. The stories addressed the new status quo established by Morrison, with Jean Grey having died again, and Cyclops in a relationship with Emma Frost. Claremont remained until #473. His final story was the "Death of the Greys" in 2006, as part of the "Decimation" storyline, where the vast majority of mutants had lost their powers. He was replaced by Ed Brubaker, who wrote a 12-part epic space opera story "The Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire", as a follow-up to his miniseries X-Men: Deadly Genesis. After this the title led into the "Messiah Complex" crossover event, dealing with the first mutant birth since the Decimation.
Matt Fraction became co-author from #500, and sole author from #504. The entire X-Men team relocated to San Francisco â€" firstly to the city, and then, after the "Utopia" crossover with Dark Avengers, to an island named Utopia in San Francisco Bay. 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's secret death squad X-Force.
Kieron Gillen took over co-authorship of the series with #531, and became sole writer from #534.1.
2011â€"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 had remained with Cyclops to deal with potential threats to the mutant race's survival. Gillen's run led into and crossovered with the Avengers vs. X-Men event 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 event. Gillen wrote a five-part epilogue, AvX: Consequences.
2013â€"present: 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 after the events of the first All-New X-Men story arc. The team has taken up a revolutionary, and sometimes violent course to promote mutant rights, and started up a new school for new mutants, the New Charles Xavier School for the Gifted.
Annual
Like many comic book series, Uncanny X-Men had an associated double-sized annual series, once in both 1970 and 1971, then regularly from 1979 to 2001. A second series of Uncanny X-Men Annual began in 2006 as volume 2, issue #1.
Team roster
- Timeline
- Notes
This is an article about the comic book, and thus the publication history, not the in-continuity history. As such, the above reflects the team roster for the book at time of publication. Similarly, this article only reflects the team roster for the X-Men team whose home is this publication.
Professor X is the Headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and mentor to the X-Men, but he is rarely (if ever) a member of the X-Men team. In his role as mentor he has typically been present in the book, but he has notable absences including issues #43â€"64 (dead, later retconned as preparing for the Z'Nox), #200â€"273 (with Lilandra Neramani in Shi'ar space; replaced as Headmaster by Magneto during most of this absence), #340â€"351 (in government custody after the Onslaught crisis), #379â€"386 (educating Cadre K in space), and #495â€"513 (rebuilding his mind in X-Men: Legacy).
Jean Grey was replaced by the Phoenix Force from issue #101 through #137. However, this was a retcon that was only revealed years later.
At many times the team roster has been the same as that appearing in X-Men (vol. 2), and during two periods the two books have even been treated by their writer as a single bi-weekly title (issues #289â€"350 by Scott Lobdell and issues #366â€"380 by Alan Davis).
During issues #370â€"372 Wolverine was replaced by a Skrull infiltrator, leading to "The Shattering"/"The Twelve" storylines, and the Astonishing X-Men (vol. 2) limited series.
After moving to San Francisco, many other mutants continually appear as background characters or allies, but apart from during crossovers they are rarely considered part of the team roster. Characters featured include former X-Men such as Iceman and Hepzibah; New X-Men students such as Rockslide, Surge, and Hellion; Cannonball's New Mutants squad; and other mutants such as Toad, Frenzy, Diamond Lil, and Meld.
After the series was relaunched as Uncanny X-Men #1, it featured Cyclops's "Extinction Team", composed of himself, Emma Frost, Namor, Magneto, Storm, Hope Summers, Colossus, Danger and Magik; Psylocke was briefly a member of this team while Emma was injured.
Contributors
Writers
Pencilers
Title
Until 2011, Uncanny X-Men remained Marvel Comics' only Silver Age title to retain its consecutive issue numbering since its conception, even during the early 1970s reprint hiatus. The Amazing Spider-Man, The Avengers, Fantastic Four and other legacy titles have all, at one time or another, restarted their numbering at #1, though all later returned to their original numbering. The final issue to be published under the original numbering was #544, published in October 2011 with a December 2011 cover date, which was followed by a new #1 the following month. In 2015, Marvel will release "Uncanny X-men" #600, following Vol. 3 #35, as a conclusion to the Brian Michael Bendis' run on both "All New X-men" and Vol. 3.
From issue #1 through #93 the indicia title was The X-Men. After the relaunch with issue #94, and up to #138, the article The was dropped from the indicia title, making it X-Men, but the article was added back in issues #139 to #141.
The title The Uncanny X-Men was first used in the issue #95 title block following the "Stan Lee Presents:" tagline, though the title did not appear on the covers or indicia titles yet. Covers begin displaying this title in #114. Beginning with issue #142, and up to #407, the indicia title was finally changed to The Uncanny X-Men. Issue #408 was the first to use the indicia title Uncanny X-Men.
A separate series, titled simply X-Men, launched with an October 1991 cover date.
Collected editions
Trade paperbacks
Masterworks
Essentials
Epic Collections
Other TPBs
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Hardcovers
Masterworks
Oversized hardcovers
References
External links
- Uncanny X-Men at Marvel.com
- Uncanny X-Men at the Comic Book DB
- Uncanny X-Men at the Marvel Database
- Uncanny X-Men at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators