In case you haven't heard, the X-Men are about to head into another major crossover storyline. While the franchise has offered several major crossovers in the past year – Messiah War, Utopia, and X-Necrosha among them – it's been several years since Messiah Complex left its mark on the mutant world. Starting this spring, Second Coming will wrap up all the loose threads from several years' worth of X-storylines.
One of the things we like to do at IGN Comics is help readers get up to date for major crossovers and events like Second Coming. In this feature, we're charting the course of the X-men mythology over the past ten years. Everything from Grant Morrison's New X-Men and Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men through Messiah Complex and the most recent X-events is covered. We also recommend relevant trades and hardcovers for those interested in reading up on these stories. If you're feeling overwhelmed by the vast amount of X-Men material out there, hopefully this guide will put you on the right path.
21st Century Schizoid Mutants
As seen in: New X-Men Ultimate Collection Vol. 1-3 TPBs, Astonishing X-Men Vol. 1 HC
The familiar spandex costumes were discarded in favor of black leather uniforms. The leather was adorned in flashy, yellow X-logos. In Morrison's eye, the X-Men were as much a corporation as a superhero team, and the X was their answer to Nike's Swoosh symbol. Battles with super-villains took a backseat to human/mutant relations and horrifying sci-fi monstrosities. Morrison's fans expected nothing less.
New X-Men culminated with the reveal that new recruit Xorn was actually Magneto in disguise (a reveal that has been reversed and rendered excessively convoluted over the ensuing years). Not-Magneto killed Jean Grey before getting his head sliced off courtesy of Wolverine. With Xavier stepping down from his leadership role, Cyclops stepped up to lead the team into another bold, new era.
The X-Men were revamped once again in Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. The spandex returned under the philosophy that humans are less likely to hate and fear something as beloved and familiar as a band of superheroes. Under Whedon's hand, the core X-Men confronted a possible mutant cure, a resurrected Colossus, and encountered the first signs that Xavier's legacy was not so squeaky clean as he would have his students believe. Through it all, the X-Men persevered. But things were about to get a lot worse.
Mutants Reign Supreme
As seen in: House of M HC, House of M: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four & X-Men HC
Unfortunately, this plan had one fatal flaw. Wolverine's greatest desire has always been to remember his past. No sooner did the world shift than Wolverine awoke and remembered the truth. Together with a mysterious young girl named Layla Miller, Wolverine restored the memories of his allies and led the charge against Magneto's forces.
A bloody battle ensued on Genosha. But Magneto was as much a victim of Scarlet Witch's deception as anyone. When his memories were restored, Magneto's first act was to murder his son. Wanda, realizing her magic couldn't bring her family happiness, broke her spell with three fateful words - "No more mutants."
Reality reverted to normal, with one major caveat. The vast majority of the world's mutant population had been de-powered. A government census revealed that a mere 198 mutants remained, and the likelihood of new mutants being born was nil. For a race that had always been hated and feared, it was truly their darkest hour.
No More Mutants
As seen in: House of M: No More Mutants HC, Decimation: X-Men – Son of M TPB, Civil War: X-Men TPB, X-Men: Deadly Genesis Premiere HC
In the early months of Decimation, the whereabouts of Professor Xavier were unknown. The mystery was finally solved in the pages of X-Men: Deadly Genesis. Xavier's spine was healed once more, but his telepathic powers were eliminated. The story also debuted the villain Vulcan – former X-Man and the third Summers brother that Mr. Sinister had alluded to so many years before.
If Astonishing X-Men hinted at a darker side of Xavier, Deadly Genesis opened the floodgates. By the end, Xavier's legacy was tarnished and his relationship to Cyclops was seriously, and perhaps permanently, damaged.
Rallying the Troops
As seen in: Astonishing X-Men Vol. 2 HC, Uncanny X-Men: Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire HC, X-Men: Supernovas HC
Uncanny X-Men continued directly from where Deadly Genesis left off. Vulcan directed his wrath at the Shi'ar Empire. Xavier, seeking to atone for his past mistakes, led a team including Rachel Grey, Warpath, Havok, and Polaris into space. After a fierce battle, Xavier's powers were restored and Vulcan ascended as emperor of the Shi'ar. From here, the story continued in War of Kings and became less X-Men-oriented.
Finally, Mike Carey's X-Men featured a strike team of mutants led by Rogue. Here, more than any other series, readers would see the seeds being laid for upcoming major X-storylines.
The Noose Tightens
As seen in: X-Men: Blinded by the Light TPB, Uncanny X-Men: The Extremists TPB, X-Men: Endangered Species HC
In Uncanny, readers were reacquainted with a powerless Magneto. Those X-Men who returned from Shi'ar space were caught up in a struggle underneath New York to track down another book of prophecy. As with its sister series, Uncanny was quickly building towards the events of Messiah Complex.
Meanwhile, all the X-books began featuring chapters of a back-up story called "Endangered Species". Here, Beast began a long and fruitless quest to understand Scarlet Witch's spell and seek a way to restore the mutant gene. Despite the assistance of his twisted counterpart, Dark Beast, it became clear that no form of science was capable of undoing Scarlet Witch's work.Continues