1974 was the turning point for the X-Men, when Giant-Size X-Men #1 revitalized interest in the team. Writer Chris Claremont was given the helm of X-Men — soon to be Uncanny X-Men — and his work with creators like Dave Cockrum and John Byrne would see the X-Men become the hottest team in comics. The ’80s were the decade when the X-Men truly became a force in the industry, topping the sales charts and changing the old order in Marvel forever. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four were no longer the top of the heap, the X-Men were. However, it wasn’t just the sales of the comics that were good. The comics themselves were genuinely fantastic and the X-Men stories of the ’80s have gone down as some of the greatest comics ever.
X-Men comics in the ’80s were building a legacy of excellence that would buoy the team into the ’90s. Looking at X-Men comics in the ’80s, it’s easy to see the undeniable quality that readers were getting on a regular basis. While the X-Men have had some great decades in the intervening years, ’80s X-Men comics are widely considered the best X-Men comics ever published. These ten X-Men classics from the ’80s are the best of the best, and the X-Men rode them into becoming Marvel’s most popular team for decades.
10) Uncanny X-Men #200
Chris Claremont revolutionized the X-Men in multiple ways, but his biggest accomplishment was how he changed Magneto. Magneto in the Silver Age was basically just Doctor Doom with mutant powers, making outlandish schemes and speaking in histrionics-prone outbursts. It was Claremont who added the tragic Holocaust backstory to Magneto and would eventually work to bring the X-Men and Magneto closer together. That came to a head with Uncanny X-Men #200, as Magneto was put on trial in front of the UN for his crimes as a mutant terrorist. Of course, there were shenanigans involved, as the Fenris Twins used the trial as an excuse for an attack. Uncanny X-Men #200 was a turning point in the history of the X-Men, with Magneto replacing Xavier at the Mansion and becoming closer to the X-Men than ever before.
9) Uncanny X-Men #201
Xavier leaving Earth and Magneto taking his place in Uncanny X-Men #200 was a huge deal, but it wasn’t the only big change to the team in the months ahead. Storm challenged Cyclops for leadership of the X-Men, which would honestly seem like a pretty easy fight even for the Storm of the ’80s, but there was a catch — Storm didn’t have her powers. This led to an all-out brawl between the two, as Storm showed that while powers were great, she didn’t need them to beat Cyclops. This is the issue that proved to fans that Storm could lead the X-Men, and led to some amazing X-Men stories.
8) Uncanny X-Men #172-173
Wolverine was by far the break out star of the X-Men in the ’70s and ’80s, which is saying something because the entire cast was very popular. Claremont was able to flesh out Wolverine tremendously in the first nine years of the book, establishing his relationship with Mariko Yoshida, and hyping fans up for their wedding with comics like Wolverine (Vol. 1) #1-4. Fans finally got the story of the wedding in Uncanny X-Men #172-173, as the wedding is targeted by Silver Samurai, Viper, and Mastermind. With the X-Men poisoned, Wolverine and Rogue are the only two left to fight, but Wolverine barely trusts the new mutant after what she did to his friend Carol Danvers. These two issues are prime Claremont Uncanny; exciting main plot, great character interactions, and the growth of both Wolverine and Rogue. Of course, the wedding goes badly thanks to Mastermind, but it was all part of the never ending drama that was the X-Men in the ’80s.
7) “Mutant Massacre”
“Mutant Massacre” was the first major X-Men crossover of the ’80s, with Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, and X-Factor coming together, along with non-X books like The Mighty Thor, Power Pack, and Daredevil. The story revolved around the Marauders going into the Morlock Tunnels and attacking the disfigured mutants, with the X-Men and their allies doing everything they could save as many Morlocks as possible. Readers got treats like the first major Wolverine/Sabretooth fight, the crucifixion of Angel, and the seeds for the eventual reveal of Mister Sinister being planted. “Mutant Massacre” is when Marvel noticed that they could build large multi-part crossover stories around the X-Men, and it’s still a great ride. It was a story with the bloodiest stakes imaginable, and it left the X-Men in a pretty dark place.
6) Uncanny X-Men #143
A lot of people would put “The Brood Saga” on this list, and it’s definitely an amazing series of stories that you should check out. However, for my money, there’s a better “X-Man fights monsters like look like the xenomorphs from Alien” story and that’s Uncanny X-Men #143. This Christmas issues sees Jewish Kitty Pryde alone in the X-Mansion while the other members of the team do Christmas stuff. However, Kitty isn’t about to have a quiet night at the mansion, as one of the N’Garai — a race of demons created by the elder god Chthon with a gateway to their dimension on the X-Mansion grounds — attacks. Kitty is left entirely on her own, and this isn’t modern day ninja Kitty Pryde; this is the thirteen year old girl who just joined the X-Men Kitty Pryde. What follows is a brilliant little yarn (that definitely homages Alien in a lot of ways) that shows off the potential that Kitty has as an X-Man. It’s an excellent story, a Christmas story that’s basically a Halloween story.
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5) “Inferno”
“Mutant Massacre” was the first time Marvel used the X-Men as fodder for a crossover that took the story into the greater Marvel Universe, and its success would ensure that there would be another. “Inferno” was the big summer crossover of 1989, crossing through Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, X-Factor, Excalibur, X-Terminators, Avengers, Daredevil, Power Pack, Cloak and Dagger, Fantastic Four, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man, and Damage Control. The story revolved around Cyclops’s wife and Jean Grey clone Madelyne Pryor finally breaking bad after ages of neglect and being targeted by Mister Sinister. Pryor joins forces with the demons of Limbo to invade New York City, with the X-Men leading the charge, and the other heroes of the city jumping into the fray. “Inferno” is the culmination of years of stories, and is a perfect snapshot of the X-Men during the Outback Era. It’s an excellent story that holds up even all these decades later.
4) Uncanny X-Men #186-187
No list of best ’80s X-Men stories is complete without Uncanny X-Men #186-187, the one two-punch of “Lifedeath” and “Wraithkill”. Storm, who had lost her powers thanks to a weapon that neutralized mutant powers (called the Neutralizer, in case you were wondering), goes to Forge. The two of them grow very close, something that had started before this story, until Storm finds out it was Forge who created the weapon. An attack by the Dire Wraiths sees the two work together to survive, their relationship reaching a whole new level. This is one of the premiere Storm stories, a powerful little story about love and things it can do to us. It’s a must read for anyone who really wants to understand how the X-Men worked in the ’80s; Claremont and his co-conspirators were creating wild character focused stories for newsstand audiences who might have picked up an issue on a whim and for those fans who had been religiously following the X-Men for years.
3) “Days of Future Past”
“Days of Future Past” is an extremely important story, both to the history of the X-Men and the history of superhero comics in general. “Days of Future Past” took readers to a future where the Sentinels have conquered humanity in an effort to control mutation, killing most mutants and superhumans, and starting concentration camps for everyone else. The X-Men come up with a plan to stop this terrible future, sending Kate Pryde back in time to prevent the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly and the passing of the Mutant Registration Act. “Days of Future Past” brought the dystopian future storytelling tropes to the X-Men and superhero comics, establishing a dark future for mutants that was seemingly all but written in stone. The popularity of “Days of Future Past” showed that this type of story could work for fans, and superhero comic creators have used ruined futures, often controlled by powerful machines, many times. That all stems from “Days of Future Past”.
2) “God Loves, Man Kills”
“God Loves, Man Kills” was part of Marvel’s line of graphic novels, stories that were usually darker and more mature than the typical Marvel fare. “God Loves, Man Kills” definitely lived up to that. The story kicked off with the X-Men and Magneto both investigating the deaths of mutant children, and learning that Reverend Stryker and the Purifiers are the ones behind all of it. This leads the two sides to team up against the Purifiers. “God Loves, Man Kills” takes the central civil rights metaphor of the X-Men and pushes it to the fore. Bigotry is a key focus of the story, as is the role of religion in these kinds of beliefs. “God Loves, Man Kills” was a groundbreaking story unlike anything that Marvel had attempted at the time; it’s the type of story that would be called “woke” by the usual suspects nowadays. It’s a powerful story, one that shows exactly what the best X-Men stories can be.
1) “The Dark Phoenix Saga”
“The Dark Phoenix Saga” is the best Marvel story ever, so it is obviously would be the best X-Men of the ’80s. Claremont, along with co-plotters/artists Dave Cockrum ad John Byrne, had been building to this story since introducing the Phoenix Force in issue #101. It all came to a head when the Hellfire Club was able to capture Jean Grey and Mastermind’s manipulations, along with the burden of her godlike power, birthed the Dark Phoenix. “The Dark Phoenix Saga” is basically a Greek tragedy starring the X-Men. The team does everything they can to save their friend, and the key to this story isn’t the big action but the emotional stakes. This is a snapshot of the X-Men in their perfect form, a found family fighting against the forces of creation themselves to save Jean Grey from herself. It’s constantly brilliant, and if you’ve never read it before, you are in for a treat.
What do you think are the best X-Men stories of the ’80s? Sound off in the comments below.
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