The X-Men were the biggest superheroes of the ’90s. Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Wolverine, and at times X-Force were all top ten selling books for basically the entire decade. However, one of the problems with the comic industry in the ’90s was the dominance of the X-Men, and the nature of X-Men comics. Sales were imploding everywhere, and the X-Men were becoming more insular, repeating the same stories to an audience that wasn’t listening. Things had to change, and it would come in the ’00s. Marvel was reinvigorated by the installment of Joe Quesada as editor in chief, and the X-Men got to shine brightly in the ’00s, even if Marvel was also getting ready to downgrade them so the Avengers could be dominant again.
Many of the best X-Men stories come from the ’00s. Some of the greatest creators in the history of the comic medium joined the X-Men books in the ’00s, and readers got an embarrassment of riches from the first decade of the 21st century. There are some readers out there who will rank the X-Men stories of the ’00s with those of the ’80s. That’s how creative X-Men comics got in the ’80s. These 10 X-Men stories are the best of the decade, and will live in the memories of X-Men fans forever.
10) “Exogenetic”
Warren Ellis’s run on Astonishing X-Men has been lost to the sands of time, but it’s much better than anyone remembers. “Exogenetic” spans Astonishing X-Men #31-35, with art by Phil Jimenez, and pits the X-Men up against a mastermind who has waited years to strike, using the most evil weapons of them all — the very corpses of the X-Men’s past. The X-Men face off against an enemy that has completely prepared for them, one who hates them for a surprising — yet valid — reason. “Exogenetic” is awesome from page one, with Ellis taking things to some very strange places. Jimenez’s art is the real MVP, bringing the big action feel of the script to life, and creating some beautiful body horror masterpieces. This is an X-Men story unlike any you’ve ever seen.
9)”Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire”
The post-House of X era of the X-Men went to some very interesting places, and Ed Brubaker, in the midst of his success on Captain America, joining the X-Office was a cause for celebration. Brubaker kicked off his run with X-Men: Deadly Genesis, which led into “Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire”, a twelve issue story with artists Billy Tan and Clayton Henry. It ran in Uncanny X-Men #475-486 and followed a team of X-Men led by Havok — Polaris, Marvel Girl, Warpath, Nightcrawler, Xavier, and Darwin — into space to stop the third Summers brother Vulcan from destroying the Shi’Ar for revenge. It’s a true epic, and one of the best Shi’Ar stories since Claremont. This is one is an all-timer, with some great action, the returns of the Starjammers and the Imperial Guard, and plain old-fashioned X-Men soap opera goodness.
8) “Unstoppable”
Joss Whedon and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men is praised by a lot of fans, but it’s not as great as it could have been. It’s a solid Claremont pastiche X-Men series, with some amazing art and pretty good characterization. It’s great to give a new X-Men fan, but for those of us who have been reading the X-Men for a long time, it’s not as great as everyone else thinks it it. However, “Unstoppable” is the crowning achievement of the book. The final arc ties up all of the loose ends, as the X-Men are dragged to the Breakworld for execution so that the prophecy of the world’s destruction at the hands of an X-Man can’t come to pass. What follows is a story that illustrates why the X-Men are the greatest group of heroes of them all. Running through Astonishing X-Men #19-24 and Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1, it’s an entertaining X-Men story that does everything right.
7) “Supernovas”
Mike Carey started writing X-Men (Vol. 2) #188, and would have one of the longest tenures of any X-Men writers — he’s second only to Claremont for sheer number of issues written. Carey gave readers some of the best Rogue stories ever, and repaired the relationship between Xavier, Magneto, and Legion. His run is tremendous and you should check the whole thing out, but if you want to see what all the fuss about, pick up “Supernovas”, from X-Men (Vol. 2) #188-193, from Carey, Chris Bachalo, and Clayton Henry. This story pit Rogue’s rapid response team against the Children of the Vault, a group of post-humans created to destroy the mutant race. This is the X-Men at their finest, a disparate group of characters coming together to battle the deadliest threat out there. “Supernovas” shines bright.
6) “Murder at the Mansion”
Grant Morrison’s New X-Men is the best X-Men run of the 21st century, and you’re going to be seeing more of it on this list. The first story from Morrison’s run is “Murder at the Mansion”, from New X-Men #139-141, with art by Phil Jimenez. Jean Grey has discovered that Emma Frost was having a psychic affair and she’s not happy. When Emma is found in her diamond form shattered, the X-Men call in Sage and Bishop from the X-Treme team to figure who shattered the former White Queen. This story not only digs into Emma’s origin, but also pushes New X-Men closer and closer to its inevitable end. Morrison and Jimenez work together very well — they’d previously worked together on The Invisibles (Vol. 2) and in New X-Men — and this is an awesome X-Men story, heavy on the soap opera dynamics of Marvel’s messiest team.
5) “Riot at Xavier’s”
“Riot at Xavier’s” ran through New X-Men #135-138. It’s the last story arc drawn by Frank Quitely, who Morrison kicked off their run with. “Riot at Xavier’s” focuses on Quentin Quire, a student at Xavier’s who finds out he’s adopted. This discovery leads him off the deep end, and he begins to act out and hate humanity. An Omega class telepath, Quire recruits a gang of like-minded mutants and they decide to protest on the the latest media day at the school. “Riot at Xavier’s” is one of the more interesting of Morrison’s stories, as they dig into what the youth culture of mutants would be like. Morrison and Quitely are an amazing team, and there are some unforgettable images and ideas in this story. It leads directly into “Murder at the Mansion”, and is a brilliant taste of what Morrison’s X-Men does so well.
4) “Planet X”
“Planet X” is one of the most controversial X-Men stories of the ’00s, all because of what it did with Magneto. Morrison baited and switched everyone over their run with the character Xorn, a pacifist mutant with healing powers who supposedly had a star for a head. However, Xorn wasn’t what he seemed to be, and “Planet X” revealed that Xorn was Magneto all along. Magneto shatters the X-Men and takes over Manhattan, leaving the team to come back together to save the day. “Planet X” angers a lot of X-Men fans because it showed Magneto as the daft terrorist the character could be. However, it’s an excellent X-Men story that shows one of the main premises of Morrison’s run — the cost of hate on the soul. It’s one of the best X-Men vs. Magneto fights, and it ends with a shock that changed the X-Men for years. Don’t believe the haters — “Planet X” is amazing.
3) “Assault on Weapon Plus”
Morrison created one of the coolest mutants of the 21st century, Fantomex, earlier in the run, but Fantomex was part of the Igor Kordey drawn issues, when the book was constantly late and the art was very rushed. Readers didn’t get a Fantomex story with good art until “Assault on Weapon Plus” from New X-Men #142-145, with artist Chris Bachalo. Wolverine finds Cyclops after he ran away from the X-Mansion in “Murder at the Mansion” at the Hellfire Club and recruits him for a mission to the World, the birthplace of Fantomex and the Weapon Plus program. Readers are treated to one of the wildest sieges ever, as Morrison and Bachalo take the mutants into the most bizarre place they’ve ever been. “Assault on Weapon Plus” is brilliant Morrison goodness, the writer dropping multiple big sci-fi ideas on readers and some amazing action. Bachalo’s art is perfect for this story, and there are mind-blowing scenes. “Assault on Weapon Plus” is special. Read it and see.
2) “Ghost Box”
Warren Ellis’s Astonishing X-Men is amazing, and that quality began with his first story on the book. “Ghost Box” ran through Astonishing X-Men #25-30. Ellis was joined by artist Simone Bianchi and gave readers something that can best be described as Morrison and Whedon mixed together. “Ghost Box” sees the X-Men discover the corpse of a mutant they’ve never seen before. Back in the day, this wouldn’t be a problem, but right now the X-Men have access to every mutant on the planet. With the possibility of more mutants existing in the shadows, the team goes a trip around the world for clues. This leads them on a quest that takes them to a spaceship graveyard, a secret Chinese mutant city, and to the base of an ally gone barmy all to discover what’s going on. “Ghost Box” is X-Men sci-fi at its best, and Ellis has a near-perfect grasp on the voices of the team. Bianchi’s art is outstanding; his style is unique and detailed and it really gives this story the otherworldly feel it needs. This is peak X-Men, and it’s a shame it doesn’t get talked about more.
1) “E Is for Extinction”
Morrison joined the X-Men books with New X-Men #114, along with artist Frank Quitely. Their first story was the best X-Men tale of the ’00s — “E Is for Extinction”, which ran through New X-Men #114-116. This three issue story changed the X-Men’s status quo, establishing them as mutant rescue workers, introduced Cassandra Nova, told readers about the mutant boom and the extinction gene in humanity, and added Emma Frost to the team. “E Is for Extinction” is everything great about the X-Men and Grant Morrison mixed together, with Quitely’s quirky art giving readers some outstanding images. This is what the X-Men should be, and even over twenty years later, no X-Men story has felt as fresh as this one.
What are your favorite X-Men stories of the ’00s? Sound off in the comments below.
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