From Uncanny to Giant Sized. Storm to Wolverine. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters to Krakoa. Mutant-kind have been published at Marvel Comics for over 60 years now, so we here at Greenlight Comics present our X-Men Essentials List! We are also making sure this list covers all Mutant adjacent characters and groups, not just books with the letter “X” at the start.
We’ve prioritised stories that are currently in print through collected editions, just so we aren’t tempting you with things you can’t buy and read today! *Most of the time at least, if Marvel keep reprinting them*
You can also check out our more Essentials Lists & Previews over on the blog!
HOUSE OF X POWERS OF X
(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) Pepe Larraz, R. B. Silva (CA) Pepe Larraz
The next great evolution of the X-Men! “While you slept, the world changed.” With those words, Professor X announces to the people of Earth the new mutant nation of Krakoa. It is a safe haven for all Homo superior, with its own rules and its own language. In return for international recognition, Xavier will offer humanity great scientific advancements born of Krakoa’s unique flora. But the time for integration has ended. Xavier’s old dream is dead – and now a new one begins. Is mutantkind’s greatest enemy the prejudice of humans or the cold artificial intelligences that await a hundred – even a thousand – years from now? Visionary writer Jonathan Hickman (FANTASTIC FOUR, AVENGERS, SECRET WARS) transforms mutantkind’s past, present and future – and sets the stage for the Dawn of X!
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST
(W) Chris Claremont, John Byrne (A) John Byrne, John Romita Jr. (CA) John Byrne
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The sensational creative team of Chris Claremont and John Byrne followed their industry-changing “Dark Phoenix Saga” with the equally revolutionary “Days of Future Past”! Relive the legendary first journey into the then far-off dystopian future of 2013 – where Sentinels stalk the Earth, and the X-Men were mutantkind’s only hope…until they died! This all-time classic is collected alongside more unforgettable tales from the climax of the Claremont/Byrne run, including the funeral of Jean Grey! The return of Alpha Flight, in deadly battle with the Wendigo! And Kitty Pryde getting a demon for Christmas?! Plus: Future star John Romita Jr. shows his artistic chops when the sorceress Margali Szardos sends the X-Men to hell!
WOLVERINE: OLD MAN LOGAN
(W) Mark Millar (A/CA) Steve McNiven
A future world savaged and sundered by super villains, the United States ain’t what it used to be. In California, now a wasteland controlled by the evil Hulk Gang, the former Wolverine seeks to live in peace. He’s retired, finally free from the violence of his former existence as an X-Man, and he wants to keep it that way. If only they’d let him. Now, Logan and an aged, blind Hawkeye are forced into a cross-country jaunt through villain-ruled lands, on a collision course with the worst of them all! Can Old Man Logan maintain his pacifist vow and make his last stand without doing what he does best? Mark Millar and Steve McNiven unite for a riotous romp through a future world of death, despair and dynamic action!
X-MEN BY HICKMAN OMNIBUS
(W) Jonathan Hickman, More (A) Leinil Francis Yu, More (CA) Leinil Francis Yu
Jonathan Hickman ushered in a new era for all of mutantkind with HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X! Now, he and an array of superstar artists redefine the X-MEN! With the newly founded island nation of Krakoa opening up limitless possibilities and empowering mutantkind at last, humans grapple uncomfortably with the new world order – and the X-Men must defend what they have built! As the X-Men create a new mutant culture and face threats like Hordeculture, Nimrod and the Vault, cosmic chaos descends in the form of the Brood, Starjammers and Shi’ar Imperial Guard! And can Storm beat a deadly threat from within before the clock runs out? Jonathan Hickman brings the X-Men to the world stage!
ASTONISHING X-MEN MODERN ERA EPIC COLLECTION VOL 1
(W) Joss Whedon (A/CA) John Cassaday
A blockbuster era for Marvel’s mutants! Cyclops and Emma Frost re-form the X-Men as the world’s greatest super team, with Wolverine, Kitty Pryde and Beast completing the initial roster. They plan to astonish the world – but when unexpected news about the mutant gene hits the airwaves, will it derail their dreams? As demand for the “mutant cure” reaches near-riot levels, the X-Men go head-to-head with the enigmatic Ord – but a startling surprise awaits them in the heart of their enemy’s stronghold! Then, a tragic death at the Xavier Institute reveals a powerful enemy living among the X-Men that they could never have suspected. Reunited with Professor X, the team will face this dangerous new foe in the ruins of Genosha… but secrets from the past might derail the team’s future! Plus: The debut of S.W.O.R.D.!
X-MEN: GRAND DESIGN TRILOGY
(W/A) Ed Piskor
Over six tumultuous decades, the X-Men have carved a singular place in comic-book lore and popular culture. Now, New York Times best-selling author Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree, Wizzywig) takes you on a pulse-pounding tour of X-Men history unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before – an intricate labor of love that stitches together hundreds of classic and obscure stories into one seamless X-Men masterpiece! All three volumes of Piskor’s GRAND DESIGN series are collected in a single book – taking you from Professor X’s formation of the original team through the Second Genesis of the All-New, All-Different X-Men and the devastating Dark Phoenix Saga to 1980s epics such as Inferno that pushed mutantkind to the brink of X-tinction!
X-MEN: THE DARK PHOENIX SAGA
(W) Chris Claremont, John Byrne (A/CA) John Byrne
An epic tale of triumph and tragedy! The X-Men have fought many battles, been on galaxy-spanning adventures and defeated enemies of limitless might… but none of it prepared them for the most shocking struggle they would ever face. One of their own, Jean Grey, has gained cosmic power beyond all comprehension – and that power has corrupted her absolutely! Now, the X-Men must decide whether the life of the friend they cherish is worth the possible destruction of the entire universe! This touching tale of ultimate power and the triumph of the human spirit has been a cornerstone of the X-Men mythos for decades. Relive the saga that changed everything!
IMMORTAL X-MEN BY KIERON GILLEN
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Lucas Werneck, Michele Bandini (CA) Mark Brooks
Kieron Gillen returns to the world of X! The Quiet Council are the rulers of the Krakoan age, for better or worse. But now, shaken by INFERNO, they strive to hold their nation together – no matter how much they want to tear each other apart! And IMMORTAL X-MEN brings you inside the room where it all happens! As Magneto leaves the Council, his big shoes need to be filled. Selene demonstrating her foot size by crushing the whole island beneath it is unorthodox yet compelling. Can the Quiet Council resist? Meanwhile, the resurrected mutant seer called Destiny wrote her books of prophecy over one hundred years ago – and a sequel is long overdue! As the Council’s machinations grow desperate and Emma Frost prepares another Hellfire Gala, sinister secrets are laid bare – but some secrets are more sinister than others!
X-MEN '92: THE SAGA CONTINUES
(W) Chad Bowers, Various (A) Scott Koblish, Various (CA) Pepe Larraz
Revisit a beloved X-Men era in this series inspired by the classic cartoon! The 1990s roll call is as uncanny as ever: Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee! And they’re facing off against their decade’s fiercest foes, both on Battleworld and at a newly expanded Xavier’s School! But who are the Shadow Queen and Alpha Red?! And with the X-Men under siege, can X-Force ’92 save them? New mutants arrive at the school, Lila Cheney teleports in for Westchester’s biggest music festival, and deadly menaces threaten mutantkind – including the Brood and Apocalypse! But when the X-Men found their own nation on the island of Krakoa, will they finally find peace? And which mysteriously long-lived mutant is guiding them from the shadows?
WOLVERINE: WEAPON X (DELUXE EDITION)
(W/A) Barry Windsor-Smith
WOLVERINE: WEAPON X is the character-defining origin of the man known only as Logan. Written and illustrated by auteur creator and master storyteller Barry Windsor-Smith, it is undeniably one of the greatest Wolverine stories ever told. After being taken hostage by an experimental Canadian military-science outfit, Logan is transformed into Weapon X, an unstoppable killing machine with an indestructible adamantium skeleton and razor-sharp claws. But Weapon X cannot be contained by his captors – and trapped in their lab with the monster they have made, they will face his feral wrath! It’s a psychedelic horror story in the mold of Frankenstein, restored from original art and print sources for this stunning deluxe edition!
X-MEN RED BY AL EWING
(W) Al Ewing (A) Stefano Caselli & Various (CA) Russell Dauterman
Who can save the red planet? The mutants of Arakko spent millennia scarred by war – but on the world once called Mars, they’re learning to live in peace. Storm knows something greater than a queen is needed to keep this fragile new world together – but while she has a broken Magneto in her corner, Roberto Da Costa is making his own moves. Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. has other plans to influence Arakko, with an unstable Vulcan on her side and Cable keeping his own secrets! And what of the ruthless Tarn the Uncaring, who now sits on the planet’s ruling council? As machinations and revelations rock the red planet, the clock ticks down to interstellar war – and judgment day is coming. It’s a new world full of intrigue, and someone has to fight for it!
WOLVERINE: BLACK, WHITE & BLOOD
(W/A) Various (CA) Adam Kubert
The best there is by the best there are – in brutal black-and-white, with a liberal splash of blood red! Legendary creators, modern superstars, rising talents and fresh voices unite to tell savage tales of your favorite X-Man! Logan. Weapon X. Patch. Wolverine. He’s gone by many names and lived many different lives. This exploration of his storied history takes you from Japan to Madripoor to the Savage Land, from a revelatory return to the Weapon X program to a high-stakes mission with X-Force! Logan is joined by old allies such as Kate Pryde and Nick Fury and heads into bloody battle against foes familiar and surprising – including Arcade, the Reavers, Cosmic Ghost Rider and the deadliest of them all: Sabretooth! And it’s all in glorious black-andwhite – with blood all over!
X-TERMINATORS
(W) Leah Williams (A) Carlos E. Gomez (CA) Federico Vicentini
Enter the Grindhouse of X! When Jubilee and Boom-Boom agree to take Dazzler out for a night on the town to console her after her nasty breakup, they have no idea they’re about to be kidnapped and put into elaborate death traps for their efforts! What are three young women with the power to blow things up to do? Find a fourth who is not afraid of a little blood, sweat and carnage! Laura Kinney, the Wolverine, completes the quartet of deadly X-Women fighting for their lives – and more important, fighting for vengeance on the @#$%^&*!! dead man who did this to them! But just when you thought the night couldn’t get any more bonkers, would you believe: vampires?! Time to make these bloodsuckers regret they ever crossed paths with the X-Terminators!
AVENGERS VS X-MEN
(W) Brian Michael Bendis, Various (A) Frank Cho, Various (CA) Jim Cheung
Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the Children of the Atom go to war in the ultimate super-hero showdown! The world-destroying Phoenix Force is back — and while the Avengers are intent on stopping it, Cyclops and his X-Men have other ideas. To Captain America, the Phoenix threatens doom. To Cyclops, it could mean salvation. Marvel’s two greatest leaders wage war, with the Phoenix’s chosen host — Hope Summers — caught in the middle. How far are both sides willing to go? The answer lies in a battle so big no one world could contain it…and a shocking ending that neither team could have seen coming! Marvel’s top writers and artists present a space-faring, world-changing epic — the culmination of a decade’s worth of incredible event storytelling.
MS MARVEL: THE NEW MUTANT
(W) Vellani, Iman, Pirzada, Sabir (A) Carlos E. Gomez, Adam Gorham (CA) Stanley Lau “Artgerm”
During 2013’s ‘Infinity’ event, Kamala was engulfed in Terrigen Mist, unlocking her latent superhuman abilities. Recently, Kamala made a heroic sacrifice in the pages of ‘Amazing Spider-Man’, but was later reborn anew thanks to mutant-exclusive resurrection technology! That’s right, Kamala Khan is a mutant! This game-changing revelation will thrust the character into the exciting world of the X-Men as she joins the team just as they enter the new era of FALL OF X! In this thrilling age of hate and fear, Kamala has a secret mission to pull off for the X-Men, all the while struggling to acclimate to this new part of her identity! This extraordinary era for the character will be co-written by the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s own Kamala Khan, actress Iman Vellani, and Sabir Pirzada, writer of the recent Dark Web: Ms. Marvel limited series and Ms. Marvel’s Disney+ series!
Don’t worry there are always plenty of X-titles on the horizon from Marvel Comics, so keep your eyes out for more great books in the future!