The X-Men Return to the Marvel Universe

The X-Men have been missing from the Marvel Universe. They disappeared so suddenly and stayed gone for so long that the rest of the world believed they were dead. Today, they made their return. SPOILERS for Age of X-Men: Omega and Uncanny X-Men #22 follow.

The majority of Marvel's mutants haven't been seen since their showdown with X-Man in "X-Men: Disassembled." In that issue, it appeared that X-Man and all of the X-Men died and that their bodies vanished from the world.

In truth, they were taken from the Marvel Universe and put into new lives in the Age of X-Man universe. That was the universe as envisioned by Nate Grey, who believed he could solve all of the X-Men's problems and end their cycle of violence by taking away their interpersonal relationships. Doing so required him to wipe their memories of any trace of their past life.

But those memories began to resurface. Literal cracks in his world began to form. Some of the X-Men remembered who they were and rebelled against X-Man. In the final showdown, X-Man reveals that the world he made isn't an illusion, but an actual new universe born of his power combined with that of a cosmic artifact called the Life Seed. He gives the X-Men the choice to leave his utopia and return to their old life or to stay forever. Knowing that other mutants were left behind, the X-Men make their return to the Marvel Universe.

Their return is timely, but not in time to save several of their fellow mutants who die in the pages of Uncanny X-Men #22. Cyclops and Wolverine are getting ready to make their last stand against an army of Sentinels they can't hope to defeat. That's when they hear a familiar battle cry:

The X-Men reappear in time to take out the Sentinels and to let Cyclops and the few remaining mutant heroes know that there is still something worth fighting for. Together, they make the choice to destroy the Cerebro machine Emma used to erase mutants from the minds of all humans, returning instead to the fighting for a world that hates and fears them.

What did you think of the X-Men's return to the Marvel Universe and the finales of Age of X-Man and Uncanny X-Men? Let us know in the comments. Age of X-Man: Omega and Uncanny X-Men #22 are on sale now.