35 Years Ago, The X-Men Ended Their Best Era With Their Most Important Story

The X-Men are one of Marvel’s biggest IPs, but it wasn’t always that way. In fact, back in the early ’70s, the X-Men were on the last stage before cancellation, simply reprinting their older adventures. That all changed with the introduction of a brand-new team and the start of the most important Marvel comic of all, with Chris Claremont’s legendary run. Claremont reinvented the X-Men from the ground up. He took the team from a forgettable bunch of misfits to a universe-spanning superpower that was known in every corner of the Marvel Universe. Claremont’s incredible seventeen-year run redefined the X-Men and comic books across the board.

Claremont was the architect behind the X-Men’s most influential and best-known stories. He penned “The Dark Phoenix Saga” and God Loves, Man Kills, alongside countless other incredible, amazing stories. Claremont’s impact on the X-Men literally cannot be overstated, and his initial time on the X-line was easily their greatest period of consistent, inventive stories. Of course, all eras come to an end, and the first Uncanny X-Men issue without Claremont as a writing credit in over a decade and a half was issue #280. This story was the end of an era, and it is the perfect final note to Claremont’s run.

The X-Men’s Most Important Writer’s Final Story

The “Muir Island Saga” was the final storyline in Uncanny X-Men (1963) that Claremont worked on. He outlined the story and wrote the first two issues alongside Fabian Nicieza and Jim Lee, but he would then move on to the second volume of X-Men (1991). Claremont would write three issues for that series, the first arc, before leaving writing for the team for a decade. His final story with Magneto was a wonderful epilogue to the character that Claremont brought from the gutter into the villain hall of fame, but as great as his final three issues are, the “Muir Island Saga” is the greatest finale a run could ask for.

This storyline saw the Shadow King take over the X-Men of Muir Island in an attempt to reconstitute himself on the mortal plane. The X-Men and X-Factor teamed up to defeat the threat, with the original X-Men battling the new team to save the day. In the end, everyone worked together to protect and assist Xavier as he battled the Shadow King on the Astral Plane, while the body the villain possessed, Legion, nearly killed Xavier in the real world. They defeated the Shadow King but at the cost of Xavier’s legs. He needed his X-Men to carry him to his dream, and so, his X-Men were reforged into two distinct new teams.

The Perfect Love Story to Overcome Hate

The “Muir Island Saga” is the perfect end not just because it totally reinvented the X-Men, just as Claremont always had, but also because it works as the most important chapter for Professor X. Claremont understood that Xavier was the heart of the X-Men. His dream was their foundation, and the love he held for everyone, good or evil, spurred them to become the best hero team in the universe. The Shadow King, meanwhile, was the first evil mutant Charles had ever fought, and he returned to drown what Charles loved most, his students, in hatred. This was a battle between love and hate.

All of the X-Men’s greatest stories focus on the love that drives the heroes and the hate that spurs their enemies. Claremont’s Xavier was the ultimate warrior of unconditional love. Yes, he was imperfect, but he still strove to be kind to everyone, and that love inspired a generation of heroes. This story gave focus to what every X-Man loved most, with the Shadow King using their desires against them and encouraging their hate. This was a battle for their hearts and minds, and in the end, the only thing that could defeat the Shadow King was everyone’s love for Charles. He even offered the Shadow King a chance to be saved, which the villain rejected.

It’s this type of character work that made Claremont’s initial run so special. Every character got their due, and the emotional core always resonated with powerful feelings of love that overcame hate. The “Muir Island Saga” was inventive, gave us a fresh status quo, and had a wonderful, character-driven core. It had all of Claremont’s strengths in spades, for sure. This story’s final message was the perfect way to close Claremont’s story with the X-Men. Xavier’s back was broken, just as his heart was by the world, but he was not alone. He could not make his dream a reality on his own. Instead, he needed his X-Men working together as a team, a family, to do the work that his dream inspired.

This is the X-Men at their peak. What do you think of this saga as the final chapter in Claremont’s X-Men? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

5 X-Men Who Embody Everything the Team Stands For (And #3 Needs His Own Series Now)