The X-Men were one of the first Marvel teams to become a household name, as millions of kids in the ’90s watched the team’s adventures on TV for years. Looking at the history of the team since they debuted, it’s honestly pretty impressive how popular the team have become. The main reason for this, of course, is the comics. Every piece of mass media that contains the X-Men owns a debt to the small army of creators that have worked on Marvel’s merry mutants’ printed adventures, making the group into one of the most popular assemblage of superheroes ever. These comics have enthralled generations of readers, and have become legendary in the eyes of the fandom.
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While the writing on the X-books has been great (at times), one can’t deny how important the art was to the equation. Marvel put the best artists they could on the books over the years, and those creators have given readers some amazing covers, many of which changed the course of comic history. These ten X-Men covers changed everything, and have gone down as some of the greatest in the industry’s history.
10) House of X #1
The Krakoa Era was a game-changing moment and it all began with this one cover from Pepe Larraz. Readers didn’t know much about what was coming from this story, but this cover excited readers. “Look at the new costumes! What is that portal? Why is Xavier wearing a Cerebro helmet and why is Magneto wearing a white costume?” Covers are meant to make people want to read a comic and this one definitely did that. The Krakoa Era was massively successful right off the bat, buoying comic sales during the pandemic, and all of it can be traced back to this cover.
9) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #281
1991 was a huge year for the X-Men. Writer Chris Claremont, who had been writing the book since 1974, was pushed out in favor of the superstar artists that Marvel believed were driving sales. A second X-Men book was added to the mix, and X-legend John Byrne came back to the title to script it starting with Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #281, with a cover by Whilce Potracio. While this issue didn’t sell nearly as much as X-Men (Vol. 2) #1 (more on that one later), it was still a huge moment in the history of the group. It’s also just an exciting cover, showing the team in what appears to be a desperate battle against the Sentinels. It helped show artists Jim Lee and Whilce Potracio that they were capable of doing most of the work themselves, which played an important role in the eventual creation of Image Comics.
8) X-Men (Vol. 2) #25
Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and what he’s been doing since 1974 is sell X-Men comics. The ’90s were the greatest era of the team, at least when it comes to sales, and the ol’Canucklehead was a huge part of that. X-Men (Vol. 2) #25 was one of the most important moments of his existence, and this cover by Andy Kubert did exactly what it needed to: gave readers a tantalizing glimpse of what was in the book. It’s such a great cover, even taking into account the hologram gimmick (which was the style at the time). It told a story completely on its own.
7) New X-Men (Vol. 1) #114
New X-Men is a legendary time in X-history, and this cover was the perfect way to introduce it to readers. The ’90s had started great for the men and women of X and ended better than everyone else at Marvel, but nowhere near where they were. The year 2000 was something of a bust for the team, and they needed a new direction. This cover by Frank Quitely was the epicenter of that. It introduced the new costumes for the team, has a great look to it, and is eye-catching right away. It’s a cover that has been homaged numerous times and convinced readers that the X-Men could be cool again.
6) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 10 #248
Jim Lee is currently the head of DC Comics, having helped the company become more popular than it has been in years. Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #248 is the genesis of all that. It was the first issue of Uncanny X-Men he drew and made him into a superstar. It’s not a game-changing issue storywise, but it honestly changed the course of comic history. Lee became the bestselling artist of all time, and his (and other artists’) dislike of Marvel’s contract structure planted the seeds of Image Comics, which has given us some of the greatest comics ever. That led to Lee creating Wildstorm Studios, which he sold to DC Comics and became a part of the company, rising through the ranks to become the company’s most important person. None of that would have happened without this one gorgeous Lee cover.
5) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #200
Magneto was long the X-Men’s greatest enemy, but revolutionary X-Men writer Chris Claremont decided that the villain could be so much more. The writer built the Holocaust origin for the character, making him deeper and more interesting than ever. All of that led to Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #200, the issue where Magneto finally joined the team. The cover is from comic royalty John Romita Jr. and it’s awesome. While Romita Jr.’s style isn’t enjoyed by everyone, this cover has an energy to it that another artist wouldn’t be able to match. It was the most unique Magneto cover we’d seen, and it’s a classic.
4) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #136
“Dark Phoenix Saga” is the greatest Marvel story ever, and this is one of many amazing covers from the groundbreaking tale. John Byrne is a lot of things, many of them negative, but one of the positive ones is that he’s an amazing cover artist. Byrne created an iconic image by homaging Michaelangelo’s Pieta, a piece of classic art that many comic artists have based their covers on. It’s a gorgeous, emotional cover that truly set the tone of the issue for readers. It’s a true work of art, and like the best covers it tells an entire story with one image.
3) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #101
The story of the Phoenix is one of the most important comics stories of all time, its success allowing it to reach into numerous corners of the Marvel Universe. It all started with the cover to Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #101, by Dave Cockrum, which is honestly one of the coolest way to introduce a character ever. There’s so much to the cover. The fear and desperation of the drowning X-Men is juxtaposed with the triumphant moment of the birth of the Phoenix, acting as a metaphor for the rise from death that the phoenix has always represented. It’s such a great composition, and the kind of cover that no one who saw it back then could have walked away from. Cockrum was a criminally underrated artist and covers like this prove just how great he was.
2) Giant-Size X-Men (Vol. 1) #1
There’s an argument that can be made that Giant-Size X-Men #1 is one of the most important covers in Marvel history. This issue introduced the new version of the team, and is the genesis of all of the success they’ve had since then. Dave Cockrum killed it with his cover, showing the new team bursting out of the shadows of the past. There’s an excitement and energy to this cover that comes across immediately, the birth of an exciting new era. It’s a cover style that had been done before, but the way it perfected that cover trope is evident when you compare it to others like it.
1) X-Men (Vol. 2) #1
Comics used to sell much better back in the day, but no comic in the modern era sold as many copies as X-Men (Vol. 2) #1 (and yes, you can bring up all of the unsold copies that have floated around for decades, but Marvel did sell those issues to stores, so it counts). Jim Lee’s cover — there were five variants, one of which combined all of them — sold eight million copies and created one of the most iconic images in X-Men history. It’s basically a perfect cover, presenting the various characters in flawless “glamor” shots as the X-Men and Magneto prepared for a battle unlike any other. This cover brought millions of fans to the table, and is still beloved today.
What’s your favorite X-Men cover? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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