5 ‘00s X-Men Stories You Can’t Miss

The X-Men have a rich history, with its best decade easily being the ’80s. The ’90s were cool and successful, but couldn’t stand with the amazing writing of the previous decade. Then the ’00s happened. Being an X-Men fan in the ’00s was pretty fun. The decade started with a return of Chris Claremont, then we got Grant Morrison, and after Marvel ran Morrison off, we got Joss Whedon and John Cassaday, as well as creators like Ed Brubaker and Mike Carey. Of course, we also got Chuck Austen, but the less we talk about that period the better. There are some fantastic X-Men stories from the ’00s, even if it was also the decade that saw the beginning of Marvel’s marginalization of the X-Men (what else do you think that House of M was for?).

Looking back at the ’00s, there are a lot of really great (and really bad) stories from Marvel’s merry mutants. We’ve talked a lot about the best of all time stories from that period, but there are some ’00s tales that don’t get the credit they deserve. These five ’00s X-Men stories are perfect for every Marvel fan, and will show why the ’00s were pretty great for the team (besides the beginning of the marginalization).

5) Uncanny X-Men #383

Chris Claremont’s return to the X-Men was a failure, but there are some great stories from the short (17 issues in total) run. Uncanny X-Men #383, by Claremont and Adam Kubert, has always been one of my favorites of the era. The team is kidnapped in Russia by some Neo, a new kind of mutant, while on a mission for ally in the Russian military, with only Storm able to get away and get her friends back. It’s a fun, action packed double-sized story that mostly takes place in a Russian nightclub and it is better than it has any right to be. Adam Kubert’s art is gorgeous, and Claremont’s characterization is perfect. The Neo introduced in the issue are all pretty cool, and the story’s use of flashbacks gives it some oomph. I read it so much in the year 2000, that the cover came off the book. The issue doesn’t get enough credit for how great it is. Hunt this one down, because it’s definitely worth a read.

4) “Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire”

Ed Brubaker became a superstar in the ’00s thanks to his run on Captain America. He got a chance to write X-Men in 2006 with X-Men: Deadly Genesis, which introduced the third Summers brother Vulcan, and then followed that story up in Uncanny X-Men. “Rise and Fall of the Shi’Ar Empire” is a twelve-issue sci-fi epic by Brubaker, Billy Tan, and Clayton Henry. A group of the X-Men led by Havok and Xavier go after Vulcan, who has targeted the Shi’Ar Empire for revenge. The story fleshes out Vulcan, brings back the Starjammers, and began about 19 years of weirdness with the Shi’Ar throne. Brubaker’s run on Uncanny wasn’t fantastic in total, but if he had just written this twelve-issue story, it would be looked on differently. This one is a barnburner and it never fails to impress. It’s the best non-Claremont Shi’Ar story ever.

3) “Supernovas”

“Supernovas” kicked off Mike Carey’s run on X-Men, which is the longest non-Claremont X-Men run. It’s easily one of the best ’00s X-Men stories, but I’m pretty much the only one who talks about it on a semi regular basis. Carey, joined by Chris Bachalo and Clayton Henry (he was the go to X-Men fill-in artist in ’06 and ’07), gave Rogue her second berth as an X-Men leader. She forms a rapid response team to deal with threats to mutants in the post-House of M days, bringing together Iceman, Cannonball, Cable, Omega Sentinel, Sabretooth, Mystique, and Lady Mastermind for a battle against the Children of the Vault, posthumans who are out to destroy the pitiful remainder of the mutant race. “Supernovas” is exciting and does a great job of giving this new team its own flavor. I love Bacahlo’s art from this period, although going from his work to Henry’s is a little jarring. “Supernovas” is outstanding, and if you love weird Marvel teams, give it a go.

2) New X-Men #132

New X-Men is the greatest 21st century X-Men run. I don’t make the rules, folks, but I enforce them. Grant Morrison’s 40-issue run was amazing, and I honestly could have made this list entirely out of their stories. However, we’re only going to do one this time. New X-Men #132, by Morrison and Phil Jimenez, is one of the unsung stories from the run. Genosha was destroyed in the first arc, and something strange is happening on the island — there are reports of ghosts, which is slowing down the construction of a Magneto monument. Xavier, Jean Grey, and Storm make their way there, teaming up with Quicksilver and Toad to learn the truth. This one is a touching yet weird tale that will hook right from the word go; Morrison gives the X-Men some Vertigo flavor. Jimenez’s art is gorgeous, and really brings the script to life. This story’s legacy has been forgotten, partly because of the big reveal down the road in the Morrison run about Magneto, but it’s still a best of all time single issue X-Men story.

1) “Ghost Box”

When most X-Men fans talk about Astonishing X-Men, they usually talk about the Whedon/Cassaday run. When I talk about it, I’m talking about the short Warren Ellis run that kicked off with the amazing story “Ghost Box”. The X-Men have moved to San Francisco, with Cyclops bringing Storm on his team with Emma Frost, Wolverine, Armor, and Beast after her marriage to Black Panther. When a mutant that no one knows is found dead, it leads the team to hunt down the perpetrator, learning about a secret multiversal war between their ally Forge and mutants from another universe. Ellis and artist Simone Bianchi give readers an amazing story, one that combines the big imagination of the Morrison X-Men with the character focus of Whedon. It’s brilliant. I recommend the collected edition, which has the two-issue supplemental series Astonishing X-Men: Ghost Boxes. It’s out of print and hard to find, but it’s definitely worth the hunt.

What’s your favorite ’00s X-Men story that isn’t talked about a lot? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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