The X-Men in the ’90s were something else. The team had grown in popularity by leaps and bounds in the ’80s, and the beginning of the decade of extreme was basically a victory lap for their books. 1991 saw two massively successful X-books drop — X-Force #1 and X-Men (Vol. 2) #1 — and the rest of the decade would see the team control the top of the sales charts almost completely. Anything with an X on the cover sold well, and even Wolverine (Vol. 2) was a top ten selling book. It was a great time to be an X-Men fan; not every story was the greatest but every month there was something cool to read.
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There are some great ’90s X-Men stories, and there are also some that weren’t all that good. We all know the big stories of the decade, but there are some amazing lesser known story from this time period. These stories run the gamut of X-stories, and they don’t always get the attention they deserve. These five X-Men stories will surprise you with how great they are, and every Marvel fan should give them a try.
5) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #346-350
Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #346-350 is an unsung cycle of stories. It begins with a battle and team-up between Marrow and Spider-Man (with amazing art from Joe Madureira), deals with the return of Gambit, Rogue, the Magneto clone Joseph, and Beast from space as they are pulled into a situation that will lead to the trial of Gambit, revealing the darkness of his past, with a story that pits Psylocke and Archangel in battle with new mutant Maggot (with art by Chris Bachalo that is phenomenal) as a palette cleanser before the trial. These are the last stories of X-Men writer Scott Lobdell and play a huge role in the evolution of Gambit. They don’t get the credit they deserve, and are some of the coolest X-Men stories of the ’90s.
4) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #303
Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #303, by Scott Lobdell and Richard Bennett, was a straight tear-jerker and remains fantastic all these years later. This is the story where Illyana Rasputin died from the Legacy Virus, and it does a fantastic job of laying out the sheer sadness of a child’s death. The book stars Jubilee, who has to deal with watching this young girl lose her life through nothing more than the quirk of her genetics that made her susceptible to the virus. It’s a story of futility in the face of death, of watching people who are used to solving every problem failing. It’s such a well-done issue; this early ’90s comic came out a time when comics were still marketed to kids, but it does a tremendous job of getting across its subject matter. The cover says, “If you read only one X-title this month it must be this one,” and really does a great job of earning that from start to finish.
3) X-Men (Vol. 2) #77-78
Shadow King is an important X-Men villain, but after Chris Claremont left the X-books, there aren’t too many amazing stories starring the psychic powerhouse. One that doesn’t get thought of very much is called “Psi-War” from X-Men (Vol. 2) #77-78, by Joe Kelly and German Garcia. The X-Men are attacked by the African trickster god Anansi, before the true villain is revealed, with nothing less than the fate of the planet at stake. It’s a cool little two-issue story from an underrated portion of the team’s history. There’s some excellent art — German Garcia had a short run on X-Men and he’s better than you’d expect — and a great twist ending that changed Psylocke’s status quo for a couple of years. It’s fun X-Men action like you don’t really get any more.
2) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #360 and X-Men (Vol. 2) #80
I’ve always been a huge fan of the Steve Seagle and Joe Kelly run on Uncanny X-Men and X-Men. It was unfortunately cut short, but there are some excellent issues from this period, including the two-part story “Children of the Atom” from Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #360 and X-Men (Vol. 2) #80, from Seagle, Chris Bachalo, Kelly, and Brandon Peterson. Professor X disappeared before “Operation: Zero Tolerance”, with the X-Men wondering what happened to their mentor. This two-issue story seemingly sees the mutant leader return, except this time he’s brought a whole new group of X-Men with him. This leads to a battle and a twist ending that was much cooler than it had any right to be. “Children of the Atom” is short and sweet, and it sets up “Hunt for Xavier” down the road, another unsung classic you should read if you get a chance.
Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #328-330
Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #328-330, by Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira, is a near perfect three-issue cycle of stories. Sabretooth had been a prisoner of the X-Men for a while, and took a claw through the brain from Wolverine while trying to flee the mansion. He pretended to be lobotomized, trying to get Boom Boom on his side so he could escape, but his perfidy was uncovered. Issue #328 takes place after the X-Men learned the truth, deciding to send the villain to the Raft. However, Creed has one more ace up his sleeve, which leads to a brutal battle with Psylocke. Issues #329-330 see Wolverine and Archangel try to find an elixir that will heal the British mutant (because of the body swapping, they needed ninja magic to save her) and end up in the dark underbelly of New York City, a two issue story that is more fun that it has any right to be. These three issues are outstanding, showcasing the best art of Madureira’s career, giving readers an action-packed ride they won’t forget.
What ’90s X-Men story do you think are must read? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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