The X-Men entered the 2020s in a very good place. 2019 had ended with writer Jonathan Hickman rebooting the line with House of X/Powers of X, spurring a relaunch of books like X-Men, Excalibur, X-Force, Fallen Angels, and new titles like Marauders. The books were all the hottest things in the comic industry at the time and fans were riding high. Five years later, it would be nice to say that we were in a better place than we were back then, but it’s been a rather tumultuous half-decade. While it’s hard to say that X-Men fans have been happy the whole time, they have gotten a lot of great new comics from some of the best creators around.
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The ’20s have left the X-Men with a lot of baggage and the decade isn’t even over yet. We still have the team’s MCU debut to contend as well, so change is definitely more in the air than ever before. While the jury is still out on the decade for the group, these five X-Men ideas are the best of the last five years, bringing a lot of heat and interest to the team.
5) Ultimate X-Men
The return of the Ultimate Universe wasn’t really on anyone’s bingo card in the beginning of the decade, but then 2023 happened. The second Ultimate line has been the most beloved aspect of Marvel in the last two years and it brought X-Men fans something very special: writer/artist Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men. Ultimate X-Men has been fantastic, with Momoko bringing readers a horror manga starring a bunch of Japanese mutant schoolgirls. It has been quite a ride. It’s different than basically anything else in American superhero comics, and that novelty, as well as Momoko’s amazing writing and gorgeous art, has made it a masterpiece for mutant fans.
4) The Cyclops Push
Cyclops has always been one of the most important X-Men characters, but saying that Marvel has pushed him as the star of the books isn’t always the case. However, we’ve been in something of a Cyclops renaissance in the last twenty years, and he has once again become one of the main characters of the entire line. It’s a great time to be a fan of the character. He has been starring in the main X-Men books since his return to life in 2019, and writers have written him as the mutant Captain America, except somehow more interesting. It’s a been a golden age for Cyclops in the 2020s, and anyone who still isn’t a fan of the character needs to get on the bandwagon already.
3) The “From the Ashes”/”Shadows of Tomorrow” Solo Books
“From the Ashes” hasn’t always the best for readers, but the post-Krakoa Era status quo does have its strengths. One of the biggest so far has been the solo books released (and the ones coming up in “Shadows of Tomorrow”). Sure, we got Wolverine, which we were always going to get, but we also got Storm and Phoenix at launch, then Laura Kinney: Wolverine, Psylocke, and Magik got theirs. Cyclops and Rogue are getting miniseries and that seems to be the tip of the iceberg. While not all of the series sold like hot cakes, they sold well enough to get sequels down the road. Marvel took chances with characters that didn’t always get books and it’s made fans very happy.
2) Gail Simone On Uncanny X-Men
Gail Simone is something of a legend in the comic industry. A blogger turned comic writer, she’s given readers some amazing series over the years. Simone was announced as writer of the newest volume of Uncanny X-Men for the “From the Ashes” X-Men books and has been legitimately killing it with every single issue. The book has a Claremont feel, heavy character-focused storytelling that reminds you that the X-Men are just as much a family as anything else. She’s also introduced readers to some of the best new mutants in years in the Outliers. Simone is handing in a book that is easily the best team book at Marvel, one that gives readers everything they want month in and month out. Seriously, this run has been legendary and it’s only getting better.
1) The Krakoa Era
The Krakoa Era wasn’t always perfect. Every X-Men fan has a laundry list of problems with it. However, those problems pale in comparison to it when it was hitting. Split into four arcs — “Dawn of X”, “Reign of X”, “Destiny of X”, and “Fall of X” — it told the story of the rise and fall of the mutant nation of Krakoa. Numerous characters got a chance to shine in the era, and we got amazing series like Immortal X-Men, X-Men Red, Hellions, Wolverine, A.X.E. Judgment Day, and stories like “Sins of Sinister”. This was a great time for the team; it felt like the world was the X-Men’s oyster and fans were mostly over the moon for some book or another.
What are your favorite parts of 2020s X-Men comics? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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Image courtesy of Marvel Studios. -
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm
