5 X-Men Stories You Probably Haven’t Read But Absolutely Should

From their debut in 1963, the X-Men have been the basis for some of Marvel Comics’ most action-packed, morally nuanced, and influential stories. Tales like “The Dark Phoenix Saga,” “God Loves, Man Kills,” “Days of Future Past,” and “Age of Apocalypse” have all cemented themselves as crucial stories for any avid X-Men reader. These stories were so beloved and crucial to X-Men lore that they helped skyrocket the X-Men to becoming some of Marvel’s most famous characters. However, since the X-Men have made so many appearances across numerous titles, there are bound to be great stories that the majority of X-Men fans have unfortunately overlooked. These are the underrated X-Men stories that deserve revisiting.

The X-Men are set to become integral to the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future with Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, along with upcoming films like Avengers: Doomsday and a new X-Men film directed by Jake Schreier. And although these stories are unlikely to be adapted into the MCU, their interesting ideas, character developments, and great action deserve more recognition.

5) “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire”

The X-Men have had a long history with the interstellar Shi’ar Empire, both as allies and enemies. In “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire,” Cyclops’s long-lost and insane brother Gabriel Summers, aka Vulcan, makes an appearance and he seeks revenge against the Empire that tortured and enslaved him for decades. However, at this point the Shi’ar were ruled by the close friend of Professor X, the benevolent Lilandra. With her reign and billions of innocent lives at risk from Vulcan’s mad rampage, the X-Men took to the stars to stop Cyclops’ insane brother. What follows is a grand space-opera and political-thriller adventure full of backstabbing, cosmic-scale action, and long-lasting impacts on the Marvel Universe. The comic also saw the triumphant return of the underrated intergalactic freedom-fighting superhero team the Starjammers. “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” is one of the greatest X-Men stories set in outer space of the 2000s.

4) “Psi-War”

The 1990s were when the X-Men were practically untouchable in terms of sales and popularity, and “Psi-War” was one of their most harrowing yet underrated adventures. When Storm and the rest of the X-Men travel to the Kenyan village that once worshipped her as a goddess, they find themselves ambushed by the trickster spider god Anansi. However, Anansi is soon revealed to be the malevolent telepathic parasite known as the Shadow King, who created the entire scenario to lure the X-Men into a trap. Despite their best efforts, Storm, Wolverine, Psylocke, Cannonball, Maggot, Dr. Reyes, and Marrow quickly find themselves to be no match against Shadow King’s near-unrivaled telepathy. The Shadow King’s ultimate plan is to trick Psylocke into releasing a psychic wave that would negate all other mutant telepaths, making him the undisputed and unstoppable ruler of the Astral Plane. “Psi-War” is a fantastic story with huge stakes that would result in a significant shift in Psylocke’s status quo for several years.

3) “Proteus Saga”

Right before the incredible “Dark Phoenix Saga,” the X-Men had to deal with another mutant who was driven mad by their unstoppable reality-warping powers: Proteus. The “Proteus Saga” involves the X-Men’s longtime companion Moira MacTaggert’s son, Kevin, aka Proteus who escapes from his containment chamber on Muir Island. As a being of pure energy and without a proper body, this mutant must inhabit another person’s body before his raw power burns it up and then he must jump to another host to survive. As Proteus leaves a trail of bodies in search of his estranged father, politician Joe MacTaggert, the X-Men desperately try to stop the villain’s rampage. However, Proteus quickly proves himself to be one of the X-Men’s most powerful foes as he effortlessly warps their atoms. The “Proteus Saga” is a harrowing tale that sees the X-Men face a villain of immense power while also delving into the tragedy of Moria’s abusive husband and malevolent son.

2) “I, Magneto”

Magneto may be an X-Man now, but for decades he was their ultimate arch-nemesis and the antithesis of Professor X’s dream of a peaceful future for humans and mutants. In “I, Magneto,” the Master of Magnetism threatens the world with a doomsday device unless it pledges its loyalty to him. Naturally, the X-Men try to stop Magneto’s dastardly plan. However, when Magneto inadvertently nearly kills the young Shadowcat, the story drops a bombshell that forever changed Magneto from a textbook supervillain into one of the most nuanced and sympathetic characters in Marvel Comics. For it was the horror of believing that he had murdered a child that caused Magneto to divulge his backstory and reveal to the readers that he was a Holocaust survivor. Not only did “I, Magneto” give the Master of Magnetism an incredibly dark yet poignant origin that explains his desire to fight for mutant rights, but it also laid the groundwork for him to renounce his evil ways by showing a more human side.

1) X-Men: Children of the Atom

When we’re first introduced to the X-Men in 1963, all of the members aside from Jean Grey had already become students of Professor X and costumed crimefighters. However, the six-part miniseries X-Men: Children of the Atom provides an incredible origin story for how the original five mutant heroes came to be. Professor X works to bring together five high schoolers, Scott Summers, Hank McCoy, Warren Washington III, Bobby Drake, and Jean Grey, to his new school for mutants. The story shows the beginning not just of the X-Men, but of the friendship among its members, as each recruit brings their own idea of what they hope to gain from enrolling in Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. At the same time, local anti-mutant resentment begins to grow to dangerous levels, with the newly formed X-Men having to quickly learn to defend themselves in a world that hates them. X-Men: Children of the Atom is an amazing prequel series that gives all of its heroes engaging character arcs while also summarizing the core of the X-Men’s mission to create a better future for mutantkind.

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