10 Classic X-Men Stories Marvel Could Dive Into Further

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The X-Men have some of the best and most popular stories within the comic book Marvel Universe, with the merry mutants second only to Spider-Man in renown. Many of these tales were written by iconic creators such as Chris Claremont and Grant Morrison, and the best of these explored the thematic core of the X-Men as a concept. Some of these eras and time periods have since been revisited in later works, but others deserve to be put back under the microscope.

Various X-Men eras offer the narrative potential for new ongoings and even a miniseries or two, especially with the current “From the Ashes” banner. These stories could expand upon what was already seen or go beyond these classic stories, with a few alternate universes having been mostly unexplored. Thankfully, given the precedent now being set by Fantastic Four Fanfare, the mutants could easily put the history of Marvel Comics’ First Family to shame.

10

The Krakoa Era Ended Too Soon

This Period Offered a Major Change of Pace for the X-Men

Beginning in 2019, the Krakoa Age of X-Men comics pulled the bottom out from the status quo. This era had mutants relocating to the island of Krakoa to form their own nation, having tired of being the world’s punching bag. The result, on paper, finally pushed the X-Men forward after years of stagnation, all while creating all manner of sociopolitical avenues for the books to explore.

In 2024, the Krakoa Age ended, leading to the current “From the Ashes” era, but many felt this was too soon. Further miniseries’ can explore different parts of the Krakoa Age through side stories that might not have worked in the confines of the main action-packed X-Men book. This way, the brand can have its cake and eat it, keeping things moving while still retaining part of what worked for the past several years.

9

Age of X Has Untapped Potential

The Storyline Was a Modernized Age of Apocalypse

The 1990s crossover Age of Apocalypse is one of the most iconic X-Men stories of all time, but it has a lesser-known modern equivalent. Age of X was an alternate universe that had mutants hunted to near extinction, and the twist was who was doing the hunting. A strikeforce led by Graydon Creed was the main antagonistic force, but the Avengers were also tasked with bringing mutants to “justice.”

Revisiting the Age of X world or something similar would finally allow Marvel to deal with some difficult questions. By having the Avengers in such a villainous light, the story might explore the darker side of where these heroes are whenever mutant rights are concerned. The fact that Spidey is himself hunted would reflect his popularity matching that of the X-Men, with this meta-commentary helping to separate the continuity from similar dark futures.

8

The New Sun Universe Finally Gave Gambit His Due

This World Had a Cajun Who Was Truly Ragin’

The once-esoteric Gambit is mostly known for using his kinetic powers to make playing cards explode, but this isn’t even anywhere near the tip of the iceberg with his powers. In one universe, Gambit became known as “New Sun” following a tumultuous event where his powers reached their maximum. This accidentally caused him to destroy all life on Earth besides himself, and this variant went on to fight his mainstream counterpart.

Gambit had a much different origin in the New Sun universe, which could be explored further in a miniseries. Likewise, examining how else the timeline diverged for major mutants might be worth examining. Given Gambit’s resurgence in popularity, now is the best time to look at the character’s most powerful incarnation yet.

7

X-Men 2099 Put the Mutants In the Future

The Group Deserves the Same Attention as Spider-Man 2099

Spider-Man 2099 is the most well-known character in Marvel’s alternate future timeline, but he wasn’t the only interesting character. The X-Men 2099 comic showcased how mutants would be treated in a world where almost everyone, in general, was downtrodden, with the persecution angle working well with the cyberpunk setting. These characters weren’t directly tied to the X-Men of the past, but they were entirely new mutants who knew of Professor X’s and Magneto’s legends.

With Spider-Man 2099 occasionally getting miniseries and spotlight books, it makes sense to do the same thing for the mutants of his period. It helps that the X-Men 2099 is removed from the present-day/Earth-616 X-Men team, allowing the series to go in a different direction. Likewise, the alternate universe status could see mutants finally carving out a long-term niche for themselves in the future, essentially putting the Krakoa era in the year 2099.

6

X-Men Noir Was Hard-Boiled Fiction With No Powers

Several X-Men Could Be Reimagined In the Gritty Alternate Universe

Marvel’s “Noir” imprint showcased different reinterpretations of familiar Marvel heroes and villains, with X-Men Noir taking the concept to its fullest fruition. The characters in X-Men Noir had no powers and were street-level variants of their usual selves, with Wolverine using knives instead of his usual claws. Most of the major heroes and villains of the franchise are seen in the series’ two volumes, with a science fiction pulp novel, “Night of the Sentinels,” radically altering an in-universe fictionalized take on the mutant-hunting robots.

New volumes of X-Men Noir could place gritty takes on the mutants in various hard-boiled mysteries, especially given the scope and period of the previous works. The villainous Omega Red might be reinterpreted as a Russian serial killer stoking fears about the American Communist Party. At the same time, Mister Sinister could be a corrupt doctor behind his rash of brutal killings. It would all make for a fun way to change how fans look at the X-Men and showcase how malleable the characters are.

5

Genosha Should Have Been More of a Plot Point

Mutants Were Living In Happy Nation On a Former Prison Colony

At one point, the island nation of Genosha was a veritable work camp for mutants, with the country being an allegory for the former apartheid state of South Africa. As this concept became dated, it was changed in the Marvel Universe to be a veritable haven for mutants instead. This ended at the beginning of New X-Men due to a terrorist attack, but the months beforehand could be looked at more.

An X-Men comic book miniseries could explore everyday life in Genosha before it was attacked by the machinations of Cassandra Nova. This could work best as a slice-of-life sci-fi drama, with various mutants finally finding love, acceptance, and a home on the island nation. Doing so would only make the tragedy behind the event even stronger, with the characters that readers had come to know being killed in the attack.

4

The Formation of X-Factor Needs to Be Recontextualized

The Initially Controversial Series Ruined Cyclops

Nowadays, the X-Factor team is more known for being essentially mutant detectives, but they started as a sort of retro team. This group reunited the original five X-Men, including a resurrected Jean Grey. Unfortunately, this sense of nostalgia wasn’t well-received by fans, and it regressed Cyclops as a character in terms of his family.

A new series can look back at the formation of X-Factor and give the team’s birth more depth, namely to try and redeem the character of Cyclops. Likewise, the issues between the classic members of the X-Men and the newer recruits (who were then led by Magneto, of all people) can be further fleshed out and give more reasoning behind why there had to be another mutant team. This way, the group’s history is more than just a cash grab derived from the property’s overall success.

3

New X-Men Was the Best X-Men Era Ever

The Series Was the Logical Predecessor to the Krakoa Era

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men was a narrative godsend for the X-Men franchise, which had become stagnant, leading to the failed “Revolution” relaunch. This series updated many familiar tropes while looking at the brand through the lens of a science fiction allegory, separating it from many other books on the market. More than ever, mutants were a true minority culture, albeit a biological one, with the reaction to them by the world at large having true nuance.

New X-Men succeeded because it wasn’t just another generic superhero comic, leading to one of the best and most distilled X-Men eras ever. Going back to this era, we can recontextualize certain actions and look at how minor mutants respond to the series’ events. Likewise, more narrative crossover between the New X-Men and X-treme X-Men teams would answer other gaping questions from that point in the team’s publication history.

2

X-Treme X-Men Was the Black Sheep Of the Early 2000s

The Book Brought Chris Claremont Back to the Mutant Team

Following Claremont’s failed “Revolution” relaunch for the series, the acclaimed writer was put on the secondary X-Treme X-Men book. This was the more supeheroic title that featured a wider cast, whereas New X-Men took the franchise in new directions and had a more conservative number of protagonists. Due to everything that Morrison and Quitely were doing in their own book, X-Treme X-Men was lost in the shuffle, but it doesn’t have to maintain this lost legacy.

A new X-Treme X-Men series or miniseries could once again be written by Chris Claremont and focus on his favorites, such as Storm and Kitty Pryde. It could offer a retroactive reaction to the New X-Men team and showcase how this group dealt with “bigger” threats. At the same time, the meta-narrative could touch upon how they were the “secondary” team and what that means in the context of the X-Men as civil rights icons and superheroes.

1

District X Was One of the Best X-Men Spinoffs

The Series Looked at How Mutants Lived Beyond the Capes and Tights

The District X location was introduced in New X-Men as a downtrodden ghetto for mutants, with the corresponding District X comic book series being a police procedural that eschewed superheroics entirely. Instead, it had Bishop and Ismael Ortega investigating different crimes in the borough, with the cast made up of mutants who, for one reason or another, had utterly inhuman lives. This included a grossly malformed mutant known as “the Worm” and a group similar to the Morlocks who outright despised the wider society.

District X has since been destroyed, but this doesn’t have to keep the concept from being revisited. A new miniseries could dive deeper into life after its destruction or even be set in the present day. After all, the end of the Krakoa Era will likely see many formerly safe mutants ostracized once more, creating the perfect template for a new District X and a new District X comic book.

“}]] The X-Men’s various eras yielded several great stories and alternate timelines, with some of these overlooked tales ripe for being revisited.  Read More