Why the X-Men Is the Best Superhero Team of all Time

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Marvel Comics has been the home of some of the greatest superhero teams in fiction for decades. From the X-Men to the Avengers to the Fantastic Four, Marvel is at the top of the food chain when it comes to teams. Although DC Comics has some strong contenders for excellent superhero groups, it’s hard to disagree with the fact that Marvel’s teams have become more synonymous with the idea of super-teams in general.

While the Avengers have become incredibly popular in the wake of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and characters like the Fantastic Four are finally getting a chance to shine with their own new movie releasing in 2025, there’s one team in the entire canon of superhero comic books that stands above the rest: the Uncanny X-Men.

Each Member of The X-Men Is Unique

Every Individual In an X-Book Is Worthy of Their Own Solo Stories

One of the most striking aspects of the X-Men and their stories is the fact that each and every character is worthy of further exploration and discussion. Fans and readers have favorite characters from across the entire history of the X-books, and it is quite common for two fans to have wildly different picks for their favorite X-Men character. One person might love Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, leader of the mainline X-Men the most, while another might have a lesser-known pick like Beak or Glob Herman. The wonderful thing about these characters is that any of those choices is absolutely valid.

No other team in Marvel or DC history has had as stellar a roster as the X-Men and their supporting teams. The consistency of membership from some of the most interesting, compelling mutants in the entire Marvel Universe is nothing short of staggering, and the constant love and attention given to the strangest and most superfluous of characters is what makes the X-Men books so special. Since the X-Men and their stories are so strongly connected to social justice and civil rights, it makes sense that no character would be thrown aside in favor of a “cooler” alternative.

Characters that started out as not much more than just audience surrogates, like Kitty Pryde or a few of the original New Mutants, have so handily evolved into complex characters all on their own. The X-books are some of the few mainline superhero stories that actually allow their characters to grow up and evolve and change, and that is a huge plus for the stories being told within. With no concrete roster for the X-Men, any character can have the spotlight, any character can lead, or any character can branch off into their own solo adventures. There are so many possibilities with the X-Men, and that is something that not many other superhero teams can boast.

The Plight of The X-Men Is a Serious One

The Tribulations of Marvel’s Mutants Are Never Lessened or Played for Laughs

The X-Men and their stories are some of Marvel’s most intense and dark books being published monthly, and it is really quite impressive to see just how much respect and gravity those stories are given. Where some other series from both Marvel and DC have undercut their more serious topics and themes with jokes and light-hearted antics, the X-Men’s tragedy and fight for survival is never marred by parody or satire. Their fight is a grave one, and it always feels that way. Even when the characters take some time to do something fun or happy, it never feels like they are betraying the essence of the books—they are simply trying to find whatever happiness they possibly can in a world that fears and hates them.

With off-shoot teams like X-Force and X-Factor handling topics just as grave as the mainline team, the X-books are some of the most shocking superhero comics a reader can buy. Whether it’s character deaths coming suddenly and horrifically, terrible moral decisions having to be made regularly, or heroes becoming villains and villains becoming heroes, the X-Men are constantly under a barrage of intense torment and drama. The X-Men have some of the most shocking character deaths in comics, and while characters almost always return from the dead, these moments are handled with the gravity and intensity they deserve. Whether it’s Jean Grey, Colossus, Nightcrawler, or Banshee, these deaths—despite often being temporary—are consistently heartbreaking.

Major events like the genocide on Genosha or the destruction of a star system by the Dark Phoenix are absolutely devastating for the X-Men and mutantkind as a whole, and those kinds of terrifying events just simply don’t happen for teams like the Justice League or Avengers.During E is for Extinction, the mutant nation-state of Genosha was decimated, resulting in the deaths of millions of mutants. The remaining mutant population on Earth was left teetering on the brink of extinction.

These horrifying events deeply impacted the mutants of the Marvel Universe, shaping their stories for decades. Nothing comes easily for the X-Men or their mutant allies. Still, fans can take some comfort in knowing these narratives are handled with the respect they deserve, even being adapted into popular media like the upcoming animated series X-Men: ’97 on Disney Plus.

X-Men Comics Have the Best Events

Many of Marvel’s Most Iconic Events Come From The X-Men

For decades, the X-Men were Marvel’s most popular team. In fact, 1991’s X-Men #1 still holds the record for the highest-selling single issue of a comic book series ever published. They were a phenomenon, and their stories reflected that. Never settling for moderate success or mediocrity, the X-Men books were pillars of comic book storytelling for decades, and they remain such to this day. Their events were colossal, spanning across time, space, and dimension while still never losing the deeply personal element at the center of any given story.

Days of Future Past saw mutants hunted down in the terrifying future, and while it could have so easily been played for shock value or cheap thrills, the story weaved a personal journey for an entire race on the brink of a terrible future. Characters like Kitty Pryde and Wolverine were given so much more gravitas and depth through the pages of Days of Future Past, and a story that could have so easily faded into obscurity has remained a staple of the medium because of its commitment to personal stakes and drama.

The Dark Phoenix Saga is another prime example of this idea in X-books. Personal stakes are the foundation of an intergalactic odyssey to save one of the X-Men’s founding members. Jean Grey and Scott Summers’ relationship is one of the most vital parts of the Dark Phoenix Saga, and without the inherent tragedy at the center of the story, it wouldn’t have the impact that it did on readers. The Dark Phoenix Saga has stood the test of time because of its connection to every reader’s heart. It cuts deep to the issue of losing a loved one and positions such an empathetic, personal story within bombastic science fiction action. Nobody was doing it as well as Chris Claremont on Uncanny X-Men at the time, and it’s been a tough order to live up to such stories in the decades since then. Claremont’s time on the book is one of the X-Men’s best eras, and it gave fans some of the very best characters and stories that the comic book medium has ever seen.

In the modern era, the X-Men have been at the center of a number of exciting events related to the rest of the Marvel Universe and their interpersonal drama. From the sometimes controversial Avengers vs X-Men to the modern classic that is Messiah Complex, the mutants of the Marvel Universe are often positioned squarely in the middle of some of the toughest conflicts around. The end of the iconic House of M event led most of the remaining mutants on Earth to lose their superpowered abilities, leaving only a little under two hundred mutants still operating with powers. Stories like this are the prime example of why the X-Men are the very best team in comics history. There isn’t another team like them in terms of stakes, consequences, character development, or interpersonal drama. Their stories are a miraculous testament to the power of the comic book medium, and they remain the high-water mark for all other comic book superhero teams to measure themselves up against.

“}]] Marvel is home to an endless supply of incredible teams and characters, but the X-Men stand above the rest as the best team in Marvel Comics history.  Read More