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The X-Men are some of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters, and their stories are often beloved by fans and big sellers for the comics giant. Though they don’t interact with the other heroes and villains of the Marvel Universe all that much, when they do cross over, the results are often mixed.
Friendships with characters like Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four are admittedly beloved by fans. However, the mutant-centric corner of the Marvel Universe often feels entirely separate from other heroes’ comic book series. To attract new readers without alienating longtime Marvel fans, it might be beneficial for the X-Men to have their own universe separate from the rest of Marvel Comics for their stories.
The X-Men Books Already Feel Mostly Separate
An Official Shift to a Separate Universe Wouldn’t Change Much for Mutantkind
For fans looking to start reading about a character in the Marvel Universe, there are often crossovers and reading orders involving other characters’ books. For example, a fan wanting to read Spider-Man comics would often need to follow titles featuring the Avengers, Daredevil, and other New York City-based heroes. Due to Spider-Man’s popularity, many creative teams frequently pull him in different directions. This usually isn’t a problem for the X-Men.
While books within the X-Men-centric corner of the Marvel Universe often interconnect with one another, there’s very little crossover with books unrelated to mutant-kind. A person could simply sit down and read an X-Men run without having to really worry about what’s happening with the Fantastic Four or the Guardians of the Galaxy. The books already mostly exist outside of the mainline series of events in the Marvel Universe.
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Occasional crossovers like the controversial Avengers VS X-Men or the slightly forgettable Axis event have seen the X-Men interacting on a closer level with the other heroes of the Marvel Univers. Still, they have often received lukewarm reactions from fans. Though characters like the ever-popular Wolverine are often seen in books outside of the X-Men lines, the core roster of mutants doesn’t come into contact with teams like the Avengers very much. When this does happen, it can feel somewhat stilted and overly contrived. Separating the X-Men from the rest of the Marvel Universe would fix this problem and give them room to breathe on their own.
The HatredfFor Mutantkind Would Make More Sense Without Other Heroes
A World With Only Mutant Heroes Would Be a Better Backdrop for the X-Men’s Stories
There has always been a logical inconsistency with mutants in the Marvel Universe. Why do so many ordinary people admire superpowered characters like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man but despise mutant characters like the X-Men? In a world where intergalactic threats and underground attacks are daily occurrences, any hero saving the day should logically be celebrated, mutant or not.
While numerous attempts have been made to explain the in-universe hatred for mutants compared to the love for teams like the Avengers, none fully resolve the contradiction. However, in a world where mutants are the only beings with superpowers, it would make sense for ordinary people to feel fear and unease toward them. Without the Avengers battling cosmic threats or Spider-Man clashing with the Rhino in the streets of New York, the public’s fear of mutants would seem far more reasonable.
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Centering the X-Men in a worldwide debate about the future of humankind, framed by the emergence of a new species slowly outnumbering humans, would make the plight of mutants more logical and resonate with greater empathy and tragedy. The X-Men film franchise benefited from being disconnected from any larger superhero universe, allowing it to maintain focus and clarity in its storytelling—something that can unfortunately not be said about the current comics.Some fans even found certain storylines were handled better in the movies than they were in the original comics.
A Separate Universe Would Make New Readers’ Lives Easier
Less Continuity Means New Readers Can Enjoy Comics Alongside Longtime Fans
The decades of continuity and context in the current Marvel Universe can feel overwhelming for new readers and fans familiar with the characters through other mediums. For those wanting to focus solely on the X-Men and their adventures, the sheer number of other characters and stories can be intimidating.
Do they need to read The Amazing Spider-Man to understand Uncanny X-Men? Can Avengers vs. X-Men be enjoyed if they’ve only followed the X-Men side of things? Questions like these often discourage new readers from diving into mainline superhero comics, and this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
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Separating the X-Men into their own universe would make it much easier for new readers to follow their stories. While there would still be continuity and canon, it would feel far less overwhelming if focused solely on one set of characters and events. Even within the X-books, readers don’t need to follow every single event across every title. They can simply follow along with the characters and series that they are most interested in and stick with that without worrying about a broader understanding. Even now, there’s a wide array of X-Men books releasing monthly, so readers can take their pick from a huge selection of characters and stories.
Tunnel vision on a specific team or character is far more difficult in a universe packed to the brim with character crossovers, longtime interpersonal histories, and constant status quo shifts from outside the world of mutants. When an Avengers book completely changes the structure of the Marvel Universe, readers who only keep up on the X-books are left confused and annoyed. Separating these franchises would fix that.
A Separate Universe Means Endless Possibilities for X-Men Stories
No Longer Regulated by an Overall Status Quo, X-Books Could Forge Bold New Paths
If the X-Men had a universe all to themselves, major shifts to mutantkind could reverberate on higher levels around the world. Events like the shocking massacre on Genosha could rock the world of the X-books for years, showing the scale and decimation of such an event. In contrast, the mainline universe must quickly return to a unified status quo. A universe where the X-Men and mutants are the central characters would allow for stories to sprawl across the entire world and last for years worth of comics.
Events like Days of Future Past would gain far more weight and intensity if viewed without the presence of heroes like Spider-Man or Daredevil. A future where the mutant race is enslaved and teetering on the edge of extinction would feel much heavier, both for readers and for the characters in the present-day comics.
In the broader Marvel Universe, readers instinctively know such a future is implausible, if only because non-mutant heroes wouldn’t let it happen. This creates a level of suspension of disbelief when exploring potential X-Men futures, as it assumes teams like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four were completely powerless to save their mutant comrades.
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Removing the X-Men from the greater Marvel Universe would make major events in their stories feel far more impactful to readers. Character deaths, evolving relationships, and seismic shifts in the status quo would carry greater weight. The X-Men stories in the mainline Marvel Universe have already been some of the most dynamic in terms of character growth, but separating them entirely would amplify this. While characters like Peter Parker are often trapped in stagnation to maintain the broader status quo, characters like Wolverine, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler could evolve freely alongside their mutant allies and foes.
Since many X-Men characters begin their journeys as children discovering their powers, growth and evolution are natural, essential parts of their stories. Giving them their own universe to fully explore this evolution would be a bold move for Marvel Comics, but it could also be one of the smartest things they could do. Breaking off the X-Men would allow these characters to reach their full potential without the constraints of a shared universe.
X-Men
Since their debut in 1963, Marvel’s X-Men have been more than just another superhero team. While the team really hit its stride as the All New, All Different X-Men in 1975, Marvel’s heroic mutants have always operated as super-outcasts, protecting a world that hates and fears them for their powers.
Key members of the X-Men include Professor X, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Iceman, Beast, Rogue, and Storm. Often framed as the world’s second strongest superheroes, after the Avengers, they are nonetheless one of Marvel’s most popular and important franchises.
“}]] Though the X-Men’s corner of the Marvel Universe is beloved by fans, it would make more sense if they were given their own separate universe. Read More