For decades the X-Men line of comics were Marvel Comics best selling books. That was until Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and the Avengers movies came out. At their height of comics popularity, the X-Men went through some big changes and storylines. Some of the changes were, in part, due to blending the comics with the movies, like the black uniforms. Since then, the X-Men have taken a backseat to the Avengers movies and comic books.
To get you caught up with what has been going on in the X-Men comic books, here is a brief summary:
(Summary starts after the ‘House of M’ event in 2005 which took place after ‘Planet X’ and ‘Avengers Disassembled’ events)
• Mutant population was reduced to less than 200 due to the Scarlet Witch using her powers uttering the words, “No More Mutants”.
• The School was abandoned and they relocated to San Francisco, establishing a Utopia for the remaining mutant population.
• Few years later a handful of New Mutant “births” appear and dueling ideologies begin to form between Cyclops and Wolverine.
• The rift splits them into two groups: Cyclops’ group in San Francisco and Wolverine’s group back at the School, forcing them on different paths.
• Phoenix Force returns and causes the clash between all Avengers and X-Men teams, with Phoenix Force Cyclops killing Professor X.
• Aftermath forces Cyclops’ group underground, some members joining various Avengers teams and everyone else at the School.
• The X-Men from the past are brought to the present by Beast to show young Cyclops what he becomes, but they don’t return to the past.
• Death of Wolverine, Red Skull posesses the power of the deceased Professor X and the Marvel Universe comes to an end with Secret Wars.
So now that you are a bit caught up, here is where the X-Men line of comics are heading into for 2017.
• Death of X
This 4-issue miniseries reveals what happened during the eight-month gap following Secret Wars and ignites the feud between Mutants & Inhumans!
The X-Men and the Inhumans are on a collision course. Cyclops is missing and presumed dead. The Terrigen Mists roll across the Earth and it’s transforming properties are birthing new Inhumans across the Marvel Universe. But while the mists bring life to the Inhumans, they spell only doom for the X-Men, leaving dead or sickly mutants in their wake. As the Inhumans travel to Japan where the Terrigen Cloud has created a shocking new Inhuman, the X-Men travel to Muir Island where the cloud has caused something truly terrible. The mutants face extinction once again as the Inhumans and the X-Men’s untold past comes to light.
Death of X begins in October with Death of X #1, written by Jeff Lemire & Charles Soule joined by artist Aaron Kuder.
• Inhumans Vs X-Men
This is a 6-issue miniseries that will crossover into every X-Men and Inhuman ongoing title, that will resolve the conflict between the two races.
The Terrigen Mists have covered nearly 100 percent of the Earth. There is almost nowhere left to hide from the M-Pox infecting the mutants and the X-Men are desperate to find a solution. The only solution is to destroy the Mists, but the Inhumans stand in their way viewing this as a threat to their existence. Who will survive the war between these two super powered races?
Inhumans Vs X-Men begins this December with Inhumans Vs X-Men #1, written by Jeff Lemire & Charles Soule with art by Leinil Yu.
• ResurrXion
From the aftermath of Inhumans Vs X-Men, the X-Men titles get relaunched into Marvel Universe with seven new ongoing titles: Cable, Generation X, Iceman, Jean Grey, Weapon X, X-Men Blue and X-Men Gold.
Not too much is known about all the books or who will be appearing in the team books. It seems that the extinction effects of the Terrigen Mists on the mutants will be resolved and the X-Men can go back to being heroes, protecting a world that hates and fears them.
Cable has had solo books before, but very little has been revealed as to what this book will be about.
Both Iceman and Jean Grey are solo books and will focus on these time displaced characters.
Generation X will focus on the school of young X-Men learning from the veteran X-Men, like Jubilee.
Weapon X is a darker book, much like it’s predecessor, but more visceral and shocking.
X-Men Blue and X-Men Gold are the flagship team books. These are reminiscent of the classic color team books of the early 90’s. The team rosters have not yet been revealed.
The ResurrXion begins Spring 2017 with Cable #1, Generation X #1, Iceman #1, Jean Grey #1, Weapon X #1, X-Men Blue #1 and X-Men Gold #1.
There was huge speculation that Marvel Comics was going to kill off the X-Men comics, much like the way they did with the cancellation of the Fantastic Four comic. But I doubt all the X-Men/Mutants would be “killed” off, since characters like Deadpool and Wolverine are too popular. The upcoming X-Men story arc seemed to fuel all the speculation of their demise. The latest news of ResurrXion changes this, but does not reveal too much. It did seem like the Inhumans were being positioned to become the “new” Mutants in the Marvel Comics Universe with this event and this would make their transition into movies and television easier.
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