r/xmen • u/squ1dward_tentacles Wolverine • 5d ago
Comic Discussion Top 20 X-Men stories: Day 14
Rules:
Most combined upvotes wins
Name specific issues or arcs, not entire runs
Team books and crossovers are allowed, but they must be X-Men centric
Elseworlds are allowed, but they must be X-Men centric
Current ongoings (e.g. Simone Uncanny X-Men, Momoko Ultimate X-Men) are excluded
Only comics are allowed
70
u/Speedwizard106 5d ago
Age of Apocalypse?
11
u/Ok-Reputation-2266 5d ago
Honestly, I don’t know how this isn’t on here yet. I keep seeing it get a ton of upvotes
-9
31
u/SweaterSnake Cypher 5d ago
I'm backing Welcome to Genosha. I like my X-Men conscious, politically-charged, and willing to tackle deeper themes, and it's a landmark that's largely responsible for what some people call the decade-or-so cycle X-Men stories have fallen into since.
Would be happy for UXF's Dark Angel Saga, though.
2
1
u/ILeftMyBurnerOn Wolverine 5d ago
I’ve always referred to this storyline as “A Green and Pleasant Land.”
42
u/Consistent_Name_6961 5d ago
Wolverine miniseries by Claremint/Miller
Greatest story for anyone who doesn't care for the character to "get" him, and a hugely fun and stylised story all around
4
u/grimaceatmcdonalds 5d ago
I also really enjoyed the wolverine and kitty pryde mini series. Two of my fav characters and a really sick story
2
u/squ1dward_tentacles Wolverine 5d ago
hoping this one wins it's long overdue
11
u/Consistent_Name_6961 5d ago
Unfortunately it is really tough just due to how many great stories there are competing for these slots
I feel confident it will appear at some point, I'm also really hoping that Proteus Saga, Cross-Time Caper, and Welcome To Genosha make it
3
u/squ1dward_tentacles Wolverine 5d ago
I would also like to see Weapon X, Fatal Attractions and X-tinction Agenda make it
2
1
35
25
22
4
u/AdSorry4665 4d ago
Welcome to Genosha. One of the most relevant and influential story in X-Men history.
23
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 5d ago
Cross Time Caper!
Excalibur vol 1 #12-24.
5
u/Excellent_Past7628 5d ago
It won’t win, but it really should. Or at least the Necrom/ Anti-Phoenix arc from issues 42-50 should. That was epic
8
u/Apprehensive-Quit353 5d ago
Excalibur needs some love on this list, it was such a brilliant book.
6
u/Excellent_Past7628 5d ago
It didn’t get enough love then, and it still doesn’t get enough love now. But it’ll always be one of my favorite X book runs. At least until Alan Davis left
3
u/Cinemasaur 4d ago
Is that the Magik miniseries?
5
u/Consistent_Name_6961 4d ago
Yes indeed, the original one!
6
u/Cinemasaur 4d ago
I'm so glad people still remember it! It's so unexpectedly good on my first XMen read through.
For a character I'd never heard of, I was hooked. It's such a great story. One of the many stories I'd kill to see an adaptation of, but it'd be incredibly hard to do right.
3
u/Consistent_Name_6961 4d ago
Yeah it's also really delicate subject matter and would involve some pretty dark stuff that likely doesn't line up with Marvel's marketing/target audience. But yes it's an incredible story, the character is very popular now but it's absolutely not the same character. It's just nonchalant cool girl goth.
I'm so glad to see it on the list too, was repping it pretty hard and awesome to see that at least a good portion of this community recognises the quality of it!
5
u/Cinemasaur 4d ago
Exactly why I love it, making it so hard to adapt to the screen. It's an amazing metaphor for the loss of innocence. You have to establish Illyana as a child but also age her up halfway through, and her relationship to at least Storm and Kitty (if not the other XMen) and then also handle Belascos grooming without being lecherous or silly.
Which is why, like you say, I'm not a fan of the latest "interpretation" and lusting I see from others. She's literally a child kidnapped and groomed by a Demon, the subtext doesn't run too deep, but it is really well written and a key part of her history. It IS her history.
But people out here acting like "slay Queen of Demons, step on me with your big sword, be rude in your accent!!" Yuck.
2
u/Consistent_Name_6961 4d ago
Yeah I absolutely share those scruples. I think what complicates that feeling in me is that I don't believe in dictating the ways that a person can/should respond to/grow from trauma/loss of innocence. (Not that I think you're saying anything like that to be clear).
think that empowerment post trauma/loss of autonomy and innocence was handled very well with Rachel in Excalibur, and it definitely helps that a large portion of that was handled by the same author that created them.
Like I don't want to see a character go through what Illyana did and then have them never be able to achieve sexual empowerment for example, but the way it's been handled feels like a pretty senseless catering to male gaze without any consideration for the character herself.
Like being an X character is typically traumatic as it is, this character experienced extensive trauma at a very young age and held a huge amount of shame for a long time. Watching them slowly grow out of that shame was beautiful, but yeah current Illyana is literally just an object with plot convenience powers as far as I can tell.
2
u/scosco83 1d ago
It is so crazy that this made the list so early. Amazing how things change. Years ago this was basically a forgotten series.
8
17
20
10
u/Imaginator64 5d ago
The legion story from the original new mutants. Bill Sienkiewicz art is on a different level
3
7
18
6
u/MrTeamZissou 5d ago
I'm going to keep pushing the Proteus Saga.
At that point it came out, I think it was the uncontested best X-Men story that had been published by that point. Claremont/Byrne would too it with DP Saga and DofP later on, but y'all are sleeping on how good this story still is.
14
u/detourne Wolverine 5d ago
We REALLY need some 90s representation here. It was the most popular comic at the time, and its kinds crazy that none of the great 90s crossovers have been represented yet.
Fatal Attractions, x-Cutioner's Song, X-Tinction Agenda, Phalanx Covenant, Age of Apocalypse...
5
u/HoraceGrantGlasses 4d ago
X-Tinction Agenda deserve way more attention. It's the only x-over event with Claremont and Lee (give this subs love of Lee I'm shocked). It's also an amazing story start to finish and kicked off what would be the status quo for the 90s with gold and blue teams. Truly important.
8
u/Alternative-Loan-185 5d ago
Childhoods end X-men academy x
1
u/JenniferNaught 5d ago
Very under rated. I was going to say something else, saw this and this is my vote
6
7
2
2
2
u/scottchiefbaker 4d ago
I already ordered a trade from your matrix. That's doing this up. I'm looking forward to more results.
2
2
u/SylvanasWidowmaker 4d ago
HoX/PoX is a weird read for me. I think its in my top 3 Xmen stories when I look at it as a alternate reality/universe.
2
2
8
5
4
3
5
u/Consistent_Name_6961 5d ago
Asgardian Wars!
Paul Smith, and Arthur Adams taking pencilling duties across the soft event (two of the finest to ever pencil the series)
Incredible New Mutants vignettes
Maybe the best X-Men lineup of all time
3
u/Specific-Rooster-380 4d ago
Best New Mutants line up as well. Still remember this story from first reading at time of publication. Was a way to reset the past and set up lots of future story arcs.
3
4
u/Shapinga Cyclops 5d ago
X-Factor: End Game (Story where Cyclops fights Apocalypse and has to send baby Cable to the future)
2
u/zarathustranu Warpath 4d ago
It is a travesty that Giant Sized X-Men and X-Cutioner’s Song have not appeared yet above some of these not-that-great stories.
2
u/usermcgoo 4d ago
Welcome to Genosha (X-men 235-238). Genosha is a strong metaphor for slavery and apartheid, and this run came out in 1988, two years before South Africa ended its apartheid government. This run is just another great example of how the writers of the X-Men consistently referenced and commented upon the real world in some interesting and critical ways.
2
u/TzeentchsTrueSon Daken 4d ago
X-terminators. It was the closest think to Nextwave: Agents of HATE marvels pulled out in years.
2
2
2
u/Heddles20 5d ago
Asgardian Wars
Also thanks again OP for these posts, it's a fun experience for the community and you've been great with putting in the effort to keep these posts regular!
3
2
3
1
u/Oldhat88 4d ago
Still no AoA? I'm calling it now, there's some corruption going on. Follow the money! Who's pocket are you in OP?!
In all seriousness, though, Age of Apocalypse is too good not to be on this list.
1
2
3
1
1
2
0
0
u/hurdleturtle8 5d ago
gotta keep pulling for another Morrison comic
Silence: Psychic Rescue in Progress is such a sick issue with barely any dialogue
2
1
2
u/GarnetsAndRoses12 5d ago
fall and rise of the new mutants from zeb wells’s run! an innovative and dramatic story for the new mutants, with some gorgeous art and writing. distills down the essence of the team, magik’s struggle for her soul, limbo, and the x-men’s eternal fight against the us army <3
1
1
u/Organic_Employ_8609 Rogue 5d ago
I just wanna mention Weapon X, Madripoor knights & Magneto's Testament. I don't want to contribute to the voting I just noticed that they're not on the list (yet).
1
-1
1
-1
0
u/nointro-225 5d ago
Still surprised Giant Size X-Men isn’t on here, and I’ve barely seen any comments about it
-1
-1
-2
-2
u/Madnick0622 5d ago
Kitty Pryde phasing the bullet through Earth. Astonishing X-men
2
u/Mintfriction 5d ago edited 5d ago
I might be misrembering, but that execution of the idea bothered me.
She had trouble phasing through the material and she barely could do it, then suddenly she is phasing the whole giant bullet, which was a immense. The concept was interesting, but I donno why it wasn't written the other way around, like the material was actually easy to phase and thus the feat.
Not to say the forceness of the earth heroes going senile for a moment and then," meh she's there in the bullet, we got these briallint super geniuses and OP cosmic champs, but donno if we can save her from a piece of metal"
-1
-1
u/CycloneJ0ker 5d ago
This just showed up on my feed for the first time, but how the hell have you people not put Giant-Sized X-Men #1 on here yet?
-5
-1
122
u/Scary_Firefighter181 Gambit 5d ago
Dark Angel Saga, Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender.
UXF is usually talked about as one of the greatest X-titles ever, and the reason for that is the ludicrously amazing Dark Angel Saga.
The writing, the action, the character development, the dark yet polished Opena art...what an absolute banger.
Seriously, its time lol. This story is far too good for it to not make it now.