90s X-Men Crash Course
THE 90S! The X-Men sold the biggest comic of all time, and expanded out even further than before as X-Factor went government, the New Mutants grew up and things got a little more X-Treme
And the more books there are, the harder it is to know what’s worth reading. It’s an era filled with a lot of duds, but a lot of strong stories too if you know where to look.
I would also like to point out that Scott Lobdell sucks as a person, but he wrote so many books in this era it’s truly impossible to ignore him
Section 01
The Bread
The Big Events
Section 02
The Meat
Spin-offs
Section 03
The Special Sauce
Smaller stories with big impacts
Start here
The Bread
Nowadays it’s easy to get bogged down by constant throwaway events, but it’s worth remembering that there was an era with some truly epic ones. Big, over-the-top 90s energy in an era where the concept of a constant ‘status quo’ was ignored.
Mutant Genesis – X-Men (Vol. 2) #1–3
Chris Claremont
X-Cutioner’s Song + UXM #297
Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Peter David
Age of Apocalypse
Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and More
Fatal Attractions
Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and More
The Start
Mutant Genesis – X-Men (Vol. 2) #1–3
Written by Chris Claremont · Art by Jim Lee
While actually not the first issue of the 90s, this is were the era truly begins, with the end of the Claremont era after 17 years. In many ways a reset to a familiar status quo as the X-Men return to the school and face Magneto, it’s also something brand-new, with new icons joining the team for the first time. Maybe not my favourite story on the list, but no 3 issues set up a decade like this.
The First Event
X-Cutioner’s Song + UXM #297
Written by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Peter David · Art by Brandon Peterson, Andy Kubert, Greg Capullo, Jae Lee
The first big crossover event for the 90s is also probably the best, as the mysterious X-Force villain Stryfe begins making moves against Xavier, Apocalypse, and Scott and Jean. The secrets of Stryfe’s origin may be well-known now, but X-Cutioners Song sees them revealed in explosive 90s action with some of the best artists around. Just make sure you remember #297, the heartbreaking aftermath issue that’s one of the most touching single issues ever.
The Fan Favourite
Age of Apocalypse
Written by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and More · Art by Andy Kubert, Chris Bachalo, Joe Madureira and More
Ask most X-Men fans their favourite 90s story, this will probably be their answer. It’s an understandable one too, as we visit a world in which Xavier dies before the X-Men can be formed and wakes Apocalypse in the process. In the ‘present day’ Apocalypse rules much of the world, and Magneto’s X-Men fight a desperate fight to save what they can. With this event being made up of 8 4-issue mini-series, some are worth reading more than others. The two X-Men books are great, but Generation NeXt is one of the best X-Men books ever made, with some of the most stunning art ever from Chris Bachalo. And you don’t have to feel bad skipping X-Calibre or X-Man.
The Turning Point
Fatal Attractions
Written by Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza and More · Art by Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, John Romita Jr and More
The end of the early 90s era in one of the darkest X-Men stories as the X-Men once again face off with Magneto and his Acolytes in their biggest, and deadliest battle yet. This event is known for two things, Magneto’s global EMP and the ultimate consequences of a Magneto vs Wolverine fight that truly change the characters forever.
Go deeper
The Meat
The 90s aren’t just big for the X-Men, but the expansion from a handful of books into a line unto itself. They’re not all perfect, but they’ve got some great stuff in there if you know where to look.
Generation NeXt (UXM #316-317, X-Men #36-37) and Generation X
Scott Lobdell
X-Force by Fabian Nicieza (#19-43)
Fabian Nicieza
X-Factor by Peter David (#71-89)
Peter David
Excalibur by Alan Davis (#42–67)
Alan Davis
The NeXt Generation
Generation NeXt (UXM #316-317, X-Men #36-37) and Generation X
Written by Scott Lobdell · Art by Chris Bachalo
Beginning with a story in Phalanx Covenant, a not great event aside from this story, Generation X is the forgotten era of X-Men, although characters like Monet and Synch have had recent comebacks. Simply put, every issue of this book drawn by Chris Bachalo is the most beautiful a comic book has every been. There’s nothing like it.
The X-Treme
X-Force by Fabian Nicieza (#19-43)
Written by Fabian Nicieza · Art by Greg Capullo, Mat Broome and Tony Daniel
Liefeld may have defined X-Force, but it’s once he leaves it manages to hit it’s groove. Post X-Cutioner’s Song, X-Force finds themselves without their leader and has to discover what it is they truly stand for as the world of Mutants gets darker and stranger every day.
The Government Goons
X-Factor by Peter David (#71-89)
Written by Peter David · Art by Larry Stroman and Jae Lee
Abandoning the O5 X-Men, X-Factor pivots to a Government ran team of Havok, Strong Guy, Multiple Man, Wolfsbane and Polaris, drawn with the most beautiful hair that you’ve ever seen. The ‘therapy’ issue alone is legendary in this great run that digs deep into the hearts and minds of the team.
The Weird One
Excalibur by Alan Davis (#42–67)
Written and Art by Alan Davis
A book that often struggled with it’s identity after it’s first run by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis, it took the series orginal artist returning as writer and artist to breath new life into the book and capture the classic weirdness that made the book what it was.
The hidden gems
The Special Sauce
Jumping around the big events will give you the bigger milestones of the era, but there’s a lot of smaller arcs that are worth reading too.
Uncanny X-Men #298-303
Scott Lobdell
Uncanny X-Men #306,308-310 and X-Men #30
Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
Adventures/Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
Scott Lobdell & Peter Milligan
X-Men Unlimited #1-3
Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza
The Legacy Virus
Uncanny X-Men #298-303
Scott Lobdell · Art by John Romita Jr and Richard Bennett
The heartbreaking beginning to a plot that ran through the entire 90s and the most interesting Colossus has ever been as his faith in the X-Men is shaken to it’s core.
The Wedding
Uncanny X-Men #306,308-310 and X-Men #30
Written by Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza · Art by John Romita Jr & Andy Kubert
Is there any bigger love story than Scott Summers and Jean Grey? These handful of issues follow them from their decision to finally get married, the bachelor party that goes horribly wrong and two standalone issues spotlighting Angel and the past of Xavier and Magneto, all leading to the wedding itself. John Romita Jr leads one of the finest runs of standalone issues I’ve ever read.
The Past & Future
Adventures/Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
Written by Scott Lobdell/Peter Milligan · Art by Gene Ha/John Paul Leon
Two unrelated mini-series taking Scott and Jean through adventures in time. Adventures at last gives Scott and Jean the chance to raise a young Nathan in the far off future for their honeymoon, and Further Adventures takes them back to the Victorian era as Apocalypse emerges and Mister Sinister is born, all drawn by the incomparable John Paul Leon.
The Standalones
X-Men Unlimited #1-3
Written by Scott Lobdell & Fabian Nicieza · Art by Chris Bachalo, Jan Duursema & Mike McKone
3 one-shots, focused on Cyclops, Magneto, and Sabertooth. An odd bunch, but a great 3 issue run that shows the radically different types of storytelling you can get from this era.
With an entire decade, it’s impossible to cover every good story, even if one regarded as a weaker point in the franchise like 90s X-Men. If you’ve got a favourite you don’t see here, let us know!
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