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The X-Men franchise has had a few animated series, and is on their way to a sixth live action movie. But how would you put together a ten season live action show with continuity and including the best stories from the various X-books over the years? The events of the last season brought the mutant population from millions to 198. Despair ran through the Xavier school, the ashes of Genosha, Mutant Town and beyond. This season Beast tries to come up with a way to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.  Look at all them pretty graves. Art by Marc Silvestri and Stjepan Stejic Season Seven: Messiah Complex (showrunners Peter David and Mike Carey) Backup of the first six episodes: Endangered Species
(written by Mike Carey, Christopher Yost, and Christos Gage, art by Scot Eaton, Mark Bagley, Mike Perkins, Tom Grummet, and Andrea Divito) Beast goes across the globe in search of a solution to the decimation crisis, running into a slew of villains, old friends, and surprises along the way. Episode 1: New Avengers The Collective (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Steve McNiven and Mike Deodato) The Avengers know all about what happened during House Of M so they’re super worried when a new cosmic entity shows up in Alaska that appears to be a mutant. What it is is much, much worse. The Collective. 1 episode Serial 1: X-Factor Life & Death Matters, X-Factor Many Lives Of Madrox, Heart Of Ice (written by Peter David, art by Pablo Raimondi, Ariel Olivetti, Dennis Calero, Renato Arlem, and Roy Allen Martinez) The heart of the post House Of M world is X-Factor. Peter David’s decision to draw from the event and then only skirt around the other crossovers works really well, making this book much more engaging than any of the other X-books. In these two volumes they deal with mutant terrorist cells, the truth behind Decimation, the enigmatic Layla Miller, and the X-Men who really want them to pick aside in Civil War. The Many Lives Of Madrox. 5 episodes Serial 2: Messiah Complex (written by Ed Brubaker, Mike Carey, Peter David, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost, art by Marc Silvestri, Billy Tan, Chris Bachalo, Humberto Ramos, and Scot Eaton) A mutant child is born in Alaska and every mutant and villain are fighting for control of it. Marauders. Purifiers. Reavers. Mr Sinister. Forge. Lady Deathstrike. Mystique. Pretty much everybody but Apocalypse is involved. And in the end, the X-Men are betrayed by several of their own. But at least there’s hope. Also, Madrox and Layla Miller go to the future to learn what they can. It doesn’t go well. Messiah Complex. 6 episodes Serial 3: X-Factor The Only Game In Town (written by Peter David, art by Pablo Raimondi and Valentine De Landro) X-Factor had a rough time during Messiah Complex and Madrox and Layla’s return to Mutant Town isn’t precisely restful. Plus, Quicksilver has had a rough time of it since House Of M but maybe things will finally turn around for him. Also, Val Cooper from the early X-Factor days gets some comeuppance. The Only Game In Town. 2 episodes Episode 14: Wolverine Get Mystique (written by Jason Aaron, art by Ron Garney) Mystique wreaked havoc during Messiah Complex, and Logan decides he needs to make her pay. Get Mystique. 1 episode Serial 5: Cable Messiah War, Cable Waiting For The End Of The World (written by Duane Swierczynski, art by Ariel Olivetti, and Ken Lashley) Tasked with keeping the future of mutantkind safe, Cable travels through the future with Hope but they are constantly being trailed by a certain turncoat X-Men who thinks Hope is the key to mutantkind’s extinction, not their salvation. Waiting For The End Of The World. 2 episodes Serial 6: X-Factor Time And A Half, X-Factor Overtime (written by Peter David, art by Valentine De Landro and Marco Santucci) Just when you think X-Factor couldn’t get any darker, it does. Longshot, Darwin, and Shatterstar join the team. Madrox goes back to the future and we finally learn why Layla Miller “knows stuff”. Overtime. 3 episodes Serial 7: Cable X-Force Messiah War (written by Duane Swierczynski, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost, art by Ariel Olivetti, Jamie Mckelvie, Mike Choi, Sonia Oback, Clayton Crain, and Larry Stroman) Returning from their adventures through time, Cable and the child are greeted by X-Force and a litany of villains still trying to claim the messiah child as their own. Remember how I said it was everybody but Apocalypse? Yea, well, Apocalypse shows up. Plus, Deadpool and Cable have some long unfinished business. Messiah War. 2 episodes Season seven. 22 episodes Interseason Special: X-Men Legacy Divided He Stands, Uncanny X-Men Divided We Stand (written by Mike Carey and Ed Brubaker, art by Scot Eaton, John Romita Jr, Billy Tan, Greg Land, Brandon Peterson, Mike Deodata, and Mike Choi) Having been shot by a traitorous X-Man earlier in the series, Professor X is being put back together by an unknown benefactor memory by memory. Meanwhile Cyclops and Emma Frost go to the west coast to examine the future of mutantkind.
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The X-Men franchise has had a few animated series, and is on their way to a sixth live action movie. But how would you put together a ten season live action show with continuity and including the best stories from the various X-books over the years? After all the problems at the school last season, Professor X hands the reigns of the school to a new generation. We also see a new class of students. Isn’t change wonderful? And by the end of this season, mutants will finally get everything they ever wanted. I’m sure it will be permanent.  Logan explores his sensitive side. Art by John Cassaday Season Six: Astonishing (Showrunners: Joss Whedon and Brian Michael Bendis) Serial 1: Astonishing X-Men By Joss Whedon & John Cassady Ultimate Collections Vol 1 & 2
(written by Joss Whedon, art by John Cassaday) Joss Whedon was supposed to take over the X-Men directly after Grant Morrison but things didn’t go as planned. That’s ok, though, his run with John Cassady is one of the finest X-arcs there is. Headmasters Emma Frost and Cyclops welcome Kitty Pride to the school and then shenanigans occur. Wonderful shenanigans. Many of them in space. Just read the whole run all the way through. It’s totally worth it. Gifted & Dangerous. 6 episodes Episode 7: X-Factor Madrox Multiple Choice (written by Peter David, art by Pablo Raimondi) After that fun but long serial, let’s step in and visit Multiple Man. This spectacular noir miniseries delves further into Jamie Madrox’s power. A man who can duplicate himself a large but finite amount of times learns some interesting skills. In this series he acts a detective for hire, teaming up with some of his old friends from the 90s X-Factor team. Multiple Choice. 1 episode Serial 2: New X-Men Academy X Vol 1 Choosing Sides, Wolverine Enemy Of The State, New X-Men Academy X Volume 3 X-Posed (written by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, and Mark Millar, art by Randy Green, Staz Johnson, Michael Ryan, Rick Ketcham, and John Romita Jr) I avoided the classic New Mutant series because one can only read so much Claremont before one starts carving cuneiform on their arms and narrating their lives unnecessarily. “Now I am going the bathroom because that is a biological function humans have. Now I am flushing the toilet because human waste is gross and indoor plumbing, which was invented in…” you get the idea. But this adventure introduces us to a new generation of students (with some that were introduced during Morrison’s run) who have a much smaller scale story but with more serious consequences than the original New Mutants. I know I said there wouldn’t be any Wolverine but there is one Really Important storyline for all of the X- books. Enemy Of The State shows what happens when everyone’s favorite walking cutlery is brainwashed into being evil. Characters die and stuff. And the repercussions are felt in the next Academy X book. Choosing Sides. 4 episodes Episode 11: X-23 Target X (written by Craig Kyle and Christoper Yost, art by Mike Choi) We check back in with X-23 to see what happens when Captain America tries to help Stabby Jr. Also, Stabby Jr. meets Stabby Sr. as X-23 goes claws-to-claws with Wolverine. Target X. 1 episode Serial 3: Excalibur Forging The Sword, Excalibur Saturday Night Fever, House Of M Prelude: Excalibur (written by Chris Claremont, art by Aaron Lopestri) This period of X-Men comics was mainly written by Chuck Austen and Peter Milligan, and almost none of it is worth reading, but Chris Claremont picked up his old Excalibur title and helped set up this season’s huge event. In this series we see Professor X, Magneto, and some lesser known X-characters try and rebuild Genosha from the destruction in season five. But does Magneto have another motivation for being there? One that, maybe, isn’t even evil? Also, a bunch of X-Corps offices are attacked around the globe. Plus Genoshan humans are jerks, and Doctor Strange steps in to help fix The Wanda problem. Unfixable. 2 episodes Serial 4: House Of M (written by Brian Michael Bendis, art by Olive Coipel) But Doctor Strange fails, and thus House Of M. The Scarlet Witch alters all of reality so that every mutant gets everything they ever wanted. But that just isn’t enough for the greedy mutants, and their utopia, like everything else the X-men touch, falls apart. House Of M. 2 episodes Serial 5: Decimation The Day After, Decimation The 198 (written by Chris Claremont, Peter Milligan, and David Hine, art by Salvador Larroca, Randy Green, Jim Muniz, and Kevin Conrad) Three words from The Scarlet With in House Of M undid a whole mess of Morrison’s X-Men idea, and now there are only 198 Mutants left in the world. In this serial we see how the mutants’ lives are changed now that there aren’t so many of them. Featuring a ton of sentinels. Decimation . 2 episodes Serial 6: New X-Men Childhood’s End Volumes 1-3 (written by Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost, art by Mark Brooks and Paco Medina) But what about all those kids we met at the beginning of the season? In Childhood’s End we see how those kids live and die in the post-House of M world. Many are depowered and all of them are in serious risk of being killed. Plus, X-23 joins the Academy, and The New Avengers stop by to help the surviving mutants battle Nimrod. Childhood’s End. 2 episodes Season 6 is 20 episodes Interseason Special: X-Factor The Longest Night (written by Peter David, art by Ryan Sook and Dennis Calero) Picking up after House of M and Multiple Choice, Madrox’s detective agency goes from being in the thriving “Mutant Town” section of New York City to a city of depressed depowered mutants. The detectives need to solve a series of mutant related problems and do their best to handle the consequences when some of Jamie’s multiples go rogue. No, they don’t speak with a Southern accent and leech your powers. The X-Men franchise has had a few animated series, and is on their way to a sixth live action movie. But how would you put together a ten season live action show with continuity and including the best stories from the various X-books over the years? Season one introduced us to Claremont’s X-Men, a couple of whom were killed off, and introduced us to a slew of villains, but there wasn’t a Buffy The Vampire Slayer “Big Bad”. Well, welcome to season two, you’re about to get to know Mr. Sinister and The Marauders.  Season Two: Fall Of The Mutants (showrunners: Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson) Serial 1: X-Men Mutant Massacre
(written by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson, art by John Romita Jr, Rick Leonardi, Alan Davis, and Barry Windsor-Smith) Because Claremont’s writing is so dense, and he was on the Uncanny X-Men book for so long, it’s tough to skip a chunk of continuity, but that’s what I’m doing. Luckily, Claremont waxes backstory that you’ll hardly notice the forty missing issues. Cough. So we start Season Two with Magneto as the headmaster at Xavier’s school. Storm has been depowered, there’s a new generation of X-Men called The New Mutants, and, as we learned in the interseason special, the original X-Men have started their own team called X-Factor which claims to be out hunting mutants, when, actually, they’re rescuing them. Well, all those teams, plus Thor and a group of kids called The Power Pack have to deal with The Marauders, a group of villains who have invaded The Morlock Tunnels and are killing mutants. All the heroes work (not necessarily together) to stop the threat, but there’s great costs (of course), and new X-Men join the team. Morlock Massacre. 4 episodes Episode 5: Fantastic Four Versus The X-Men (written by Chris Claremont, art by John Bogdanove) It really only takes one episode to tackle this mini-crossover where The FF and She-Hulk fly off to Muir Island to try and help The X-Men recover from Mutant Massacre, which has put four long time team members out of commission. The current lineup is initially excited that Reed Richards has come to help but when he experiences moment of self-doubt, Dr. Doom steps in to offer his assistance. This was the series that got me into X-Men comics, and I think it still very much holds up as one of their best stories. Out Of Phase. 1 episode Serial 2: Fall Of The Mutants Volume 1 & Fall Of The Mutants Volume 2 (written by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson, art by Marc Silvestri, Walt Simonson, and Bret Blevins) This is a giant, non-intersecting, crossover where full-on madness takes place. Forge and Storm enter a realm of magic, X-Factor battles old friends and Apocalypse, the X-Men just might die, The New Mutants lose a team member on the island of…Bird Brain? Even The Hulk, Captain America, Daredevil, and The Power Pack are involved in yet another Everything Will Change storyline. Fall Of The Mutants. 6 episodes Serial 3: Excalibur Classic Volume 1 (written by Chris Claremont, art by Alan Davis) We’re not going to get invested in Excalibur continuity because it was a beautifully weird book that is a fun read but isn’t essential to X-Men continuity. But the first book shows what happens when the X-Men who weren’t involved in Fall Of The Mutants (most of them were put out of commission during Mutant Massacre) . Excalibur. 2 episodes Serial 4: Inferno (written by Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, and many more, art by many) Another storyline that pulls in Daredevil, The New Mutants, X-Factor, Excalibur, The Fantastic Four, and more. Madelyne Pryor is a teensy bit upset that her husband abandoned her, and, oh yea, sent their child into the future to save him from a virus that he probably got because his dad is a superputz. So she accepts demon powers and transforms New York into a Hell On Earth, even more so that it usually is. In the end, we learn Madelyne’s relation to Jean, and yadda yadda, not so happily ever after. Plus more Sinister & Marauders. Inferno. 4 episodes Serial 5: The X-Tinction Agenda (written by Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson, art by Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, John Bogdanove, and Guang Yap) Eventually, we’ll pare down the amount of teams in a book, but here’s another All Mutant crossover. It turns out that X-Factor has been working for an evil dude this whole time. There’s an island where mutants are slaves and they’re hella mad at the X teams because of the events of a super complex (don’t read it if you don’t have to) storyline called Days Of Future Present. So the leader of Genosha kidnaps The New Mutants and Storm (who was de-aged….don’t worry about it) and all the X teams go to rescue them. This is the Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld era of X-Men so expect big guns and big muscles. X-Tinction Agenda. 3 episodes This puts season two at 20 episodes. Interseason Special: The Muir Island Saga (written by Chris Claremont, Fabien Nicenza, and Peter David, art by Paul Smith, Andy Kubert, Whilce Portacio, Kirk Jarvinen, and Steven Butler) I’m going to stray from my Collections-Only policy, and tell you to track down five issues. They’ll be cheap, probably cheaper than new comic issues. Uncanny X-Men #278 & #279, X-Factor #69, Uncanny X-Men #280, and then X-Factor #70 make up The Muir Island Saga. Since the end of Fall of The Mutants, the X-Men have been less a team and more a series of former teammates on their own adventures. In these books, all the mutants are put back on the board and arranged into new teams. Professor X battling The Shadow King is the focus of this story but the purpose was to set up X-Men #1. the biggest selling comic of all-time. |
May 2020
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