The X-Men In Ten Seasons, Season 6: Astonishing

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.