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Uncanny X-Men

This article is about the first comic book series starring the X-Men. For information about the eponymous team, see X-Men or History of the X-Men comics. X-Men (vol. 1) redirects here. For vol. 2, see X-Men (vol. 2).
Uncanny X-Men</tr></td><tr style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%;"><td>


Uncanny X-Men #479 art cover
Art by Billy Tan.

PublisherMarvel Comics

<tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Schedule</td><td>Monthly</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Format</td><td>Ongoing</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Publication dates</td><td>September 1963 to Present</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Number of issues</td><td>479 as of October 29th</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Main character(s)</td><td>Nightcrawler
Darwin
Havok
Polaris
Rachel Summers
Professor X
Warpath</td></tr>

<tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Writer(s)</td><td>Ed Brubaker</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Penciller(s)</td><td>Billy Tan & Clayton Henry</td></tr><tr style="vertical-align: top;"><td>Creator(s)</td><td>Stan Lee </br> Jack Kirby</td></tr>
Creative team as of 2006

The Uncanny X-Men, first published as simply The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series within the X-Men franchise. It features an eponymous group of mutant superheroes. Published continuously, with one nine-month break, since issue #1 (Sept. 1963), it has spun off numerous franchise series including Astonishing X-Men, New X-Men, X-Factor, X-Force, the simply titled X-Men, and Generation X.


Contents

History

Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the series launched in 1963, introducing in its first issue the original five X-Men (the Angel, the Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Jean Grey), as well as their teacher, Professor X, and their archenemesis, the supervillain Magneto. Initially published bi-monthly, it became a monthly with issue #14 (November 1965).

The series ceased publication with #66 (March 1970), but returned as a bi-monthly reprint magazine nine months later. It continued in this fashion until the team was revived and revamped, with additional new members, in Giant Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). The X-Men again began printing new stories with #94 (August 1975), but remained bi-monthly until issue #112 (August 1978).

Marvel has also published the title bi-monthly for short periods in 1988-90, 1999, and 2002-06.By the early 1980s, the series had become one of the best-selling American comic books, turning many of the writers and illustrators into industry stars and leading to spin-offs such as The New Mutants, Excalibur and Wolverine, as well as to numerous miniseries.

X-Men or Uncanny X-Men ?

Initially titled The X-Men, the series added the adjective "Uncanny" to its cover treatment on issue #114 (Oct. 1978), and formally changed its title to The Uncanny X-Men with #142 (Feb. 1981) [1]. When a new series titled simply X-Men launched in October 1991, fans and historians began to designate pre-1981 issues as The X-Men Vol. 1 or, more commonly, The Uncanny X-Men.

Spin-offs and crossovers

Since the introduction of 1991's X-Men series, the plotlines of the various titles have intermingled to varying degrees. From 1991-1995, briefly in 1997, and from 2000 on, The Uncanny X-Men and X-Men featured different battalions of X-Men. Appearances of an Uncanny X-Men character in X-Men or vice versa was common, but major stories featuring the characters were normally featured in their respective monthly title.

From 1995-96, when Scott Lobdell was writing both series, and from 1998-2000, when Alan Davis was writing both, Uncanny X-Men and X-Men were effectively treated as a single bi-weekly series, in which plotlines from Uncanny X-Men led directly into the next issue of X-Men.

Like many popular comic book series, Uncanny X-Men also produced double-sized annuals, doing so in 1970 and 1971, then regularly from 1979-2001. After the success of the Ultimate annuals, Uncanny X-Men resumed annual publication in 2006.

Line-ups

By issue number

-For a brief period of time, the Changeling disguised as Professor X was a member of the X-Men until his death. The Mimic also became a member of the X-Men when Angel was sidelined due to an injury during a battle with El Tigre.
-Issues 67-93 consisted of reprintings of earlier issues 10-45 (with some stories printed in the first X-Men Annuals).
-During the gap between issue 66 and issue 94, Havok and Polaris were members of the X-Men. Their adventures are chronicled in X-Men: The Hidden Years by John Byrne.
-After the events of this issue, of all the original members of the X-Men left, only Cyclops remained with the team.
-Sunfire also left the X-Men, content after helping Professor X rescue the original team (in Giant-Size X-Men #1).
-It was later revealed this Jean Grey was actually a psionically-created host body to be used by the Phoenix Force. The real Jean Grey was placed into a healing cocoon in the depths of Jamaica Bay only to be discovered later by the Avengers.
-Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Binary, fought alongside the X-Men against the Brood and briefly lived at the X-Mansion. However, she rejected an offer to join the team. She left the mansion when the X-Men admitted a reformed Rogue as a member.

Contributors

Regular writers

Regular pencilers

X-Men
Comics
(Full list)		 Uncanny X-Men | X-Men vol. 2 | Astonishing X-Men | Exiles | Generation X | New Excalibur | New Mutants | New X-Men | X-Factor | X-Men Unlimited | Ultimate X-Men | X-Force
Major storylines "Dark Phoenix Saga" | "Days of Future Past" | "Mutant Massacre" | "The Fall of the Mutants" | "Inferno" | "The X-Tinction Agenda" | "X-Cutioner's Song" | "Muir Island Saga" | "Fatal Attractions" | "Phalanx Covenant" | "Age of Apocalypse" | "Onslaught" | "Operation: Zero Tolerance" | "Eve of Destruction" | "E Is For Extinction" | "Planet X" | "House of M" | "Decimation"
In other media Film: Generation X | X-Men | X2 | X-Men: The Last Stand | Magneto | Wolverine
TV: Mutant X | Pryde of the X-Men | X-Men: The Animated Series | X-Men: Evolution
Universe Avalon | Asteroid M | Cerebro | Crimson Dawn | Danger Room | Enemies | Fastball Special | Genosha | Legacy Virus | M'Kraan Crystal | Madripoor | Muir Island | Mutant ball | Savage Land | Teams | Xavier Protocols | X-Jet | X-Mansion
Other History | Video games

Categories


X-Men comics

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