10 X-Men Comics Even Fans Avoid

The X-Men boast one of the most dedicated fanbases in comic book history, a loyalty that began in the mid-1970s with the groundbreaking Giant-Size X-Men #1 and the start of Chris Claremont’s run with X-Men (Vol. 1) #94. Claremont spent 17 years transforming the X-Men into a rich, complex world within the larger Marvel Universe. Over the years, fans have stuck with the series through incredibly complicated storylines, and even find things to appreciate in stories generally considered weak. However, even the most devoted X-Men fans have their limits, and some stories are simply too bad to enjoy.

X-Men fans are known for being incredibly loyal and sticking with the series even through complex and confusing storylines. But there are a few stories that are just so poorly received, even the most dedicated fans agree they should be forgotten. Here are ten of those stories.

10) X-Men Gold

Marvel’s attempt to promote the Inhumans was a major misstep, particularly for the X-Men franchise. Even after the ‘Inhumans vs. X-Men’ event, hoping for improvement, the resulting comics were largely disappointing. ‘X-Men Gold’ was a particularly low point. While aiming for a classic, Claremont-style team, writer Marc Guggenheim struggled to make the 36-issue series successful. The biggest problem, however, appeared immediately in the first issue when artist Ardian Syaf included anti-Semitic imagery in the artwork. This created a terrible start for the series, and ultimately, there aren’t any stories within it that readers would want to revisit.

9) X-Corp

While many fans look back fondly on the Krakoa Era of X-Men comics, it wasn’t without its flaws. One of the weaker titles was X-Corp, a corporate espionage story by Tini Howard and Alberto Foche. Though the series featured a strong cast led by Monet and Archangel, Howard struggled to make the characters compelling, and this became apparent very quickly. The highlight of the five-issue run was actually a back-up story by indie creator Jason Loo, focusing on Multiple Man. Ultimately, the book didn’t live up to its potential; Foche’s art was solid, but felt derivative of Stuart Immonen’s style. While not the absolute worst of the Krakoa Era, X-Corp definitely ranked among the least successful titles.

8) Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 4)

Before the 2010s, the title Astonishing X-Men was known for being consistently good. However, the fourth volume of the series didn’t live up to that reputation. The 18-issue run featured writing by Charles Soule for the first half and Matthew Rosenberg for the rest, with a rotating cast of twelve artists illustrating Soule’s issues and Greg Land handling Rosenberg’s. The series aimed to recapture the magic of a previous Astonishing X-Men run by pairing talented creators, but Soule was an up-and-coming writer who Marvel heavily promoted, and Rosenberg was still gaining recognition. Soule’s story, focusing on villains like the Shadow King and Proteus, is considered the weaker part of the series. Rosenberg’s portion introduced a new team with a fresh purpose. Overall, this Astonishing X-Men run reflects a difficult decade for X-Men fans.

7) Extraordinary X-Men

Following the conclusion of Secret Wars in 2016, Extraordinary X-Men debuted as the primary X-Men comic. The creative team of Jeff Lemire and Humberto Ramos initially generated a lot of excitement. However, the first issue revealed a challenging new situation for mutants: the Terrigen Mists were causing them to die, leading the X-Men to create a sanctuary called Haven in Limbo. The main issue with this 19-issue run was that it didn’t fully embrace what fans expect from an X-Men title. Instead of focusing on character relationships or resolving the core conflict, the series was dominated by one large story arc after another, leaving little room for quieter moments. While not a terrible series overall, Extraordinary X-Men arrived during a period X-Men fans often prefer to avoid, and ultimately didn’t live up to its full potential.

6) “Age of Revelation”

Let me tell you, “Age of Revelation” was a real low point. This storyline jumped ten years into the future, painting a bleak picture of a world ravaged by a mutant virus and controlled by a seriously twisted version of Doug Ramsey – basically, an Apocalypse-ified Doug! And the sheer scope of it… two main books plus seventeen three-issue miniseries! Even before it launched, fans were dreading it, and honestly, it’s hard to find anyone who has a good thing to say about most of it. It’s one of those stories that just doesn’t stick with you – nobody’s going back for a second read, that’s for sure.

5) “The Draco”

Nightcrawler is a fan-favorite X-Man, and for a long time, his origins were a mystery. While it was known his mother was Mystique, his father remained unknown until a storyline in Uncanny X-Men (#429-434) by Chuck Austen and Philip Tan. This arc introduced Azazel, a mutant with both demonic and angelic traits, revealing him to be Kurt’s father. Though the story had an interesting concept and good artwork by Tan, the writing by Chuck Austen didn’t quite succeed, making it a generally disliked comic. Even if you disagree with the retcon of Mystique being Kurt’s mother and Destiny’s his mom, this storyline is still considered one of the worst in X-Men history.

4) “Day of the Atom”

As a long-time X-Men fan, there’s one run I try to forget: Chuck Austen’s. Seriously, no matter how hard you try to avoid it, it just… lingers. After Grant Morrison’s amazing run on New X-Men, Austen took over, and honestly, the book just lost everything that made it good. His story arc, “Day of the Atom,” illustrated in issues #157-160 of X-Men (Vol. 2) with artist Salvador Larocca, is… rough, to put it mildly. It’s pretty standard for that era of his work, though. Basically, it revealed that Xorn wasn’t who we thought he was – it turned out there were two of them, and the X-Men had to deal with the fallout. Honestly, there’s absolutely nothing compelling about it. I’m almost glad it’s rarely discussed, because new readers deserve to skip this four-issue slog entirely.

3) Fall of the House of X

Although many fans loved the Krakoa era of X-Men, Marvel decided to shorten the planned ending, “Fall of X,” after the positive response to the X-Men ’97 animated series. While the entire storyline suffered, Fall of the House of X – created by Gerry Duggan, Lucas Werneck, Jethro Morales, and Stefano Caselli – was particularly disappointing. Duggan’s run on the X-Men hadn’t been strong, and this book felt like an unsatisfying conclusion to his storylines. The writing featured weak character development and a predictable plot. Even the art, usually excellent thanks to Lucas Werneck, felt lackluster, and the need for guest artists due to deadlines further diminished the visual quality. Overall, it was a complete misfire, and many X-Men fans would prefer to forget it ever happened.

2) “Age of X-Man”

The “Age of Apocalypse” storyline was a huge hit, and Marvel has attempted to recreate its success every ten years since. Their 2010s attempt was “Age of X-Man,” a sprawling event consisting of two main books and six shorter series. It began after “X-Men Disassembled,” where the character X-Man joined with Legion to create a new reality for mutants. However, the 2019 follow-up arrived after a failed X-Men relaunch and didn’t capture fan interest. While Marvel didn’t overdo it with numerous spin-off series this time, the story is mostly remembered for the unexpected pairing of Psylocke and Blob.

1) “She Lies With Angels”

Reading Chuck Austen’s X-Men, you quickly notice he wasn’t afraid to take risks with his stories. A prime example is the “She Lies With Angels” arc in Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #437-441, illustrated by Salvador Larocca. This story introduced Josh Guthrie and his romance with a human, aiming for a *Romeo and Julietesque feel. However, the execution falls flat, resulting in a dramatically weak story. It’s so poorly done that it’s best to skip it altogether.

What X-Men storyline do you dislike the most? Share your thoughts in the comments below and discuss it with other fans on the ComicBook Forums!

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2026-04-20 17:41