2001: An X-Men Oddity
One month in 2001 had an outsized impact on the future of Marvel’s mutants
Before jumping into this week’s topic, I want to lay out my methodology and sources to try and avoid confusion. Every comic that will be discussed is cover dated as July of 2001. In the world of comic books, the month on the cover is not always indicative of the month the comic actually went on sale. The Marvel Unlimited app lists the release dates for all of these issues as being “Jul 01, 2001” save two: Uncanny X-Men #394 (Jun 01, 2001) and The Brotherhood #1 (not available on Marvel Unlimited). The website Comichron, which tracks the sales of comic books based on reports from the comic distribution company Diamond, lists all of these comics as being sold in May of 2001. For the purposes of this piece, I’ll be referring to the cover date of July. Got all of that? Good.
It isn’t uncommon to see major publishing initiatives in the comic book industry to be unveiled all at once. Marvel once tried to capitalize on the speculator boom of the early-1990s by launching three new series starring their most popular characters and drawn by their young superstar artists (Spider-Man #1 in August of 1990, X-Force #1 in August of 1991, and X-Men #1 in October of 1991). In more recent years there was the Marvel NOW! initiative that saw numerous titles launched with new creative teams from 2012-2015 and the All-New, All-Different Marvel initiative that saw similar launches from 2015-2019. There’s even an ongoing initiative from Marvel that began in 2019 that has seen numerous new titles launched within the X-Men line each year since. What is much less common is to see a massive shakeup of creative teams and new titles launched for one line of books all taking place within the same month. That is exactly what Marvel did in July of 2001 when new creative teams took over X-Men (rebranded as New X-Men), Uncanny X-Men, and X-Force, and two brand new titles were launched (X-Treme X-Men and The Brotherhood). On top of that, you also had the first arc of Ultimate X-Men (a series that launched in February of 2001) wrapping up, and the Wolverine solo series was still one of Marvel’s bestsellers. Add in the fact that all seven of these titles sold extremely well in that month, and you have yourself a bit of a phenomenon on your hands.
New X-Men #114 by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Units sold: 144,835 (top selling book of the month)
Prior to 2001, the X-Men brand had lost a lot of its prestige since its heyday in the 1990s. The “Age of Apocalypse” event had been extremely successful in 1995, and Marvel followed that up with the ambitious “Onslaught” event the following year. While it sold well, it also dragged on far too long (first teased in mid-1995 and finally ended in late-1996) and led to some reader fatigue for the remainder of the decade. When the X-Men feature film became a box office success in 2000 (making almost $300 million on a $75 million budget), Marvel brass saw an opportunity to revitalize the brand for the comics. To do so, they tapped the creative team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely to spearhead the modernization of the brand. Morrison had previously revitalized the Justice League for DC with their fan favorite JLA run in the late-1990s, and the hope was they would be able to do the same for the X-Men. Morrison’s pitch for the book was a multi-page manifesto that laid out exactly what they wanted to accomplish on the book (available to read in full in the New X-Men omnibus). That pitch boiled down to stripping the X-Men of their superhero status and making them more of a super powered strike team handling threats to mutantkind. Part of doing so involved getting rid of the brightly colored spandex costumes in favor black leather jackets and jumpsuits (excluding Emma Frost). Morrison and Quitely would be taking over the X-Men series (thought of as the secondary X-Men title to the flagship Uncanny X-Men) with issue #114 and renaming it New X-Men. It’s interesting that they didn’t take over the previously established flagship title, but it’s ultimately irrelevant because New X-Men would be marketed as the new flagship title for the remainder of Morrison’s time on the book.
This first issue establishes the new team of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Professor X, and Emma Frost (though Emma wouldn’t actually join the team until subsequent issues), and it establishes new threats in the terrifying Cassandra Nova and “wild” Sentinels. It’s an incredible debut issue. As someone who bought and read this issue when it came out, I can confirm that I was immediately hooked on this series.
Uncanny X-Men #394 by Joe Casey and Ian Churchill
Units sold: 137,081 (second-best selling book of the month)
As previously mentioned, Uncanny X-Men had been the flagship title for the X-Men line dating back to its launch in 1963. The man most often credited with turning the X-Men into Marvel’s biggest brand is Chris Claremont who wrote Uncanny X-Men from 1975-1991. With the title suffering through a recent rough stretch critically, Marvel brought Claremont back onto the title with Uncanny X-Men #381 in 2000 in hopes that he could capture lightning in a bottle for a second time. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The oft-maligned run came to an end after a mere eight issues. More on Claremont later. After a few stopgap issues, a new creative team was announced that would take over Uncanny X-Men to coincide with Morrison and Quitely taking over New X-Men. That creative team was Joe Casey and Ian Churchill. Marvel promoted both creative teams as a shared sea change of the X-Men line. They released a special preview for both books through Wizard Magazine (of which I was a subscriber at the time) to drum up some excitement. The first issue of Casey and Churchill’s run is definitely an attention grabber if only for the cover featuring Wolverine and Jean Grey doing a big smooch. I’ll give props to Casey for actually including that in the issue, so it isn’t false advertising.
This first issue establishes the new team of Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Archangel decked out in the same costumes seen in New X-Men. That helps solidify that both books are looking to operate within the same status quo. Their antagonist is some hipster Magneto wannabe who decides to attack the same military base that Magneto attacked way back in the very first issue from 1963. I also bought and read this issue when it initially came out, but it certainly did not grab me the same way that New X-Men did. Joe Casey has since gone on record that he never really had much of a vision in place when he started writing the book. He also has said that he wasn’t allowed to choose his own artists for the book, and he also wanted to avoid stepping on Morrison’s toes because he loved what they were doing over on New X-Men. The sales were strong for Casey’s run regardless, but he would only last on the book for sixteen issues before being replaced by Chuck Austen.
X-Treme X-Men #1 by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca
Units sold: 135,219 (third-best selling book of the month)
I told you there would be more on Claremont later! As previously mentioned, Claremont had been brought back to the X-Men line of books in 2000 to try and steer them back to more critical acclaim. When that didn’t work out, he was dropped from the core titles and replaced by the aforementioned creative teams. Marvel still had a place for him though. He was paired with Salvador Larroca for a brand new series called X-Treme X-Men that would launch at the same time as the other two. This series would deviate much more from the status quo set in New X-Men. This series would follow a team of X-Men operating independently of Xavier and thus avoid sharing story elements with the other two series. The first issue establishes a team of Storm, Rogue, Bishop, Psylocke, and (most confusingly) Beast as they traveled the globe in new black and red costumes designed by Larroca. Beast being a member is a bit awkward because he is also one of the main characters in New X-Men. In that book, Beast has undergone a secondary mutation that has given him a more feline appearance and clawed hands. The Beast that appears in X-Treme X-Men looks no different than the one fans had been accustomed to seeing for years. He is quickly written out of the series just a few issues later, but it’s an odd oversight nonetheless. I admittedly did not read this debut issue when it came out like I had with the previous two. I was only tangentially aware of it at the time. I have since gone back and read the entire run. The first half of the run is fine, but the second half really did nothing for me. I don’t feel that I missed out on much by not following it while it was being published.
Ultimate X-Men #6 by Mark Millar and Andy Kubert
Units sold: 106,962 (fourth-best selling book of the month)
Ultimate X-Men was launched in February of 2001 by Mark Millar, Adam Kubert, and Andy Kubert (yes, both Kubert brothers worked on this series) as a retelling of the classic 1960s origin of the characters as if it happened in modern day (the same thing was done with Ultimate Spider-Man the previous year). It was a huge success consistently selling around 100,000 copies a month. Ultimate X-Men #6 was the final issue of the opening arc for the series that culminated in this new universe’s Magneto attacking the White House while this universe’s new and inexperienced X-Men tried to take him down. This series (much like Morrison and Quitely’s New X-Men) tried to convey a more cinematic and stylish quality of storytelling to attract new readers. It was also squarely targeted at a younger readership base that would find the edgier storytelling appealing. As a teenager at the time this was coming out, I can safely say that it succeeded. The success of this series would lead to Millar also writing The Ultimates (this universe’s version of the Avengers) and parlaying that success into writing the massive main Marvel universe event book Civil War. No longer a teenager, I have gone back and read the first couple volumes of this series to see how well they hold up. Um…not super well. Some of it still works, and the art is great. There is just a lot of “being edgy for edginess sake” that has become pretty cringeworthy on reread.
Wolverine #164 by Frank Tieri and Sean Chen
Units sold: 72,673 (ninth-best selling book of the month)
I’m going to be honest with you. There’s really nothing about this issue that connects it with the others being discussed here other than Wolverine is a member of the X-Men. Tieri and Chen had been on the book for five issues already, it isn’t the beginning a new arc or ending of an existing arc, and it doesn’t connect with any of the other X-Men titles being published that month. It’s just your typical Wolverine story at the time. It was a top ten selling book because Wolverine always sold in the top ten back then. I just felt that I’d be remiss not to mention it along with all of the other X-Men books that sold so well this month.
The Brotherhood #1 by “X” and Esad Ribic
Units sold: 72,202 (tenth-best selling book of the month)
Okay. This is a weird one. The Brotherhood was an experiment suggested by longtime Marvel writer Howard Mackie. The idea was this: how would fans react to a series that follows the recruitment of a young mutant by the terrorist organization Brotherhood of Mutants written by an anonymous writer? It’s an interesting thought. Shockingly, Marvel decided to roll the dice and let Mackie write the series under the pseudonym “X” with art by a very young Esad Ribic. As a teenager at the time, this sounded like a pretty cool concept to me. It can be a bit heavy handed at times (the very first page has a quote from Mao for crying out loud), but it’s a pretty interesting read with some solid artwork. Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t great. Writing an American comic from the point of view of a terrorist in the summer of 2001 didn’t go over great by that fall. I’ll let you figure out why that might be. The series was canceled after only nine issues (I bought the first five as it was coming out), but what’s really surprising is how long Marvel kept the identity of “X” secret. It wasn’t until 2018 that Mackie admitted to being the writer. Unfortunately, the series isn’t available digitally or collected in trade, so you’ll have to track down the issues in singles if you want to read it now.
X-Force #116 by Peter Milligan and Mike Allred
Units sold: 52,472 (sixteenth-best selling book of the month)
Of all of the comics discussed thus far, X-Force #116 might be the boldest swing at a new course for the title. X-Force had always been meant as the more “grim and gritty” series in the X-Men line. They were the group of mutants willing to be a little more violent and militant than their counterparts at the Xavier Institute. The traditional lineup included characters like Cable, Domino, Shatterstar, Warpath, and others who weren’t afraid to shoot or stab someone to achieve their goals. The artwork typically matched that tone by utilizing darker color schemes and hyper detailed line work. X-Force #116 changed all of that. New writer Peter Milligan wanted to completely revamp the lineup with brand new characters who would be going on dangerous missions that were filmed for a reality television show. It was meant to satirize the celebrity obsessed cultural zeitgeist of the time. If that wasn’t clear, the leader of this new team was a mutant who projectile vomited corrosive acid literally named Zeitgeist. Accompanying Milligan’s zany storytelling was the cartoonish artwork of the incomparable Mike Allred. The bright colors and hyper energetic style could not have been more different from the other X-Men titles at that time. On top of everything else, this series decided to jettison the approval of the Comics Code of Authority and fill its pages with extreme violence and mature themes. I distinctly remember this because the owner of my local comic store at the time refused to sell me this issue without my mom’s permission. Fortunately I have a cool mom, and she let me get it. This was truly unique for its time. The series would go on to cultivate a cult following that would lead to the series rebranding itself as X-Statix after fourteen issues and continue on for another twenty-five issues under that title. What might be the most impressive feat is that the creative team never changed throughout that entire time. Milligan and Allred were responsible for every issue. Just this year the series was rebooted with that same creative team now titled X-Cellent. The first arc just recently wrapped, but more issues in the future have been promised by Milligan.
So what is the legacy of all of these comics today?
New X-Men is still regarded as one of the best runs in the history of the X-Men.
Casey’s Uncanny X-Men run has mostly been forgotten, but it’s a decent run.
Claremont’s X-Treme X-Men was never critically lauded, but it is getting a reboot this year.
The “Ultimate” line of comics including Ultimate X-Men is held up as having kept Marvel afloat and pull in a new generation of readers.
Wolverine is Wolverine.
The Brotherhood has been seemingly swept under the rug by Marvel, but it’s worth checking out.
As I already mentioned, Milligan and Allred’s X-Force has gone by many different names but is still going strong.
What a truly monumental month for our merry band of mutants.