• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • Archive
  • DC Guides
    • DC New 52
    • DC Events
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
  • Marvel Guides
    • Omnibus & Oversize Hardcover DB
    • Marvel Events
  • Star Wars Guide
    • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
    • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
  • Valiant Guides
  • Contact!
You are here: Home / Crushing Comics – Guide to Collecting Marvel Comic Books / The Definitive X-Men Reading Order Guide – every issue of every title / X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #7: Onslaught

X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #7: Onslaught

Stories occurring between Uncanny X-Men #308 in January 1994 and Uncanny X-Men #337 in October 1996. A part of Crushing Krisis’s Collecting X-Men: A Definitive Guide. Last updated January 2013.

Ongoing X-related titles in this era:

  • Uncanny X-Men #308-337
  • Alpha Flight #128-130 (end)
  • X-Factor #98-126
  • Excalibur #72-101
  • Wolverine, Vol. 2 #76-105
  • Marvel Comics Presents  (features Wolverine) #150-175 (end)
  • X-Force #29-58
  • X-Men, Vol. 2 #27-57
  • Cable #6-35
  • X-Men Unlimited #3-12
  • Generation X #1-19
  • X-Man #1-19

Notes:

  • This era includes the entire Age of Apocalypse event and all of its titles as well as Onslaught. The end of this era marks the start of the Heroes Reborn universe occupied by The Avengers and Fantastic Four.

X-Men Unlimited #3
When: For the moment, this issue has been orphaned by collections.

X-Force #26-31

Excalibur #72-74
When: Shadowcat appears next in Cable #9. Nightcrawler appears next in UXM #310.

X-Factor #93-100
When: #93 is best read with Fatal Attractions in the prior era, but it is not collected there so I have repeated it here. Professor X appears in #97 after UXM #309, but this is still the best place to read this overall story, since it occurs prior to the wedding issues.

The Wedding of Cyclops & Phoenix
Occurs across Uncanny X-Men: #308-310 & X-Men #27-30
When: Note that UXM Annual 18 precedes XMv2 #30 but is not collected with these issues

X-Factor/Spider-Man: Shadowgames

Wolverine #76-78

Cable #5-14: Classic, Vol 2
When: Cable #5-8 occurs prior to the wedding, though #12-14 occur after X-Force #32-37.

Excalibur #75-78

X-Factor #1o1-105 & Annual 9
When: #102 and Annual 9 occur prior to XMv2 #31

MCP #152-155: Wolverine

Wolverine #79-84

Uncanny X-Men #311-315 & Annual 18
+ X-Men Unlimited #4-5

When: The B-story in Annual 18 falls after #314, where it was released – though the majority of the issue belongs prior to XMv2 #30. UXM #315 exclusively features the Acolytes. X-Men Unlimited #4 comes after the wedding but before XMv2 #31.

Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix
When: Alternately, this time-travel story can be read prior to Cable’s debut in New Mutants, as it details his origins

X-Men, Vol. 2 #31-25
When: #31-32 are best placed directly after the X-Factor run, above, but you can read this entire chunk here.

Excalibur #79-81

X-Force #32-37

Deadpool Vol. 2 #1-4

Phalanx Covenant

Generation Next: Uncanny X-Men #316-317 & X-Men Vol. 2 #36-37

Life Signs: X-Factor #106, X-Force #38, Excalibur #82

Final Sanction: Wolverine #85 and Cable #16

X-Factor #107-109

X-Force #38-43

Cable #15-20
Collectd in Cable Classic, Vol. 3
When: Several X-Men appear in #16-19 after their appearances in UXM #314.

Uncanny X-Men #318
+ X-Men Unlimited #6-7
+ X-Men Annual 3
When: These issues form a bridge from Phalanx Covenant to Generation X.

Bishop #1-4

Generation X #1-4

Wolverine #86-90
When: Some of this occurs prior to X-Men Unlimited #7.

Rogue #1-4
When: Occurs prior to Uncanny X-Men #320

Excalibur #83-86
Collected in Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 1
When: This begins just after the Bishop limited series. Note that stopping at #86 will cut this collection in half – you can just as easily read it in its entirety after the end of AOA.

Legion Quest & Age of Apocalypse

The correct read-order leading into this event is: XMv2 #38, UXM #319, XMv2 #39, UXM #320, X-Factor #108, X-Men #40, XFo #43, UXM #321, X-Men#41, Cable #20

The final issues prior to Age of Apocalypse were:

    • Uncanny X-Men #321
    • X-Factor #109
    • Excalibur #86
    • Wolverine #90
    • X-Force #43
    • X-Men, Vol. 2 #41
    • Cable #20
    • Generation X #4

See Marvel Events: Age of Apocalypse for the full collection and read-order of that event.

After Age of Apocalypse

This period begins with X-Men: Prime, which is reprinted in The Complete Age of Apocalypse, Vol. 4

Excalibur #83-90: Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 1
When: This begins just after Phalanx Covenant, but reading it in its entirety prior to AOA will create spoilers. #87 is the first issue following Phalanx Covenant.

X-Men: Gene Nation =
+ Uncanny X-Men #322-326
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #42-45 & Annual 95
+ Wolverine #91 & Annual 95
+ X-Force #44
+ X-Men Unlimited #8
This has not been collected effectively.
When: This tightly plotted group of issues should be read in the following order: UXM #322, Wolv #91 & Ann95, XMv2 #42-44, XFo #44, UXM #323-324, XMv2 Ann95, #325, XMv2 #45, UXM #326, XMU #8

X-Factor #110-115

X-Force #44-48 & Cable #21-28
When: Cable #23 comes after UXM #326. X-Force & Cable Ann95 fits at the end of these issues.

Wolverine/Gambit: Victims
When: Begins after UXM #324 and Wolverine #92

Generation X #5-11 & Annual 95
When: #7 occurs after UXM #324. Ann95 is after UXM Ann95.

Wolverine #93-96 & Annual 95 + Ghost Rider #67-68
When: Begins after UXM #325 and Cable #23. Ghost Rider #68 comes after #96

Excalibur #91-95 + Starjammers #1-4
Collected in Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 2

X-Factor #116-124
Not collected

X-Men: In the Red =
+ Uncanny X-Men #327-330
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #46-49
+ X-Men Unlimited #9
+ Sabretooth: In the Red Zone
+ Archangel
See various pages for collection information but, spoiler alert, none of this is collected.
When: This tightly-plotted group of issues is best read as XMv2 #46, UXM #327,  XMv2 #47, XMU #9, UXM #328, Sabretooth: In the Red Zone, XMv2 #48, UXM #329-330, Archangel, XMv2 #49, XMU #10. Note that the Sabretooth ITRZ special directly follows UXM #328 as it conclusion.

X-Force #49-51 + Ann95
When: You should read UXM #328 prior to X-Force #51.

X-Man #5-14 & Cable #29-31
Collected in X-Man: Dance with the Devil
When: Cable #29 is before X-Men/Brood and X-Men #50.

X-Men: Wrath =
+ X-Men/Brood #1-2
+ Uncanny X-Men #331-332
+ Wolverine #97-103
+ X-Men #50-52
+ X-Men Unlimited #11-12
See various pages for collection information but, surprise!, none of this is collected effectively.
When: X/B comes after UXM #330, XMv2 #49, and Cable #31, so it is the next chronological X-Men story. Read this sequence as X/B #1-2, XMv2 #50, UXM #331, XMv2 #51-52, Wolv #97-100, UXM #332, Wolverine #101-103, XMU #11, XMU #12 (which can also be read as indicated below in Onslaught)

Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1-4
Cyclops and Phoenix depart for this time-travel tale from UXM #331.

Storm #1-4
When: Begins after UXM #333, but is not a part of Onslaught.

X-Force #52-58
When: The team appears here after UXM #331. X-Force #57-58 include effects of Onslaught, as noted below.

Generation X #12-19
When: Much of the cast appears here directly from UXM #331. #18-19 include effects of Onslaught, as noted below.

Onslaught

This crossover is about as confusing as Marvel gets – over 30 issues in two months divided into Phases and Impacts. What does it mean? It’s actually pretty simple: “Phase” issues are the main action and “Impact” issues are the resulting effects.

When it comes to reading order, you can choose to skip non-X-title Impact issues.

Event Prologue: UXM #333, EXC #99, XMa #15-17, Cable #32-33, XMv2 #53, XMU #11, UXM #334, XMv2 #54, Onslaught: X-Men

Phase 1 (& Impact 1): UXM #335, XMa #18, (XFo #57), Cable #34, (IncredHulk #444), Avengers #401, (Exc #100), FF #415, (XFa #125), (GenX #18), (WolV2 #104), XMv2 #55

Phase 2 (& Impact 2): UXM #336, (XFa #126), Cable #35, (XFo #58), (IncredHulk #445), (Iron Man #332), (Avengers #402), (Punisher #11), XMa #19, (Green Goblin #12), FF #416, (GenX #19), (Amazing Spider-Man #415), (WolV2 #105), (Spider-Man #72), XMv2 #56, (XMU #12)

Event Epilogue: Onslaught Marvel Universe, UXM #337, XMv2 #57, Onslaught: Epilogue

Of course, the collections don’t really align to this distinction at all – especially when it comes to the Impact issues, some of which are collected in full and some of which are only excerpted. Argh!

I summarize Marvel’s collection of this event in full in Marvel Events: Onslaught. However, for your reading purposes it might also be helpful to understand – at a glance – what is collected with Onslaught Vol. 0-4 and what isn’t. As you can see in the summary below, Excalibur, X-Men Unlimited, and Generation X are not collected with this event.

    • Uncanny X-Men #333-337 = Collected
    • X-Factor #125-126 = Collected
    • Excalibur #99-100 = Not Collected (but available separately in Ellis Visionaries)
    • Wolverine, Vol. 2 #104-105 = Collected
    • X-Force #57-58 = Collected
    • X-Men, Vol. 2 #53-57 = Collected
    • Cable #34-35 = Collected
    • X-Men Unlimited #12 = Not Collected
    • Generation X #18-19 = Not Collected
    • X-Man #15-19 = Collected

After Onslaught

Excalibur #96-104 & Pryde & Wisdom #1-3
Collected in Excalibur Visionaries: Warren Ellis, Vol. 3
When: #99-100 include effects of Onslaught.

Era #6: Fatal Attractions  X-Men Reading Order Guide  Era #8: Reassembled

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. James Kavanagh says

    February 28, 2018 at 2:38 am

    When do I read Askani’ Son 1-4 as well as X-men: Phoenix 1-3 included in The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix trade?

    Reply
  2. Bibs says

    June 26, 2018 at 8:33 am

    James,
    X-Men Phoenix should be read after Rachel Summers trades places with Cap. Britain in Excalibur #75 (I would read it immediately before “The Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix”.

    Askani’Son should be read immediately after.

    The read order should be:

    X-Men Phoenix 1-3
    The Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix 1-4
    Askani’Son 1-4

    Regards

    Reply
  3. stan says

    November 20, 2020 at 7:45 am

    X-Factor 119 occurs after Sabertooth: In The Red Zone

    Reply
    • stan balshin says

      December 2, 2020 at 9:25 am

      X-force 55 occurs after uxm 333

      Reply
  4. Bob says

    February 7, 2021 at 11:26 pm

    I understand enjoying reading chunks of one book at a time but man… some stuff you need to keep in order. There have been major spoilers in the last era and in this era if you want to enjoy the cable lineage reveal as it actually played out do not read in this order… just go by the monthly release of all the books.

    Reply
    • krisis says

      March 1, 2021 at 4:57 pm

      I’m sorry if you wound up spoiled, Bob – but, this reading order is explicitly not concerned with spoilers! It’s about putting each character’s experience in explicit story order, even if that means pulling forward reveals from many years in the future. That said, I do think I can do a better job of noting where something I’ve pulled forward could interrupt a big plot development.

      Reply
  5. luc gagne says

    February 12, 2021 at 10:01 am

    Hello, great list! But why did you put Cable 20 after X-men 41? And also missing X-Factor 110-111. Cheers!

    Reply
  6. Charlie Etheridge-Nunn says

    March 7, 2022 at 4:43 am

    X-Men 39’s listed as being after Wolverine 90, but needs to be the other way round as Sabretooth escapes, fights Wolverine and gets a claw in the brain at the end of 90, but needs to be intact enough for his confrontation with Gambit in 39.

    Reply
  7. CR says

    June 24, 2022 at 4:14 am

    X-Men Unlimited #4 belongs between Excalibur #75 and Excalibur #76. Great work by the way!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Marvel Omnibus Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • Drag Race France Season 1 – Pre-Season Power Rankings
    Drag Race France's debut season features 10 queens I've never seen before, and I've ranked them all based on their promo looks and Instagrams. […]
  • What makes a good Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition official release or 5e-Compatible supplement?
    There's an ever-increasing amount of D&D 5e-compatible material in the world, but how exactly do you choose what's right for your table? […]
  • Music Monday: “We’re Good” – Dua Lipa
    Dua Lipa's"We're Good" makes a major impact without a tricky song structure or vocal fireworks. It just needed a few contradictions. […]
  • extra sleep sunday
    Parenting programs your brain to believe that sleeping extra means danger. No one explained this to me before I became a parent. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 7, Episode 6 – Total Ru-quest Live: recap, songwriting analysis, & power ranking!
    When it comes to Total Ru-quest Live Girl Groups and Night of 1000 Dolly Partons drag, it's a risk to take things too literally. […]
  • Harbingers of Failure
    I thought I liked odd stuff because of my unique brain wiring. I'm sure that's true, but it might also be because I'm a harbinger of failure. […]
  • New for Patrons: Jane Foster Guide – The Mighty Thor & Valkyrie
    A Jane Foster Guide to her time as a nurse, doctor, Thor, and Valkyrie is about to be incredibly relevant with the release of Thor: Love & Thunder! […]
  • the spider in the mirror
    I didn't think too much about the spider in the mirror until it was gone. […]
  • The Infinitely Expanding World of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition
    What does it mean to be 5e Compatible, and how does it tie in with my torturing a Dungeons & Dragons email list back in the 90s? […]
  • Slow Song - The Knocks with Dragonette featuring AquariaMusic Monday: “Slow Song” – The Knocks with Dragonette
    When I listen to "Slow Song" by The Knocks with Dragonette I feel instant nostalgia for the dingy, neon-lit adult world I remember from my youth, long since lost to the passage of time. […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.