Stories occurring between Uncanny X-Men #338 in November 1996 and Uncanny X-Men #365 in February 1999. 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 #338-365
- X-Factor #127-149 (ends)
- Excalibur #102-125 (ends)
- Wolverine, Vol. 2 #106-132
- X-Force #59-86
- X-Men, Vol. 2 #58-84
- Cable #36-63
- X-Men Unlimited #13-21
- Generation X #20-47
- X-Man #20-47
- Maverick #1-12 (ends)
- Deadpool #1-25
- Alpha Flight, Vol. 2 #1-20 (ends)
- Quicksilver #1-13 (ends)
- Mutant X #1-5
Notes:
- Wolverine actually ends this era at #134, but #132 marks a cleaner story break.
- This era includes the events Operation Zero Tolerance and Hunt for Xavier.
- Mutant X stars Havok and does not exist in the main Marvel-616 Continuity.
Magneto #1-4
When: Following close on the heels of Onslaught, this occurs after UXM Ann20 but prior to UXM #338 and XMv2 #58.
XSE #1-4
When: Follows UXM Ann20/96.
Uncanny X-Men #338-340, Annual 20/1996
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #58-59 & Annual 1996
+ Wolverine #106 & Ann96
When: Emerging from Onslaught, the read order of these issues is Wolverine #106, Wolv Ann96, UXM Ann96/20, UXM #338, XMv2 #58, UXM #339, XMv2 #59, UXM #340, XMv2 Ann96
Generation X #19-25 & Daydreamers #1-3
X-Factor #127-135 + Marvel Fanfare, Vol. 2 #6
When: #129 occurs sometime after UXM #338. #130 occurs sometime after UXM #340. Marvel Fanfare likely occurs alongside #130 (need to check).
Beast #1-3
When: Beast appears here after X-Men, Vol. 2 Annual 1996 but before X-Men Unlimited #13. This occurs after UXM #340 and X-Factor #130.
Wolverine #106-110
Cable #37-44
X-Man #20-29 & Annual 1996
+ Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #420
When: Read as issue #23, Annual 1996, ASM 420, then X-Men #24
X-Men #60-61
+ X-Men Unlimited #13
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 Annual 6/97
+ Uncanny X-Men Annual 97
When: Read as listed above. XMU #13 is Cyclops’s next appearance after X-MenVol. 2#61. Ann97 and the UXM annual occur prior to UXM #341.
X-Force #59-66, X-Force and Cable Annual 5/1996 and 6/1997
When: The 1996 annual precedes this run of issues; the 1997 annual occurs between #64-65
New Mutants: Truth or Death #1-3
Not collected
When: Occurs after UXM Ann97 and prior to #341
Wolverine #111-114
When: Occurs after UXM Ann97 but before UXM #341
Domino (1997) #1-4
When: Issue #1 occurs sometime prior to UXM #344.
X-Men Unlimited #14
+ Uncanny X-Men #341-342
+ X-Men #62-64
+ Uncanny X-Men #343-345
+ X-Men Unlimited #15-16
When: Read as listed above. Jubilee appears in #343 after GenX #25. The XMU #15-16 is speculative – they star Wolverine and Banshee, respectively, and I think they fall before Zero Tolerance. I need to check.
Deadpool #1-8
Collected in Deadpool Classic, Vol. 1; see Deadpool for other reading options
When: Aside from including Siryn as a supporting character, this has very little connection to the X-Men books at the time. The story arc ending in #5 aligns with the beginning of Zero Tolerance.
Imperial Guard #1-3
When: Follows from Gladiator’s appearance in Uncanny X-Men #341.
The month of #-1 Flashback Issues were released here, but none fall in current continuity.
Zero Tolerance
Uncanny X-Men #346
Wolverine #115-118
X-Force #67-70
X-Men #65-70
Cable #45-47
Generation X #26-31
X-Man #30
Note that UXM #346 has no characters that continue from the issues on either side of it except for Gambit, which is why it is collected here.
Psylocke & Archangel: Crimson Dawn #1-4
When: Both characters last appeared in UXM during #338 and in XMv2 in #61. Archangel appears in XMv2 Ann97 and X-Force #67. Both make their next appearance in UXM #348.
Uncanny X-Men #347-350
When: Slightly complicating this, some X-Men appearing in #350 next appear in X-Men #70, which was collected along with Zero Tolerance. However, this story doesn’t really need to be read before that.
Wolverine #119-122
Collected in Not Dead Yet hardcover and trade paperback
Excalibur #104-110, #-1, #111-113
+ Colossus #1
+ Excalibur #114
+ Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD #1-3
When: Wolverine is in KPAOS after his appearance in UXM #352 and XMU #17
Uncanny X-Men #351-355
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #71-75
+ X-Men Unlimited #17
When: Read as #351, XM #71, UXM #352, XMU #17, #72, UXM #353-355, XM #73-75. UXM #355 mirrors the same story in Alpha Flight, Vol. 2 #9.
Alpha Flight, Vol. 2 #-1 & #1-9
Not collected
Excalibur #115-125
When: Excalibur #120 occurs sometime after UXM #354.
X-Factor #136-144
Not collected
Wolverine #123-130
When: Wolverine #123-130 occur directly after UXM #75.
X-Force #71-86
Cable #48-53, Cable/Machine Man Annual 1998, Annual 1999
Not collected. The annual (and an accompanying Machine Man / Bastion volume) comes after issue #53.
X-Man #31-45
Not collected
Generation X #32-45
When: #32 occurs sometime after UXM #348. #41 occurs sometime after UXM #354.
X-Men Unlimited #18-20
I need to check the chronology of these stories.
Uncanny X-Men #356-359
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #76-79
+ Uncanny X-Men/Fantastic Four Annual 1998
+ X-Men Unlimited #21
When: Read as UXM #356-357, XMv2 #77-78, UXM #358, UXM #359, Ann98, XMv2 #79, XMU #21
X-Factor #145-149
When: Occurs after UXM #357. Mystique appears in UXM #359 from an appearance in XF #144.
Cable #54-62
Not collected
Cable #63 & X-Man #46-47
Not collected
Gambit (1997) #1-4
When: Gambit returns to X-Men in UXM #361
Uncanny X-Men #360-361
+ X-Men #80-81 & #1/2
+ X-Men Liberators #1-4
+ X-Men Unlimited #22
+ Wolverine #131-132
When: Read as UXM #360, XMv2 80 & #1/12, UXM #361, XMv2 #81, X-Men Liberators #1-4, XMU #22, Wolverine #131-132.
Alpha Flight #10-20
Not collected
Hunt for Xavier =
+ Uncanny X-Men #362-365
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #82-84
When: Hunt for Xavier crossover. Read as UXM #362, XMv2 #82, UXM #363, XMv2 #83, UXM #364, XMv2 #84, and the epilogue of UXM #365.
Era #7: Onslaught X-Men Reading Order Guide Era #9: Revolution
Where does Deadpool 9-25 and Maverick 1-12? They are noted in the Era titles but not listed in the order.
thanks
For “Maverick” #1, the straight answer as to where to place it, is that it comes sometime after “X-Men Unlimited” #15; but in the wider X-Men continuity, i’d say at the very least that #1 is post-“X-Men” #65; issue #3 has the revamped Alpha Flight, which puts it post-“Wolverine” #92 – however, issue# 4 has Logan living in the apartment in the East Village in New York, which he moves into in “Wolverine” #112, so…
Uncanny X-Men #351-355
+ X-Men, Vol. 2 #71-75
+ X-Men Unlimited #17
When: Read as #351, XM #71, UXM #352, XMU #17, #72, UXM #353-355, XM #73-75. UXM #355 mirrors the same story in Alpha Flight, Vol. 2 #9.
#351 has to got after XM#71 because in XM#71 Cyclops & Jean leave the X-Men and in #351 they are already aboard the plane
Deadpool 9-12 Before X-force 71-86.
Deadpool 12 takes place between X-force 71 & 72
Generation x 19-27 should come before uncanny #338… 338 opens with references to generation x 27
X-men unlimited 15 is basically prologue to the maverick series and comes before 65 because it has iceman at home, and 65 is when he leaves.
New mutants ToD references rahne and douglock kissing in Excalibur 113 with an editors note saying the issue, but I don’t think anything else is referenced in that time except for the beast miniseries, which easily comes before it because of Karma.
Imperial guard 1 takes place before uxm 341 but aside from guardian saying he’s going to contact the X-men then returning later in the issue, it doesn’t much matter when it’s read.
Thanks for adding these clarifications, Flume. It will be a while before I’m up to thoroughly editing this guide, but once I do I’ll incorporate these notes into the body of the guide.
Beast #1-#3 follows on directly from X-Force #62. Cable #43 happens after X-Man #25
Thank you, CR! It will be a while until I am cleaning up this reading order, but I always pour over the comments when I improve each one.
X-Men Unlimited #21 occurs after X-Factor #149 and refers to the Strong Guy Reborn one-shot (which I’d probably place between X-Factor #135 & #136)
i’d probably agree with that – there’s an editorial reference in “Strong Guy Reborn” to “X-Factor” #136, but i think it’s a mistake (editor’s note says Forge fixed Strong Guy’s heart ‘in X-factor 136,’ but there’s nothing at all about Guido in #136; Forge mentions the procedure at the end of #135, so…)
X man annual 96 occurs after x man #23, followed by a tie in with (Amazing Spider Man 420) then x man #24
Thanks, Taylor! I just amended this.
Hey Krisis! I love your guide and have read everything available to me from the beginning era in the order you outlined and It’s so worth it. Thanks for curating and maintaining this list, I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.
I just finished reading zero tolerance and as a suggestion I recommend reordering the books for both chronology and reading enjoyment.
You have
Uncanny X-Men #346
Wolverine #115-118
X-Force #67-70
X-Men #65-70
Cable #45-47
Generation X #26-31
X-Man #30
I recommend slight order change
Uncanny X-Men #346
X-Force #67-70
Cable #45-47
X-Man #30
^these stories are mostly ancillary to the main plot and do not have major or confusing details. X man reads better after cable because it ties directly to his story
Generation X #26-31
^contains necessary info and details for jubilees whereabouts for x men and Wolverine stories, reading those lines is somewhat jarring without this first, since she has a somewhat valuable role in following titles.
X-Men #65-70
^contains necessary info on the whereabouts of cyclops jean grey et Al for making sense of the Wolverine storyline as well as details about why/where shield is involved in the story climax.
Wolverine #115-118
All major plot points and the climax occurs in this line and as such is best at the end after gathering all of the former details. This order I think contains the least spoilers and best satisfaction.
This is only a suggestion- take it or leave it, and thanks for all your work!
I just finished the first volume of Excalibur. One important thing is that X-men unlimited 19 closes the big margali/belasco/soul sword plot going back to the end of Ellis’s run. It references events in Excalibur 119 (the last issue of the nightmare arc) so I put it after 120 (because 119 leads directly into “the talk” issue between kitty and Pete.
Thanks for all you do to put this together!
Cable annual 1999 should be lumped with and read before cable #54-62 because of the effects of psi war upon him.
Possible Missing content: Venom vs. Wolverine limited series occurs around the time of generation x #36
Missing content : team X 2000 (one shot) follows bishop and death bird after UXM 358. Necessary for storyline closure
X men unlimited 21 contains a major spoiler from X factor 149, and as a standalone story otherwise should be grouped at the end of the X factor 145-149 run
“Generation X” Annuals ’96 & ’97 seem to be missing from the list; Annual ’96 happens after the Onslaught storyline, but sometime before “X-Factor” #130, per mention of Graydon Creed, & before “X-Men #57, as Banshee mentions getting info to Xavier for analysis, indicating the latter has not been arrested yet.
i’m not sure yet where i’d place Annual -97….
i know you’ve noted that you’re still working on this era, CK, but i thought i’d drop this here to hep break down the bigger chunks of issues, & thee ones you haven’t managed to insert into chronology yet…
-“Deadpool” #3 is concurrent with “Generation X” #25.
-“Deadpool” #10 is after “X-Men” #70.
-“Domino” mini-series occurs before “X-Force” #66 (specific editorial mention is made of the mini-series during this issue).
-“X-Men Unlimited” #16 occurs after “X-Men” #65 – in his orders to the sentinel, Bastion makes reference to events in that issue. But it needs to occur BEFORE “Generation X” #30 & #31 – despite what other reading lists say; GX #31 finishes with the falling out between Sean & Emma over the Penance/Emplate incident, with Sean telling Emma to bugger off & never come back to the school; XMU #16 starts with Sean & Emma mulling over student applications to the school – with no tension between them over the events in GX #30-31.
-“Wolverine/Venom” happens sometime before “Generation X” #36.
-Towards the end of ‘Operation: Zero Tolerance,’ some stories from the other issues start tying back into continuity, specifically the interaction between “Uncanny X-Men” & “X-Men” just prior to “X-Men” #70; the ‘correct’ reading order breaks up the O:ZT storyline, but it would look like this (with the non-OZT issues in brackets):
-Generation X #27
-X-Force #67
-Generation X #28
-X-Men #65
-X-Force #68
-Generation X #29
-X-Men #66
-Wolverine #115
-Cable #45
-X-Men Unlimited #16
-Cable #46
-X-Man #30
-Cable #47
-Uncanny X-Men #346 (not tied to the main storyline directly, but the disc Bastion tried to give Jameson presumably contains information he got from Xavier’s files, so placement of this issue seems best after Bastion’s visit to the Xavier Institute)
-Generation X #30
-Generation X #31
-Wolverine #116
-X-Force #69
-X-Force #70
-Deadpool #12
-X-Men #67
-(Uncanny X-Men #347)
-Wolverine #117
-(Angel & Psylocke: Crimson Dawn)
-X-Men #68
-X-Men #69
-Wolverine #118
-(Uncanny X-Men #348-350)
-X-Men #70
-“Cable” #50 occurs before “Uncanny X-Men” #351, per Jean & Scott’s presence in the mansion; consequently, “X-Men” #71 occurs before “Uncanny X-Men” #351, per Jean & Scott’s flight.
-“X-Men” #73 occurs before “Uncanny X-Men” #355, per Rogue’s mention of Joseph’s absence.
-“Excalibur” #120 occurs (according to an editorial note) “smack in the middle of … X-Men #75.”
-“Excalibur” #125 occurs after “X-Men” #79 & the ‘Psi-War’ stuff (per an editorial note).
-“X-Force” #72 is after “Deadpool” #12 (per an editorial note)
-“X-Factor” #137 is sometime during ‘Operation: Zero Tolerance’ – several characters refer to the Operation as still in progress, & to Bastion as a threat in the present tense, but nothing ties it to a specific placement in the O:ZT storyline.
-“X-Factor” #138 is prior to “Uncanny X-Men” #351: it occurs prior to “Daredevil” #368, per Omega Red, & “Daredevil” #371 is concurrent with “Uncanny X-Men #351,” per Daredevil’s visit to Dr Reyes in both issues.
-“Uncanny X-Men” #352 occurs between “X-Force” #73 & #75 – in XF #73, Tabitha writes a letter to Sam, which he receives in UXM #352, & departs the mansion immediately for his appearance in XF #75.
-“X-Force” #82 occurs after “Cable” #55-56 (per an editorial note), but before the ‘Psi-War’ in “X-Men” #77-78 (per an editorial note).
-“X-Force” #83 occurs after “X-Men” #79 (per the letter from Sam’s brother) & is roughly concurrent with “Uncanny “X-Men” #360, per the reference to Peter Corbeau.
-“Cable” #57 is apparently concurrent with “X-Men” #77 and the psionic disruption of the astral plane, as is “X-Man” #41, & “Generation X” #42, which all show psi-capable characters reacting to the disruption.
-“Cable Annual” 1999 occurs after “Cable” #59, per an editorial reference to Cable being affected by the psi-war; & more specifically, per the presence of Kenny, brother of the waitress Stacey at Babels cafe, who first appears in issue #59 (& Cable’s wielding the As’kani weapon he procured from the monks in issue #58).
-“Generation X” #44 is after “X-Men #79, per Paige’s departure back to Kentucky for her mom (ie, after Sam has already left for Kentucky).
-Gambit’s story in “X-Men Unlimited” #18 apparently occurs immediately or soon after “Uncanny X-Men” #350; Marrow’s story is editorially noted to be before “X-Men” #72.
-“X-Men Unlimited” #19 occurs after Excalibur #119, but, i think, before #121.
-“X-Men Unlimited” #20 occurs before “Generation X” #44, as Paige hasn’t left for Kentucky yet.
-“X-Men Unlimited” #21 occurs AFTER “X-Factor” #149, per the revelation about Alex (& both occur after “Strong Guy Reborn,” which i’d place between XF #135 & #136).
-As a storyline, the X-Man/Cable cross-over should be read/grouped as: XMa #45, XMa #46, Cab #63, XMa #47
Finishing off X-factor with mackie’s run I just wanted to mention that there are two one-shots during it.
135 ends with the return of strong guy and then there’s a strong guy reborn one shot (which skarpethinn mentions above) that reunites him with Lila Cheney. In it they say his heart was reinforced in X-factor 136, but he’s never shown or mentioned again after 135.
Then there’s the flashback -1 issue. And there’s a sabretooth one shot that came out in 1998, but it’s set just before 136 and 136 gives it an asterisk mention that it’ll be coming out soon, however there’s no reason other than tone to delay reading it, as it leads directly into how sabretooth escapes his collar.