The X-Men Legacy comic books definitive issue-by-issue collecting guide and trade reading order for omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback collections. Find every issue and appearance! Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated October 2018 with titles scheduled for release through April 2019.
After the “Messiah Complex” storyline crossing through all of the X-Men titles, the secondary X-Men flagship title – X-Men, Vol. 2 – underwent a transformation into X-Men Legacy.
The “Legacy” adjective came with a deep appreciation of past continuity and a single-character focus – first on Professor Xavier, then for an extended period on Rogue, and in its second volume on Legion..
Initially the relaunched series was partially driven by the flashbacks of Xavier’s fractured psyche, which comprised half of each issue. In an intriguing turn of storytelling, the flashbacks – which called back to specific moments in classic X-Men issues – were illustrated by different artists than the present day sequences.
This mined a lot of deep X-Men history and reconciled it with the present day – especially useful, given Wolverine had regained his full memories and Cyclops was currently in Xavier’s place as the leader of the X-Men.
Starting with #219 the focus moved to Rogue as a primary protagonist. Fresh from enduring considerable physical and psychic strain heading into “Messiah Complex,” Rogue underwent a major transformation at the top of the run.
[Patreon-2017][/Patreon-2017]
From there, X-Men Legacy turned into a 40-issue Rogue book that cast her as a rebel, a mentor, and a leader while continuing to tie up long-hanging threads of continuity.
In 2012’s Marvel Now, the title relaunched with Professor Xavier’s son Legion as the improbable lead character. The tidy, 24-issue run spent as much time in his mind as it did on real world adventures. Both settings were soaked through with British cheekiness, courtesy of series writer Simon Spurrier.
- By Mike Carey: The Professor & Rogue (2008 – 2010)
- By Mike Carey: The Aftermath (2010 – 2011)
- By Cristos Gage: Back to School (2011 – 2012)
- Marvel Now: Volume 2: Legion by Simon Spurrier (2012 – 2014)
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X-Men Legacy #208 – 237 by Mike Carey: The Professor & Rogue (2008 – 2010)
Begins in April 2008, parallel to the launch of X-Force (vol. 3) and Cable (vol. 3), as well as Uncanny X-Men #495, Wolverine #63, X-Factor #28, Wolverine: Origins #22, and after the final issues of Cable & Deadpool and New X-Men (Academy X). Warren Ellis’s run on Astonishing X-Men begins sometime after #213. New Mutants Vol. 3 begins after Utopia.
In the Marvel Universe, it begins the midst of Secret Invasion, and Utopia is effectively a part of Dark Reign. Siege occurs just prior to Second Coming.
This era of the title was penned by exclusively by Mike Carey, who is highly regarded by the fan community, along with a collection of artists including Scot Eaton, Dustin Weaver, Daniel Acuna, and Clay Mann.
#208-213: X-Men: Legacy – Divided He Stands (ISBN 0785130012)
A story focuses on the fractured mind of Charles Xavier in the aftermath of Messiah Complex. Also available in hardcover.
#213-216: X-Men: Legacy – Sins Of The Father (ISBN 0785130039)
Adds Gambit as a supporting cast member in Xavier’s story. Collects X-Men: Legacy #213-216; X-Men: The Unlikely Saga of Xavier, Magneto and Stan; and X-Men: Odd Men Out. Also available in hardcover.
#217-218: X-Men: Original Sin (ISBN 0785129561)
Casts Wolverine and Xavier’s first meeting in a new light. Collects X-Men: Legacy #217-218, Wolverine: Origins #28-30, and X-Men Original Sin One-Shot. Also available in hardcover and in Wolverine By Daniel Way Complete Collection Vol. 3
#219-225: X-Men Legacy: Salvage (ISBN 0785138765)
Here the focus shifts to Rogue, with appearances by Xavier, Gambit, and Danger. Also available in hardcover.
#226-227: Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia (ISBN 0785142347)
The X-Men verses Norman Osborne and his Dark Avengers! The Legacy issues includes a knock-down, drag-out fight featuring Rogue, Gambit, and Danger. Collects Dark Avengers #7-8, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Exodus & Utopia, Dark Reign: The Cabal, Dark X-Men: The Beginning #1-3 & The Confession, Uncanny X-Men #513-514, and X-Men Legacy #226-227. Also available in hardcover.
#228-230: X-Men Legacy: Emplate (ISBN 0785141154)
A very strong “one-shot” trade that is easy to pick up without backstory. Focuses on Rogue, several New X-Men including Loa, and the villain Emplate. Collects X-Men: Legacy #228-230 and Giant-Size X-Men: Legacy. Also available in hardcover.
#231-234: X-Men Legacy: Necrosha (ISBN 0785162984)
A strong stand-alone story featuring the incredible team of Rogue, Magneto, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Husk, and Blindfold – and the classic X-villain Proteus!
#231-234: X-Necrosha (ISBN 078514675X)
An indirect crossover about the resurrection of dead mutants. Because issues don’t directly cross, it is not essential to read the entire storyline to understand the Legacy portion. Collects X-Force #21-25, New Mutants #6-8, X-Men: Legacy #231-233, and X-Force/New Mutants: Necrosha One-Shot, as well as some background material. Also available in hardcover (which is out of print, but still available at original prices).
#235-237: X-Men: Second Coming (ISBN 0785157050)
A direct crossover between all of the core X-titles. Rogue is featured heavily. Collects Second Coming: Prepare, Second Coming #1-2, Uncanny X-Men #523-525; New Mutants #12-14, X-Men Legacy #235-237, X-Force #26-28. Also available in hardcover. Reissued in 2020 as an X-Men Milestones edition.
You may also wish to purchase X-Men: Second Coming Revelations, which contains companion stories to Second Coming staring Gambit, Dazzler, and Cannonball, among others.
X-Men Legacy #238 – 260 by Mike Carey: The Aftermath (2010 – 2011)
Begins in September 2010, parallel to Uncanny X-Men #526, X-Factor #207, and X-Men (Vol. 3) #1 – and a month prior to the launches ofWolverine (Vol. 4), Daken, and X-23. The debuts of both Uncanny X-Force and Generation Hope (in which Rogue makes an appearance) occur before the “Collision” arc.
In the Marvel Universe, this coincides with The Heroic Age. Chaos War begins sometime after “Collision.” Fear Itself occurs prior to “Legions Lost.”
Mike Carey wraps up a surprising seven-year run at the end of this sequence. The title’s focus remains on Rogue as a mentor and protector of various former New X-Men. This focus was interrupted for Age of X, an alternate-reality story told in crossover with New Mutants. However, Rogue remained a prominent character afterwards, leading an unlikely away team.
#238-241: X-Men Legacy: Collision (ISBN 0785146687)
Features Rogue and Magneto with co-stars Anole, Loa, and Indra and the villains Children of the Vault. Also available in hardcover.
#242-244: X-Men Legacy: Aftermath (ISBN 0785156364)
The pre-Age-of-X story in Aftermath is a Second Coming epilogue that reads as if it should have preceded Collision. It prominently features Rogue, along with Hellion, Karima Shapandar, and Blindfold, along with many other X-Men. Also available in hardcover.
#245-247: X-Men: Age of X (ISBN: 0785152903)
An alternate-reality tale in the spirit of the smash Age of Apocalypse. Rogue, Magneto, and Gambit are major characters. Collects Age of X: Alpha, New Mutants #22-24, X-Men Legacy #245-247, and Age of X: Universe #1-2. Also available in oversized hardcover. [Ed Note: The hardcover is worth it – it’s very attractive.]
#248-249: X-Men Legacy: Aftermath (ISBN 0785156364)
The post-Age-of-X story in Aftermath includes appearances of many X-Men that are not typically a part of the Legacy cast, including Cyclops, Emma Frost, Storm, and Pixie. However, it focuses on the Legacy team featured in the next story arc., which it specifically sets up. Also available in hardcover.
#250-253: Lost Legions (ISBN 078515292X)
Follows a team of Rogue, Magneto, Professor X, Legion, Gambit, and Frenzy as they contend with personalities that escaped from Legion’s brain. Also available in hardcover.
#254-260: Five Miles South of the Universe (ISBN 078516068X)
Follows a team of Rogue, Magneto, Gambit, and Frenzy as they visit deep Shi’ar space to rescue Rachel Summers, Polaris, and Havok. Issues #259-260 occur after Schism (below), and serves to wrap up Mike Carey’s run on the series. Available in hardcover.
X-Men Legacy #261 – 275 by Cristos Gage: Back to School (2011 – 2012)
Begins after the resolution of Schism, parallel to other “Regenesis” issues of X-Men – including new co-flagships Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 2 #1 and Wolverine and the X-Men #1, as well as X-Factor #230, Astonishing X-Men #44, New Mutants #33, X-Men #20, Uncanny X-Force #19, Wolverine #17, & Generation Hope #13.
In the Marvel Universe, Schism & Regenesis occur after the conclusions of Children’s Crusade and Fear Itself.
Christos Gage takes the reigns after Carey’s historic run to transform X-Men Legacy into the teacher’s lounge at Wolverine’s newly built Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. While Rogue is a professor, she’s also the defacto head of the school’s security team – and it seems like she, Gambit, and Frenzy spend more time fending off threats to the school than they do teaching!
X-Men: Schism (ISBN 0785156887)
Collects the Schism mini-series, X-Men: Choosing Sides, and X-Men: Regenesis. This event reshapes the X-Men line. Rogue and Magneto play limited roles in Schism, while all of the current Legacy cast appear in the following Regenesis one-shot. Some events in Schism occur prior to Lost Legions, but on the whole Schism should be read after #258 in Five Miles South to avoid spoilers. Also available as an oversized hardcover.
#260.1 & 261-265: X-Men Legacy: Back to School
Primarily starring Rogue, Gambit, Frenzy, Rachel Summers, and Cannonball, though it features a number of New X-Men in the supporting cast. The initial arc features Exodus, followed by a compelling story about Mimic and Weapon Omega. Also available in hardcover.
#266-270: Avengers vs. X-Men Companion Oversized Hardcover
Collects all of the event tie-in issues , including Avengers Academy 29-33; Secret Avengers 26-28; Avengers 25-30; New Avengers 24-30; X-Men Legacy #266-270; Wolverine & The X-Men #9-16, 18; AvX: Consequences #1-5; Uncanny X-Men #11-20, A-Babies vs. X-Babies #1. See Marvel Universe Events for more information on AvX.
#266-275: X-Men Legacy: Avengers vs. X-Men (ISBN 0785165878)
This final run was issued only in TPB.
#269-270: Captain Marvel vs. Rogue (2021 paperback, ISBN 978-1302926519)
Collects a number of famous Carol vs. Rogue confrontations from Avengers Annual 10; Uncanny X-Men (1963) 158, 171, & 269; Ms. Marvel (2006) #9-10; X-Men: Legacy (2008) #269-270; Captain Marvel (2019) #4-5; and material from Marvel Super-Heroes (1990) #11
Marvel Now: X-Men Legacy, Vol. 2: Legion by Simon Spurrier (2012 – 2014)
Scripter Simon Spurrier focuses on Charles Xavier’s schizophrenic son, Legion. Spurrier pens fast-paced, madcap scripts that aren’t anything like typical X-Men comics. Many fans have compared this to a Vertigo title, but it’s much more lightweight than that (and a lot more British).
Want to know more about Legion before you get started? Pick up X-Men: Legion – Shadow King Rising, which has a lot of his early appearances and development, or see my Guide to Legion.
in omnibus format…
#1-24: X-Men Legacy: Legion Omnibus oversize hardcover
as originally released…
#1-6: Vol. 1: Prodigal (ISBN 0785162496)
Reprinted in 2018 as Legion: Son Of X, Vol. 1
#7-12: Vol. 2: Invasive Exotics (ISBN 0785167188)
Reprinted in 2018 as Legion: Son Of X, Vol. 2
#13-18: Vol. 3: Revenants (ISBN 0785167196)
Reprinted in 2018 as Legion: Son Of X, Vol. 3
#19-24: Vol. 4: For We Are Many
Reprinted in 2018 as Legion: Son Of X, Vol. 4
#300: See X-Force (2014)
Fun fact: Nightcrawler, Vol. 4 by Chris Claremont was originally intended to be X-Men Legacy, Vol. 3! At the last moment, editorial decided that the market had X-title fatigue and that solo series were more in vogue, thus the name change.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! Rogue is my favorite character and I adored the run of Legacy X that focused on her, but figuring out how to find the volumes as opposed to the issues is not a fun or easy task. I was so excited to find you’d listed them all here.
X-Men Legacy: Emplate actually collects X-Men Legacy Annual #1, there’s no such thing as ‘Giant-Size X-Men Legacy but I think that’s what you meant