The definitive, chronological, and up-to-date guide and trade reading order for collecting X-Treme X-Men comic books via omnibuses, hardcovers, and trade paperback graphic novels. A part of Crushing Krisis’s Collecting X-Men Graphic Novels: A Definitive Guide. Last updated October 2017 with titles scheduled for release through March 2017.
The X-Men line received a major shake-up to its status quo in 2001. To make way for Grant Morrison’s academically focused team in New X-Men, Marvel spun off some of its most beloved X-characters into a third flagship X-title, penned by veteran scribe Chris Claremont and launched with artist Salvador Larroca.
This new team boasted heavy-hitters Storm, Rogue, Bishop, Thunderbird, and Sage, and would later feature Cannonball, Gambit, and Shadowcat. Psylocke, Beast, and Wolverine also appeared, though they were shared with Morrison.
It’s important to note that, at its launch, X-Treme X-Men was the only X-team that featured a consistently fantastical, heroic theme. Morrison’s New X-Men trended more cerebral and sci-fi, while Austen took Uncanny X-Men to a more soapy, relationship-focused feel. Meanwhile, X-Force relaunched as the tongue-in-cheek X-Statix. X-Treme was alone in carrying the banner of a classic X-Men feel.
It was also the solo comic book at the time to feature Storm, Rogue, or Bishop, who barely even make a guest appearance elsewhere during this run.
X-Treme ran for the full length of Morrison’s run on New X-Men. Afterwards, Morrison’s slimmer, scholastically-focused team was in turn spun off into Astonishing X-Men, penned by Buffy creator Joss Whedon. Astonishing borrowed Kitty Pryde from this book, with the main two X-Men titles absorbing most of the other characters.
The X-Treme X-Men title went unused for almost a decade before being revived in 2012 for an unlikely purpose – a reality-hopping Dazzler vehicle penned by Greg Pak that might have been better off known as Exiles.
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X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 1 by Chris Claremont (2001 – 2004)
Begins July 2001, parallel to the launch of Grant Morrison’s New X-Men (#114), Uncanny X-Men #394, the launch of what would become the X-Statix team in X-Force #116, Wolverine #164, Cable #93, and Deadpool #54.
#1-9: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 1: Destiny ISBN 0-7851-0841-6)
X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land (Vol 1.5) (ISBN 0-7851-0869-6)
Collects X-Treme X-Men: Savage Land #1-4
#10-18: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 2: Invasion (ISBN 0-7851-1018-6)
#19-23: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 3: Schism (ISBN 0-7851-1084-4)
Also collects X-Treme X-Men: X-Pose (2003) #1-2, which fit between #19-20. Not to be confused with the later 2010 X-Men event of the same name.
X-Treme X-Men Vol. 4: Mekanix (ISBN 0-7851-1117-4)
Collects Mekanix #1-6 Limited Series, a collegiate adventure that focuses on Shadowcat. Also includes X-Men Unlimited #36. Also collected in Marvel Universe by Chris Claremont Omnibus Hardcover
Meanwhile, after #23, Bishop and Sage make a brief detour to X-Men Unlimited Vol. 2 #1 and a featured story in New X-Men #140-141.
#25-30: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 5: God Loves, Man Kills (ISBN 0-7851-1254-5)
Rehashes (and also reprints) the original “God Loves, Man Kills” storyline by Chris Claremont, which is the skeleton of the plot for the movie X2.
#24, 31-35: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 6: Intifada (ISBN 0-7851-1230-8)
#36-39: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 7: Storm – The Arena (ISBN 0-7851-0936-6)
Be warned – this solo Storm adventure is despised by fans.
#40-46: X-Treme X-Men Vol. 8: Prisoner Of Fire (ISBN 0-7851-1351-7)
Also included the 2001 Annual. Similar to the last volume, this is panned by most fans.
X-Treme X-Men ended in June 2004 concurrent with the X-Men Reloaded event. Its characters are dispersed to Uncanny X-Men #444 (Storm, Cannonball, Rachel Summers, Evangeline Whedon, Sage, Sunspot), X-Men #157 (Rogue, Gambit) and the launches of Astonishing X-Men (Kitty), District X (Bishop), Excalibur (vol. 3) (Callisto), and New X-Men: Academy X.
X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 2 by Greg Pak (2012 – 2013)
An alternate-reality series headlined by a single regular-reality Marvel character: Dazzler. This story is based on alternate realities glimpsed in Astonishing X-Men, Vol. 5: Ghost Box (hardcover and paperback) and Astonishing X-Men: Exalted (hardcover and paperback).
This makes a weird sort of sense, since the initial volume of X-Treme X-Men was cancelled to make way for the debut of Astonishing X-Men. Sadly, X-Treme X-Men was a cult hit that never caught on with a larger fan community, and only lasted 14 issues.
#1-5: Vol. 1: Xavier Must Die (ISBN 0785165649)
Dazzler leaps to an alternate reality doomed by a conglomeration of evil alternate Xaviers, with a team of alternates including White Queen, a pre-teen Nightcrawler, and a gold-plated Wolverine!
#6-11 & 7.1: Vol. 2: You Can’t Go Home Again (ISBN 0785165657)
This series awkwardly straddles Avengers vs. X-Men, leaving Dazzler disconnected with what’s happening with her friends – which is acknowledged in the standalone #7.1.
#12-13: X-Men: X-Terminated (ISBN 0785184430)
Collects X-Terminated: Alpha and Omega, Age of Apocalypse #13-14, X-Treme X-Men #12-13, Astonishing X-Men #60-61
From here, Dazzler begins to appear in Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 3 with issue #10.
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