Juggernaut Archives

Until April 5, I’ll be loosely mapping missing and most-wanted Marvel omnibus volumes every day! It’s finally time, y’all… time to MAP MY X. This post offers maps for X-Men solo titles and character other than Wolverine, who I’ll cover in the next post.

This post explains titles and potential Solo X-Men Omnibus Mapping for entries on the Tigereyes Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus 12th Annual Secret Ballot. You can vote right now (until 5 April 2024 @ midnight US ET) or watch our mega-length announcement stream reviewing every single voting option.

Of course, we could speculate about a “greatest hits” style omnibus of just about every X-Men character! But, this post focuses on characters that either have at least one of their own series or a compelling arc throughout their appearances.

This post covers Bishop, Cable, Daken, Emma Frost, Gambit, Juggernaut, Magneto, Mystique, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Storm, X-Man – Nate Grey, and more!

If you’re not sure of what to vote for, stick around for my explanations. Or, if you’ve already voted, learn why the team behind the poll decided on these books and titles – including some of my mistakes and regrets as one of the editors of the options on the final poll.

Or… just find some great comics to read!

Remember: These mappings are just my suggestion of how Marvel could assemble these books. They are meant to help you decide on your votes and build your personal reading list, but your vote on the poll is NOT an endorsement of my specific map. It’s a vote in favor of Marvel creating a book with that title or covering that period.

Over-the-top comics posts like this one are made possible via the support of Patrons of Crushing Krisis. For less than the cost of a single comic issue a month you can fuel my in-depth comics coverage, plus gain access to dozens of exclusive collecting guides & reading orders – including all of the Crushing Comics Guide to Marvel Comics.

The definitive issue-by-issue comic book collecting guide and trade reading order for Marvel’s Silver Age X-Men and X-Men Hidden Years comic books in omnibus, hardcover, and trade paperback collections. Part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated November 2024 with titles scheduled for release through June 2025.

The Silver Age X-Men

The X-Men debuted in 1963 under the pen of the father of the Silver Age Marvel Universe, Stan Lee, and his frequent collaborator, Jack Kirby.

X-Men (1963) is one of the most important key issues of the Silver Age because the team debuted fully formed with a complete cast of Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Marvel Girl AKA Jean Grey, Angel, Iceman, Beast – and, their signature foe, Magneto!

The “Original Five” were lead by Professor Xavier against foes like Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Namor, Unus The Untouchable, The Blob, Juggernaut, the original Sentinels, and many other classic X-Men enemies that are recalled to this day. Issue #4 introduced Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who would soon migrate to the Avengers to become a part of “Caps Kooky Quartet” along with a third reformed villain, Hawkeye.

The original run of X-Men lasted from issue #1 in September 1963 through issue #66 in March 1970. From there, the title continued exclusively as a bi-monthly reprint book from issues #67-93, republishing prior issues with new cover illustrations.

Those five ears ended in 1975 with the publication of Giant Size X-Men and the relaunch of the title with a new cast in issue #94.

Though no new X-Men material was published from 1970 to 1974, the team was still active at the margins of the Marvel Universe – as seen in occasional guest appearances. That has led this period to be dubbed “The Hidden Years” by both Marvel and fans. Those “Hidden Years” contain contemporaneous Silver and Bronze Age material from the period, as well as later-inserted material.

Since all of that material features the assembled Silver Age team, it is also covered by this guide – distinguished as “Silver & Bronze Hiatus Appearances” and “Modern Age Hidden Years.”

(Making things even more confusing, the “Modern Age Hidden Years” should generally be read first – since it does not include the fuzzy version of Beast!)

Because this era is covered comprehensively by multiple formats, I have not listed the full breadth of single issues collected by story or single issue – there’s no reason to collect this run in that fashion. However, I have included some key issues below to help orient you to major moments in the Silver Age run.

If you want a reading order of every X-Men comic and character in that period (including guest appearances, flashbacks, and retcon stories), see The Definitive X-Men Reading Order, Era #1: Original X-Men.

A note on the title of this series: The official publication name of this title was “X-Men” through the Silver Age and beyond. The title was not formally changed to “Uncanny X-Men” until the indicia of issue #142. However, Marvel routinely refers to the entirety of this 1963 – 2010 volume as “Uncanny X-Men,” as on this Marvel Unlimited entry for issue #1. As a result, my convention on Crushing Comics is to always refer to the entire series as “Uncanny X-Men,” even prior to the indicia change.