X-Men: Legacy

X-Men: Legacy
Cover art for X-Men: Legacy #208. Art by David Finch.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing
Publication date	X-Men: October 1991 - June 2001 (#1-113) New X-Men: July 2001 - June 2004 (#114-156) X-Men: July 2004 - January 2008 (#157-207) X-Men: Legacy: February 2008 - Present (#208 onward)
Number of issues	Total: 228 (Ongoing) as X-Men: 113 as New X-Men: 43 as X-Men: 51 as X-Men: Legacy: 21 (as of October 2009)
Main character(s)	Rogue
Creative team as of February 2008
Writer(s)	Mike Carey
Artist(s)	Scot Eaton
Creator(s)	Chris Claremont Jim Lee

X-Men: Legacy is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring the mutant superhero team, the X-Men.

The title began its publication in October 1991 as X-Men. From 2001 until 2004 it was published as New X-Men. It had reverted (as of issue #157) to its original title, but changed again (from issue #208) to X-Men: Legacy. It is usually referred to as X-Men (vol. 2) due to the fact the first series, currently Uncanny X-Men, was titled The X-Men prior to 1981.^[1]

Overview

X-Men is the second monthly series to portray the adventures of the mutant team. Colloquially, it is sometimes known as "Adjectiveless X-Men"^[2], in comparison to Uncanny X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and other X-Men series that have modifiers.

When the book launched in 1991, it focused on a squad led by Cyclops. Over the next several years, the two-squad format faded, and the book's stories took place around those in Uncanny. The team divided again into two, then three squads in 2000, and has remained so since.

The book currently focuses on Professor X, trying to find pieces of his mind after his near-death.

History

X-Men

In 1991, a second X-Men series made its premiere. With the help of the speculator's market of the time and Jim Lee's popularity, X-Men #1, selling over eight million copies, became the best-selling comic book of all time, and still holds the record today.^[3] Its first issues were written by long-time X-Men writer Chris Claremont, who left after a few issues due to creative differences with editor Bob Harras.^[4]

New X-Men

X-Men ran for 10 years, with various creative teams. In July 2001 during a revamp of the X-Men franchise, its title changed to New X-Men, featuring an ambigram logo. Along with these modifications, a new writer, Grant Morrison, was assigned to the title. These changes by the newly appointed Marvel Comics editor-in-chief, Joe Quesada, reflected his idea for flagship titles like X-Men to regain some of their former glory, as well as regaining critical acclaim.^[5]

Morrison's tenure on the title dealt with Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Beast, Emma Frost and Xorn. While the second squad of X-Men in Uncanny continued on as (now undercover) super heroes, Grant Morrison redirected these X-Men’s mission to that of teachers. Additionally, New X-Men artist Frank Quitely redesigned the look of the team, giving them sleek, leather / polyester outfits instead of their traditional superhero uniforms for a more contemporary look and feel.^[5] The book also moved in a similar direction to other comics books, by reducing written dialogue.

Some more of the long-lasting changes that occurred during Morrison's run were the secondary mutation of Beast to resemble a lion-like rather than his former ape-like appearance, and Emma Frost introduced as a member of the team, her involvement with team leader Cyclops and the death of Jean Grey (Phoenix). The school expanded from simply a training center to a legitimate school with dozens of mutant students, a story idea that was first explored in the X-Men film. One of the more controversial events of New X-Men happened in issue #115 when the island of Genosha and its inhabitants, including Magneto, were completely destroyed. This set the tone that dominated the rest of Morrison's tenure on the book.^[5]

X-Men again

In June 2004, Chuck Austen, previously the writer of Uncanny X-Men, moved to X-Men with issue #155. The title of the series reverted to its original title of X-Men in July 2004 with issue #157 during the "X-Men Reload" event.

X-Men: Legacy

The title was renamed X-Men: Legacy starting in February 2008 with issue 208.^[6]

The retitled series follows on from the conclusion of the Messiah Complex crossover, where Professor X was accidentally shot in the head by Bishop. Shortly after the X-Men presumed him deceased, his body disappeared and his current whereabouts are unknown. X-Men: Legacy will follow the Professor's presumed road to recovery as well as any encounters he may face, such as a battle with the mutant Exodus on the psychic plane.^[7]

Many characters will be featured in the title, including Rogue, Magneto, Gambit, and the Acolytes. It will also feature flashbacks relevant to the ongoing present story as well as answer dangling plot lines throughout X-Men continuity.^{[citation needed]}

As of Issue 226 Rogue will be replacing Professor Xavier as the central character, having now achieved control over her absorption powers, Mike Carey has noted that he will be taking the protagonist in a new direction.

Relationship with other X-Men titles

Since the introduction of X-Men, the plotlines of this series and other X-Books have been interwoven to varying degrees. For most of its run, X-Men has featured a completely different battalion of X-Men than other titles featuring the X-Men. While it was not uncommon for characters of one book to appear in the other, any major stories concerning characters were dealt with in their own team book.

X-Men and Uncanny X-Men have shared two periods of time where they were more-or-less treated as a single, fortnightly series. In both of these cases they shared an author: 1995 to 1996 by Scott Lobdell and 1998 to 2000 by Alan Davis. During these times, the plotlines from X-Men and Uncanny X-Men led directly into each other.

In July 2004, the cast of New X-Men was moved to the newly relaunched Astonishing X-Men, and most of the cast of the Uncanny X-Men was transferred to X-Men (vol. 2). With three main X-Men series running concurrently, members from each book continue to appear in the other titles.

Cast

Current supporting cast: Gambit, Danger

Contributors

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

Hardcover collections

Notes

References

External links

• X-Men comics on Marvel.com
• Uncannyxmen.net
• X-Men Legacy Annotations