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X-Men

The Best Kitty Pryde Comics, the Essential Reading Order

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At the beginning of the eighties, a 13-year-old girl named Kitty Pryde was introduced to the X-Men Universe. Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Katherine “Kate” Pryde is a mutant with phasing abilities that allow her to move through solid matter. Following the manifestation of her powers, she was approached by Emma Frost and Charles Xavier, respectively, to invite her to join their school.

Kitty chose to go with Xavier and became the youngest to join the X-Men, at first under the codename Sprite. She would also use the alias Ariel, but would become more associated with the name Shadowcat. She was at first portrayed as the “kid sister” for the other members of the group – and developed a strong friendship with Storm while living big and dangerous adventures

And with more than 40 years of history, Kitty Pryde has seen a lot, from the young kid recruited by Xavier to a founding member of the Excalibur team, adventurer in space with the Guardians of the Galaxy, as Captain Kate Pryde of the Marauders and more. She would grow up, be de-aged, become a young adult, and finally recently abandon her nickname in favor of “Kate”.

One of the most popular characters in Marvel Comics, Kate is today in the spotlight with this essential reading order, listing the best comics to read to understand her character, motivations, and transformations. Beware! We try to deliver a mix of best and essential order to retrace the history of the character, and it means sometimes that the story can be a mediocre or okay story with great characterization or simply offers information about the character’s evolution.

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The Origins of Wolverine, Before he joined the X-Men!

Created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein, and John Romita Sr.–but first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe–in the pages of The Incredible Hulk #180-181 in 1974, Wolverine is not your typical Canadian of small stature, he is a fierce character with retractable claws, a mysterious past, an iconic design, and a popularity that surpassed most of the other Marvel superheroes.

After being introduced as an agent of the Canadian government, Wolverine made a quick comeback. In his second appearance, in the classic Giant-Size X-Men #1, he joined the new team of X-Men but stayed a mystery for a long time. In fact, the mystery past is a big part of the character as it offers a lot of space for the writers to build stories full of twists–and not told in chronological order.

Who was Wolverine before being transformed by the mysterious Weapon X program? How many lives did he have as his healing factor keeps him young and healthy?

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The Best of Emma Frost Comics, our Recommended Reading Order for the White Queen

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She started as a foe of the X-Men before becoming a superhero and one of the most important members and leaders of the team. She is one of the strongest telepaths out there and has the power to transform her body into an unbreakable diamond. Today, we’re talking about Emma Frost, a.k.a. The White Queen.

Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne in 1979, Emma Frost is one of the most striking X-Men who found her way to the hearts of readers thanks to great character developments throughout the years. She has evolved to become more heroic without betraying who she is at her core. Importantly, Emma is devoted to her students, and the children she helps, and tries to give them all they need to survive in this cruel world.

Labeled as a femme fatale, Emma Frost is undoubtedly a complex and strong character. She never shies away from her past, but also has to endure many traumatic experiences and losses since her first appearance, more than 40 years ago!

Emma Frost finds herself right now in the spotlight with this essential reading order, listing the best White Queen comics to read to understand her character, motivations, and transformations. Beware! A Best/Essential Comic for a character can be a mediocre or okay story with great characterization or important for the character’s evolution.

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The Best of Cyclops Comics, Your Essential Scott Summers Reading Order

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He is an X-Men founding member. He stands out among many mutants due to his unique eyewear and deadly optic rays. Yes, we’re talking about Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops.

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, Cyclops is a polarising X-Man who is as much loved as he is hated, and who is frequently misunderstood. Scott Summers, who was first regarded as the archetypical hero, has never been without flaws or weaknesses. This resilient but very effective leader suffered from poor self-esteem and a tendency to dwell on his mistakes. He was also not the type of man to express his feelings and had difficulties verbalizing his problems. You guessed it, Cyclops has had to make some difficult decisions, make sacrifices, put his life in peril several times, and live in some crazy situations in the sixty years since his initial appearance!

His love life is also complicated, as he has been married to Jean Grey and her clone Madelyne Pryor, as well as being in a long-term committed relationship with our favorite White Queen, Emma Frost.

As the character celebrates the sixty anniversary of his first appearance, Scott Summers/Cyclops finds himself right now in the spotlight with this essential reading order, listing the best Cyclops comics to read to understand his character, motivations, and transformations. Beware! A Best/Essential Comic for a character can be a mediocre or okay story with great characterization or important for the character’s evolution.

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Revenge of the Brood Reading Order, The X-Men and Captain Marvel Crossover

Back in the Chris Claremont days, Carol Danvers and the X-Men fought alongside each other in the original Brood Saga, a famous story that ended with Carol becoming Binary, and the X-Men making sacrifices.

The Broods are back for a double-story arc, “Revenge of the Brood” and “Lord of the Brood.” Captain Marvel is joined once again by the X-Men to fight the parasitic predators known as the Brood. They plan to infect the cosmos and the heroes must stop them.

Here is how Marvel officially introduces the stories:

In “Lord of the Brood,” the X-Men get a distress call from deep space and find that the galaxy’s Brood problem is not as solved as they’d thought! When the X-Men’s close friend Broo became the Brood King, he gained the ability to control the savage alien race he was both a part of and so different from. Now he is experiencing his own nightmare scenario—the Brood are killing his friends, and there is nothing he can do to stop it! Rogue Brood factions have begun running wild, and it’s up to the X-Men to get to the bottom of why!

In “Revenge of the Brood,” Carol Danvers is on an X-press elevator to her own personal hell! And the Brood Empress is determined to ensure the Captain and all of her friends make it to their destination. Rescuing their team and getting out alive has always been the goal, but the odds are more deeply stacked against her team than Carol can even imagine. Overwhelmed and trapped in the Brood’s backyard, Captain Marvel and her team are forced to sacrifice one of their own. But the Brood let Carol through their clutches once before, and in so doing, created one of their worst enemies. They won’t make that mistake again. 

This Captain Marvel/X-Men epic cosmic story is coming from Kelly Thompson, writer of Captain Marvel, with art by Juan Frigeri, and Gerry Duggan, writer of X-Men, with art by Stefano Caselli.

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X-Men Sins of Sinister Reading Order, a Marvel crossover event

Things never get easy for the X-Men. Right after A.X.E: Judgment Day and Dark Web, the Mutants are thrown into another crossover event, Sins of Sinister. This time, however, it’s an X-Men-only crossover.

The tagline is: “From his vaunted position on the Quiet Council of Krakoa, Mister Sinister has plotted and schemed. Now, at last, his plans come to fruition beyond his wildest dreams … and his darkest nightmares! Can the X-Men survive the experience? Can anyone?”

If we are to believe Marvel, Sins of Sinister is set in “a horror timeline that makes Age of Apocalypse look like the X-Men Swimsuit Special.” This story takes the Marvel Universe further and further into a dark future, dramatically escalating the stakes with each startling time jump. 10 Years … 100 Years … 1000 Years…

This crossover could be confusing because three current series are renamed for the occasion Immortal X-Men, X-Men Red, and Legion of X are—respectively—replaced by the limited series Immoral X-Men, Storm & The Brotherhood of Mutants, and Nightcrawlers.

Current X-Men writers Kieron Gillen, Al Ewing, and Si Spurrier are in charge of writing the new titles, joined by artists Paco Medina, Andrea Di Vito, and Alessandro Vitti.

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Spider-Man Dark Web Reading Order, a Marvel crossover featuring Spider-Man and the X-Men

Barely one month after the A.X.E.: Judgment Day event, the X-Men are caught in a new crossover. However, this one also revolves around Spider-Man. Written by Zeb Wells and drawn by artist Adam Kubert, Dark Web is about clones. Here is the official synopsis:

“The worlds of Spider-Man and the X-Men collide, thanks to the unholy alliance of Madelyne Pryor, AKA the Goblin Queen, and Ben Reilly, now known as Chasm! The two most famous and famously wronged clones are back…and they’re going to claim what’s rightfully theirs! The Dark Web they spin over Manhattan is going to change the NYC skyline forever!”

So, the Dark Web event involves Spider-Man and the X-Men, but also Mary Jane Watson, Black Cat (Felicia Hardy), Venom (Eddie Brock), Ms. Marvel (Kamala Khan), and Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly).

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Namor the Sub-Mariner Reading Order, Imperius Rex!

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Namor the Sub-Mariner is one of the first Marvel characters, even sometimes considered the very first original Marvel character. He was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for the comic Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1. The title was never released and Namor made his real first appearance in Marvel Comics #1 (October 1939), next to the Human Torch. At the time, he was one of the most popular characters of Timely Comics (Marvel’s predecessor) along with the Human Torch and Captain America.

Though Namor is not as popular today as he was in the Golden Age era of comics, the character remained a historically important figure and still a popular character, with a history spanning over 80 years of publication.

Also known as the Sub-Mariner, Namor McKenzie is the mutant son of a human sea captain and an Atlantean princess. As the current king of Atlantis, he will do anything to protect his people. For this reason, Namor can be a villain, a hero, or an antihero, depending on the circumstances, for the surface dwellers. He’s almost always a hero for the people of Atlantis.

Namor is also a very powerful character, with Superhuman strength, speed, durability, agility, senses, and reflexes. He can breathe underwater like all Atlanteans and can communicate and command sea life. He possesses vestigial “wings” on both of his ankles which permits him to fly, he is capable of manipulating the weather like Storm and much more. With all these powers comes a quite volatile and arrogant personality!

He is now played by Tenoch Huerta in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making his live-action debut in Black: Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Let’s dive into the Sub-Mariner’s history with this Namor Reading Order!

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Generation X Reading Order (part of the X-Men Universe)

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After New Mutants and X-Force, Generation X is another Marvel Comics series set in the X-Men Universe. Created by Scott Lobdell and Chris Bachalo, the Generation X team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #318 (November 1994) during the “Phalanx Covenant” storyline and immediately got its own monthly series.

Generation X is the first team of X-Men not mentored by Charles Xavier, but by Banshee and former supervillainess Emma Frost (aka the White Queen). In fact, these young mutants did not attend Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters in upstate New York, but the Massachusetts Academy, located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

During the first volume, Generation X consisted of Jubilee (Jubilation Lee), Chamber (Jonothon “Jono” Starsmore), Husk (Paige Guthrie), M (Monet St. Croix), Mondo, Penance, Skin (Angelo Espinosa), Synch (Everett Thomas), and Gaia.

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Cable Reading Order

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Few characters at Marvel have a backstory as complicated as Cable (with the exception of Psylocke). Born Nathan Christopher Charles Summers, Cable is the time-traveling son of Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Madelyn Pryor (Jean Grey’s clone). Behind his conception lurks the crazy geneticist Mr. Sinister who planned to use the child as a weapon to destroy his archenemy Apocalypse.

As an infant, Nathan was infected by a deadly techno-organic virus incurable in the present. To save him, Cyclops gave Nathan ups, sending him 2000 years into the future (Earth-493) where he could be treated and grow up. There was just no hope for Scott to ever see his son again, or so he thought.

In this future world, Nathan was raised by the Askani Clan to become the warrior Cable, an enemy of Apocalypse. The religious order was led by Mother Askani, who is a time-displaced version of Rachel Summers, Cable’s half-sister.

To defeat Apocalypse once and for all, Cable came back to the present day at least one decade before he was born. He became one of the founding members and leader of X-Force where he took young mutants under his wing and prepare them for future threats with a more aggressive approach compared to the X-Men.

Throughout the years, Cable formed the most improbable odd couple of Marvel with Deadpool, developed a complicated relationship with his alternate universe half-brother/counterpart Nate Grey, adopted and raised the first post-Decimation mutant named Hope, joined the Avengers Unity Division, and more, much more.

As if it wasn’t complicated enough, he was recently killed and replaced by a younger, time-displaced version of himself (often called Kid Cable) before being revived.

It’s no surprise then that when Cable popped up in Deadpool 2 (2008), where he was portrayed by Josh Brolin, his backstory was mostly ignored. It’s the kind of story you need a whole movie to do it justice or you know, a lot of comic books!

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