X-Men’s Lost Years: From Messiah Trilogy to the O5 Era

Written by Petar

Wanted to be an astronaut, ended up exploring comics instead.

So, it has been a month since I last wrote about the X-Men, but with the recent and upcoming releases (as well as announcements!), it’s time to go back to the Merry Mutants and keep tracking their long and convoluted history (to be honest, I’m dreading having to go into the countless spin-offs and minis eventually, I started doing it as a private project and it’s… fun). I think it’s also symbolic that I left off Part 2 with Hope – since this is something we really focused on in July (Superman. Hope. Get it?)

So, the first decade of the 21st century was both very good for the X-Men (bringing them back into the forefront of both cinema and comics with some stellar stories), and then pulling the rug from under them and taking everything away during Decimation.

To be honest, things were a bit… iffy for the X-Men titles at this time. While there were some amazing creators working on the titles (which I will talk about in just a second), the whole era is really remembered by the three separate events which happened in the span of three years, not really connected to one another except for heavily featuring Hope Summers. But to delve into Hope, let’s dive into the first event of the “Messiah Trilogy.”

The X-Men’s Messiah Complex: Hope Summers’ Explosive Debut

Hope has a… convoluted history. She’s a member of the Summers family, but not really? Ignoring the recent retcon which casts (spoilers) the time-traveling Phoenix-infused Jean Grey as Hope’s father (?), she was born to no father and a human mother, manifesting her X-Gene straight after birth. As such, she was the first kid to be born after Mutant population was decimated, and seen as a “mutant messiah” – and thus heavily wanted and hunted – primarily by Purifiers, a group of mutant-hating villains following Reverend William Stryker since the 80s.

Cable manages to save the baby and jumps with her into the future, raising her as his own daughter. Therefore, when she eventually returns to present day, she’s a gun-toting badass who can manipulate powers of other mutants – copy them, stabilize or strengthen them, “sense” them – anything the story needs from her, really.

Messiah Complex is a convoluted story, in which many different teams at the time (Uncanny, New and adjective-less X-Men as well as X-Factor) are running around chasing this poor baby for different reasons, along with a host of villains too. It was also very controversial for turning Bishop into a villain of sorts, something he will need to work hard on recovering from for years after. However, even with the controversies, it’s still regarded as one of the best X-Men stories of the decade, and a landmark for the era. It’s a fun, action-packed romp with some phenomenal art by Marc Silvestri, Humberto Ramos, Chris Bachalo and more.

The next part – Messiah War – came the next year, and was a crossover between Cable and X-Force titles, bypassing X-Men completely. Basically, Cable and Hope got trapped in the future, where she’s forced to grow up running from Bishop her whole childhood. Cyclops is finally able to locate then and send his own black-ops team (X-Force) to help. While it didn’t include the main team, it did have ramifications on the X-Men run that was ongoing at the time – Matt Fraction’s Uncanny X-Men.

Utopia, Dark Reign, and Second Coming – The Matt Fraction & Mike Carey X-Men Era

After Messiah Complex, there was a change in guard of the writers, and time for some fresh new blood. Matt Fraction took on the Uncanny title, and I really enjoyed his time with the Mutants, because we got some very stellar stories. For starters, he moved the team to San Francisco, and then later to Utopia – an island off the coast of the US (because all other Mutant islands fared so well). 

At the time, the Marvel Universe was reeling from the effects of Secret Invasion, and Norman Osborn took over SHIELD, establishing his own Dark Avengers and his Dark Reign. This was a really fun time in Marvel comics, since things were upside down, with villains taking more heroic roles (on the surface) and many heroes forced underground.

Fraction’s run, while not loved by everyone, was ambitious and definitely provocative. Some found issues with the pacing and character voices, but he did manage to position X-Men firmly into the ongoing events at the time, as well as establish a Mutant nation – something Hickman would go back to with House of X/Powers of X and Krakoa. The art team in the early issues was also one of the best duos in the comics – Terry and Rachel Dodson, with colors by Justin Ponsor. They were sadly interchanged with Greg Land’s work, which I don’t enjoy.

A notable thing is that during this run, the third part of the “Messiah Trilogy” also took place – Second Coming. This book once again pulled different teams into the fray, seeing Hope return from the future as a young adult, and Bastion reappearing to cause trouble.

Throughout all this, the X-Men title was renamed X-Men: Legacy starting with issue #208. It was still written by Mike Carey with art predominantly done by Scot Eaton, and follows Professor Xavier as he recovers from the events of the Messiah Complex, and later Rogue as she guides a new generation of students. Carey had quite a long tenure on the book – from issue #188 to issue #260 – but it always fell into the shadow of the main title’s ongoing bombastic events. It’s definitely an interesting read – especially if you like Rogue – and he gave his characters deep moral complexity that makes it compelling. The art was sadly inconsistent due to the sheer amount of talent working with him – Bachalo, Ramos, Eaton, Romita Jr. Land, Deodato, Mann – some of whom I adore, some not so much.

So, as you can see, this era of X-Men was quite a rollercoaster – both with storytelling and the quality of stories told. Therefore, it has remained in the memory mostly by the three events that took place there. And while I would have loved to have the runs collected as I discussed them here, instead we are getting an X-Men: Messiah Trilogy Omnibus, collecting issues from different titles pertaining to the three stories. I will definitely be getting it once pre-orders start, but I will still keep hope for getting my hands on both Fraction and Carey’s runs as separate entities too… One day, Marvel. One day.

X-Men Stories by Gillen and Gage Amid Avengers vs. X-Men

The next writer to take over from Matt Fraction (started working together on Uncanny X-Men #531 and then independently with #534.1) was Kieron Gillen. Now, if you’ve read ANY of my articles pertaining to Gillen’s work, you will know that I really like his X-Men as well, even though the end is… open for discussion.

I just really like how Gillen writes his characters. Gillen’s Scott is strategic as he should be, but Gillen plays with him and pushes him into the antihero territory which was perfect for the era. Other characters on the team are also stellar too – this is what people often say is the continuation of Astonishing X-Men I talked about last time (mostly due to the team being basically the same).

Another big change that Gillen introduced and which has remained to this day is how he writes Mr. Sinister. His Sinister is campy, his sinister is often funny while still having that sinister (heh) edge to him – portrayal that has remained in the Krakoan era as well. His other villains are fun as well – often they are as entertaining to see on page as the heroes – which only makes every page of the book entertaining! Which is why I am so excited for the Uncanny X-Men by Kieron Gillen Omnibus to hit us next year.

One of the biggest detriments to Gillen’s X-Men is that it ended with Avengers vs. X-Men. Now, hear me out – I know many people did not necessarily like this event. The Phoenix Force comes back to Earth and causes the two teams to clash over what should be done with it, and many characters don’t make in-character decisions. But it’s stupid fun! It’s the level of clashing your toys against one another when you were a kid, asking about who would win in a fight – Thing or Namor? Iron Man or Magneto?

Meanwhile on the X-Men: Legacy side, Christos Gage had a short run (16 issues) which still focused on Rogue but also expanded the scope to other teachers at the school too – Gambit, Iceman, Cannonball, Rachel Gray and Frenzy. AvX casts a major shadow over his already short run, but offers a fun exploration of Rogue’s relationship and connections with both teams – something that will be pushed even more in upcoming Uncanny Avengers title after the event. 

The art is done by David Baldeon and Rafa Sandoval, both of which brought a lighter and more energetic tone to the title. Baldeon’s characters are expressive though slightly cartoony, while Sandoval offers sleek design and more traditional realism to his art.

Marvel NOW! X-Men Relaunch: Bendis, Bachalo, and the Return of the Original Five

Then along came Marvel NOW! and brought Brian Michael Bendis with it. The branding relaunched a lot of Marvel titles, and thus Uncanny (which already received a new numbering under Gillen) received its third #1 and its third volume. Bendis shook up the Mutant world and was allowed to rework many things as the aftermath of AvX – which is what he has been doing for a decade at that point with Avengers, too.

Before I delve into his work, I’d like to really quickly comment on the sister title – X-Men: Legacy. As a part of Marvel NOW! X-Men: Legacy received a new numbering and the new team of Simon Spurrier and Tan Eng Huat. However, while this title was the official continuation of the previous one (it ran for #25 issues, with issue #25 actually being numbered #300), it focuses solely on Legion, the son of Professor Xavier, as he struggles to accept his own legacy. Legion is a compelling character and if you liked the work Spurrier did with him during Krakoa, you will definitely enjoy this earlier outing.

Meanwhile, to make matters even more confusing, a third series was launched right around the time of Messiah Trilogy, titled just “X-Men” – yes, yet again. This series was written by Victor Gischler, Brian Wood and Seth Peck, and its main focus was on “street level” Mutant activities, serving to add flavor to the ongoing shenanigans. During Marvel NOW! this series was relaunched again, this time under Brian Wood, Marc Guggenheim and then G. Willow Wilson, following a team exclusively made of female members – Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Rachel Grey and Psylocke. This is one of the (many) things collected in the upcoming X-Men by Marc Guggenheim Omnibus.

And thus, we’re back to Bendis. He will remain on Uncanny X-Men from #1 (legacy #265) to #36 (at which point it returned back to #600). A huge part of this run is drawn by Chris Bachalo and, as you can imagine, looks absolutely fantastic. Bachalo has a very particular, stylistic art that worked well with the team Bendis was working with – a team that includes Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magik and Magneto – as they go around the globe recruiting new Mutants and trying to redefine the name X-Men in the post-AvX world. They are considered terrorists, they are considered revolutionaries, and they look magnificent doing it. This run will be collected in Uncanny X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus.

Meanwhile, the “second” main book in Marvel NOW! bypassed both Spurrier’s X-Men: Legacy and Wood’s X-Men. Instead, Bendis wrote a fourth titles called All-New X-Men, which would become the flagship book for the era alongside the Uncanny title. In this book, Beast, sick of Cyclops’s actions through the events we covered, decides to take a trip to the past and bring the original 5 X-Men into the present, hoping to remind Scott of where they come from and change his course – and giving this X-Men era the name of “Time Displaced Original 5 Era” and the like.

Dubbed O5, the team gets stuck in present and involved in the conflict between the two factions of X-Men. Which side will they fall on, and will they remain together? Will they change the past by changing the future? I guess you’ll need to grab the new All-New X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus to figure it out! 😉

I will tell you that I really enjoyed the book as it was coming out. Stuart Immonen tackles the big chunk of the issues, and his art is very clean yet very dynamic. His character work is also expressive, and it’s a joy to see the O5 rendered in a more modern Marvel style. I cannot wait to pour over these stories again, and now you can do too thanks to the events we covered today.

That’s it for now, class. Any questions?