Now that we've discontinued the separate groups, it's time to resume some of our favorite long-running threads.
Currently, there are five active X-Men titles. I'm not counting spin-offs like X-Factor and X-Force. I mean five titles that are specifically, X-Men. And while we could argue about whether or not that's too many (it is), I'm personally more interested in the distinctiveness of each title. Right now, most of the books have their own niche and line-up.
Uncanny X-Men is the main title featuring Cyclops' A squad. They are based out of Utopia (an island off of the coast of San Francisco) and they active respond to problems as they arise. A Celestial is standing in Prospect Park? There's a time bubble in Wyoming? The team is led by Cyclops and currently includes Storm, Emma Frost, Magneto, Namor, Colossus, Magik, Hope, Danger and Psylocke.
X-Men, aka plain ol' or adjectiveless, is Cyclops' B team. They're also based out of Utopia and they also respond to active problems, although they're a little more international in scope. They also tend to meet up with other Marvel heroes (FF, War Machine) making this the team-up title. Storm leads the B team, with Thunderbird, Jubilee and Psylocke again.
Wolverine and the X-Men is the other main title featuring Wolverine's A group. They constitute the faculty of the new Jean Grey school in Westchester. Their main mission is to teach the next generation of mutants, though that often involves defending them against a variety of threats. Wolverine leads this team, with Beast, Shadowcat, Iceman and others.
X-Men Legacy is shaping up to be Wolverine's B team. They're also at the school though they appear to be more of a mission squad than a team of teachers. Rogue leads this team and she has Marvel Girl, Gambit and Frenzy at her side. Cannonball has also pitched in but I'm not sure if he has a regular spot yet.
Astonishing X-Men is in between assignments. It had been the title that was loosely attached to current continuity, allowing creators to tell stand-alone stories. With Regenesis, that looks to be changing. It was initially made part of team Cyclops though the latest arc has Cyclops wandering into an alternate earth, a la Exiles, rather than working with his Utopia squad. However, a new creative team is taking over with issue 49 and I don't know where it will fit in yet.
Replies
I'm digging both of the main books (Uncanny and Wolverine and the), but the latter definitely edges out the former in terms of fun so far. Kieron Gillen's giving us heady ideas in Uncanny, but Jason Aaron is throwing in things that are just plain ol' Out There. The school's built on Krakoa? A Brood student? Deathlok guest-lecturing on the future? What's not to love?
I haven't been reading any of the others (though I'm reading New Mutants, X-Factor and Uncanny X-Force, which is a ridiculous number of X-titles already), but I'm tempted by the start of Marjorie Liu and Mike Perkins on Astonishing...I heard lots of good things about her X-23, but never got around to giving it a try before it was announced as cancelled; I'm thinking this might be a chance to get in on the next big thing. The only thing standing in the way is Marvel: they keep double-shipping so many titles that the ones I already collect are taking up all the room in my budget, which doesn't give me an opportunity to try new things. And with AvX coming out (and double-shipping) the same time as Liu's Astonishing run starts, I'm not sure what will win there...
I dropped all the X-titles except for Uncanny, Wolverine & and the Magneto mini. But I'm really reading and enjoying them. Logan as headmaster of a school for gifted youngsters is sheer madness and pure genius. Perhaps the breakout star may be Iceman after nearly fifty years of sliding on ice-ramps, he now has to be in the forefront.
And I'm finally getting Mister Sinister after two decades of confusion about who and what he is, which quickly slipped into just not caring. I'm not saying he's my favorite but this story has made him tolerable. But I still don't trust Emma Frost or Danger or Magneto, heck even Namor for that matter! But focusing on a couple of titles makes it easier to deal with it all.
I may miss Rogue and Vampire Jubilee but I'll manage!
You're likely making the right choice if you're getting Uncanny and Wolverine &, but not regular and Legacy. That's why I described the first two as the A titles and the latter two as the B titles. Regular X-Men has a bit of its own identity as the team-up title but it's still following the lead of Uncanny. And Legacy is definitely following in the footsteps of Wolverine &, although with a slightly different cast. The disparity also shows up in terms of artist. I haven't been impressed with the new person on Legacy.
As for Astonishing- we'll see. I'm very excited about the creative team of Liu and Perkins who impressed me individually on X-23 and The Stand (I nominated each of them for most under-appreciated Cappie awards last year)