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| X-Men: Reload | |
|---|---|
 Promotional art for theX-Men: Reload event | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | May 2004 |
| Main character(s) | X-Men |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Chuck Austen Chris Claremont Joss Whedon |
| Artist(s) | John Cassaday Alan Davis Salvador Larroca |
X-Men: Reload was the name given byMarvel Comics to their May 2004 revamp of theX-Men titles with new looks for the characters and fresh plot points. The revamp was prompted byGrant Morrison's departure fromNew X-Men.
As a result of the revamp,Chris Claremont moved from writingX-Treme X-Men to writingUncanny X-Men, withAlan Davis doing the art.Chuck Austen moved from writingUncanny X-Men toNew X-Men, which returned to its old name of simplyX-Men, withSalvador Larroca, who had been working with him onUncanny X-Men doing the art. Finally,Joss Whedon entered as the writer of the new titleAstonishing X-Men, withJohn Cassaday as artist.X-Treme X-Men was cancelled. The X-Men returned to more traditional (if not slightly revised) costumes, as opposed to the black leather uniforms of theX-Men films.[1][2]
In addition to this reshuffle of the main titles, many of the secondary X-Men books were given new writers as well.
The "post-Morrison" period that was known as the ReLoad event began when Grant Morrison's run for writingNew X-Men ended andX-Treme X-Men was canceled. Chris Claremont who was writingX-Treme at that time was then returned to writingUncanny X-Men, the title that he was famous for penning throughout the majority of the 1970s and 1980s. After Grant Morrison stepped down from writingNew X-Men, the title was changed back to simplyX-Men and continued with its numbering instead of restarting as issue #1. The three main X-Men team books consisted of the aforementioned X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, and Uncanny X-Men with the three main teams being led byHavok,Cyclops, andStorm respectively. Many individual X-Men characters received their own solo series as part of this event, but few lasted beyond twelve issues and many of the solo titles were cancelled after only a few issues due to poor sales.Astonishing X-Men proved to be the most popular and highest selling X-Men title at that time and received strong reviews from fans and critics alike for its artwork, pacing, and writing.Astonishing X-Men became so popular that it was the only X-book at that time to receivespin-off series likeX-Men: Phoenix - Endsong and an origin series forColossus.
Many then-current titles were changed to fit with the revamp and along with that many titles were also cancelled to make way for new x-books. Some of the titles that were cancelled included volume 2 ofNew Mutants to make room for a new series focused on the newest generation of X-Men students calledNew X-Men.X-Treme X-Men was also cancelled and saw Storm bringing her team to work as the X.S.E. under aUnited Nations charter.X-Statix was cancelled to make room forDistrict X, which sawBishop policing a troubledmutant community inNew York City. The seriesAgent X andSoldier X were both cancelled to provide room for the new seriesCable & Deadpool.District X,Madrox, and new issues ofWolverine were re-branded as part of theMarvel Knights collection.[3] The status-quo that was established in this event remained for a year until theHouse of M crossover event in 2005 drastically changed the tone of all X-books by having the majority of the world'smutants de-powered.
Many characters and story arcs entered a new direction as part of the ReLoad event. Some of the most notable changes that had the most impact were theX-Treme Sanctions Executive moving to the newly rebuiltX-Mansion as their main headquarters,[4] theDanger Room gaining sentience,Rogue learning her real name,Kitty Pryde returning to the X-Men full-time,Cyclops andEmma Frost becoming co-headmasters of the Xavier Institute,[5]Colossus andPsylocke being resurrected,[6][7]Professor X leaving the X-Men in hopes of rebuildingGenosha alongsideMagneto,[8] the realXorn resurfacing,S.W.O.R.D.being introduced, andX-23 joining the X-Men.
Astonishing X-Men: volume 3, #1
District X: volume 1, #1
Excalibur: volume 3, #1
Gambit: volume 2, #1
Madrox: volume 1, #1
Jubilee: volume 1, #1
New X-Men: volume 2, #1
Nightcrawler: volume 3: #1
Rogue: volume 3, #1
Uncanny X-Men: volume 1, #444
Wolverine: volume 3, #20
X-Force: volume 2, #1
X-Men: volume 1, #157
