| Adaptations of the X-Men in other media | |
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| Created by | |
| Original source | Comics published byMarvel Comics |
| First appearance | The X-Men #1 (September1963) |
| Print publications | |
| Novel(s) |
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| Reference book(s) | Science of the X-Men |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
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| Television show(s) |
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TheX-Men are a fictionalsuperhero team created byMarvel Comics that appear incomic books and other forms of media.
The X-Men made their first animated appearance onThe Marvel Super Heroes TV series in 1966 withProfessor X commanding the original X-Men line-up ofCyclops,Beast,Marvel Girl,Angel, andIceman.[1] In this episode the X-Men are not referred to as theX-Men but rather as theAllies for Peace.[2]
As part of afour-series collaboration between the JapaneseMadhouse animation house and Marvel, the X-Men and Wolverine both starred in two separate 12 episodeanime series that premiered in Japan onAnimax and in the United States onG4 in 2011.[6][7] The X-Men series deals with the X-Men coming to Japan to investigate the disappearance ofArmor. The antagonists are theU-Men.[8][9] It featured Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Emma Frost, Armor and Charles Xavier, as well as frequent flashbacks with Jean Grey. Other X-Men like Colossus and Rogue made cameo appearances in the finale.
On November 12, 2021, Marvel announced a revival of the 1992–1997 animated series titledX-Men '97 produced byMarvel Studios and was released in 2024 onDisney+. Several cast members from the original animated series are set to reprise their roles along with new cast members. Beau DeMayo is announced as the head writer and executive producer for the upcoming series with director Larry Houston, and showrunners and producers Eric and Julia Lewald from the original series will serve as consultants.[10][11][12]
Marvel producedmotion comics based onAstonishing X-Men, releasing them onHulu,iTunes, thePlayStation Store and other video services. These animated episodes were released on DVD throughShout! Factory. It has been announced thatMarvel Knights Animation will continue animatingJoss Whedon andJohn Cassaday's run.[17] Starting with the second storyline of the seriesAstonishing X-Men: Dangerous.[18]
The titles in the series include:
From 2000 to 2020,20th Century Studios (known as 20th Century Fox at the time) released thirteensuperhero films as part of theX-Menfilm series.
The first three films focus on the conflict betweenProfessor Xavier andMagneto, who have opposing views on humanity's relationship withmutants. While Xavier believes humanity and mutants can coexist, Magneto believes a war is coming, which he intends to fight and win.[20][21] TheBryan Singer-directedX-Men was released on July 14, 2000, with the team roster of Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Cyclops (James Marsden), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen).[22][23] Singer returned for the sequelX2 released on May 2, 2003, with Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) joining the team. Singer was replaced byBrett Ratner forX-Men: The Last Stand, released on May 26, 2006, with Beast (Kelsey Grammer), Angel (Ben Foster), Shadowcat (Elliot Page) and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore) joining.[24][25] Critics praised Singer's films for their dark, realistic tone, and their focus on prejudice as a subtext. Although Ratner's film was met with mixed reviews, it out-grossed both of its predecessors.[26]
A sequeltetralogy that served as aprequel to the original trilogy started withX-Men: First Class. Following a young Professor X (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Havok (Lucas Till) and Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones) as the original team, the film was directed byMatthew Vaughn and released on June 3, 2011.[27]X-Men: Days of Future Past, a sequel to both the original trilogy andX-Men: First Class, with Singer returning to direct, was released on May 23, 2014.[28][29] The film centered around the original trilogy members using time travel to gain help from their younger counterparts of the prequel tetralogy.X-Men: Apocalypse was released on May 27, 2016, with Mystique leading the team of Beast, Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner).[30][31] The tetralogy concluded with a fourth film,Dark Phoenix, written and directed bySimon Kinberg and released on June 7, 2019, and featured the same roster asApocalypse.[32]
Threespin-off films focusing on Wolverine were also released:X-Men Origins: Wolverine, an origin story of Wolverine that was directed byGavin Hood, was released on May 1, 2009,[33] followed byThe Wolverine, directed byJames Mangold and set inJapan, released on July 26, 2013. The series concluded withLogan, once again directed by Mangold and released on March 3, 2017. The film was set in 2029.[34]
Two further spin-offs centering around Deadpool were released in 2016 and 2018.Deadpool, which features Colossus (Andre Tricoteux and voiced byStefan Kapičić) and his X-Men trainee Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) was released on February 12, 2016, while[failed verification]Deadpool 2 was released on May 18, 2018,with returning X-Men members Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead and new member Yukio (Shiori Kutsuna) helping Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) as a X-Men trainee. The film also features cameo appearances of Professor X, Cyclops, Quicksilver, Storm, Nightcrawler and Beast from the sequel tetralogy.[failed verification][35] An adaptation ofX-Force was also in development at 20th, withJeff Wadlow writing andDrew Goddard directing.[36]
Another spin-off and the final film of the franchise,The New Mutants, was released on August 28, 2020, directed byJosh Boone, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Knate Gwaltney.[37]
Marvel Studios launched theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in 2008, focused onthe Avengers and their related characters, whose film rights they still owned. Marvel was then bought by Disney in 2009, but could not use the X-Men or othermutants, as their film rights still resided with Fox. However, an alternate version of the post-credits scene inIron Man (2008) had Nick Fury specifically mention "assorted mutants" in regards to the larger universe he andTony Stark were a part of.[38][39]Quicksilver and theScarlet Witch were an odd case, as they had strong ties with both the Avengers and the X-Men. The studios negotiated a deal so that they could share the characters' film rights on the stipulation Marvel Studios would be unable to make reference to their background as mutants or asMagneto's children, and that Fox could not allude to their history as Avengers members. WhilePietro Maximoff / Quicksilver appeared in two MCU films,Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) andAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015),Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch went on to become a regular character, appearing in six films in the franchise in addition to headlining her owntelevision series.[40] On December 14, 2017, Disney announced its intention toacquire 21st Century Fox's film and television studios, which would thereby result in the film rights to the X-Men and associated characters reverting to Marvel Studios.[41] Disney CEOBob Iger later confirmed that the X-Men would be integrated into the MCU alongside theFantastic Four,Silver Surfer andDeadpool.[42][43] The acquisition was completed on March 20, 2019.
After the deal,Charles Xavier / Professor X became the first mutant character to appear in the MCU, withPatrick Stewart reprising his role from theX-Men film series. He appeared in the filmDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) as an alternate version of Professor X from Earth-838, and as the leader of theIlluminati of this universe, alongside its other members meetingDoctor Strange and putting him for trial due to his travel in theMultiverse. He is later killed byScarlet Witch ofEarth-616 while rescuing her alternate version of Earth-838. Later that year, the MCU streaming seriesMs. Marvel also made reference to the X-Men; in the series finale "No Normal",Kamala Khan is told by her friend Bruno that her genetics have a "mutation", underscored by an excerpt of the theme music from the1992X-Men series.[44] Later, in the MCU streaming seriesShe-Hulk: Attorney at Law episode "Superhuman Law", Wolverine gets mentioned in a news article on a blog site browsed by Jennifer Walters which alludes to a man with metal claws fighting in a bar brawl. Additionally, the end-credits of the episode "Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans" depicts a graphic of Augustus Pugliese showing off his sneaker collection to Nikki Ramos, a pair of which are directly inspired by the color scheme of Wolverine's classic costume and the team gets mentioned by Jennifer in the season finale episode "Whose Show Is This?". In the mid-credits scene of the filmThe Marvels (2023),Monica Rambeau wakes up in X-Mansion and meetsHank McCoy / Beast after she gets trapped in an alternate universe.Kelsey Grammer reprises the role from 20th'sX-Men films.[45]
Deadpool & Wolverine is the fourth entry inPhase Five, withShawn Levy directing and Reynolds reprising his role.[46][47]Hugh Jackman, Kapičić, Hildebrand, Kutsuna andDafne Keen reprised their roles asWolverine, Colossus, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Yukio andX-23 respectively.[48][49][50][51] Additionally,Channing Tatum joins them asGambit, who was attached to star as the titular character inan unproducedGambit film.[52] The film was released on July 26, 2024.[53]
On March 26, 2025, Marvel Studios announced thatAvengers: Doomsday will feature X-Men characters that have appeared in both the MCU and the FoxX-Men film series.[54]
On July 20, 2019, duringSan Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios headKevin Feige announced that a film centered on mutants, which will be set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is in development.[55] When asked if the film will be X-Men–titled, Feige said that the terms "X-Men" and "mutants" are interchangeable, and said that the MCU's take on the franchise will differ from 20th's.[56] In 2023, after the end of the2023 Writers Guild of America strike, Marvel Studios was reported to be planning to meet with potential writers for a newX-Men film later that year.[57] In May 2024,Deadline Hollywood reported that screenwriterMichael Lesslie had been hired to write the first X-Men film set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[58] On July 20, 2025,Jake Schreier was officially confirmed as the film's director, after previously collaborating with the studio onThunderbolts*.[1]
The first X-Menvideo game was released by Josh Toevs andLJN for theNintendo Entertainment System and was titledThe Uncanny X-Men.[59][60] That same year (1989) a computer game was released calledX-Men: Madness in Murderworld. Another title,X-Men II: The Fall of the Mutants was released the year after.[61]
Konami created anX-Men arcade game in 1992, which featured six playable X-Men characters:Colossus,Cyclops,Dazzler,Nightcrawler,Storm andWolverine.[62][63]
In 1992, the X-Men teamed with Spider-Man forSpider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge, released for theSuper NES,Genesis,Game Gear andGame Boy.[61][63]
The following years saw the gamesX-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy andX-Men: Mojo World released for theSega Game Gear.[64][63]
The X-Men made a few appearances inSpider-Man 2: Enter Electro. Professor X and Rogue run aDanger Room simulation for the player to train in. Beast appears in the first level to demonstrate the controller functions to the player.[65]
In the 1990s,Sega released twoX-Men video games for its Genesis;X-Men andX-Men 2: Clone Wars.[62][66] Wolverine starred in a solo game in 1994 for both the Super NES and Genesis titledWolverine: Adamantium Rage.[67] That same year, the X-Men appeared in theX-Men: Mutant Apocalypse game for the Super NES.[66][63]
X2: Wolverine's Revenge was a stealth-action game for the sixth generation of video games starring Wolverine as the only playable character. It was released on April 14, 2003, produced byMarvel Games, Gene Pool,Activision and was released by 20th Century Fox, onPlayStation 2,GameCube,Xbox,Microsoft Windows andGame Boy Advance.[67]
The X-Men are featured in many 2-D and 3-D fighting games.
In order of release:
To coincide with the release ofX-Men: The Last Stand, 20th Century,Activision, andMarvel Games releasedX-Men: The Official Game which filled in gaps between the twoX-Men filmsX2: X-Men United andThe Last Stand, such as explaining Nightcrawler's absence.[67]
X-Men Legends and its sequelX-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse are games that featured multiple X-Men as playable characters.[63]
Every installment ofMarvel: Ultimate Alliance has featured the X-Men as one of the numerous playable characters:
Deadpool, Iceman, Storm, and Wolverine are playable in the major Marvel video game,Marvel: Ultimate Alliance. Colossus is playable on the Xbox 360, Wii and PS3 versions of the game, and Jean Grey is playable on the GBA version. Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Professor X, and Psylocke appear as NPC's on all versions while the Beast, Forge, Karma and Dr. Moira MacTaggert were mentioned by different characters. In addition, during a cut-scene, the Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Gambit, Magneto, Professor Xavier, Psylocke, and Shadowcat were seen defeated by Doctor Doom alongside theHulk. Xbox 360 owners were later able to download eight new playable characters for the game, including X-Men heroes and villains: Cyclops, Magneto, Nightcrawler and Sabretooth.[73][74]
InMarvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, Wolverine, Deadpool, Iceman, Storm, Gambit, and Jean Grey are featured as playable characters while Cyclops and Psylocke are exclusive to PS2, PSP and Wii. While Colossus appears as an NPC. In the briefing that follows the Wakanda incident, Captain America and Iron Man mention that the other X-Men members have been absorbed into The Fold. Psylocke, Cable, Magneto and the Juggernaut were later added as downloadable characters forMarvel: Ultimate Alliance 2.[75][76]
Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Deadpool, and Magneto appear as playable characters inMarvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, while Mystique and Juggernaut appear as bosses. Cyclops, Colossus, the Beast, and Professor X appear on a portrait in the X-Mansion when Magneto attacks it in the X-Men trailer; the former two are playable DLC characters while the other two also appear as non-playable helper characters.[77]
Science of the X-Men by Linc Yaco and Karen Haber explains how different superpowers would work and how such abilities would affect the people that have them. The mutants featured includeQuicksilver,Wolverine,Shadowcat, andNightcrawler.[78]
Several X-Men novels have been published.[79]
| Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Marvel Superheroes | Len Wein Marv Wolfman (editors) | Pocket Books | 0671820915 /9780671820916 | August 1979 | Pocket Books series (1978–1979) #9; short story collection; includes stories featuring theAvengers,Daredevil, the X-Men, and theHulk. |
| X-Men:Cyclops andPhoenix | Paul Mantell Avery Hart | Random House | 0679876596 /9780679876595 | October 1995 | Young adult novel; "based on comics byScott Lobdell" |
| X-Men:Sabretooth Unleashed | Vicki Kamida | Random House | 0679876618 /9780679876618 | October 1995 | Young adult novel; "based on comics byLarry Hama andFabian Nicieza" |
| X-Men: Mutant Empire Book One: Siege | Christopher Golden | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572971142 /9781572971141 | May 1996 | First inMutant Empire trilogy; is followed byMutant Empire Book Two: Sanctuary |
| The Ultimate X-Men | Stan Lee (editor) | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572972173 /9781572972179 | October 1996 | Short story collection |
| X-Men: Mutant Empire Book Two: Sanctuary | Christopher Golden | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572971800 /9781572971806 | November 1996 | Second inMutant Empire trilogy; is followed byMutant Empire Book Three: Salvation |
| X-Men: Mutant Empire Book Three: Salvation | Christopher Golden | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572972475 /9781572972476 | May 1997 | Third inMutant Empire trilogy |
| Generation X | Scott Lobdell Elliot S. Maggin | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572972238 /9781572972230 | June 1997 | |
| X-Men: Smoke and Mirrors | Eluki Bes Shahar | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572972912 /9781572972919 | September 1997 | |
| X-Men: Empire's End | Diane Duane | Putnam/BPMC (hardback); Berkley Boulevard/BPMC (paperback) | 0399143343 /9780399143342 (hardback);0425164489 9780425164488 (paperback) | October 1997 (hardback) September 1998 (paperback) | |
| X-Men: The Jewels of Cyttorak | Dean Wesley Smith | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 1572973293 /9781572973299 | December 1997 | |
| X-Men: Law of the Jungle | Dave Smeds | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425164861 /9780425164860 | March 1998 | |
| X-Men: Prisoner X | Ann Nocenti | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425164934 /9780425164938 | May 1998 | |
| Star Trek: The Next Generation/X-Men:Planet X | Michael Jan Friedman | Pocket Books | 0671019163 /9780671019167 | May 1998 | One of three separate crossovers between Marvel (all three featuring the X-Men) andStar Trek (the other two in the comics); Marvel at the time was publishingStar Trek comics (1996–1998) |
| X-Men and Spider-Man: Time's Arrow Book 1: The Past | Tom DeFalco Jason Henderson | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425164527 /9780425164525 | July 1998 | First inTime's Arrow trilogy; is followed byTime's Arrow Book 2: The Present |
| X-Men and Spider-Man: Time's Arrow Book 2: The Present | Tom DeFalco Adam-Troy Castro | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425164152 /9780425164150 | August 1998 | Second inTime's Arrow trilogy; is followed byTime's Arrow Book 3: The Future |
| X-Men and Spider-Man: Time's Arrow Book 3: The Future | Tom DeFalco Eluki Bes Shahar | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425165000 /9780425165003 | September 1998 | Third inTime's Arrow trilogy |
| X-Men: CodenameWolverine | Christopher Golden | Putnam/BPMC (hardback); Berkley Boulevard/BPMC (paperback) | 0399144501 /9780399144509 (hardback);0425171116 9780425171110 (paperback) | October 1998 (hardback); May 2000 (paperback) | |
| Generation X: Crossroads | J. Steven York | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425166317 /9780425166314 | November 1998 | |
| X-Men: Soul Killer | Richard Lee Byers | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425167372 /9780425167373 | February 1999 | |
| X-Men and the Avengers: Gamma Quest Book 1: Lost and Found | Greg Cox | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425169731 /9780425169735 | July 1999 | First inGamma Quest trilogy; is followed byGamma Quest Book 2: Search and Rescue |
| X-Men and the Avengers: Gamma Quest Book 2: Search and Rescue | Greg Cox | Berkley Boulevard/BPMC | 0425169898 /9780425169896 | August 1999 | Second inGamma Quest trilogy; is followed byGamma Quest Book 3: Friend or Foe? |
| X-Men and the Avengers: Gamma Quest Book 2: Friend or Foe? | Greg Cox | Berkley Boulevard | 0425170381 /9780425170380 | June 2000 | Third inGamma Quest trilogy |
| X-Men Legends | Stan Lee (editor) | Berkley Boulevard | 0425170829 /9780425170823 | June 2000 | Short story collection |
| X-Men: Shadows of the Past | Michael Jan Friedman | BP Books/iBooks | 0743400186 /9780743400183 (hardback);074342378X /978-0743423786 (paperback) | June 2000 (hardback) June 2001 (paperback) | |
| X-Men | Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Dean Wesley Smith | Del Rey | 0345440951 /9780345440952 | June 2000 | Novelization of 2000X-Men movie |
| X-Men/Doctor Doom: The Chaos Engine Book One | Steven A. Roman | BP Books/iBooks | 0613950569 /978-0613950565 (hardback);0743400194 9780743400190 (paperback) 0743434838 /9780743434836 (paperback) | July 2000 (hardback); July 2000 (paperback); August 2001 (paperback) | First inChaos Engine trilogy; is followed byX-Men/Magneto: The Chaos Engine Book Two |
| X-Men/Magneto: The Chaos Engine Book Two | Steven A. Roman | BP Books/iBooks | 0613950569 /9780613950565 (hardback) 0743400232 /9780743400237 (paperback) 0743445465 /9780743445467 (paperback) | July 2000 (hardback); January 2002 (paperback); December 2002 (paperback) | Second inChaos Engine trilogy; is followed byX-Men/Red Skull: The Chaos Engine Book Three |
| Five Decades of the X-Men | Stan Lee (editor) | BP Books/iBooks | 0743435001 /9780743435000 (paperback);0743475011 /9780743475013 (paperback) | March 2002 (paperback); April 2003 (paperback) | Short story collection |
| X-Men: The Legacy Quest Book One | Steve Lyons | BP Books/iBooks | 074344468X /9780743444682 (paperback);0743458486 /9780743458481 (paperback) | June 2002 (paperback); April 2003 (paperback) | First inThe Legacy Quest trilogy; is followed byThe Legacy Quest Book Two |
| X-Men: The Legacy Quest Book Two | Steve Lyons | BP Books/iBooks | 0743452437 /9780743452434 (paperback) 0743474449 /9780743474443 (paperback) | July 2002 (paperback); April 2003 (paperback) | Second inThe Legacy Quest trilogy; is followed byThe Legacy Quest Book Three |
| X-Men: The Legacy Quest Book Three | Steve Lyons | BP Books/iBooks | 0743452666 /9780743452663 (paperback) 0743475194 /9780743475198 (paperback) | October 2002 (paperback); September 2003 (paperback) | Third inThe Legacy Quest trilogy |
| X-Men/Red Skull: The Chaos Engine Book Three | Steven A. Roman | BP Books/iBooks | 0743452801 /9780743452809 (paperback);0743479580 /9780743479585 (paperback) | December 2002 (paperback); October 2003 (paperback) | Third inChaos Engine trilogy |
| X-Men 2 | Chris Claremont | Del Rey | 0345461967 /9780345461964 | March 2003 | Novelization of 2003X-Men 2 movie |
| Wolverine: Weapon X | Marc Cerasini | Marvel (hardback); Pocket Books (paperback) | 0785116052 /9780785116059 (hardback) 141652164X /9781416521648 (paperback) | November 2004 (hardback); October 2005 (paperback) | Short lived attempt by Marvel to publish their licensed novels under their own imprint; lasted just this one hardcover release |
| The X-Men: Dark Mirror | Marjorie M. Liu | Pocket Books | 141651063X /9781416510635 | December 2005 | |
| The X-Men: Watchers on the Walls | Christopher L. Bennett | Pocket Books | 1416510672 /9781416510673 | April 2006 | |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | Chris Claremont | Del Rey | 0345492110 /9780345492111 | May 2006 | Novelization of 2006X-Men: The Last Stand movie |
| Wolverine: Road of Bones | David Mack | Pocket Books | 1416510699 /978-1416510697 | October 2006 | |
| Wolverine: Lifeblood | Hugh Matthews | Pocket Books | 1416510737 /978-1416510734 | February 2007 | |
| X-Men: The Return | Chris Roberson | Pocket Books | 1416510753 /9781416510758 | April 2007 | |
| Wolverine: Violent Tendencies | Marc Cerasini | Pocket Books | 1416510745 /9781416510741 | October 2007 | |
| Astonishing X-Men: Gifted | Peter David | Marvel | September 12, 2012 | Novelization and adaptation of the 2004 comic book story arc Gifted within theAstonishing X-Men ongoing series originally written byJoss Whedon | |
| X-Men: Days of Future Past | Alex Irvine | Marvel | 978-1-302-48954-0 | May 17, 2016 | Novelization and adaptation of the 1980 comic book story arc by Chris Claremont and John Bryne |
| X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga | Stuart Moore | Titan Books | 9781789090628 /9781789090635 | May 14, 2019 | Novelization and adaptation of the comic book story arc by Chris Claremont, John Bryne, and Dave Cockrum |
The brand did $85 million in merch sales in 1994.[80]
