The X-Men have always been about change, from the change of humanity into a superpowered species to the character's costumes and personalities. However, another place where the X-Men have embraced change is in their status quos. Status quo changes are pretty normal in comics, but the X-Men have often taken them to the next level, showing every other Marvel property how it's done.

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Looking at the changes to the X-Men's status quo over the years, it's plain to see just how revolutionary their shake-ups could be. X-Men fans have been blessed with wonderful new directions for the mutants and cursed with ones that are at least pretty funny to look back upon.

10 Age Of X-Man Was A Placeholder

Jean Grey, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Colossus from Marvel Comics' Age Of X-Man

There are some X-Men stories fans want to forget, and the changes made by them are often laughable at best. That sums up Age Of X-Man in a nutshell. The story was the culmination of 2018's Uncanny X-Men relaunch, which ended with a composite being made up of X-Man and Legion, sending the X-Men assembled to fight them to a new reality they just created.

Age Of X-Man's story felt like Brave New World meets The Age Of Apocalypse, except not as good as either of those things. It was widely panned and quickly forgotten, as it was just the placeholder before writer Jonathan Hickman joined the X-Men franchise and knocked its socks off.

9 The Outback Era Took The X-Men To An Entirely New Place

Marvel's Outback-X-Men featuring Havok, Colossus, Rogue, Storm, Wolverine, Dazzler, and Longshot

After defeating the Adversary in Dallas, the X-Men's identity was revealed to the world. They only had one choice: to step through the Siege Perilous and let the chips fall where they may. They came out in an old Reaver compound in the Australian Outback, with the ability to not be recorded on video equipment. This kicked off the Outback era of the X-Men.

The X-Men were taken out of New York and placed in the middle of nowhere, and it was a huge change for the team. They were separated from their power base and mentors, but they also had freedom like they never did before.

8 The Revolution Era Saw The Rise Of A New Type Of Mutant

Marvel Comics' X-Men Revolution Rogue, Storm, Jean Grey, Kate Pryde, and Colossus

Writer Chris Claremont's return to the X-Men books in the year 2000 was dubbed "Revolution" by Marvel, but it turned out to be a bit of a dud. Claremont kicked the timeline six months forward. A space station is attacked by a new group of mutants called the Neo, who are more formidable than regular mutants. The Neo want to destroy humans and mutants alike, giving the team new foes.

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The X-Men weren't without their changes either, as Jean Grey and Psylocke's powers had both changed, Wolverine was nowhere to be found, and Professor X was absent. The X-Men had to deal with this new threat on their own. It was a great hook, but fans didn't love it.

7 Grant Morrison's New X-Men Made The X-Men Teachers And Rescue Workers

New X-Men cover from Marvel Comics with art by Frank Quitely

Many stories have redefined the X-Men, but none so completely as writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely's "E Is For Extinction." Taking away the costumes, it recast the Xavier Institute as an actual school, one whose main mandate wasn't protecting humanity, but rescuing mutants and teaching them how to use their powers. It was a bold direction for the team and served up some amazing new stories.

Of course, the X-Men still had adventures and battled against foes like Cassandra Nova, the U-Men, and Weapon Plus. It was the first time the X-Men actually felt like they were the next generation of humanity, and it is beloved by fans of the X-Men and Grant Morrison lovers alike.

6 Giant-Size X-Men #1 Created An Entirely New X-Men Experience

Colossus, Wolverine, and Storm join the Uncanny X-men

The greatest X-Men stories have often involved status quo shake-ups, with an important one occurring in Giant-Size X-Men #1, by writer Len Wein and artist Dave Cockrum. The original X-Men are lost on the mutant island of Krakoa, and Xavier recruits a new team to rescue them. Bringing together mutants from around the world, this new team of X-Men was just the change the franchise needed.

Before Giant-Size X-Men #1, the X-Men were a hair's breadth away from cancelation, with X-Men as a reprint title for years. Giant-Size X-Men #1 introduced Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, and the soon-to-be departed Thunderbird to the X-Men. These characters would propel the team to stardom and make the X-Men the best-selling book in the industry.

5 Uncanny X-Men #201 Gave The Team A New Leader

Cyclops and Storm fight for leadership in Marvel Comics' Uncanny X-men-201

The X-Men have had some amazing leaders, but for years, they only had one: Cyclops. The time following the "death" of Jean Grey wasn't easy for him, and once he met Madelyne Pryor, he was halfway out the door. The X-Men needed a new leader, and one member stepped up. It was Storm, but there was a catch: she didn't have her powers.

Uncanny X-Men #201, by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita Jr., pit the two against each other in battle. Even without her powers, Storm was a formidable combatant and she defeated Cyclops. This kicked off her long tenure as leader, a massive change from what had come before.

4 The X-Men Blue And Gold Era Split The Team In Twain

The covers to X-Men 14 and Uncanny X-Men 292, respectively featuring Rogue, Gambit, Beast, Wolverine, Cyclops, and Psylocke using their powers and Bishop, Jean Grey, and Colossus using their power

The X-Men's Blue and Gold Squads are iconic. Introduced in X-Men (Vol. 2) #1, by writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee, and Uncanny X-Men #281, by writers John Byrne, Jim Lee, and Whilce Potracio with art by Potracio, the X-Men had ballooned to the largest they'd ever been with the return of X-Factor to the fold. They split into two teams to more efficiently protect mutantkind.

The Blue and Gold Era was the most successful the X-Men had ever been. X-Men and Uncanny X-Men were the highest-selling books in the land, and many X-Men fans started reading during this era. Eventually, the team split would end, but it's considered a golden age by many.

3 M-Day Nearly Destroyed The Mutant Race

The Scarlet Witch Decimated The Mutant Population On M-Day

House Of M, by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Olivier Coipel, changed the X-Men forever. Scarlet Witch's utterance of "No more mutants" changed everything for the mutant race. It was called M-Day, and the mutant race went from millions to not even two hundred. The remaining mutants were herded onto the X-Mansion grounds by Sentinels, and it became a mutant reservation.

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M-Day changed the tenor of the X-Men for years to come. The X-Men would eventually abandon the X-Mansion after a catastrophic attack. They moved to San Francisco and eventually created the island known as Utopia from the remains of Asteroid M. It was also the darkest era of the X-Men ever, as mutants had dwindled to an easy-to-destroy number.

2 The Age Of Apocalypse Is Legendary

The cover to Marvel Comis' X-Men Alpha #1, which kicked off The Age Of Apocalypse

The Age Of Apocalypse is the pick of the litter for '90s Marvel. The story spun out of "The Legion Quest" when Xavier's son Legion went back in time to kill Magneto so his father could be happy. A team of X-Men pursued him, but a terrible thing happened: he accidentally killed his father. Without Xavier, the X-Men never formed, and Apocalypse decided to attack the US.

In the present, Apocalypse rules the US with an iron fist, destroying humans, and only contested by Magneto and his X-Men. For four months, fans were thrown into this dystopian alternate universe and loved every second of it. It's a legendary story that helped define the '90s for the X-Men.

1 The Krakoa Era Completely Changed The Game For The X-Men

House of X/Powers of X, depicting Professor X, Magneto and Jean Gray walking through a Krakoa Gate.

House Of X #1, by writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Pepe Larraz, shocked X-Men readers to their core. It introduced the Krakoa era of the X-Men. Charles Xavier, using drugs made from flowers native the mutant island of Krakoa, leveraged pharmaceutical wealth into the beginnings of a mutant nation, changing everything for the race.

The Krakoa era has been very fruitful for the X-Men. It completely changed the game for the mutants, as it gave the X-Men power in the world and a new enemy, the Orchis Initiative. The Krakoa era pulled the X-Men out of the doldrums and captured the imagination of X-Men fans like nothing in years.

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