One of the chief fallouts of Secret Invasion was the former Green Goblin, Norman Osborn, gaining immense power, enough even to rebrand himself and other villains as the new protectors of the world of Dark Reign. That included having his own version of the mutant heroes, the X-Men.
During Norman Osborn's brief stint as one of the most powerful men in the Marvel Universe, he ended up forming his own X-Men team. Here are all the mutants who were willing to work with Osborn -- and which ones ended up openly betraying him after not too long.
During Dark Reign, Norman Osborn and his allies were able to gain a new level of control in the Marvel Universe by spreading their influence. One of the most publicly minded attempts to shore up his power came with the formation of the villainous Illuminati known as the Cabal and the creation of the Dark Avengers, which gave him a team of "superheroes" who were beloved by the public. However, the X-Men had relocated away from New York City, giving them a different position in the Marvel Universe. As a deal with his fellow Cabal member Emma Frost, Osborn promised to keep out of mutant affairs so long as they kept their number under control. He even went about forming his own mutant team that could work within his control and confines. As such, the Dark X-Men debuted in 2008's Uncanny X-Men #513, by Matt Fraction and Terry Dobson, and their history was unraveled through short stories and a miniseries by Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk.
Emma Frost agreed to recruit a team, with Osborn even bringing in Mystique to publicly pose as Charles Xavier, which gave the team a public perception of acceptance. Emma's only condition for the deal was to place Namor on the roster as well, which Osborn agreed to. The other members of the team included Daken, Omega, Mimic, Cloak and Dagger. The latter three were all seemingly convinced that the Dark X-Men were a genuine place to become heroes, especially longtime X-ally Mimic. Another secret member of the group was revealed to be Dark Beast, the nefarious version of Hank McCoy who hailed from the Age of Apocalypse, who'd found a way to siphon mutant energy from others and infuse them into Omega. One of the captured mutants was even the true Charles Xavier, held in confinement by Osborn.
The Dark X-Men didn't have nearly as long of a shelf-life as the Dark Avengers. Learning the truth of Norman's plans for mutants and his means of containing them to empower Omega, Cyclops utilized his secretive X-Force squad to break into their base to learn more about their actions. This revealed Emma and Namor as double-agents for Cyclops, who then recruited Cloak and Dagger to join her and the real X-Men. While distracting Osborn with that offensive, Cyclops has his allies raise up the remains of Magneto's former base, Asteroid M -- converting it into a new home for the mutant population that exists outside American jurisdiction. Dubbed Utopia, this news pushed a furious Osborn to wage an open assault on the mutants with his remaining mutant allies as well as the Dark Avengers.
The ensuing battle proved how formidable the X-Men had become under the united command of Cyclops. Working together, a freed Xavier and Emma Frost are able to force the Sentry off-world while Dani Moonstar confronts Ares with a Hela-empowered power boost. Meanwhile, the rest of the X-Men hold the Dark Avengers and X-Men at bay long enough for the public and the press to arrive -- turning opinion against the Dark Avengers and forcing them to flee. The Dark X-Men would remain as a team throughout the rest of Dark Reign serving under Norman but wouldn't be further utilized before Norman lost his place in the world during the events of Seige. Still, the group remains a deadly reminder of just how dark and far-reaching Osborn's plans were during Dark Reign.