Of all the X-Men runs, Brian Michael Bendis' take on the iconic Marvel property is perhaps the most overlooked. He wrote an impressive set of stories, helming Uncanny X-Men and All-New X-Men alongside artists Chris Bachelo and Stuart Immonen respectively. Each of these titles focused on a different mutant team and was centered around its own unique concept.
Hot off the heels of his epic Avengers run, Bendis' stint on the X-Men reaffirmed his strength for writing team books. His writing hits all the marks, with his stories offering plenty of blockbuster action and comedic charm. Also as many have previously pointed out, Bendis writes characters so well. His characters bounce off each other in such an authentic way, giving his work a strong sense of realism. Undoubtedly, Bendis brought his signature writing style to the X-Men and crafted a crucial chapter for the mutant community.
Uncanny X-Men Followed a Radically Different Version of the Team
Bendis took a great angle with Uncanny X-Men, exploring a band of mutant outlaws threatening to start a revolution. The series had a nice mix of veteran X-Men and some new blood. These original characters each had a distinct voice and creative power set, giving the book a really fresh feel. Team leader Cyclops was a particularly fascinating character to follow, given a slick costume upgrade and voicing some strong ideological views. His attitude was that no one was going to help the mutants, so he had to take matters into his own hands.
While Cyclops' talk of revolution initially came across as a threat of a violent uprising, in reality, it was more of a symbolic idea, imagining a world where all the mutants stood together. This was a nice twist, which brilliantly paved the way for Jonathan Hickman's House of X/Powers of X storyline, which firmly established a unified mutant society, free from human meddling. Just like the best X-Men stories, Bendis used the mutants as a vehicle for social commentary, framing the mutants as a minority group striving for a better world.
Marvel's All-New X-Men Had an Impressive Premise
All-New X-Men was a great idea for a series, bringing the very first 1960s team to the present day, as they discovered that their future wasn't what it was cracked up to be. The interactions between the younger X-Men and their older selves were always entertaining to read and served as a fantastic source of drama. Each story arc put the rookie group in fun scenarios that showed them learning the ropes as superheroes, notably pitted against a futuristic Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and finding themselves stranded in the Ultimate Universe.
Bendis' writing was in top form throughout both series, as his scripts perfectly balanced exhilarating action set pieces with quieter character moments. In doing so, he flawlessly executed his unique vision for the X-Men, expanding the possibilities for what kind of stories could be told with the mutants. Between Cyclops' rebel faction from Uncanny X-Men and the time-displaced team that was featured in All-New X-Men, there's something for every Marvel fan to enjoy here.