Marvel's X-Men are easily one of the biggest and most powerful teams in all of comics. Since the team first made their debut, they have expanded widely and rapidly to encompass a bunch of other wonderful heroes.
However, while the team may be very popular among comic book fans, not every version of the team has been a smashing success. For a number of reasons, some teams just seem to captivate audiences much better than others have over the years.
10 Worst: Gold (2017)
2017's X-Men: Gold series faced controversy from the very first issue. While the lineup of the team was hardly the worst of their problems, it wasn't exactly the strongest point of the book either.
Though it was incredibly nice to see Kitty Pryde in a leadership position on the team, the rest of the members felt a bit stale. For the most part, the lineup featured some familiar fan-favorites, but no one in particular really stood out. With an alternate Wolverine on the team as well, this version of the X-Men is hardly the strongest iteration that has ever been seen in Marvel Comics.
9 Best: Classic
Of course, one of the strongest versions of the X-Men ever is the classic, original lineup. Though it was just a small 5 members, this team really set the standard for all others who would come after the fact.
Because this team was so popular, it is easy to see why Marvel keeps revisiting them. Titles like X-Factor, All-New X-Men, and X-Men: First Class were great ways to explore some of the great adventures of the first X-Men team, making it easy to see why they have been around for so long.
8 Worst: Uncanny (2015)
Following the conclusion of Brian Bendis' time with the X-Men characters, the Uncanny X-Men title was relaunched once again, this time featuring a far different lineup. Unfortunately, this series was weighed down by the constant intrusion of event tie-ins, although the characters themselves weren't that intriguing.
While a team of X-Men led by Magneto certainly sounds like a great idea, the team was effectively a glorified X-Force featuring Sabretooth instead of Wolverine. Of course, a team like this could have been very interesting to see, especially if they hadn't been bogged down by back-to-back events.
7 Best: Animated
With the 90's X-Men cartoon series being such a staple in superhero media, it is easy to say that they are one of the most popular versions of the team around. Featuring a wide cast that was packed full of fan favorites, X-Men had a little something for everyone to enjoy.
To this day, many of these characters remain popular among fans of the comics, making this team just as influential to the X-Men as some of the comics themselves. Despite not being canon with the rest of the Marvel universe, this is easily one of the strongest iterations of the X-Men ever.
6 Worst: Chuck Austen's X-Men
Chuck Austen's run on X-Men is considered by many to be one of the worst X-Men runs ever written. With complaints of poor plots, poor character interpretations, and a poor choice in overall characters, it is easy to see why some would come to think this.
Though it is nice to shed some light on some smaller scale characters from time to time, Austen tended to pick some weird and widely unpopular choices for his X-Men lineup. While stronger storytelling could have saved some of the criticisms toward the team in general, that just wasn't the case in this scenario, making it one of the worst X-Men teams in memory.
5 Best: Astonishing
Consisting of a great balance of characters and personalities, Astonishing X-Men quickly became one of the more popular X-Men titles around. Featuring some big names and smaller favorites with a generally consistent lineup overall, it is no wonder that the series remains so popular.
Of course, being written by Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and The Avengers (2012) director, Joss Whedon, certainly helped take the series in a new direction. Hopefully, the upcoming new movies will take a chapter or two from the likes of this series, given how popular it is with fans even today.
4 Worst: Deadly Genesis
Coming out of a more controversial story, it is easy to see why many members of this X-Men team are no longer around today. Though this team wasn't technically seen as a main X-Men team, the fact that they were wiped from memory still means that, for at least a brief moment, they were the main X-Men team in the Marvel universe.
After they were abandoned by Charles Xavier on Krakoa, this team eventually made their way back with a big grudge against the people who were supposed to protect them. Though Marvel tried to get these characters to stick around, they simply just weren't all that interesting, with virtually all of them transitioning out of the comics.
3 Best: Giant-Size
Not only did Giant-Size X-Men #1 completely reinvent the team, but it also introduced some classic and more iconic members of the X-Men around. Taking the team into entirely different elements of storytelling, it is easy to see why this version remains so iconic.
Not only does it feature the first appearance of several important characters, but it also marks a tonal shift for the X-Men into some more mature elements. Though the series still retained a lot of classic elements that made the team great to begin with, it is also part of the reason the X-Men are so big in the first place.
2 Worst: Ultimate
Like with the main team, the Ultimate X-Men have also gone through several changes to their roster over the years. However, especially around the time this team made their debut, it was definitely one of the weaker versions of the X-Men yet.
Surrounded in controversy for the first few stories, some of the creative decisions around this iteration of the team proved to be incredibly strange. With some major changes to some of the biggest members as well, it is easy to see why many weren't a fan of the series, especially in the beginning.
1 Best: Blue/Gold
Few other iterations of the X-Men are more iconic than the original Blue and Gold teams. With some major names on both lineups, it is easy to see why this era of the X-Men is so iconic.
Likewise, with the incredible Jim Lee handling the art duties of this time, few other designs and characterizations have been more memorable. Though there was some bad to follow this time period, this is easily the most iconic and arguably the best version of the X-Men ever.