The History of the X-Men: The 90s | Seminal Moments: Part 2

Travel back to 1991 and the release of X-MEN #1 by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, a comic book that changed the industry and introduced a whole new generation to Marvel Comics.
Read HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X this July.
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[@VZAAGE]

This is what hooked me to comics. Jim Lee and the X-Men!!

[@VZAAGE]

@@retrochannel1475 Thanks for the love, bro!!

[@snesfan8935]

Me too.

[@skorpione10]

For me it was Jim Lee, but Justice League (New52, 2011). Jim Lee was definitely the John Byrne and Neal Adams of his days.

[@franklinmwesi6211]

Me too. Marvel Comics back then were amazing.

[@codedniche3263]

Can’t wait for X-Men to join the MCU! I’m glad Jonathan Hickman is back as well. Go Marvel.

[@SupervoidCinema]

Chris Claremont is a legend.

[@Jakemufcfan]

It’s a shame this series celebrating x men menthins him so little

[@brianpendley9360]

That was my personal "golden age" of comics. I still have most of those comics chillen inside a shoe box up in my closet. Thank you for the memories. X-Men will always be more dear to my heart than any Avengers comic.

[@tylervenable5790]

The XMen cartoon in the 90's, was my all time favorite

[@kyledamron]

Mine too. It didn't talk down to kids and set me up to be a life long x-men fan

[@Summertimeblues28]

8 million copies sold! That’s still mind blowing. Back in 91 I knew I dug the X-Men and my friends also dug the X-Men But I had no idea how huge X-Men was until #1 dropped and did those insane numbers. It’s a Era in comics that will never be repeated.

[@TheNickcone]

The whole Claremont era from Giant X-Men to his work with Jim Lee is one amazing work of fiction.

[@timothymoore6341]

Yes, it was. I started reading X-Men back in 1986. A great era with Chris Claremont at the helm. I enjoyed the artwork of Marc Silvestri and Jim Lee.

[@drmidnight2419]

@@timothymoore6341 I started reading the x-men in 63, it was canceled. They promised to bring them back for several years. They made guest appearances in Captain America and the Advengers. Then they finally put out giant size x-men 1 in 75, but it wasn't the x-men. It was Dave Cockrums Leigion of Superheroes extras. With Wolverine, the Timber Wolf swipe.

[@roc5291]

I was there in the 90’s when this run was going. X-Men was THE comic of the world at that point. The comics were selling huge, the Animated Series was in full swing and even Pizza Hut was doing a promo with VHS tapes. Absolute Golden Age to be a kid!!!

[@ChristopherHatcher]

I had those tapes and cherished them as a kid! There will never be a time like that again!

[@kblixt]

I’m loving these mini docs Marvel!!

[@tangiblemammal5273]

X men, best team ever.

[@patrickbell5875]

BIG FACTS

[@IllMatic97]

The xmen are mainly the reason marvel was even popular in 90s

[@zoren1900]

@@IllMatic97 yes! And in the 2000's

[@Jojo-oi5vi]

Chris claremont is truly a legend.

[@Thrashman138]

X-Men #1 defined my teenage years.

[@ComicsLegend]

Thanks for posting this! Please more of these documentary videos, Thanks!

[@jukdagangbangingbeat]

ComicsLegend I like how your pfp is Superman....

[@ComicsLegend]

normal loli Thanks, he was the original Super Hero that started it all and inspired generations of fans and creators.

[@IndyWrestlingAces]

We need to go back. Make X-Men Great Again!

[@jasonjonesMK]

Still got the whole series from that point. Loved the artwork, Made me a Jim Lee fan from those full cover spreads.

[@bluespaceman7937]

It was basically the end of Chris Claremont as the main X-men writer, due to how much power was given to the artists at the time, but I think he left the run at the top of his game. Those last three issues are still pretty good even today.

[@Davidcabal]

As a kid who grew up 90s i loved the cartoon. Growing up i started to read Claremont’s run. I was very sad to hear that Claremont had to leave because of Bob Harris and Jim Lee after X-men #3 of this run. All he got was a little box that read CSC 1975-1991 he didn’t even get to write something in the letters pages. And then Jim Lee didn’t even stay on the book long either. You got to give it to Claremont for being loyal to marvel and then they kick him off and let some hot artist who then left the company after how many issues. I just felt like how could they do this to someone who’s been working on it forever and just unceremoniously get him off and not give him the ending he wanted or some words to say. Anyways these are great short docs more of these and hoping for the best with Hickman on marvel !!! :)

[@Blackwing2040]

I heard so many great things about this book. I read it twice digitally. What really pulls me into that book is the beautiful epic cover

[@Nyelocke]

My dad was a huge fan of the Jim lee run, so much so that he has 6 versions of x-men #1 and reading his comics is what made me love the x-men and comics thank you Jim lee

[@marutv6549]

X -Men creators are great.... Best story arc and attractive art... Which make me to read again n again.....

[@grdytrinidad]

THIS IS INTENSIFYING THE UPCOMING JONATHAN HICKMAN RUN OF X-MEN!! GREAT JOB MARVEL! Cant wait for part 3!!

[@ramenninja04]

I like how popular Marvel has become in the last few years, but what I don’t like is when people say they are a big marvel fan when they’ve only watched the movies and don’t know who the X-Men are. Because to me, Marvel is the X-Men!

[@Juan.Padilla1998]

I’m hoping Chris becomes the head writer to the MCU’s X-Men Movies and Disney+ series

[@geekxsir3610]

I’m a 90s kid and THIS was the X-Men comic I fell in love with. Still one of the best X-Men runs of all time. Marvel had some of the best artist and storylines in the 90s

[@drmidnight2419]

Too bad it wasn't the real x-men, it was Dave Cockrums Legion of superheroes extras.

[@Bravo5511s4k]

@@drmidnight2419 what do you mean ?

[@drmidnight2419]

@@Bravo5511s4k the x-men went into reprints and then canceled. The fans kept asking for Marvel to bring them back. They had the x-men guess star in the Advengers and Capt America and promised to bring them back in giant size x-men 1. Marvel got Dave Cockrum over from D.C. where he redesigned legion of superheroes with new costumes and created Timberwolf, then John Romita designed Wolverine similar to Timberwolf, changed the costume a little and named him wolverine so yo avoid lawsuit because it can be argued that it's a different character. Dave Cockrum introduced the new x-men with characters he had left over from Legion of superheroes. And called them the new x-men. But it's not the real x-men like Marvel promised to bring back.

[@DragonFist9323]

The best X-Men decade 🤘🏻

[@drmidnight2419]

You mean the Dave Cockrum Legion of superheroes extras aka the new x-men, not the real x-men. With wolverine the Timber Wolf swipe.

[@DeVstatrOmga]

Joe Madureira’s run on the X-Men books got me hooked. His art is jaw-dropping good.

[@demondsims5411]

Joe's run was great too. I have almost his entire run. Great times. X-Men has had a lot of great artists.

[@loringbush3319]

He's still the best X-Men artist! This is what inspired me to start learning how to draw comics the Marvel way!

[@cre8original]

The drawings were so good, they became T-shirts.

[@JK-gu3tl]

Favorite memories: 90s cartoon Age of Apocalypse X-Traitor Storyline/reveal Operation: Zero Tolerance

[@marvelous402]

Loving these short documentaries!

[@jaybyrd9156]

Old school Marvel fan here. If you want people to become interested and even enthralled by comics again you should have comic book girl tell these stories. I have never heard a better story told than comic book girls telling of the dark Phoenix Saga. She puts your advertisers to Shame and keeps the art of Storytelling alive.

[@newdamage5945]

I got into the comics through the 90s X-men animated show. Claremont and Jim Lee's Uncanny and X-men issues were some of the first issues I ever bought and I still have a special place in my heart for events like Age of Apocalypse and the Claremont/Lee era of Uncanny is still possibly my favorite era of Uncanny if I had to pick one. Such a bummer it got cut short. When I think of my ideal X-men team I love the original team, the 70s team and the Outback team a lot but the Blue and Gold team (and the Jim Lee designs they got) just IS my x-men.

[@drmidnight2419]

Too bad, they're not the real x-men, they're Dave Cockrum Legion of superheroes extras.

[@polluter1986]

Literally my all time favorite, I remember my dad taking me to the comic shop and telling me to buy Superman comics but X-Men was and always will be my favorite.

[@kworrell2020]

I just remember buying that #1 and being excited to follow the next iteration of the teams and then slowly getting disappointed in the stories being told ( especially early X-force) and then exhaustion from heavy handed crossover events and annual team reimagining.

[@kingkoop28]

Bout time The Xmen gets it proper due

[@Jacknutcase7]

I found X-Men #1 last week in PR Comic-Con.

[@CCaster2000]

The 90's was the decade of Mutants.

[@jamesmoss3424]

I got x-men 1991 #1.😀👍

[@thatmeanscene]

This video series is fantastic. I jumped on the bandwagon with X-Men #13 when I was 6 years old. :-)

[@itsyourboyryy]

I NEED to get this jumping on to the X-men. Lots has changed since last time I was reading. Cant wait to see what’s going to happen to the X-Men, especially now they will be part of the MCU in the near future.

[@royjones8312]

The fact that Jim Lees art still seems fresh and is essentially timeless, you knew at the time that this was something big.

[@aryanvirdi458]

X-Men better join MCU soon

[@patrickbell5875]

They're in the mcu . But will be along time before we see them on film 😥 they say

[@MichaelNgTzeWei]

Agreed. They must film Avengers vs. X-Men!

[@TheGlasses61]

@@MichaelNgTzeWei no, that'd be a terrible movie.

[@MichaelNgTzeWei]

TheGlasses61 Okay no problem. Kevin Feige isn't interested in making the X-men. He doesn't care.

[@TheGlasses61]

@@MichaelNgTzeWei I don't know what that has to do with anything. There needs to be X-Men movies taking place in the MCU, it just doesn't need to follow the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline.

[@JaimeRamirezArt]

PLEASE GET JIM LEE TO DRAW X-MEN AGAIN!!! Lets get this to 5K Likes!!!

[@soulcraft_84]

Xmen #1 story sort of crescendos with Fatal Attractions, which was about 30 issues in. You just don’t see that type of story telling today with everyone trying to fit a 12 issue trade paperback.

[@impureneighbour9792]

Good to know that Claremont is still writing. 🙂

[@g-dub5272]

So cool. X-men my favorite characters bub

[@alexr4208]

I remember this. Had to get it! Still have most of the covers, I think.

[@newcreationinchrist1423]

So ready for the x men in the MCU

[@Geovanix88]

The best age of x men

[@jhonnycultura4455]

Yesterday just saw day of future past, The X men always hit me right on the feeling because they are the minority that doesn't always fit in just like me... Thank you

[@IllMatic97]

It never made sense to me because they live in a universe filled with other superpowered weirdos and mutants. Spiderman and Hulk are mutants dammit.

[@rafaelcisneros562]

"A memento, for my friends, The X-Men!" Erik Magnus Lehnsherr aka Magneto

[@moisescordoba9939]

Sería cool que sacaran otra serie animada como la de los 90. Sería un éxito. 😍

[@vivianthom4801]

We need the X-men reboot. That Brian singer butchered the X-men franchise

[@frankiecardona1656]

talk about the hit arcade fighters mvc and so on

[@ni06no]

3 views And 27 likes Sounds about right 👌🏼

[@creepystares9853]

Byrne was the best artist and story teller for the X-Men. All the great stories they make movies from, come from that time frame.

[@vedantsriram3746]

Please Marvel, do a another part of X-Men seminal moments on Days Of Future Past, The Dark Phoenix Saga and also Wolverine comics

[@ClarenceDass]

I love the Xmen, I became a fan in the 90s, based on these comics. But i hate the films focus on Wolverine. As a Cyclops fan, I want to see a team that's lead by him proper. If done properly, he could be the "Captain America" of the new Xmen films.

[@joshuagumpert8910]

I agree. I remember reading issues in the 90s of Cyclops training with no powers in the training room. His fighting skills and tactical skill are insanely underrated. I would choose Cyclops as a leader over Cap any day of the week. He is a great mind but also extremely powerful.

[@Unique007]

Wow from 1991 to 2019 and Idk how many years more but Avengers are ruling on Earth. I'm diehard fan of Marvel.

[@snesfan8935]

Jim Lee = X Men.

[@crithon]

I still feel the storyline before was just epic, everyone having to fight Legion and it went all over the comics and all over the world and then it just goes into Astroid M.

[@docsamson198]

So nice of them to put John Byrne and Terry Austin on milk cartons when talking about the X-men. As much as I appreciate all of the talented folks who worked on the X-men throughout the years, where is the X-men in the early 1980s i.e. The X-men Take Off?

[@pridenjoy9437]

Watching this while drawing cyclops, really inspiring.

[@impureneighbour9792]

That big picture of the X-Men should really be a full size wallpaper.

[@rjallen70]

Comicbook girl 19 did it better.

[@Clay3613]

Traditional coloring and newsprint are much better than slick ink! It had texture and depth!

[@los7515]

Make more doc videos like this pls

[@hadesshivabuddhachrist8573]

X-Men number one was so successful they ousted Chris Claremont from the series to replace him with Jim Lee (Chris had been writing it for 16 years straight and built the X-lines popularity) then Jim Lee screwed off to co-found Image leaving Marvel with neither of those creative talents by that time the following year. Unsure why Mark Waid is in this, he wrote very few X-Men issues and is on the record in past interviews saying he hated it because he found the world of the X-Men too confusing.

[@umeshchandraprasad1558]

Awesome 😊👍

[@theekshanasankalpamarusi2119]

Nice Ela

[@PunkRockZombie205]

Best part about this era, the new number 1s were just additional books each month adding to the story. No constant reboots, no liberal agendas being shoved down your throat. Also, every grocery store had a comic book rack. When those got taken out, so did 90% of your sales. Unfortunately you let Disney buy you out so it's only gonna be a further downward spiral from here on out. But hey, at least kids will know your reimagined characters from your bland, safe, movies, since they don't read

[@alessiochoquezalarcon2925]

EXCELXER OR EXCELSIOR!!!!

[@AllPwrflSteve]

0:45 the panel Marvel doesn't want you to see lol

[@ThaCorporate]

Never forget the Acolyte called Chrome...

[@benjohnson9707]

And today I still see copies of X Men 1 in one dollar bins.

[@hiweiwang]

I would like to buy this in an omnibus. What do I search for? Please assist if you know.

[@impureneighbour9792]

Oh yeah, Jim Lee is a great artist! 😅😅

[@TheYoungWolfI]

WHY are the Jim Lee omnibuses (vol. 1 and 2) out of print?????????????????????

[@jrriddle77]

I know the guy is controversial, but you’re just going to skip over John Byrne’s contributions?

[@backgambit3475]

Say are you trying to anymore animated movies on DVD like Iron Man Or guardians of the galaxy or even Doctor Strange

[@Mrsniperouz]

X-Men legends 3 please!!! And no console exclusive crap!

[@matthewgaudet4064]

I remember when X-men was good as well. I wish Disney X-men was nearly as good as the old Marvel.

[@skorpione10]

I honestly just came here to see what inspired Jim Lee to creating Gambit and Wilce Portacio to creating Bishop. Cuz these are my favourite X-Men, along with Wolverine. Unfortunately, didn’t get that. Fortunately this was interesting.

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

Chris Claremont came up with Gambit to be the other half of the Mister Sinister coin. He was originally meant as a construct that would fall in love with Kitty Pryde and betray Sinister. His look was meant to evoke mystery and charm. I think Bishop was created to give the Gold team a more hard edged character. Portacio intended for him to be Phillipino but was asked by Bob Harras to make him black because they had gotten a lot of letters asking for more black characters in X-Men.

[@skorpione10]

@@drewtheunspoken3988 Good to know. I did come to know about Claremont creating Gambit, but it was sometime after my comment above. But the background to their creation I didn't know, till now. So, thank you.

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

@@skorpione10 You're welcome. Depending on your political leanings, or tolerance level of them, Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men podcast is great for background information. The Real Gentlemen of Leisure is really great if you prefer reading over listening to occasionally obnoxious podcast hosts.

[@skorpione10]

@@drewtheunspoken3988 Sounds pretty good. I'll check 'em out. Edit: checking them out right now, actually.

[@realeonel]

Everyone says theyre first vut I was first... Jk I was last 😥

[@yodo1789]

Yes, you are First

[@umeshchandraprasad1558]

Hey introduce them by multiverse , which is recently announced in spiderman far from home

[@juancarlosflarcos5973]

Nice

[@ethanaleman]

I have the poster on my door baby

[@GREG_Khar-NÜ-Metalhead2000]

Are u mark wiens?

[@clinedelisio842]

cool!

[@neetusrivastava9926]

Please return RDJ with the role of Iron Man

[@neetusrivastava9926]

RDJ RDJ RDJ RDJ

[@harishtiraiya1]

Love u logan

[@TheGlasses61]

Got the movie rights back and now getting ready to blow this series back up in popularity huh? I'm down.

[@DanielleA2023]

The constant revamps that constantly annoy and constantly dont last started with this 🤮🤬

[@ItachiUchiha-ut6xj]

Compare this to the current X-Men and you'll end up with depression and 2 burnouts. I miss when X-Men was awesome. Jim Lee + Chris Claremont = Rembrandt level artistry!

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

It's disappointing that all of this build up was done to hype the Hickman era and that fizzled because no one wanted to end Act 1 of his story.

[@ItachiUchiha-ut6xj]

@@drewtheunspoken3988 Yeah also I don't think Hickman's X-Men run was that good to begin with. I normally love his stuff but he doesn't know how to write the X-Men.

[@drewtheunspoken3988]

@@ItachiUchiha-ut6xj I think it could have been great if he followed his past patterns of just doing 2 books. While I have been enjoying the entire line (because I'm crazy like that), I think the franchise could have been improved by a tighter focus and building out organically. But even his initial plans got shot down pretty fast because Marvel wants to have a ton of X-Men come out each month. I'm sure we're headed for another relaunch in the next 2 years.

[@ItachiUchiha-ut6xj]

@@drewtheunspoken3988 Maybe...either way I'm not buying modern Marvel comics. I strictly buy back issues or Manga.

[@camm8642]

I hope claremont and other classic xmen writers and artists are involved in any mcu xmen movie or show and not just feige.....I feel they would add alot to what might be just with feige a very vanilla type of xmen movie or show......hm this was around the time I got into comics so when it comes to marvel its xmen first...

[@moscreefus]

No mention of speculators...

[@giorgibarnabishvili249]

Mr Stan Lee 3:29 💖

[@durdndemolition]

Lining up on Thursdays? Does Claremont not know the release schedule?

[@Iamthegtard]

Was Thursdays back then

[@popomalakas]

Im here for the terribly drawn feet

[@animateorelse1696]

Rip stan lee

[@niluferozcan4175]

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