The late 2000’s were an exiting time for X-fans. X-Men comics had always been a social allegory/superteam comic book, but the length and depth at which they managed to reflect real world struggles (while still being, quite clearly, out-of-this-world fantasy) had perhaps never been so bold. To put it bluntly, the writers of X-Men in the mid-to-late aughts were not afraid to get dark and gritty. Of course, this in and of itself wasn’t so special at the time, considering how many “dark and gritty” movie reboots were being attempted in those days. But not all that is dark and gritty is also compelling. X-Men in this period was, most of the time. Craig Kyle and Chris Yost’s X-Force was absolutely brutal, but it gave new dimensions to old characters while challenging the reader on where to draw moralistic lines. What could you do and still remain a superhero? What could you do and still even be called good, for that matter? Duane Swiercynski’s Cable asked some of the same questions with even more devastating results, while also serving as an absolutely thrilling survival epic. Juxtaposing stories like these with the major Marvel Dark Reign storyline, in which the villains were cosplaying as the good guys, made for absolutely gripping moral theatre. This is the era of Necrosha and Siege, but most of all, this is the era of Second Coming. The final event serves as a climax to a decade (arguably a bit more) of building tension, and the writers knocked it out of the ballpark. It is an absolute gem.
- Black Panther #1
- Black Panther #2
- Black Panther #3
- Black Panther #4
- Black Panther #5
- Black Panther #6
- Deadpool #15
- Deadpool #16
- Deadpool #17
- Deadpool #18
- Dark Reign – The List: Avengers #1
- New Avengers Annual #3
- Dark Avengers Annual #1
- X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas #1
- X-Men vs. Agents of Atlas #2
- Dark X-Men #1 (skip Hope back-up story)
- Dark X-Men #2
- Dark X-Men #3
- Dark X-Men #4
- Dark X-Men #5
- Uncanny X-Men #515
- Uncanny X-Men #516
- Uncanny X-Men #517
- Psylocke (’10 mini) #1 (skip Hope back-up story)
- Psylocke (’10 mini) #2
- Psylocke (’10 mini) #3
- Psylocke (’10 mini) #4
- Nation X #1
- Cloak and Dagger (One-shot) #1
- X-Factor: Nation X #1
- Nation X #2
- Fall of the Hulks #Alpha
- Hulk #14
- Hulk #15
- Hulk #16
- Hulk #17
- Incredible Hulk #606 (Story: “The Right Direction”)
- Incredible Hulk #607 (Story: “Untitled”)
- Incredible Hulk #608 (Story: “Big, Red, and Deadly”)
- Hulk #18
- Fall of the Hulks: Gamma
- Hulk #19
- Incredible Hulk #606 (Story: “Father’s Day”)
- Incredible Hulk #607 (Story: “Man with a Plan”)
- Hulk #20
- Red Hulk #1
- Red Hulk #2
- Red Hulk #3
- Red Hulk #4
- Incredible Hulk #608 (Story: “Endgame”)
- Hulk #21
- Hulk #22
- Incredible Hulk #609
- Incredible Hulk #610
- Hulk #23
- Incredible Hulk #611
- Hulk #24
- X-Men Legacy Annual #1 (12)
- X-Men Legacy #228
- X-Men Legacy #229
- X-Men Legacy #230 (skip Hope back-up story)
- X-Necrosha: The Gathering #1
- X-Force #18 (pgs 14-15 – scene with Caliban)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 26-29 – scene with Dead Man)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 37-40 – scene with Selene)
- X-Force #20 (last page)
- X-Force #17 (pgs 8-10 – scene with Wolfsbane)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 2-4)
- X-Force #18 (pgs 10-12 – scene with Wolfsbane)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 5-9)
- X-Force #19 (pgs. 12-13 – scene with Wolfsbane)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 10, 30-36 – scene with Cypher and team)
- X-Force #20 (pgs 10-11 – scene with Wolfsbane)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pg 15 – scene at the Hellfire Club, now)
- New Mutants #6 (pgs 2-10)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 11-14)
- New Mutants #6 (pgs 11-18)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 16-19)
- X-Force #21 (pgs 7-8)
- X-Necrosha #1 (pgs 20-25, 41-47)
- X-Force #21 (pgs 2-6)
- New Mutants #6 (pgs 19-23)
- New Mutants #7 (pgs 2-5)
- X-Force #21 (pgs 9-20)
- New Mutants #7 (pgs 6-23)
- X-Men Legacy #231 (pgs 2-8)
- X-Force #21 (pgs 21-23)
- X-Force #22 (pgs 2-12)
- New Mutants #8 (pgs 2-15)
- X-Force #22 (pgs 13-14)
- New Mutants #8 (pgs 16-23)
- X-Force #22 (pgs 15-23) (skip Hope back-up story)
- X-Force #23
- X-Men Legacy #231 (pgs 9-23)
- X-Men Legacy #232
- X-Men Legacy #233
- X-Force #24
- X-Force #25
- X-Force Annual #1
- Uncanny X-Men #518
- Uncanny X-Men #519
- New Mutants #9
- Necrosha Aftermath: Dazzler #1
- Nation X #3
- X-Men Legacy #234
- New Mutants #10
- Nation X #4
- X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #1
- X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #2
- X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #3
- X-Men: Pixie Strikes Back #4
- Dark Avengers #9
- Dark Avengers #10
- Dark Avengers #11
- Dark Avengers #12
- Wolverine: Weapon X #6 (269)
- Wolverine: Weapon X #7 (270)
- Wolverine: Weapon X #8 (271)
- Wolverine: Weapon X #9 (272)
- Wolverine: Weapon X #10 (273)
- Dark Avengers #13
- Dark Avengers #14
- Uncanny X-Men #520
- Uncanny X-Men #521
- Uncanny X-Men #522
- Origins of Siege #1 (pgs 1-9)
- Siege: The Cabal #1
- Dark Avengers #15
- Siege #1
- Siege #2
- Siege #3
- New Avengers #63
- New Avengers #64 (pgs 2-18)
- Siege #4 (pgs 2-7)
- New Avengers #64 (pgs 20-23)
- Siege #4 (pgs 8-25)
- New Avengers Finale (pgs 4-14)
- Siege #4 (pgs 26-31)
- New Avengers Finale (pgs 15-35)
- Dark Avengers #16
- New Mutants #11
- The Sentry: Fallen Sun #1
- Wolverine Origins #46
- Dark Wolverine #85
- Wolverine Origins #47
- Dark Wolverine #86
- Wolverine Origins #48
- Dark Wolverine #87
- Black Panther #7
- Black Panther #8
- Black Panther #9
- Black Panther #10
- Black Panther #11
- Black Panther #12
- Doomwar #1
- Doomwar #2
- Doomwar #3
- Doomwar #4
- Doomwar #5
- Doomwar #6
- Cable #21
- X-Men: Hope #1
- Cable #22
- Cable #23
- Cable #24
- Cable #25
- Second Coming #1
- Uncanny X-Men #523
- New Mutants #12
- X-Men Legacy #235
- X-Force #26
- X-Men Second Coming: Prepare #1
- Uncanny X-Men #524
- X-Factor #204
- Second Coming Revelations: Hellbound #1
- X-Factor #205
- Second Coming Revelations: Hellbound #2
- New Mutants #13
- X-Factor #206
- Second Coming Revelations: Blind Science #1
- Second Coming Revelations: Hellbound #3
- New Mutants #13
- X-Men Legacy #236
- X-Force #27
- Uncanny X-Men #525
- New Mutants #14
- X-Men Legacy #237
- X-Force #28
- Second Coming #2
- Wolverine Origins #49
- Wolverine Origins #50
- Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age #1
Note: The 12-issue series, Wolverine: The Best There Is, takes place sometime during this era… maybe. Major changes in the last issue of that series are ignored everywhere else, which suggests that it may not actually be canon. Also, not reading it won’t adversely impact the rest of the story. Plus it’s gross, and I don’t like it.
The Ultimate X-Men Reading Order 