Coming out of the X of Swords event (which, though I did not mention it in the previous era summary, is the capstone to that era and one of the oddest X-events ever), the X-Men find their place in the world and the universe to be a bit more established and secure (though many concerns remain). Apart from that, this era doesn’t feel all that different from the one before it. That’s because these two eras and the next two that follow could really all be said to comprise a larger Krakoan Age, which lasts for close to five years (real time). But as I have said, I try to keep each era to around 200 issues or less. Also, whereas most of the era titles in The Ultimate X-Men Reading Order were either made up by me or taken from something and applied broadly to a wider range of issues, Marvel actually came up with these four era names themselves, and I have stuck with them, if not always using the exact dividing lines.
Just because this era is a continuation on storylines and themes, though, doesn’t mean it is without unique significance. If you thought Krakoa was a big deal, wait until you read about the new Arrako. Also, the X-Men are superheroes again! Well, some of them. They have a team (elected by fellow mutants) who stays in New York and fulfills the role of the old superhero team that used to be the standard. But the biggest deal of all comes in the form of a promise Xavier and Magneto made to Mystique, which, if followed through on, could bring down their whole world. This era’s Inferno is of a different kind than the one before. It’s honestly less of an inferno and more of a building up to one that is bound to explode in the next “era.” If you go in with those expectations, your reading experience will probably be better.
- Excalibur #16
- Excalibur #17
- Marauders #17
- Excalibur #18
- Excalibur #19
- Excalibur #20
- X-Factor #5
- Hellions #9
- Hellions #10
- Hellions #11
- New Mutants #14
- X-Factor #6
- X-Factor #7
- X-Factor #8
- New Mutants #15
- New Mutants #16
- New Mutants #17
- Wolverine #8
- Wolverine #9
- Wolverine #10
- X-Force #17
- X-Force #18
- X-Force #19
- Wolverine #11
- Wolverine #12
- S.W.O.R.D #1
- King in Black #1
- King in Black #2
- King in Black: Marauders #1
- S.W.O.R.D #2
- S.W.O.R.D #3
- S.W.O.R.D #4
- King in Black #3
- King in Black #4
- King in Black #5
- Venom #35 (57)
- S.W.O.R.D #5
- Avengers: Curse of the Man-Thing #1
- Amazing Spider-man: Curse of the Man-Thing #1
- X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1
- Cable #9
- Cable #10
- X-Men #17
- Marauders #18
- Marauders #19
- Cable #11
- Cable #12
- X-Men #18
- X-Men #19
- New Mutants #18
- Black Panther #23 (Story: “Letting Go”)
- Outlawed #1
- Champions #1
- Children of the Atom #1
- Children of the Atom #2
- Children of the Atom #3
- Champions #2
- Children of the Atom #4
- Children of the Atom #5
- Children of the Atom #6 (pgs 1-2)
- Champions #3
- Champions #4
- Champions #5
- (Skip final two pages to avoid unnecessary cliff-hanger)
- X-Men #20
- X-Corp #1
- X-Factor #9 (pgs 1-17)
- Way of X #1
- Way of X #2 (pgs 1-3)
- Marauders #20
- X-Factor #9 (pgs 18-24)
- Way of X #2 (pgs 4-24)
- Guardians of the Galaxy #15 (27) (pgs 2-18)
- Hellfire Gala Guide #1
- X-Factor #10 (pgs 1-4)
- Hellions #12 (pgs 1-3)
- Excalibur #21 (pg 1)
- X-Corp #2 (pgs 1-8)
- Marauders #21 (pgs 1-5)
- X-Force #20 (pgs 1-4, top panel)
- Marauders #21 (pgs 6-20)
- X-Force #20 (pgs 4, other panels-8)
- X-Men #21 (pgs 1-5)
- X-Force #20 (pgs 11-14)
- New Mutants #19 (pg 1)
- Children of the Atom #6 (pgs 3-10)
- X-Factor #10 (pgs 5-10)
- Excalibur #21 (pgs 2-5)
- X-Force #20 (pgs 15-23)
- Wolverine #13 (pg 1)
- X-Force #20 (pg 24)
- X-Corp #2 (pgs 9-13)
- New Mutants #19 (pgs 2-8)
- X-Factor #10 (pg 13, top four panels)
- X-Men #21 (pgs 6-15)
- X-Factor #10 (pg 13, bottom two panels)
- Excalibur #21 (pgs 6-8)
- New Mutants #19 (pgs 9-19)
- X-Factor #10 (pgs 11-12)
- Hellions #12 (pg 4-6)
- X-Corp #2 (pgs 14-16)
- Hellions #12 (pgs 7-12)
- Excalibur #21 (pgs 9-11)
- Wolverine #13 (pgs 2-18)
- Hellions #12 (pgs 13-18)
- X-Factor #10 (pg 14)
- Hellions #12 (pgs 19-21)
- Excalibur #21 (pgs 12-14)
- X-Corp #2 (pgs 17-24)
- X-Factor #10 (pgs 15-19)
- X-Men #21 (pgs 16-25)
- Hellions #12 (pgs 22-24)
- Planet-Size X-Men #1
- Marauders #21 (pgs 21-22)
- Wolverine #13 (pgs 19-20, 24)
- New Mutants #19 (pgs 20-21)
- S.W.O.R.D #6 (pgs 1-5)
- Wolverine #13 (pgs 21-23)
- S.W.O.R.D #6 (pgs 6-24)
- Excalibur #21 (pgs 15-24)
- New Mutants #19 (pgs 22-24)
- X-Factor #10 (pgs 20-23)
- Children of the Atom #6 (pg 11)
- Way of X #3
- Marauders #22
- Guardians of the Galaxy #15 (27) (pgs 19-21)
- Guardians of the Galaxy #16 (28)
- The Trial of Magneto #1
- S.W.O.R.D #7
- Guardians of the Galaxy #17 (29)
- Cable: Reloaded #1
- The Last Annihilation: Wakanda #1
- The Last Annihilation: Wiccan & Hulking #1
- Guardians of the Galaxy #18 (30)
- New Mutants #20
- New Mutants #21 (pgs 1-8)
- The Trial of Magneto #2
- The Trial of Magneto #3
- The Trial of Magneto #4
- The Trial of Magneto #5 (pgs 1-8)
- New Mutants #21 (pgs 9-24)
- New Mutants #22
- New Mutants #23
- X-Men #1 (22)
- The Trial of Magneto #5 (pgs 9-24)
- Children of the Atom #6 (pgs 12-26)
- Hellions #13
- Hellions #14
- Hellions #15
- Hellions #16
- Hellions #17
- Hellions #18
- Marvel Voices: Pride #1
- Marvel Voices: Identity #1 (Story: “That One Thing”)
- Marvel Voices: Comunidades #1 (Story: “Homecoming”)
- Love Unlimited: Infinity Comics #31
- Love Unlimited: Infinity Comics #32
- Love Unlimited: Infinity Comics #33
- Love Unlimited: Infinity Comics #34
- Love Unlimited: Infinity Comics #35
- Love Unlimited: Infinity Comics #36
- New Mutants #24
- X-Men #2 (23)
- Excalibur #22
- Excalibur #23
- Marauders #23
- S.W.O.R.D #8
- Way of X #4
- Way of X #5
- The Onslaught Revelation #1
- Marauders #24
- Marauders #25
- Wolverine #14
- Wolverine #15
- Wolverine #16
- X-Corp #3
- X-Corp #4
- X-Corp #5
- X-Men #3 (24)
- X-Men Unlimited: Lattitude #1
- X-Force #21
- X-Force #22
- X-Men Unlimited: X-Men Green #1
- X-Men Unlimited: X-Men Green #2
- Wolverine #17
- Wolverine #18
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #13
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #14
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #15
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #16
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #17
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #18
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #19
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #20
- Wolverine #19
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #21
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #27
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #34
- Excalibur #24
- Excalibur #25
- Excalibur #26
- The Death of Doctor Strange #1
- The Death of Doctor Strange #2
- X-Men #4 (25)
- The Death of Doctor Strange: Avengers #1
- The Death of Doctor Strange #3 (chapter 5)
- The Death of Doctor Strange: X-Men & Black Knight #1
- The Death of Doctor Strange #3 (chapters 6-7)
- The Death of Doctor Strange #4
- The Death of Doctor Strange #5
- Marauders #26
- X-Men #5 (26)
- X-Men #6 (27)
- X-Men #7 (28)
- Inferno #1
- Inferno #2 (pgs 1-43)
- X-Force #23
- X-Force #24
- Inferno #2 (pgs 44-46)
- Inferno #3
- Inferno #4
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #1
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #2
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #3
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #4
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #5
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #6
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #7
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #8
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #9
- Life of Wolverine: Infinity Comics #10
- X Lives of Wolverine #1
- X Deaths of Wolverine #1
- X Lives of Wolverine #2
- X Deaths of Wolverine #2
- X Lives of Wolverine #3
- X Deaths of Wolverine #3
- X Lives of Wolverine #4
- X Deaths of Wolverine #4
- X Lives of Wolverine #5
- X Deaths of Wolverine #5
- Wolverine #20
- Wolverine #21
- Wolverine #22
- Wolverine #23
- (Skip last page, as there is a spoiler for the next era)
- Marauders #27
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #22
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #23
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #24
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #25
- X-Men #8 (29)
- X-Force #25
- X-Force #26
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #26
- X-Men Unlimited: Infinity Comics #28
- Devil’s Reign: X-Men #1
- Devil’s Reign: X-Men #2
- Devil’s Reign: X-Men #3
- S.W.O.R.D. #9
- S.W.O.R.D. #10
- S.W.O.R.D. #11
The Ultimate X-Men Reading Order 