Oversize X-Men: A map of every existing omnibus, plus what’s missing (Part 2: 1991 to 2001)

X-Men is one of the most popular comics franchises in history, and in the 90s it rode the crest of the speculator wave to over half a dozen ongoing series and at least twice that many crossover events.

However, when it comes to coverage in oversize editions, you’d think that those crossover events were all there was to X-Men in the 1990s. That’s not the case, and there are hundreds of issues outside of those events that haven’t seen oversize collection – including many that have never been reprinted.

Every one of those issues is covered in this post. Why? To give you ideas for the The Most Wanted Marvel Omnibus Secret Ballot, where you vote for the comic runs you’d most like to see in an oversized format. Yesterday I covered all of X-Men from 1963 to 1991 and how it could be collected by omnibus volumes, and tomorrow I’ll be back to cover the Morrison and Whedon era of X-Men.

There are 28 potential omnibus volumes in this material! Collected Edition mapping is a trivial pursuit (in both senses of the phrase) that is up to a lot of personal interpretation, so if you have a correction or disagreement don’t hold back – sound off in the comments below!

I think of this era as everything from X-Men #1 and Uncanny X-Men #281 in 1991 through the end of Onslaught and continuing to the beginning of Grant Morrison’s take on the X-Men in 2001. We’ve already got a number of omnibus-sized oversize hardcovers clustered at the beginning of this era, but after Age of Apocalypse things get spotty across all of the titles.

Are you ready? (I’m not sure that you could possibly be ready.)

• Uncanny X-Men & X-Men, Vol. 2
  • Part 1: The Crossover Era (Uncanny X-Men #281-337 & X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) #1-57)
  • Part 2: The Big Gap (Uncanny X-Men #338-393 & X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) #58-113)
• X-Factor (1986) #71-149 & Mutant X (1998) #1-32
• Wolverine (1988) #58-189
• Excalibur (1988) #68-125
• X-Force & Cable: X-Force (1991) #32-115, Cable (1993) #9-107, & Soldier X (2002) #1-12
• Generation X (1994)
• Miscellaneous X-Men

X-Men, Part 1: The Crossover Era
(Uncanny X-Men #281-337 &  X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) #1-57)

Chris Claremont’s run on Uncanny X-Men ended with #280, although he then scripted the magnificent Magneto and the Acolytes story in X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) #1-3 before departing the franchise.

Marvel managed to collect the next 25 issues of Uncanny X-Men in oversize format before leaving some gaps, but only made it 16 issues in X-Men, Vol. 2. There are even some gaps in the standard-size reprints prior to Age of Apocalypse, and then after Onslaught we hit the most under-collected period of the flagships left – about 30 never-collected issues in Uncanny X-Men #350-386 and 20 in X-Men, Vol. 2 #71-106.

How many omnibuses would it take to wrap all of that up in oversize format through Grant Morrison’s X-Men takeover in 2001? Surprisingly, just six books, plus the two volumes from yesterday’s post we’d need to finish covering through #281 in oversize. 

Come on, Marvel – you can do this! Get us our perfect oversized X-Men bookshelf from 1963 to 2001!

If you aren’t concerned with bookshelf perfection and just want to know what’s out there, check out the guides to Uncanny X-Men #281-350 and to X-Men, Vol. 2 #1-113 for every possible detail on how to collect these runs today across all formats.

X-Men by Claremont / Lee Omnibus, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785159053)
Collects Uncanny X-Men #273-280; X-Factor (1986) #63-70; X-Men (1991) #1-9 & 10-11 (A-stories only); and Ghost Rider #26-27.

Bishops’s Crossing (ISBN 0785153497)
Collects Uncanny X-Men (1963) #281-293 and X-Men (1991) #12-13, plus backup stories from #10-11.

X-Cutioner’s Song (ISBN 0785156100)
Collects the entire crossover: X-Factor #84-86, Uncanny X-Men #294-296, X-Force #16-18, and X-Men #14-16 – plus epilogue issues Uncanny X-Men #297.

Here there is an oversize edition gap of X-Men #17-24 (though those issues have been collected elsewhere) that we’ll address in a moment.

X-Men: Fatal Attractions (ISBN 0785162453)
Collects Uncanny X-Men #298-305, 315, & Annual 17; X-Factor #87-92; X-Men Unlimited #1-2; X-Force #25; X-Men #25; Wolverine #75; & Excalibur #71. (Annual 17 comes between #300-301).

That leaves us with an oversize coverage gap of Uncanny X-Men #306-310 (although #306 is collected with Phalanx, below) and X-Men #17-24 and 26-35 (some of which have never been collected). Which brings us to…

X-Men: Blood Ties (37 projected issues)
Collects X-Men (1991) #17-35 + 38-39 & Annual 2-3, Uncanny X-Men #306-310 + 318-319 & Annual 18, X-Men Unlimited #3-7, Blood Ties crossover material (Avengers #368-369, Avengers West Coast #101, Black Knight: Exodus), wedding material (X-Men: The Wedding Album; and What If? (1989) #60).

This omnibus gathers the contents of existing trades Skinning of Souls, Blood Ties, and Wedding of Cyclops and Phoenix, plus some issues beyond them, including a later gap we’re about to see below. It reprints X-Men #25 despite it being in Fatal Attractions because it makes no sense to omit a single issue in the middle of a run of issues.

Also, the four issues left orphaned by Phalanx Covenant and Age of Apocalypse, below, fit surprisingly well here – they’re very much about X-Men as family, and which is the persistent theme of most of this run. It would be a bad idea to shove them onto the other side of Age of Apocalypse in Road to Onslaught.

Now we’re back to another pair of existing oversized books (whose gap we already took care of), a proposed omnibus that Marvel has already lovingly mapped for us in the Road to Onslaught trades, and then a big event book!

X-Men: Phalanx Covenant
Collects Uncanny X-Men (1963) #306, 311-314 & 316-317; Excalibur (1988) #78-82; X-Men (1991) #36-37; X-Factor (1986) #106; X-Force (1991) #38; Wolverine (1988) #85; & Cable (1993) #16

Here there is a tiny, awkward gap of Uncanny X-Men #318-319 and X-Men #38-39, which really ought to be in either Phalanx or AOA but that we’ve crammed into Blood Ties, above.

Age of Apocalypse Omnibus
Collects all but two issues of the original Age of Apocalypse Saga! Contains Uncanny X-Men #320-321, X-Men (1991) #40-41, Cable (1993) #20, and all of the original Age of Apocaylpse issues except for X-Men Chronicles #1-2.

X-Men: The Road to Onslaught Omnibus (36 projected issues)
Collects Uncanny X-Men #322-332 & Annual 1995, X-Men #42-52 & Annual 1995, X-Men Unlimited #8-10, X-Men/Clandestine #1-2, Sabretooth #1, Archangel #1, X-Men/Brood #1-2, Wolverine (1988) #101, and the Xavier Institute Alumni Yearbook, and material from X-Men Prime #1.

I think the book should also include  Wolverine #91 & Annual 95, X-Force #44, and material from X-Men Unlimited #11-12, but they weren’t in the corresponding trades.

X-Men/Avengers Onslaught Omnibus
The X-Men issues in this book are Cable (1993) #32-36; Uncanny X-Men (1963) #333-337; X-Force (1991) #55 & 57-58; X-Man #15-19; X-Men (1991) #53-57 & Annual ’96; X-Men Unlimited (1993) #11; Onslaught: X-Men, Marvel Universe, Epilogue,Wolverine (1988) #104-105; X-Factor (1986) #125-126; and material from Excalibur (1988) #100

Ta-da! We’ve made it to Onslaught with only two new volumes.

X-Men, Part 2: The Big Gap
(Uncanny X-Men #338-393 &  X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) #58-113)

The next period is almost entirely uncovered by oversize releases, which makes it ripe for survey votes! There isn’t another oversized collection of Uncanny again until #475, and some of these issues haven’t even been collected at al. Also, it’s pretty easy to think about, since Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, Vol. 2 (1991) had a nearly 1-to-1 issue relationship and frequently were treated like a single twice monthly book.

The reading order for this period is very intricate – it took me weeks to work it all out. If you want to follow the thread of each of these titles, see the guides to Uncanny X-Men #351-409 and X-Men, Vol. 2 #1-113.

X-Men: Trial & Errors (43 projected issues)
Collecting Uncanny X-Men #338-350, -1, & Annual 20/1996 & 1997, X-Men, Vol. 2 #58-64 & -1 & Annual 1997, (and should also collect Magneto #1-4, Beast #1-3, X-Men Unlimited #13-16, Imperial Guard #1-3, Psylocke & Archangel: Crimson Dawn #1-4)

This would collect the recent Trial of Gambit trade in its entirety, but also pick up an abandoned post-Onslaught run that came before it so that it perfectly bridges from Onslaught to Zero Tolerance. It’s not the most exciting book in the world, but we need it!

X-Men: Zero Tolerance
Collects Generation X #26-31, Cable #45-47, X-Men #65-70, X-Force #67-70, Uncanny X-Men #346, Wolverine #115-118, and X-Man #30.

Zero Tolerance ends with a pair of new writers taking over the X-titles, and their collected run is the perfect size for an Omnibus, which to-date has only been collected by the trade X-Men: The Hunt for Professor X. It’s followed by a somewhat back-to-basics X-Men run that closes some longstanding plot holes.

X-Men by Kelly/Seagle Omnibus (43 projected issues)
Collecting Uncanny X-Men #351-365 & Annual 1999, X-Men (1991) #71-84 & 1/2, Uncanny X-Men/Fantastic Four Annual 1998, X-Men Liberators #1-4, X-Men Unlimited (1993) #17-22.

(You could optionally include Alpha Flight (1998) #8-9, but I don’t feel they are necessary).

X-Men: The Shattering Omnibus (30 projected issues)
Uncanny X-Men #366-375, X-Men #85-95 & Annual 7/1999, X-Men: Magneto War, Magneto Rex #1-3, X-Men Unlimited #23, and Astonishing X-Men (vol. 2) #1-3.

In reality, that books collects a lot more than The Shattering – it’s really Magneto: Rogue Nation, Deathlok: Rage Against The Machine, and X-Men: The Shattering.

X-Men vs. Apocalypse: The Twelve Omnibus (33 projected issues)
Collecting Uncanny X-Men #376-379, X-Men #96-99, X-Men 1999 Yearbook, Cable #75-78, Wolverine #146-149, X-51 #8, X-Force (1991) #101, X-Men: The Search for Cyclops #1-4, X-Men Unlimited #26 (and, because they fit here despite not fitting the theme, X-Men: Black Sun #1-4 & X-Men: Magik #1-5)

This collects X-Men vs. Apocalypse Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, and X-Men: Powerless, which is actually relatively slim pickings, but that pair of “Twelve” volumes is about to hit their ten year anniversary – it’s high time for a reprint. The two minis really don’t feel of a piece with this material, but this is where they fit chronologically and they help pad out the volume.

Then, we hit the last bastion of uncollected X-Men! It’s called “Revolution” and it was Marvel handing over the entire X-Men line to Chris Claremont again and it kind of sputtering out.

X-Men: Revolution (43 projected issues)
Collecting Uncanny X-Men #381-393 & Annual 23/2000, X-Men #100-113 & Annual 2000, Bishop: the Last X-Man #15-16, Gambit (1999) #23, X-Men Unlimited (1993) #28-31, Cable #87, X-Men Forever (1999) #1-6 (to which we could add , which come before this run – or, that ).

This is more than just the never-collected Revolution material, but also the contents of a trio of trades – Maximum Security, Dream’s End, and Eve of Destruction. The material in Eve of Destruction makes sense at the end of a volume, not only for its air of finality, but because it immediately leads into Grant Morrison’s run of New X-Men.

Of course, X-Men is more than just Uncanny X-Men and X-Men, Vol. 2. How would the other titles make it from the end of the Claremont Era to Onslaught in Omnibus?

X-Factor (1986) #71-149 & Mutant X (1998) #1-32

This period of X-Factor is massive loved by fans, as evidenced by it turning up on last year’s ballot for the first time! There’s a little dispute as to what it would cover, as a pure “by Peter David” book would be relatively slim after skipping X-Cutioner’s Song (plus, the latter chunk of it is collected along with Fatal Attractions).

How we deal with that collection really says a lot about how the remainder of this X-Factor run might be covered. It’s 79 issues in total with limited crossovers, putting the grand total comfortably below 90 issues – that could easily be knocked out in a pair of books.

Considering the X-Factor name isn’t the hugest of all selling points, it might be for the best to collect a lot more than the David material into a first volume, which will still sell on the strength of his run.

To see how these issues are collected today, visit the Guide t0 X-Factor.

X-Factor by David, DeMatteis, & Dezago (37 projected issues)
Collecting X-Factor #71-83, 87-105, & Annual 8-9 (and maybe #106 along with Excalibur (1988) #82, X-Force (1991) #38

That volume is essentially “The Saga of Multiple Man,” collecting his heroic arc with the team, his death in their confrontation with Haven, and the denouement of the team in grief. That makes Phalanx Covenant a better break point for this series than Age of Apocalypse a few issues later – the post-Phalanx material is more of a piece with what comes after AOA.

You could easily omit the Phalanx material, since it’s a real departure from the other issues in the run and it appears in an existing OHC. On the other hand, it’s just three issues – why be malicious and skip it here for people who missed the earlier hardcover? Then, the rest of the series is straight-forward.

X-Factor by Howard Mackie (46 projected issues)
Collecting X-Factor #107-149 & -1, Marvel Fanfare #6, and Strong Guy Reborn

But wait – there’s more! At the end of #149, an explosion sends Havok to a different reality, where he leads a twisted team of X-Men. The oft-forgotten Mutant X was actually a solid series, and it’s never been collected.

Mutant X by Howard Mackie (35 issues)
Collects Mutant X #1-8, Annual 1 (per in-issue notes), 9-18, Annual 2 (per editorial box), 19-31, Annual 2001 (per in-issue notes), and 32.

Wolverine (1988) #58-189

It seems likely a prior Wolverine omnibus would end on #57, which is the final issue of the Weapon X Unbound trade. Where would we go from there?

Wolverine, Volume 4 (35 projected issues plus some amount of 28 additional issues)
Collects Wolverine (1988) #58-86 or 90, X-Men #25, and Cable #16, plus some or all of Ghost Rider #29, Marvel Comics Presents #109-116, Wolverine: Evilution OGN, Marvel Comics Presents #117-122, Wolverine: Inner Fury OGN, Terror INC #9-10, Marvel Comics Presents #123-131 & 132-136, Punisher War Zone #19, Wolverine: Killing OGN, Wolverine/Nick Fury: Scorpio Rising, Marvel Comics Presents #137-142, and Wolverine: Global Jeopardy one-shot, Marvel Comics Presents #150-151 & 152-155, Ghost Rider #57, and Ghost Rider / Wolverine / Punisher OGN.

That book collects a reasonable amount of core issues with room for Wolverine’s many OGNs, which were released in place of annuals through 1994. Issue #90 is a clean break to Age of Apocalypse that was used by one of his Essentials volumes, but a more recent Epic starts at #87. Since Epics are part of Marvel’s grand plan of collections mapping, it probably makes sense to use the Epic break point to define the volume.

Wolverine, Volume 5 (43 projected issues plus some amount of 11 additional issues)
Collects Wolverine #87-118, 102.5, 1/2, -1, and Annual 1995, 1996, & 1997, Wolverine/Gambit: Victims #1-4, Wolverine: Knight of Terra OGN, and material from X-Men Prime, plus some or all of Ghost-Rider #61, 68, & 88, Venom: Tooth & Claw #1-3, Marvel Shadows & Light (1997), Marvel Fanfare (1996) #2, Hulk #454-455, Wolverine: Doombringer OGN

Issue #118 marks the end of Larry Hama’s lengthy tenure on Wolverine. It makes sense to break there.

Wolverine, Volume 6 (31 projected issues)
Collects Wolverine #119-145, Annual 1999, Wolverine: Black Rio, Hulk (1999) #8, X-Men Unlimited #25, and Wolverine/Cable: Guts & Glory

Again, this could likely be longer, but Wolverine #146-148 directly cross over with X-Men material in The Twelve, above, and make little sense here. Also, Wolverine’s Essentials collections end on #148. Issue #149 is a standalone issue that ties-in strongly with the X-Men: Powerless arc, and is better collected with X-Men material.

Wolverine, Volume 7 (45 projected issues)
Collects Wolverine #150-189, Annual 2000 and 2001, Deadpool (1997) #57-60

For reading order and current collections of all these Wolverine issues, visit my crushingly comprehensive Guide to Wolverine.

Excalibur (1988) #68-125

This run of Excalibur begins in the wake of Alan Davis with issue #68 and would be covered by just two volumes that ignore its scant collections with other X-Men series.

Excalibur by Scott Lobdell & Warren Ellis (49 projected issues)
Collects Excalibur #68-103, Annual 1-3, X-Men Unlimited #4,  X-Force #38, X-Factor #106, X-Man #12, Starjammers #1-4, and Pryde & Wisdom #1-3

That volume picks up a gap from #68-82 & Annual 1-2 before collecting the trio of Warren Ellis Visionaries trades – see how their issues break out in the Excalibur Guide.

Excalibur by Ben Raab (32 projected issues)
Collects Excalibur #104-110, -1, 111-113, Colossus #1, 114, Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD #1-3, 115-120, X-Men Unlimited #19, 121-125, and Excalibur: Sword of Power #1-4

X-Force (1991) #32-115,
Cable (1993) #9-107, & Soldier X (2002) #1-12

We already have an X-Force Volume 1 covering #1-15, at which point the title breaks for X-Cutioner’s Song. Then. 2017’s Deadpool & X-Force omnibus will cover through issue #31 as well as Cable (1993) #1-8.

I’ve already speculated in the Orphaned and Open Lines post that a next omnibus, Cable & X-Force Volume 1, would likely take both books through the Age of Apocalypse break at the beginning of 1995.

Cable & X-Force Vol. 1 (29 issues)
Collects X-Force (1991) #32-42 & Annual 3 and Cable (1993) #9-20 along with crossovers into New Warriors #45-46, Excalibur #82, and X-Factor #106, and Wolverine #85.

That’s a pretty tiny omnibus, but it makes sense to stop there.

That means we probably only need one more omnibus to get to Onslaught! In fact, it would hopefully push a bit past there to meet up with the Operation: Zero Tolerance OHC on the other side. Since Zero Tolerance isn’t a direct crossover, there’s an argument to be made for re-collecting those issues here – except that would push this book into the over-large red zone.

Cable & X-Force, Vol. 2 (51 projected issues)
Collects X-Force (1991) #44-66, Cable (1993) #21-44, X-Force and Cable Annual 4-6/1995-1997, Uncanny X-Men #323.

.X-Men: Zero Tolerance
Collects Generation X #26-31, Cable #45-47, X-Men #65-70, X-Force #67-70, Uncanny X-Men #346, Wolverine #115-118, and X-Man #30.

I think Domino #1-3 should be collected with this material, too, but right now I can’t figure out how to make it fit without splitting up this book. Maybe that’s an argument to re-collect the Zero Tolerance material and split this into two volumes using the end of Onslaught as a break point?

Cable stops appearing in X-Force after #70, so that could be the end of their team-up Omnibus line, unless it pays to continue associating them for marketing purposes. Here’s how we’d wrap up both titles – remember, X-Force becomes X-Static after #115 (although it continues the X-Force title and numbering).

X-Force: Road Trip (51 projected issues)
Collects X-Force #70-115, X-Force & Champions Annual 1998, X-Force Annual 7/1999, and Domino, Vol. 2 #1-4

Note that X-Force’s participation in X-Men: Powerless is not a direct crossover and would work just fine excerpted here.

Cable: Last Man Standing (51 projected issues)
Collects #48-75 & 79-96 & Annual 1999, Cable/Machine Man Annual 1998, Machine Man/Bastion Annual 1998, X-Man #46-47,

This run poses a slight dilemma. Cable is pretty badass in #73-74, but they end on a cliffhanger, and #75-77 tie in directly with X-Men’s “The Twelve” storyline, so they’d be collected there. However, #75 is not really written as a crossover installment – it stands fine on its own – it’s really #76-77 that wouldn’t make sense without context (and, to an extend the Powerless tie-in in #78). Similarly, #87 is a direct crossover installment of Dream’s End, and won’t make sense out of context.

That yields an improbably large book.

However, it’s quite clear that the next set of material – which ends Cable’s run, transforms his book to “Soldier X,” and takes us through the start of Cable & Deadpool, belongs together.

Cable: Soldier X (23 projected issues)
Collects Cable (1993) #97-107 and Soldier X (2002) #1-12

Visit the Guide to X-Force and Guide to Cable for more, including every Cable appearance.

Generation X (1994) 

With this title returning to the survey result in 2016 after a year away, I ask you: Why not just vote for both volumes we’d need to complete this series in omnibus format?

Generation X, Vol. 1 AKA by Lobdell, Bachalo, & Grummett (35 projected issues)
Collects Uncanny X-Men #318, Generation X #1-25 & Annual 1995, 1996, 1997 + Generation X Ashcan Edition, San Diego Preview, material from Generation X Collector’s Preview, and Daydreamers #1-3

.X-Men: Zero Tolerance
Collects Generation X #26-31, Cable #45-47, X-Men #65-70, X-Force #67-70, Uncanny X-Men #346, Wolverine #115-118, and X-Man #30.

Generation X, Vol. 2 (46 projected issues)
Collects Generation X #32-75, -1, and Annual 1999.

Clearly we could jam the six Zero Tolerance issues into either volume, if it came down to it, but Jubilee is a player across the event and this is her home book – so, the OHC is as much a Generation X book as it is anything else!

Miscellaneous 90s X-Men

There are a few other titles to wrap up in this period, all of which I’d be very interested in buying.

The Sabretooth Omnibus
Collecting… look, I’ll make you a deal. If this makes it into the Top 50, I will make you all a Sabretooth Guide that explains his every appearance. Until then, you’ve just got to trust me that this would be good.

Maverick (23 projected issues)
X-Men (1991) #4-7, Wolverine #62-64, X-Men (1991) #10-11 (backups), Maverick One-Shot, X-Men Unlimited #15, and Maverick #1-12.

Gambit (48 or more projected issues)
Collecting Uncanny X-Men #266-267, Gambit Vol. 1 #1-4, X-Men (1991) #24, Gambit Vol 2 #1-4, Rogue #1-4, Wolverine/Gambit: Victims #1-4, Spider-Man Team-Up #5, Gambit #1-25, ½, Annual 1-2, and some or all of Nomad #16, Moon Knight #52-53, Web of Spider-Man #113, and Ghost Rider #67-68.

Bishop: The Last X-Man (34 projected issues)
Bishop (1994) #1-4, XSE (1996) #1-4, Bishop: X.S.E. (1998) #1-3, Bishop: The Last X-Man #1-16, and Gambit & Bishop Alpha & 1-6

If you made it all the way to the bottom looking for X-Men 2009, (a) bless your heart, and (b) it’ll almost certainly have to be two volumes due to crossovers and specials, so just write X-Men 2009, Vol. 1 and X-Men 2009, Vol. 2 on your ballot and we’ll sort out the contents later :)

Also, reader Ricardo pointed out I haven’t posted my map to the ultimate Cable pre-history book! I’d do that something like this, although it still feels under-sized.

Cable & Apocalypse: Beginnings

Apocalypse: Rise of Apocalypse #1-4, Fantastic Four #19, Black Knight: Exodus, The Further Adventures of Cyclops & Phoenix #1-4, Apocalypse vs. Dracula #1-4, (need to check on pages from Cable Annual 99, X-Men Vol. 2 #41, and Sensational She-Hulk #3), story pages from X-Factor #4-6 & #10-19.

Cable: story pages from Uncanny X-Men #201, Inferno, and X-Factor #40-67, Books of Askani One-Shot, X-Men: Phoenix #1-3, Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix #1-4, Marvel Valentine Special (1997), Askani’son #1-4, material from Wolverine Vol. 2 #.5 and X-Force #1-2, Wolverine/Cable: Guts and Glory , Cable (1993) #-1, and Cable: Blood & Metal #1-2.