X-Men Reading Order Guide – Era #14: Breaking Points

Stories occurring between Uncanny X-Men #526 in September 2010 and Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 2 #20 in October 2012 – although some titles continue through early 2013 before relaunching for Marvel Now! This era includes all of Fear Itself and Avengers vs. X-Men. Active ongoing titles in this period:

• Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 1 #526-544 & Vol. 2#1-20 (end)
• X-Men Legacy #238-275 (end)
• Astonishing X-Men #36-56 (? – to confirm)
• X-Factor #207-249
• Deadpool #26-63 (end)
• Wolverine: Weapon X #16 (end)
• New Mutants #15-50 (end)
• X-Men, Vol. 3 #1-41 (end)
• Namor: The First Mutant #1-11 (end)
• Wolverine #1-20 & #300-317 (end)
• Daken: Dark Wolverine #1-23 (end)
• X-23 #1-21 (end)
• Uncanny X-Force #1-35 (end)
• Generation Hope #1-17 (end)
• Alpha Flight #.01 – 8 (end)
• Wolverine and the X-Men #1-18
• Avengers vs. X-Men #0-12 (end)
• Age of Apocalypse #1-5
• X-Treme X-Men #1-5

Notes:

• This era includes a few major continuity points that act as litmus tests for other books to fall before or after. They include – in order -the vampire invasion of San Francisco, Kitty’s permanent intangibility, Rogue and Magneto’s trip to Space, Schism, Fear Itself, Dark Angel Saga, and Avengers vs. X-Men.
• Though Wolverine: The Best There Is #1-12 was released in this time, the inclusion of Beast living on Utopia and the lack of Logan’s girlfriend Melita place it before Nation X in the Second Coming era.
• Wolverine Weapon X Vol. 3 includes Nightcrawler, which places all of it except for #16 in the previous era.
• Gambit’s title debuted in October 2012, but is set post-AvX. It is included in the next era.

Uncanny X-Men #526-529
Collected in Uncanny X-Men: The Birth of Generation Hope TPB    
Collected in Uncanny X-Men: The Complete Matt Fraction Collection, Vol. 3 TPB   
When: This volume begins with a Heroic Age story that follow Cyclops and Hope through the days immediately following Second Coming. It’s reasonable to believe as much as a week could elapse during this story – enough time for Cyclops to visit The Savage Land, then The White House. The volume ends with Emma in-flight into the next set of UXM issues (with Kitty, as well). It’s debatable if any on-panel time passes for either of them to appear in other stories. This features a wide array of characters, including Rogue, Psylocke, and Storm, but does not feature Wolverine aside from a brief B-story bridging to Children’s Crusade. Read Wolverine: Weapon X #16 here.

New Mutants #15-21: The Fall of the New Mutants hardcover & TPB
When: The New Mutants (plus Pixie) leave for this mission within days of the end of Second Coming, and return to an island that includes Cyclops, Emma, and Wolverine. They return almost immediately, since time passes much more quickly in Limbo. Pixie is a key player in UXM #530-534, but not prior, which means this is likely taking place while Hope is searching for Lights and before Emma leaves the island in #530. It fits best here, even if Emma begins her departure in the final panels of UXM #529.

Uncanny X-Men #530-534
Collected in Uncanny X-Men: Quarantine TPB    
Collected in Uncanny X-Men: The Complete Matt Fraction Collection, Vol. 3 TPB   
When: This story features nearly the full cast of Utopia mutants, with the entire first issue occurring within hours of the prior UXM collection. It also puts Wolverine back on the board after a gap for Avengers hijinks. Afterwards we are left with a break in action to fit in some other stories.

Generation Hope #1-4: The Future’s a Four-Letter World
When: This mission (piloted by Rogue) has Hope’s team “rendezvous with Cyclops’s Tokyo team” – which appears to be just him and Wolverine. It has to be assumed that Cyke and Logan were simply the away team chasing the Tokyo light. Because of the quick progression from UXM #529 to #530, I believe this must come afterward, but you could read it prior with little problem – the action here encompasses just a few hours.

Uncanny X-Force #1-4: The Apocalypse Solution hardcover and TPB
When: This all occurs within a single day, and includes Wolverine, Angel, Psylocke, Deadpool, and Fantomex. There is no advantage to placing it earlier. While it can be placed later, it fits neatly here, and contextualizes Fantomex’s later appearance in Serve & Protect.

Death of Dracula Collected in Death of Dracula TPB
When: This one shot can be read any time after the end of Captain Britain & M13 and prior to X-Men, Vol. 3 #1.

X-Men, Vol. 3 #1-6: Curse of the Mutants hardcover & TPB
When: This arc (and title) are a Hope-free zone (hah), but so many X-Men are actively participating here that it cannot occur during the Five Lights stakeout from UXM #526-529 or Quarantine. Both Cyclops and Wolverine appear prominently. Magneto and Rogue do not appear on-panel in this adventure, which points to it happening while they are otherwise tied up in the events of X-Men Legacy #238-241, but this is refuted by the following two collections.

Namor #1-4: Curse of the Mutants TPB
When: Occurs during X-Men #1-6. Includes brief appearances from Emma and Loa.

X-Men: Curse of the Mutants – Mutants vs. Vampires hardcover & TPB
When: A volume collecting X-Men vs. Vampires #1-2 and the X-Men: Curse of the Mutants one-shots Storm & Gambit, Smoke & Blood, and Blade – plus vintage issue Uncanny X-Men #159. While this is understood to occur during and after the X-Men #1-6 arc, the appearance of Magneto and Rogue in a brief story in X-Men vs. Vampires further interferes with the placement of their X-Men Legacy #238-241 arc, below.

X-Men: To Serve and Protect #1-4 TPB
When: This mini-series does not feature Hope or the Lights, but does occur in a mutant-friendly San Francisco post-Second Coming environment roughly analogous X-Men #1-6. Since it includes some of the same characters as the UXM #526-529 arc (notably, Emma and Storm), these events can be assumed to occur at the same time and slightly after. Also, the main feature includes Anole and Loa, who are away from SF during X-Men Legacy #238-241.

X-Men Legacy #238-241: Collision hardcover & TPB
When: This story exclusively features Rogue, Magneto, Anole, Loa, and Indra. The opening scenes are written as if they follow Second Coming by only a day or two – Rogue is worried about Hope and Hellion, and Hellion is still in the hospital wing. However, due to timing and conflicts in other titles, it cannot occur until here for three reasons:

(1) Rogue takes Hope to Alaska in UXM #526 – would she have waited to do that for two days plus her week in India? Similarly, would she delay activating Kenji in Generation Hope #1?  The answer is likely no, which places this after those two stories.

(2) Anole is in Quarantine, Loa appears very briefly in Namor #2, and Rogue and Magneto appear in Curse of the Mutants short stories. Could they all appear here directly post-Quarantine and then be recalled to deal with the vampires? Possibly, but they travel by commercial flight to India in this story – not a short trip. That places this after the vampire stories.

(3) Anole anchors the main story in X-Men: Serve and Protect, and Loa makes an on-panel appearance. Would that be before or after his vacation here? I say before – and that the vacation (sans Rockslide) might be not entirely of Anole’s choosing – it could be to split him up from Rockslide for a few days. The next collection reinforces this point.

Wolverine & Jubilee #1-6 hardcover & TPB
When: This occurs in the post-Curse of the Mutants downtime, parallel to X-Men Legacy #238-241. Supporting this theory, Rockslide appears here without his typical buddy Anole – because Anole is vacationing with Rogue in Collision.

X-Factor #207-219: Happenings in Vegas hardcover & TPB & Scar Tissue hardcover & TPB
When: Though they feature Thor and Spider-Man, these issues offer little intersection with the X-World, so can be read anywhere after the conclusion of Second Coming. I used to place them later, but the next X-Factor arc needs to fit prior to Children’s Crusade.

Wolverine in Hell

Per the Wolverine Index, this occurs after Wolverine & Jubilee.

X-23 #1-6: The Killing Dream hardcover & TPB
When: This features possessed-Wolverine before the X-Men catch on to his possession, which makes this one of his earlier appearances. It also includes Gambit. Hellion is out of the hospital wing (and in a student costume) which places this later than Collision. Storm, Cyclops, and Emma are all on the Utopia island together.

Dark Wolverine #90 & Daken #1-4: Vol. 1, Empire hardcover & TPB
When: This features possessed-Wolverine.

Wolverine #1-4: Wolverine Goes to Hell hardcover & TPB
When: Possessed-Wolverine blows his cover and throws down with Colossus. This may come before the adjacent Daken volume.

Wolverine #5.1 & #6-9: Wolverine vs. The X-Men hardcover & TPB
When: This features possessed-Wolverine and in-bubble Kitty, so it is prior to UXM #535. This is a pretty logical period for everyone to be convening back on the island for Age of X to start.

Namor #5-11: Namor Goes to Hell TPB
When: This does not specifically tie in to Wolverine’s time in hell, but due to the similar title and time of release can likely be included in the same period. The story features Loa and Dr. Doom and a brief appearance by Emma, which places it after X-Men Legacy #241. Dr. Doom does not seem especially reformed and isn’t in his white costume, so this must occur prior to X-Men #16, and allows it to occur prior to Children’s Crusade.

X-Men #7-11: With Great Power hardcover & TPB
When: This story features Emma, Storm, Wolverine, and Gambit, and occurs while the X-Men are enjoying positive media attention.

Chaos War Collected in Chaos War TPB and Chaos War: X-Men TPB
When: There are really no cues as to when this event occurs in relation to X-books. Arbitrarily, it seems best to place it sometime shortly before Age of X, which is was published near.

Uncanny X-Force #5.1 & 5-7: Deathlok Nation hardcover & TPB
When: Occurs an undisclosed amount of time after the first volume – Wolverine complains about meeting “on his Avengers time.” Since Wolverine flies to New York City for X-Men #7-11, it would make sense that he would transition from there to Avengers time, and then to this story.

Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine #1-6 hardcover & TPB
When: This happens in a relatively short window of actual-reality time, but it involves Wolverine being in New York. The final page makes it a little confusing (as does it taking nearly a year to come out!).

X-Factor #220-224: Hard Labor hardcover & TPB
When: This features no interaction with other X-books, but must occur prior to Children’s Crusade.

Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #1-9 hardcover & TPB
When: This stems from a brief B-story in UXM #526, but it features the entire A-list of recognizable X-Men – including the problematic Wolverine, Rogue, and Magneto – plus X-Factor. Oh boy. That means it occurs before Age of X and after X-Factor #224. It also includes the complication of a villainous Dr. Doom, who appears as a good guy in X-Men #16! Despite Marvel claiming the order of events is Fear Itself then Children’s Crusade, it simply doesn’t work that way. It makes more sense to put it here.

Vengeance #1-5 oversized hardcover & TPB
When: This mini-series tangentially features Magneto, and could fall just about anywhere. However, Magneto chasing down an unloyal mutant feels right adjacent to Children’s Crusade.

Wolverine & The Black Cat: Claws II oversized hardcover & TPB
When: This placement is somewhat arbitrary. Black Cat appears here just a month after her swing through X-Factor, and Wolverine needs to be in NYC to start the series (which he is after Children’s Crusade), and winds up marooned in the Savage Land for at least a day afterwards.

Generation Hope / Namor / Steve Rogers Annuals: Escape from the Negative Zone hardcover & TPB
When: This trio of annuals include Cyclops and the Science Team, but do not feature Wolverine.

X-Men #12-15: First to Last hardcover & TPB
When: Since this prominently features Magneto it must come prior to Age of X, as he’s a hard man to get a hold of afterward.

X-Men #15.1 & 16-19: FF hardcover & TPB
When: This arc includes a non-possessed Wolverine and features Magneto, which puts it either before Age of X or after Five Miles South of the Universe. Given the general continuity-free zone of this title, it’s simpler to place it prior to Age of X. Supporting that, the Cyclops/Emma relationship seems to be pre-Frenzy (even if that’s just an error of omission). Also, time passes differently in the dimension they visit, which means this story does not take very long to occur. Finally, this also includes Dr. Doom as a member of FF, and sufficient time has passed since Children’s Crusade to account for his recruitment.

Daken #5-9 & X-23 #7-9: Collision hardcover & TPB
When: Gambit’s participation places this prior to Age of X or after Files Miles South of the Universe. I read it as parallel to X-Men: FF in an unspecified length of “Free Play Adventure” time before the brisk movement after that event.

Age of X

X-Men Legacy #242-249 & New Mutants #22-24 Collected in: Age of X hardcover & TPB and X-Men Legacy: Aftermath hardcover & TPB
When: The Age of X story in both titles occurs in the center of the Legacy run, splitting a collection in half. This event takes an entire week and involves nearly the entire cast of the mutant world, which means every story in this period must fall on one side of this or the other. Complicating things further, Aftermath includes stories from three different periods, but #242 must occur after X-23 #1. The action in Legacy #248-249 leads directly to X-Men Legacy #250-258, which leaves very little time for Magneto, Rogue, and Gambit to appear anywhere else. Also, by virtue of Kitty appearing in-bubble in the following New Mutants arc, this is canonically before UXM #535.

New Mutants: #25-28: Unfinished Business hardcover & TPB
When: This starts with Kitty in her bubble-suit, so it’s pre-Breaking Point. However, it is definitively post-Age of X. That means in-bubble Kitty is canon post Age of X. The adventure to retrieve Nate Gray may take place while Cyclops is in Japan with Armor and Wolverine. The final issues likely occur after that in the time around UXM #539.

Astonishing X-Men #38-42: Monstrous hardcover & TPB & Children of the Brood hardcover & TPB
When: Kitty is still in her intangibility suit in the Brood half of this story, which places it prior to UXM’s Breaking Point. Monstrous starts first, as Kitty mentions Scott being in Japan.

Uncanny X-Men #534.1 & 535-539: Breaking Point TPB
When: Kitty regains tangibility in this arc, so it is after the resolution of the Astonishing arcs. An indeterminate amount of time passes prior to #539.

Daken #9.1 & #10-12: Vol. 2, Big Break hardcover & TPB
When: Though #9.1 includes a brief Wolverine & Avengers cameo, this is otherwise continuity-free and can be placed in any opportune gap.

Daken #13-19: Vol. 3, Pride Comes Before the Fall hardcover & TPB
When: This has no connection to the ongoing X-story aside from a brief panel of Wolverine, so really it can be read in any gap.

X-23 #10-16: Vol. 2, Chaos Theory hardcover & TPB
When: A problem volume! It occurs not too long after the prior X-23 adventure and features Gambit heavily, which means it must occur either before Age of X or after Five Miles South of the Universe. It also features Wolverine in Paris and the Future Foundation with Spidey and sans Torch in NYC, tacitly placing it prior to Fear Itself, Wolverine’s Revenge, and Schism. Yet… Gambit is in Paris for parts of Lost Legions. Is it possible that we can read this as taking place in the small gap between Age of X and the next Legacy issues? Sounds like a good idea to me!

X-Men Legacy #250-260: Lost Legions hardcover & TPB & Five Miles South of the Universe hardcover & TPB
When: These are a pair of problem volumes. All of the action from #250-258 occurs in one brisk swoop after Age of X with no time for Magneto, Rogue, or Gambit to appear elsewhere. Then Fear Itself and Schism occur, with #259-260 happening before/during Regenesis and somewhat spoiling Schism. So, do you want Schism teased as part of team’s epic space adventure, or do you want to wait with bated breath through a slew of other books to understand where Rogue and Magneto go off to after Age of X? Having already read Schism, I choose the former. (Or: just save #259-260 until after you’re through with Schism.)

Optionally, you can read Generation Hope #6-9 here.

Fear Itself

X-Men: Prelude to Schism hardcover & TPB
When: The X-Men dreading the onslaught of some unspecified threat actually reads better as a prelude to Fear Itself than to Schism, especially since we seem to be seeing a pre-Colossus Juggernaut. Since Fear Itself and Schism are back to back, that presents little issue. However, this does feature Magneto, which causes it to conflict with Legacy.

Alpha Flight #.1-4 Collected in Alpha Flight: Fear Itself hardcover Collected in Alpha Flight, Complete Collection TPB
When: Though this is a Fear Itself volume, it starts prior to the event and ties in just for a single issue (which occurs prior to UXF/Deep, below). Because of that, I think it’s easier to read it as a prelude to Fear Itself than trying to intersperse it.

Fear Itself #1-7 hardcover & TPB
When: The following Fear Itself volumes occur during this volume.

New Mutants #29-32 and Wolverine: Fear Itself #1-3: hardcover & TPB
When: Wolverine happens close to the beginning of the event, and prior to the escaltion that occurs in Uncanny X-Force. The New Mutants issues actually come relatively later – after all of the other X-tie-ins.

Fear Itself: Uncanny X-Force / The Deep hardcover & TPB
When: Unverified, depends on the order the hammer-wielders are defeated and Wolverine’s chronology in the event.

Uncanny X-Men #540-544: Fear Itself hardcover & TPB
When: #544 occurs after Schism and will spoil the fallout, but it doesn’t reveal much about the actual plot. You can read it here, but I have noted where it can also be read later.

Wolverine #10-16: Wolverine’s Revenge hardcover & TPB
When: It has been explicitly stated that Wolverine’s actions in Schism are partially a reaction to the events here, and the last panel tracks with the opening of Schism. There is an implied gap at the end of #16 to account for some of Wolverine’s Avengers adventures.

X-Men: Schism #1-5 & Regenesis: Schism oversized hardcover & TPB
When: This event occurs after Fear Itself, although it’s actually a fun read of it to assume #1 is a part of Fear Itself or its direct aftermath.

Generation Hope #6-12: Schism TPB
When: This is one of those problematic volumes that straddles a big event. #6-9 should really be read prior to Fear Itself due to the time that elapses in #8 and 9, while #10-11 occur during Schism, and #12 occurs during the Regenesis one-shot. Since this is the one title that will actively spoil the plot of Schism, I recommend reading this afterward. Read X-Men Legacy #259-260 and Uncanny X-Men #544 here if you haven’t already.

Wolverine #17-20: Goodbye, Chinatown hardcover & TPB
When: This begins with Wolverine moving out of his civilian apartment, which is implied to occur on a return trip from flying the kids out to the shattered remains of the X-Mansion in the last panel of Regenesis. I guess they are staying in the underground portions of the mansion, for the moment. That places this relatively close to the end of Schism – probably closer than the start of UXM Vol. 2. The rest of this book follows Wolverine back to the East Coast as he acquires the capital to actually build the school, which means some undetermined amount of time goes by between this and WatX #1.

Astonishing X-Men #44-47: Exalted hardcover & TPB
When: This happens soon enough after Schism that Cyclops is still under medical evaluation (but, after Wolverine’s cadre departs). Also, it states Storm was away in Wakanda for at least a week after Schism. I feel that places this as the first post-Schism Utopia story.

X-Club #1-5 TPB
When: Occurs prior to the majority of the action in the first issue of Uncanny X-Men, Vol. 2.

Wolverine Annual 1: Marvel Tales by Alan Davis TPB
When: This is not set in a specific time, so fits well into the gap before the debut of WatXM #1. This makes sense knowing this issue was completed significantly before its release.

Uncanny X-Men #1-4: by Kieron Gillen, Vol. 1 hardcover & TPB
When: This starts an undefined time after Schism – at least a week, since Storm has returned from a visit to Wakanda – and another week explicitly passes on panel in #1 before any action takes place. However, this is occurring before the Dark Angel Saga rather than after, or else the team’s first mission would be Tabula Rasa rather than to fight Sinister.

New Mutants #33-37: Vol. 5, A Date with the Devil hardcover & TPB
When: In UXM #1 Cyclops mentions Dani not turning up any mention of Blink, but then a week goes by on panel – where this volume likely occurs in total. That means the correct read order is likely New Mutants #33, followed by UXM #1-3, and then the rest of this volume. However, nothing in #33 makes it problematic to read after UXM #4, so it’s fine here.

X-Men #20-23: Vol .5, War Machines, hardcover & TPB
When: This prominently features Storm and Colossus, who co-star in UXM. In UXM #1 Cyclops mentions that no security issues emerge from Psylocke’s team prior to the Extinction team’s first mission, which places this during that initial arc or after UXM #3. Since I read New Mutants’s Blink arc as concurrent to that, this would be the next sequential Utopia-based story – likely occurring parallel to the events of Magneto: Not a Hero to explain the absence of a bulk of the team.

Magneto: Not A Hero #1-4 TPB
When: This is all pretty nebulous in terms of timeline, so we have to make some deductions. We would have likely seen some mention of this in UXM #1’s meeting of the Extinction Team, so it occurs after that collection of #1-4. We see Scott have a reasonable sit-down with the Avengers, which places this prior to the slightly more tense situation in UXM #9 (and maybe causes it). Pixie is racing around Utopia with little care, which I choose to believe puts this before her kidnapping in the Generation Hope volume below.

Generation Hope #13-17: The End of a Generation TPB
When: UXM #1 shows Teon on a street team, but makes no mention of Shaw visiting the island, which places this safely in the implied several days/weeks gap between UXM #4-5. Also, Unit never meets Kenji, so this all has to occur prior to UXM #9.

X-Factor #2241 & 225-228: Super-Unnatural hardcover & TPB
When: Could you read #225-228 prior to Schism? Sure, but you don’t benefit from that at all, since X-Factor is entirely absent in Schism. In fact, this story is likely occurring around the same time as Schism, providing a minor explanation for X-Factor’s absense.

X-Factor #229-232: They Keep Killing Jamie Madrox hardcover & TPB
When: Wolverine appears in X-Factor #230 in a post-Schism capacity and it explains why we never see Havok and Polaris at the school, so I believe this can be placed entirely prior to WatX.

Wolverine and The X-Men #1-4: By Jason Aaron, Vol. 1 hardcover & TPB
When: It is explicitly shown that #1-3 occur in a single day prior to Dark Angel Saga, because Genesis and Angel are not yet students. UXF #19 connects to WatX at #4 to deliver them. The bulk of #4 must occur after Otherworld, but if you read this prior to UXF #18, you get tremendously large spoilers – not mysterious hints, but spoilerific anvils! Insane! Basically, it makes the most sense here, but don’t read #4 until after the UXF run below.

X-23 #17-21: Vol. 3, Don’t Look Back hardcover & TPB
When: Starts with Hellion at the Jean Grey School, which places it around the same time as WaTX #4 (since #1-3 are the first day of school).

X-Men, Vol. 3 #24-29: Vol. 6, The Curse is Broken TPB
When: This battle against vampires and a horde of assassins for Jubilee’s life hard to place. It includes Storm and Colossus, so it must occur either just before or just after Tabula Rasa. Also, though it’s a bit of a fanwank, it would make sense that Wolverine would be completely indisposed (dealing with the Dark Angel saga) while this was going on or else he might have conceivably joined the mission to aid Jubilee.

Uncanny X-Force #8-19: Dark Angel Saga Vol. 1 hardcover & TPB and Vol. 2 hardcover & TPB
When: It has been explicitly stated that Dark Angel Saga occurs until after Schism, and Otherworld happens within a day of that! #8-9 could be read as occurring prior to Fear Itself, but #9 actually makes more sense if you think about Magneto and Wolverine not living the same place. So, this likely all occurs in the gap between WatX #3-4.

Note: Read Wolverine and the X-Men #4 here.

Uncanny X-Force #20-24: Otherworld hardcover & TPB
When: Occurs during the team’s stopover back at the school in WatX #4.

Wolverine #310-313: Sabretooth Reborn hardcover & TPB
When: Even though this was released later, it is explicitly meant as a retcon to show how Sabretooth returns to show his face in the arc of Wolverine beginning at #300.

Wolverine #300-304: Back in Japan hardcover & TPB
When: Hard to place, but it clearly comes after the entire Dark Angel / Otherworld sequence of events. May fall even earlier.

Wolverine: Alpha and Omega #1-5 hardcover & TPB
When: Occurs over the course of just a day or two at the school. Likely happening parallel to or just after UXM #5-8.

Daken #20-22: Vol. 4, No More Heroes hardcover & TPB
When: Unverified, but it includes scenes at the school, which likely places it after WatX #4 and the team’s return from Otherworld. Also, Daken is taken out of play at the end of this run, so it makes sense that we first encounter him in “Back in Japan.”

New Mutants #38-41: De-Animator TPB
When: The New Mutants are in trouble and no one seems to care. For their sake, let’s say this happens during Tabula Rasa, okay?

Uncanny X-Men #5-10: By Kieron Gillen, Vol. 2 hardcover & TPB
When: UXM #5 supposedly starts mere minutes after Dark Angel Saga ends, but that would put the entirety of UXM #5-8 in something like half a day of Uncanny X-Force #19, getting Psylocke back to the team in time to be kidnapped. I choose to place this after the UXF: Otherworld arc, which makes a bit more sense (and, also happens pretty directly after Dark Angel). There is a gap between #8-9. Also, Hope doesn’t have Kenji with her in #9-10, which implies this to be after Generation Hope #17.

Venom: Circle of Four oversized hardcover & TPB
When: X-23’s appearance in this event may have originally been planned to occur prior to the end of her series, but ultimate fits better as read after the conclusion. Note that X-23 becomes an Avengers character after this story, and is no longer tracked in this guide. She next appears in Avengers Academy #23.

Wolverine #305-309: Dr. Rot hardcover & TPB
When: This relatively standalone adventure works better prior to Wolverine’s appearance in Astonishing X-Men.

X-Men Legacy #261-265: Back to School hardcover & TPB
When: The events of these issues occur after the school is relatively established – clearly after the events of the first WatX volume.

Wolverine and the X-Men #5-9: by Jason Aaron, Vol. 2 hardcover & TPB
When: TBA

New Mutants #42-43: Exiled TPB
When: TBA

Alpha Flight #5-8: Complete Series TPB
When: TBA. Includes Wolverine and Northstar in the final issue, which was released several months prior to Northstar’s wedding.

Astonishing X-Men #48-51: Northstar oversized hardcover & TPB
When: Due to the relative civility at Northstar’s wedding, this can’t occur after X-Sanction, and is likely even before UXM #9-10. However, it can’t occur prior to Tabula Rasa in Uncanny X-Men #5-8.

Astonishing X-Men #52-56: Weaponized TPB
When: TBA. Likely occurs prior to AvX, as it is the direct sequel to the story in the prior volume.

Wolverine #314-317: Covenant TPB
When: TBA. I need to determine if this occurs before or after AvX.

Avengers: X-Sanction #1-4 oversized hardcover & TPB
When: Since the X-Men are getting along well with the Avengers in UXM #9-10, this must occur afterwards.

X-Men, Vol. 3 #30-35: Vol. 6, X-Men by Brian Wood, Vol. 1 TPB
When: Occurs pre-AvX but after Generation Hope #17 and UXM #8.

X-Factor #233-236: Vol. 16, Together Again for the First Time TPB
When: Since Havok and Polaris do make some appearances in AvX, this should be read first.

X-Factor #237-240: Vol. 17, The Road to Redemption TPB
When: TBA.

X-Treme X-Men, Vol. 2 #1-5: Xavier Must Die! TPB
When: This is a problem volume, as Dazzler appears on-panel in AvX but her departure shown here clearly must occur before AvX #1-2.

X-Men, Vol. 3 #36-41: Vol. 8, X-Men by Brian Wood, Vol. 2 TPB
When: The story in #36-37 is clearly pre-AvX, as it includes Cyclops and Colossus before their Phoenix 5 transformations. However, due to Storm’s falling out with Colossus here, this had to have come extremely close to the start of the event. Chances are the Domino/Daredevil story in #38-39 is also meant to occur prior to AvX. The final pair of issues of this series are explicitly post-AvX, so should be held to read at that time.

New Mutants #44-50: Fight the Future TPB
When: This ends with the team having a rather light-hearted party, which places it before some of the team goes through significant combat in AvX.

Avengers vs. X-Men

This is a sprawling story that is awkward to read correctly in collected editions. My typical approach to modern crossovers is to read the entire event book first, and then read tie-ins. However, AvX was broken into three distinct Acts by Marvel, so in this case I am considering the event as three distinct chunks.

If you prefer an issue-by-issue reading order, simply search for “Avengers vs X-Men Reading order.” I recommend this one, as it includes explanations.

Secret Avengers #26-28 See Marvel Universe Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for collection information
When: This space story occurs after AvX #1-2 but before AvX #5, but reading AvX #5 first would spoil the outcome of this story. Thus, the issues can be read prior to the first act of AvX.

AvX Act I: Avengers vs. X-Men #o-5 and AvX Versus #1-3
See Marvel Universe Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for collection information

Uncanny X-Men #11-14: by Kieron Gillen, Vol. 3 hardcover & TPB
Also collected in Avengers vs. X-Men Companion oversized hardcover
When: This gives wonderful insight in the X-Men’s vantage on the first act of AvX, so it should be read immediately after AvX #5. Honestly, you could also read it prior to the event. Issues #11 occurs during AvX #1-2. Issue #12 occurs during AvX #3, as it sets up a location in AvX #4. Issue #13 occurs during AvX #5 and has one panel of Phoenix 5 at the end of it. Issue #14 has no connection to AvX.

Avengers #24-30 See Marvel Universe Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for collection information
When: This volume spoils very little of AvX, so can be read before AvX Act II, although you may wish to hold off on the final issue. Issue #25 happens just before AvX #1-2. Issue #26-27 are part of the space mission that runs alongside AvX #1-5. Issue #28 occurs while the Phoenix 5 are still on Utopia, though it is unclear if Hope is also still there. Issue #29 features Namor, so occurs prior to AvX #8. It is the flipside of the Avengers vs. Rachel Summers fight from WatX. Issue #30 occurs concurrent to AvX #12, but does not spoil it significantly.

Wolverine and the X-Men #9-13: by Jason Aaron, Vol. 3 hardcover & TPB
Also collected in Avengers vs. X-Men Companion oversized hardcover
When: This volume contains some minor Phoenix 5 action, but not so much as to spoil Act II of AvX, so it can be read just after AvX #5. Issue #9 occurs prior to AvX #1. Issue #10 occurs three hours after AvX #1-2 and before AvX #3. Issue #11 happens after AvX #4, as Hope has already picked up Logan. Issue #12 is the flipside of Avengers #28, and occurs before AvX #8. Issue #13 must also occur before #8, as it includes a frame of Namor.

Avengers Academy #29-33 See Marvel Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for Collection information
When: This occurs during and just after Act I of the event, and is a good bridging story to Act II. Note that these issues include a full cast of X-Men

New Avengers #24-30 See Marvel Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for Collection information
When: This group of issues is very problematic to read as a collection, because it starts during Avengers vs. X-Men and ends after it is over. I recommend reading it at the act break after AvX #5 and simply skipping the final issue. Issue #24 occurs before and during the beach invasion in AvX #1. #25-26 are a flashback story that can be read any time before the Avengers retreat to K’un Lun in AvX #7, but actually functions better as an act-break before AvX #6. #27 belongs before AvX #7. #28 and 29 can be read back-to-back before the Namor fight in AvX #8. #30 occurs after the end of the event (or, arguably, just after AvX #11, but it doesn’t make a big difference).

AvX Act II: Avengers vs. X-Men #6-9 and AvX Versus #4-5
See Marvel Universe Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for collection information

X-Men Legacy #266-270: Vol. 10, Avengers vs. X-Men (first half) TPB
Also collected in Avengers vs. X-Men Companion oversized hardcover
When: Though some of the action in these issues occurs during Act I, #266-267 occur after AvX #8, which means the entire story should be read here.

AvX Act III: Avengers vs. X-Men #10-12 and AvX Versus #6
See Marvel Universe Events: Avengers vs. X-Men for collection information

Note: Read any spoiler issues I suggested you skip, above – notably, Avengers and New Avengers #30.

Wolverine and the X-Men #14-18: by Jason Aaron, Vol 4. hardcover & TPB
Also collected in Avengers vs. X-Men Companion oversized hardcover
When: This should be read after the conclusion of AvX, as it includes spoilers for Act III. #14 may occur during the “No More Avengers” phase after AvX #7. Issue #15 explicitly occurs after AvX #10. Issues #16 and #17 have nothing to do with AvX (#16 includes a brief flashback to the second act).  Issue #18 occurs during AvX #11 through the middle of #12, but includes a significant spoiler from #11.

Uncanny X-Men #15-20: by Kieron Gillen, Vol. 4 hardcover & TPB A
lso collected in Avengers vs. X-Men Companion oversized hardcover
When: While it is tempting to read this before or during Act II of AvX, the final three issues include heavy spoilers for the end of the event, so this must be saved as an epilogue. Issue #15 opens just after Hope leaves Utopia, so #15-17 all occur prior to AvX #7. Issue #18 occurs during AvX #10-11 and includes spoilers for #11. #19 occurs during and after AvX #12. #20 acts as an epilogue. Read X-Men, Vol. 3 #40-41 here.

X-Men Legacy #271-275: Vol. 10, Avengers vs. X-Men TPB (second half)
When: Rogue’s space-battle has little connection to AvX, though she does return in time for it’s finale. However, knowing where she has been adds little to the read of her two or three panels in the event, and #274 is an epilogue, so it is best read here.

X-Factor #241-245: Vol. 18, Breaking Points TPB
When: These issues occur in relatively quick succession, and in #245 Havok mentions spoilers from the end of AvX. That means in total these issues likely occur during Consequences.

X-Factor #246-249: Vol. 19, Short Stories TPB
When: These issues occur soon after the previous X-Factor volume and should be read continuously.

Deadpool #50-54: Vol. 11, Dead oversized hardcover & TPB (first half)
When: This “Dead” arc includes X-Force and occurs just prior to Final Execution.

Uncanny X-Force #25-35: Final Execution Vol. 1 hardcover & TPB and Vol. 2 hardcover & TPB
When: Oh, X-Force, always causing problems. For Evan AKA Kid Apocalypse to be in a series of mortal dangers, this likely has to occur after Avengers vs. X-Men. The issue with that read is that Betsy’s departure from the team may make less sense in the wake of AvX – where is she departing to?

Deadpool #55-62: Vol. 11, Dead oversized hardcover & TPB (second half)
When: Pending confirmation

Avengers vs. X-Men: Consequences #1-5 Collected in Avengers vs. X-Men: Consequences TPB
Collected in Avengers vs. X-Men: Companion oversized hardcover
When: Acts as a bridge from the end of Avengers vs. X-Men to Marvel Now. It’s questionable whether Wolverine first appears here or in Final Execution.

Read Anytime

Age of Apocalypse #1-5: The X-Terminated TPB

Era #13: Nation X  X-Men Reading Order Guide  Era #15: Yesterday’s X-Men