A reading order for stories starting from Uncanny X-Men #244 in May 1989 and ending with Uncanny X-Men #280 in September 1991, plus New Mutants, X-Factor, Excalibur, Wolverine, & more. A part of Crushing Krisis’s Collecting X-Men: A Definitive Guide. Last updated March 2021.
Era #3: New Mutants 
X-Men Reading Order Guide Era #5: X-Tinction
What does Era #5: X-Tinction include?
This era of the reading order focuses on a period where all of the X-Men teams are unravelling, and ends with each title in the franchise refocused for their sales dominance of the early 90s.
We begin this era with a flash of hope after a difficult run for the main X-Men team, who had been presumed dead to the world (including their many former teammates) since Fall of the Mutants.
The X-Men reconciled with X-Factor at the end of “Inferno,” with everyone happy to learn their friends were alive – including the revelation of Jean’s resurrection! Meanwhile, the New Mutants were rattled to find their friend Illyana reduced to childhood and Excalibur had barely agreed to become a team.
However, just a few issues later, the X-Men would be disbanded after a brutal fight with Master Mold, X-Factor would be stuck off the planet, New Mutants would see a key member perish, and Excalibur would be stranded across multiple dimensions!
In Uncanny X-Men, this leads to an unusual 18-month period where there was no X-Men team in the flagship X-Men title. Stories alternated between Wolverine’s adventures with Jubilee and glimpses at the scattered team, many of whom had no memories of their prior lives.
Meanwhile, Moira MacTaggert began to assemble a new team of mutants on Muir Island with the corrupting influence of the Shadow King looming over her. Wolverine and Jubilee collect Betsy Braddock, now in Kwannon’s body, while a mysteriously de-aged Storm meets Gambit, and Rogue is stranded in the Savage Land (where Magneto lurked, after abandoning the New Mutants in the wake of Inferno).
At the same time, Wolverine’s solo title delved into his long-hinted mysterious past. Despite many indications that Logan had lead a long and secret life prior to his joining the X-Men, up to this point there had been few concrete connections to it shown on the page. Claremont, Peter David, and finally long-time scripter Larry Hama teased both Logan’s connection to Sabretooth and fleshed out his connections in the Madripoor underworld, buiding up to the bombshell “Weapon X” flashback story in Marvel Comics Presents #72-84.
Chris Claremont began to reassemble the X-Men starting with “X-Tinction Agenda” in Uncanny X-Men #270. This crossover through all three main team titles served to further disband the classic New Mutants cast – which had just lost Dani to her other life as a Valkyrie but gained the paramilitary Cable as their new leader.
New Mutants runs for just three more issues after the end of “X-Tinction Agenda,” adding Shatterstar and Warpath to the team and seeing Deadpool’s debut. These are widely acknowledged (and collected) as a prelude to X-Force. The New Mutants were already dead and gone.
It all came to a climax in pair of stories. First, in X-Factor’s “Endgame,” Apocalypse takes a keen interest in Nathan Christopher Summers. Then, “The Muir Island Saga” brings together the remaining X-Men left unfound during “X-Tinction Agenda.” That set up a massive combined squad of primary X-Men for their face-off against Magneto at the beginning of the next Era, as well as an all-new X-Factor team.
Flagship X-Series in this era:
- Uncanny X-Men (1963) #244-280 & Annuals 13-15 – see Uncanny X-Men by Chris Claremont
Ongoing X-titles released in this era (listed in order of age of series):
- Alpha Flight (1983) #71-101 & Annuals – see Alpha Flight
- New Mutants (1983) #75-100 & Annuals – see New & Young X-Men
- X-Factor (1986) #40-70 & Annuals – see X-Factor
- Excalibur (1988) #8-41 & Specials – see Excalibur
- Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #17-85 – This features Wolverine and others; see Logan – Wolverine
- Wolverine (1988) #4-47 & OGNs – see Logan – Wolverine
Limited Series released in this era (listed in alphabetical order):
- Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown (1988) #1-4
Later X-titles set in this era:
- X-Men: True Friends (1999) #1-3
- Clandestine (2008) #1-5
Notes:
- This era includes the events Atlantis Attacks, Acts of Vengeance, Days of Future Present, X-Tinction Agenda, Muir Island Saga, & Kings of Pain.
- Wolverine’s legendary “Weapon X” story from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #72-84 was published in this era, but it appears in Era 1 per its chronological placement.
- The late 80s and early 90s was one of the most intertwined era of X-Men, including many instances where you need to switch back and forth between single issues! I have tried to vastly simplify that without creating too many spoilers.
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