What Marvel’s X-Men Lineup Could Look Like in the MCU

If you are currently watching XMen 97 and want to go deeper as it doesn’t come from nowhere. The show’s most exciting moments borrow straight from the Marvel comics, some of them are truly amazing. Writers take a comic arc that ran for a year and compress it into twenty minutes making it the most iconic show ever.

If you want to understand where this version of the XMen actually comes from, follow the list and start reading important XMen 97 comics in order. Everything started to make sense, but you must have patience for that.

1. “Dark Phoenix Saga” — XMen: Dark Phoenix Saga (paperback) or Uncanny X-Men #129–137

This is the most essential comic that builds the character’s arc of Jean Grey, her transformation into the Phoenix that becomes the emotional backbone of the entire show. If you want to know which comic is still considered one of the greatest superheroes then pick Dark Phoenix Saga — Chris Claremont and John Byrne wrote this back in 1980. 

The show brings back this story as unfinished business since fans didn’t like the original ending. This is what makes people go crazy about the show so read this first to know what happened to Jean on the moon.

2. The early Claremont/Byrne run — XMen Epic Collection: Second Genesis

This XMen epic collection is already running and introduced modern XMen before Dark Phoenix Saga even happens. This 70’s comic is the origin of Wolverine, Storm, and the team dynamic arc. Once you read it, you will understand why in the show they talk like they are the real family. Every relationship, joke, and grudge in XMen 97 was built here first. 

3. “God Loves, Man Kills” — XMen: God Loves, Man Kills (standalone graphic novel)

God Loves, Man Kills is a short comic written by Claremont that actually gave the world the “mutants as a metaphor for prejudice” which every XMen adaptation follows and pulls back this tone and this one becomes a moral spine of the entire franchise from 1982.

XMen 97 pulls directly from this book’s tone whenever it deals with anti-mutant hysteria, and Magneto’s arc across the season only makes sense if you’ve read how his philosophy was originally built here.

4. The Genosha slavery arc — Uncanny XMen #235–238, sometimes collected as “Genosha”

The show’s early handling of Genosha as a haven for mutants, and everything that goes wrong there, has roots in a comic arc where the island nation was actually a slave state built on mutant labor. If you are watching the show then you should have been thinking that Genosha’s fate hit hard but if you read the comic the tone is darker. 

The massive destruction of thousands of mutants on that island was a heartbroken tragedy that the show didn’t even fully present yet.

Read More 👉 Read Before You Watch: The Official XMen 97 Season 2 Comics Guide

5. “Mutant Massacre” — XMen: Mutant Massacre 

Mister Sinister dispatches the Marauders to slaughter the Morlocks — a group of mutants living beneath the streets of New York City, resulting in one of the bloodiest massacres in XMen history. XMen 97 really doesn’t explain all the reasons why Mister Sinister is so scary. The storyline in this comic will tell you why. It reveals just how ruthless and dangerous he truly is rather than being a mysterious evil.

6. “X-Cutioner’s Song” — XMen: X-Cutioner’s Song 

Take a time for this one because it is the bigger storyline, originally spanning four different comic series. XMen 97 draws on several elements from this crossover, it will help you fully understand about the time travel and Summers family legacy.

This narrative helps explain one of the more bewildering aspects of XMen mythos. If you’re looking for answers on exactly how Cable, Stryfe, Cyclops are related, this book has them. The epic feud between Cable and Stryfe culminates, and the convoluted, time-travel riddled past of the Summers family is revealed. 

7. “Fatal Attractions” — XMen: Fatal Attractions 

This story arc shocks everyone because it turned the both character’s arc. Since XMen 97 places so much emphasis on Magneto’s redemption, this arc gives a clear understanding on how low their trust goes that any chance of reconciliation becomes impossible. The moment where Magneto tears the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton marks the history in the entire franchise of XMen. 

8. “Onslaught” — Onslaught Omnibus or Onslaught: X-Men

Based on how the first season of XMen 97 ends, everyone can guess that Onslaught will play a role in the future. The 1996 crossover event introduced Onslaught which created Xavier’s suppressed rage and trauma and became one of the most dangerous threats the XMen and Avengers have ever faced together.

If you want to understand how powerful Xavier’s psychology is, this one will surely help you. This is where the show is headed.

9. “Bishop’s Crossing” — Uncanny XMen #282–287

The entire essence of Bishop is that he has survived a mutant genocide in the future that hasn’t taken place yet and that fear is exactly what he brings to every encounter in the show. This is the arc where his history, as well as a fixation with stopping a specific kind of betrayal, are first described, and it puts a lot of his paranoia in the show into context. 

The Comic That Never Got Made: Morph’s History

A quick note for readers confused about Morph — the character barely existed in the comics under that name and role. Most of Morph’s presence in XMen 97 is original to the animated continuity, built from a character called Changeling who died early in Marvel history. There’s no single comic to point you to here, and that’s fine. Not every emotional gut-punch in the show has a comic-book receipt.

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Conclusion

The show is built to work without any comic knowledge at all. This guide is for viewers who finished an episode and wanted to go deeper, not a prerequisite. The most important comic is The Dark Phoenix Saga which is an absolute emotional and narrative center of the entire franchise. 

This XMen 97 Marvel Comics guide will help you understand the deeper narrative that already lived in comics. You can read them one-by-one and they are all available on Amazon.

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You picked up a superhero movie, loved it, and now you want the comics. But confused which “Best Superhero Books” should you pick to read and got a wall of fifty-issue reading orders, crossover events, and a comment section arguing about which Crisis matters. That’s the actual problem beginners run into — not a lack of good books, but too many entry points and no sense of which one won’t leave you lost by page ten. 

This Best Superhero Books list skips the completist reading orders. Every book has its own separate tone of characters arc which won’t let you leave from Page 10. Beginners should start from the first volume of a series, meaning you can read it cover to cover without needing twenty years of continuity in your head first.

How I Picked These Superhero Comics

I picked these Superhero Books to make a list, each book in this list has a stand alone storyline so you don’t have to read other things first to own these books, be currently in print, and every book has different stories to tell — street-level, cosmic, funny, or coming-of-age.

Graphic novels past their prime are frequently given 20-30% off on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, so consider the listed number as a ceiling. 

The Best Superhero Books for Beginners, Ranked

1. Batman: Year One 

Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli, DC List price: ~$14.99 | 144 pages | Best for: readers who want Batman with zero backstory required 

This is Bruce Wayne’s first year as Batman, told in parallel with Jim Gordon’s first year as a cop in a city that’s already rotten. The strength is pacing — it’s the tightest, most economical superhero origin ever published. This isn’t a book that covers fistfights on every page, so pick if you have interest in quiet characters.

2. Watchmen 

Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons, DC List price: ~$19.99 | 416 pages | Best for: readers who want to know why critics take superhero comics seriously 

In an alternate 1985, a homicide case is at the center of a group of fallen, ethically murky heroes. It’s the book most “best of” lists put at #1, and the density earns that — every panel is doing work. The downside is that it’s quite dense, so you’ll enjoy it when you read for the second time.

3. Ms. Marvel: No Normal

G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona, Marvel List price: ~$15.99 | 120 pages | Best for: readers who want a modern coming-of-age hero story 

Teenage Kamala Khan is a resident of Jersey City who lives with her family and attends school as she discovers her powers and has to decide what sort of hero she wants to be. It’s funny and warm in a way most of this list isn’t. The one real limitation is scope — it’s a smaller, quieter story next to the cosmic stakes elsewhere on this list, which is either a feature or a letdown depending on what you’re after.

4. All-Star Superman 

Grant Morrison & Frank Quitely, DC List price: ~$19.99 | 300 pages (Deluxe edition) | Best for: readers who think Superman is boring but it’s the Best Superhero Books

This is the book people hand to Superman skeptics. Superman is dying and spends his last months quietly fixing what he can. The strength is that it makes “too powerful to be interesting” feel like the opposite of the problem. But it presumes a basic knowledge of the Superman mythology (Lois, Luthor, Krypton), so it is not an introduction for newcomers. 

5. The Dark Knight Returns 

Frank Miller, DC List price: ~$19.99 | 224 pages | Best for: readers who want Batman as a political, aging antihero 

An older, retired Batman comes back in a near-future Gotham gone to rot. It’s the book that reshaped how mainstream comics treated violence and media satire. The limitation is tone — it’s cynical and blunt in a way that’s dated in some spots, and it’s a harder sell if you want anything hopeful.

6. Kingdom Come 

Mark Waid & Alex Ross, DC List price: ~$19.99 | 232 pages | Best for: readers who want the “old heroes vs. new heroes” generational story 

A near-future where the classic Justice League has retired and a reckless new generation is making a mess of things. Alex Ross’s painted art alone is worth the price. It’s like All-Star Superman but it works best if you already know who these characters are — it’s a payoff book, not an origin.

7. Daredevil: Born Again 

Frank Miller & David Mazzucchelli, Marvel List price: ~$24.99 | 224 pages | Best for: readers who want street-level stakes instead of world-ending ones 

The Kingpin learns Daredevil’s secret identity and systematically destroys his life. No capes-and-tights spectacle — just a slow, brutal takedown and a comeback. Why this book is in the Best Superhero Books list is because the stakes are personal and easy to follow. To read this book you must understand it’s grim, and Daredevil himself gets relatively little “winning” until late in the book.

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8. Superman: Red Son 

Mark Millar, Dave Johnson & Killian Plunkett, DC List price: ~$17.99 | 176 pages | Best for: readers who want a “what if” hook to pull them in 

The premise does the selling so considering this one in the Best Superhero Books is quick and easy. Superman’s rocket lands in Soviet Ukraine instead of Kansas. It’s a fast, clever alternate history that doesn’t require prior Superman knowledge to enjoy. The limitation is that it’s more of a thought experiment than a character study — don’t expect deep emotional arcs.

9. Invincible Compendium Vol. 1 

Robert Kirkman, Cory Walker & Ryan Ottley, Image/Skybound List price: ~$59.99 | 1,104 pages | Best for: readers who want maximum story per dollar and don’t mind a brick of a book 

This is a single collection of issues 1–47, so the cost per page is truly the best on this list. It starts off as a fairly generic teen superhero story, and gradually takes a turn for the darker and more violent – much more so than you’d expect from the art style, which is either a great twist or a cautionary tale, depending on how you feel about that shift.  

10. The Immortal Hulk Vol. 1: Or Is He Both? 

Al Ewing & Joe Bennett, Marvel List price: ~$17.99 · 136 pages · Best for: readers who want horror-tinged superhero stories 

This run represents the Hulk, an unstoppable force tied to trauma and horror, and not just a big green brawler. It’s among the most celebrated superhero runs in the last ten years. The unfortunate news is that it’s pretty frightening, and the Hulk is nothing like the Hulk in the movies.  

11. X-Men: Days of Future Past 

Chris Claremont & John Byrne, Marvel List price: ~$17.99 (Epic Collection) | Best for: readers who want the X-Men story most adaptations borrow from 

There is also a short Superhero Comics yet highly impactful tale of a dark future that the X-Men work to prevent. It also served as inspiration for the 2014 film. The limitation is presentation — the Epic Collection format bundles in surrounding issues, so the specific story is shorter than the book’s page count suggests.

12. Runaways Vol. 1: Pride and Joy 

Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona, Marvel List price: ~$15.99 | 144 pages | Best for: teen readers or anyone who wants heroes who aren’t adults 

A group of teenagers discovers their parents are secretly supervillains. It’s one of the few Superhero Comics on this list built around characters who aren’t already famous, so there’s no homework required. Limitation is that it’s a slower burn — the “big” superhero action isn’t really the point here, so it can feel low-stakes at first.

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13. Injustice: Gods Among Us: Year One Complete Collection 

Tom Taylor, DC List price: ~$19.99 | 328 pages | Best for: readers who want to see heroes go wrong 

Superman goes too far and the Justice League splinters over how to handle it. It has the pace of a TV season, so it is very bingeable. However, one of the darker interpretations of these characters, more in line with the video game on which it is based than any comics-code version of the League. 

14. The Long Halloween 

Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale, DC List price: ~$24.99 | 384 pages | Best for: readers who want Batman as a detective, not just a fighter. 

A serial killer is murdering the mob bosses in Gotham every holiday, and Batman, Gordon, and Harvey Dent have to determine who’s next. It’s a real whodunit with a superhero in the midst of it. Caveat is that the cast is huge — mob families, the GCPD, the Bat-family — so it requires a little more attention than your average origin story. 

15. Spider-Man: Blue 

Jeph Loeb & Tim Sale, Marvel List price: ~$19.99 (varies by printing; check current availability) | 144 pages | Best for: readers who want an emotional, character-first Spider-Man story 

Peter Parker narrates the story of falling for Gwen Stacy, told as a reminiscing after her death. This is not a fight scene but more about who Peter is underneath the mask. But it depends on knowing how Gwen Stacy’s story ends, which is a spoiler if you’re coming in completely cold. 

Which Superhero Comics Should You Read First?

The two (Watchmen vs. The Dark Knight Returns) are continually compared and pitted against each other as they began the same year (1986–87) and pioneered the genre soaring together, but they are not mutually exclusive baselines. 

Watchmen is the better pick if you want a self-contained story with an actual mystery driving it — it doesn’t assume you know any of these characters going in, because none of them exist outside this book. The Dark Knight Returns is the better pick if you already have some familiarity with Batman and want to see that familiarity subverted; it leans harder on you already knowing what an “ordinary” Batman story looks like.

If you only read one of the two as a true first Superhero Comics, Watchmen is the safer entry — Dark Knight Returns rewards you more once you have a couple of traditional Batman stories under your belt for contrast.

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Which One Should You Actually Buy First?

If you want the shortest path to understanding why Superhero Comics critics take the medium seriously, start with Watchmen. If you want something warm and fast that doesn’t ask you to know anything going on, start with Ms. Marvel: No Normal. If you want the best value per dollar and don’t mind committing to a long story, the Invincible Compendium gets you over a thousand pages for roughly the price of three standard trades. 

And if it’s the films that drew you in and you’re just looking for the comic that’s most like what you’ve already seen, X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Long Halloween are the two that are most directly linked to popular adaptations. 

All fifteen Superhero Comics are available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your friendly neighborhood comic shop, and a handful are also readable digitally through Marvel Unlimited or DC’s digital app if you want to check out a chapter before buying a physical copy. 

Conclusion

Whether you’re just getting started with comics or coming over from the movies, this Best Superhero Books list should give you a few easy jumping-off points. From Batman and Superman to Ms Marvel and Spider-Man, each Superhero Comics offers something new, and none of them require decades of comic book reading. Check out the beginning story that interests you and take it from there. 

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