One of the many things that the X-Men are known for is their complicated and confusing retcons. When a franchise has as many characters and stories as the X-Men, things like origins and backstories will get lost in the weeds. You also have to factor in creative team shakeups and the pitfalls of long-form storytelling.
Ask any X-Men fan, and they can rattle off their best and worst retcons involving beloved characters like Wolverine, Magneto, Charles Xavier, and others. For those unaware, a retcon is short for “retroactive continuity,” which is the act of changing a previous story after the fact. Sometimes it’s meant to improve a narrative, but the results vary.
Retcons can drastically alter what fans know and love about their favorite heroes and villains. The X-Men have been involved in several controversial retcons during their long and storied history, with many of their changes still being felt today. But when it comes to the X-Men’s worst retcons, a select few stand tall above the rest.
10
Storm And Black Panther’s Love Story
Their Wedding United The X-Men And Avengers Franchises
Storm and Black Panther operated separately in the Marvel Universe for several years, as members of the X-Men and Avengers, respectively. But in the early 2000s, Marvel decided to expand the stories of both heroes by bringing them together romantically. Black Panther and Storm were also two of Marvel’s most popular Black superheroes.
Before the wedding of Black Panther and Storm, a tale from their past was retconned to turn them into childhood sweethearts. The story of how they first met was originally revealed in an 1980s issue of Marvel Team-Up, and then later updated in a Storm miniseries, solidifying their bond right ahead of their big wedding day.
9
Franklin Richards: Is He A Mutant Or Not?
Marvel Can’t Make Up Its Mind When It Comes To Franklin’s Mutant Heritage
The son of the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards and Sue Storm is one of the most powerful figures in the Marvel Universe. While his parents got their powers from a cosmic space accident, Franklin Richards was born with his. You would think this makes Franklin a mutant, but it’s never that easy.
Franklin Richards has vast reality-warping powers, even creating an alternate Earth that became the home of the missing Avengers and Fantastic Four characters during the Heroes Reborn event. His mutant status was never much of an issue until the X-Men relocated the majority of Marvel’s mutants to the island of Krakoa.
An early miniseries during the Krakoan era was X-Men/Fantastic Four, in which the X-Men attempted to recruit Franklin to Krakoa, thereby severing his ties to the Fantastic Four. Franklin was considered an Omega-level mutant, so he was highly sought after. Ultimately, X-Men/Fantastic Four does a better job of setting up tension between the teams.
Readers finally learn that Franklin only thought he was a mutant, hence his powers making it appear that he was one and tricking the likes of Cerebro and Charles Xavier. Franklin’s immense power levels have been a tricky bag for writers to navigate, with the conclusion being to depower and detach him from mutants and the X-Men at large.
8
Will Nightcrawler’s Real Parents Please Stand Up?Nightcrawler’s Parentage Is An Ever-Evolving Story Subplot For The X-Men
The many twists and turns involving Nightcrawler’s true parents can be as convoluted as his good buddy Wolverine’s backstory. A decision was made to make the longtime X-Men villain, Mystique, the mother of Nightcrawler, which then made Rogue Kurt Wagner’s adopted sister. But things would get complicated when the demonic Azazel was introduced as Nightcrawler’s father.
This retcon turns Azazel into a mutant and turns Nightcrawler into the prophesied offspring who would be Azazel’s undoing. This controversial change was then the subject of yet another retcon, as Marvel finally reveals the secret history between Nightcrawler, Mystique, and her lover Destiny. Mystique and Destiny are Nightcrawler’s parents, with Mystique being his father and Destiny his mother.
Mystique uses her mutant ability to transform her body into a man at the genetic level, impregnating Destiny. The reason none of the characters involved are aware of this is because Destiny and Mystique forced Charles Xavier to erase the memory from their minds. But after Mystique’s psyche is fractured during the Fall of X, the memories come spilling back.
7
Stryfe, Not Cable, Is Cyclops’ Real Son
Things Can Get Complicated When It Comes To Clones
We’re back with another discussion of parents and their kids, except this time it includes pesky time travel. Cyclops has to send his son, Nathan Summers, into the future to save his life from the techo-organic virus. What readers don’t realize until much later is that X-Force’s leader, Cable, is really Nathan, all grown up from the future.
The truth behind Cable is explored in X-Cutioner’s Song, where Stryfe, who looks just like Cable, believes himself to be the real Nathan Summers, and that Cable is Stryfe’s clone. Nathan is cloned in the future as a potential host for Apocalypse’s consciousness. The truth is later confirmed, with Stryfe being the clone and Cable the original Nathan Summers.
6
Jean Grey Was Never The Dark Phoenix Force
Jean Grey And The Phoenix Will Always Be Linked Together
The drama between Jean Grey and the cosmic Phoenix Force is a large part of the X-Men mythos. Jean is a powerful Omega-level mutant with her telepathy and telekenesis, but her abilities are enhanced exponentially when she becomes the Phoenix host. Unfortunately, that power corrupts her, leading to the death of numerous galaxies.
Jean then sacrifices herself to save the X-Men in a heroic moment. However, Marvel retcons this out of existence, stating that the Phoenix placed Jean in a state of slumber while it masqueraded as her. This spares Jean the guilt of having murdered countless lives, and brings Jean back to life since she never died to begin with.
The history between Jean Grey and the Phoenix is one of the X-Men’s longest-running dramas, and a new layer is seemingly always added to the pile every couple of years. But the original retcon of Jean and the Dark Phoenix is still one of the most-talked-about amongst X-Men fans.
5
Mystique Has Kids With Charles Xavier AND Wolverine
Mystique’s Two Sons Would Form Their Own Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants
Brian Michael Bendis’ tenure on the X-Men includes a lot of twists and turns, and was definitely a lightning rod for message boards. Fans either love or hate Bendis’ ideas for the X-Men, but one that goes in the “hate” column is the revelation that Mystique hooks up with both Charles Xavier and Wolverine.
The secret love affair between Xavier and Mystique is exposed in the former’s will after his death. Just like what happens with Nightcrawler, Charles Xavier II is given up for adoption, and later meets his half-brother, Raze. The blue-skinned mutant has Mystique and Wolverine’s powers, and the brothers team up to form an all-new Brotherhood.
They later travel back to the past and impersonate their future’s X-Men in an attempt to trick the original, time-displaced X-Men to return to the past. This plays out in the Battle of the Atom event, and reshuffles the deck for the existing X-Men comics. However, Charles Xavier II and Raze don’t exactly become fan favorites.
4
Vulcan Is The Third Summers Brother
The Identity Of The Missing Summers Brother Is Revealed In Deadly Genesis
A mystery introduced by the villainous Mister Sinister is the revelation that Cyclops and Havok have an unknown brother. X-Men writers are skillful at dropping juicy little nuggets like this and letting them fester for years. The downside is that a lot of the time, the ending is worked out along the way.
So here we have the mystery of the third Summers Brother, and a new character named Adam X, nicknamed “The X-Treme,” all but set up to be revealed as this brother. While Adam does have the DNA of Cyclops and Havok’s mother, he is not their biological brother. That honor goes to Gabriel Summers, aka Vulcan.
Deadly Genesis retcons the story from Giant-Size X-Men #1 by revealing that Professor X has another secret group of X-Men who are killed before forming the team featuring Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler. Vulcan is a part of that doomed team, and he sets out on a revenge quest after being discarded and forgotten.
3
Surprise! Xorn Is Really Magneto In Disguise
Grant Morrison revitalized the X-Men, and one of their most controversial changes came with the introduction of a new mutant named Xorn. The new addition to the X-Men appears harmless at first, but as he becomes acclimated to the team, the rug is quickly pulled out from under fans when Xorn’s identity is revealed.
The big metallic helmet worn by Xorn hides the fact that he’s really the X-Men’s longtime nemesis, Magneto. Also, the helmet is what keeps Charles Xavier from being able to read Xorn’s mind and discovering the truth. Morrison leaves breadcrumbs of clues that only the most eagle-eyed reader could solve.
The only downside is that Marvel retcons the whole Xorn/Magneto reveal away after Grant Morrison departs the X-Men franchise. Instead, the story goes that Xorn was impersonating Magneto, thereby making Xorn out to be a mutant entirely separate from the Master of Magnetism. Xorn could never find his footing with the X-Men after this reversal.
2
Scarlet Witch And Quicksilver Are No Longer Mutants
This Retcon Also Removes Magneto As Their Father
Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver began their existence in the Marvel Universe as villains, opposing the likes of the Avengers and X-Men. As they speed down the road to rehabilitation, it’s also revealed that the twins are the children of Magneto. It makes for a compelling story arc for all three characters, but then even more changes are made.
First up is removing Magneto as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s father. This leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many fans, especially since the change is made to align Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver with their MCU counterparts. Marvel goes one step further by retconning away their mutant status. It’s a bold move that still rings hollow with many fans.
1
Not Only Is Moira MacTaggert A Mutant, But She’s Now An X-Men Villain
The X-Men’s Krakoan Era Comes Crashing Down
Jonathan Hickman’s time on the X-Men has so much unfulfilled promise. It starts with a bang, as Hickman reveals that the once-human ally of the X-Men, Moira MacTaggert, is really a mutant with the power of reincarnation. Every time Moria dies, she restarts her life with the memories from her previous life.
Pretty cool idea, right? Moria uses her 10th and possibly last life to bring all of mutantkind together, led by Charles Xavier and Magneto, with Moira serving as a shadow leader in the background. So many great storylines are set up to eventually be tackled at a later date. That is, until Marvel announces Hickman is leaving the X-Men.
This leads to a rushed job of Hickman tying up whatever loose ends he can, which includes Moira turning her back on the X-Men, losing her mutant power, joining forces with the anti-mutant group Orchis, and becoming a cyborg. So many unnecessary changes are presented to readers in a rushed manner, and none of them are good.
- Movie(s)
-
X-Men (2000), X2, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
- First Film
-
X-Men (2000)
- TV Show(s)
-
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men, X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine, Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)
- Video Game(s)
-
X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)
- Character(s)
-
Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23
- Comic Release Date
-
213035,212968
