Editing X-Men (section)

=== Blue and Gold ===

[[File:12.5.19JimLeeXMenV2HCByLuigiNovi2.jpg|thumb|Artist [[Jim Lee]] signing a hardcover collected edition of his work on ''X-Men'' (Vol 2) at [[Midtown Comics]] in Manhattan]]
In 1991, Marvel revised the entire lineup of X-Men comic book titles, centered on the launch of a second X-Men series, simply titled ''[[X-Men: Legacy|X-Men]]''. With the return of Xavier and the original X-Men to the team, the roster was split into two strike forces: Cyclops's "Blue Team" (chronicled in ''X-Men'') and Storm's "Gold Team" (in ''The Uncanny X-Men'').

The first issues of the second X-Men series were written by Claremont and drawn and co-plotted by [[Jim Lee]]. Retailers pre-ordered over 8.1 million copies of issue #1, generating and selling nearly $7 million (though retailers probably sold closer to 3 million copies),<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/?p=77678 | title=My Monthly Curse by Phill Hall No. 9 – Taking Apart a Guinness World Record|publisher=Bleeding Cool | date=May 9, 2011}}</ref> making it, according to [[Guinness Book of World Records]], the best-selling comic book of all-time. Guinness presented honors to Claremont at the 2010 [[San Diego Comic-Con]].<ref>Morse, Ben (August 10, 2010). [http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.13598.sdcc_2010~colon~_marvel_breaks_world_record "SDCC 2010: Marvel Breaks World Record"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818014508/http://marvel.com/news/comicstories.13598.sdcc_2010~colon~_marvel_breaks_world_record |date=August 18, 2010 }}, [[Marvel.com]].</ref><ref>Johnson, Rich. [http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/07/22/x-men-1-the-guinness-world-record-best-selling-comic-of-all-time/ "X-Men #1 The Guinness World Record Best Selling Comic Of All Time?"]. [[Bleeding Cool]]. July 22, 2010</ref><ref>Cantor, Michael (Producer); [[Schreiber, Liev]] (Narrator) ''Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle''. [[PBS]]. October 15, 2013.</ref>

Another new X-book released at the time was ''[[X-Force (comic book)|X-Force]]'', featuring the characters from ''[[The New Mutants (comic book)|The New Mutants]]'', led by [[Cable (character)|Cable]]; it was written by [[Rob Liefeld]] and [[Fabian Nicieza]]. Internal friction soon split the X-books' creative teams. In a controversial move, X-Men editor [[Bob Harras]] sided with Lee (and ''Uncanny X-Men'' artist [[Whilce Portacio]]) over Claremont in a dispute over plotting. Claremont left after only three issues of ''X-Men'', ending his 16-year run as ''X-Men'' writer.<ref>{{Cite journal | last=O'Neill | first=Patrick Daniel | url=http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?s=478b767126648d6da12d3950a8ca18f8&t=45721 | title=X Marks the Spot: Chris Claremont and Marvel's Mutants | journal=Wizard | issue=2 | date=October 1991 | access-date=April 20, 2009}}</ref> Marvel replaced Claremont briefly with [[John Byrne (comics)|John Byrne]], who scripted both books for a few issues. Byrne was then replaced by Nicieza and [[Scott Lobdell]], who would take over the majority of writing duties for the X-Men until Lee's own departure months later when he and several other popular artists (including former X-title artists Liefeld, Portacio, and [[Marc Silvestri]]) would leave Marvel to form [[Image Comics]]. Jim Lee's X-Men designs would be the basis for much of the ''[[X-Men: The Animated Series|X-Men]]'' animated series and action figure line as well as several Capcom video games.

The 1990s saw an even greater number of X-books with numerous ongoing series and miniseries running concurrently. X-book crossovers continued to run annually, with "[[X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda|The X-Tinction Agenda]]" in 1990, "[[Muir Island Saga|The Muir Island Saga]]" in 1991, "[[X-Cutioner's Song]]" in 1992, "[[Fatal Attractions (comics)|Fatal Attractions]]" in 1993, "[[Phalanx Covenant]]" in 1994, "[[Legion Quest]]"/"[[Age of Apocalypse]]" in 1995, "[[Onslaught (Marvel Comics)|Onslaught]]" in 1996, "[[Operation: Zero Tolerance]]" in 1997, "[[The Hunt for Xavier|Hunt for Xavier]]" in 1998, "The Magneto War" in 1999, "[[Apocalypse: The Twelve]]" / "[[Ages of Apocalypse]]" in 2000 and "Eve of Destruction" in 2001. Though the frequent crossovers were criticized by fans as well as editorial and creative staff for being artificially regular, disruptive to the direction of the individual series, and having far less lasting impact than promised, they continued to be financially successful.<ref name="futureNow"/>

There were many additions to the X-Men in the 1990s, including [[Gambit (Marvel Comics)|Gambit]], [[Cable (character)|Cable]], and [[Bishop (Marvel Comics)|Bishop]]. Gambit became one of the most popular X-Men, rivaling even [[Wolverine (character)|Wolverine]] in size of fanbase after his debut in ''Uncanny X-Men'' #266 (Aug. 1990). Many of the later additions to the team came and went, such as [[Joseph (comics)|Joseph]], [[Maggott]], [[Marrow (character)|Marrow]], [[Cecilia Reyes]], and a new [[Thunderbird (Neal Shaara)|Thunderbird]]. Xavier's [[New Mutants#New Mutants Vol. 1|New Mutants]] grew up and became ''[[X-Force]]'', and the next generation of students began with ''[[Generation X (comics)|Generation X]]'', featuring Jubilee and other teenage mutants led and schooled by [[Banshee (character)|Banshee]] and ex-villainess [[Emma Frost]] at her Massachusetts Academy. In 1998, ''[[Excalibur (comics)|Excalibur]]'' and ''[[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]]'' ended and the latter was replaced with ''[[Mutant X (comics)|Mutant X]]'', starring [[Havok (character)|Havok]] stranded in a [[Parallel universe (fiction)|parallel universe]]. Marvel launched a number of solo series, including ''[[Deadpool]]'', ''[[Cable (comic book)|Cable]]'', ''Bishop'', ''[[Nate Grey|X-Man]]'', ''[[Gambit (Marvel Comics)|Gambit]]'', ''Maverick'', ''Rogue, Storm, Magneto, Beast, Domino, Warlock, Magik, Iceman'' and ''Sabretooth,'' but few of the series would survive the decade.

*X-Men
** ''[[Uncanny X-Men]],'' vol. 1 (flagship) – initially featured the Gold Team strike force led by Storm (1991–1995); later featured a team of X-Men recruited by Gladiator to defend the Shi'ar Empire against the Phalanx (1997); the Gold and Blue strike force merged to face new threats including Onslaught, Dark Beast, Shadow King and Magneto (1997–2000); later featured a squad led by Gambit during the ''Revolution'' revamp (2000–2001). The title is replaced by ''Astonishing X-Men'' during the ''Age of Apocalypse'' event.
** ''[[X-Men vol. 2|X-Men]],'' vol. 2 – initially featured the Blue Team strike force led by Cyclops (1991–1995); later featured a new core group consisting of Cannonball, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm and Wolverine took on Sebastian Shaw and Bastion during the events of Operation: Zero Tolerance (1997); members of the ''Excalibur'' team joined the combined Gold and Blue strike force (1997–2000); later featured a squad led by Rogue during the ''Revolution'' revamp (2000–2001). The title is replaced by ''Amazing X-Men'' during the ''Age of Apocalypse'' event.
** [[X-Force (comic book)|''X-Force'']], vol. 1 – Cable re-organized the New Mutants into the para-military mutant strike team (1991–1995); the team move in with the X-Men at the X-Mansion and effectively become the X-Men's junior team (1995–1997); the team later move to San Francisco to set up a new headquarter (1997–2001); the team becomes a covert ops superhero team under the leadership of Pete Wisdom during the ''Revolution'' revamp (2001). The title is replaced by ''Gambit & the X-Ternals'' during the ''Age of Apocalypse'' event.
* X-Men in Training
** ''[[Generation X (comic book)|Generation X]],'' vol. 1 – students at the Massachusetts Academy mentored by Banshee and the former villain White Queen (1994–2001). The title is replaced by ''Generation Next'' during the ''Age of Apocalypse'' event. 
* Other Teams
** ''[[X-Factor (comic book)|X-Factor]]'', vol. 1 – the new team worked for the Pentagon replacing Freedom Force as the government-sponsored team (1991–1997); Forge later leads the mutant team as an underground government strike force (1997–1998). The title is replaced by ''Factor X'' during the ''Age of Apocalypse'' event.
** ''[[Excalibur (comic book)|Excalibur]]'', vol. 1 – the British team expanded and stays with Moira, making Muir Island their new base (1992–1998). The title is replaced by ''X-Calibre'' during the ''Age of Apocalypse'' event.
** ''[[Alpha Flight (comic book)|Alpha Flight]]'', vol. 2 – A new team formed by the reinstated Department H which is involved in clandestine and criminal activities.