X-Men: X-Tinction Agenda Tpb Book

X-Tinction Agenda was the first big mutant crossover of the 1990s. Covering Uncanny X-Men #270-272, X-Factor #60-62, and New Mutants #95-97, this event makes many big changes in the status quo for all three X Books.

The first thing that impresses me about this story is the cohesiveness...even near seamless interconnection...between the three titles. It reads like one long story. Previous mutant "crossover" events have had a two or maybe three issue sequence that brings characters and teams together. This is the first time the characters of the different books were fully intertwined and the story flowed from book to book for 9 issues.

For the X-Men, this is the first time that so many of the characters were back together and the first time Gambit and Jubilee were exposed to the "rest" of the team(s). Going forward after this, the questions of leadership and membership will be front and center.

For the New Mutants, this is like a swan song. Death and change have decimated their ranks. The next few issues (the last 3 of the series) lead into the formation of X-Force.

X-Factor is the only team that comes out intact, but emotionally they will never be the same. These events make them question everything about their hero status and their mission.

Every X-Men fan should take a little time and read this crossover. It is key to understanding a lot of what happens in the 90s mutant titles. It also kicks off a new era in X-book history leading up to the launch of the second X-Men series and a complete changing of the guard in the writing department with the departures of Chris Claremont and Louise Simonson.