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Marvel is replacing the Avengers with the X-Men this December after Armageddon, with Storm as leader
A nearly-forgotten X-Men team name from Chris Claremont’s X-Men run is revived as the team becomes Marvel’s #1 superteam.
NewsbyJules Chin Greene, Staff Writer
Additional contributions byChris Arrant
Published on Thu Jul 23 2026
This December, the Avengers are no more. Much like Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday movie is speculated to be, the end of Marvel Comics’ Avengers: Armageddon is confirmed to be the fall of the Avengers as we know it. In its place, a new group of heroes is stepping up to be the lead heroes in times of need for Earth.
The X-Men.
… maybe you’ve heard of them?
Announced during the Avengers: Armageddon panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026, Thor: Ragnarok writer Christopher Yost and Batman artist Tony S. Daniel are teaming up for Maximum X-Men, a new ongoing series spinning out of the current Avengers: Armageddon event series in which the Avengers fall out of favor with the public and the X-Men, seemingly, take their place. The Maximum X-Men line-up is a mix of ’90s-era X-Men and New Warriors love, with Wolverine, Colossus, Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, Firestar, and Justice. They are led by Storm, in what is very close to the X-Treme X-Men era version of the team, but more on that in a bit…
“This is her getting hope back to the X-Men [after Krakoa,” says Yost.
“In the wake of the events ofAvengers: Armageddon, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are no more! So who will stand in defense of the Earth? The X-Men will!” reads Marvel’s description of the first issue. “Storm gathers an elite team for just that task, including Wolverine, Colossus, Bishop, Iceman, Psylocke, Firestar and Justice! Mutants by birth, heroes by choice! And their first challenge is a full-on invasion from the Negative Zone! Is this Annihilus again—or something far, far worse?”
Yost says every arc of Maximum X-Men will have “an Avengers-level threat,” saying it harkens back to the Jim Lee X-Men comics of the ’90s.
For Yost, this will be a big return to the X-Men, as he has written the team both in comics (X-Force, New X-Men, X-Men, Amazing X-Men) as well as animation (X-Men: Evolution, Wolverine and the X-Men). He also co-created X-23 a.k.a. Laura Kinney a.k.a. Wolverine with Craig Kyle.
“All I know is that it’s maximum. They came to me and said, ‘Hey do you want to write X-Men?’ …what they really wanted was an action book that comes out of Armageddon where the X-Men really step up to help the world,” says Yost.
The name ‘Maximum X-Men’ has been floating around Marvel’s offices as a possible name for a book for decades, and was the original name for what became Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca’s X-Treme X-Men, which launched in 2001. The name was eventually picked up as a name for French-language collections of X-Men comics years later.
The new Maximum X-Men #1 is anticipated to hit comic shops this December.
To me, my X-Men fans. Want more about Marvel’s mutants? You don’t need Cerebro to find what you should read next… we made a list!
About Comic-Con International: San Diego
Comic-Con is the premier event for all things comics and related popular art, including movies, television, gaming, interactive multimedia, and so much more! Enjoy cosplay galore and take part in unique programming, exclusive previews, and presentations, not to mention the expansive and diverse Exhibit Hall featuring merchandise and displays representing all fandoms.
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Jules Chin Greene: Jules Chin Greene is a journalist and Jack Kirby enthusiast. He has written about comics, video games, movies, and television for sites such as Nerdist, AIPT, and Multiverse of Color.
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