If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Marvel kept Phoenix away from the X-Men comics for 2 years because she upset the balance, but in 2027 they want to upset the balance of the Marvel U
The X-Men comics are getting a new leader, a new lineup, and the Phoenix back as Marvel prepares for its modern mutant era.
NewsbyChris Arrant, Editor-in-Chief
Published on Mon Aug 31 2026
Popverse’s top stories
- How an anarchic British sitcom made history on MTV
- Delicious in Dungeon is about the community that food helps build
- Fan service has “just become a checkbox” in comic book movies after The Cap/Mjolnir moment in Avengers: Endgame, according to former Marvel Comics boss John Nee
It appears we’re on the cusp of a new era for the X-Men in Marvel Comics. The culmination of the two current comics event series, DNX and Avengers: Armageddon, is nowboth setting up status quo changes for Marvel’s mutants. While the precise details (or a name for this) haven’t been revealed, more and more pieces are coming into play, including (but not limited to):
- The X-Men becoming Marvel’s main superhero team instead of the Avengers
- Marvel bosses bringing Jean Grey/The Phoenix out of a two-year hiatus from the main stories of Marvel comics
- Some big developments for Magneto, Forge, and Corsair
… and oh yeah, the X-Men are going to be prominent in December’s Avengers: Doomsday movie, which sets up the launch of a new X-Men movie franchise.
Let’s lay it all out for you, beginning with words from Jed MacKay, writer of the main X-Men ongoing, as well as the DNX event and the upcoming Jean Grey series. MacKay says that Grey had been kept to the sidelines away from the main X-Men books for the past two years because her current union with the Phoenix Force “throws off the balance [of the X-Men title] in a pretty dramatic way.” But due to something to happen in the finale of the DNX event series, November will be the time for that balance to be thrown.
“Now, post-DNX, we’re going to see the X-Men in a position to need Jean Grey—and Jean Grey in a position to need the X-Men,” MacKay tells AIPT’s Chris Hassan. “Dovetailing that into this moment being one where Jean is in the public consciousness more than she has previously just worked.”
Marvel Comics’ X-Men titles are overseen by the steady hand of senior VP of publishing/executive editor Tom Brevoort, and he doubles down on a position change for the X-Men in the Marvel Comics landscape this fall, and thanks to DNX there will be “shake-ups” to the X-Men line-up, including its leadership.
“Post-DNX, we’re going to see the X-Men changing how they do things somewhat—as the world changes, so too must the X-Men to survive in that world,” Brevoort tells Chris Hassan over at AIPT. “We’re going to see shake-ups from team composition all the way to leadership. The X-Men aren’t always necessarily led by those with the strongest powers—but at the same time, those with such great power can’t help but exert a certain gravity of their own.”
This change to the Marvel (and mutant) status quo seems to be happening not just in the wake of DNX, but also in the wake of the other big Marvel event, Avengers: Armageddon, which ends in October. As a result of that, the X-Men are getting a third ongoing series; one that will place them as the de facto main Marvel superhero team in place of the Avengers, in a new series titled Maximum X-Men.
When asked which three X-Men fans will be talking about once they see Marvel’s plans for the X-Men in 2027, Brevoort points to four: Phoenix, Magneto, Forge, and Corsair… and also three new-ish characters: Repent, Howler, and the Agonist.
“And I think and hope that Maximum X-Menis going to be a crowd-pleaser, at least with a certain segment of the fanbase,” he adds.
Avengers: Armageddon ends with issue #5 on October 21. DNX #5, which is the finale of the event, is set for November 18, with the new Jean Grey miniseries set to launch just one week later on November 25. Maximum X-Men is set to launch in December, and MacKay’s X-Men ongoing (featuring Jean Grey) will resume with issue #42 in December as well.
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!
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Chris Arrant: Chris Arrant is the Popverse’s Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher’s Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
