Dave Cockrum

Cosmic X-Men Omnibus should sell as the mutant line looking upward: Shi'ar empire, Starjammers, Imperial Guard, Phoenix, Lilandra and the M'Kraan Crystal. This is where Claremont and Cockrum prove that the X-Men are not only a school or a persecuted minority metaphor, but a team whose family drama can scale to galactic politics. It is a curated cosmic shelf, not a generic X-Men greatest-hits volume.

Chris Claremont assembles a dream team of artists — John Romita Jr., Arthur Adams, Barry Windsor-Smith and Dave Cockrum — for this massive fifth omnibus collecting issues #194-209 plus the complete Longshot and Nightcrawler limited series. The Juggernaut makes an earthshaking return, the second Lifedeath story explores Storm's journey without powers, and the Asgardian Wars crossover sends the X-Men and New Mutants into Norse mythology. Nathan Summers is born and Rachel Summers grapples with the Phoenix Force, while Barry Windsor-Smith crafts the defining Wolverine solo tale Wounded Wolf. This volume also introduces Longshot, the lucky six-fingered warrior from the Mojoverse, in Arthur Adams' career-making limited series that became an instant classic.

Uncanny X-Men Omnibus Vol. 3 is Claremont at maximum range: Brood Saga horror, God Loves Man Kills, the Wolverine miniseries with Frank Miller, Magik, Madelyne Pryor and the team's shift into stranger emotional territory. It is not just another early X-Men volume. It is the point where cosmic terror, moral allegory and solo mythmaking all coexist on the same shelf.

Start of the longest and most acclaimed run ever written about the X-Men: 16 uninterrupted years of Chris Claremont. With Dave Cockrum visually redesigning the team, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Wolverine are introduced and consolidated as the new X-Men. This volume includes the first appearances and development of characters who would define Marvel for decades. Absolute starting point of the modern mutant universe and required reading for any serious Marvel collector.