X-Men #1

History

Jonathan Hickman had stepped away from Marvel after completing his landmark Avengers and New Avengers run with the 2015 crossover 'Secret Wars,' returning to creator-owned work before his comeback was announced in March 2019. Marvel editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski paired him with the X-Men line and gave him the authority to cancel every ongoing X-Men title — including Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, X-23, and the Age of X-Man miniseries — and rebuild the line from scratch, with all creative teams working under Hickman's supervision. He first laid the conceptual groundwork through House of X and Powers of X (July–October 2019), pencilled by Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva respectively, and the Dawn of X initiative — including this flagship series — was announced publicly at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. For the ongoing X-Men title Hickman was paired with artist Leinil Francis Yu, who had previously worked on the X-Men line with writer Chris Claremont in the 1990s and was returning to the franchise nearly two decades later; the full creative team on issue #1 also included inker Gerry Alanguilan, colorist Sunny Gho, letterer VC's Clayton Cowles, and editor Jordan D. White.

Trivia · 8 facts

• Published October 16, 2019 (cover-dated December 2019) by Marvel Comics; written by Jonathan Hickman with interior art by Leinil Francis Yu, inks by Gerry Alanguilan, colors by Sunny Gho, and letters by VC's Clayton Cowles.
• This is X-Men Vol. 5 #1, the fifth volume to bear the flagship X-Men title; its legacy numbering places it at #645 in the continuous X-Men publishing sequence.
• The issue is titled 'Pax Krakoa' — a reference to the concept of 'Pax Americana' and imperial-era peace through dominance — and acts as the opening chapter of the Dawn of X publishing initiative, the first phase of the broader Krakoan Age (2019–2024).
• The issue serves as a direct narrative continuation of House of X/Powers of X rather than a standalone jumping-on point; it was designed to be read first among all Dawn of X titles, establishing the new mutant status quo on Krakoa for the entire line.
• Key characters prominently featured in issue #1 include Cyclops (the central POV figure), Storm, Magneto, Polaris, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Havok, Vulcan, Cable, Prestige (Rachel Grey), Corsair, and the Starjammers, alongside the Orchis antagonists including Killian Devo and Omega Sentinel.
• The issue introduces the Summer House — a Krakoan habitat located in the Blue Area of the Moon — as the home of the extended Summers-Grey family (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Havok, Vulcan, Cable, and Prestige), a location that becomes a recurring setting throughout Hickman's run.
• Issue #1 was released with a wide range of cover variants from multiple artists, including Artgerm (Stanley Lau), Mark Bagley ('Every Mutant Ever' cover), and Russell Dauterman, as well as exclusive store variants from publishers including Clover Press (Kevin Eastman), Comic Mint, and a 1:500 retailer incentive virgin variant by Artgerm.
• The series ran for 21 issues written entirely by Hickman and was collected in multiple formats, including X-Men by Jonathan Hickman Vol. 1 (issues #1–6), a Hickman Omnibus (issues #1–11, 16–21), and the massive Age of Krakoa – Dawn of X Omnibus Vol. 1, which pairs issues #1–7 with the full first arcs of all six concurrent Dawn of X launch titles.

Key issues in X-Men

#1★

#1 Key event — Scott Summers

★

#12 1st appearance — Isca the Unbeaten

Other variants of X-Men #1 (22)