X-Men #157

Name: X-Men #157
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jul 2004 · Marvel · 2.25 USD; 3.25 CAD

📊 ~107,134 copies sold its debut month

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Day of the Atom Part One: Black Holes”

★ 1st appearance — Shen Xorn

About this Issue

X-Men #157 marks the formal launch of the post-Morrison era for the adjectiveless X-Men title: it was the first issue published under the 'X-Men: Reload' initiative that simultaneously reshuffled every core X-Men creative team, returned the book to its pre-2001 'X-Men' branding after three years as 'New X-Men,' and reintroduced more traditional superhero costumes for the cast. Most significantly for the broader Marvel Universe, the issue delivers the first appearance of Shen Xorn — the twin-brother retcon that Marvel used to disentangle Magneto from Grant Morrison's Xorn-as-Magneto storyline, a piece of editorial counter-continuity whose ripple effects were felt across X-books for years. The issue also sets the interpersonal chess pieces of Austen's final act on the title in motion: Havok's fractious team leadership, Iceman's simmering resentment of Juggernaut's reformed-villain status, and the arrival of Jay Guthrie (Icarus) at the Xavier Institute.

writer Chuck Austen · artist Salvador Larroca · inker Danny Miki · colorist Udon · letterer Virtual Calligraphy's Rus Wooton · cover Salvador Larroca

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (NM) $5

CGC 9.8 · 20 in census $122

CGC 9.6 · 2 in census $40

CGC 9.4 $40

CGC 9.2 none in existence

CGC 9.0 none in existence

CGC 8.5 none in existence

Show all 11 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 $28

CGC 7.5 none in existence

CGC 7.0 none in existence

CGC 6.5 none in existence

CGC 6.0 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 $69 1 listing CGC 9.6 $75 1 listing Raw — NM/M $59.99 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $3–$24 4 listings

NM · Direct $3 NM $3.99 NM $19.99 NM $24

Raw — NM- $3 1 listing Raw — VF/NM $23.99 1 listing

Raw — VF ▾ $3.99–$55 3 listings

VF $3.99 VF · Newsstand $12 VF $55

Raw / ungraded ▾ $1–$19.49 14 listings

Raw / ungraded $1 Raw / ungraded $2 Raw / ungraded $2.24 Raw / ungraded $2.99 Raw / ungraded $3 Raw / ungraded $4.5 Raw / ungraded $5.4 Raw / ungraded $7.65 Raw / ungraded $9.99 Raw / ungraded $9.99 Raw / ungraded $9.99 Raw / ungraded $10.5 Direct $13 Newsstand $19.49

Verified matches for X-Men #157 · eBay asking prices, seen 20 days ago

More listings for this title

X-Men Vol. 2 #157 Marvel Comics 1st appearance of Shen Xorn $12.99

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 1 total · seen 20 days ago

Read it digitally

Marvel Unlimited Marvel’s subscription reader ▸ Amazon Kindle Buy the digital edition ▸

Opens a search on each platform — digital availability varies by title.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

X-Men: Reload was Marvel's coordinated May 2004 line-wide revamp, triggered directly by Grant Morrison's departure from New X-Men; Chuck Austen was moved laterally from Uncanny X-Men to take over the renamed title, bringing penciler Salvador Larroca with him — the same artistic partnership the two had developed on their Uncanny run. The decision to introduce Shen Xorn was, according to multiple sources including Wikipedia's Xorn article and the uncannyxmen.net annotation, editorially motivated: Marvel wanted Magneto restored as a usable villain and refused to let Morrison's 'Magneto-was-always-Xorn' reading stand as permanent continuity. Austen himself noted in a widely cited interview that 'Marvel saw value in Magneto not being a mass-murderer of New Yorkers,' making #157's Shen Xorn debut a direct product of that editorial directive rather than a purely creative choice.

Trivia · 8 facts

First appearance of Shen Xorn (real name Shen Xorn), a Chinese mutant whose brain houses a black hole rather than a star, created by writer Chuck Austen and penciler Salvador Larroca.
Shen Xorn's introduction served as Marvel's in-continuity retcon of Grant Morrison's 'Xorn-is-Magneto' twist, establishing that Kuan-Yin Xorn was a real, separate individual — the twin brother of the newly introduced Shen — who had been manipulated by the sentient bacteria Sublime into posing as Magneto.
The issue is the first published under the 'X-Men: Reload' banner (May 2004), which simultaneously launched Joss Whedon and John Cassaday's Astonishing X-Men, returned Chris Claremont to Uncanny X-Men, and cancelled X-Treme X-Men.
The title officially reverts from 'New X-Men' (the name used since issue #114 in 2001) back to simply 'X-Men' with this issue, beginning a run that continued through #207 before becoming X-Men: Legacy.
The story arc beginning here is 'Day of the Atom, Part 1: Black Holes'; the arc ran through X-Men #157–160 and was later collected in the trade paperback X-Men: Day of the Atom (Marvel, March 2005), ISBN 978-0785115342.
Jay Guthrie (Icarus), younger brother of Cannonball and Husk, arrives at the Xavier Institute in this issue as a new student and is shown being roomed with Sammy Paré (Squidboy) — a character beat that sets up a tragic subplot resolved later in the 'Day of the Atom'/'Heroes & Villains' arc.
The full creative credits are: Chuck Austen (writer), Salvador Larroca (pencils and cover), Danny Miki (inks), Udon (colors), Rus Wooton (letters), Mike Marts (editor), Joe Quesada (editor-in-chief).
The issue also establishes Havok as a team leader of the new X-Men squad dispatched to China, while Husk (Paige Guthrie) departs the active roster — transitioning to Claremont's Uncanny X-Men — with Archangel and Nightcrawler also leaving Austen's cast at this same editorial juncture.