When the first group of students were captured by the living island of Krakoa, Xavier recruited an all new, all different group. The German demon-looking teleporter Nightcrawler, Russian strongman Colossus, Irish sonic screaming Banshee, African "Goddess" of weather Storm, Japanese hothead Sunfire, Canadian berserker Wolverine and Native American Thunderbird rescued the original team. The new multi-cultural squad set the tone for future generations of X-Men. Soon after, all of the original X-Men left except for Cyclops. Sunfire abruptly quit. Thunderbird was killed during the new teams second mission against Count Nefaria.
Upon reentry to Earth after a mission in space against Stephen Lang's Sentinels, Jean Grey pushed herself to the limit holding their spacecraft together and shielding her team members from intense radiation. Believed dead upon their crash landing in New York's Jamaica Bay, Jean suddenly arose from the ocean calling herself Phoenix and wielding more power than ever before. Unknown at the time, Jean had been replaced by the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force, while Jean was placed in a cocoon at the bottom of the bay while her body healed from radiation poisoning. Soon after, the X-Men returned to space to aid Lilandra Neramani of the Shi'ar stop her mad brother D'Ken from using the power of the M'Kraan Crystal to take over the universe. With the crystal about to shatter and destroy reality itself, Phoenix used her awesome power to fuse it back together. The X-Men returned to Earth, and Lilandra briefly returned with them.
After a fight with Mesmero and a fierce battle with Magneto inside an Antarctic volcano, most of the X-Men found themselves in the Savage Land and separated from Phoenix and the Avenger Beast, with each group presuming the other dead. Phoenix and Beast returned to the school to give Xavier the bad news. Having nothing to keep him on earth, Xavier chose to accompany Lilandra back to Shi'ar space.
The X-Men slowly made their way home after their adventures in the Savage Land and in Japan. Banshee injured his vocal chords during a battle with Moses Magnum, leaving him powerless. The X-Men were ambushed by Alpha Flight on the way back to the states, who took Wolverine into custody (although he quickly escaped). When they finally returned home, they found Professor X gone and the mansion's telephone disconnected.
The X-Men and Phoenix were reunited at Muir Island when they battled Proteus, the reality altering mutant son of Moira MacTaggert. Despite his injuries, Banshee still accompanied the X-Men for the mission; however, realizing he wanted to stay by Moira MacTaggart's side, Banshee left the X-Men to be with her.
Professor X returned to earth in time to recruit Kitty Pryde for the school and defeat Emma Frost. The battle with Frost plus the ambush at the Dazzler's concert alerted the X-Men to the existence of the Hellfire Club.
While Phoenix believed the X-Men to be dead, she caught the attention of Jason Wyngarde, also known as the former Brotherhood of the Evil Mutant member Mastermind, who created a rich "Lady Grey" fantasy world in her mind with his illusions using a device created by Emma Frost. Eventually believing herself to actually be Lady Grey and also consort to Wyngarde, she was easily convinced to become the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club during the X-Men's battle against them. Phoenix broke free from Wyngarde's control when she saw a psychic version of Cyclops being murdered. Unleashing her dark side, Phoenix became Dark Phoenix, used her powers to drive Mastermind insane, destroyed the Blackbird, and abruptly departed from Earth. Seeking to enjoy the same sense of power she had felt inside the M'Kraan Crystal, Phoenix traveled to a distant star and absorbed it's energy. The sun went nova, destroying a nearby planet inhabited by five billion aliens.
Upon her return to Earth, Beast designed a neutralizer to subdue the all powerful entity. Xavier placed mental blocks in her mind to reduce Dark Phoenix's powers and allow Jean to regain control. Aware of the massacre in their Empire, The Shi'ar arrived on Earth demanding the death of Dark Phoenix. Xavier invoked Arin'n Haelar, an irrefutable Shi'ar duel of honor. Knowing her team would win, Lilandra agreed to allow the Imperial Guard to battle the X-Men. Putting up a valiant fight, the mutants fell one-by-one during a long battle on the Blue Area of the Moon. With only Cyclops and Phoenix left standing, Summers was hit by a stray energy bolt. Set into a panic, the mental blocks Xavier placed in Phoenix's mind were destroyed and she was able to utilize her full power. Lilandra ordered Plan Omega, the complete destruction of the Sol system, upon Phoenix's return.
To avert the loss of the entire star system, Xavier ordered the X-Men to defeat Phoenix. Jean regained control once more, only to activate a Kree weapon and committed suicide to avert another disaster. Cyclops deduced it was her plan all along.
After Jean Grey's funeral, Kitty Pryde came to live at the school as the newest X-Man. Cyclops left the team to figure out where his life was going. Storm became leader in his absence. She underwent a trial-by-fire in a desperate battle against Mystique's new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to save the life of Senator Robert Kelly.
Other notable foes from this period included Doctor Doom, who attempted to romance Storm, and a memorable encounter with Magneto in the Bermuda Triangle. As Kitty destroyed the central computer of his superweapon, Magneto lashed out and almost killed her. Horrified at his actions, Magneto ceased fighting and contemplated how he had become no better than the humans who had massacred his family. This battle re-united Cyclops with the team.
Corsair of the Starjammers returned to Earth seeking the X-Men's aid in stopping a rebellion against Majestrix Lilandra. The Starjammers were framed for kidnapping Lilandra while it was really Deathbird, the Majestrix's sister, in league with the alien Brood. The X-Men discovered the truth, stopped the rebellion against the Shi'ar empire, and reunited Xavier with Lilandra. Cyclops discovered that Corsair was actually his father, abducted by the Shi'ar decades earlier.
Shortly thereafter a television interview with Senator Robert Kelly worried the X-Men, who had FBI connections in their early years, and thus had government files on many of them. Carol Danvers, Wolverine, and Storm infiltrated the Pentagon and uploaded an open-ended virus that erased all references to the X-Men or members of the team. While in the Pentagon, they also encountered Mystique and Rogue of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
The Brood resurfaced abducting the X-Men, Lilandra, and Carol Danvers. Traveling across the galaxy to their home planet, a Brood Queen implanted embryos within them. Interested by Danvers unique genetic code, she was experimented upon and became Binary. Although the X-Men escaped from "Sleazeworld" all seemed lost, as once the embryos matured their hosts would undergo a metamorphosis and become a warrior Brood. Storm was saved by a young Acanti, a large space-faring creature that resembled a whale and communicated telepathically. The Acanti had been enslaved by the Brood and used as starships. With nothing left to lose the X-Men vowed to save the Acanti race. After freeing the Acanti "prophet-singer" soul from the Brood homeworld, the X-Men were healed. Before killing the Brood Queen, Kitty Pryde found the friendly dragon Lockheed who followed her back to Earth.
Original Members:
Cyclops
Wolverine
Storm
Colossus
Nightcrawler
Banshee
Supporting Cast:
Professor X
Sprite
Former Members:
Beast
Angel
Iceman
Phoenix
Vulcan
Darwin
Sway
Petra
Thunderbird
Sunfire
