Predictions for Marvel Phase 5 and Beyond!

PHASE 5

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (5/6/22)

This would close out the proper Black Panther trilogy.  I’m sure they will find ways to keep it going if this ended at three.  This is a huge part of Marvel and they don’t have much to replace it with.  But for this set of predictions let’s just say they give it a few years.  Won’t know about the future of this franchise until we see it.

Spider-Man: Graduation (7/29/22)

Final installment of the Spidey high school trilogy.  Maybe this one has Sinister Six or one of the villains from the older movies.  Holland is young enough that this could continue into college.  The tough thing about replacing Peter with Miles (who exists in this world) so soon is that you are doing high school stories again.  We need some time with Peter as an adult before we get Miles in high school.  But like with Black Panther, I’m ending my franchise predictions at three for simplicity’s sake.

She-Hulk (2023)

Feige talked about how Thor: Ragnarok was the first of a four film arc for Bruce Banner.  Hard to know where he will go with the Infinity War developments or if it will last.  It is in the best interest of the Black Widow series if he isn’t a love interest in that.

Of course a solo Hulk movie would make a lot of money, but what could they do?  Universal still has distribution rights, which Disney could cut a deal with.  But they’ve already done Planet Hulk and returning to the mindless monster attacked by the military set-up doesn’t make sense for his Avengers development. After Infinity War, I don’t think there’s a lot for this version of the Hulk.  Plus Ruffalo is getting up there.

So use him to set up another series.  In the comics She-Hulk is an individual franchise, so I would doubt that Universal has the rights to her movies.  And Marvel is successful enough to make a movie off of a seemingly ridiculous character (they’ve been succeeding with that for some time actually).  She-Hulk is actually probably the most popular solo character they have the rights to that they haven’t used yet.  Plus Ruffalo Hulk is already the outsized-fun character so She-Hulk isn’t a huge stretch for audiences.

She-Hulk is Bruce Banner’s cousin, lawyer Jennifer Walters.  Just imagine Marvel doing their take of a John Grisham pot-boiler with a giant green defense attorney.

Ravagers of the Galaxy (2023)

Gunn set-up the original Guardians at the end of vol. 2 as Yondu’s old Ravager buddies.  Sylvester Stallone, Ving Rhames and Michelle Yeoh may be getting up there for a new franchise.  But there is something to the concept of Marvel’s Expendables.  Your Dad’s favorite old action heroes in space is a cool set up for an aging MCU audience.  Like New Avengers, Black Widow and She-Hulk, this is a good way to continue the existing franchises once actor contracts are used up.

Black Widow 2 (2023)

Black Widow gets her sequel

Captain Marvel 3 (2024)

Carol finishes her franchise.  Brie Larson is young enough that this series could continue, she still leads the Avengers

Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme (2024)

Strange’s trilogy ends. Cumberbatch will be old enough that this series doesn’t need to continue, although the character easily could as a cameo or supporting character in other films

New Avengers 2 (2024)

More of an event than the first one, but still not a crossover.  Maybe She-Hulk joins, but just another standard Avengers movie.

PHASE 6

Black Widow 3 (2025)

Phase 6 ends with the final adventure of one of the founding heroes of the MCU.  Natasha is a relic of a simpler time, her role as Avenger and S.H.I.E.L.D. icon has been replaced by newer heroes.  This is her fighting against a changing world on the way to a satisfying end for the character.

Thunderbolts (2025)

Follow up on the Thunderbolts that were established in the fourth Avengers.  Picking up more villains from Phase 4 and 5 movies (as the first three phases haven’t left us with many).  This is far enough away from Suicide Squad to stand on its own.  But Zemo convinces the world that villains are heroes, some villains might like staying that way even though the world will never accept them.  Good metaphor for rehabilitation.

She-Hulk 2 (2025)

Why the hell shouldn’t I get a She-Hulk trilogy?

Ravagers of the Galaxy vol. 2 (2026)

Another Ravager adventure

Secret Wars (2026)

Haven’t had the Avengers movies be the big crossover events, because there isn’t a big thing I see needing a lead-up like Infinity War.  Secret Wars is a recognizable enough event title and at this stage you can do a simple team up like this and the audience will understand.  This would be a standard heroes have to fight each other on a different world set up.  Focus on the heroes who have movies that have ended (Ant-Man, Strange, Spidey, Panther, original Guardians, etc).  End on a “To Be Continued.”

New Avengers 3 (2026)

Last stand of this iteration of the Avengers.  Retiring the Avengers for the next phase as others take the forefront.  None of the Avengers in this movie can be in Secret Wars.

Secret Wars 2 (2027)

The heroes fight their way off of Battleworld.  Most retire afterwards, find that.  Represents an end to the Phase 3 focus of Marvel.

PHASE 7

Fantastic Four (2027)

This is the point when Marvel will need the franchises Fox has the rights for. Although to be honest we will probably get more Black Panther, Spider-Man, Captain Marvel and Guardians before that is even needed.

But yeah, Fantastic Four should be first.  They have never had a good movie and are Marvel’s premier franchise.  Great way to establish a new Marvel.

Thunderbolts 2 (2027)

Thunderbolts again try to fill the gap left by other Marvel heroes.  If the Avengers are done, can Earth accept the Thunderbolts?

Ravagers of the Galaxy vol. 3 (2028)

Stallone will be super old by this point, but that could also be a lot of fun.

Silver Surfer (2028)

After the end of the Ravagers, Surfer takes over the new space hero.  Origin with Galacatus.

She-Hulk 3 (2028)

Final installment of the She-Hulk trilogy!

Wolverine (2029)

Start with Logan as a solo character, don’t make being a mutant a huge focus.

X-Men (2029)

Marvel’s X-Men would be without Wolverine, and would usher in an entirely new element to focus for Marvle going forward.

So Phase 8?  More events, Deadpool, the end of Thunderbolts, continuation of Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Wolverine and X-Men.  We can even go into X-Men spin-off movies like Excalibur or X-Factor before even considering another Avengers or Spider-Man.  But that's just my hunch at this moment.  To be honest anything could happen.  And isn't that why we love Marvel?

Predictions for Marvel Phase 4

Feige has referenced that Marvel might be moving away from the phase concept.  After Infinity War it is definitely a bold new world.  Looking at Marvel's past, with Phases 1-3, it gives me some idea of what the future may hold.

Now of course this all might change.  I probably have my predictions all wrong for Avengers 4 and Marvel may suddenly put all of their eggs in Power Pack.  This is not a sure future, I'm not Doctor Strange.  But here is my best guess for where we're going.

I know a lot of people keep waiting for an X-Men or Fantastic Four easter egg, but honestly Marvel has enough solid franchises that we have quite a way to go before we need to even think of integrating properties from Fox...

Spider-Man: Summer Vacation (7/15/19)
We have several MCU movies with release dates, but the sequel to Homecoming is the only movie we have with a confirmed release date.  Although, Sony may have just picked that date without talking to Marvel. It’s amazing how bad they are still so bad with the Spidey franchise They are still trying to convince people there’s a Venom movie coming out this year.  Anyway…

The sequel to Homecoming should focus on his relationship with Aunt May after she discovers he is Spider-Man.  May not wanting Peter to be in danger, but also having to be proud and respect his decisions is an adult character we don’t often see in teen movies.  There is a lot between the two that could be explored that would give more layers to the MCU’s Uncle Ben and Spidey’s loss of Tony Stark (that I’m predicting anyway).  Having Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May being as inexperienced as Tom Holland’s Peter is a great take for those two.  I really think that this being a team up between Spider-Man and his most important supporting character is a perfect set-up for this.

Set it during summer vacation to keep with the high school theme, but keep it different from Homecoming with more opportunities for Peter to be Spider-Man and interact with Aunt May. Ned, Michele and Flash can still appear. I wouldn’t have a full on Avenger supporting cast member like the last one, but Peter getting Doctor Strange or War Machine to try to convince Aunt May to let him keep being Spider-Man would be an amazing scene.

The villain would have to be the Scorpion (Michael Mondo from the first movie) who works to find out Spidey’s identity, giving Aunt May more of a role in the Spidey side of his life. But with her not being a fragile old woman, she wouldn’t just be a damsel in distress.  Could pad it out with other villains (Kraven and Mysterio haven’t been used on screen yet), but the focus is on Peter and Aunt May so no need to overdo it.

This will be the first movie after Avengers 4, so it will set the standard for how the movies react to that movie.  Personally I would have it similar to the way the Netflix shows refer to the “Incident”. Allude to what happened with people disappearing, keep the emotional fallout.  But don’t focus directly on it, so the movies can still do their own thing and remain a reflection of our world.

Black Panther: World of Wakanda (5/1/20)
Disney would love one of these every year.  We might have to wait longer, Marvel really needs Ryan Coogler in order to continue. And however much time he needs, they should give him.  But a May 2020 date seems feasible and it would be a killer entry in that summer opening timeslot.

T’Challa is back on the thrown, but that is still contested.  He opened up Wakanda to the world, which many are still not in favor of. Not to mention that he let in the Avengers for a massive battle that killed many Wakandans.  T’Challa is associated with everything that happened in Infinity War, after returning from his disappearance he might not get the thrown back easily.

The main focus on the movie however will be on the outreach mission set up by the end of the last movie. Seeing how T’Challa deals with international politics and a world that would be hostile to the newfound existence of the real Wakanda.

Guaradians of the Galaxy vol. 3 (7/31/20)
The Guardians return from Earth to find Kraglin in trouble with the Ayesha who is still seeking revenge. The movie will focus on how the imperfect Guardians can stand against the perfect Adam Warlock.  Carrying over from Infinity War, Gamora and Star-Lord are an item and I imagine Groot will be in adult form again.  Gunn has said this is coming in 2020 and will close out the original Guardians’ story, but that side of Marvel will continue with him. Can’t wait to see what he has for us.
Post-credit sequence will have the original Ravagers (Stallone, Yeoh, Rhames) prepping for some big job.  After the post-credit sequence there is a title card that says, “The Ravagers will return.”

Doctor Strange: Extinction (11/6/20)
Four years is the longest Marvel waits on sequels.  And with Derrickson very much still in their corner and Strange having an incredible outing in Infinity War, they will want to get a second Doctor Strange movie out. Sticking with the November date seems likely.

This movie would see Baron Mordo continuing his quest to purge the world of sorcerers.  With Strange’s death and Wong guarding the Sanctum, they would have not have been aware of this.  Mordo would come to New York, having taking powers from the other sorcerers to attack the final Sanctum.  Strange and Mordo had a strong relationship in the original to build on and Wong continues to be a favorite in his appearance.  Strange could also try to restart a relationship with Christine, which keeps being interrupted by his new job.

New Avengers (5/7/21)
It’s a new world.  The old Avengers are either dead or moved on. Rhodey as the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles a new team of the remaining heroes.  Led by Captain Marvel and Falcon, they pick up the stranglers of the Marvel Universe.  Wasp be on the team, but not Ant-Man.  Valkyrie would have to be on the team, having missed out the first Infinity War and not having a world to return to.  Personally I would love Okoye and Wong on the team, but it has to fit with their franchises and those creators.  Maybe have Sharon Carter as an alternate or introduce some new members like Wonder Man, but there is a solid team of established characters.

This movie isn’t the A-List crossover that the originals were.  It is a group of supporting characters from various franchises, kind of as the central point of the MCU that can flesh out the post-Infinity War environment.  But don’t expect these movies to be huge events like the others, more of a smaller scale focusing on this team dynamic.

Post-credit sequence has Falcon catching up with Black Widow in a bar, asking her why she didn’t answer the call.  Natasha says she’s done with that part of her life.  Falcon asks what she’s up to now.  Then a man holds a gun up to her and she takes down him and an army of spies disguised as bar patrons.  She tells Sam she’s got to go, he yells after her that he’s not paying for her drink.  After the post-credit sequence there is a title card that says, “Black Widow will return.”

Black Widow (7/30/21)
Finally the solo Black Widow, eleven years after her first appearance.  Scarlett Johansson was young enough when she started in the role that she can continue for a while.  She’s openly wanted this movie, fans have been super hungry for it and Marvel’s seemed more open to it with rumors of directors recently surfacing.  After Infinity War this is the new franchise that makes sense to start.  She’s established as a character, a household name, but also has stories left to tell.

What story do you tell? The red in her ledger.  The dark past has been alluded to and has her falling in line with authority.  Rhodey would basically set her free to tie up her loose ends and do what she needs to do. This is the movie of an Avenger without a world to worry about avenging and a spy without an organization to listen to. Black Widow gets a free pass to do what she needs to.
This would fill the gap left by the Cap franchise and give Disney their own Bond series.

Ant-Man (3) and the Wasp 2 (11/5/21)
I really hope they call it that, because it is hard to give it a regular sequel number.  Hard to know what to focus on without seeing this July’s movie.  But I would focus on the last mission of Ant-Man and the Wasp together as a duo. Scott is more busy with Cassie, with his life back on track he can be the dad he always wanted to be.  Likewise Hope is one of the most beloved heroes on Earth as a member of the New Avengers.  Think of this movie as a pair of old friends getting back together for what they know might be their last time.

Captain Marvel 2 (2/18/22)
Three years after the first movie and one year after her Avengers debut we find Captain Marvel adjusting to life as a hero in the modern world.  We won’t know much until her movie next year, but I would anticipate this being her Winter Soldier.  Could take place on Earth, maybe in space.  But Disney’s definitely getting a trilogy out of her.

So where do we go from phase 4?  Well we've seen Infinity, click here for beyond.

Infinity War- What Comes Next?

So Infinity War just happened and it ended... well, it has a pretty tough ending.

Being that the movie has a record breaking opening weekend, I'm not overly concerned about spoiling.  But if you haven't had a chance to see it yet and you are still wanting to avoid knowledge of the movie, well here is your warning.














Are we good now?  Great.

So Thanos succeeds.  He wipes out half of existence which includes Winter Soldier, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Star-Lord, Mantis, Drax, Groot, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Maria Hill and Nick Fury.  Thanos already killed half of the remaining Asgardians (including Loki), Gamora and the Vision.  The remaining heroes are Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, War Machine, Okoye, M'Baku and Rocket Raccoon.  Captain Marvel's survival is implied.  We are unsure about the status of Hawkeye, Shuri, Ant-Man, the Wasp, Wong, Sharon Carter, Valkyrie, Kraglin and all of the TV characters.

So what comes next?  Well I've got complete confidence that Marvel has something incredible worked up.  I've long felt that the Russo Brothers and Markus/McFeely are the movie equivalent to Claremont and Byrne on X-Men.  Just perfect creators that can elevate existing characters.

But, a year is a long time to wait.  Being a fan I've got to get my own theories out there.  Here's my general pitch.  None of these are spoilers, I have no inside information other than the source material.  Based on Infinity War this is how I expect the still unnamed Avengers 5 to go down (take this with a huge dose of "How I'd Make the Movie").

So the movie opens with the remaining heroes stabilizing Earth.  Cap checks in with Wakanda where Shuri has assumed control with the assistance of M'Baku and Okoye.  Okoye asks Cap to bring their king back, Cap doesn't think it is possible.  Cap allows Shuri to keep the Vision's body.

War Machine checks in with S.H.I.E.L.D. who gives his disapproval for the decision to release Helmut Zemo and deputize him as the leader of the Thunderbolts, a team of interim heroes.  Hawkeye comes to Black Widow, revealing that his entire family has disappeared and he will do whatever it takes to get them back.  Banner checks in with Wong who must remain with the Sanctum Sanctorum while Strange is absent.  Wong says something cryptic to Banner about his Hulk problem before saying something more cryptic, alluding to a message from Doctor Strange.

Cut to Thor and Rocket who took Stormbreaker to Titan to get the Dragon Balls, or stones, and bring everybody back.  They find Thanos and start fighting him until Tony Stark reveals himself.  The two have been living together since the last movie, Thanos allowed Stark to try to use the gauntlet to reverse his culling knowing it would not work that way.  Thor tries convincing a resigned, defeated Stark to come with him.  Stark asks if Pepper is still alive, Thor refuses to answer.  Rocket just stuns Stark.  Thanos allows Thor to take the Gauntlet, Thor references cutting his head off.  Thanos shrugs off the suggestion saying that there may be a time where they need his knowledge.  Nebula comes with them to Earth, she asks Thor for possession of the Soul Stone.  Thanos remains alone, enjoying his victory while he still can, but alludes to knowing that the brave heroes will never entirely succeed.

Back on Earth Captain Marvel introduces herself to present day Captain America, saying she's dealt with this before (somehow, haven't seen her movie yet).   Ant-Man and the Wasp also arrive and explain they discovered a way to cross over to the afterlife through the microverse (somehow, their movie hasn't come out yet).  The heroes return from space and they all are contacted by Doctor Strange from the afterlife, saying he has a plan to return people to Earth.

In the afterlife we see the heroes who died defending civilians who disappeared against villains and monsters that also disappeared.  They explore the afterlife with Scarlet Witch finding Quicksilver and Vision.  The Guardians are on a journey to find Gamora.

Through a combination of Captain Marvel, Stormbreaker, the microverse, Stark engineering the Infinity Gauntlet (somehow) and Strange from the other side a team of heroes including Cap, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Hulk, Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, Wasp and Nebula cross over.

The heroes are unable to return everyone and end up having to make some difficult decisions.  Wanda chooses to stay with her family as Hawkeye stays with his.  Thor cannot bear to return to witness more death and destruction.  Winter Soldier refuses to return, having finally found some peace.  Seeing Peggy Carter, Cap stays too.

Iron Man, Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel lead Spider-Man, Falcon, Maria Hill, Black Panther and as many civilians as possible.  The Guardians find Gamora, but they need to convince Star-Lord to leave his mother.  In the end Iron Man (and maybe Nick Fury) sacrifice themselves to save the mortals that want to be saved.  The Gauntlet stays in the afterlife.

Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Black Widow, Ant-Man, The Wasp, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Falcon, Hulk and the Guardians return to existence.  We see glimpses of the heroes who did not crossover and where they ended up.  Cap is with Bucky and Sharon, Stark is with Pepper, Thor is with Asgard, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are with their family and Hawkeye is with his.  They have a happiness that they were never allowed to have in life.

The movie ends with a montage of Strange returning to the Sanctum Sanctorum, discovering that something happened to the sorcerers of the other Sanctums.  Spidey returns to Aunt May.  The Guardians go back into space to meet up with Kraglin who is in trouble.  Black Panther returns to Wakanda, the Wakandans have varied reactions to his presence.  Banner accepts not being the Hulk anymore (don't really know where this subplot goes).  Ant-Man and the Wasp return to their adventures from the still unreleased sequel.  War Machine is appointed as the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he meets up with Falcon and Captain Marvel.  War Machine then meets with Black Widow who does not know where she fits in this new world and regrets not staying behind with the other Avengers.  As the new head of S.H.I.E.L.D., he sets Natasha free to do whatever she feels that she needs to do.

Post-Credit sequence has Zemo meeting with his team of Thunderbolts and calls them to disappear now that the heroes are back, their time will come later.
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Now I don't think the movie will go that way exactly.  It could be all about giving Thanos his comeuppance.  There are many subplots I brushed over (Banner and Hulk) and continuity issues with my own predictions (I know I shouldn't treat S.H.I.E.L.D. as an active public organization, but I feel it will get back to that point).  But I think we will get something to this effect.  It won't be about killing off the characters whose contracts are up, it should be about acceptance and a satisfying end.  It would be interesting if Avengers 4 explores the peace that ongoing heroes are constantly denied.  And with the ending of Infinity War not feeling satisfying in terms of the usual Marvel victory, I think we will get something meaningful in the next one.

So after this movie, where does Marvel go?  Well, I've naturally got ideas on that too.

Best X-Men Writers

Even though they did not gain popularity until 15 years after their creation, the X-Men franchise exploded in a big way and never really slow down.  Since the late eighties their have always been multiple books lead by many varied creators.  At the end of the day, these are the ten that I feel that either left the most lasting influence on others or just wrote the best X-Comics.

For this list I focused on writers for the main X-Men team books, but I'm still including writers of some of the more mainstream spin-offs (sorry X-Statix).  Solo books have never had the same weight of the main series (although Sina Grace's recent work on the Iceman solo has become one of my favorite series).  I'm sure a lot of 90s readers will notice the lack of Fabian Nicieza and Scott Lobdell who wrote much of that decade's stories.  For me I can't point to a perfect story or lasting change from either of them, as loved as some of their work may be.

Mike Carey is the writer who just missed the cut.  Personally I love certain stories from Ed Brubaker, Peter Milligan, Marc Guggenheim and Marjorie Liu.  Craig Kyle & Chris Yost definitely earn mention for their mass of work, as do their New X-Men predecessors Nunzio DeFillipis & Christina Weir.  There are good alternate reality stories from the likes of Brian K. Vaughn and Jeff Parker, but there are so many X-Books that I really just focused on accomplishments within the 616.

Of course any X-Writer will be able to identify writers that will not be mentioned or take issue with certain rankings, but that is why this list is worth doing.  So many creators have touched these characters and each fan has their own relationship with the books.  So for me: the ten best X-Men writers:

10. Joss Whedon

Notable Work: Astonishing X-Men vol. 2 #1-24, Giant Size Astonishing (2004-2008)

Astonishing X-Men took its time to come out, didn’t reinvent the wheel and probably only needed to be 12 issues.  That said, Whedon still earns a place on this list for delivering well-written characters in an accessible prestige book.  Whedon gifted the X-Mythos with plenty of memorable lines, new characters and concepts that would continue in other books and possibly the best Kitty Pryde ever.  When all is said and done Whedon did not leave as large of a stamp on the X-Men and some would have you think.  But what he did was well loved and continues to be an easy starting point for new readers.

9. Stan Lee

Notable Work: X-Men vol. 1 #1-19 (1963-1966)

It took the X-Men a long time to gain popularity.  Those early issues really pale to Lee and Kirby’s work on Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and others.  The original X-Men are kind of a generic superhero team with a simpler origin. But Lee laid the groundwork and writers have gone back to the original five student set-up many times.  Lee introduced enduring concepts like the Danger Room, Cerebro, Magneto, the Brotherhood, Juggernaut and Sentinels. Not a fully fleshed out franchise, but an important foundation that new writers really ran with.

8. Brian Michael Bendis

Notable Work: Ultimate X-Men #35-45 (2003-2004), All-New X-Men vol. 1 #1-41,

Uncanny X-Men vol. 4 #1-35 (2012-2015)

Bendis wrote some of the best stories for Ultimate X-Men, but he made this list for his two year run of dual double shipped books.  Following his successful tenure as Avengers architect, where he made them Marvel’s number one team, BMB really changed the status for the Merry Mutants.  In All-New X-Men he brought the original, unconvoluted team to the present time.  Giving an interesting perspective for the franchise’s current state and rescuing many broken characters by bringing them back to basics.  In Uncanny he made excellent use of Cyclops and introduced many memorable new members.  Bendis’ run was a bit divisive and not everything left a large impact, but he had a clear, valid direction that did new things with the franchise and kept it exciting.

7. Kieron Gillen

Notable Work: S.W.O.R.D. #1-5 (2010), Generation Hope #1-12 (2011-2012), Uncanny X-Men vol. 1 #531-544 & vol 2 #1-20 (2011-2012), Avengers vs. X-Men: Consequences #1-5 (2012)

Gillen started gaining notice with X-Men spin-offs S.W.O.R.D. and Generation Hope, which were both well received.  His early issues of Uncanny marked an improvement in the series with bold choices like turning Colossus into the Juggernaut and satisfyingly ending the original volume before relaunching the title in a clear direction.  While readers were clearly supposed to sympathize with Wolverine’s side of the Schism, Gillen did amazing things with Cyclops band of former villains.  The Extinction Team was an understandable development for Utopia and Gillen played with the morality of the survivalist mentality.  With AvX Consequences Gillen regained some sympathy towards the disgraced Cyclops.  It is a shame his run ended so soon, his often overlooked side of things was very worthwhile.

6. Rick Remender

Notable Work: Uncanny X-Force vol. 1 #1-37 (2010-2012), Uncanny Avengers vol. 1 #1-25 & 2 #1-5 (2012-2015)

Uncanny X-Force was a shot in the arm for an X-Men spin-off that never earned much prestige. Wolverine’s black ops squad had excellent characterization and fascinating moral dilemmas.  It was not a book of cheap violence, but a book about dealing with violence.  Remender found depths for the mutant concept that few writers have without devolving into misery and pretention.  His follow-up, Uncanny Avengers, did not maintain as satisfying of a run.  But the heights of Uncanny X-Force have more than earned Remender a top ten status.

5. Peter David

Notable Work: X-Factor vol. 1 #70-89 (1991-1993), Madrox #1-5 (2004-2005), X-Factor vol. 3 #1-50, #200-249 (2005-2013), All-New X-Factor #1-20 (2014-2015)

A veteran Marvel writer known for creativity and success on characters nobody wants has been a great fit for the X-Universe.  His three X-Factor teams (government agents, private investigators and corporate heroes) all had such a unique flavor and grew personalities for countless characters on the fringe of the franchise.  The X-Men have a bad habit of introducing characters and abandoning them. David excelled at finding them purpose. His teams have some of the best chemistry of any X-Team.  While never top sellers and he had not touched a main X-Men title, his work on the fringe is some of the best and was vital to the maintenance of countless mutants.

4. Louise Simonson

Notable Work: X-Factor vol.1 #6-64 (1986-1991), New Mutants vol. 1 #55-97 (1987-1991),

X-Terminators #1-4 (1988-1989), Havok & Wolverine: Meltdown #1-4 (1989) X-Factor Forever

During Claremont’s run nobody could successfully touch the X-Men.  The few writers he did left little impact, until Weezie.  She was an editor that Claremont and Ann Nocenti championed to take over X-Factor.  She then took over the New Mutants.  Simonson set the example for all future X-Writers, she used her own personality and added new developments while adhering to the Claremont establishment.  Simonson was vital to the stewardship of the original five, development of the new characters and expansion of the entire line.

3. Jason Aaron

Notable Work: Wolverine: Weapon X #1-16 (2009-2010), Wolverine vol. 4 #1-20, 300-304 (2010-2012) X-Men Schism #1-5 (2011), Wolverine and the X-Men #1-42 (2011-2014), Amazing X-Men

Made his mark at Marvel as one of the best Wolverine writers, whom he focused on in several series. Made his way to the X-Men proper with one of the best X-Events and created an exciting new title.  Wolverine and the X-Men brought fun into that is rarely found in a main title.  It was a book where anything could happen and often did.  Aaron’s book was not overly reverent to previous runs (although Morrison’s influence is clear), it showed you could do new things with the X-Men and kept it from continuing to jog in place.

2. Grant Morrison

Notable Work: New X-Men #1-41 (2001-2004)

Morrison was the first X-Writer to just do something new.  All previous writers either kept things in place or harkened back to Claremont. After a decade of massive team books, Morrison had a set line-up with all-new characters.  He had a new direction, new villains and did some truly challenging things.  He may have shook things up too much for many fan’s liking, but the importance of his work for the growth of the franchise cannot be overstated. 

1. Chris Claremont

Notable Work: Uncanny X-Men #94-473 (1975-1991), New Mutants #1-54 (1982-1987), Excalibur #1-34 (1987-1991), Wolverine, X-Men vol. 2 1-3 (1991), X-Treme X-Men #1-46 (2001-2004), etc.

Was there any question? 17 years straight where he brought the All-New All-Different X-Men to prominence with classic stories of Phoenix, Proteus, Days of Future Past, God Loves Man Kills and LifeDeath.  Claremont defined Cyclops, Jean Grey, Xavier, Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine, Colossus and Magneto.  He created Shadowcat, Rogue, Mystique, and so many other important characters and concepts.  Claremont expanded the line and wrote much of The New Mutants, Excalibur and Wolverine’s early solo exploits.  It was Claremont that made this story feel huge while also making you care about the small, personal moments of these people.  He is the writer that others cannot escape.  Although he various returns to the franchise have not been as fruitful, he has never left the X-Men and they have clearly never left him. Claremont and the X-Men are forever tied to one another.  For better or worse, he made this franchise and nobody will ever leave as much of a mark as he has.