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X-Force Reading Order (including Uncanny X-Force & X-Statix)

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In 1991, the original volume of The New Mutants came to an end and was relaunched as X-Force, beginning with New Mutants #100. Created by Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, the new series shifted the former student team into a more aggressive and militarized direction under the leadership of Cable. The original lineup featured Boom-Boom, Cable, Cannonball, Domino, Feral, Shatterstar, Warpath, and Siryn.

Unlike the traditional superhero approach associated with the X-Men, X-Force was conceived as a proactive strike team willing to confront threats before they escalated. The early stories revolved around the team’s conflicts with Deadpool, Stryfe and his Mutant Liberation Front, the Morlocks, Proteus, the Juggernaut, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and even S.H.I.E.L.D. The title quickly became one of Marvel’s best-selling comics of the 1990s and played a major role in defining the decade’s darker and more action-oriented tone for mutant titles.

As part of the wider X-Men franchise, the series frequently crossed over with the other mutant books. You can also follow the team’s adventures alongside the rest of Marvel’s mutant line in our complete X-Men Reading Order.

X-Force Reading Order: The Complete Guide

If we except the first part of the original run, most of the X-Force books work in large part independently from the X-Men main storyline, but there are always crossovers here and there. Each new iteration of the team works in the context of its era. 

  1. The Original X-Force Era (1991-2001)
  2. The Milligan/Allred X-Statix Era (2001-2004)
  3. The Original X-Force Revival (2004-2005)
  4. The Wolverine X-Force: The Kyle/Yost Era (2008-2010)
  5. Uncanny X-Force (2010-2013)
  6. Uncanny X-Force Vol. 2: Marvel NOW! (2013-2014)
  7. X-Force, Volume 4: All-New Marvel NOW! (2014-2015)
  8. X-Force, Volume 5: A Fresh Start (2018-2019)
  9. X-Force, Volume 6: The Age of Krakoa (2019-2024)
  10. From the Ashes: Post-Krakoa X-Force (2024-2025)
  11. Shadows of Tomorrow: Inglorious X-Force (2026-present)

The Original X-Force Era (1991-2002)

Launched in 1991 out of the final issue of The New Mutants, the first volume of X-Force was initially developed by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza and lasted for 129 issues between 1991 and 2002 (but really stopped with issue #115). Under Cable’s leadership, the young mutants abandoned the traditional student role associated with Xavier’s school and became a proactive paramilitary strike team.

The series originally centered on Cable, Cannonball, Boom-Boom, Domino, Feral, Shatterstar, Warpath, and Siryn, though the roster changed constantly over the years. Characters such as Sunspot, Rictor, Caliban, Copycat, X-23, Bedlam, Meltdown, and Pete Wisdom would all become associated with the team during the title’s long run. X-Force also played a major role in the rise of Deadpool, whose earliest appearances and rivalry with Cable became closely tied to the series.

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The X-Force Omnibus Collection

Marvel Comics still has not reprinted the complete first Volume of X-Force in the omnibus collection. For now, the Epic Collection has more to offer.

  • X-Force Omnibus, volume 1
    Collects New Mutants (1983) #98-100 And Annual (1984) #7, X-Men Annual (1970) #15, X-Factor Annual #6, X-Force (1991) #1-15, Spider-Man (1990) #16, Cable: Blood And Metal #1-2, and Material From New Warriors Annual #1, and X-Force Annual (1992) #1.
  • Deadpool & X-Force Omnibus [2025 Edition]
    Collects X-Force (1991) #19-31 and Annual (1992) #2, Cable (1993) #1-8, Deadpool: The Circle Chase #1-4, Deadpool (1994) #1-4, New Warriors (1990) #31, and Nomad (1992) #20.
  • Cable & X-Force Omnibus [hard to find]
    Collects X-Force (1991) #32-43, Annual 3, Cable (1993) #9-20; New Warriors (1990) #45-46; X-Factor (1986) #106; Excalibur (1988) #82; Wolverine (1988) #85.

⨂ The X-Force Epic Collection is still a work in progress, but it’s currently the best way to collect the series. Up to issue #66, the series was heavily involved in crossover events. The Epic Collection makes the series much easier to read.

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Onslaught! After the psychic fallout of Magneto’s mind being tampered with by Xavier, a powerful psionic entity known as Onslaught emerged and threatened both mutants and humanity alike. X-Force tied into the crossover as Cable and his team became involved in the growing conflict, which famously led directly into the Heroes Reborn relaunch. For more details about the event, check out our Onslaught Reading Order.

  • X-Men / Avengers: Onslaught Omnibus
    Collects Wolverine #104-105; Cable #32-36; Uncanny X-Men #333-337; X-Force #55, #57-58; X-Man #15-19; X-Men (vol. 2) #53-57, Annual ’96; X-Men Unlimited #11; Onslaught: X-Men, Marvel Universe, Epilogue; Avengers #401-402; Fantastic Four #415; Incredible Hulk #444-445; X-Factor #125-126; Amazing Spider-Man #415; Green Goblin #12; Spider-Man #72; Iron Man #332; Punisher #11; Thor #502; X-Men: Road to Onslaught #1; material from Excalibur #100, Fantastic Four #416.
  • Issues X-Force #59-65 have not been collected yet.

⨂ At this stage, the series moves away from crossovers and becomes more character-focused under writer John Francis Moore and artist Adam Pollina. The members of X-Force spent much of the following era traveling across the United States in a mobile base

⨂ With X-Force #102, writer Ian Edginton and artist Whilce Portacio (then Jorge Lucas) took over the team for another overall. It was done under the supervision of Warren Ellis, who, with his “Counter-X” brand, as part of the Revolution storyline affecting the X-Men line, pushed X-Force, along with Generation X and X-Man, towards a darker path. Under the leadership of Pete Wisdom, Bedlam, Cannonball, Meltdown, and Warpath become a covert ops superhero team.

X-Statix #8

The Milligan/Allred X-Statix Era (2001-2004)

X-Statix - X-Men Reading Order: The Modern EraX-Statix is a mutant superhero team created by writer Peter Milligan and artist Mike Allred. Originally introduced as a new retooling of X-Force, the series was quickly rebranded as X-Statix as it moved away from the tone and continuity of the original team. Rather than operating as a typical X-Men-related title, X-Statix deliberately adopts a satirical, self-contained approach, critiquing celebrity culture, media sensationalism, and the commodification of superheroes.

The team operates as a highly publicised, media-driven unit, with its members becoming famous for their personalities and image as well as their powers. Its members include Orphan, the Anarchist, U-Go Girl, Dead Girl, Venus Dee Milo, and Doop. Unlike previous X-Force incarnations, X-Statix is largely detached from the events taking place in the main Marvel universe.

  • X-Statix Omnibus
    Collects X-Force #116-129; Brotherhood #9; X-Statix #1-26; Wolverine/Doop #1-2; X-Statix Presents Dead Girl #1-5; And Material From X-Men Unlimited (1993) #41, I [Heart] Marvel: My Mutant Heart, and Nation X #4.

The “X-Statix Omnibus” is now hard to find, while the “X-Statix: The Complete Collection” is not complete yet. 

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The X-Statix Original TPB collection

⨂ The X-Statix team came back in 2019 with Giant-Size X-Statix #1, which was later followed by a series called X-Cellent. It’s about old members coming back when a new team revived the X-Statix brand.

X-Men Reading Order X-Force logo

The Original X-Force Revival (2004-2005)

Around the time of Marvel’s 2004 relaunch of Astonishing X-Men, a second volume of X-Force was also launched. However, rather than being an ongoing series, it consisted of two limited series that revisited the original team concept. The first reunited writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Rob Liefeld, while the second, a sequel written by Brandon Thomas, focused on Shatterstar fighting for his life on the island of Madripoor.

X-Force (2008) #8

The Wolverine X-Force: The Kyle/Yost Era (2008-2010)

A few years later, following the events of Messiah Complex, Marvel launched a new X-Force series in 2008 (aka X-Force Volume 3), written by Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost with art by Clayton Crain. It reintroduced the concept of a covert mutant strike team operating under the direct authorization of Cyclops, who sanctioned the formation of a black-ops unit designed to handle threats too extreme for the X-Men to address publicly.

This version of X-Force was led in the field by Wolverine and assembled a roster drawn from some of the most dangerous and experienced mutants in the X-Men’s orbit. The core team included Wolverine, Archangel, X-23, Warpath, Wolfsbane, Elixir, Domino, and Vanisher. The series is characterized by its focus on preemptive, lethal action against mutant threats, a more espionage-driven title within the X-Men franchise.

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The X-Force Volume 3 Original TPB collection

Uncanny X-Force (2010-2013)

Written by Rick Remender, Uncanny X-Force is a continuation of the black-ops mutant concept established in X-Force Vol. 3. It’s a rebranding and a partially different roster, but the book maintains its focus on covert, preemptive missions carried out by a sanctioned mutant strike team. However, it has a bigger emphasis on continuity and mythology. This team, led by Wolverine, is composed of Archangel, Psylocke, Deadpool, and Fantomex and confronts threats that challenge not only their mission parameters but their understanding of what the X-Men represent. 

The omnibus may be hard to find now, even if it was already reprinted once. The whole run was also available in a “Complete Collection” format, but its availability may also be limited. They are still available in Digital. 

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Remender’s Uncanny X-Force Original TPB collection

Uncanny X-Force

Uncanny X-Force Vol. 2 (Marvel NOW!, 2013-2014)

There are two teams now, as Uncanny X-Force became about a team led by Psylocke with Storm, Spiral, Fantomax, Bishop, and Puck. The second title was Cable and X-Force and was about Cable awakening after Avengers vs. X-Men (see reading order) and on the run with his new team of X-Force from the Uncanny Avengers. 

Following the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, Marvel’s mutant line split into two parallel X-Force-related titles under the Marvel NOW! relaunch. One of these was Uncanny X-Force, a team led by Psylocke operating as a covert strike unit assembled under the broader X-Men structure. The roster also included Storm, Spiral, Fantomex, Bishop, and Puck, continuing the title’s focus on preemptive and morally complex missions. In parallel, Cable and X-Force followed the return of Cable as an outlaw on the run while assembling a separate black-ops team. 

The two series had a crossover, but they are strangely collected. 

Back to one X-Force again: The Volume 4 (2014-2015)

As part of Marvel’s “All-New Marvel NOW!” publishing initiative, Uncanny X-Force and Cable and X-Force were merged into one single X-Force ongoing series written by Simon Spurrier, with art by Rock-He Kim and Jorge Molina. This relaunch redefined the black-ops team once again, bringing Cable, Psylocke, Fantomex, Doctor Nemesis, and Marrow together for a limited 15-issue run.

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Published during that era Deadpool vs. X-Force is a 4-issue series by Duane Swierczynski and Pepe Larraz that brought us back to the 1990s to retcon Cable and Deadpool’s first meeting, rewriting the events of New Mutants #98 as a result.

X-Force, Volume 5: A Fresh Start (2018-2019)

Launched under Marvel’s Fresh Start initiative, this fifth volume of X-Force was written by Ed Brisson with art by Dylan Burnett, spinning out of the events of Extermination. The series featured on a younger iteration of Cable with a renewed emphasis on time-travel instability and legacy continuity. The team assembled for this version includes Domino, Cannonball, Shatterstar, Boom-Boom, and Warpath. The series launched with legacy numbering continuing from previous volumes, beginning at issue #231. However, Volume 5 had to end

X-Force (2019) #21

X-Force, Volume 6: The Age of Krakoa (2019-2024)

Following the launch of Jonathan Hickman’s Krakoa era, X-Force was relaunched once again. For a more complete overview of this period in mutant history, see the dedicated Dawn of X reading order. Within the new mutant nation of Krakoa, X-Force was reimagined as the intelligence and black-operations arm of mutant society, functioning simultaneously as a surveillance agency, counterintelligence division, and covert strike force.

Written primarily by Benjamin Percy with art by Joshua Cassara, Jan Bazaldua, Robert Gill, and more, the series split its focus between the intelligence side of the organization and the field operatives carrying out dangerous missions beyond Krakoa’s borders. The team roster is at first composed of Beast, Sage, Wolverine, Kid Omega, Domino, Black Tom Cassidy, Jean Grey, and Colossus. The title explored the political and ethical consequences of maintaining mutant sovereignty in a hostile world, beginning with a devastating attack on Krakoa that exposed critical vulnerabilities within the new nation and forced X-Force into a central role in its defense.

X-Men Reading Order X-Force logo

From the Ashes: Post-Krakoa X-Force (2024-2025)

After the end of the Krakoa era, the X-Men Universe entered its “From the Ashes” era. In this new conjecture, X-Force returned with a new direction centered on global crisis management and covert intervention missions operating outside traditional X-Men structures.

Written by Geoffrey Thorne with art by Marcus To, the series follows Forge as he assembles a specialized mutant strike team designed to respond rapidly to existential threats across the Marvel Universe. The core roster includes Forge, Rachel Summers, Betsy Braddock, Sage, Surge, and Tank, with additional operatives recruited depending on the mission, including Deadpool.

X-Men Reading Order X-Force logo

Shadows of Tomorrow: Inglorious X-Force (2026-present)

Following the line-wide Age of Revelation event, “From the Ashes” was replaced by “Shadows of Tomorrow,” a continuation of this era with a new X-Force series: Inglorious X-Force. Written by Tim Seeley with art by Michael Sta. Maria, the series follows the return of Cable from the future under mysterious circumstances, with fragmented memories and only scattered clues concerning an impending assassination. In response, Cable assembles a new covert X-Force unit to investigate the threat before catastrophe unfolds, featuring Hellverine, Archangel, Boom-Boom, and Ms. Marvel.

The adventure continues…

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