The X-Men Split into ‘Uncanny X-Men’ #1 and ‘Wolverine and the X-Men’ #1 in November

We reported last week on the forthcoming end of the long-running Uncanny X-Men comic, but like most superhero demises -- especially where the X-Men are involved -- a Phoenix-esque resurrection is just around the corner. This morning, Marvel Comics announced that the X-Men franchise will experience a "regenesis" (not a relaunch, not a reboot -- a regenesis!) this November after a falling out between Cyclops and Wolverine fractures the X-Men into two teams and two comics: Uncanny X-Men #1 by writer Kieron Gillen and artists Greg Land and Carlos Pacheco, and Wolverine and the X-Men #1, by X-Men: Schism writer Jason Aaron and classic X-artist Chris Bachalo.In Wolverine and the X-Men, which borrows its named from the late animated television series, readers will see one faction of the X-Men led by their most popular member, Wolverine. It's a move that seems obvious, and yet hasn't occurred in the 36-year history of the character's involvement with the franchise. Writer Jason Aaron has been chronicling Wolverine's solo adventures since 2008, and has placed him on a character arc leading to a stable, long-term relationship with the human Melita Garner and a more confident place with regards to his relationship with the rest of the Marvel Universe. After over a century of living, it looks like he's ready to stop being a perennial team member and become a leader.



Speaking to Marvel.com, Aaron said that the book will feature "big crazy plots, intense character drama, love, sex, anti-mutant hysteria, man-eating aliens, all-new characters, old favorite characters, bizarre space tech, strange transformations, property damage, telepathic shenanigans, Wolverine drinking whiskey, mutants playing baseball. Except perhaps for that last part."

Meanwhile, whoever doesn't pack up and bail along with Wolverine will be featured in November's rebooted Uncanny X-Men, kicking off the second year of writer Kieron Gillen's run on the title along with artists Greg Land and Carlos Pacheco. This team will be helmed by Wolverine's ideological opposite and soon-to-be-former friend, Scott "Cyclops" Summers, a founding X-Man who has evolved a great deal over the years. Initially a shy, insecure stick-in-the-mud created by Stan Lee, he became a confident, by-the-books leader in the hands of Chris Claremont, and an emotionally wandering depressive suppressing years of anger in the work of Grant Morrison. Now, he's a leader unafraid to play dirty in order to secure the future of the endangered mutant population and in bed (literally, in one case) with former villains Emma Frost, Namor and Magneto.

Gillen told Marvel.com that "[One] team looks at [the other] in an almost paternalistic manner. 'Okay, you're going to go and do that? Great. It makes it harder for us, but we're going to look after you too.' For me, the core of the disagreement is about how much of today you are willing to give up for tomorrow. Generally speaking, they think the other team is being profoundly selfish and self-indulgent in the route they're taking."

Speaking to the Associated Press, editor Nick Lowe said that "The best thing about this split is that the two books hit two very different chords. One is hardcore super hero action and the other is something else entirely that I can't go too deep into without spoiling `Schism.' The best way I can describe it is a return to a structure that made the X-Men what it was."

Click below for Marvel's full press release and the associated teaser image.

Press Release:

After Schism Comes X-MEN: REGENESIS!

New York-June 16, 2011-Marvel is pleased to announce X-Men: ReGenesis, a bold new direction redefining the X-Men franchise! X-Men: ReGenesis kicks off this fall in Uncanny X-Men #1 & Wolverine and the X-Men #1 and its ramifications will send shockwaves throughout every X-Book and the Marvel Universe! Prepare for the X-Men's new dawn as former allies head off in different directions, taking with them your favorite X-Men characters. Following the unforgettable outcome in X-Men: Schism, mutantkind will be asking one another "Who will you follow?" and their answers may surprise you! Never before have there been TWO teams calling themselves the X-Men and never has anyone had to choose a side. Guided by their different ideologies, each leader has their own mission for saving their species, but is only one of them right?

This October, Marvel Architect Jason Aaron and superstar artist Chris Bachalo launch Wolverine And The X-Men #1, assembling a team led by Logan himself with a line-up that nobody will see coming. Then, in November, history is made with Uncanny X-Men #1. From the superstar writer Kieron Gillen and artists Carlos Pacheco & Greg Land, new leadership rises with a renewed, refocused, and re-imagined group of Uncanny mutants.

"Years of X-Men history have been leading to this. X-Men: ReGenesis will affect our entire line leading up to a major conflict coming up in 2012!" said Marvel Editor in Chief, Axel Alonso. "This is just the start of what we have planned for the X-Men. Next summer all eyes will be on mutantkind – we guarantee it!"

Two new teams lead mutantkind into an all new era and will have everyone asking "Who will you follow?" – only in Wolverine & The X-Men #1 and Uncanny X-Men #1!

To find out more about X-Men: Regenesis, head over to Marvel.com!

Teaser Image by Wolverine and the X-Men's Chris Bachalo: