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Well, as of this writing, the X-Men have celebrated their fortieth anniversary, along with the Avengers. There have definitely been some ups and downs over the decades, but the franchise is definitely going strong, if not at its peak. Most folks would agree the X-Men were at the peak of their quality and popularity back during Claremont's heyday of the late 70's to the early 80's.
Why have the X-Men remained so popular, even through the bad times? In short, there can be only one answer: breasts. The most popular characters have always been the X-Women, not the X-Men, as the title suggests. Uncanny was all but cancelled, going into reprints for around thirty issues, back during the 60s, when they only had Jean and Polaris in the title, and not drawn terribly buxom.
But then came the 70s, with a revival, all-new characters, and a rise in popularity. Jean was clothed in a full-body skintight suit, and we were introduced to Storm, a new female recurring character, who was African-American, and giving that demographic something to ogle as well, not to mention any of the predominantly-white male audience that would love anything in a pair of go-go boots.
Sure, there was some guy named Wolverine, that many others cite as being the big draw, tapping into a new cultural zeitgesit going around at the time, but I stick by it being all about the breasts.
As the years went on, more and more women joined the team: Rachel Summers, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Dazzler, Rogue...the list goes on!
More and more titles were added to the franchise, and more characters were created. More books, more boobs, more bucks! Meggan, Wolfsbane, Rachel over in Excalibur, being given skintight leather and spikes! Am I the only one who sees the trend?
Eventually, the time came for that writer, Chris Claremont, I think, to leave the title, and he was replaced by a series of other folks over the years. Now, many folks have said the quality suffered, and the books just weren't as good anymore, yet the X-Men always remained wildly popular.
Why? Because of the breasts! They brought in new writers, but they also brought in new artists, one after another, giving the women bigger breasts, smaller costumes, and almost-constant sexy poses for no good reason! How could this book not sell? No one cares about the writing. Even Rogue, who's skin was a very bad thing to touch, started wearing bikinis on a frequent basis.
How else can you possibly explain the popularity of artists like Rob Liefeld and Joe Maduriera? You just can't.
Finally, after many years, the X-Men movie finally came out. Now, admit it. Who did you go to see in tight leather? Cyclops? No! Everyone went there to see Anna Paquin in leather. Unfortunately, we had to wait until X-Men 2 for that one. But the movie did give us a vastly female team, with Rogue, Jean, and Storm, the last two actually in said leather, as well as a completely nude Mystique.
With the movies raising the exposure of the titles again, I say it's time to get MORE women on the team! Let's make an all-naked squad! Make it a MAX title, we can do nudity there. If that won't fly, well then, why don't we just give Cyclops breasts?
Seriously though, happy 40th, X-Men. You've given us many years of excellent writing, and art, and I personally hope to see forty more.
And more breasts.
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