1. Joss Whedon
And now we come to the top slot. Joss Whedon is now famous for directing The Avengers, but before that, he established himself as one of the pre-eminent sci-fi/fantasy creators of the modern day with the TV shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. And it was these qualifications that made X-Men fans giddy with excitement when it was announced that he would pen Astonishing X-Men, the new flagship book of the X-Men line. After Grant Morrisons deconstructionist run, Whedon brought the X-Men back to superheroics, bringing back the colorful costumes and even resurrecting Colossus, whod been killed shortly before Morrison came onboard. Whedons run spanned twenty-five issues, but combined his trademarked witty dialogue with entertaining stories and classic characterization. And while in my book, he fell just short of the top five best writers, he did come very, very close, to the point that I considered including him as an honorable mention. Whedon brought in mostly new villains, introducing Ord and the Breakworld as well as Danger, the sentience behind the X-Mens Danger Room, and a clever take on Cassandra Nova and the Hellfire Club. He also did some of the most crucial, early development on the relationship between Cyclops and Emma Frost, which became the cornerstone of the X-Men books for a long time. The title not only brought back old fans whod left the X-Men titles, but also new fans who were intrigued at the prospect of Whedon writing the book. New readers found it very accessible, while longtime fans were treated to nice moments of nostalgia, such as Kitty Pryde reminiscing about the classic splash page from the classic teen angst issue, Uncanny X-Men #168 where she proclaimed that Professor Xavier is a jerk, or Colossus and Wolverine executing their famous Fastball Special combat maneuver. Had Whedon done a longer run that was more than basically one, extended story-arc, we could have seen something to rival the greatest of the greats. Unfortunately, the short nature of his tenure, the waiting period between new issues, and a lack of memorable villains ultimately served as a hindrance. Did we miss any essential X-Men writers you think should have been included here? Share your own picks below.