10 Famous Comics You Won't Believe Were Cancelled
2. X-Men
During the early 1990s, X-Men was the most successful comic. 1991's X-Men Vol. 2 #1 sold a monumental 8.1 million copies, making it the most successful comic ever (which still stands today).
Taking that into account, it's bewildering that X-Men was on the brink of cancellation for 14 years and WAS cancelled for five years.
The reason why it is simple - the stories were rubbish. Instead of focusing on fighting bigots or evil mutants, many of the older stories had the X-Men battle ridiculous villains like Cobalt Man, The Porcupine, and Frankenstein's Monster. Due to flagging sales, X-Men went dormant in 1970.
But in 1975, the merry mutants were reignited in the iconic Giant-Size X-Men, which debuted Colossus, Storm, and Nightcrawler. On top of that, a little chap called Wolverine joined the team. Instead of being teenagers still adapting to their powers, this new squad was well-equipped with their abilities, which readers loved. Not only that, each member had a different backstory and came from different parts of the globe, making their appeal to readers more diverse.
The stories also began to focus more on the 'mutant metaphor', with the X-Men fighting discrimination on a daily basis. Neeless to say, readers found this much more relatable than fighting alien octopuses - or whatever they were doing in their early adventures.