7 Underrated 1980s X-Men Comics You Must Read

A signature of Claremont's work, for better or worse, has been dangling plot lines. Claremont typically doesn't wrap things up with a neat little bow on top, even during big crossover events.

Sometimes, that's for the best. It builds intrigue. It helps reward the reader for sticking with the comics and picking up on all the little nuances that could be important later. Other times, it's just downright infuriating to read months worth of issues only to find that the plot line you were so heavily invested in isn't going to be solved until who knows when.

That feeling of frustration may have been present for readers who saw some of their favorite characters downright sidelined in the mid-eighties. Previous stars of the flagship series like Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde were basically shuffled to the bench until Claremont swooped in out of nowhere to pick up the pieces and launch Excalibur.

Excalibur was essentially the UK's answer to the X-Men. It launched in 1988 with a one-shot story, Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn, featuring a combined cast of characters both new and familiar to longtime readers of the X-Men.

Somehow, that one comic manages to tie up multiple major loose ends left by the X-Men regulars while still serving as an effective introduction to perhaps less familiar characters to fans of the series like Captain Britain and Meggan.

Backed by some of the most gorgeous art ever seen in an X-Men comic courtesy of Alan Davis, that alone makes Excalibur an absolute must-read for X-Men fans. More so, however, Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn simply stands as not only the start of an incredibly enjoyable spin-off series, but also a testament to the best that can come from one of Claremont's more controversial writing habits.