DNX: the X-Men and Fantastic Four crossover, issue by issue

The X-Men and the Fantastic Four share a long history, but their official meetings are rare. DNX brings them together in a full setup: a central miniseries, tie-in issues in both regular series, and a stake that touches the very identity of mutants, since it involves a virus able to transform humanity.

As of October 3, 2026, two issues are out and three are still to come. This guide gives the reading order issue by issue, introduces the forces involved, recalls what you should have read before, and points out what matters to the collector. It reveals nothing that is not in the publisher's official solicitations.

What DNX is about

Announced by Marvel on April 13, 2026, DNX pits two teams of mutants against each other, both claiming Charles Xavier's legacy. On one side, the X-Men of Cyclops, settled in a base in Alaska. On the other, the 3K, led by the Chairman, an older and morally bankrupt version of Hank McCoy, the Beast.

Cyclops and the Chairman both lived through the future described in the Age of Revelation story, and came back from it with opposite missions: the X-Men want to prevent that future, the 3K wants to seize it. The instrument of that future is the X-virus, which the 3K is trying to make viable so it can release it in a major city.

The Fantastic Four enter the picture because the X-Men need them: the goal is to save the life of Magneto, whose blood holds the missing piece of the virus, and only the greatest scientific minds of the two teams gathered at the Baxter Building can pull it off. Most of the action takes place in Philadelphia.

What you should have read before

DNX fits into Jed MacKay's X-Men series, launched after the end of the Krakoa era. You do not have to have read it all, but three elements help.

The reading order, issue by issue

The order below follows release dates, which match the reading order intended by the publisher. Tie-in issues are read right after the DNX issue released the same day.

The prologues: X-Men #35 and #36

#35 focuses on Hank McCoy, haunted by the Chairman, his own possible future, presented as one of the greatest threats the X-Men have faced since the fall of Krakoa. #36 shows the 3K working on a viable version of the X-virus brought back from the future, then realizing that the missing piece lies in Magneto, which drives it to attack the X-Men's base in Alaska. Without these two issues, the first DNX episode starts in the middle of an already declared war.

The DNX miniseries

Issues #4 (November 4) and #5 (November 18) conclude the event. The solicitation of the final issue, at 40 pages, boils down to a fight to the death between Scott Summers and Henry McCoy, Cyclops and the Chairman.

The tie-in issues

On the X-Men side, each tie-in follows one character while the main battle unfolds elsewhere. #37 stages a telepathic duel between Kid Omega and Cassandra Nova. #38 makes an unconscious Magneto the bearer of a message from the future written in his blood. #39 shows the defense of the Alaska base, with John Greycrow. #40 sends Psylocke on a solo mission.

On the Fantastic Four side, Ryan North picks a singular angle: in #17, the team members wake up in an unknown place, with no memory of their identity, wounded, with a single word written on one arm. #18 concludes this story, while Magneto's life is at stake. These two issues can be read as a standalone story, but they fit into the DNX timeline. Our Fantastic Four reading guide places North's run.

Minimal reading or complete reading

The minimal reading is limited to the five issues of DNX, preceded by the two prologues. It is the main story, complete, without the side trips. Seven issues in total.

The complete reading adds the four X-Men tie-ins and the two Fantastic Four ones, for thirteen issues. It gives depth to the supporting characters and sheds light on what happens off-screen, notably the role of Magneto and that of Cassandra Nova.

For a reader who does not already follow the X-Men series, the minimal reading is the right starting point. The tie-ins are easy to catch up on afterward, especially if they are gathered in a collected edition.

And after DNX?

Marvel has scheduled for November 2026 a five-issue Jean Grey miniseries, written by Jed MacKay and drawn by Antônio, presented as following the Phoenix's arrival at the end of DNX. It is the most direct continuation of the event. To place the character, see our Jean Grey page.

Beyond that, it is too early to say what lasting consequences the event will have on the two series. This guide will be worth rereading once #5 is out.

DNX in a collection

Like most modern events, DNX comes with variant covers, including a version sold in a sealed bag for #1. Nothing in the issues released justifies speculating: no major first appearance has been identified so far in the miniseries, and the variant ratios are not public.

To place the event within the whole franchise, our list of X-Men key issues reminds you which issues have really mattered over time.

Frequently asked questions