New X-Men #116

New X-Men #116 was published in 2001 as part of Grant Morrison’s transformative run on the X-Men franchise. This era marked a definitive departure from the traditional spandex costumes of the 1990s, moving toward a more grounded, sleek aesthetic featuring leather jackets and uniform-inspired designs. The issue specifically serves as the conclusion to the E is for Extinction arc, a narrative cornerstone that reshaped the status of mutantkind within the Marvel Universe by depicting the tragic destruction of Genosha.

The interior art was provided by Frank Quitely, whose distinctively fluid and observational style defined the visual language of the series. Working in collaboration with Morrison, Quitely aimed to de-emphasize the exaggerated musculature common in comic art of the time in favor of naturalistic anatomy and expressive, cinematic storytelling. The run was critically lauded for its bold narrative risks and remains a seminal example of early 21st-century superhero deconstruction.