DNX Reading Guide: How to Follow the X-Men and Fantastic Four's X-Virus War

Marvel's five-issue DNX event by Jed MacKay and Federico Vicentini sends the X-Men and Fantastic Four to war against 3K and the reality-warping X-Virus this September. Here is the complete reading order, from the X-Men prologue issues through DNX #1 and #2 to the Fantastic Four tie-in, plus a first-look preview.

This September, Marvel's mutants face an extinction-level crisis as DNX, a five-issue event series from writer Jed MacKay and artist Federico Vicentini, pits the X-Men and Fantastic Four against the shadowy 3K, which is racing to release the reality-warping X-Virus and forcibly transform all of humanity into mutants.

Unlike the world-altering scope of the recent Age of Revelation saga, DNX is a tightly compressed war anchored by 3K's Chairman, an older and amoral version of Beast (Hank McCoy). Below is the official reading guide.

Speaking with AIPT, MacKay contrasted the new event with its predecessor. "Age of Revelation was depicting a whole changed world, and there was a lot of space to explore there. In contrast, DNX has a very tight focus on our characters and their conflicts over a very short time. Aside from the DNX event series, the tie-ins will be the issues of X-Men (2024) and Fantastic Four (2025) that come out in those months."

DNX Prelude: The X-Men (2024) Lead-In Issues

The road to DNX begins inside the ongoing X-Men (2024) series, where two prologue chapters set the stage.

X-MEN #35 — Cover by Tony S. Daniel, On Sale 8/12

X-MEN #36 — Cover by Netho Diaz, On Sale 8/26

X-MEN #35 (Jed MacKay; art and cover by Tony S. Daniel; 8/12) opens the prologue. Hank McCoy, the bouncing blue Beast, is haunted by a ghost not of his past but of his future. The Chairman of 3K — an older, amoral version of himself — is billed as one of the greatest threats the X-Men have faced since the fall of Krakoa, forcing Beast to reckon with his own terrible potential.

X-MEN #36 (Jed MacKay; art and cover by Netho Diaz; 8/26) escalates the stakes. 3K works toward a viable build of the X-Virus, revived from the Age of Revelation. When the Chairman realizes the missing piece lies within Magneto, 3K moves on the X-Men's home base in Alaska.

The Main Event Begins: DNX #1

DNX #1 (Jed MacKay; art by Federico Vicentini; cover by Kaare Andrews; 9/2) detonates the conflict — "THE X-VIRUS UNLEASHED!" The X-Men and 3K are each steered by an original heir of Professor Xavier, each with a competing vision for mutantkind. Cyclops and the Chairman both glimpsed the future of the Age of Revelation and returned with opposing missions: the X-Men to prevent it, 3K to own it. As the X-Men seek the Fantastic Four to save one of their own, the White Beast moves to release the X-Virus in a major population center.

Mid-Event Tie-Ins and DNX #2

The crossover alternates between the core series and the X-Men (2024) tie-ins, so the order continues as follows.

X-MEN #37 — Cover by Netho Diaz, On Sale 9/9

DNX #2 — Cover by Kaare Andrews, On Sale 9/16

X-MEN #38 — Cover by Netho Diaz, On Sale 9/23

X-MEN #37 (Jed MacKay; art and cover by Netho Diaz; 9/9) delivers "PSI-WAR!" While the X-Men battle 3K to stave off disaster, Kid Omega engages in brain-to-brain combat with Cassandra Nova in what Marvel calls the telepathic throwdown of the century.

DNX #2 (Jed MacKay; art by Federico Vicentini; cover by Kaare Andrews; 9/16) takes the war airborne over Philadelphia, aided by the Fantastic Four, while at the Baxter Building the greatest minds of each team join forces to save the master of magnetism, Magneto. As the X-Men bring war to their enemies one last time, the Chairman readies a last resort.

X-MEN #38 (Jed MacKay; art and cover by Netho Diaz; 9/23) turns inward on Magneto. Terrorist, warrior, father, teacher, killer — he has been all of these. Now he unconsciously assumes a new role as genetic prophet, with a message from the future written in his very blood: deliverance or doom?

The Fantastic Four Tie-In: Fantastic Four #17

FANTASTIC FOUR #17 (Ryan North; art by Vincenzo Carratu; cover by Humberto Ramos; 9/30) folds Marvel's First Family into the crisis. The team awakens in a strange environment with no memory of who they are. A rock monster stands among them, they seem to have strange powers, and each bears serious injuries — including burns only the youngest could have inflicted. The older man, his limbs strangely elastic, has a single word written in blood on his own arm: SURVIVE.

First Look: A Preview of DNX #1

Marvel has released a preview of DNX #1 by Jed MacKay and Federico Vicentini ahead of its on-sale date, offering an early glimpse at the event's tone and Vicentini's interior art. More issues of DNX are expected to be announced in the weeks ahead.

Why This Matters for Marvel Comics Fans

For readers who followed the X-Men through the Krakoan era and the fallout of Age of Revelation, DNX promises a focused, high-stakes payoff centered on Beast, Cyclops, and Magneto while pulling the Fantastic Four into mutant affairs. With the prologue starting August 12 and the event running weekly through the end of September, read the X-Men (2024) and Fantastic Four (2025) tie-ins alongside the core series — all available at a local comic shop or on the Marvel Unlimited app.