I want to get in to X-men. What do I need to read for Schism?

@theselfproclaimednerd: Surprisingly little. If you have a basic knowledge of the team then you shouldn't have too much trouble getting into it; it's a great starting point for new readers. The only things I would suggest reading up on are Oya, Kid Omega and the Hellfire Club. These three probably won't be all that familiar to you, and they all play large(ish) roles in Schism.

If you want to keep reading afterwards, give House of M and Second Coming a read, and check out the post-Schism teams. If you have any characters that you're particularly interested in, let me know and I can tell you what story arcs would be best to read up on.

@Underwaterlad: I heard that I needed Messiah complex, Messiah war, and Second Coming for current X-men continuity. That true? Or are they not relevant to Schism?

@theselfproclaimednerd said:

Or are they not relevant to Schism?

So far, nothing is relevant to Schism. We don't even know what the giant cataclysmic power is that's headed for Utopia that all the X-Men are worried about in Prelude to Schism.

All the other stories are about the state of mutantkind & Hope as the possible mutant Messiah. It's not essential to know that prior to Schism. It gives you good background to X-Men relationships, teams, etc... but Schism is entirely separate.

@xerox_kitty said:

We don't even know what the giant cataclysmic power is that's headed for Utopia that all the X-Men are worried about in Prelude to Schism.

I've been getting really confused about this. It was my understanding that Prelude was set immediately before Schism, and is there to represent what Cyclops goes through every single time something big is threatening his people. The focus isn't actually on what is coming, because that also is representative of pretty much every big threat that's come before. In the first issue of Schism, we see Wolverine covered in arrows, etc, and references are made to what had happened the night before. So hasn't Prelude already happened?

@xerox_kitty said:

We don't even know what the giant cataclysmic power is that's headed for Utopia that all the X-Men are worried about in Prelude to Schism.

I've been getting really confused about this. It was my understanding that Prelude was set immediately before Schism, and is there to represent what Cyclops goes through every single time something big is threatening his people. The focus isn't actually on what is coming, because that also is representative of pretty much every big threat that's come before. In the first issue of Schism, we see Wolverine covered in arrows, etc, and references are made to what had happened the night before. So hasn't Prelude already happened?

@Underwaterlad said:

@xerox_kitty said:

We don't even know what the giant cataclysmic power is that's headed for Utopia that all the X-Men are worried about in Prelude to Schism.

I've been getting really confused about this. It was my understanding that Prelude was set immediately before Schism, and is there to represent what Cyclops goes through every single time something big is threatening his people. The focus isn't actually on what is coming, because that also is representative of pretty much every big threat that's come before. In the first issue of Schism, we see Wolverine covered in arrows, etc, and references are made to what had happened the night before. So hasn't Prelude already happened?

I like you. You're logical and articulate.

@The Dark Huntress said:

I like you. You're logical and articulate.

I'm logticulate.

@xerox_kitty said:

@Underwaterlad said:

@xerox_kitty said:

We don't even know what the giant cataclysmic power is that's headed for Utopia that all the X-Men are worried about in Prelude to Schism.

I've been getting really confused about this. It was my understanding that Prelude was set immediately before Schism, and is there to represent what Cyclops goes through every single time something big is threatening his people. The focus isn't actually on what is coming, because that also is representative of pretty much every big threat that's come before. In the first issue of Schism, we see Wolverine covered in arrows, etc, and references are made to what had happened the night before. So hasn't Prelude already happened?

This is the over-all confusion caused by Marvel's need to push out mindless mini titles. The name "Prelude To Schism" suggests that the mini series is set before Schism. However, the events don't concur with the lead in to issue #1 of Schism. Therefore the "Prelude" seems to be more imminent... to the actual fracture of the teams. It seems that (story-wise) there hasn't been any lead in to Schism, and that the events of "Prelude" will be seen (yet again) or aluded to towards the end of Schism. But the whole of "Preulde" was set around the X-Men wondering whether to evactuate Utopia or stay & fight a mighty un-named force that would certainly wipe out the population of the floating rock. So far, nothign like that has been even remotely hinted at in Schism. Making Prelude 4 issues of repeatitve nonsense. It's all still a mystery. And with only a couple issues of Schism left to go, they'd better have a bloody amazing surprise left for issues 4 & 5, or the whole thing will be 9 issues of complete & utter crap. There's no suspension, nothing dramatic. Allt he threats in Prelude & Schism are either not disclosed or not as scary as Marvel would have us believe.

Interesting. I disagree when you say that the events don't concur with Schism #1. On the first page, Iceman and Wolverine have a short discussion regarding the previous night, with Wolverine saying it "was the usual," leading me to the belief that the event was nothing special, but simply representative of the forces that the X-Men constantly face. However, after the first page, it's never referred to again. So perhaps this page is just used to demonstrate how Cyclops uses Wolverine, framing the characters for the big split.

But as you said, it's all still a mystery. And even though I believe that Prelude came before Schism #1, I hope you're right in that it takes place some time between or during #4 and #5. I certainly hope I didn't waste $20 dollars on what I agree to be "repetitive nonsense."

Interesting. I disagree when you say that the events don't concur with Schism #1. On the first page, Iceman and Wolverine have a short discussion regarding the previous night, with Wolverine saying it "was the usual," leading me to the belief that the event was nothing special, but simply representative of the forces that the X-Men constantly face. However, after the first page, it's never referred to again. So perhaps this page is just used to demonstrate how Cyclops uses Wolverine, framing the characters for the big split.