Greg Pak (World War Hulk) and Mike McKone (Amazing Spider-Man) are here to put the ASTONISHING back in the X-Men. Something isn't what it seems. Storm needs Cyclops' help with a special mission against Sentinels, but it ends up being much more than they bargained for. Oh, and they kiss. WHAT!?!? Who has kidnapped them, who are these familiar looking mutants, and what is the true identity of the villain Saviour? The biggest, most exciting X-Men story in years is here! COLLECTING: Astonishing X-Men 44-47, material from Astonishing X-Men : Ghost Boxes 1

The chart-topping super-team of Joss Whedon (TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Runaways) and John Cassaday (Planetary, Captain America) return for more Astonishing X-Men! If you thought their past efforts were full of shocks and surprises, hold onto your eyeballs because you haven't seen anything yet! Things go from peculiar to just plain bizarre as Emma Frost's erratic behavior sends the X-Men spinning in a nonstop downward spiral. Will an unlikely union be the final straw? After secretly lying in wait for months, the new Hellfire Club makes its move! Plus: The X-Man destined to destroy the Breakworld stands revealed! Who is it, and what will be their fate? And will the X-Men be able to protect Earth from certain destruction at the hands of the Breakworld? When it's all over, nothing will ever be the same! No, really, we mean it!

Children of the Atom, or something else? A small African town has been hit with a series of bizarre occurrences, as children are born possessing strange and powerful abilities. With the mutant race dwindling, the X-Men are the fi rst on the scene to investigate the phenomenon. When they arrive, their hopes are raised by what looks to be a concentration of mutant births. But soon they find themselves confronted by the country's ruthless leader, who has his own ideas of what the children truly are and how to deal with them. Have the X-Men stumbled across a series of new mutant births, or are they dealing with something far more dangerous?

The X-Man known as Nightcrawler is a man with a foot in two worlds - one the daylight world of super heroes and super-villains; the other a netherworld of demons and angels, ghosts and monsters... human and otherwise. With the looks of a devil and the soul of a kind, ordinary man, Nightcrawler is used to being pulled in both directions. Now, he might be asked to go where the other X-Men won't - into the shadows that have always called to him! Does he have what it takes to get to the bottom of the strange deaths of thirteen children - and more importantly, is he strong enough to take on the sinister forces behind it once he does? Collects Nightcrawler#1-6.

Dream-team creators Joss Whedon and John Cassaday present a brand-new era for the X-Men! Cyclops and Emma Frost re-form the X-Men with the express purpose of "astonishing" the world. But when breaking news regarding the mutant gene unexpectedly hits the airwaves, will it derail their new plans before they even get started? As demand for the "mutant cure" reaches near-riot levels, the X-Men go head-to-head with the enigmatic Ord, with an unexpected ally - and some unexpected adversaries - tipping the scales! Collects Astonishing X-Men (2004) #1-6.

It's the book you've been waiting for! The superstar team of Warren Ellis and Simone Bianchi are ready to take the X-Men to the "Second Stage"! Messiah CompleX pulled the X-Men team together, Divided We Stand tore them apart. Now the X-Men are back to business - with a new look, a new base of operations, and a mystery to solve that will take them into previously uncharted territory and test them to their core! Collects Astonishing X-Men #25-30, Ghost Boxes #1-2.

The X-Men are off to protect the Earth from its destruction at the hands of the Breakworld...and when it's all over, nothing will ever be the same! No, really, we mean it! Whedon and Cassaday prove they are more than Astonishing: They are unstoppable! Collects Astonishing X-Men (2004) #19-24 & Giant-Size Astonishing X-Men #1.