Professor Charles Xavier has disbanded his fabled team of X-Men. What is his purpose? His students don't believe his given reason, and form a hastily assembled team of current and former X-Men -- as well as a few new members -- to find out. They soon discover that the vile villain Apocalypse has set his sights on the Mannites, a new breed of humanity, and perhaps the next step in the chain of evolution.Ever trying to force the "survival of the fittest", Apocalypse can have no good purpose in mind for these childlike, innocent creatures. The X-Men must protect them at all costs. But when Apocalypse unveils the newest of his Four Horsemen -- Death -- the X-Men may have met their match. Even worse, when he is unmasked, Death turns out to be one of their own!Featuring Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean Grey -- all featured prominently in this summer's blockbuster X-Men feature film, The Astonishing X-Men is poised to take advantage of the astonishing demand for all things "X" this year!