X-Man, initially launched as part of the 1995 Age of Apocalypse event, stars Nate Grey, the titular X-Man. Nate, an extremely powerful telepath and telekinetic, was one of the few characters from the Age of Apocalypse Alternate Universe to move into the main Marvel Universe at the end of the crossover, and most of his series saw him trying to find a place for himself in a world that already contained a Cable very different variant]] of him, with familiar-seeming allies and enemies who were very different to the versions he once knew.
With Counter-X, the focus returns to Marvel's alternate worlds, with Nate now acting as Earth's mutant shaman and guardian, protecting the world (and mutants in particular) from external threats.
Counter-X story arcs:
- No Direction Home (#63-66) launches the new era and sees Nate trying to protect a group of mutants from a creature that's hunting them down. It's co-written by Warren Ellis and Steven Grant and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti, with color art by Christie Scheele.
- The Infinities of Evil (#67-70) is a flashback arc that reveals what happened to Nate before his reappearance at the start of the previous arc. It's written by Steven Grant (based on a plot by Warren Ellis) and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti, with color art by Christie Scheele.
- Fearful Symmetries (#71-74) sees Nate facing an opponent he can't beat through brute force, a being who's destroying alternate Earths. It's written by Steven Grant and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti, with color art by Christie Scheele and Digital Chameleon.
- 'Till the End of the World (#75), the final issue of the series, is written by Steven Grant and illustrated by Quique Alcatena, with color by Digital Chameleon.
The Counter-X era of X-Man contains examples of the following tropes:
- Alternate Self: Nate meets his Earth-998 variant in the second arc. He's more skilled, but far less powerful.
- Alternate Universe: Each of the three arcs involves at least one alternate world in a significant role. The series also introduces the idea that the multiverse is a spiral - not all alternate worlds are equal. Further down the spiral are broken worlds where physics twists and life struggles to get a foothold. Further up are worlds that might be viewed as heaven.
- Half of Earth-998 has been ruled by Queen Madelyne I since the 19th century.
- Earth-253, home to the People's Protectorate, is destroyed by Qabiri at the start of the third arc.
- Apocalypse How:
- A continental example: Queen Madelyne intends to use Nate to annihilate Earth-998's Asia, including its human population.
- Qabiri reduces entire worlds to rubble.
- And Show It to You: Scratch rips out the alternate Forge's heart and holds it aloft.
- Arc Villain:
- The Broken Man is introduced this way for No Direction Home, and he's certainly the main antagonist, but The Reveal about the Gauntlet's activities positions them as the real villains.
- Queen Madelyne for The Infinities of Evil, as everything that happens is a consequence of her plan to use Nate as a Human Weapon.
- Qabiri for Fearful Symmetries, as Nate tries to stop his world-destroying crusade.
- Back from the Dead: On Earth-998, Queen Madelyne I died at the end of the 19th century and left instructions that her body should be burned so that she might rise again from the ashes. It took a little while, but she resurrected herself and resumed her reign. Subverted with the revelation that she's not Madelyne, she's a Jean Grey from another Alternate Universe who assumed the queen's identity.
- Captain Ersatz: The People's Protectorate, who appear in the Fearful Symmetries arc, are clearly based on The Authority, a team Warren Ellis created for another publisher.
- Character Development: Nate's jarring difference in personality as compared to before; gone the explosive temper and a desire to fit in, replaced by an almost creepy calm and Tranquil Fury, as well as a tendency towards esoteric philosophising and acceptance that he's on the outside. The change takes place in the flashback part of The Infinities of Evil, partly thanks to the events of the arc and Nate's semi Fusion Dance with his Earth-998 counterpart.
- Continuity Nod: Mr. Scratch has brain damage from the time when a "Canadian Heretic" stabbed him in the head while trying to assassinate the Queen. The unseen assassin is implied to be Earth-998's version of Wolverine.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Mr. Glass, who provides security for the Gauntlet, is a telekinetic mutant who's killed almost seventy people. He has no concept of who Nate is, even after Nate first displays his powers. He's entirely out of his league and it's a very short fight - and after discovering all those murders, Nate's not inclined to end it gently.
- Crazy Sane: Nate, indicated to be a result of his fully unlocked powers. When asked if he's insane, his matter-of-fact response is, "probably."
- Dragon with an Agenda: When Mr. Scratch discovers the queen's secrets he makes it clear that he‘ll blackmail her into becoming king.
- Fatal Reward: Earth-998's Forge variant is executed by Mr. Scratch as soon as he completes his great task.
- Fate Worse than Death: Nate executes most of the Gauntlet, but delivers Helen to the Broken Man and his people. Helen was the one who came up with the plan to kidnap their children, murdering and dissecting them so that the Gauntlet could profit by selling their organs. Her new captors have been seeking vengeance for a century, and seem very pleased that she's still alive.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Queen Madelyne I, who rules half of Earth-998 and is keen to conquer the rest of it as well. As a Madelyne Pryor, she has significant personal telepathic power. But she's also been hunting and enslaving Nate Greys from alternate universes, using them as living weapons until they break. And then there's the revelation that she's not actually Madelyne. She's a Jean Grey, stealing Queen Madelyne's legacy.
- Go Mad from the Revelation:
- This is arguably what happens to Nate, after his Earth-998 counterpart opened up his mind to the full array of possibilities inherent in his powers, which as Dark X-Men later revealed, included over 300 ways to see the future. Certainly, his quirky and somewhat detached personality dates from that point, and he becomes significantly more normal when he's later stripped of most of his powers in New Mutants.
- Idris, a resident of the Brilliant City, the top of the Spiral of Worlds, is revealed to have split herself across the multiverse after this happened to her. When Nate manages to merge her counterparts, she finally remembers what it was, as Nate reveals to the inhabitants of the Brilliant City. She looked up and she saw that there were far higher realities that saw them as totally irrelevant.
- Humanoid Abomination:
- The Harvester, which takes on humanoid form.
- Nate himself more or less qualifies, flat out stating that he only does things like eat, sleep, and breathe to make the ordinary people around him more comfortable.
- Human Resources: The Gauntlet stole children from an Alternate Universe, from a broken world where humans had evolved to cope with harsh, ever-changing conditions. And then they dissected them and sold their organs.
- Human Weapon: The first arc of X-Man established that Nate was essentially a weapon, designed to kill Apocalypse. Queen Madelyne claims that all the Nates she's met, on every world, are nothing more than living weapons. And she controls and uses them accordingly.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: In the second arc, Nate is on the receiving end for once, as Maddie has been subtly changing things as she gets her hooks deeper into his mind.
- Mind over Matter: Mr. Glass, who provides security for the Gauntlet, is a telekinetic who's killed almost seventy people. Nate, as established from the very start of the series, is an extremely powerful telekinetic. Glass, however, doesn't know that. A Curb-Stomp Battle ensues.
- No-Sell: Mr Scratch, the Queen's Lord Protector on Earth-998, is a mutant whose main power is immunity to other mutants' powers. It's not a full Power Nullifier effect, though, and there are still ways to attack him indirectly.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Qabiri of the Brilliant City descends the spiral into 'lesser' Alternate Universes so that he can destroy their worlds before such impure beings reach the city and pollute it.
- Outside-Context Problem: The Broken Man is from an Alternate Universe further down the spiral, a place where life follows different rules. The Gauntlet don't stand a chance against him, and even Nate struggles to counter some of his abilities.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Nate executes the mutants of the Gauntlet when he learns the extent of their crimes. The one exception is Helen, who suggested their plan in the first place. Helen gets a Fate Worse than Death, sent to the broken world and handed over to the families of the children the Gauntlet killed and dissected.
- Power Floats: The inhabitants of the Brilliant City walk, but their feet never quite touch the ground.
- Take Up My Sword: When Nate sacrifices himself to defeat the Harvester in the final issue, he passes the role of shaman on to Mike, the young mutant who first alerted him to the threat.
- Weak, but Skilled:
- Nate's Earth-998 counterpart in comparison to Nate himself.
- Nate himself is this to Qabiri, who possesses the raw power to destroy worlds, even universes. While Nate can't take him on directly, he's more flexible and cunning.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Nate becomes far more powerful, and rather less sane.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The Infinities of Evil is set months before the previous arc.
- Year Inside, Hour Outside: Time moves much faster in the Broken Man's Alternate Universe.
