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If there’s one thing that can be said about Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld, it’s that he's definitely unafraid to voice his opinion on hot button topics: he’s spoken about his belief that Marvel has attempted to “embarrass, diminish [and] defeat” him, as well as his feeling that comic store retailers are “unreliable” when it comes to selling his comics. Now, he’s turning his attentions to the sales struggles of the X-Men — and his ideas about how to fix them.

“The X-Men family of titles is completely broken,” Liefeld said on a recent episode of his Robservations podcast. It’s hyperbolic, sure, but he’s referring to recent cancellations of a number of series in the line, including X-Factor, X-Force, NYX, and Weapon X-Men, none of which made it past 10 issues — and, in the case of Weapon X-Men, won’t even make it past five issues. X-Men line editor Tom Brevoort had addressed the reason for this in a newsletter, writing simply, “sometimes a book is slated to be an ongoing but the support in the marketplace simply isn’t there to allow for that.”

Liefeld, however, isn’t having it. “They’re cancelling because they are disappointing, disappointing, disappointing, disappointing and disappointing, They’re disappointing. And that is just ridiculous,” he complained. “I’m gonna give you some free of charge advice: Stop doing so many books,” he continued, speaking to Marvel. “X-Men '97 gave you the damn road map. It was all your favorites playing together in the way that we wanted to see them paying together: Cyclops, Gambit, Wolverine, Rogue […] X-Men '97 knocked it out of the park each and every week, the numbers were through the roof. The engagement was through the roof. The merchandise flew off the shelf.”

Don’t worry, though, because Liefeld has another idea to save the X-Men, and it doesn’t involve publishing less X-Men or returning to the status quo of three decades earlier — although it is an idea that might upset Marvel’s primary competitor.

“I looked around, and I’m telling you, whatever the check is, whatever the number is, go write it and give it to one Scott Snyder,” he suggested, citing the success of DC’s Absolute line as evidence of Snyder’s talent when it comes to building a successful line, creatively and commercially. “I don’t know Scott, we’re not friends. I need nothing from Scott Snyder, but I’m smart and I’ve got good instincts and I manage my own career magnificently. You need to call Scott Snyder. You need to give him whatever that number is, so that he can come over and he can assemble a new vision. It’s not going to be a group of editors [that does that]. You need to assemble a better team. These characters deserve better. The fans deserve better, and Snyder has proven that he can weave a tapestry of talent, of intrigue, of surprise, that he has good taste, and he can assemble what you need.”

It’s unlikely to happen any time soon — Snyder has repeatedly talked about his multi-year plan for Absolute Batman and the DC All In initiative in general, after all — but it’s certainly a fun What If…? game to play: what would a Scott Snyder-driven X-Men line look like? And would it be the sales success that at least the man behind Deadpool seems to believe it could be?

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.