The X-Files is easily one of the more successful science fiction properties this side of Star Trek, with nine television seasons, two movies, and a spinoff series under its belt. And that's not even counting the various comic book and prose tie-ins, video games, action figures, and so forth. But based on the lukewarm reaction to 2008's X-Files: I Want to Believe, we feared the franchise would be put to rest for good. And thus, the story of how Agents Mulder and Scully stopped the impending alien invasion would never be told.

The Mulder/Scully Dynamic

Mythology and Monsters

The Colonists

Syndicates and Super-Soldiers

Luckily, that's not going to be the case. While a third X-Files movie may or may not ever happen, fans can look to IDW Publishing to continue the saga of Mulder and Scully. The publisher is kicking off a new ongoing series called X-Files: Season 10 this week. In the tradition of comics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 and Smallville: Season 11, this series will pick up where the show left off and wrap up loose threads, while creating many new ones in the process.But at this point, it's been several years since I Want to Believe hit theaters and over a decade since the TV series wrapped up. Even hardcore X-philes might have trouble remembering the ins and outs of the show's complex mythology at this point. That's why we put together this Season 10 primer. Whether you're a newcomer who's never watched an episode of X-Files before, or a seasoned veteran who just needs a refresher, here is everything you need to know to dive into IDW's new series.The core of The X-Files revolves around two characters - FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The pilot episode introduced Mulder as a quirky and somewhat antisocial but highly capable investigator who took an obsessive interest in the FBI's many unexplained case files - the so-called X-Files. The higher-ups chose to let Mulder devote his full energy to investigating the X-Files.They assigned Dr. Dana Scully as his partner. With her background as a medical doctor and forensic scientist, Mulder's superiors intended for Scully to evaluate and debunk Mulder's investigations. Their hope was that her good science would put the X-Files to bed for good and force Mulder to return to regular duty.Thus was born the core dynamic between the two leads. Mulder is a firm believer in the paranormal and supernatural. For him, confronting the unexplainable isn't just a job, it's a crusade. He's constantly fueled by the need to explain the mysterious disappearance of his sister when they were children and expose the truths that shadowy government operatives would rather keep hidden.Scully, meanwhile, believes that "nothing can exist in contradiction to nature." She is forever the skeptic, demanding proof for things that Mulder accepts on faith. And with her unique talent for always being somewhere else when ghosts, aliens and vampires rear their heads, that proof always seems just out of reach for Scully.But the two characters grew close over the course of nine seasons. Eventually, the strange things Scully encounters on a weekly basis force her to accept that science as she understands it doesn't hold every answer. And the two grow from being colleagues to close friends to eventual lovers. Even in the pilot episode, the sexual tension between the two is palpable.That tension grew over the course of several years, with many episodes playing on the "will they/won't they" dynamic. But towards the end of the series, the two do finally embark on a romantic relationship. They even have a son together (though it's never explicitly stated whether Mulder is the biological father). However, Scully is eventually forced to give the baby up for adoption in order to protect his life, a fact that haunts both of them still.Most episodes of The X-Files fall into one of two categories. Most are "Monster of the Week" episodes that introduce a strange new creature or setting for the agents to contend with. Mulder and Scully travel across America, investigating everything from ghosts to vampires to mutants to psychics to devil worshipers.In most cases, these creatures are shown to be legitimately paranormal rather than Scooby Doo-esque hoaxes, though the agents rarely gather enough conclusive evidence to prove as much.Generally these "Monster of the Week" episodes are completely standalone stories. In a handful of cases minor characters and villains will return, as in the case of superhuman serial killer Eugene Victor Tooms in Season 1. Writer Joe Harris has promised that certain issues of Season 10 will offer direct follow-ups to classic "Monster of the Week" episodes.The other episode type is the mythology episodes - those that focus on the overarching government conspiracy Mulder and Scully are attempting to expose. Each "mytharc" episode slowly peels back the mystery of the conspiracy and what connection the government has to UFO sightings and secret medical experiments involving human/alien hybrids. These episodes are evenly distributed across each season and contain most of the series' significant and lasting plot developments.Fans who want a complete understanding of the series' mythology without watching all 200+ episodes can stick to these mythology episodes. In fact, Fox issued a set of four mythology-themed DVD sets that contain just these episodes. However, as hardcore X-philes will point out, viewers will miss out on a lot of the show's flavor and more humorous elements by skipping the "Monster of the Week" episodes.Season 10 will follow a similar formula as far as focusing mainly on "Monster of the Week" installments and regularly sprinkling in more story-driven mythology episodes.As mentioned, much of the conspiracy storyline in the series focuses on mysterious alien visitors. The full nature of the aliens, known as Colonists, isn't revealed until the 1998 movie. Mulder and Scully eventually come to learn that these aliens were present on earth throughout much of human evolution. The vast sections of "junk DNA" in the human genome are actually inactive alien DNA.Several characters in the series exhibit special psychic powers because their junk DNA has become activated. Because of their susceptibility to cold, the aliens were forced to flee earth during the last Ice Age. The root of the conspiracy in the series involves "Colonization," a long-term plan by these aliens to return to Earth and re-assume control of the planet.The series introduces two basic species of alien. The Colonists themselves appear in three forms. Their "life-force" is known as Purity, a sentient virus contained with a black oil substance. Traces of Purity were left behind on Earth after the Colonists fled. It can, and frequently does, infect humans. Many times it controls the human host and uses it for transportation, with the telltale sign of infection being a wave of black oil that passes over the eyeballs.Infected humans can also be used as incubators for alien embryos much in the vein of the Aliens films, and with similarly bloody results. Mature Colonists resemble the stereotypical, large-headed grey aliens of various other pop culture tales, but immature Colonists are larger and more feral, with leathery skin and razor-sharp teeth and claws.The other species is known as Alien Bounty Hunters. Though similar in appearance to the Colonists, these creatures are capable of shape-shifting and almost always appear in human form in the series. Like the Terminator, they're physically imposing and all share the same default human disguise. In addition to their shape-shifting powers, these Bounty Hunters are incredibly strong and resistant to most injuries.The only way to kill them is to pierce the base of their neck with a sharp object. They frequently carry stiletto weapons for that exact purpose, as their mission is to police the Colonists' various projects on Earth and kill any rogue aliens or human/alien hybrids that threaten the path to Colonization.Mulder and Scully eventually learn that the Colonists have taken control of or wiped out most of the galaxy's advanced civilizations, with only humans and the Bounty Hunters remaining free. A group of Bounty Hunters called Faceless Rebels form a resistance against the Colonists. When not disguised as humans, the rebels are distinguished by the fact that their eyes, mouths, and all other orifices have been sewn shut to prevent infection by the black oil. Because they fight to prevent Colonization at all costs, the Faceless rebels could be considered allies to Mulder and Scully.The alien Colonists are generally more of an unseen threat throughout the series. The more visible and recurring villains of The X-Files are a group of shadowy government agents known as The Syndicate. The most iconic member of this group is known as The Cigarette Smoking Man or The Cancer Man. Rarely seen without a pack of Morley cigarettes at hand, this sinister figure appeared in the first episode and continued to haunt Mulder's life until the series finale.Like CSM, most of the central figures in the Syndicate are known only by their nicknames, such as The Well-Manicured Man and The First Elder. The group also included a number of ex-Nazi scientists and even Mulder's own father. The group has influence across all levels of the US Government and employs a number of skilled assassins and mercenaries.As with the Colonists, the full truth behind the Syndicate isn't revealed until well past the midway point of the series. The group had its origins in the 1950s, where it worked to repatriate Nazi scientists with valuable scientific research and cover up evidence of extraterrestrial life. The Syndicate was officially formed in 1973 when its members struck an alliance with the Colonists. The Syndicate agreed to aid in the process of Colonization.They would create a delivery system for the virus by genetically engineering Africanized honeybees whose sting could infect humans. Both the Syndicate and the Colonists began to work on creating human/alien hybrids that would be immune to infection and act as a slave race when Colonization took effect. Most supposed alien abductions are actually the result of government scientists kidnapping civilians in order to perform medical tests. Scully herself was the victim of such an abduction in Season 2, and its aftereffects (artificially-induced cancer, miraculous pregnancy) continued throughout the series.In return for their assistance, the Syndicate members and their families were promised immunity. However, neither side particularly trusted the other, and for good reason. Before forming their alliance, the Syndicate had initially threatened to use nuclear warheads to render the planet cold and uninhabitable to the Colonists. Hence some of the Cold War hysteria that gripped the globe at the time. They also secretly worked to develop a cure for the virus called Purity Control.Not trusting their human collaborators, the Colonists demanded that each Syndicate member turn over one family member as a hostage. This is the reason for the disappearance of Mulder's sister, Samantha. She along with many of the hostages were experimented upon and cloned as part of the human/alien hybrid research. Though Mulder encountered a number of these clones over the course of the series, he ultimately discovered that the real Samantha had been dead for many years. That said, we wouldn't be surprised if Season 10 adds new wrinkles to that supposedly finished plotline.Naturally, this forced abduction caused a great deal of tension in the Mulder household, eventually leading to his parents' divorce. Mulder learned that his father chose Samantha to be abducted because she would be able to live on after Colonization as a clone. Meanwhile, Bill Mulder trusted his son to show the determination and resolve to expose the Syndicate's crimes. Though, as Mulder eventually learned, his real father was actually the Cigarette Smoking Man. As strong as their rivalry was throughout the series, CSM also showed a clear respect and sense of protectiveness toward Mulder. Not that that stopped CSM from trying to kill Mulder on a few occasions.The Syndicate's plans came to fruition during Season 6 of the series. By 1999 they had finally produced a viable human/alien hybrid (CSM's ex-wife, no less) and attempted to deliver her to the Colonists. However, the Faceless Rebels managed to intercept the group before they could contact the Colonists. The Syndicate members were burned alive, the hybrid destroyed, and only CSM and a handful of others survived. CSM had a habit of cheating death throughout the series, even as his colleagues and his terminal lung cancer did their best to kill him on multiple occasions.The ongoing series mythology took a turn after this point, shifting away from the Syndicate and their secretive plots to a new concept involving Super-Soldiers. The Colonists needed new agents to replace those the faceless rebels had killed, so they abducted a number of human soldiers and politicians, performed grotesque experiments on them, and returned them to Earth as secret agents.These Super-Soldiers are incredibly strong, effectively immortal, and dedicated to ensuring that Colonization will proceed. After infiltrating key posts in the US Government, they formed a "Shadow Government" that would assume control once Colonization began.The Super-Soldier conflict formed the crux of Seasons 8 and 9. The show began to be more heavily criticized by fans during this later period because of the sudden shift in tone and the fact that many felt The X-Files had reached the end of its logical lifespan with the conclusion of the Syndicate conspiracy. The fact that Mulder himself only appeared sporadically in these last two seasons didn't help either.