It's been a rough time for X-Men fans lately. The quality of Marvel's current X-Men comics is mixed, at best. The most recent movie was a dud. The characters have all but vanished from Marvel's merchandise. So it didn't help that the recent Marvel NOW announcements showed a grand total of one X-Men comic as part of the publisher's post-Civil War II lineup. The fear among many fans is that the X-Men simply aren't a priority for Marvel any longer. The time has come for Marvel to definitively prove otherwise and prove that the X-Men are still a vital part of the Marvel Universe.

Death of X teaser by Aaron Kuder

Art is imitating life here.

Art by Bengal

There's a pervasive conspiracy theory among many X-fans that Marvel is attempting to quietly bury the X-Men in favor of those franchises to which they hold the film and TV rights. These conspiracy theorists accuse Marvel of attempting to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans, citing the new status quo of the Inhumans in the comics and the fact that these characters are playing a more prominent role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while there's not really any direct evidence to support this theory, at times Marvel seems to be actively playing on fears about the Inhumans replacing the X-Men. That's essentially the basis of the X-Men's current status quo. The mutant race is quite literally collateral damage as the Inhuman empire expands across the globe.I have to wonder what kind of message Marvel felt they were sending to fans with the release of the Marvel NOW Previews catalog this week. What else are readers supposed to think when Marvel spotlights no less than 62 comics and only one of them is an X-Men title? For that matter, an X-Men title that's a scant four issues long and ominously dubbed "Death of X"? Various creators have since hit the Twittersphere to reassure fans and confirm that books like Extraordinary X-Men are still continuing after Civil War II, but why didn't the catalog indicate that from the start?At this point, whether or not Marvel is actually trying to downplay the X-Men is irrelevant. Enough readers believe it to be the case that action needs to be taken. Readers need to be reassured that the X-Men matter to Marvel every bit as much as the Inhumans or the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy. They need to know that the X-Men comics aren't being subjected to the same restrictions and limitations as the merchandise The problem is that Marvel's creators and editors keep sending mixed messages. For example, writer Brian Bendis posted the following back in June 2014, "I was told when I started writing the X-Men that there is a very small part of the readership that feels very persecuted. That no matter what Marvel does these readers think that Marvel hates the X-Men with a fiery passion and are looking to destroy it. And this goes back way before movies or cartoons, this goes waaaay back, so even though the best artists on the planet and franchise writers have been put in charge of this very important part of the Marvel universe some people still think that Marvel is out to blow its own foot off."But then, barely a month later, Executive Editor Tom Brevoort responded to a question about the lack of X-Men toys and cartoons by saying, "If you had two things, and on one you earned 100% of the revenues from the efforts that you put into making it, and the other you earned a much smaller percentage for the same amount of time and effort, you’d be more likely to concentrate more heavily on the first, wouldn’t you?"You can start to see why the conspiracy theories take root.I think Marvel needs to do two things to combat the fears and doomsday prophecies surrounding the X-Men comics. In the short term, they need to be clearer and more firm when it comes to shooting down rumors of the X-Men's demise. Less snark and more simple, unambiguous language. Even in that Bendis post I quoted above, he's devoting more energy to poking fun at the conspiracies than proving why they're wrong. That's characteristic of a lot of X-Men-related interviews these days. I get that these writers and editors are tired of being accused of an anti-X-Men bias and the insinuation that the feud between Fox and Marvel Studios is dictating the course of the comics. But at the same time, they need to understand that a lot of people feel very passionately about the X-Men franchise. The thought of a Marvel Universe without the X-Men as a core pillar upsets them greatly. And lately, Marvel hasn't done enough to assuage those fears.But ultimately, the comics will have to speak for themselves. The best thing Marvel can do is to pull the comics out of their current rut and make them fresh and exciting again. I already explored last year what needs to be done to improve the X-Men line , but little has changed since then. The X-Men office needs to develop a more compelling status quo for the books, one that doesn't simply rehash old storylines like "Decimation." Ideally, the franchise needs to find a better balance between exploring the mutant struggle and actually having fun with the characters for a change. It's telling that the best examples of the current X-Men line are books like All-New Wolverine and X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever, books that stand mostly on their own and have a strong sense of humor. Too many of these books are utterly joyless right now.It's clear from the Death of X announcement and the Civil War II: X-Men mini-series that Marvel is building towards a major war between the X-Men and Inhumans, and sooner rather than later. My hope is that that conflict will pave the way for a major refresh of the X-Men line. I'd love to see the books move past the Inhumans conflict and onto more compelling drama. Theoretically, the young, original X-Men have to return to their own timeline at some point. What happens when they do go back home? How does that impact the course of mutant history? That's the sort of status quo-shattering story these books should be exploring.I'd like to believe that the dearth of X-Men books in the Marvel NOW lineup is a good thing. Perhaps the franchise is due for its own relaunch a little farther down the road, one that will address the problems that have been plaguing these books for the past couple years. It's time Marvel reaffirmed their commitment to the X-Men in a big way.

"Between the Panels" is a bi-weekly column from Jesse Schedeen that focuses on the world of comics. You can see more of his thoughts on comics and pop culture by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN