Creation

The Outliers first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #1 by Gail Simone and David Marquez

Major Story Arcs

Red Wave

The Outliers were being chased by Sarah Gaunt, a monstrous bounty hunter that was capturing mutants for Graymalkin, the prison that used to be the X-Academy. Member Ransom flipped a coin between X-Men and the Brotherhood, and it landed on X-Men. They tracked a few former members to Haven House orphanage in Louisiana. Rogue was inspired to restart the X-Men to train and protect these kids, working out of Haven. She was joined by Gambit, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, and a reluctant Wolverine.

Sarah Gaunt eventually caught up with them, attacking Wolverine. When Rogue and Kurt found his body, she sent Logan back with Kurt while she faced Sarah on her own. Meanwhile, an army of Sarah's followers showed up to Haven House forcing the X-Men and The Outliers to team up before the Outliers were ready. They proved successful, although it meant Gambit using the Second Eye of Agamotto to give them an edge.

The Dark Artery

Hotoru was communicating with a nearby spirit and invited his teammates to follow it.The voice leads them to The Artery, a graveyard under a swamp guarded by Man-Thing. Behind a door was Lady Henrietta, Guardian of the Penumbra, an underworld for relatives of mutants who betrayed or abused them, but the actual Penumbra was ruled by Shuvahrak, who had been calling to one of the Outliers to take her place. Hotoru volunteers, but his teammates refuse to let him go alone.

Dressed in special living uniforms to protect them in the underworld, the Outliers were confronted by the spirits trapped in Penumbra, rageful and spiteful toward living mutants. Thankfully, they got back up from Man-Thing, who took a liking to the kids, and their X-Men mentors who came looking for them. Shuvahrak interrupted the fight to demand one of the Outliers be her successor, but the X-Men weren’t giving any of them up without a fight. Calico called forth Ember, who was revealed to have been brought back from the dead. Shuvahrak feared Ember and was, by extension, weak to Man-Thing, who caused her to burn.

Injured, Jubilee asked for mercy from Shuvahrak, that she not kidnap any of the kids under their guardianship as her daughter was kidnapped from her (her inspiration for creating Penumbra). She relented but demanded they never return.