A Blog were I Rank A Bunch of X-Men Characters and Give Flimsy Justifications of my Opinions or The Definitive Ultimate X-Men Ranking Blog
Ranking All 30 X-Men(official members pre-AoA)
30-Lockheed the Dragon- Cute dragon do not get it twisted hes only this low down because he was used as a prop way more than a character in his own right.
29-Changeling-This is only cause his main run in the book was before I read it and was not a high point in the series, If this was including AoA Morph he would likely end up in the top 5, as that is one of the greatest redesigns in history, but for the character I knew pre AoA hes the bottom of the actual characters, for short run that was mainly him pretending to be someone else.
28-Thunderbird-A short run that ended with him dying, great costume and decent character that was spoiled by later treatment of him. I was a bigger fan of Warpath from X-Force, but consider his placement more a default one than a mark of disliking him.
27-Mimic-Man I wish he had spent more time with the team, I like the power, like the character, hell I even love that original over the top design. The biggest knock against him is similar to Thunderbird, just his short run with team.
26-Banshee-I like Banshee, I dont think hes a bad character, I just think hes a great supporting character, and thats what he did to the characters higher up this list. I think Phalanx Covenant and his run as leader of Gen X makes me want to move him higher, but as a X-Men member, hes down at number 26.
25-Prof X- Ok so I need to be honest with this one, If I stuck to my guns and counted only pre AoA stories Prof X would be in my Top 5, his dream of peaceful coexistence, his teaching the next generation, it helped me become who I am….but the character assassination that followed, from Onslaught to AXis to Power of X, I cant ignore those bits when I go back and try, they destroyed the guy that built the dream.
24-Sunfire- Great Costume, like all the ones he had, fun arsehole character who was powerful as can be, but his bad attitude caused him to not be a great team fit. Again if I counted AoA version, that costume would move him into top 10.
23-Archangel-Lowest rated of the 5 Originals, do not take that to mean hes a bad character, its just that I could never relate to him, rich pretty boy was not something I cared about. I did like him a lot more after Apocalypse changed him, but even then he was just pouty rich not as pretty as before boy. He became a better character after Lobdell started writing the book and while I wish I could place him higher (If for no other reason than his confrontation with Apocalypse in X-Cutioner’s Song).
22-Dazzler-The lowest rated female member, gotta admit shocks me even to see her this low. Its more the fact that a good part of my time reading the books, there really wasnt an X-Men team per se just a bunch of X characters running around. I think her interactions with team members are great, her and Longshot are one of my favorite comics couples, I think she kicks arse in the arcade game, but in the comics she was a great character but not a great X-Men.
21-Iceman- Ok pour your hate down now. Lets be clear, I love Iceman, Bobby is one of my favorite characters, I’ve been a fan his he was an Amazing Friend, I think from the start of his Arc with Emma to modern day hes been one of the better written characters and has had one of the greatest arcs, but this is based on Pre AoA, so hes way lower, as at this point he was Beast buddy and the least interesting X-Men as a stand alone character.
20-Rachel-Rachel is this low simply because shes young Phoenix with a splash of Wolvie. If I count Excalibur run and more modern takes on her she goes up into top 10 (maybe?) but at this point she was an interesting if under developed character.
19-Forge-Storm+Forge>Storm+Panther…sorry it had to be said. Forge is a builder, a creator,a tech wiz and a shaman. The combination of technology and spiritualism always appealed to me. I think he suffers from the same thing many of the Claremont era B players did in that there were just way too many characters around and they didnt get enough of a spotlight.
18-Beast-Hank McCoy my dear boy. Was one of the guys I related to the most, I too was an unusually smart but big guy that you wouldnt think was smart. He was way smarter mind you, but I enjoyed the character for that reason. He would be higher but he tended to come and go from the team too much for me to fall in love with him.
17-Bishop-Bishop is proof that a great mystery can elevate any character from bland to great. And the big mystery was not even directly about him. The X-Traitor mystery and the future of the X-Men that he represented made him a compelling character, him having a cool character design and being one of only a few POC on the team made him even more of a standout. Never really developed much interest in him beyond that though, never had any depth to the character during this time.
16-Nightcrawler- Everyone’s favorite fuzzy elf, the swashbuckling, tail waggling, ass kicking, teleporting good guy is the one character I think everyone loves at least a little. Claremont made him one of the most likable characters in comics history and I think it goes without saying his placement here is more about his short time in the book(during my time reading) and if I included Excalibur he would move way up.
15-Colossus-I feel strange with this rating, I think he should be higher, as some of my favorite stories featured him, but i think he should be lower as I rarely think of him as being one of my faves. I think the death of Magik and subsequent turning on the team to join the Acolytes under Magneto actually moved him up the list a bunch, as that is one of the stories that truly affected me as a fan.
14-Revanche-Full disclosure, this one is only here so I can have the Psylocke/Revanche pair together so I do not need to figure out which was which at what point, so consider this almost like 13B and just read the next entry.
13-Psylocke- Betsy, sister of Cap Britain, now herself Cap. In her original appearances she was a telepath, in a scarlet witch inspired costume, but after Seige Perilous she was an Asian ninja assassin with telepathy and one of the sexiest costumes ever designed. Her flirting with Scott was unwanted but by the time she was paired with Warren and dealt with Revanche issues she had became a great interesting character.
12-Rogue-Blame the X-Men:TAS for me loving the southern belle. The way she was portrayed in the show coupled with that costume, teen Nate was happy with that. In the books she was even better. The relationship with Remy and the ickier one with Magneto were both interesting, she had one of the most unique and compelling powers in the books as well as the power to be one of the most powerful beings in comics. Would probably be way higher if her entire run had been written by Fabian Nicieza.
11-Polaris- Ok so going to have to admit to again breaking my rule of counting their X-Men run only as Im heavily influenced by her run in X-Factor to put her this high. X-Factor #92 in particular. Even with that run out of the way I was a huge fan of the character, her powers being related to their greatest foe was interesting twist(making her related to Magento as in some stories not so much) and her and Alex’s relationship is my favorite pairing in Marvel.
10-Kitty-We broke into the top 10 with Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat, Sprite, Ariel, Star-Lord(?)…ok codenames aside she has had one of the better growths in comics. Coming in as a young teen and being able to actually grow up over the years somewhat, she has gone from unsure but brave youngster to federal agent to leader of a new generation of mutants like herself. Much of that growth came after leaving the X-Men or she would be higher but during her time with the team she played a very important role, her relationships humanized some of the rougher characters well, in particular Logan, Nightcrawler and Colossus.
9-Gambit-The cocky, cool, smooth as cream cajun. Nobody, not even Logan was as cool as Remy. From the time he saved young Storm through his relationship with Rogue he was always interesting. His character design is one of the most 90s things ever but was so strong. Everything from the playing cards to the staff to the trench coat just fit the look perfect, one of the most aesthetically pleasing designs ever to go along with a great character.
8-Storm-The Goddess. Her as the team leader is the way I picture the team(Basically Uncanny 297 cover). The X-Men:TAS reinforced her as a leader to me. Her costume history was interesting, mohawk look was great, the others hit and miss. Forge, Gambit, Jean, Scott, Logan, so many of her relationships are the highlight of the books.
7-Magneto-Is it strange to place the arch nemesis as the 7th best member? Idk but his role as team head and member was impactful and compelling. You always cared about what he was doing, he rarely faded into background, while his time with the team was short he spent many stories as ally or non villain antagonist as well that were able to keep him this high.
6-Jean-To be clear, Phoenix Force posing as Jean is counted in here as well, just cause Im not counting Phoenix Force as separate member. Scott/Jean/Logan/Betsy relationship thing was huge when I started reading, so she was often focus of stories, the build to her marriage gave me some of my favorite comic stories. She was a comic book version of Deona Troy from ST:TNG, who I had a huge crush on, plus this one had red hair. As a confidant to team members or a good friend to others, Jean while not always the focus, was always important.
5-Scott-The Boy Scout. For many years I didnt like Slim. There was a time he might not have made the top 20. I loved everything around him (Alex, Jean, Nathan, Maddy, Sinister, Starjammers, etc) but didnt like his goody goody do the right thing attitude. It wasnt until Nicieza started to write the Adjectiveless that I started to dig him. He humanized his character and gave him enough of an edge that you could grasp on to something. While not a fan of alot of the stuff they did with him from Civil War on, that doesnt count for this list.
4-Longshot-Did any character look cooler than Jim Lee’s Longshot?(Well maybe Lee’s Gambit or Art Adam’ Longshot). Power of luck is cool, throwing knifes are great, being tied to one of the cooler baddies is just extra and having interesting relationship with Dazzler is frosting, add his ties to another favorite, Shatterstar of X-Force and its almost too much.
3-Jubilee- She was the young POV character in the book when I started to read it, and I related to her more than a lot of the team for that simple reason. The fact that teenage Nate thought she was cute as a button and the voice on the cartoon was super cute didnt hurt my opinion of her though. That said the way she was portrayed in Uncanny X-Men #297-303 alone makes her one of my faves. And yes to answer the age old question, a mall babe does indeed eat chili fries.
2-Wolverine- I came of age in the 90s after growing up on 80s cartoons, yes I was a Wolverine fan. Logan was the bad ass to end all bad asses. The healing factor, the attitude, the unique way of talking, the willingness to cut loose when needed, everything about Logan during this era was great.
and my favorite X-men ever:
1-Havok- Now that is an insanely awesome design. I have loved the character of Havok from the first time I saw him. The fact he was a cool interesting character was just a bonus on top of an awesome design. I have come to love him as so much more than a great design though. His leadership, his relationships, but mostly his sibling rivalry with Scott, so much about the character just resonated with me.
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