Through The Looking-Glass

It's no secret that I've always had affection for the X-Men franchise. Along with the Flash and Batman, it's one of the few comic families I follow avidly. The franchise has had its low points (Fuck you Quesada, I liked Jean), but I'm here to talk about the characters who captured my heart and refused to let it go.

Without further ado....



10. Pitor Rasputin/Colossus

There's just something about Colossus that captivates me. Maybe it's that when he was introduced, he was one of the few Soviets to be portrayed positively (it was the 70s; we still figured that they would nuke us any day now, or vice versa). Maybe it's that he sacrificed himself in order to catalyze the cure for the Legacy Virus. Maybe it's just that he's badass.


9. Remy LeBeau/Gambit

Gambit is what the members of my dad's family would be like if they were suave, charismatic badasses. Cajun superheroes are few and far between, so Gambit is a nice breath of fresh air in the world of comics.


8. Nathan Summers/Cable

Some of my first comics were back-issues of X-Force or the New Mutants, and what first struck me about Cable is that he had a pretty cool look. Years later, I read some newer comics with Cable in them, and find that I really like him. Pity Marvel offed him.


7. Megan Gwynn/Pixie

I've read some issues of New X-Men in my time, and Pixie was always a favorite character of mine. I don't really know why, but I suspect little!me had a bit of a crush on her.


6. Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat/Sprite/Ariel

I first learned of Kitty's existence while reading Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men. Or rather, while watching X-Men Evolution, but I barely remember that show anymore so it doesn't count. I thought she was a neat character, and she quickly earned a spot in my heart.


5. Sam Gutherie/Cannonball

As I mentioned before, some of my earliest comics were issues of X-Force and the New Mutants. Sam was a character in those that I felt I could relate to. On top of that, his powers were really, really cool.


4. Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke

Psylocke has a psychic katana. That's really all you need to know about her to understand that she is totally fucking rad. She has a katana, telekinesis, a British accent... it's like Marvel made a superhero composed entirely out of things that would appeal to me.


3. Scott Summers/Cyclops

Scott gets a lot of hate for some reason, and I'm not sure why. He was always one of my favorite X-Men, even as a kid. Yeah, he was a bit of a douche during Grant Morrison's "New X-Men" run, but once Joss Whedon got ahold of him, Cyclops officially became cool once more.


2. Doctor Henry McCoy, PhD./The Beast

Beast is funny. Beast is clever. Beast is verbose. Beast is awesome. He's a brilliant scientist in the body of a huge, furry monster, and that's a piece of storytelling with so much great potential, it's not even funny.

1. Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

OH MY GOD THE GUY CALLED "NIGHTCRAWLER'S" FAVORITE X-MAN IS NIGHTCRAWLER?!

Yeah, Kurt's always been my favorite X-Man. I'm not certain exactly why. It's probably because he's German. Germans are rad.

Oh, also, he has a prehensile tail. Can't beat that.



Runner-Up: Molly Hayes/Princess Powerful/Bruiser

The only reason Molly isn't on the actual list is because she isn't actually a member of the X-Men. (she stayed at the X-Corporation for a while but that doesn't count) She's a cast member of one of the coolest comics ever, Runaways (which you should be reading right now. Her powers include super-strength, being adorable, and having an improbably large collection of awesome hats.

She is awesome.