Cyclops.
I wouldn’t say hate I just didn’t care for him back then
I was a wolverine guy. but ever since I watched x-men evolution and got into the comics he’s become my favourite x-men
I'm the same. The first few iterations I saw of Scott were bland "good guy leader" and there was nothing interesting about him. Got more into comics and he's a downright badass with well done character flaws and such. I'm so team Cyclops now.
Same I grew up on the 90s X-men and didn't change my opinion to I started actively reading X-Men comics. I picked up right after Decimation soo I got to see Scott in his glory period.
What are the best Xmen comics with good overall stories? (And good art) I want to get into X men comics as I am starting to love Cyclops (and Gambit) and want to get more into these characters stories.
There are a ton & it's going to vary greatly by taste. My favorite X-Men era is from Messiah Complex to Schism/AvX (the ending was a bit lackluster but still a great run). If you like Cyclops you'll love this era, he's center stage for most of it.
Wolverine is so overrated & overused it’s actually annoying to see especially in movies and video games, I don’t wanna fucking be Logan for the 1000th time in video games, boring ass power set for a video game
I liked Cyclops because he's the hero with glasses and his powers were cool, he became my favorite hero after reading the decimation arc, my other favorites are superman and well rorschach, he's not only hero per se though
Edit : his powers were cool, fucking mobile spell Chek
Cyclops has kinda gotten screwed iver since X-Factor. Like abandoning Madelyn and baby Cable was a really shitty thing to do, and then a lot of other stuff piled on.
Nowadays I've come to respect his stalwart attitude in the face of everything and his skills as a tactician even if he is an absolute mess on a personal level.
Didn't like Emma originally all but I grew to love her character in GenerationX
I'm not sure I liked her Secondary Mutation thing. It just seems so random and didn't really make sense.
At least with Beast. It fitted in with his character
Emma just seemed odd.
But hey ho
I just think the aesthetic of it is so awesome that I'm willing to overlook that it might be random.
I've read somewhere that Morrison originally wanted Colossus and because they couldn't have him they gave Emma the diamond form to sort of play a similar role.
I hadn't heard that about Emma before but it is totally believable. My understanding is Juggernaut also had his story tweaked so that he joins the xmen years ago when the writers wanted to bring in Colossus and marvel said no.
His prior engagement was marvel trying to keep their foot down that he was dead and should stay dead. Until Astonishing X-Men anyway lol
The only reoccurring Colossus we had at the time was in the Ultimate 1610 universe.
The AXM and Colossus Resurrection thing is funny to me because as I enjoyed that run. Peter is the very last person I think about when I think about that series.
I still remember not thinking much of the series until I found out about the variant cover to the issue before his return that spoiled his resurrection. As a Colossus fan I was all in at that point for them finally bringing him back.
I agree with the secondary mutation. It is random. However, I have grown to like it and accept it. If mutations are random secondary mutations should be just as random and not just a subset.
I fully respect your view and understand your position on it.
No I do indeed totally understand where you are coming from
It's just with say Beast it just was seen as a kind of evolution . He just became more err....beast lol
Emma's was as you say got a random power.
Her secondary mutation came from the situation she was in when it manifested. Like Jeans powers activating when her friend died. So I understand it from that perspective.
I adore her power because it's random actually (though not actually that random as its very thematically appropriate). I've always believed the best mutant powers are specific and slightly strange. I think it's a big part of what sets them apart from the more traditional everything and the kitchen sink powersets that a lot of DC and to some extent avengers style characters get. The best mutants can do one thing or maybe two or three but they're still limited, and then their fighting style evolves from having to work with what they've got.
This is part of why I don't like full power TP/TK characters all that much. Especially given Marvel is terrible at understanding what those powers do, that powerset tends to end up just being 'can do anything.'
That was the purpose of Emma's diamond form. It's not supposed to feel like it connects to her telepathy at all. It's a completely separate mutation, unlike most secondary mutations, and that's because it's a mutation that was created, rather than a natural one. Cassandra Nova purposefully designed it so that Emma would survive the destruction of Genosha, as using Emma was Cassandra's backup plan in case her original plan failed. All of this was revealed in Astonishing X-men (2004).
I'm surprised to see this insight from a fan of Emma for years it seemed most her fans vehemently disagree on the suggestion Nova created her diamond form.
It's weird jumping from her introduction with the Hellfire club to new stuff, and for whatever reason seemed like a bigger stretch to me that she jumped from the bad side to the good (like so many other X-villains), but reading Morrion's New X-Men really cements what there is to love about her character and makes her essential to world. By the Krakoan age, she's practically a third pillar of mutant philosophy amongst Xavier and Magneto, focused on financial independence to secure mutant freedom.
And yes, I do recognize that the earlier stuff had established her having a school with the Hellions, working with the X-Men in Generation X, etc., but a lot of people start with some of the "greatest hits", and like many readers I had not encountered that by the time I saw current releases where she's ubiquitous.
Nicely put.
I honestly couldn't have said it better.
They developed her character to become an integral part of the Xmen legacy, not just let's make another Xmen villain a hero for the month 'cough cough' Juggernaut!!
😝
Yeah, with her you really do need to at least mentally acknowledge the stuff in between (not saying you didn't, just commenting) because she definitely has an arc.
I think she and Magneto both have this because like you say, a lot of people just know them from their villainous incarnations and then suddenly their heroic modern incarnations when actually in the comics, their redemption arcs spanned years if not decades.
actually, you mentioning Gen X gave me my answer. I was struggling to think of one as I generally stick to my first impression.
Banshee. I always thought Banshee was quite blah and his powers never worked for me. A few years back though I decided to try reading the first Gen X book and wow, my tune on Banshee totally changed. He is incredibly cool in that book and some of the things they'd have him do with his powers were absolutely badass.
Agreed Re: Emma but I actually liked her seconday mutation. I agree it doesn't make as much sense but it gives her a more interesting difference from other telepaths
I never liked emma, or any of the telepathic mutants because, well, theres too fucking many of them. Frost, Prof. X, Jean, Cable, the other Jean, the other Cable, Mastermind, etc. Not only is it an overpowered ability to begin with, Too many characters have it.
There's not that many more. Just Psylocke. And Quentin..and Exodus, Legion, Hope, Apocalypse, Rachel, Cassandra, Franklin, Shadow King, Stepford Cuckoos, Sinister (sometimes), Selene, Sage...doesn't Namor have some telepathic control over fish?
I get that, but only a few are actually so powerful with it. Jean, Xavier, Emma, they're the few at the top, all of them among the top 5 telepaths. On the other hand, Mastermind is not really much of a full telepath, and his actual power is illusions, and Cable is severely weakened by the techno organic virus so we don't see a lot of high end psionics from him because he's constantly using telekinesis to hold back the virus and therefore can't actively focus as much on high end telepathy as it would make him lose focus on the virus.
I also think part of the too many telepaths issue is that every single one of Jean and Scott's kids ended up having Jean's powers, not a combination of them or any sort of variation or anything like that. Jean, Rachel, Cable, Stryfe, Nate, etc. They all have the telepathy/telekinesis combo.
This didn't make me hate the characters, but I do dislike the powerset outside of the OGs essentially. Stop giving it to new characters. I also hate when they give telepaths telekinesis whether it's Xavier, Emma, or the Cuckoos.
Stop that. It's a bland enough powerset that keeps getting repeated without them taking the few characters that at least are slightly different because they don't have TK, and giving them TK. If they give Hellion (the only telekinetic without telepathy to my knowledge) telepathy I will riot.
I never hated Exodus but I was largely ambivalent towards him until Krakoa, where he's become one of my favourite mutants.
Related to Exodus: Hope. I always thought she was such a silly, cheap character. The worst of the "Jean Grey clones" that pop up whenever Jean is temporarily sidelined. But she was good in Krakoa, her dynamic with Exodus especially was what sold her for me, and I think Gillen managed to wrap up her story in a satisfying way that paid off what she was introduced to do in a way AvX did not.
I guess Psylocke kind of counts, I never liked her much until she returned as Kwannon, specifically in Krakoa though. Now I am hoping she gets a more fleshed out character and backstory.
I haven't changed opinions on a lot of characters I feel. I like who I've always liked, even as the years have tried to tear them down (Cyclops and Xavier in the 2000s/2010s) and vilify them, and I still dislike or remain ambivalent towards characters I have never really enjoyed (Havok, Polaris, Emma, Betsy). Even as I can respect their importance in the overall X-Men canon.
New Mutants were the team I fell in love with so I hated the whole X-Force add ons. I've come around on Domino and Shatterstar, but I still don't love Cable.
I loved the New Mutants, I still have their whole run, right up to Cable joining. Still not a big Cable and X-Force fan and Deadpool is largely meh for me. Karma (**Xuân Cao Mạnh**) is still one of my favorite Mutants and is vastly underused.
Im not sure there’s ever been a long running comic that so radically changed in a few issues than the New Mutants around issue 98. Maybe Justice League in the late 80s. I’m JUST able now to not hate Deadpool because he helped take my New Mutants away. I’ll need 3 more decades to accept Domino and Shatterstar lol
Deadpool didn’t take them away, that was Rob Liefeld and Bob Harras. Harras also pushed Claremont off of X-Men which led to Scott Lobdell and a decade of terrible X-Men comics. Granted Deadpool is a Liefeld creation, and I totally get where you’re coming from. I’ve never really been a fan of Gambit, and always associated him with the era that the X-Men changed for the worse. Jim Lee is my Liefeld in that respect. Also Liefeld is my Liefeld lol.
Xforce was a pretty different direction at the time from New Mutants
Those said 3 were brand new characters and the perception was that they came in and muscled out some of the other established characters. Not only that but It went from a teen Mutants book about those struggles to a militaristic mutant attack squad with 2 older characters calling the shots.
No wonder it polarised fans.
I personally found Shatterstar a bit dull he only became interesting because of his relationship with Rictor imo.
Cable became an extremely interesting and popular when there was this mystery about him. His connection to Scott and Jean, to Apocalypse to Stryfe. ...what did it all mean?
Modern Cable isn't as mysterious or as fun.
Domino, well i just love her for some reason. 🤷🏽♂️
It's so funny how Wolverine starts out in the Claremont run as the biggest asshole on the team, but by the end he's one of the most well-developed and sympathetic characters in comics.
I warmed up to the character earlier than that, I think around the time John Byrne became the regular artist/co-plotter. You could tell Byrne loved having a fellow Canadian lol.
Cyclops at first because I saw the movies first and thought he just shot lasers. Then I read the comics and he became my favourite X-man. The movies really did him a disservice.
Magik. I never “got” her. She seemed so bland and everyone else seemed to love her. From around the Utopia era (maybe before now that I think about it) she’s become one of my favorites. And was a particular stand out in the Krakoa era.
I also didn’t care for Jean for a time, mostly cause I hate the back and forth with Scott and Logan. And around the time i got back into X-men had Logan / Jean having feelings for each other (with Scott being portrayed as a prick that I felt sorry for) and I remember just really not liking this Jean.
“I never “got” her.” Word for word, came here to say this. The demon sword and revenge bit seemed out of place — like it was part of a separate fandom altogether and didn’t fit with my X-men. Slowly I’ve come to accept her and even get excited when she shows up in a story. Sometimes a little time and seasoning is all you need.
I gotta say, Angel has grown on me. I initially wasn't a huge fan of Warren, unless he was in his Archangel form. Angel just seemed pretty useless to me power-wise, since all he could really do was fly. But I recently read some of the 80s Defenders stuff, and Angel is a lot of fun. I like his personality, commitment to being a hero, and the fact that he uses his privilege to financially support good causes. I think he's been criminally underused, so I'm looking forward to the new X-Factor run.
Jubilee. The whole Mall Rat thing was annoying and in X-Men tv show she was annoying...Wolverine didn't need another sidekick, Kitty Pryde was all he needed. But...Jubeilee has become one of my favorite Mutants...she's had some good comic runs.
Came her to say this. She starts out as kind of the annoying kid stereotype, but she actually gets some decent development. And on X-Men '97, she was used brilliantly.
Jean but that was no fault of hers. Started with the xmen 90s cartoon and she was always just fainting. X men evolution and reading comics afterwards improved her greatly. She became more competent and had her own thing going. Just remove the occasional Logan stuff and she would be an all time great.
Rachel Summers. At first she just felt so random and disconnected. After starting Excalibur though her as a phoinex host really sold me on her. Plus her dynamic with Kitty Pryde
Wolverine. I started reading when he was in a dozen books at a time around 2012. But Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men turned me around on him. I just love that he's this huge asshole that loves kids.
He was a huge asshole originally.
Most modern comics have him being a calm and rational, decent and caring character.
The animatiom and movies portray him still as a bit of an ass.
They need to catch up.
Blob. Once they wrote him in the story line where he fell in love w psylocke and he started bartending he finally become interesting enough to enjoy his storyline.
I'm stil not a fan of all these Xmen villains becoming heroes.
For me I got Emma Frost and sometimes with Magneto due to history but way too many of these established villains becoming good guys after being really @#£%%y people for so long just doesn't sit right with me.
Soon there won't be any bad guys left its ridiculous
Probably Colossus. He just seemed very boring and had a redundant power set compared to Wolverine. Then I watched the animated series and learned he was just a genuinely really nice guy. I know he isn’t like that in the comics all the time, but I hope he is most of the time. Whenever you have a group of morally gray and complex and dynamic characters, it’s important to have one guy who’s just genuinely nice all the time who they can bounce off of, like Colossus or Nightcrawler. They’re my 2 favorites.
His character is very much a “no good deed goes unpunished” character. He started off as the sweetest and most hopeful of the X-men of his generation, and you see his kindness erode over time. Actually quite a tragic character.
Most, if not all of his negative qualities, emerged from his sister’s return to the comics and her resentment of him idealizing her. She ends up traumatizing him on purpose, and it leads to a LOT of f’d up actions being taken by Piotr.
Now it's like he's in perpetual purgatory sure to his brother secretly controlling him. Kind of sucks to see such a good guy struggle with redemption for things outside his control. I'm looking forward to the day he gets back to feeling good about being good. He's so heartwarming to the core that it's sad to see the big guy suffering so much emotional turmoil.
To be honest, Jean. I got into the X-Men through Astonishing X-Men because I was a big fan of Joss Whedon. Initially, I didn't like Jean because, while she was dead, there was a disconnect between how most characters in-universe talked about her and how Emma, a character I really liked at the time, seemed to feel about her. Stories like Phoenix Endsong (and Warsong) didn't help either because Jean's portrayal seemed weak to me as someone without any real understanding of her history. Additionally, I didn't like how her relationship with Scott was depicted in the movies since I liked him in the comics, which unfortunately influenced how I perceived their comic relationship. I guess I never really *hated* her but this did make me actively dislike her. Admittedly it's a very superficial "analysis" from a young reader who was just getting passionate about the X-Men at the time.
This dislike continued for a while, until All-New X-Men actually. Partly I think this was because I initially avoided a lot of the throwback comics like First Class and Origins. Due to the cost of comics and my funds at the time I focused on new and in-continuity stuff. With the time-displaced O5, I found myself liking Teen Jean in all of her messed up glory in spite of myself. Around this time, because comics were becoming very easy to read online, I began reading older comics. One of the first older runs I read was Morrison's New X-Men, which didn't make me love Jean immediately but helped me understand her better.
I then sort of committed to reading as much older X-Men content as I could, including X-Factor, X-Force, Excalibur, New Mutants, etc. I think shortly after Phoenix Resurrection finished, I had caught up to and then re-read Morrison's run. Because of Teen Jean, my readings of pre-Whedon comics, and the then-new X-Men Red, Jean was basically cemented as my favourite character, one of the few character I genuinely love despite all her many flaws.
Xavier also kind of fits this prompt, though I don't love him. I just find him really interesting now.
It makes sense that when and how we start our journey can affect how we feel about a character. I started with New X-Men and the X-Men Evolution cartoon and I've always liked Jean. It's interesting to think about if I would have felt more like you if I got into the X-Men even just a few years later.
> Emma, a character I really liked at the time
Do you not like her anymore because you like Jean more? I'm always interested in how Jean fans feel about Emma and vice-versa.
I still like Emma. I think I wrote it like that because there was this period starting in the very late 2000s where I began to sour somewhat on her. I found myself increasingly frustrated by her characterization and at times uninterested in many of her stories. And this started before I started liking Jean. But my reading of the older comics (especially Gen X) and then re-read of the mid-2000s comics, combined with Krakoa -which is Emma's best era IMO- rekindled my interest in her.
I guess Emma went from a top 3 character, to a character I didn't really enjoy, to a character I like again. Maybe top 10, I'm not sure.
Yeah, I can understand that. For me, it's literally the opposite of you, lol. I started as a Jean fan, started to dislike Jean after a while due to a few bad writers, then found Emma and started to adore her, and now my love for Jean is back. Today Emma is still my favourite (despite that horrible era from 2015 to 2017 where they almost butchered her character entirely), while Jean makes my top 10.
Was about to say Quire, but in a different period. I only started reading X-Men with Krakoa and so Benjamin Percy's recently concluded X-Force has been my introduction to him. He initially seemed unbearably annoying (perhaps deliberately so): a brash, arrogant mutant-supremacist who embodied Krakoa's worst tendencies as a nation. Once the exterior starts to crack and he starts to confront his myriad insecurities however he becomes a lot more sympathetic
Initially, I thought Fantomex was gonna be a elite assassin-type and, because I am bitter toward Maverick never really taking off, I chalked Fantomex as a surface level pastiche and he _kinda is._ But Fantomex is the dude and an absolute scene stealer.
TBH? Wolverine/X-23/Laura Kinney
Though hate is too strong a term. It was more like I didn’t know much about her. So, whenever she popped up in a book I was reading I honestly would be annoyed and think “this is an appearance that could’ve gone to someone else”. I knew she was Logan’s clone and that was about it. About 2 years back I finally read her solo material and WOW. I was blown away. X-23 Innocence Lost is a masterpiece as far as character origins go for the X-Men. X-23 Target X didn’t interest me as much, but still solid. The following solo series by Marjorie Liu was good, but what finally made me a devout fan of Laura as a character was All New Wolverine. For me, it was honestly really cool to see the character development she went through across these different titles. And in between this I went back to issues of New X-Men and X-Force to specifically focus on Laura’s character and what she was going through.
I didn't hate him but I always thought that Angel was a boring character. However, since he became Archangel and can now change from Angel to Archangel like the Hulk changes from Banner to the Hulk, Angel is one of the coolest characters out there. The metal wings have been a major upgrade for Angel. The wings have a mind of their own when it comes to protecting Angel. They can act as a shield or slice people like Wolverine in a close combat fight ( celestial metal wings against adamantium claws and the wings holding their own) . Archangel can also throw blades from his wings for long-distance attacks. In terms of impressive upgrades, I would put Angels upgrade up there with Sunspot, Sue Storm , Iceman, Jean Grey .
Not much of a Dazzler fan. Back in the day it just seemed like another Marvel gimmick to hook into something in pop culture (disco music) or maybe some sort of toy tie-in (see Jem and the Holograms). I had asthma as a kid and whenever I'd go to my pediatrician's office there'd be comics for the kids but they were the lamest ones like Dazzler, Amethyst the Princess of Gemworld and Mickey Mouse. Turns out the office manager was picking the comics...
So I'd get stuck reading Dazzler out of boredom and I thought her powers were lame and her storylines were the worst. Plus Alison got her ass kicked by Rogue like it was her job and she didn't even want to be a super-hero, she was some stuck up country club pop princess. Every month was just awful, worse than the month before. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did! The Dazzler graphic novel came out and what a stinking turd that was! I guess eventually sales dipped and the book got canceled. Finally! But it seems that there was one person that was in ol' Alison's corner...
And that person was Chris Claremont! I assume Ann Nocenti was probably in on that decision too, lucky for Alison. So Dazzler finally hooked up with the X-Men and helped breathe some new life into a roster that hadn't changed much in *years*. Her powers got cooler too, they gave her lasers and that photon blast. Dazzler and Psylocke both joined the X-Men, Havok came home and Outback X-Men gave us some great classic storylines like Inferno and Genosha. Later she showed up as a solid member in New Excalibur and Cyclops' renegade X-Men. I was never prouder of my girl then when she hunted Mystique down after Raven had held Alison captive and the disco lightengale finally got some sweet revenge.
I'm pretty disappointed that Alison didn't get much screen time during the entire run of Krakoa. I mean Dead X-Men was ok but it just seemed a bit like an afterthought. I'm really psyched about the new Dazzler solo series, I know it will probably only run the minimum 10 issues but I don't care. I think Alison could be a great character to show up in NYX as a mentor for young mutants after her solo title ends. She can come home to the city she loves, the birthplace of disco music where every night is a party waiting to happen. It's been 40 years reading this character, I'm excited to see what's next for her!
Betsy Braddock. I hate body swap stuff so I found the history of Psylocke frustrating despite being a cool concept, but I really enjoyed the post 2018? Captain Britain; Excalibur became a favorite title for the first time for me during Krakoa. I've always liked Arthur lore so maybe I slept on it too much before. Also she's hot.
i used to hate cyclops originally bc he always came off as a “goody two shoes” but as i started reading more comics n watching more shows/movies i feel like he’s actually a really good character. he’s a really good leader n usually just wants what’s best for the team n u can rly tell throughout most of the media that he LOVES jean. he does everything he can to be w her n make sure she’s alright n honestly it’s really admirable
Cyclops AND Wolverine.
I agree, Wolverine is overused.
That said, his best stories are masterful allegories for sexism, abuse-survival, toxic masculinity, healthy masculinity, trauma-bonds, and more.
Wolverine helps educate children who endure abuse on how to survive, and process your anger, and focus on ways to dig yourself out of your past.
I didn't dislike, but I was indifferent, to Magik initially. Now I absolutely love her. She's amazing. I really didn't like Emma Frost at first, but she's won me over and I really love the growth she's had in Krakoa. She's a fave now.
Vulkan or Banshee, I always thought they were boring as hell, but then I saw The Animated series and started liking Banshee, and I read a few of the Krakoan era comics that made me love Vulkan
Cyclops. I didn't read the comics till joss whedon's astonishing x-men, so my idea of him was this boring stick in the mud who mostly did what xavier said.
Astonishing and the books that came after convinced me that he's a bad ass and way more interesting than wolverine
Strong guy. Initially hated his style and character development because at the time I didn't understand the whole bullying, mental health, and pain situation
But now he's one I wish they would really develop cause a lot of people can relate to that stuff
Rogue.
Never really got her character, but after X-Men 97 (I guess there may be a lot of this!), I have been reading uncanny since issue 200 and think she's great.
Honourable mention for Cable too.
Quentin when he first showed up in new x-men I wanted him out of the picture just as much as the cuckoos did during new x-men and the Phoenix song series
Then the writers made him likable in wolverine and the X-men and during the Krakoan x-force team.
The movies made me an xmen fan as a child. I honestly was not very fond of wolverine. Didn't like Jean much either. I like Logan these days, but Jean remains one of the few red heads I dislike.
Juggernaut. He seemed like a big dumb hunk of meat with no real pathos. But learning about his repressed sexuality, his parental trauma, his ongoing relationship with Black Tom, and his Dazzler fandom made him much richer and recontextualized a lot about him for me.
Angel, or more specifically Archangel.
I never hated Warren, but I never had any strong felings for Fly boy. But after reading Mutant Massacre, Fall of the mutants, The dark angel saga and other stories featuring him he became one of, if not my favourite x man
Warren Aka either the most useless mutant or the most teenage level angsty emo kill machine.
I feel even with his history, and so much left unexplored in the greater Marvel lore. Worthington Industries should be a Stark/RoXXon player in the business industry, and Warren should move more like a Tony, though this pretty much got covered by Roberto down the line anyhow. Come to think of it..the X-men have serious bank/influence behind them lol
Problem with Wolverine is that especially during the 90's through the Nougties he was massively, massively overexposed.
He was everywhere, in every comic.
Also there's whole story's where the Xmen would get their butts kicked by an adversary only for Wolverine to swing in to save the day.
It happened often as well. So many times other heroes of other Xmen would look bad so Wolverine could look good. It just became incredibly annoying.
They've shown him getting the better of Spiderman or Daredevil and he can beat Shang Chi and Iron Fist in H2H just to show off what a badass he Is.
He can beat this character with a katana he can beat this character with that.
I'm surprised he hasn't out thrown Bullseye or shown to be better with a bow than Hawkeye.
I honestly love Logan but due to his huge popularity some writers have wanked the character into oblivion!
Shame
I like the buff to his healing factor making him basically immortal but beyond that he just isn’t effective in most fights from a hero perspective and he’s just a constant retread of “I’m so miserable” “I’m the best at what I do” and angry dwarf.
I get the popularity due to him being “relatable” as the old drunk uncle or the absent but trying father but to me he is just boring.
Wolverine.
Cant say I hated but my first X-Men story was hunt for Xavier and he seemed just old guy shouting stuff while , Shadowcat, Gambit , Nighcrawler, Marrow and Storm were cool. Wasnt fan of Colossus either.
Wolverine grew to me very quickly and eventually Colossus too.
I was not a fan of Kid Omega when I first read him, but seeing him grow and become less douche-y throughout Krakoa sold me on him. He’s still far from a favorite, but I respect him now. I think I’m just a fan of dickhead straight characters growing up and chilling out
Magik. My first introduction to her was from The New Mutants movie. She was an arrogant asshole. Then I read some comics and yes, she can be arrogant at times, but she has a heart of gold.
Does it count if I say pity instead of love? Because that's Emma Frost. Girl keeps scoring Own Goals constantly while *pretending* like she's this cold arrogant selfish egotist. She was r/RaisedByNarcissists, and, though she isn't one herself, she has that deep need to be loved and respected and safe.
Kinda reminds me of Astarion, in some ways.
Black Tom.
He was just a run of the mill villain; no real motive to do anything but petty crime, when I was first introduced to him. But because of the development he received during the Krakoa Era, he became 1 of my favorite characters in recent years. I'd kill for a "Forces of Nature" team (lead by Storm) with Black Tom on it.
Warren. Originally, I thought he was just sort of pointless and useless, and not at all interesting. Don’t get me wrong, during the early days of the original 5, when Xavier’s was more halfway house than mutant academy, and the denizen of mutantkind were still being dreamed up in the minds of creators, I can’t deny that Warren technically served a purpose. There’s a clear argument to be made for the strategic value of having a traditional flier on the fledgling team. At a time when the young Marvel Girl had yet to master the ability to telekinetically propel herself like a missile, having any type of legitimate practiced and sustainable air support enhances the teams effectiveness and capabilities by orders of magnitude. Even if it’s what seems to be just a teenage boy with hollow bones and bird wings.
Yet, despite there being some logic to Angel in the early days, I could never come around to liking him let alone grow to love him. Then, after years I stumble across Remender and Opeña’s Uncanny X-Force. Just like that I’m hooked, completely captivated by this cold and angry weapon, this terrifying raptor delivering poison ripped supersonic death from above fueled by unbridled rage and a distaste for weakness. So I went in search of anything where Warren had a substantial role, as Angel or Archangel, it didn’t matter I just wanted to know more. I read all of the books I could get my hands on, learned all I could about Warren and in the process grew to really love the character, even as just Angel, to the point where I’ve been guilty of buying books based solely on the fact that he was on the team.
I mean, Warren really is an interesting and quality character who is criminally underutilized in my opinion. For example, there’s the whole “Tony Stark” angle he’s got going on as a slick, handsome man of exceptional wealth with a history of bankrolling superhero teams and endeavors such as X-Factor, Champions, and Defenders. Then you have the fact that Warren was the one who took the X-Men and mutantkind corporate by finding X-Corp. There’s and endless list of stories to be told from a massive mutant conglomerate with access to vast resources, unconventional power and exotic assets engaging in a variety of business and radical research and development. Not to mention he’s a powerful mutant in his own right, without being over the top. He can fly at at least Mach 1, swoop and dive even faster, easily maintain an attitude of 30,000 feet and likely even higher when Archangel, his wings can lift several hundred pounds, all his physicals are enhanced to peak human, he’s got a level of invulnerability that allows respiration at high altitude and protection from the friction of flight at supersonic speeds, telescopic and night vision, enhanced hearing, decent healing factor, wings that can slice through most materials and shield him from bullets, poisonous projectile feather, and a mild sonic scream. Of course with all the telekinetic powerhouses, elementals, power mimics, and flying bricks he’s redundant, but I feel he should come standard on every X-Force and X-Factor lineup.
Kid Omega… I couldn’t stand most of Morisson’s new students when they popped up at the school, but he grew on me when they let him out of detention and grew into a great hero who is still occasionally a dick.
Jean.
Always preffered Emma and still kinda do. But everything I've seen from her in the last 10 years in the comics and 97 have made me a fan. Personally while I might not like the direction the game takes story wise I can't wait to play as her in the Wolverine Game
(Also cyclops and Jean probably like everyone here who grew up with the 90s cartoon said but…) Monet. I was a huge Jubilee fan (still am) and since she was Jubilee’s frenemy (at best) in GenX I hated her but she’s now top 5 for me (higher than Jubilee don’t tell her)
Most of the x-men.
Really disliked the movies as a kid, thought they looked flat and boring. The og animated series made me change my mind about them, they were cool af characters!
X23 for me... I eyerolled so hard when I first heard about her, and wasn't impressed when she first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, but as Kyle and Yost's New X-Men started to ramp up I realised she'd become one of my favourites
Jean, because I thought she was annoying in the movies and that since I ship scemma I couldn’t like Jean. Then I started reading her solo series from 2017 and she became one of my favorite characters
It's Jean for me.
I was initially exposed to the X-Men through the 90s animated series when I was super young and wore out the VHS tapes. I found her... rather annoying. The fainting, the silly triangle (which I still hate), how useless she felt until, boom, Phoenix and I was like whoooa and then she was gone. I just thought it was dumb.
Then I started to read some comics. She seemed fine.
Then I saw the movies, and I went back to disliking her. (No fault of hers or Janssen's, btw.)
I watched Evolution and was like, oh, this variant is really cool! It honestly remains one of my favorite representations of Jean to this day.
Then, I got really into comics. As the gay youth that I was, I really resonated with Emma so I doubled down on my dislike of her for a time. I got older, read more series, and grew to like her. Not love, I would say, but I like her for her flaws and generally enjoy her now. (As with any character, writers make it vary.)
I usually love the red-haired characters so the yo-yo'ing has been a bit funny, hah.
Storm. Her powers were cool but growing up on the movies (I was a born a bit late to watch the animated show) she was not a very good or developed character despite being in all three of the original movies. It wasn’t until I watched the animated show and started reading some comics that I realized how cool she was. Then X-Men ‘97 came around and I fell in love with the character all over again.
Wolverine. Hated him growing up; came back with and his cadre of offspring have helped him, IMO. Sure, he's still shoved into absolutely everything, but if you don't read half the shit he's in, it's not that bad.
Still waiting to like Nightcrawler... Reading for 30+ years now, and still find him as insufferable as ever.
Cyclops has gotta be the definitive answer for people who grew up with TAS and the Fox movies. Always presented as a wet blanket who was more of a foil to the epitome of 90's anti-authority attitude Wolverine.
Like a few, it's Cyclops. Before I start will note in his 97 representation I feel he's good. And clearly they're taken from comic adoptions I'm not familiar with.
Always liked his designs and power, but my main case is he has a tenancy to have been awfully written in many comics I read growing up (terrible father, terrible leader, someone who will always place blame elsewhere because he can't take responsibility). In the movies and television shows he came across as obnoxious, whinny, and not cut out for the job.
If you're a Transformers fan this reference will make sense. Cyclops has Hot Rod energy to him. A leader that has a tendency of being a hypocrite and whiner.
Wolverine is liked because he's the edgy lonewolf that has a fish out of water vibe to him. With everyone having crazy powers from teleportation to energy beams which can destroy a small planet, some old guy who can heal a bubu and has retractable claws, just has more of a grounded vibe to him. & even then my favorite is Nightcrawler.
LMAO at all the Emma comments in this thread, for me she clicked pretty immediately during her time with the Hellions and Gen X, always thought the X-writers balanced her more abrasive characteristics and her more caring side well enough, never making her completely 'motherly' but still letting her feel strongly about her students. Cyclops is another I'm seeing a lot of and he's one that I definitely took time with, I think I always found him kinda wishy-washy in a way that bugged me but I've come to appreciate that as a character trait.
Still don't care for Wolverine tho lol
Jean Grey. At first, she just seemed extremely perfect. Super powerful, super kind and seen by others as a the heart of the team. It was like she could do nothing wrong ever. Then I read more into her stories and saw her actual flaws, and realized that she is nuanced and has depth. The character wasn't the issue. Some of the poor writing and writers who clearly don't understand her well are the real issue.
I wouldn't say I'm quite to the level of loving the character but Rahne / Wolfsbane. My first experiences with her as a character were when she had an inappropriate with Elixir, one of her students who was the ward of Dani. Then she suddenly was in X-Force and ate Father and had a romance with an Asgardian wolf god. Then she was pregnant from that relationship went to X-Force where she tried to trick her ex-boyfriend that he was the father. She was also homophobic about her ex-boyfriend having now come out as gay (which now that I know more comes off as internalized homophobia being honest). I wouldn't say like the X-Force period was like morally bad as like the other two its just jarring.
I think I remember hearing she had fans and I was a little shocked, as I thought she was like the worst. Later on I read like the Krakoa stuff which I feel did a lot of work repairing the character for me (Ayala and Anders New Mutants) as well going back and reading more of the original New Mutants era that had me soften on the character. I wouldn't say I've gotten to the level where I love her or that she's one of my favorites but I feel I can enjoy her when she shows up and generally like her.
Wolverine. As a kid, I couldn't stand him and thought he was way overrated. But that was before the Bendis era. He definitely seems a more likable character these days.
Storm. She wasn’t written very well in the early 90’s when I first started reading comics. Then she had zero personality in X-Men the animated series. Then came Halle Berry. Things changed during the early Krakoan days. X-Men ‘97 further proved how wrong I was about her. She’s an incredible character.
Cyclops. I wouldn’t say hate I just didn’t care for him back then I was a wolverine guy. but ever since I watched x-men evolution and got into the comics he’s become my favourite x-men
I kind of expect Cyclops to be the answer for a lot of people.
Cyclops is who you hate when you're young and dumb. But when you grow up you go: You know what? Cyclops was right! It's a sign of maturity.
Honestly I still love wolverine but after jumping into comics he's far from my favorite any more. Kitty Pryde is probably my favorite these days
I'm the same. The first few iterations I saw of Scott were bland "good guy leader" and there was nothing interesting about him. Got more into comics and he's a downright badass with well done character flaws and such. I'm so team Cyclops now.
If you grew up with deadbeat-dad Cyclops—the guy who just dropped Maddie Pryor at the first sign of Jean— it’s hard to come around on him.
That's understandable, but I choose to ignore it because it was massive editorial interference.
Same I grew up on the 90s X-men and didn't change my opinion to I started actively reading X-Men comics. I picked up right after Decimation soo I got to see Scott in his glory period.
What are the best Xmen comics with good overall stories? (And good art) I want to get into X men comics as I am starting to love Cyclops (and Gambit) and want to get more into these characters stories.
There are a ton & it's going to vary greatly by taste. My favorite X-Men era is from Messiah Complex to Schism/AvX (the ending was a bit lackluster but still a great run). If you like Cyclops you'll love this era, he's center stage for most of it.
The line, "you're a dick" from the first X-men movie has unfairly tainted Scott ever since.
Wolverine is so overrated & overused it’s actually annoying to see especially in movies and video games, I don’t wanna fucking be Logan for the 1000th time in video games, boring ass power set for a video game
its true. everyone in video games basically has a healing factor already lol
He’s definitely overexposed, but that doesn’t take away from how good he is as a character
It dosen’t but I don’t want the same flavor water ice every hot day
I liked Cyclops because he's the hero with glasses and his powers were cool, he became my favorite hero after reading the decimation arc, my other favorites are superman and well rorschach, he's not only hero per se though Edit : his powers were cool, fucking mobile spell Chek
“His powers weren’t cool” What? He can shoot eye beams that can punch a hole through a mountain! That’s sounds pretty cool to me?!
Cyclops has kinda gotten screwed iver since X-Factor. Like abandoning Madelyn and baby Cable was a really shitty thing to do, and then a lot of other stuff piled on. Nowadays I've come to respect his stalwart attitude in the face of everything and his skills as a tactician even if he is an absolute mess on a personal level.
Didn't like Emma originally all but I grew to love her character in GenerationX I'm not sure I liked her Secondary Mutation thing. It just seems so random and didn't really make sense. At least with Beast. It fitted in with his character Emma just seemed odd. But hey ho
I just think the aesthetic of it is so awesome that I'm willing to overlook that it might be random. I've read somewhere that Morrison originally wanted Colossus and because they couldn't have him they gave Emma the diamond form to sort of play a similar role.
Lol was Colossus fully booked with a previous engagement? 😂
He was dead at the time
Lol then he became bored and got up.
Like alot of things blame editorial for the decision.
I hadn't heard that about Emma before but it is totally believable. My understanding is Juggernaut also had his story tweaked so that he joins the xmen years ago when the writers wanted to bring in Colossus and marvel said no. His prior engagement was marvel trying to keep their foot down that he was dead and should stay dead. Until Astonishing X-Men anyway lol The only reoccurring Colossus we had at the time was in the Ultimate 1610 universe.
The AXM and Colossus Resurrection thing is funny to me because as I enjoyed that run. Peter is the very last person I think about when I think about that series.
I still remember not thinking much of the series until I found out about the variant cover to the issue before his return that spoiled his resurrection. As a Colossus fan I was all in at that point for them finally bringing him back.
Pretty sure he had just died at this point, just a few months before the first New X-Men issue.
I agree with the secondary mutation. It is random. However, I have grown to like it and accept it. If mutations are random secondary mutations should be just as random and not just a subset. I fully respect your view and understand your position on it.
No I do indeed totally understand where you are coming from It's just with say Beast it just was seen as a kind of evolution . He just became more err....beast lol Emma's was as you say got a random power.
Her secondary mutation came from the situation she was in when it manifested. Like Jeans powers activating when her friend died. So I understand it from that perspective.
Yeah I do get that now after thinking about it a little bit.
Side note: I appreciate your pleasant manner in this discussion. It is a welcomed change and very appreciated interaction.
Hahaa! Thanks.😊 That must be my mutant power 😝
I adore her power because it's random actually (though not actually that random as its very thematically appropriate). I've always believed the best mutant powers are specific and slightly strange. I think it's a big part of what sets them apart from the more traditional everything and the kitchen sink powersets that a lot of DC and to some extent avengers style characters get. The best mutants can do one thing or maybe two or three but they're still limited, and then their fighting style evolves from having to work with what they've got. This is part of why I don't like full power TP/TK characters all that much. Especially given Marvel is terrible at understanding what those powers do, that powerset tends to end up just being 'can do anything.'
That was the purpose of Emma's diamond form. It's not supposed to feel like it connects to her telepathy at all. It's a completely separate mutation, unlike most secondary mutations, and that's because it's a mutation that was created, rather than a natural one. Cassandra Nova purposefully designed it so that Emma would survive the destruction of Genosha, as using Emma was Cassandra's backup plan in case her original plan failed. All of this was revealed in Astonishing X-men (2004).
I'm surprised to see this insight from a fan of Emma for years it seemed most her fans vehemently disagree on the suggestion Nova created her diamond form.
It's weird jumping from her introduction with the Hellfire club to new stuff, and for whatever reason seemed like a bigger stretch to me that she jumped from the bad side to the good (like so many other X-villains), but reading Morrion's New X-Men really cements what there is to love about her character and makes her essential to world. By the Krakoan age, she's practically a third pillar of mutant philosophy amongst Xavier and Magneto, focused on financial independence to secure mutant freedom. And yes, I do recognize that the earlier stuff had established her having a school with the Hellions, working with the X-Men in Generation X, etc., but a lot of people start with some of the "greatest hits", and like many readers I had not encountered that by the time I saw current releases where she's ubiquitous.
Nicely put. I honestly couldn't have said it better. They developed her character to become an integral part of the Xmen legacy, not just let's make another Xmen villain a hero for the month 'cough cough' Juggernaut!! 😝
Yeah, with her you really do need to at least mentally acknowledge the stuff in between (not saying you didn't, just commenting) because she definitely has an arc. I think she and Magneto both have this because like you say, a lot of people just know them from their villainous incarnations and then suddenly their heroic modern incarnations when actually in the comics, their redemption arcs spanned years if not decades.
actually, you mentioning Gen X gave me my answer. I was struggling to think of one as I generally stick to my first impression. Banshee. I always thought Banshee was quite blah and his powers never worked for me. A few years back though I decided to try reading the first Gen X book and wow, my tune on Banshee totally changed. He is incredibly cool in that book and some of the things they'd have him do with his powers were absolutely badass.
Agreed Re: Emma but I actually liked her seconday mutation. I agree it doesn't make as much sense but it gives her a more interesting difference from other telepaths
True.👍
I never liked emma, or any of the telepathic mutants because, well, theres too fucking many of them. Frost, Prof. X, Jean, Cable, the other Jean, the other Cable, Mastermind, etc. Not only is it an overpowered ability to begin with, Too many characters have it.
There's not that many more. Just Psylocke. And Quentin..and Exodus, Legion, Hope, Apocalypse, Rachel, Cassandra, Franklin, Shadow King, Stepford Cuckoos, Sinister (sometimes), Selene, Sage...doesn't Namor have some telepathic control over fish?
You forgot Monet, Blindfold, Chamber and Synch.
I get that, but only a few are actually so powerful with it. Jean, Xavier, Emma, they're the few at the top, all of them among the top 5 telepaths. On the other hand, Mastermind is not really much of a full telepath, and his actual power is illusions, and Cable is severely weakened by the techno organic virus so we don't see a lot of high end psionics from him because he's constantly using telekinesis to hold back the virus and therefore can't actively focus as much on high end telepathy as it would make him lose focus on the virus. I also think part of the too many telepaths issue is that every single one of Jean and Scott's kids ended up having Jean's powers, not a combination of them or any sort of variation or anything like that. Jean, Rachel, Cable, Stryfe, Nate, etc. They all have the telepathy/telekinesis combo.
This didn't make me hate the characters, but I do dislike the powerset outside of the OGs essentially. Stop giving it to new characters. I also hate when they give telepaths telekinesis whether it's Xavier, Emma, or the Cuckoos. Stop that. It's a bland enough powerset that keeps getting repeated without them taking the few characters that at least are slightly different because they don't have TK, and giving them TK. If they give Hellion (the only telekinetic without telepathy to my knowledge) telepathy I will riot.
The post House of M storyline made me appreciate Emma more when she's trying to teach the kids how to survive during decimation.
Same. She really came into her own and is one of the few characters to come through the 00s better than when she started imo
I never hated Exodus but I was largely ambivalent towards him until Krakoa, where he's become one of my favourite mutants. Related to Exodus: Hope. I always thought she was such a silly, cheap character. The worst of the "Jean Grey clones" that pop up whenever Jean is temporarily sidelined. But she was good in Krakoa, her dynamic with Exodus especially was what sold her for me, and I think Gillen managed to wrap up her story in a satisfying way that paid off what she was introduced to do in a way AvX did not. I guess Psylocke kind of counts, I never liked her much until she returned as Kwannon, specifically in Krakoa though. Now I am hoping she gets a more fleshed out character and backstory. I haven't changed opinions on a lot of characters I feel. I like who I've always liked, even as the years have tried to tear them down (Cyclops and Xavier in the 2000s/2010s) and vilify them, and I still dislike or remain ambivalent towards characters I have never really enjoyed (Havok, Polaris, Emma, Betsy). Even as I can respect their importance in the overall X-Men canon.
Yes, I feel the same way about Exodus and Hope! Krakoa did wonders for a bunch of the more "secondary" mutants I think.
Wow rare post that I agree with absolutely everything about. Gillen's a gods damned wizard for making Exodus of all characters compelling.
Same here with Hope.
New Mutants were the team I fell in love with so I hated the whole X-Force add ons. I've come around on Domino and Shatterstar, but I still don't love Cable.
I loved the New Mutants, I still have their whole run, right up to Cable joining. Still not a big Cable and X-Force fan and Deadpool is largely meh for me. Karma (**Xuân Cao Mạnh**) is still one of my favorite Mutants and is vastly underused.
Karma is my fifth favorite New Mutant but that still puts her in my fifteen X-men.
Im not sure there’s ever been a long running comic that so radically changed in a few issues than the New Mutants around issue 98. Maybe Justice League in the late 80s. I’m JUST able now to not hate Deadpool because he helped take my New Mutants away. I’ll need 3 more decades to accept Domino and Shatterstar lol
Deadpool didn’t take them away, that was Rob Liefeld and Bob Harras. Harras also pushed Claremont off of X-Men which led to Scott Lobdell and a decade of terrible X-Men comics. Granted Deadpool is a Liefeld creation, and I totally get where you’re coming from. I’ve never really been a fan of Gambit, and always associated him with the era that the X-Men changed for the worse. Jim Lee is my Liefeld in that respect. Also Liefeld is my Liefeld lol.
Domino grew on me after the all too brief Gail Simone series
Xforce was a pretty different direction at the time from New Mutants Those said 3 were brand new characters and the perception was that they came in and muscled out some of the other established characters. Not only that but It went from a teen Mutants book about those struggles to a militaristic mutant attack squad with 2 older characters calling the shots. No wonder it polarised fans. I personally found Shatterstar a bit dull he only became interesting because of his relationship with Rictor imo. Cable became an extremely interesting and popular when there was this mystery about him. His connection to Scott and Jean, to Apocalypse to Stryfe. ...what did it all mean? Modern Cable isn't as mysterious or as fun. Domino, well i just love her for some reason. 🤷🏽♂️
Wolverine! I hated him when I started reading the Claremont run as a kid. And man....Claremont completely turned me around on him
It's so funny how Wolverine starts out in the Claremont run as the biggest asshole on the team, but by the end he's one of the most well-developed and sympathetic characters in comics.
It’s shocking what an AHole he is from like 1975 until the early 80s
I warmed up to the character earlier than that, I think around the time John Byrne became the regular artist/co-plotter. You could tell Byrne loved having a fellow Canadian lol.
Cyclops at first because I saw the movies first and thought he just shot lasers. Then I read the comics and he became my favourite X-man. The movies really did him a disservice.
He shoots concussive blasts from the PUNCH DIMENSION.
He shoots concussive blasts from the PUNCH DIMENSION.
Magik. I never “got” her. She seemed so bland and everyone else seemed to love her. From around the Utopia era (maybe before now that I think about it) she’s become one of my favorites. And was a particular stand out in the Krakoa era. I also didn’t care for Jean for a time, mostly cause I hate the back and forth with Scott and Logan. And around the time i got back into X-men had Logan / Jean having feelings for each other (with Scott being portrayed as a prick that I felt sorry for) and I remember just really not liking this Jean.
“I never “got” her.” Word for word, came here to say this. The demon sword and revenge bit seemed out of place — like it was part of a separate fandom altogether and didn’t fit with my X-men. Slowly I’ve come to accept her and even get excited when she shows up in a story. Sometimes a little time and seasoning is all you need.
I gotta say, Angel has grown on me. I initially wasn't a huge fan of Warren, unless he was in his Archangel form. Angel just seemed pretty useless to me power-wise, since all he could really do was fly. But I recently read some of the 80s Defenders stuff, and Angel is a lot of fun. I like his personality, commitment to being a hero, and the fact that he uses his privilege to financially support good causes. I think he's been criminally underused, so I'm looking forward to the new X-Factor run.
Jubilee. The whole Mall Rat thing was annoying and in X-Men tv show she was annoying...Wolverine didn't need another sidekick, Kitty Pryde was all he needed. But...Jubeilee has become one of my favorite Mutants...she's had some good comic runs.
Came her to say this. She starts out as kind of the annoying kid stereotype, but she actually gets some decent development. And on X-Men '97, she was used brilliantly.
Oh she was (as were the others Boom Boom, Dazzler, and Laura) amazing in X-Terminators lol
Jean but that was no fault of hers. Started with the xmen 90s cartoon and she was always just fainting. X men evolution and reading comics afterwards improved her greatly. She became more competent and had her own thing going. Just remove the occasional Logan stuff and she would be an all time great.
Jean fainting is still memed to this day lol.
Rachel Summers. At first she just felt so random and disconnected. After starting Excalibur though her as a phoinex host really sold me on her. Plus her dynamic with Kitty Pryde
Wolverine. I started reading when he was in a dozen books at a time around 2012. But Jason Aaron's Wolverine and the X-Men turned me around on him. I just love that he's this huge asshole that loves kids.
He was a huge asshole originally. Most modern comics have him being a calm and rational, decent and caring character. The animatiom and movies portray him still as a bit of an ass. They need to catch up.
Hated Emma frost , not sure if I would say love now but respect which I 5ought would never happen
Mr Sinister
Blob. Once they wrote him in the story line where he fell in love w psylocke and he started bartending he finally become interesting enough to enjoy his storyline.
I'm stil not a fan of all these Xmen villains becoming heroes. For me I got Emma Frost and sometimes with Magneto due to history but way too many of these established villains becoming good guys after being really @#£%%y people for so long just doesn't sit right with me. Soon there won't be any bad guys left its ridiculous
Probably Colossus. He just seemed very boring and had a redundant power set compared to Wolverine. Then I watched the animated series and learned he was just a genuinely really nice guy. I know he isn’t like that in the comics all the time, but I hope he is most of the time. Whenever you have a group of morally gray and complex and dynamic characters, it’s important to have one guy who’s just genuinely nice all the time who they can bounce off of, like Colossus or Nightcrawler. They’re my 2 favorites.
His character is very much a “no good deed goes unpunished” character. He started off as the sweetest and most hopeful of the X-men of his generation, and you see his kindness erode over time. Actually quite a tragic character. Most, if not all of his negative qualities, emerged from his sister’s return to the comics and her resentment of him idealizing her. She ends up traumatizing him on purpose, and it leads to a LOT of f’d up actions being taken by Piotr.
Now it's like he's in perpetual purgatory sure to his brother secretly controlling him. Kind of sucks to see such a good guy struggle with redemption for things outside his control. I'm looking forward to the day he gets back to feeling good about being good. He's so heartwarming to the core that it's sad to see the big guy suffering so much emotional turmoil.
To be honest, Jean. I got into the X-Men through Astonishing X-Men because I was a big fan of Joss Whedon. Initially, I didn't like Jean because, while she was dead, there was a disconnect between how most characters in-universe talked about her and how Emma, a character I really liked at the time, seemed to feel about her. Stories like Phoenix Endsong (and Warsong) didn't help either because Jean's portrayal seemed weak to me as someone without any real understanding of her history. Additionally, I didn't like how her relationship with Scott was depicted in the movies since I liked him in the comics, which unfortunately influenced how I perceived their comic relationship. I guess I never really *hated* her but this did make me actively dislike her. Admittedly it's a very superficial "analysis" from a young reader who was just getting passionate about the X-Men at the time. This dislike continued for a while, until All-New X-Men actually. Partly I think this was because I initially avoided a lot of the throwback comics like First Class and Origins. Due to the cost of comics and my funds at the time I focused on new and in-continuity stuff. With the time-displaced O5, I found myself liking Teen Jean in all of her messed up glory in spite of myself. Around this time, because comics were becoming very easy to read online, I began reading older comics. One of the first older runs I read was Morrison's New X-Men, which didn't make me love Jean immediately but helped me understand her better. I then sort of committed to reading as much older X-Men content as I could, including X-Factor, X-Force, Excalibur, New Mutants, etc. I think shortly after Phoenix Resurrection finished, I had caught up to and then re-read Morrison's run. Because of Teen Jean, my readings of pre-Whedon comics, and the then-new X-Men Red, Jean was basically cemented as my favourite character, one of the few character I genuinely love despite all her many flaws. Xavier also kind of fits this prompt, though I don't love him. I just find him really interesting now.
It makes sense that when and how we start our journey can affect how we feel about a character. I started with New X-Men and the X-Men Evolution cartoon and I've always liked Jean. It's interesting to think about if I would have felt more like you if I got into the X-Men even just a few years later. > Emma, a character I really liked at the time Do you not like her anymore because you like Jean more? I'm always interested in how Jean fans feel about Emma and vice-versa.
I still like Emma. I think I wrote it like that because there was this period starting in the very late 2000s where I began to sour somewhat on her. I found myself increasingly frustrated by her characterization and at times uninterested in many of her stories. And this started before I started liking Jean. But my reading of the older comics (especially Gen X) and then re-read of the mid-2000s comics, combined with Krakoa -which is Emma's best era IMO- rekindled my interest in her. I guess Emma went from a top 3 character, to a character I didn't really enjoy, to a character I like again. Maybe top 10, I'm not sure.
Yeah, I can understand that. For me, it's literally the opposite of you, lol. I started as a Jean fan, started to dislike Jean after a while due to a few bad writers, then found Emma and started to adore her, and now my love for Jean is back. Today Emma is still my favourite (despite that horrible era from 2015 to 2017 where they almost butchered her character entirely), while Jean makes my top 10.
I think the 2010s in general were not great for a lot of characters and Emma probably gets the worst of it. Especially the 2015-2017 as you said.
Uncle MAGNETO. Initially i thought he was the villain, now i see hes the real hero. #MagnetoWasRight
myself
self-love is important
Tessa/Sage, i found her to be so bland and boring back in the day. But loved her when she was working with Bishop
Quentin Quire. He’s an asshole, but Morrison wrote him really well.
Was about to say Quire, but in a different period. I only started reading X-Men with Krakoa and so Benjamin Percy's recently concluded X-Force has been my introduction to him. He initially seemed unbearably annoying (perhaps deliberately so): a brash, arrogant mutant-supremacist who embodied Krakoa's worst tendencies as a nation. Once the exterior starts to crack and he starts to confront his myriad insecurities however he becomes a lot more sympathetic
Being born in 2001 and growing up in the era of everything Wolverine, I’d say Cyclops😂
Initially, I thought Fantomex was gonna be a elite assassin-type and, because I am bitter toward Maverick never really taking off, I chalked Fantomex as a surface level pastiche and he _kinda is._ But Fantomex is the dude and an absolute scene stealer.
Never gave a shit about Exodus but I loved him so much when he joined Krakoa
TBH? Wolverine/X-23/Laura Kinney Though hate is too strong a term. It was more like I didn’t know much about her. So, whenever she popped up in a book I was reading I honestly would be annoyed and think “this is an appearance that could’ve gone to someone else”. I knew she was Logan’s clone and that was about it. About 2 years back I finally read her solo material and WOW. I was blown away. X-23 Innocence Lost is a masterpiece as far as character origins go for the X-Men. X-23 Target X didn’t interest me as much, but still solid. The following solo series by Marjorie Liu was good, but what finally made me a devout fan of Laura as a character was All New Wolverine. For me, it was honestly really cool to see the character development she went through across these different titles. And in between this I went back to issues of New X-Men and X-Force to specifically focus on Laura’s character and what she was going through.
I'm with you. It just felt like a cash grab initially with how popular Wolverine was, but writers like Liu and Taylor really fleshed her out.
I didn't hate him but I always thought that Angel was a boring character. However, since he became Archangel and can now change from Angel to Archangel like the Hulk changes from Banner to the Hulk, Angel is one of the coolest characters out there. The metal wings have been a major upgrade for Angel. The wings have a mind of their own when it comes to protecting Angel. They can act as a shield or slice people like Wolverine in a close combat fight ( celestial metal wings against adamantium claws and the wings holding their own) . Archangel can also throw blades from his wings for long-distance attacks. In terms of impressive upgrades, I would put Angels upgrade up there with Sunspot, Sue Storm , Iceman, Jean Grey .
Not much of a Dazzler fan. Back in the day it just seemed like another Marvel gimmick to hook into something in pop culture (disco music) or maybe some sort of toy tie-in (see Jem and the Holograms). I had asthma as a kid and whenever I'd go to my pediatrician's office there'd be comics for the kids but they were the lamest ones like Dazzler, Amethyst the Princess of Gemworld and Mickey Mouse. Turns out the office manager was picking the comics... So I'd get stuck reading Dazzler out of boredom and I thought her powers were lame and her storylines were the worst. Plus Alison got her ass kicked by Rogue like it was her job and she didn't even want to be a super-hero, she was some stuck up country club pop princess. Every month was just awful, worse than the month before. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did! The Dazzler graphic novel came out and what a stinking turd that was! I guess eventually sales dipped and the book got canceled. Finally! But it seems that there was one person that was in ol' Alison's corner... And that person was Chris Claremont! I assume Ann Nocenti was probably in on that decision too, lucky for Alison. So Dazzler finally hooked up with the X-Men and helped breathe some new life into a roster that hadn't changed much in *years*. Her powers got cooler too, they gave her lasers and that photon blast. Dazzler and Psylocke both joined the X-Men, Havok came home and Outback X-Men gave us some great classic storylines like Inferno and Genosha. Later she showed up as a solid member in New Excalibur and Cyclops' renegade X-Men. I was never prouder of my girl then when she hunted Mystique down after Raven had held Alison captive and the disco lightengale finally got some sweet revenge. I'm pretty disappointed that Alison didn't get much screen time during the entire run of Krakoa. I mean Dead X-Men was ok but it just seemed a bit like an afterthought. I'm really psyched about the new Dazzler solo series, I know it will probably only run the minimum 10 issues but I don't care. I think Alison could be a great character to show up in NYX as a mentor for young mutants after her solo title ends. She can come home to the city she loves, the birthplace of disco music where every night is a party waiting to happen. It's been 40 years reading this character, I'm excited to see what's next for her!
Scott. I grew up.
Magik
Toad
Gambit
The 05
Emma Frost.
Emma Frost.
Hmm maybe Exodus and Magik? I wouldn’t say I love then though, but they’re growing on me despite my resistance otherwise!
Dark angel
Who's the artist of this post?
David Finch
Emma Frost
Betsy Braddock. I hate body swap stuff so I found the history of Psylocke frustrating despite being a cool concept, but I really enjoyed the post 2018? Captain Britain; Excalibur became a favorite title for the first time for me during Krakoa. I've always liked Arthur lore so maybe I slept on it too much before. Also she's hot.
i used to hate cyclops originally bc he always came off as a “goody two shoes” but as i started reading more comics n watching more shows/movies i feel like he’s actually a really good character. he’s a really good leader n usually just wants what’s best for the team n u can rly tell throughout most of the media that he LOVES jean. he does everything he can to be w her n make sure she’s alright n honestly it’s really admirable
Gambit. He was all over my woman Rogue, and helped the marauders murder the morlocks...
Cyclops AND Wolverine. I agree, Wolverine is overused. That said, his best stories are masterful allegories for sexism, abuse-survival, toxic masculinity, healthy masculinity, trauma-bonds, and more. Wolverine helps educate children who endure abuse on how to survive, and process your anger, and focus on ways to dig yourself out of your past.
I didn't dislike, but I was indifferent, to Magik initially. Now I absolutely love her. She's amazing. I really didn't like Emma Frost at first, but she's won me over and I really love the growth she's had in Krakoa. She's a fave now.
Emma Frost
Vulkan or Banshee, I always thought they were boring as hell, but then I saw The Animated series and started liking Banshee, and I read a few of the Krakoan era comics that made me love Vulkan
Cyclops. I didn't read the comics till joss whedon's astonishing x-men, so my idea of him was this boring stick in the mud who mostly did what xavier said. Astonishing and the books that came after convinced me that he's a bad ass and way more interesting than wolverine
Strong guy. Initially hated his style and character development because at the time I didn't understand the whole bullying, mental health, and pain situation But now he's one I wish they would really develop cause a lot of people can relate to that stuff
Big fan of Strong guy, wish he was utilized a lot more.
I think I've been rather consistent with my hatred.
Rogue. Never really got her character, but after X-Men 97 (I guess there may be a lot of this!), I have been reading uncanny since issue 200 and think she's great. Honourable mention for Cable too.
Rogue for me as well but for different reasons. I am huge Carol Danvers and the theft of her powers by Rogue angered me.
Quentin when he first showed up in new x-men I wanted him out of the picture just as much as the cuckoos did during new x-men and the Phoenix song series Then the writers made him likable in wolverine and the X-men and during the Krakoan x-force team.
Layla Miller
The movies made me an xmen fan as a child. I honestly was not very fond of wolverine. Didn't like Jean much either. I like Logan these days, but Jean remains one of the few red heads I dislike.
Juggernaut. He seemed like a big dumb hunk of meat with no real pathos. But learning about his repressed sexuality, his parental trauma, his ongoing relationship with Black Tom, and his Dazzler fandom made him much richer and recontextualized a lot about him for me.
Angel, or more specifically Archangel. I never hated Warren, but I never had any strong felings for Fly boy. But after reading Mutant Massacre, Fall of the mutants, The dark angel saga and other stories featuring him he became one of, if not my favourite x man
Warren Aka either the most useless mutant or the most teenage level angsty emo kill machine. I feel even with his history, and so much left unexplored in the greater Marvel lore. Worthington Industries should be a Stark/RoXXon player in the business industry, and Warren should move more like a Tony, though this pretty much got covered by Roberto down the line anyhow. Come to think of it..the X-men have serious bank/influence behind them lol
Definitely not Wolverine. It’s the exact opposite for him.
Problem with Wolverine is that especially during the 90's through the Nougties he was massively, massively overexposed. He was everywhere, in every comic. Also there's whole story's where the Xmen would get their butts kicked by an adversary only for Wolverine to swing in to save the day. It happened often as well. So many times other heroes of other Xmen would look bad so Wolverine could look good. It just became incredibly annoying. They've shown him getting the better of Spiderman or Daredevil and he can beat Shang Chi and Iron Fist in H2H just to show off what a badass he Is. He can beat this character with a katana he can beat this character with that. I'm surprised he hasn't out thrown Bullseye or shown to be better with a bow than Hawkeye. I honestly love Logan but due to his huge popularity some writers have wanked the character into oblivion! Shame
Haha, I feel like a lot of people hate Wolverine in this subreddit.
So you hate him now? Why?
I like the buff to his healing factor making him basically immortal but beyond that he just isn’t effective in most fights from a hero perspective and he’s just a constant retread of “I’m so miserable” “I’m the best at what I do” and angry dwarf. I get the popularity due to him being “relatable” as the old drunk uncle or the absent but trying father but to me he is just boring.
Professor X for being such a flawed human in the end
Wolverine. Cant say I hated but my first X-Men story was hunt for Xavier and he seemed just old guy shouting stuff while , Shadowcat, Gambit , Nighcrawler, Marrow and Storm were cool. Wasnt fan of Colossus either. Wolverine grew to me very quickly and eventually Colossus too.
Cyclops. I thought he was useless in the movies. Then I read the comics and realized he's my favorite character.
I was not a fan of Kid Omega when I first read him, but seeing him grow and become less douche-y throughout Krakoa sold me on him. He’s still far from a favorite, but I respect him now. I think I’m just a fan of dickhead straight characters growing up and chilling out
Quentin Quire. Wolverine and the X-Men changed my viewpoint on him
Magik. My first introduction to her was from The New Mutants movie. She was an arrogant asshole. Then I read some comics and yes, she can be arrogant at times, but she has a heart of gold.
Does it count if I say pity instead of love? Because that's Emma Frost. Girl keeps scoring Own Goals constantly while *pretending* like she's this cold arrogant selfish egotist. She was r/RaisedByNarcissists, and, though she isn't one herself, she has that deep need to be loved and respected and safe. Kinda reminds me of Astarion, in some ways.
I am still not a Mystique fan. Her plots and background are more convoluted than anything not involving Cable.
Cyclops. When I played marvel future fight he was my first hero and slowly changed my mind.
Mystique, Colossus, and Kitty Pryde (Still have a love hate relationship with her)
Jubilee She was annoying to me in the 90’s cartoon, when I was the same age as her, but in the comics she’s an awesome, funny, and layered character
X-23
Black Tom. He was just a run of the mill villain; no real motive to do anything but petty crime, when I was first introduced to him. But because of the development he received during the Krakoa Era, he became 1 of my favorite characters in recent years. I'd kill for a "Forces of Nature" team (lead by Storm) with Black Tom on it.
Warren. Originally, I thought he was just sort of pointless and useless, and not at all interesting. Don’t get me wrong, during the early days of the original 5, when Xavier’s was more halfway house than mutant academy, and the denizen of mutantkind were still being dreamed up in the minds of creators, I can’t deny that Warren technically served a purpose. There’s a clear argument to be made for the strategic value of having a traditional flier on the fledgling team. At a time when the young Marvel Girl had yet to master the ability to telekinetically propel herself like a missile, having any type of legitimate practiced and sustainable air support enhances the teams effectiveness and capabilities by orders of magnitude. Even if it’s what seems to be just a teenage boy with hollow bones and bird wings. Yet, despite there being some logic to Angel in the early days, I could never come around to liking him let alone grow to love him. Then, after years I stumble across Remender and Opeña’s Uncanny X-Force. Just like that I’m hooked, completely captivated by this cold and angry weapon, this terrifying raptor delivering poison ripped supersonic death from above fueled by unbridled rage and a distaste for weakness. So I went in search of anything where Warren had a substantial role, as Angel or Archangel, it didn’t matter I just wanted to know more. I read all of the books I could get my hands on, learned all I could about Warren and in the process grew to really love the character, even as just Angel, to the point where I’ve been guilty of buying books based solely on the fact that he was on the team. I mean, Warren really is an interesting and quality character who is criminally underutilized in my opinion. For example, there’s the whole “Tony Stark” angle he’s got going on as a slick, handsome man of exceptional wealth with a history of bankrolling superhero teams and endeavors such as X-Factor, Champions, and Defenders. Then you have the fact that Warren was the one who took the X-Men and mutantkind corporate by finding X-Corp. There’s and endless list of stories to be told from a massive mutant conglomerate with access to vast resources, unconventional power and exotic assets engaging in a variety of business and radical research and development. Not to mention he’s a powerful mutant in his own right, without being over the top. He can fly at at least Mach 1, swoop and dive even faster, easily maintain an attitude of 30,000 feet and likely even higher when Archangel, his wings can lift several hundred pounds, all his physicals are enhanced to peak human, he’s got a level of invulnerability that allows respiration at high altitude and protection from the friction of flight at supersonic speeds, telescopic and night vision, enhanced hearing, decent healing factor, wings that can slice through most materials and shield him from bullets, poisonous projectile feather, and a mild sonic scream. Of course with all the telekinetic powerhouses, elementals, power mimics, and flying bricks he’s redundant, but I feel he should come standard on every X-Force and X-Factor lineup.
Kid Omega… I couldn’t stand most of Morisson’s new students when they popped up at the school, but he grew on me when they let him out of detention and grew into a great hero who is still occasionally a dick.
Doug Ramsey, until his resurrection and the expansion of his powers into more interesting territory.
Kid Omega.
Jean. Always preffered Emma and still kinda do. But everything I've seen from her in the last 10 years in the comics and 97 have made me a fan. Personally while I might not like the direction the game takes story wise I can't wait to play as her in the Wolverine Game
(Also cyclops and Jean probably like everyone here who grew up with the 90s cartoon said but…) Monet. I was a huge Jubilee fan (still am) and since she was Jubilee’s frenemy (at best) in GenX I hated her but she’s now top 5 for me (higher than Jubilee don’t tell her)
What comic book is this cover from?
For me, it was definitely Cyclops, but he grew on me.
Cyclops and Phoenix
Wolverine
Most of the x-men. Really disliked the movies as a kid, thought they looked flat and boring. The og animated series made me change my mind about them, they were cool af characters!
Emma I thought she was a generic rich character, but I was wrong
I don’t hate Jubilee maturing is realizing that she is *not* the useless butt of the joke people think she is
Cyclops. I blame the movies. Not that I hated him, just thought he was lame.
Cyclops. The more I read and learned about him, the better I liked him.
X23 for me... I eyerolled so hard when I first heard about her, and wasn't impressed when she first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, but as Kyle and Yost's New X-Men started to ramp up I realised she'd become one of my favourites
Kitty Pryde. At first, ugh! Then she grew on me.
Jean, because I thought she was annoying in the movies and that since I ship scemma I couldn’t like Jean. Then I started reading her solo series from 2017 and she became one of my favorite characters
It's Jean for me. I was initially exposed to the X-Men through the 90s animated series when I was super young and wore out the VHS tapes. I found her... rather annoying. The fainting, the silly triangle (which I still hate), how useless she felt until, boom, Phoenix and I was like whoooa and then she was gone. I just thought it was dumb. Then I started to read some comics. She seemed fine. Then I saw the movies, and I went back to disliking her. (No fault of hers or Janssen's, btw.) I watched Evolution and was like, oh, this variant is really cool! It honestly remains one of my favorite representations of Jean to this day. Then, I got really into comics. As the gay youth that I was, I really resonated with Emma so I doubled down on my dislike of her for a time. I got older, read more series, and grew to like her. Not love, I would say, but I like her for her flaws and generally enjoy her now. (As with any character, writers make it vary.) I usually love the red-haired characters so the yo-yo'ing has been a bit funny, hah.
Boom Boom for sure. Hated her in fallen angels, exterminators and pretty much up until x force.
Storm. Her powers were cool but growing up on the movies (I was a born a bit late to watch the animated show) she was not a very good or developed character despite being in all three of the original movies. It wasn’t until I watched the animated show and started reading some comics that I realized how cool she was. Then X-Men ‘97 came around and I fell in love with the character all over again.
Cyclops unironically
Wolverine. Hated him growing up; came back with and his cadre of offspring have helped him, IMO. Sure, he's still shoved into absolutely everything, but if you don't read half the shit he's in, it's not that bad. Still waiting to like Nightcrawler... Reading for 30+ years now, and still find him as insufferable as ever.
Jean Grey.
Cyclops has gotta be the definitive answer for people who grew up with TAS and the Fox movies. Always presented as a wet blanket who was more of a foil to the epitome of 90's anti-authority attitude Wolverine.
I wouldn’t say “hate” but I didn’t know enough about cyclops to understand why people like him so much until I watched x-men 97.
Like a few, it's Cyclops. Before I start will note in his 97 representation I feel he's good. And clearly they're taken from comic adoptions I'm not familiar with. Always liked his designs and power, but my main case is he has a tenancy to have been awfully written in many comics I read growing up (terrible father, terrible leader, someone who will always place blame elsewhere because he can't take responsibility). In the movies and television shows he came across as obnoxious, whinny, and not cut out for the job. If you're a Transformers fan this reference will make sense. Cyclops has Hot Rod energy to him. A leader that has a tendency of being a hypocrite and whiner. Wolverine is liked because he's the edgy lonewolf that has a fish out of water vibe to him. With everyone having crazy powers from teleportation to energy beams which can destroy a small planet, some old guy who can heal a bubu and has retractable claws, just has more of a grounded vibe to him. & even then my favorite is Nightcrawler.
Kitty Pryde
bishop
Wolverine.
LMAO at all the Emma comments in this thread, for me she clicked pretty immediately during her time with the Hellions and Gen X, always thought the X-writers balanced her more abrasive characteristics and her more caring side well enough, never making her completely 'motherly' but still letting her feel strongly about her students. Cyclops is another I'm seeing a lot of and he's one that I definitely took time with, I think I always found him kinda wishy-washy in a way that bugged me but I've come to appreciate that as a character trait. Still don't care for Wolverine tho lol
I initially hated Jubilee. That’s all
Jean Grey. At first, she just seemed extremely perfect. Super powerful, super kind and seen by others as a the heart of the team. It was like she could do nothing wrong ever. Then I read more into her stories and saw her actual flaws, and realized that she is nuanced and has depth. The character wasn't the issue. Some of the poor writing and writers who clearly don't understand her well are the real issue.
🎇Jubes🎆✨
for me its the opposite I love a lot of characters and grew to hate them
I wouldn't say I'm quite to the level of loving the character but Rahne / Wolfsbane. My first experiences with her as a character were when she had an inappropriate with Elixir, one of her students who was the ward of Dani. Then she suddenly was in X-Force and ate Father and had a romance with an Asgardian wolf god. Then she was pregnant from that relationship went to X-Force where she tried to trick her ex-boyfriend that he was the father. She was also homophobic about her ex-boyfriend having now come out as gay (which now that I know more comes off as internalized homophobia being honest). I wouldn't say like the X-Force period was like morally bad as like the other two its just jarring. I think I remember hearing she had fans and I was a little shocked, as I thought she was like the worst. Later on I read like the Krakoa stuff which I feel did a lot of work repairing the character for me (Ayala and Anders New Mutants) as well going back and reading more of the original New Mutants era that had me soften on the character. I wouldn't say I've gotten to the level where I love her or that she's one of my favorites but I feel I can enjoy her when she shows up and generally like her.
Magic. I didn't like the whole Belasco fiasco and was worried when they brought her back, but now shes one of my favorites.
Emma
Cyclops. It’s not his fault the writers suck.
I'm going to have to say for me Gambit
Colossus. I used to think he was really boring.
Wolverine. As a kid, I couldn't stand him and thought he was way overrated. But that was before the Bendis era. He definitely seems a more likable character these days.
Storm. She wasn’t written very well in the early 90’s when I first started reading comics. Then she had zero personality in X-Men the animated series. Then came Halle Berry. Things changed during the early Krakoan days. X-Men ‘97 further proved how wrong I was about her. She’s an incredible character.
Emma Frost, Cyclops, Magneto and Juggernaut
Alex Summers. I never really got him til I read the 90s x-factor.