7 Best X-Men of All Time

After Michael made a list of his 7 Best X-Men ever, he challenged me to do the same.

Okay, so first off, there is clearly a generational difference between me and Michael. You know how you know? Look at how many of the people on his team have many, many pouches. What are in all those things? My superheroes don’t need a ton of spaces to stash away a Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pie in the middle of the battle. (Comics in the mid-1990s were very strange in their outfits.)

As a child of the 1980s and early 1990s, especially the Claremont, Byrne era, I have put together my team of the 7 Best X-Men ever.

Wolverine

He is the best at what he does…and what he does isn’t very nice. Simply put, every team needs a guy like Wolverine on it. In fact, I don’t believe you can have a real X-Men team without Wolverine.

His powers are part of the equation: superhuman healing power, adamantium skeleton, adamantium claws, supersenses. You factor in his training and there is more: a spy, an assasin, a ninja, a soldier. In the past several years, you also see Logan as a teacher, beginning all the way back with his relationship with Kitty Pryde, on to Jubilee and now leading the Jean Grey School.

Wolverine is a tactician, who, when push comes to shove, will do whatever it takes. I freely admit that I am biased as Wolverine came of age as a character when I was at my highest interest in comics. He would be my first pick. (Note: The best case for Wolverine can be seen in the classic Chris Claremont and Frank Miller Wolverine mini-series.)

Rogue

Rogue is my next pick for a variety of reasons. Her primary power of absorbing other people’s powers alone would make her a worthy addition to the team. Worst case scenario in any situation, Rogue absorbs everyone else’s powers and goes crazy on people. It is the ultimate in “We need a miracle” card.

Additionally, because of the powers she permanently absorbed from Ms. Marvel, Rogue is a beast. Super strength, ability to absorb damage, flight. She is a great addition as a brawler but also having the other power makes her a no-brainer.

Plus, she has recently been seen as a capable team leader, making her a great #2 to Logan’s leadership.

Magneto

Here is when you know someone is powerful: when he used to be an adversary to an entire team. Magneto began his career as a villain against the X-Men. Over the years, he has switched into a capable, powerful hero looking to avenge his past mistakes.

His power set is interesting, as he is a master of magnetism. Over the years, how he uses that power has put him in a top tier. Flight, metal manipulation, etc. Add in his willingness to do whatever it takes for something he believes in.

Note: First 3 people could do an epic magnetism powered, Rogue-thrown Fastball Special with Wolverine. And the Fastball Special may be the best thing from the 1980’s comics, other than the Beyonder’s mullet.

 

Magik

Illayan Rasputin in the sister of one of Michael’s picks: Colossus. And she is infinitely more interesting. First, her mutant power to teleport between dimensions is an incredibly useful power for a team to have. Travel costs will be dramatically lessened by her presence and in this economy that shouldn’t be overlooked.

More important though, Magik was lost in the far dimension for many years where she became a powerful sorceress. The magic aspect of Magik makes the team have a chance against an entire different type of foes. And let’s face it, Magik and her soulsword, the embodiment of her magical powers, is every bit as awesome as Psylocke’s psionic knife. And like everyone else on my team so far, Magik is a tortured soul, which makes story telling more interesting.

 

Dazzler

I think every team should have a member that you look at and go “What? Why?” I think it is a tradition.

So my pick for that spot on my team is Dazzler. Now, let’s face it, Dazzler has a bizarre history and was basically created as a response to the disco era. She has been used since in various teams. But I think she has an interesting power set that hasn’t been fully developed. Her backstory is that she was a singer who basically could create her own light show. With the ability to take sound and create it into light, I think Dazzler has potential no one has unlocked.

If I were writing this team, I would be looking to expand on Dazzler as a character and as she explores and grows in her powers. Plus, she has always had the vibe of being a reluctant hero. If I was writing this team’s story, something that involved Dazzler would be how they all come together and she would be making the commitment to grow as a hero out of that story.

Rachel Summers

I want Phoenix too. But not the Jean Grey Phoenix that Michael has chosen. Oh no, give me Jean Grey’s child from the future: Rachel Summers.

Rachel’s story is that she came from a distyopian future where her amazing power set was put to use as a “hound”, someone who tracked and killed mutants as they were being wiped out. Now, she is taking her powerful telekinetic powers and her telepathic powers to do good in this timeline. Her power level and skill set are as high as her mom’s but with a more interesting backstory.

Plus she hasn’t been killed and resurrect so many time that I can’t count them on 1 hand, like Jean Grey has.

Angel

Lastly, I want Warren Worthington. But not pretty boy Angel but the darker, more effective in combat Archangel, who came into being after being “healed” by Apocalypse.

(Angel lost his wings during the criminally underrated Mutant Massacre storyline. If you haven’t read it, you should as you watch the Marauders take apart the X-Men in awful ways. It was a gamechanger of a story back in the day.)

In Archangel form, Angel has bladed wings, which he can use as massive blades or fire off individual “feathers” as projectile weapons. He has a deep history with the team. Plus, he is loaded economically speaking. And someone has to fund all this stuff.

 

There you are, my 7 best X-Men of all time. You can see the lists created by other nerds: Michael Adkin’s Best X-Men Ever | Clave Jones Best X-Men Ever. We also invite you to head to the comments and create your own list of the best X-Men ever!