By Ben Morse
Every week, a secret cabal of Marvel staffers gathers to discuss the best of the best when it comes to the House of Ideas.
While it may seem like every mutant ever has been a member of the X-Men at some point or another, nothing could be further from the truth. While enjoying CABLE #1 and X-FORCE #2 this week, the Secret Cabal mused on this fact and came up with their top ten Would-Be X-Men and why they should get a spot on the roster next time Cyclops goes recruiting. For each candidate, you also get a special spotlight comic courtesy of Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited.
As always, these picks reflect the personal choices of the Secret Cabal, not the official opinion of Marvel or Marvel.com, and can be considered subjective at best. Enjoy!
10. FIRESTAR
First Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN #193 (1985)
Learn More About Her… Here
Why She Makes The List: Angelica Jones has seen the dark side of mutant teams with the Hellions, grown up as one of the
New Warriors, and lived in the spotlight as a member of the
Avengers, but despite her mutant origins she has never been seriously considered for the X-Men. With her veteran status, bright disposition and
impressive powers,
Firestar would make a scorching hot addition to the team in more ways than one.
Close Calls: Turned down X-Men membership (UNCANNY X-MEN #193—1985)
Spotlight Comic: SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #16, Firestar heats things up between Spidey and MJ
9. MONET
First Appearance: GENERATION X #1 (1994)
Learn More About Her… Here
Why She Makes The List: Whether with
Generation X or as a member of
X-Factor Investigations, Monet has always been the competent star of her respective squad, but how would she fare stepping up to the big leagues with the X-Men? The mutant sometimes known as M could either continue to be the prodigy
she's always been or crash and burn having to learn humility for the first time—either way, we want to see it.
Close Calls: Joined Generation X as Penance (GENERATION X #1—1994), joined the X-Corps (UNCANNY X-MEN #403—2002), joined
X-Factor Investigations (X-FACTOR v2 #1—2006)
Spotlight Comic: X-FACTOR v2 #1, Monet joins X-Factor Investigations
8. SUNSPOT
First Appearance: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4 (1982)
Learn More About Him… Here
Why He Makes The List: One of the very first
New Mutants, Roberto Dacosta never quite fully grew up like his classmates, but at this point on the job training with the X-Men may be exactly what he needs. With his cocky sense of entitlement, not to mention his questionable recent history with the
Hellfire Club, we'd like to see
Sunspot get kicked around a bit by some of the veteran
X-Men and hopefully live up to his full potential in the process.
Close Calls: Became a charter member of the New Mutants (MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4—1982), joined
X-Force (X-FORCE v1 #15—1992), joined the X-Corporation (X-TREME X-MEN #40—2004)
Spotlight Comic: NEW MUTANTS SPECIAL #1, Sunspot and the New Mutants travel to Asgard
7. BLINK
First Appearance: X-MEN: ALPHA (1995)
Learn More About Her… Here
Why She Makes The List: A member of a team of X-Men that barely resembles the one we know best in the "Age of
Apocalypse" and a veteran Exile who has seen just about every variation of the mutant group imaginable, Blink may be a young lady still, but she'd
bring a unique sense of experience to our X-Men. Watching Blink stay put in one dimension and try to adapt to this world with the help of her teammates would be a great journey to follow.
Close Calls: Became a founding member of the
Exiles (EXILES #1—2001)
Spotlight Comic: EXILES #8, separated from her teammates, Blink fights to survive on an Earth ruled by
Skrulls
6. DANI MOONSTAR
First Appearance: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4 (1982)
Learn More About Her… Here
Why She Makes The List: Danielle
Moonstar, then known as Mirage, served as co-leader of the original New Mutants with
Cannonball, but while he graduated into the X-Men, she got stuck in Asgard as a
Valkyrie and then eventually returned to Xavier's as
a teacher before losing her powers. With our without her mutant ability to instill fear in her enemies, Dani possesses the maturity, charisma and impressive fighting skills to be a valued member of the X-Men—she certainly deserves a shot.
Close Calls: Became a charter member of the New Mutants (MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4—1982), joined X-Force (X-FORCE v1 #67—1997), returned to the Xavier Institute as a teacher (NEW MUTANTS v2 #1—2003)
Spotlight Comic: NEW MUTANTS v1 #3, Dani has her first confrontation with the Demon Bear
5. NAMOR
First Appearance: MOTION PICTURES FUNNIES WEEKLY (1939)
Learn More About Him… Here
Why He Makes The List: Known as Marvel's very first mutant—though Apocalypse may dispute the claim—Prince Namor of Atlantis would seem a bizarre choice for the X-Men given his fiercely independent nature, but that could also make him a fascinating
team member. The currently nomadic
Sub-Mariner could seek asylum with old ally
Charles Xavier and become a hugely powerful X-Man whose reckless streak would make Cyclops long for the days of
Wolverine at his surliest.
Close Calls: Turned down X-Men membership after helping the team against the
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (X-MEN v1 #6—1964)
Spotlight Comic: FANTASTIC FOUR v1 #4, Namor leaps into the modern age of Marvels
4. WOLFSBANE
First Appearance: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4 (1982)
Learn More About Her… Here
Why She Makes The List: As an alumnus of the New Mutants, X-Factor and
Excalibur as well as a former teacher at Xavier's and current member of X-Force,
Wolfsbane has been everything
but one of the X-Men. Rahne Sinclair's deep commitment to morality has always balanced out the beast within, but still she struggles—she could use the X-Men to lean on as much as they could benefit from a dedicated soldier like her. Wolfsbane on the X-Men just seems like a perfect fit and one whose time has come.
Close Calls: Became a charter member of the New Mutants (MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL #4—1982), joined government-sponsored X-Factor team (X-FACTOR v1 #71—1991), joined Excalibur (EXCALIBUR v1 #90—1995), returned to the Xavier Institute as a teacher (NEW MUTANTS v2 #9—2004), joined X-Factor Investigations (X-FACTOR v2 #1—2006), joined the new X-Force (X-FORCE v2 #1—2008)
Spotlight Comic: NEW MUTANTS v1 #1, Wolfsbane's first adventure with the original New Mutants
3. QUICKSILVER
First Appearance: X-MEN v1 #4 (1964)
Learn More About Him… Here
Why He Makes The List: The son of
Magneto broke off from his father's ideologies early on, joining the Avengers, but
Quicksilver could have been a very intriguing early member of the X-Men, opposing dear old dad on a regular basis and seeing the other side of human-mutant relations. However, Pietro's ingrained distrust of homo sapiens
would certainly provide a challenge for Charles Xavier while his arrogance and quick temper would make for heated interactions with the likes of Wolverine. With his current status awash in shades of gray, it would be intriguing to see Quicksilver seek redemption today with the Children of the Atom.
Close Calls: Turned down X-Men membership after leaving the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (X-MEN v1 #11—1965), joined government-sponsored X-Factor team (X-FACTOR v1 #71—1991)
Spotlight Comic: X-FACTOR #87, Quicksilver and the rest of X-Factor get examined by super hero psychiatrist
Doc Samson
2. THE SCARLET WITCH
First Appearance: X-MEN v1 4 (1964)
Learn More About Her… Here
Why She Makes The List: Arguably the most powerful Avenger ever but also ultimately the last incarnation of the team's downfall, would the
Scarlet Witch have travelled down a different path had she been with the X-Men? Would Professor Xavier have been able to succeed where her father, Magneto had failed? And how would having an unstable powerhouse who also happens to be the
daughter of your greatest enemy affect the rest of the team? Writer Jeff Parker has been telling some great stories about Wanda Maximoff as a close X-Men ally in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, but let's see these questions answered with her all grown up and on the team for real.
Close Calls: Turned down X-Men membership after leaving the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (X-MEN v1 #11—1965)
Spotlight Comic: AVENGERS v1 #16, the Scarlet Witch joins the Avengers for the first time
1. JAMIE MADROX
First Appearance: GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #4 (1975)
Learn More About Him… Here
Why He Makes The List: The former
Multiple Man's powers alone make him a team unto himself, and would thus prove invaluable to the X-Men, a fact they recognized years ago when they unsuccessfully tried to recruit him following his help in their first encounter with Proteus. But beyond his awesome abilities, Jamie has developed into a capable leader of late. He's somehow managed the disparate personalities that comprise X-Factor Investigations while proving to be an excellent detective that boasts a range of other skills second to none (thanks to his imaginative use of duplicates as educational aids). Plus, what
Madrox brings to the table as far as character interaction, with his literal multiple personalities—he can be Cyclops' right hand man, Wolverine's drinking buddy,
Beast's lab assistant and even
Emma Frost's shopping companion all at once.
Close Calls: Turned down X-Men membership (X-MEN v1 #129—1980), joined government-sponsored X-Factor team (X-FACTOR v1 #71—1991), founded X-Factor Investigations (X-FACTOR v2 #1—2006)
Spotlight Comic: X-FACTOR v2 #15, Jamie Madrox against Jamie Madrox—Agent of
Hydra
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