233: Favorites as of 2004 (ish)

Introduction

It's time for another favorites column. This is a direct follow up to my Favorites as of 2001, as well as numerous other favorite articles, tier lists, and author retrospectives which can all be found in my Purely Editorial Blogs. This is a good time for a break as Grant Morrison, Chuck Austen, and Claremont's X-Treme X-Men run have just concluded, and we're about to get into X-Men Reloaded (Claremont back on Uncanny, Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, Academy X, etc.)

Favorite Characters

# 10 - Dani Moonstar (AKA Psyche, Mirage, Moonstar)

Dani's powers have evolved numerous times over the years, but at it's core she has unique telepathic powers that allow her to access people's deepest emotions and project them. As co-leader of the New Mutants, she would primarily use her powers to project 3D images of her enemies fears. Over time, she learned how to project all sorts of mental images. More recently, she's been using a psychic bow and arrow to incapacitate her enemies. All of this on top of her induction into the Norse Valkyries which bestowed additional powers (and a magical horse). We also can't forget that she developed Godlike powers for a short stint at the end of the original X-Force Run.

Like Chris Claremont, I have a soft spot for strong female characters. The issue that first made me fall in love with Dani was New Mutants # 53, when the team met up with the Hellions at the Hellfire Gala. Up to this point, Sam (Cannonball) and Dani were co-leaders of the team, but Dani went off on her own and made peace with Warpath (a future teammate) who was the leader of their rival group, the Hellions. They also got a bit romantic. This was the point where I realized (decided) that she was the true leader of the team and had real depth, being able to be a strong hero but also show a softer side.

Dani's staying strong in my top ten still because she's been re-branded as an adult teacher at the Xavier Institute for the characters introduced in New Mutants Volume 2 (Soon to be re-launched as Academy X/New X-Men V2).

# 9 - Domino

Domino's only mutant power is luck probability, but when coupled with experience and badass fighting skills, you're left with a power house.

Domino started off as the experienced right hand to Cable in the early X-Force days. When Cable got his own comic, she was the other recurring guest star, similar to Jubilee in the Wolverine comic. Over time, Cable left the X-Force comic and she continued to serve as a wise veteran who prefers to lead by example rather than at the head of a team.

I was fond of Domino in the first 14 issues of X-Force (plus the tail end of New Mutants), but when we found out that we hadn't even met her yet (In X-Force # 15), she had the most impressive entrance for a character that I think I'll ever see.

Domino certainly hasn't been as strong or entertaining lately, but that doesn't change my opinion of her. She's another strong female character who I can't get enough of. I'll always have a warm spot for her because of how much I loved X-Force as a kid and continued to love the comic during the re-read (with the exception of the last few story arcs).

#8 Juggernaut

I guess there are two things that I like: strong females and humbled villains. I never would have guessed that Juggernaut would crack my top ten favorite characters, but that's exactly what happened thanks to Chuck Austen.

Cain Marko, Juggernaut, is actually not a mutant. He gets his powers from the Gem of Cyttorak which gives him super strength and makes him virtually indestructible. Ironic that it took the love of a young friend (Samme Pare) to make him shatter.

The issue that made me start to respect Juggernaut was Uncanny X-Men # 416. This is when Sammy Fish Face talks to Juggernaut about how he thinks he's a villain like him, but Juggs responds by saying that he's not a villain just because he tried to get revenge on Charles for killing his dad. Cain then takes Sammy to the house he grew up in, faces the demons of his abusive father, and destroys his childhood home. You can tell this was a moment of coping that begun his transformation. It was then cemented in the Heroes and Villains arc when Sammy dies and Juggernaut officially turned on Black Tom.

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#7 - Emma Frost

Emma is a high level telepath. And while the X-Men have no shortages of telepaths, they can always benefit from the addition of an utterly fabulous female character. Scott Lobdell had taken the first step of transforming her into a protagonist during Generation X, but it was Grant Morrison who elevated her to another level. I'm looking forward to 20 more years of strong Emma characterization.

My love for Emma built to a crescendo during the Grant Morrison Run. First we see her quit the X-Men only to come back and snap the neck of Cassandra Nova during E is for Extinction. We got a bunch of fabulous lines about how she's not there to fight for X-Liberalism. But I'll never forget during Germ Free Generation when she gets her nose broken then drops John Sublime out of a building screaming "I am very cross about my nose!"

# 6 - Storm

Storm has the ability to control the elements. It's really a shame that Jim Lee, Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza, Alan Davis, and all the rest who followed were not interested in featuring Storm. She hit her peak during the Claremont Run, but as you'll soon see, her early arcs were so good it has cemented her as a top X-Man for life.

Let me explain why Storm is not only one of my favorite characters, but probably has one of the best long term character arcs of any medium during the Claremont run.

When we first meet her in Giant Sized X-Men, she is worshiped as a Goddess in Kenya. In Storm's early years on the X-Men, she continued that pure and divine perspective, which included refusing to take a life. She even went as far as to risk her own life to save villains, such as Garrok in the Savage Land.

When Scott left the X-Men to grieve the alleged death of Jean Grey, Storm stepped up as leader of the X-Men. She was a wonderful leader due to her self assuredness and natural maternal instincts. She became a surrogate mother to 13 year old Kitty Pryde and treated the team with respect.

As time went on, she began to struggle. She noticed a conflict between her desire not to take a life and her responsibility for protecting the team. She also had to decide when Scott came back whether she wanted to push him for control of the team of step back.

In addition, she went through some physical changes that forced her to challenge who she really was. First, she was transformed by Dracula and almost hurt her precious Kitty. Later, she was infected with a Brood egg and needed to use all of her divine power to excise the egg. However, instead of viewing the Brood as an infestation, she felt it as a life growing inside of her and removing it went against her natural maternal instincts. These experiences also left her with a shaky control of her powers, and without being able to feel the Earth, she felt as if she lost a part of herself.

This all came to a head when her precious Kitty was kidnapped and poisoned by the Morlocks. With Kitty assured to die without intervention, it became clear that someone needed to challenge Callisto to a fight to the death in order for the Morlocks to agree to heal her. Both Nightcrawler and Colossus agreed to lay their life on the line and to volunteer as strong fighters, but as team leader Storm agreed to take on this burden. This led to the most amazing single scene I have ever read.

Callisto was overconfident and assumed she would easily win until Storm started displaying expert level knife skills which were learned during her time growing up as a street urchin on the streets of Cairo. You could see the fear in Callisto's eyes, but she knew Storm refused to take a life. Unfortunately for Callisto, she under-estimated Storm's resolve and love for Kitty. Storm stabbed Callisto in the heart without hesitation, shocking her teammates who were almost horrified by how easily she was able to kill.

Storm had made her choice. She was no longer the pure wind Goddess who valued all life. She was a badass leader of the X-Men who would do anything to protect her team. She fully embraced her new persona, no longer holding back and instead letting herself express all of her emotions. This was displayed outwardly by Storm shaving her hair into a mohawk and adapting her outfit into the punk look from the 80's. Storm's transformation was complete, and she would never go back.

Claremont put her back front and center for X-Treme X-Men, but the weakness of the comic overall didn't do her many favors. I'm optimistic that Storm will restore her glory as he takes back over Uncanny starting in 2004.

# 5 - Apocalypse

Apocalypse is the closest X-Men character to a God that we will see. I could go over his powers, such as eternal life and fucking sorcery, but instead I'll let you read about his 29 different power sets here. I'm really not sure whether my love of Apocalypse came from the comics or The Animated Series, but I can tell you that whenever he shows up, I get incredibly excited.

# 4 - Cable

Cable has both telepathy and telekinesis. I don't know if he'll ever be as "cool" as when Leifeld used him to juice up the New Mutants, and followed it by kicking off the X-Force, but he's a character that has stayed interesting and relevant since the first day he was introduced.

I was baptized into comic books by X-Force # 1. I was 8 years old when X-Force # 1 dropped in June of '91. I was such a sucker for the bomastic artistry and over the top machoism. I just can't think about X-Force without drowning in nostalgia, and you can't love X-Force without loving Cable.

Cable is another character who was barely used recently, but he's still one of my favorite characters of all time.

# 3 - Magik

Illyana Rasputin has the ability to create magical "stepping disks" that allow her to use the realm of Limbo to travel between space and time. She's also a wicked powerful sorceress.

This is going to be a really weird thing to admit, but the thing that got me into Magik was Anna Taylor Joy's portroyal in the New Mutants movie. I decided to start this blogging journey on January 11th, 2021 so I was still a green X-Men fan in 2020. It wasn't a great movie, but I had never read New Mutants when the movie came out and didn't know who Magik was. I become obsessed with learning about her and couldn't wait to find out what was up with her bad attitude, metal arm, magic dimension, or teleporting powers.

She wasn't here for a long time, but she was here for a good time! I have a feeling that if/when Magik comes back, if she's well written, she may end up in my # 1 spot one day. I love strong female characters and there are few as tough, or as tragic, as Illyana. You're going to be hearing about her plenty more in the rest of the blog.

# 2 - Magneto

Erik Lensherr has the ability to manipulate metal, as well as my emotions. He is the most nuanced character in Marvel and I love him for it.

While there are many Magneto-centric stories that I love, I think the two that best showed his conflicted nature were Magneto in the Savage Land and the last Claremont arc of his original run, X-Men # 1 - 3. I love how both arcs showed him completely misunderstood, trying to do the right thing, and getting pissed off when people assumed the worst about him. Those two arcs made me "get him," and that's what got him at the top of this list.

We got some great Magneto stories in the last 10 years under Lobdell (Fatal Attractions) and Alan Davis (the gift of Genosha). Unfortunately for Magneto, Grant Morrison committed character assassination on Magneto during the Planet X storyline. While that was enough to shake him out of the top spot, he's still in my top 2.

# 1 - Kitty

Kitty Pryde has the ability to phase through solid objects. Even though she hasn't been as relevant lately, I fell so in love with this character under Claremont's tenure that I can't help but to keep her in my heart.

While she wasn't widely used the last 3 years, her solo Mekanix Limited Series as well as her powerful X-Men Unlimited story (XMUL # 36) have skyrocketed her back to first place, which is probably where she should have been all along.

Tier List for EVERY character

Top 5 from the past era (3 years)

1. Juggernaut

2. Sage

3. Husk

4. Emma

5. Kitty

Favorite Moments

10 - Wolverine lecturing Colossus about Kitty (UXM # 183)

In 1990 I said:

To this day, I still love "Philosopher Logan" and this is probably the best example of why I call him that. You can read my original take on this in Favorites as of 1990.

# 9 - Wolverine kissing Jean, signaling the first meeting of X-Factor and the X-Men (UXM # 242)

In 1990 I said:

Inferno will be brought up a lot in this blog. The best payoffs are preceded by a long period of annoyance or excellent set up. In this case, we got both. Jean had been back alive for a long time, but the two teams weren't connecting back up. In addition, the X-Men had started to get hints that Jean was alive, such as Wolverine smelling her. So not only did this all come to a head right here, but it happens in dramatic fashion with Wolverine laying a wet one on Jean. I'll never forget the excitement I felt at this moment.

#8: Wolverine telling Kitty she's team leader (UXM # 195)

In 1990 I said:

#7: Colossus's Sacrifice (#UXM 390)

After several years of the Legacy Virus plaguing mutantkind, Beast finally finds a cure. But there was a catch. In order for the cure to activate, it needs to be injected into a mutant, killing them. The sacrifice would generate the cure and no more mutants would die from it. Colossus has been pretty sad for years, distraught over the death of his sister (from the Legacy Virus), parents, and brother. Guilty over his time running with the bad guys (Acolytes). Sad about the loss of his relationship with Kitty and guilt over beating up her new boyfriend. He realizes he has a chance to end all suffering and he takes it without hesitation. That big lump sacrificed himself for everyone else.

I pick my favorite moments based on what scenes stay with me the longest. I actually read UXM #390 a few days before publishing my favorites columns from 2001, but I chickened out and assumed I only felt special about it due to recency bias. I was wrong, it was great and it deserves to be here.

# 6 - Xavier needs help walking from Jubilee after X-Cutioner’s Song (UXM # 297)

In 1995 I said:

5 - Meeting Domino (X-Force #15)

I had really liked Domino the first 14 issues, but I was nervous I wouldn't like the real Domino when we found out that we were spending time with Copycat (Vanessa) this whole time. But the real Domino makes one hell of an entrance and I immediately let go of any concerns I had about liking her any less. I loved this the first time when I was a kid and just as much during my re-read as an adult.

4 - Madelyn Confronting Scott (X-Factor # 37)

This is great for a number of reasons. If you've been reading my blogs from the beginning, you know that I really struggled with how Scott treated his family. It's pretty easy to say that Jim Shooter ruined Cyclops because him bringing back Jean forced Cyclops to choose his love, but his shittiness dates further back than that. Scott had been a distant husband, choosing to lead the X-Men (and losing to Storm) over being with his pregnant wife. He wasn't around when the baby was born. He constantly made backhanded comments about Madelyn not being as good as Jean. So watching Madelyn go full on evil and unload on Scott was actually a breath of fresh air.

In addition to this being the end of the Madelyn saga, Claremont had spent a year setting up Madelyn's transformation into the Goblin Queen during the Outback era, so this payoff was huge.

Let's not mince words, Scott abandoned his family whether she eventually turned evil or not.

3 - Illyana's death during Inferno (New Mutants # 73)

Look at that, another Inferno reference. An argument can be made that Illyana's story is the best (and really only) complete arc in the X-Men universe. I was fascinated by this concept of Illyana being abducted into Hell (Limbo) at a young age. Slowly coming to grips with both her powers and her dark side. Her friendship with Kitty and relationship with her brother, who never stopped loving here. Her story was gripping, compelling, and heart wrenching when she sacrificed herself for her friends during Inferno. What a great event!

2 - Storm pulls Kitty into the sky to have a little chat. (UXM # 180).

To read my full notes on this moment, I'll refer you to Favorites as of 1990.

Claremont had spent years putting Storm through a slow transformation from a gentle Goddess into a being more in touch with her base instincts. Kitty, who viewed Storm as a mother figure, was very unnerved by it and had no problem making passive aggressive comments about it for days. Eventually Storm decides they need to have a private chat so she whisks Kitty up in the sky and for many panels, Storm explains why she needed to change and explains to Kitty why she wishes Storm could accept her as she is. It ends with both of them in tears during a heartfelt embrace that I'll never forget.

#1 - Storm stabbing Callisto in the heart (UXM # 170)

My # 2 favorite moment talked about the impacts after Storm's transformation, but this scene is the moment that Storm's transformation was set in stone. I doubt there will ever be a more compelling arc in any comic that I read moving forward. Prior to this, I had only really seen Storm as Halle Berry in the movies and a bit boring in the animated series. This amazing arc (plus many other great acrs Claremont put her through) cemented her as one of my favorite characters of all time. It's somewhat sad to think in this light that most writers following Claremont (looking at you, Lobdell) had much use for Storm.

In 1990 I said:

Top moments from the last 3 years

1. NXM 115- Emma snapping the neck of Cassandra Nova

2. XTXM 17 - Storm shoots Viper, then Sage threatens her with a knife.

3. UXM422 - Stacy X jump roping naked

4. NXM # 120 - Emma is very cross about her broken nose

5. New X-Men 116 - Cassandra Nova killing 16 million Genoshans

6. UXM 416 - Juggernaut breaks down his house

Favorite Issues

# 10- UXM # 170 (Storm vs. Callisto)

Yeah, I know. This already showed up as my favorite moment of all time. In my previous blogs, I had this as my favorite issue, but I wanted to give some love to other ideas this time around. Not only was the moment of Storm striking Callisto fantastic, but the entire issue was great setting up this scene (Angel's capture, Kitty getting sick, X-men getting defeated, etc) and everything that came after (like Storm becoming the new Morlock leader).

# 9- New X-Men # 134 - 141 (Riot at Xavier's)

Quentin Quire and his band of cronies fall under the control of the Sublime virus and plot a takeover of the school. There's death, there's mayhem, and there's Glob Herman on fire.

# 8 - UXM # 273 (3 team's together)

In 1995 I said:

This probably isn't on most people's top ten list, but as someone who is binging through the Marvel universe, excited to see these characters come together, it was a truly magical experience. I'll never forget watching Scott, Jean, and Storm pull away from the rest of the team's talking about strategy and just thinking "Yea, these 3 would totally have nothing but respect from every other character here."

#7 - New X-Men 114 - 116 (E is for Extinction)

Grant Morrison makes his debut by introducing secondary mutations, a mutant genetic explosion, and a fucking genocide in Genosha.

# 6 - X-Force # 27 - 28 (Feral and Tempo)

In 1995 I said:

This is another issue that you'll be hard pressed to see anyone else raving about, but I was totally digging it. Feral had been slowly turning evil for quite some time. Tempo had slowly been going good, and this was an amazing way of paying that off. I guess I'm a sucker for slow burn stories that have great payoffs.

#5 - X-Factor # 87 (The Psychiatrist)

In 1995 I said:

#4: Inferno

This is the best event in X-Men history (that I've read so far). I don't even think that's a hot take. Magik dies. X-Men and X-Factor are reunited. Wolverine kisses Jean. The end of the Outback era. Madelyn finally goes crazy. Madelyn finally confronts Scott about Jean (and about being a shitty husband, which he was). Baby Cable is almost thrown off a building. Just an amazingly well written event, with a great deal of build up and excellent payoffs.

# 3: UXM # 162: The Brood Saga

In 1990 I said:

# 2: UXM # 160 & Magik # 1 - 4 (Illyana taken to Limbo)

I've been talking about Illyana non-stop in this blog. The combination of UXM # 160 and the 4 part Magik Limited Series were gripping. Perhaps this hit me hard since I have daughters Magik's age.

# 1 - UXM # 274 - 277 (Rogue and Magneto in the Savage Land)

This was one of Claremont's last stories while he and Jim Lee were still playing nice. Claremont was writing the hell out of Magneto. Just an amazing story about how Magneto isn't truly going evil, but he's incredibly misunderstood and gets more and more frustrated as everyone shits on him repeatedly. Also an amazing Rogue story as she gets rid of Carol Danvers and strikes up a romance with Magneto. Just simply a really well written and well drawn comic.

Special Mentions from the last few years

• Wolverine # 173 - 176 (Sabretoothtooth, Lady Deathstrike, and Omega Red go after Wolverine's family.

• XMUL 36 (Kitty in college, dad in Genosha)
  

• Mekanix
  

• NXM # 121 - “Nuff Said” Issue where Jean and Emma discover that Cassandra Nova is Professor Xavier’s twin.
  

• XMV2 - Heroes and Villains. (Sammy Fish Face dies)
  

• Fall Down and Go Boom

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