They are Marvel Comics’ mightiest mutants; the X-Men have challenged and inspired the imagination for more than six decades and remain at the top of the leaderboard of everyone’s favorite books of all time. Like the genome that favors their continued evolution, the team roster has seen so many iterations over the years that tracking all the members is an indomitable task in itself.
Yet a select crop of core team members have either always been present or made an indelible mark that’s impossible to erase. Their status is unique among the pantheon of X-Men that fans have adored, and for many, they have achieved legendary status even among their peers. It just wouldn’t be the X-Men without these individuals in the lineup in one form or another …
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Professor X | Joined the team in X-Men #1 (1963)
Professor X with his graduating X-Men in Marvel ComicsImage via Marvel Comics
It’s fair to say the X-Men wouldn’t exist without Professor X. As their founder and mentor, he’s the reason the group exists, and his ideology of peaceful coexistence between mutants and mankind has always been the basis for the team’s charter. There have been times of discourse between Charles Xavier and his students, and the professor hasn’t always proven himself the most charitable with his intentions, but he’s still the blueprint.
Professor X has demonstrated that his intentions have always been the survival of the mutant race, even as it threatened to overtake him in its evolutionary track. Charles Xavier remained a constant; mentor, mage, or patriarch, he always chose the path, no matter how controversial, that would ensure the survival of the mutant species, and accepted the responsibility when someone had to be held to account.
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Magneto | Joined the team in Uncanny X-Men #200 (1985)
Magneto: End of Days Cover ArtImage via Marvel Comics
The old idiom: “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” appears to have been written with Magneto in mind. The X-Men’s greatest enemy has always proven a worthy adversary, but as their battles were waged over the decades, it felt as if Magneto was getting tired of the conflict, and eventually he would seek solace in the home and hearth of his oldest friend and confidant, Charles Xavier.
After bearing witness to one holocaust, the Master of Magnetism would not stand idly by as man’s prejudices were poised to repeat the darkest part of its own history. The threat was growing, and he had much to seek redemption for, so he began taking over the reins of Xavier’s School. Magneto may not have always been the most trustworthy figure; his agenda always came first, but with his power on their side, the X-Men achieved a level of invincibility that forced the world to take pause.
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Nightcrawler | Joined the team in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)
Nightcrawler with a starry sky in the backgroundImage via Marvel Comics
If there’s a heart and soul to the X-Men, it’s in Kurt Wagner’s care. The professor prevents a mob from murdering the German-born acrobat because of his devilish looks, but the man himself is first and foremost deeply religious, and his faith has always served him when he felt lost in the shadows of despair. His optimism and cheer always lightened the mood, and his swashbuckling spirit makes him one of the X-Men’s most romantic heroes.
Nightcrawler settled quickly into his new home in Westchester and turned a circle of strangers into his forever family. The most dependable X-Man and most creative in a fight, it was deeply shocking for audiences to discover years later that Kurt was the child of Mystique and Destiny, who were forced to abandon him, and this connected him uniquely to foster-sister Rogue; Kurt led with love and still does.
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Gambit | Joined the team in Uncanny X-Men Annual #14 (1990)
Gambit throwing cards in Marvel ComicsImage via Marvel Comics
The introduction of the wildcard Cajun, Remy LeBeau, set up the notorious notion that the team had welcomed a wolf in sheep’s clothing into the fold. Gambit was as unpredictable a personality as they come, but with his model good looks and chiseled physique, although his taste in outerwear was slightly suspect, fans warmed up to the newest X-Man, who proved he had a heart of gold and an eye for the ladies.
Tied to Storm and eventually earning Rogue’s good graces, Gambit is worthy of legendary status, defining what it means to be an X-Man today. Loaded with contradictions and dedicated to redemption, Remy starts as a complex character with a shady profile, but once he settles in with the X-Men, he forms a bond and becomes one of the group’s most steadfast defenders.
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Kitty Pryde | Joined the team in Uncanny X-Men #138 (1980)
Kitty Pryde and Lockheed posing togetherImage via Marvel Comics
The one-time “youngest X-Man” joined the team as its newest recruit after the harrowing events of the Dark Phoenix Saga, just as the title needed some levity. She represented the spirit of every “kid in America” and was an instant throwback to Xavier’s premiere team, so it was not a surprise that she sported an original team uniform, at least until she started to define herself.
Kitty earned her place among the X-Men, and had the bruises to prove it, so when Xavier wanted to demote her into his New Mutants, Kitty roared, and hasn’t stopped raising her voice ever since. Her real strength is truth-to-power. She has remained one of the X-Men’s most respected leaders, and has always put herself first in the line of defense to protect the innocent and most vulnerable.
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Jean Grey | Joined the team in X-Men #1 (1963)
Jean Grey uses her mutant powes in her New X-Men costumeImage via Marvel Comics
Jean Grey’s story is one of calamitous consequences, but given her gift for reinvention, she has embraced her relevance, her place in the X-Men’s legacy, and especially her destiny as the avatar of the Phoenix Force. After returning from the “dead” (the first time), Jean discovered an earthbound cosmic force had impersonated her and stolen her identity. The world had changed so dramatically she hardly felt she fit in.
That didn’t last long, as Jean quickly settled in and started shaping her own destiny. First, she reunited with and galvanized her former teammates to keep Charles Xavier’s dream of coexistence alive, in a world that had learned to hate and fear mutants more than ever. Embracing the power of the Phoenix that is her right, Jean Grey has evolved beyond expectation and is more than legend; she is iconic.
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Cyclops | Joined the team in X-Men #1 (1963)
Cyclops in ActionImage via Marvel Comics
He hasn’t always been the most popular one in the bunch, but Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is the first, and because of that, he deserves respect. An orphaned young man who couldn’t understand the nature of the power that he wielded, Scott built walls around himself, and we don’t mean like the kind he could shatter to ash with his concussive eye-beams. Finding his way into Xavier’s school gave him a purpose.
No longer alone, Cyclops chose to stand up and lead toward the better, brighter future Charles Xavier promised, and along the way, this X-Man grew from a lost boy into a man. Because his eyes are hidden behind ruby quartz frames, he is one of the most misunderstood X-Men, but with the burden he shoulders and his responsibility of ensuring a future for all, they have to stand beside him, and out of his line of fire.
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Storm | Joined the team in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)
Storm using her powers in Marvel ComicsImage via Marvel Comics
A goddess, and one of the world’s most powerful individuals, Storm is the epitome of legendary. Her journey since her introduction is one of the greatest heroic arcs in modern mythology, from losing her parents and surviving on the streets of Cairo to her ascent as an earth-born savior in Kenya, and finally, to her arrival at Xavier’s School. No other X-Man has journeyed so far and remained so true in their course.
She set an example and a bar so high, it would take gods to rival her. Storm married a king and became a queen not only for a nation, but for all the people of the world, and as an X-Man, she fought for everyone lost in the slipstream of despair. Storm is an undefinable force, beyond any classification, but legendary will suit her for now.
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Wolverine | Joined the team in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975)
Wolverine roars with his claws unsheathed in the snow in Marvel Comics-1Image via Marvel Comics
When Wolverine made his splashy comics debut, he was taking on the incredible Hulk and a wild, woolly beast called the Wendigo, and like his namesake, he survived the scrap and left his indelible mark. It didn’t take much to convince him to join the X-Men, which made him a fugitive in his native Canada, but he chose the side that needed him most— to protect and defend the defenseless. Fans were in awe of those claws!
His temper and feral nature rubbed some of his new teammates the wrong way, but Wolverine stuck it out, made no apologies, and eventually learned to let down his guard and let his new family see him for what he truly was. A warrior with the courage of steel, who is the first one in the thick of the brawl, and more than likely the last one standing, who will serve up the victory brewskies. Wolverine is legendary.
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Rogue | Joined the team in Uncanny X-Men #171 (1983)
X-Men Rogue in BattleImage via Marvel Comics
And finally, there’s Rogue. When her powers were growing out of control and threatened to drive her mad, Rogue sought out the only person she knew that could help her, and walked right into the lion’s den. She had fought the X-Men and brutally assaulted Carol Danvers, one of their closest allies, but understanding that if she didn’t make a change, she would become a greater danger, Rogue decided to take responsibility.
It took time, but Rogue eventually emerged as one of the group’s most reliable pillars and, without a doubt, one of the X-Men’s most powerful members. Her invulnerability on the front lines makes her a powerhouse, but her vulnerability makes her a valuable ally and one of the Marvel Universe’s most popular heroes. Her heroic journey from villainous rogue to Southern belle puts her legend at the top.
With an impressive roster that has changed time and time again, there are several other “legends” that must be recognized without a doubt, and as their uncanny legacy continues to evolve into the next generation, there are legends in the making, and more still to come.
First TV Show
X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men
Cast
Hugh Jackman, James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Ryan Reynolds, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence