Why should Storm and Jean Grey have all the screen time?
After seeing Psylocke, Mohawk Storm, young Jean and Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse preview photos and Negasonic Teenage Warhead in Deadpool, we organized our top X-Women we want to see in a X-Men movie, spinoff film or possible television series. After our first five, here are our top five:
(Again, we narrowed it down to actual members of the X-Men roster even though there are extraordinary New Mutants, X-Factor investigators and students who haven’t declared a team yet.)
Here we go with our five most wanted:
Sage What does it say about you if Professor X recruits other mutants to be his students but he wants you to be in his spy? Tessa first appeared as a robot-like assistant to Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club Inner Circle. Years later Chris Claremont brought the character back to join his X-Treme X-Men. In an extended retcon of the character Tessa gained a haunted past as a war survivor and new powers. In the revised origin Tessa was one of the first mutants Professor X discovered and he placed her inside the Hellfire Club as his operative, an assignment that would haunt her for years to come and make dreaded enemies.
Claremont gave Tessa the code-name Sage for her superhuman mental processing, memory and data analysis. Sage possessed telepathy and the power to “jump start” another mutant’s latent powers. Sage and Bishop were perfect detective partners called in to solve the “murder” of Emma Frost at the Xavier School.
Polaris Lorna Dane deserves a big break after what comics writers have put the woman through over the years! Lorna is the long-suffering daughter of Magneto and girlfriend of Alex Summers/Havok plus she has green hair. Lorna has magnetic powers like her father. After on-again, off-again origin stories it was finally confirmed the Master of Magnetism is Lorna’s father. For years Lorna was possessed by the psychic entity Malice and she led The Marauders, had her powers nearly stolen by a sister (Zaladane of The Savage Land) she didn’t know she had, then turned into a bigger, She-Hulk size.
Once back to “mutant” normal, Lorna and Alex reunited and led the government team X-Factor. Lorna later lost her powers, gained them back, went crazy due in part of Alex’s relationship with the X-Men’s nurse. Polaris was most recently the leader of a corporate sponsored X-Factor that went bust and fought with her father as the Marvel Universe was ending. No word on if Polaris will appear in the relaunched Marvel line but with such a rich past and connections, she’s a perfect addition. We pushed Lorna for a X-Men sequel but maybe she’s make it into a possible X-Factor series.
Dazzler Alison Blaire was a creation between Marvel Comics and Casablanca Records as a crossover character for the disco era. Dazzler first appeared in cthe lassic X-Men story, Dark Phoenix Saga, then her own book and later joined the X-Men. Dazzler’s mutant power is to convert sound into light with various intensities from laser blasts to the power to “dazzle” her fans or victims. After appearing in X-Men, Exiles, X-Treme X-Men and X-Factor including a weird romance with Longshot, Ali was finally given an unlikely job.
Brian Michael Bendis deputized her Dazzler: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ali’s new job as mutant liaison officer gave her self-respect and confidence but made her target of Mystique. The shapeshifter kidnapped Ali, impersonated her and milked her genes for Mutant Growth Hormone to sell to de-powered mutants. After gaining her freedom, Ali cut loose and got her revenge on Mystique. The Disco Dazzler once created as a product crossover became a badass X-Man.
X-23 Laura Kinney is already a television star. Laura’s appearances on the X-Men: Evolution animated series were so popular she jumped into comics: NYX, New X-Men, Avengers Arena, Uncanny X-Men.
Laura is the cloned “daughter” of Logan/James Howlett who will be the All-New Wolverine when Marvel relaunches. The girl grown to be a killing machine has fully evolved into the hero her “father” wanted her to be and is carrying on his legacy.
Magik I never thought I would pick Magik as my number one. Thank or blame Brian Michael Bendis. Illyana Rasputin has one of the most complicated histories in…well maybe comics history!? The little sister of Colossus was kidnapped as a child. When Peter’s “little snowflake” vanished in a blink she returned seconds later as a teenager. Illyana had spent years in the demonic dimension of Limbo where she grew up to become a powerful sorceress who conquered her kidnappers and rules an army of demons. Illyana’s mutant powers were to summon teleport discs but now the transfer point was Limbo plus Magik is armed is a soulsword and magical armor. Illyana was a member of the New Mutants and became best friends with Kitty Pryde.
Now it gets complicated. Illyana became an evil force called the Darkchild but upon purging the demonic power, she became a child again. Little girl Illyana became infected by the Legacy Virus (designed to attack mutant DNA) and died. Magik (the young adult) was resurrected years later but something about her soul lost, reclaimed, corrupted. Magik even put her brother though hell during his possession by demons and an alien entity. (Colossus and Magik were both possessed by the Phoenix.)
Back to Bendis, when he made Magik part of his Uncanny X-Men, he put through the team into a battle with Dormannu. In just one issue, Bendis took all the back story and made me finally understand and love this complicated character. Uncanny X-Men #7 (of the most recent volume) was beautifully written and drawn story of sacrifice and finding your own identity. Heroes are often haunted by demons but Magik’s are literal and she became a student of Doctor Strange and could be on her way to becoming the Sorceress Supreme of Earth.
What do think of our top ten? ( Here was our first five.) Is there an X-Woman you want to be a future movie or television series? Give us a comment or join us on Twitter.
By Editor