My top ten mutants.
My personal top ten from the Marvel stables, main universe only (no movies, TV shows or Ultimate titles):
10. Dazzler. I know she seems amazingly dated now, but honestly, this was a fun-loving mutant girl with an amazing talent for applying her powers exactly as they needed to be used to do the highest possible amount of damage. Her relationship with Longshot was one of the few 'side character' romances that ever did anything for me in the X-Universe. I want a Dazzler comeback bad.
9. Rachel Summers as the Phoenix. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for time-travel stories; I'm also a sucker for tragedies, and she had one just by breathing. Lost in a past that meant her future could never be, denying the existence that had created her for the sake of creating what might be a better future, Rachel kicked ass, took names, and only cried for her parents...sometimes.
8. Serpentina. In the angst-filled atmosphere of 'X-Men: 2099', 'Tina's happy, carefree attitude was like a breath of fresh air -- and frankly, the only thing that kept me bothering to read the title for as long as I did. So of course they killed her, badly and illogically, in a way that made next to no sense. Go team go!
7. Karma. "Hello, I'll just take your brain now, shan't I? Thanks ever so. Oh, and when I give it back, you'll be wanted for murder in six states, is that okay? Thanks for that too, I really appreciate it." One of the less-appreciated and more kick-ass New Mutants, Karma's vicious strength lay in her ability to stay half a mile away and still own you like a poodle. I'm really glad to see her back in Mechani-X.
6. Dani Moonstar. In some weird ways, Dani was a perfect example of just how messed up your mythology gets when you don't duck fast enough. Daughter of an Indian shaman? Check. Psychic powers? Check. Parents turned into giant demon bear? Check. Valkyrie with flying horse and magic bow and arrow? Check. Despite being named after a My Little Pony, Dani was six different shades of all right.
5. The Beast. Let me note here that my love for the Beast was solidified some time ago, and that I'm really sticking my fingers in my ears and going 'la la la la la' over the current use of his character. Still, he's fun and he's fluffy and he's brilliant, and I'd date him. Gotta figure all that fur would keep you warm in winter.
4. Nightcrawler. What can I say? Chicks dig the fuzzy guy. I don't like the current incarnation of Kurt-as-priest -- that was never a character development that made a lick of sense to me, and it irritated me more than anything else -- but you had all that wonderful backstory to make it okay. His alternate-universe daughter with the Scarlet Witch, Nocturne, barely missed making this list.
3. Blink. "Make way, mutant cheesecake coming through!" For a while, you could pick the first character to die in any new X-title by asking which one was my favourite: I adored Blink, and as a consequence, she was pretty much doomed from the start. The Age of Apocalypse re-imagined her better than ever, and Judd Winick's team of geniuses managed to bring her back to us as leader of the Exiles. No better mutant cheesecake exists, baby.
There was very nearly a full-scale catfight for the number one slot, but I followed by heart, sectioning the last two mutants on this list into:
2. Shadowcat. Kitty Pryde will always have a special place in my heart: she joined the team when she was roughly my age (at least, when she was the age that I started reading at), her powers were cool, she was smart and fun and she had a pet dragon -- yeah. You can't get much neater than Shadowcat. Only one person had the strength to try, and that was...
1. Magik/Darkchilde. Illyana Rasputin, X-positive queen of my heart! I don't know why, but none of the other mutants of her generation -- or those that have come since -- have managed to hit me the way Illyana did. Her story was an actual tragedy with a beginning and a heart-breaking end, and killing her via the Legacy virus was in some ways a sign of just how well-loved she was: she was the best weapon they could use against the readers. I truly hope to see her in the Ultimates universe one day soon.
Characters that almost made my list: Meghan, Wolfsbane, Husk, Jubilee, Cypher, Sunfire (Exiles version), Magma.
10. Dazzler. I know she seems amazingly dated now, but honestly, this was a fun-loving mutant girl with an amazing talent for applying her powers exactly as they needed to be used to do the highest possible amount of damage. Her relationship with Longshot was one of the few 'side character' romances that ever did anything for me in the X-Universe. I want a Dazzler comeback bad.
9. Rachel Summers as the Phoenix. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for time-travel stories; I'm also a sucker for tragedies, and she had one just by breathing. Lost in a past that meant her future could never be, denying the existence that had created her for the sake of creating what might be a better future, Rachel kicked ass, took names, and only cried for her parents...sometimes.
8. Serpentina. In the angst-filled atmosphere of 'X-Men: 2099', 'Tina's happy, carefree attitude was like a breath of fresh air -- and frankly, the only thing that kept me bothering to read the title for as long as I did. So of course they killed her, badly and illogically, in a way that made next to no sense. Go team go!
7. Karma. "Hello, I'll just take your brain now, shan't I? Thanks ever so. Oh, and when I give it back, you'll be wanted for murder in six states, is that okay? Thanks for that too, I really appreciate it." One of the less-appreciated and more kick-ass New Mutants, Karma's vicious strength lay in her ability to stay half a mile away and still own you like a poodle. I'm really glad to see her back in Mechani-X.
6. Dani Moonstar. In some weird ways, Dani was a perfect example of just how messed up your mythology gets when you don't duck fast enough. Daughter of an Indian shaman? Check. Psychic powers? Check. Parents turned into giant demon bear? Check. Valkyrie with flying horse and magic bow and arrow? Check. Despite being named after a My Little Pony, Dani was six different shades of all right.
5. The Beast. Let me note here that my love for the Beast was solidified some time ago, and that I'm really sticking my fingers in my ears and going 'la la la la la' over the current use of his character. Still, he's fun and he's fluffy and he's brilliant, and I'd date him. Gotta figure all that fur would keep you warm in winter.
4. Nightcrawler. What can I say? Chicks dig the fuzzy guy. I don't like the current incarnation of Kurt-as-priest -- that was never a character development that made a lick of sense to me, and it irritated me more than anything else -- but you had all that wonderful backstory to make it okay. His alternate-universe daughter with the Scarlet Witch, Nocturne, barely missed making this list.
3. Blink. "Make way, mutant cheesecake coming through!" For a while, you could pick the first character to die in any new X-title by asking which one was my favourite: I adored Blink, and as a consequence, she was pretty much doomed from the start. The Age of Apocalypse re-imagined her better than ever, and Judd Winick's team of geniuses managed to bring her back to us as leader of the Exiles. No better mutant cheesecake exists, baby.
There was very nearly a full-scale catfight for the number one slot, but I followed by heart, sectioning the last two mutants on this list into:
2. Shadowcat. Kitty Pryde will always have a special place in my heart: she joined the team when she was roughly my age (at least, when she was the age that I started reading at), her powers were cool, she was smart and fun and she had a pet dragon -- yeah. You can't get much neater than Shadowcat. Only one person had the strength to try, and that was...
1. Magik/Darkchilde. Illyana Rasputin, X-positive queen of my heart! I don't know why, but none of the other mutants of her generation -- or those that have come since -- have managed to hit me the way Illyana did. Her story was an actual tragedy with a beginning and a heart-breaking end, and killing her via the Legacy virus was in some ways a sign of just how well-loved she was: she was the best weapon they could use against the readers. I truly hope to see her in the Ultimates universe one day soon.
Characters that almost made my list: Meghan, Wolfsbane, Husk, Jubilee, Cypher, Sunfire (Exiles version), Magma.