5 Characters Marvel Wants You to Forget Joined the X-Men

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The X-Men remain one of Marvel’s most beloved teams, and their popularity is due to a variety of factors – strong stories, a bit of good fortune, and especially, their incredibly large and constantly evolving roster. With so many X-Men over the years, and more always joining, the team naturally provides a way to introduce fresh heroes and villains. This has allowed a huge number of characters, like the iconic Phoenix and Psylocke, to shine.

Not all X-Men are created equal – some are popular, while others are just okay, or even forgettable. But the truly worst X-Men are those Marvel would probably prefer you didn’t remember at all. These characters either represent ideas Marvel has tried to distance itself from, or were just really strange concepts that never should have been considered. Here are five X-Men who fall into those categories. Let’s take a look.

5) Mimic

Mimic was almost entirely forgotten as one of the earliest members of the X-Men. Surprisingly, he actually joined before Havok and Polaris, making him the first non-founder to join the team. While people didn’t always realize it, Mimic was a mutant with the ability to copy the powers of the original X-Men. Having a power that’s essentially ‘everything everyone else can do’ has its ups and downs, but Mimic’s biggest problem was his personality. He joined with the intention of permanently stealing his teammates’ abilities, and bafflingly, he was even chosen as leader when Scott Summers stepped down. Because he was selfish and didn’t work well with others, Marvel rarely highlights his role when looking back at this period of the X-Men. And unfortunately, things would only get worse for him.

4) Danger

When the X-Men’s training facility, the Danger Room, was enhanced with alien technology, it unexpectedly became self-aware. Professor X, in a controversial decision, chose to conceal this development and keep the newly sentient Danger imprisoned. Eventually, she escaped and created a physical body for herself, seeking revenge against the X-Men. While the idea of the Danger Room becoming a threat is compelling, Danger’s story primarily highlights Professor X’s troubling descent from a respected mentor into a deeply manipulative figure. As the X-Men gain prominence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Marvel appears to be returning Professor X to his original characterization, Danger serves as a stark example of the negative traits an X-Men villain – or even ally – should avoid.

3) Phoenix Force

It wasn’t actually Jean Grey who died in the famous “Dark Phoenix Saga,” but a copy created by the Phoenix Force itself. Marvel later changed the story (a “retcon”) to reveal that the Jean Grey everyone thought died was an illusion – a duplicate with all of Jean’s memories. The real Jean had been hidden in a cocoon underwater for years. This means many of Jean’s most memorable moments were experienced by this copy, not the original. This new version of events conflicts with how fans remember those stories and with Marvel’s current approach of linking Jean and the Phoenix Force closely, so it’s best to overlook this particular detail.

2) Tom Corsi

Tom Corsi is widely considered a poorly conceived and regrettable character in Marvel history. While it’s not unheard of for non-mutants to join the X-Men, Corsi’s story is particularly problematic. He began as an ordinary white police officer who became involved in a battle with the Demon Bear in New Mutants (1983) #20. The Demon Bear transformed him into a follower, and after being defeated, Corsi was inexplicably turned into a Native American character – a change that was deeply problematic and unnecessary. Beyond the issues with this forced race swap, Corsi never played a meaningful role in any major storylines and quickly became an obscure figure, where he remains to this day.

1) Sharon Friedlander

Marvel recently introduced not one, but two characters to the X-Men who were reimagined from previous versions. Sharon Friedlander debuted alongside Corsi and unfortunately inherited all of her predecessor’s flaws, and then some. Their storyline reached a particularly low point during a conflict with Empath, who manipulated them into falling in love as a distraction while he infiltrated Xavier’s school. This bizarre scheme led to an unhealthy obsession between the two, and they later reappeared in revealing outfits. While neither character was well-received, Sharon stands out for her abrupt and unceremonious death. It wasn’t enough that the idea felt outdated even before she was introduced, but Marvel also literally froze her to death.

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2026-05-06 01:10