The Most Embarrassing Moments in X-Men History

For more than 50 years, the X-Men have been the subject of some of the best superhero stories ever made. This part and parcel for a world defined by the always compelling mutant metaphor, in which social outcasts fight to save a world that fears and hates them, their ever-cool costumes, and their ever-more-complicated romantic entanglements.

And yet, the X-Men are still superheroes in an ongoing soap opera. That means they’ve had many, many embarrassing moments. Sometimes these embarrassments stem from compelling character choices (e.g., teenage Jean Grey using her powers to out Iceman), and sometimes they’re just products of their time (e.g., Dazzler). But some embarrassments are just embarrassing—useful reminders that even the coolest kids do things that are dumb from time to time.

1. Logan Is Named By a Leprechaun

Wolverine is the best at what he does, and what he does is sell a whole lot of comic books. It’s easy to see why Logan became the definitive X-Men character, what with his claws and his attitude and his improbable hair-do. Logan hits that sweet spot between tragic hero forever unable to atone for the bad things he’s done and unrepentant romantic; a man who longs for a love he can never have.

Still… doesn’t change the fact he he got his name from a leprechaun. Yeah…

In 1977’s Uncanny X-Men #103 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, the X-Men visit Cassidy’s Keep, the ancestral home of Irish teammate Banshee and his cousin/general enemy Black Tom. When Juggernaut starts making trouble, a leprechaun called Padraic offers to help Wolverine get into the battle, addressing the Canucklehead as “Mr. Logan.” Wolverine responds in shock (in part because, as he tells the leprechaun standing in front of him, he doesn’t believe in leprechauns). Fortunately, he doesn’t have to deal with the reveal at that moment, because it will take several more issues before even Wolverine’s teammates learn about Logan’s name, and it will take decades for readers to find out where the name came from.

2. Kitty Pryde Says Slurs. A Lot.

Wolverine may be the definitive X-Men character, but Kitty Pryde is the ideal X-Men character. When she debuted in 1979’s Uncanny X-Men #129 by Claremont and John Byrne, Kitty was an awkward 13-year-old trying to make sense of her powers. She came of age with the X-Men, and while she’s one of the team’s most complex and compelling characters, she had a lot of growing pains along the way. We could include on this list her habit of changing codename and costume every couple of issues, or her romance with the legally adult Colossus (that’s obviously more on Claremont than on the character).

But easily the most embarrassing part of Kitty Pryde’s past involves her habit of using racial slurs, including the N-word. It occurs most notably in three issues written by Chris Claremont: 1982’s God Loves, Man Kills (illustrated by Brent Anderson), 1985’s Uncanny X-Men #196 (illustrated by John Romita Jr.), and 1986’s New Mutants #45 (illustrated by Jackson Guice). In each instance, Kitty’s trying to make a point about the bigotry faced by mutants, arguing that humanity too often treats people as subhuman. While we believe that a privileged kid could be so reckless with her language (and, to be fair, Kitty is Jewish, and often included slurs against her people in her litanies). But that doesn’t make these instances any less embarrassing to read today.

3. The New Mutants Graduation Costumes

Even though she vociferously refused to be counted among their roster, Kitty Pryde set the model for the teenagers who would become the New Mutants. Launched in an original graphic novel in 1982, the New Mutants represented the second generation of students at Xavier’s school. Although Professor X initially insisted that they never become superheroes like their predecessors, the New Mutants absolutely do find themselves constantly forced to use their powers against bad guys, walking in the footsteps of the original X-Men.

And Xavier always knew that would happen. So when their elders disappear in Uncanny X-Men Annual #10, written by Claremont and penciled by Arthur Adams, the New Mutants decide it’s time to join the big leagues. Declaring themselves the new X-Men, the team dons “graduation uniforms,” perhaps the ugliest set of costumes ever seen in a mainstream comic. It’s not just the obvious stereotypes chosen for Mirage and Karma. It’s also the extraneous pouches on Cypher’s tech jacket, the bland nothing that is Wolfsbane’s get-up, and, worst of all, the helmet that Cannonball wears—as if no one realized he’s nigh-invincible when he’s blasting! Fortunately, the graduation uniforms only make a few appearances, and the team settles into less ugly suits. At least until Cable shows up and changes them into X-Force…

4. Angel and Husk and Husk’s Mom

This entire list could consist of nothing but moments from writer Chuck Austen’s run on Uncanny X-Men, which lasted from 2002’s issue #410 to issue #443 in 2004. On one hand, Austen had been dealt a tough hand, forced to write the companion book to Grant Morrison‘s dazzling New X-Men. On the other hand, Austen responded with his own set of big swings, which often felt less like mind-benders and more like head-scratchers. Austen gave us “The Draco,” which retcons Nightcrawler from being a pure-hearted guy who happens to look like the devil, thus proving that no one should be judged for their appearances, into the actual scion of Satan, thus proving that “no, you were right to judge him.” Austen also gave us the time the X-Men almost built Iceman a new body out of their collected urine, a plan proposed by one Alex Summers (more about him shortly).

But the most embarrassing part of Austen’s run involved the romance between founding X-Man Angel and Husk, younger sister of New Mutants founder Cannonball. Thanks its sliding timeline, it’s sometimes hard to track the ages of various characters. But the relative math going from original member Angel (who even had a superhero career before joining the team) to the little sister of a New Mutant is enough to solidify a substantial age gap between the two. Worse, Angel and Husk consummates their romance at the end of the “She Lies With Angels” storyline (Uncanny X-Men #437–441, penciled by Salvador Larroca) when he lifts her up in the air above the Guthrie family home. We don’t see what happens, but we do see the various articles of clothing that drop to the ground, raining not just on their teammates but also on Husk’s mother.

5. Havok. Just… Havok.

It can’t be easy to live in the shadow of Cyclops, the leader of the X-Men and one of the most respected heroes in the Marvel Universe. But even if we cut him a little slack, Alex Summers, aka Havok, finds incredible new ways of making himself look stupid. Introduced in X-Men #54 by Arnold Drake and Don Heck, Havok joined after the initial team and before the 1970s relaunch. Moreover, he was a fun, if indistinct character in those days, more interesting for his relationship to Cyclops and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Polaris.

But since then, Alex’s life has been a cavalcade of mistakes. There was that time he became the Goblin King, the right-hand man to the evil Goblin Queen Madelyne Pryor. He gets himself brainwashed into serving the anti-mutant government of Genosha, and later takes a job leading the U.S. government-sponsored team X-Factor. He fumbles his relationship with Polaris time and again, tries and fails to be a good step-dad while dating a nurse named Annie, and eventually gets sent to an alternate universe filled with evil doppelgängers of his friends and allies. More recently, Alex gave a big speech about how “mutant” is a slur and shouldn’t be used and then signed up for a new incarnation of X-Factor, this one run by obviously amoral tech bros. Havok, we love you, but you’re an idiot.