Meet the (underrated) team

Given how Marvel movies are filled with fun Easter Eggs, we’re confident that X-Men: Apocalypse will feature plenty of our favorite mutants – plus a few great supporting heroes, too. Which got us thinking: Who are some of the most underrated X-Men, ones we’d love to see get some play in the film?

That’s why we created this, an entirely Wolverine-free list of what we believe are the 25 compelling, yet oft under-appreciated, characters from the franchise.

Did your favorite make the list?

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Jubilee

Don’t you dare write Jubilee off as a teenage SoCal mall rat who “just” shoots fireworks from her hands.

Before losing her powers after the events of M-day, she had the potential to blow stuff up on the sub-atomic level – which, in real-world terms, could level cities. And did I mention that Jubilee learned how to fight while in Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall? (That place is no joke).

We’re definitely looking forward to seeing Lana Condor take on the role in Apocalypse.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Negasonic Teenage Warhead

First of all, yes, we love the name – it’s so bad, it’s good. Negasonic Teenage Warhead is the perfect moniker for an angsty goth precog who was allowed to name herself.

That said, we love her backstory even more – Ms. Warhead died in a mutant holocaust that she foretold; was resurrected; and then seemingly died again when the Black Queen absorbed her soul. So goth.

You can’t keep a good Warhead down, though – the character makes a feature film appearance in Deadpool, where she helps Colossus take down Angel Dust.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Gambit

Gambit, aka Remy LeBeau, has the physics-bending power to convert potential energy into incredible blasts of kinetic energy. This typically takes the form of explosive playing cards, but he can charge larger objects too, with even more devastating results.

Still, Gambit’s best “power” is his cripplingly sexy Louisiana Cajun accent. We can’t wait to see what Channing Tatum does with the character when he gets his own X-Men spinoff feature.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Angel

When Warren Kenneth Worthington III, aka Angel, was first added to the X-Men stable, the rich, powerful, and handsome lady-killer was a total Mary Sue. But all that changed during the events of X-Factor, when Angel became Apocalypse’s Horseman of Death.

As Archangel, Worthington retains his Apocalypse-granted metal wings, complete with viciously sharp edges. But his most impressive power may be his healing factor – strong enough, even, to resurrect a dead dog.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat)

Classic character Katherine “Kitty” Pryde (aka Shadowcat) was just 13 when she joined up with the X-Men. But she’s done a lot of living and maturing since then: Kitty single-handedly beat down N’Garai, absorbed a lifetime’s worth of training in martial arts, and gained the power to wield the Soulsword.

She even becomes President of the United States in X-Men: The End.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Jamie “Multiple Man” Madrox

First off, we’re jealous of Jamie “Multiple Man” Madrox’s power to create duplicates of himself since birth, each with an own independent mind. This has given Madrox the ability to experience different timelines simultaneously, and has caused him to gain thousands of years’ worth of skills and information learned by his many dupes.

Madrox can even create a duplicate inside another human being, causing his victim to … uh … explode gruesomely.

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Iceman

Iceman may only play second fiddle in the X-Men movies, but his ability to create unbreakable ice from the water vapor present in air is surprisingly powerful. He can create virtually any kind of physical structure almost instantaneously; use ice to repair damage to his body; freeze the water molecules inside another living person; and even convert himself into vapor.

Writer Mike Carey has said that the recently outed Iceman is an in the elite class of Omega-level mutants, given how he “can influence the ecosystem of the entire world.”

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Dazzler

Don’t be mislead by the pop- and movie-star persona – there’s some serious punch hiding in Dazzler’s (aka Alison Blaire) flashy, light-based mutant powers. In fact, researchers from Project: PEGASUS determined that there was no natural limit to her abilities.

Villain Klaw found out how dangerous Dazzler could be firsthand, when she converted his sonic power into light, disintegrating his body and mind.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Nocturne

The daughter of Nightcrawler and the Scarlet Witch from a different timeline, Nocturne is the X-Men’s version of Quantum Leap’s Dr. Samuel Beckett. She’s forced to hop from timeline to timeline, putting right what once went wrong … until she lands in the main Marvel Universe.

Like Nightcrawler, Nocturne is covered in blue fur; has three fingers per hand; and styles a prehensile tail. She’s incredibly agile, can walk on walls, fires hex bolts of energy, and can possess other peoples’ bodies for hours at a time.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Havok

It’s easy for Havok to be overshadowed by his brother Cyclops, a founding member of the X-Men team.

But really, shouldn’t Havok be the one doing the overshadowing, given his mutant power to absorb and utilize cosmic radiation? Geneticist Mister Sinister discovered that his power has a greater potential than that of his brother.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Karima Shapandar

Unlike most X-Men on this list, Karima Shapandar – aka Omega Sentinel – isn’t a mutant at all. She’s a human police officer infused with Sentinel nanotech, programmed to kill mutants.

Charles Xavier and Magneto are able to deprogram Karima, while still allowing her the use of the nanite tech inside her. As a result, she has super human agility and strength; can quickly recover from damage; and can fire powerful energy blasts. She also has a special link with machines, being able to control and quickly gather information from them.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Elixir

Elixir may not be as popular or well known as X-Men favorites like Wolverine and Beast. But surely he doesn’t mind – he’s way more powerful than either.

The Omega-level mutant has the ability to heal just about any condition while in his golden form, both in himself and in others. He even has the ability to cure the devastating anti-mutant Legacy Virus.

In his black form, meanwhile, Elixir can cause painful boils, cancerous tumors, or simply kill a man by touching him.

(Image credit: Marvel)

The Stepford Cuckoos

The Stepford Cuckoos are – or, at least, were – a cloned family of 1,000 sisters all sharing a telepathic hive mind, created as living weapons to destroy all mutantkind.

The events of X-Men: Phoenix – Warsong have resulted in the deaths of all but three of the Cuckoos: Mindee, Celeste, and Phoebe. They now refer to themselves as the Three-in-One, combining their power to control minds and create psionic blasts at a level vastly greater than three telepaths acting individually.

Also, they can turn their bodies into invulnerable, living diamond. Bling bling.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Banshee

One of the older X-Men, both in terms of his age and when he was introduced to the comic, Irish mutant Banshee has the ability to fly and unleash punishing sonic screams that can disable his enemies’ hearing.

When turned up to 11, Banshee’s scream can flat-out liquefy you.

Savage.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Dust

One of the few positively portrayed Muslim characters in the comic book world, Sooraya Qadir (aka Dust) is a young Afghan woman with the mutant power to turn into sand.

That power may not seem impressive at first blush. Until, that is, you watch her turn into a sandstorm and scrape all the flesh from her enemies’ bodies.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Magik

A number of superheroes have the ability to teleport through space, so that’s not what makes Magik special. No, what makes her special is the ability to teleport through both time and space.

And also, you know, her powers as a sorceress. And her magic armor. And her ability to form psionic shields. And her creation of the Soulsword. And …

(Image credit: Marvel)

Hepzibah

Hepzibah isn’t a mutant – she’s a skunk-esque Mephitisoid from the planet Tryl’sart. Once a member of the Starjammers team of space pirates (led by Cyclops’ father Corsair), Hepzibah has since been stranded on Earth, where she joined up with the X-Men.

She has a lot of animal-like powers – she’s incredibly agile and acrobatic, with a keen sense of coordination and balance. Hepzibah also has the ability to emit powerful pheromones that can dramatically alter others’ moods.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Northstar

Originally a member of Canadian supergroup Alpha Flight, Northstar has the ability to fly at extreme speeds – almost as fast as the speed of light. Of course, in practice, he limits himself to Mach 10 to prevent causing irreversible damage to the world (and his own body).

Northstar is historically important here in the real world. Though originally conceived as a gay character in 1983, Comics Code Authority (and Marvel policy) kept the character locked in the closet until 1992.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Idie “Oya” Okonkwo

A relatively new addition to the Uncanny X-Men, Oya has the ability to manipulate the flow of heat. This means she can create fire in one place while simultaneously creating ice in another, with one of her eyes glowing ice blue and the other glowing fire orange.

Sadly, the first time she uses her powers, her Nigerian village burns downs. As a result, Oya is branded as a witch and her family is killed. The strongly religious character thus believes she is a monster, and that her powers are blasphemy.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Maddie Pryor

Madelyne “Maddie” Pryor has some pretty epic mutant abilities, especially when enhanced by demonic magic. But what makes her compelling isn’t her ability to teleport or warp reality – it’s her troubled backstory.

See, Pryor – who sure looks an awful lot like Jean Grey – was originally written as a love interest for Cyclops, a means to retire the character. And indeed, they got married, had a kid, and rode off into the proverbial sunset together in the 1980s. But that happiness wouldn’t last. When Jean Grey was resurrected, Cyclops left Maddie Pryor and their kid for her.

A few years later, Maddie was retconned into a Mr. Sinister-created Jean Grey clone just to make Scott Summers look less like a jerk. RIP, Goblin Queen.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Meggan

Meggan, like many of us self-professed geeks, spent way too much of her childhood hidden away, watching television shows like Doctor Who. But the mutant abilities this Brit spent so long hiding are quite impressive indeed.

Meggan’s ability to empathize allows her to change physical form into a dragon, werewolf, or whatever best matches her own emotions and those of the people around her. She also has the elemental power to manipulate the environment, creating blistering winds and earthquakes when necessary.

Her strongest power, however, is the ability to mimic the abilities of other mutants, making her a total mutant wildcard.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Gentle

Born in the fictional African country of Wakanda, Nezhno “Gentle” Abidemi is a pacifist. But when he and his friends are threatened, Gentle can exponentially increase his muscle mass, giving him enough power to lift a house.

Gentle knows that his power is dangerous, and will eventually kill him. Thus, he only acts in true emergencies, knowing that each victory might be his last.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Lifeguard

Lifeguard, arguably, has one of the most useful mutant powers possible – she can evolve new powers and abilities. But this perk comes with a major caveat: She can only use the powers to save her own life or the lives of others.

She gets huge bonus points due to the fact that her current form, a golden angel with claws, looks so badass.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Sage

While we don’t know much about Sage’s true origins (and we want to learn more!), we do know plenty about her badass powers.

Simply put, Sage is a super genius, with a brain more powerful than any computer in the world. She can come up with the perfect plan in an instant, learn just about any skill, and engage in telepathy.

Sage can even read another mutant’s genetic code and – at great personal risk – allow her body to evolve similarly.

(Image credit: Marvel)

Deadpool

Okay, we hear you. Deadpool isn’t really one of the X-Men, unless you count the alternative Earth ending of Weapon X: Days of Future Now. And any claim that Deadpool is “underrated” went out the window with his hit feature film.

That said, he is the only person on this list who can actually read it, thanks to his penchant for breaking the fourth wall.

We wouldn’t want to make him angry.

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)