The X-Men have no shortage of legendary heroes, but Professor X’s recruitment record isn’t exactly spotless. Over the years, the team has welcomed mutants with bizarre powers, questionable personalities, and abilities that left fans wondering what they were supposed to do in a fight. From forgettable recruits to wildly overrated fan favorites, these 22 X-Men made us seriously question Xavier’s hiring decisions.
Skin
With the ability to stretch his skin to incredible lengths, Skin had one of those powers that sounds useful until you actually have to figure out what to do with it in a superhero fight. He was memorable, but his time with the X-Men never made him feel essential.
Lifeguard
Lifeguard had an extremely unusual mutant ability: her body could spontaneously develop whatever powers were necessary to protect someone in danger. In theory, that made her incredibly powerful. In practice, she was basically the X-Men’s emergency-use Swiss Army knife.
Slipstream
Slipstream could teleport himself and others through space, which should have made him a fantastic addition to the X-Men. Instead, he became one of those early 2000s characters that even longtime readers might need a moment to remember.
Joseph
Joseph looked like Magneto, had Magneto’s powers, and was supposedly not Magneto. That was basically the entire pitch. The amnesiac clone had potential, but his brief stint with the X-Men never escaped the enormous shadow cast by the original.
Cecelia Reyes
Cecelia Reyes had one major advantage over most X-Men: she was a doctor. Unfortunately, she never really wanted to be a superhero in the first place. Her force fields were useful, but her reluctance to embrace the superhero lifestyle made her an unusual fit.
Hepzibah
Hepzibah is a skilled Mephitisoid with enhanced abilities and plenty of combat experience. The problem is that she is also an alien space pirate who somehow ended up hanging around a team whose entire brand was mutant rights.
Warbird
Warbird brought Shi’ar warrior energy to the X-Men, which sounds much cooler than it sometimes played out. She had the combat skills, but compared with the team’s most iconic members, she struggled to leave the same impression.
Strong Guy
Strong Guy’s mutant ability is wonderfully simple: the more physical damage he absorbs, the stronger he becomes. Unfortunately, that means his preferred strategy is essentially getting punched until the situation improves.
Chamber
Chamber had one of the most memorable mutant designs in the franchise, with a massive psionic blast replacing much of his chest and lower face. He looked fantastic, but his powers and tragic circumstances often made him feel more like a tortured outsider than a natural team player.
Beak
Beak was deliberately created to look unlike the traditional superhero. His birdlike appearance and relatively unimpressive physical abilities made him an unlikely recruit, although that was also the point. Watching him try to keep up with Wolverine and Cyclops could be a little painful.
Angel Salvadore
Angel Salvadore could grow insect-like wings and produce offspring with different mutant abilities. She was an interesting Morrison-era creation, but her time with the X-Men was more memorable for the bizarre circumstances surrounding her than for her accomplishments as a team member.
Glob Herman
Glob Herman looks exactly like what would happen if someone turned a mutant into a giant candle and then sent him to Xavier’s school. His translucent, waxlike body makes him unforgettable, although “unforgettable” and “great X-Man” are definitely not the same thing.
Squid-Boy
Squid-Boy had a genuinely strange mutation that gave him a squidlike appearance and various aquatic abilities. He was a young and sympathetic character, but his superhero résumé was never exactly screaming “future X-Men legend.”
Dazzler
Dazzler can convert sound into light and energy, which is an objectively fantastic mutant power. She also happens to be a professional singer and disco icon. Somehow, the X-Men have spent decades debating whether this is brilliant or completely ridiculous.
Marrow
Marrow can grow and manipulate bones from her body, which is about as unsettling as a mutant power can get. Her violent Morlock background made her a fascinating character, but her transition into an X-Man was never exactly smooth.
Frenzy
Frenzy began as a villain before eventually becoming an ally of the X-Men. Her superhuman strength and durability made her a formidable fighter, but her long history on the opposite side of the superhero aisle made her an unusual choice for Xavier’s team.
Jubilee
Jubilee is beloved by many X-Men fans, so calling her one of the “worst” is admittedly controversial. Her original fireworks powers weren’t exactly terrifying, though, and she spent much of her early time with the team as the wisecracking teenager tagging along with much more powerful mutants.
Mimic
Mimic can copy the powers and abilities of other mutants, which sounds like an unbeatable superpower until you remember that the X-Men already have plenty of characters who are better at being themselves. His early stint with the original team was short and famously unsuccessful.
Polaris
Polaris has one of the most powerful abilities in the Marvel Universe thanks to her control over magnetism. Unfortunately, decades of complicated relationships and being overshadowed by Magneto have often left her feeling like an X-Man who should be much more important than she actually is.
Sabretooth
Putting Sabretooth on an X-Men roster was always going to be a questionable experiment. He’s a vicious killer with a longstanding vendetta against Wolverine, and the idea that he could simply decide to become one of the good guys has never been particularly convincing.
Mystique
Mystique is undeniably iconic, but is she actually as great as everyone says? Her shapeshifting is useful, yet much of her appeal comes from being mysterious, manipulative, and constantly betraying people. Put her on the X-Men, and suddenly the team’s supposed master of infiltration is also its least trustworthy member. Maybe she’s not a genius. Maybe she’s just overrated.
Bailey Hoskins
Bailey Hoskins is the ultimate answer to the question, “What’s the worst possible mutant power?” He isn’t secretly an Omega-level mutant or hiding some incredible ability. He just explodes. Once. If the X-Men are supposed to be Earth’s greatest team of mutant superheroes, Bailey is proof that sometimes the recruitment process gets very, very weird.
