5 Obscure X-Men Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

The X-Men are one of Marvel’s most popular teams, and for good reason. They combine classic superheroics, soap-opera-style melodrama, and metaphors that embody real-world issues. Everyone can see themselves in the X-Men’s struggles, and their constantly rotating cast has introduced audiences to dozens of beloved heroes and villains. Nowadays, there are so many X-Men and X-titles that it’s hard to keep track, even for the most avid fans. With decades of lore and endless new adventures on the way, it’s easy for some info or facts to slip through the cracks. That’s especially true when those facts sound absolutely bonkers in and out of context.

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Comic books can be pretty wild, silly, and downright weird at times, and with literal decades of comics published under the X-franchise banner, there’s a whole lot of room for those funky facts to prosper. Today, we’re going to go over five fairly obscure facts about the X-Men that are still true to this day, even though almost nobody actually remembers them. Some of these might be better off forgotten, and some have the potential to fuel incredible stories. We won’t know for certain until we jump into the wonderful world of obscure X-Men facts.

5) Longshot Is His Own Grandpa

Longshot was an X-Man who hailed from the Mojoverse, being a slave who refused to be subservient to his views-obsessed master. He rebelled and helped bring down Mojo, and even married fellow hero Dazzler, which is where the problems started. See, Longshot was a clone genetically crafted from the DNA of another mainstay of Mojoworld, Shatterstar. However, it was revealed that Longshot and Dazzler conceived a child, who would grow up to become Shatterstar. Both their memories were wiped, and Shatterstar was shunted into the far future, where he would eventually travel to the past and have his DNA used to create Longshot.

This is a classic bootstrap paradox, where both heroes only exist because of a time loop with no discernible beginning or end. Given that Longshot wasn’t born normally, this is probably the least immoral way to be your own grandpa and your own son’s son, but being your own grandpa is still never a good thing. This is a strange origin story for such a long-running character, especially cause it wasn’t revealed until X-Factor #259 in 2013, but it’s a really funny one to talk about. It turns the family tree into the family wheel, but it’s funny.

4) Mimic Was the Original 6th X-Man

Polaris and Havok are usually thought of as the first additions to the original X-Men. They’re the only ones who are acknowledged as such whenever that era comes up, but in actuality, they joined long after the original new X-Man, Mimic. Cal Rankin’s ability to mimic the skills, knowledge, and powers of anyone in his vicinity emerged after an accident in his dad’s lab. He let the power and skills go to his head, even fighting the X-Men in an attempt to permanently absorb their powers. They beat him, depowered him, and wiped his memory of the events, but both eventually returned.

Cal joined the team in X-Men (1963) #27, and was even made field leader, given that he was the most powerful, and Cyclops stepped down after a fight with Angel. His tenure only lasted two issues, however, as his powers disappeared again in a battle with the Super-Adaptoid. Cal was a weird teammate, especially given his abrasiveness and general lack of care about their mission. Heck, his mutant status was even in question until House of X #5, fifty-three years after his debut. He appeared during that short period of time when mutants were caused by nuclear radiation, which was very quickly changed and forgotten about.

3) Mutants Can’t Get AIDS

Mutants, as it turns out, are immune to AIDS. There’s no explanation given, there’s no reasoning, it’s just a thing. Mutants can’t get AIDS. I don’t blame you if you didn’t know this one, as it was revealed during the infamous Chuck Austen era. Specifically, it was mentioned for the first, but unfortunately not last, time in Uncanny X-Men #421. Again, there’s never any reasoning given, so it’s impossible to know why something this stupid made it in, but Austen’s run did have a serious fascination with blood, such as Angel discovering his blood had healing properties.

This could have been a strange editorial mandate, or Austen trying to cover his own hide with all the blood shenanigans going on. Either way, it’s insane to think that something so tone-deaf made it into the X-Men’s stories. This is definitely one of the most confusing X-facts, and one we’re all better off forgetting.

2) Rogue Is a Hero Because of Rom the Spaceknight

Most X-fans know that Rogue originally debuted as a villain, but what many don’t know is that her path to redemption started when she crossed paths with Rom the Spaceknight. In Rom #32, Rogue absorbed Rom’s lifeforce, which also exposed her to his nobility and selfless spirit. This was Rogue’s first taste of true heroism, and it gave her the push she needed to eventually go against the villains she was working with. The reason that this is such an obscure fact is because of serious legal problems surrounding reprinting this issue.

See, the Rom comic was made to promote the release of the Rom the Space Knight toy, originally made by Parker Brothers, which was bought by Hasbro back in 1991. This means that Hasbro owns the rights to Rom, and that Marvel would need to convince Hasbro to let them reprint anything that features Rom. Naturally, that’s a whole can of worms, so Marvel prefers to let this fall to the wayside and Rogue’s arc to be seen from the rest of her appearances.

1) Colossus Has a Son (In the Savage Land)

This fact is so obscure that even Colossus himself doesn’t know it. Classic X-Men #21 depicted Colossus during his time in the Savage Land. He stumbled upon a dinosaur attacking three women, and though he beat it back, the beast killed one of the warriors. The remaining two convinced Peter to join in their mourning ritual, which he agreed to, unaware that it involved “filling the empty seat,” so to speak. Colossus and the women had intercourse, but what he didn’t know was that one, Nereel, conceived a son from it. She named him Peter, after his father.

Years passed, and in X-Men Annual #12, Colossus would finally meet his son. He wouldn’t learn that Peter was his, though, given that he was Nereel’s son and literally named after him, I don’t know how he couldn’t figure that one out. Colossus is many things, and loveably oblivious is darn near the top of that list. There aren’t any ill feelings between father and unknown son, here, so it would definitely be fun to explore Colossus learning the truth at some point.

What’s your favorite obscure X-Men fact? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!