The X-Men are a team dedicated to making the world a better place for everyone, and ensuring mutants and humans can coexist is their number one goal. They’re superheroes, but they also strive to forge relations and break down bigoted assumptions about what mutantkind is. They fight this good fight with an ever-expanding roster of heroes dedicated to showing the world that mutants aren’t any different from anyone else. The X-Men have hosted dozens of characters, from classics like Cyclops and Storm to underrated showstealers like Polaris and Sunfire. The X-Men have always been a home to any mutant who needed help, and while that will always be true, it wouldn’t be true to say that the X-Men are only made of mutants.
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The X-Men have actually had plenty of non-mutant members, and today, we’re taking a look at ten of the best ones. Now, to keep things simple, we’re not continuing non-mutant heroes who have been a part of teams that aren’t the main X-Men, so no offshoots like Excalibur or X-Force. We’ll be ranking these heroes based on a mix of how good their characters are and how much potential they bring to the table. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at ten non-mutants who have fought alongside the X-Men.
10) Cloak and Dagger
These two are a package deal, so they’re sharing a spot on this list. The ultimate light and darkness duo earns tenth place not because they’re bad characters, but because their mutant status has been strangely contentious. Marvel has gone back and forth, but currently, the pair is regarded as mutates who gained powers from the experimental drugs pumped into them. Cloak and Dagger perfectly fit the X-Men’s soap opera mold, with plenty of inherent romantic and intimate storylines just begging to be told. They bounce off the X-Men well and have plenty of potential to forge great relationships, but other teammates already cover their niches. A team with them would be great, but I’m not sure how much they bring to it inherently.
9) Warlock
Warlock is one of the many members who aren’t traditional mutants, but are considered mutants of their species. Case in point, Warlock is a mutant Technarch. Technarchs are a techno-organic race who aim to either repurpose or wipe out other species across the universe, and Warlock is considered a mutant because he was born dedicated to pacifism. He’s best friends with Cypher, now Revelation, and watching them tackle problems too big for strength alone is always a treat. Warlock is a very interesting addition that can serve as a great connection to the larger cosmos, but while he’s awesome, his particular style of speech can get pretty annoying. If you can look past that, though, you have a surprisingly deep character who is always trying to understand humanity.
8) Hepzibah
Hepzibah is an alien and a member of the Starjammers, which is the space pirate crew run by Cyclops’s dad, Corsair. She briefly spent time on Earth, where she linked up with the X-Men. Hepzibah might not be a mutant, but her perspective and history perfectly match what the X-Men stand for. Her people were enslaved by the Shi’ar Empire, and she rose to fight against their tyranny and defend the ragtag group of friends she made along the way. She’s a stranger from a place that humanity probably can’t even imagine, but still fights to protect people whom she knows nothing about. Hepzibah could offer a unique perspective on how the X-Men fight tyranny, but her time as a member was rather uneventful.
7) Cerebra
Cerebra was a sentient version of Professor X’s psy-enhancing mutant-finding device, created by Forge and placed in the body of a Sentinel. Despite her massive bulk and mutant-hunting body, Cerebra was a gentle giant, and really more of a coward than you would think. Cerebro was always a major part of X-Men lore, and Cerebra emerged during a time when mutantkind had lost its way, with Professor X dead and Cyclops a villain. The idea of giving such an iconic piece of the X-Men mythos sentience isn’t new, but turning her into a force for expanding the team and letting her feel human was very fun. Cerebra is a very interesting concept, but ultimately, she hasn’t risen above being a plot device.
6) Longshot
Longshot is the X-Men’s second luckiest member, given that he can manipulate probability much the same way that Domino can. He was a genetically-altered human made to be a slave in the Mojoverse, but he broke out and made a name for himself as a hero on Earth. Longshot is all style, but he also has a pretty deep backstory, even if the timeloop and forgotten kid with Dazzler do get fairly convoluted. He’s a whole lot of fun and demands attention when he’s around. Longshot is someone that you either love or hate, depending on how you feel about his type of character.
5) Omega Sentiel
Karima Shapandar was a normal human until she was forcibly transformed into a cyborg Sentinel. She overcame her programming and joined the X-Men. A person who was turned into a Sentinel against their will, and then chose to support mutants, all while nobody alive trusts her, is a goldmine of narrative and interpersonal drama. She’s an outcast on every side, which makes her perfect for the X-Men, even though the mutant heroes may not be able to look past her exterior. The problem with Karima is that she gets possessed or turns evil in literally every story arc she’s important to. That’s not an exaggeration, as it’s happened at least five times. There’s so much more that can be done, but the constant retreading is really annoying.
4) Broo
The Brood are an intergalactic and possibly inter-dimensional race of ravenous isectoids who consume everything in their way and delight in torture and death. Broo is a mutant Brood, born able to feel compassion. He was raised independent of a hive, meaning he grew up much like any other sentient in the universe. Broo joined the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning as a star student. When he had grown, he consumed an artificially created King Egg, becoming King of the Brood. Broo is another monster who wants to rise above what his people are known for, and he found a home in the X-Men. He is always at risk of becoming a monster, but his compassionate soul keeps him tethered and interesting.
3) Fantomex
Fantomex is a product of the Weapons Plus program, being Weapon XIII. He was originally called an evolved human who was born from mating with a machine, meant to be a new breed of Sentinel. However, he has been called a mutant on and off a few times, such as in X-Force (2014). Going by his original categorization, Fantomex is a snarky, cunning, fully logical gunslinger who always thinks ten steps ahead. His nervous system lies in a techno-organic ship named E.V.A., who fights alongside him. Fantomex is pure style, and his inability to believe in a better world perfectly clashes with the X-Men’s mission, bringing out the best in both of them.
2) Lockheed
Lockheed is a purple dragon-like alien, Kitty Pryde’s best friend, and the closest thing the X-Men have to a mascot. He’s fought alongside Kitty and the other X-Men for decades, always ready to charge into combat despite his diminutive size. Don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s not tough, as he was a legendary hero on his home world, having led the charge against the Brood invasion. Lockheed is just a silly little guy, and he’s one of the best executions of that trope anywhere. He’s needlessly loyal, hilariously entertaining, and downright adorable. What’s not to love?
1) Juggernaut
The Juggernaut started as one of the X-Men’s fiercest enemies. He’s Professor X’s bitter stepbrother, and he made sure to use his unlimited magical momentum to take out all his anger. Still, Juggernaut has grown from a standard villain to a nuanced, unsure hero. He wants to defend the innocent and fight for mutant coexistence, even if nobody trusts him and he gets some strange looks along the way. Juggernaut is far more mature than he used to be, but he’s still ready to fly off the handle and smash through some walls when the situation calls for it. His relationship to Charles is ripe with potential drama, and he’s a powerhouse that everyone can love. Nothing could stop the Juggernaut from smashing his way to first place.
Which non-mutant X-Man is your favorite? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
