Back in the early days of the X-men when it was just Cyclops, Angel, Beast, Iceman, and Marvel Girl working for Professor Xaviar, the writers knew they wanted Cyclops to be the leader, but for some reason they just couldn't write him the way they wanted to. So someone decided there should be a new member that could help the process of Scott 'Slim' Summers becoming the leader the team needed him to be. That was when Mimic was dreamed up. Even though he wasn't officially a mutant, he still had a power that justified bringing him into the team-he has the ability to copy the powers of any mutants within a certain range of himself. It was a good idea, but then he started going crazy and they had to write him out of the story. After all, who needs the X-men if you can have one guy that can do it all instead?
My problem with Mimic is more to do with his role in the books after his initial run. Most of his appearances are the 'crazy and maybe evil' bit. Also, it looks like he just has the original team's powers and doesn't branch out any more.
I feel bad for Sarah, but she is such a waste as a character. The writers had a great idea. What if the Morlocks that disappeared with Calisto and Mikhail Rasputin didn't die, but were transported to another reality? That's where Marrow comes from. It is a harsh world that creates strong mutations and ruthless fighters. Marrow is not suited to the world of the X-men because of her history. This usually isn't such a big deal. It's not the first time the X-men have embraced a mutant that doesn't fit in well with others. (Wolverine is the most popular example, but there are plenty of others.) But there's a big problem with this type of character. It's hard to keep that outsider interesting when they start adapting to the team and the world. Marrow started to gain control of her powers and let go of some of her anger, and that wasn't good for the drama of the story, so the writers kept trying to come up with excuses for her to go back to the character she'd been. This upset a lot of readers who liked the progression of her story and didn't want to go back.
Eventually, Marrow got lost in the mix and disappeared during M Day.
Stacey X probably could have been a better character if she hadn't popped up in the era that she did. During a period of X-men history, there was way too much focus on Angel and who he could be sleeping with, which according to the storyline seemed to be everybody. Oh, I almost forgot the storyline where his blood is magical and can heal people. Sorry, that's a rant for another time. Stacey X is a mutant with the ability to secrete a variety of drugs from her skin that can distort perceptions, reduce pain, and I think just about anything else she can come up with. I was also intrigued by her back story. She is a mutant prostitute that uses her mutant abilities to give her clients false memories of wonderful sexual experiences. I probably would have liked Stacey X more if she'd been used in a different era, but she didn't stand of chance of being likable in the days when Nightcrawler was an unsuspecting part of a plot to make a mutant (Nightcrawler) the pope.
I hated Northstar back before he joined the X-men. I started reading comics with Northstar in them back during the first run of Alpha Flight. He was a pompous jerk with little to no concern for anyone other than himself. He really hasn't gotten better over the years. I probably should have seen that he was gay way back in his story when he violently attacked the Purple Girl for entrancing him. It wasn't just the entrancing, it was the fact that it was a girl kissing him. Please don't take this the wrong way. I'm not anti gay, I'm anti Northstar. More issues I have with Northstar: he's controlling of his psychotic sister, overwhelmed with his Quebec background, and more than willing to use anyone if it will give him what he wants.
OK, next time we'll get into our honorable mentions which will give me a chance to decide who gets top billing on my top 12 X-men list.
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