Top Twelve X-men (part III)

Now before I start in with my honorable mentions and the list itself, I want to clarify how I'm trying to sort this whole process out. This list will be based on a combination of my love and appreciation of the character as well as the significance of their contribution to the Marvel Universe. 

Professor Charles Xavier

This is going to be the one that people are most likely to complain about. After all, if there weren't a Professor X, there wouldn't be the X-men. He's the one that started it all. This is true, but there are some good reasons why I counted him out of the top twelve.
1. The Professor is a powerful mutant, that is for sure, but aside from a few story lines since the original run of the comic, his powers haven't been that important to the storyline. (And most of the early stories involved the professor doing things that telepathy aren't capable of doing-like disarming a bomb.)
2. Let's list a few of the bad guys that are a direct result of Professor X's past: Juggernaut, the Shadow King, Magneto, and the list goes on. If he's so great at creating a peaceful world, why does he have these bad guys in his past?
3. Onslaught-the evil monster created when Professor X wiped out Magneto's mind. Yeah the evil impulses of Professor X combined with the pure physical power of Magneto. Great idea.

OK in the Professor's defense, he was the first of his kind (well, at least he was when the X-men started-you've got to love retcons.) There wasn't a manual and there wasn't really anyone to turn to, but that doesn't change the fact that outside of his dream and his team, he hasn't been that big of a player.

Longshot

Longshot had the corner on the mystery market. He starts off with a mini series that raises more questions that provides answers, then he joins the X-men armed with a mysterious power that just makes him lucky, and has some unexplained ties to Mojo. (For those who don't know about Mojo, he is the spineless (literally, he has no spine) ruler of the Mojoverse a reality ruled by media. He wants to use the X-men for better ratings, but he hates all creatures with spines.) Longshot has a rope with a hook on the end and razor blades that he uses in battle and always seems to hit his mark thanks to his luck.

 Longshot had some fun and adventures with the X-men and there were all sorts of hints that he might actually be Mojo, but I'm not sure that question was ever resolved. He disappeared for a while and I'm not sure what's up with him. He'd probably be on the list if he were still around regularly.

Banshee

Sean Cassidy has a very interesting story. He started off as a part of Factor Three a group of evil mutants that were trying to take over the world, but then it turned out he was actually an undercover agent trying to stop the organization. He joined up with the X-men when the series rebooted with a new more diverse team, but his age started to catch up with him forcing him to retire for a while. Later it was revealed he had a daughter he never knew who just happened to have the exact same power, which is unusual in the comic book world. He popped up from time to time and then shared the responsibility for running the school with Emma Frost. After that he started an organization that used mind control of villains and butted heads with the X-men. At the moment he's dead, but how long does that last for anyone in the comics? I really do enjoy Sean, but he's not getting on the list.

Cypher

Poor Douglas Ramsey never had a chance in the comic book world. He started off as a character created in a fan promotional event. You know the kind of thing-create the next member of the New Mutants. Some kid out there thought him up and somehow won the contest and as a result one of the least significant mutants entered the Xavier Institute. Cypher has the super power to translate any language instantly. I'm not saying the power isn't useful, I could have used it in Spanish class, but it's not the kind of thing that will come in handy in a fight. (At least it's better than the guy that popped up in the X-men during my least favorite era with the superpower to remember everything he sees-yeah, photographic memory) Doug had delusions that he could be a hero and fight villains with the power he had, and the rest of his classmates were willing to bring him along when they got into fights even though he was more of a liability than an asset. This led to his untimely demise when he jumped in front of a bullet meant for Wolfsbane. He was a great character, he just had a bad power.

Well those are the honorable mentions. I think for part III I'm going to do a tribute to characters that left too soon. I realized there are a few of them that deserve some attention so be on the look out for that.