The X-Mens

Everyone likes the X-Men, yes?  Back when I was in the thick of my comic book days, the X-Men were my favorite team of super heroes.  They were a motley collection of uncannily gifted mutants, and they epitomized all that was most great and glorious about 90's era comic bookery.  Here's a drawing of them I recently put together on a sketchbook page using ink and watercolor (and look!  I even used one of those white ink pens to add an outline the way all of those popular Instagram artists do!)...

Just look at them!  Can you remember all of their names?  No?  Well, follow along and I'll let you know who is what...

Storm

Storm was basically a weather goddess.  Being able to control the weather is maybe the greatest power anyone could ever have.  She really didn't need any help, but I guess she wanted people to hang around with so she signed up with team Xavier.

Wolverine (also Nightcrawler)

Wolverine was the craziest member of the X-Men.  He was violent and fearless and had ninja moves and a metal skeleton, so naturally his costume was bright yellow with tasteful blue accents.  Nightcrawler was a teleporting goblin from Germany.  He looked like a demon and everyone said he smelled like brimstone.

Colossus and Iceman

Every super hero team needs one guy who is unusually large and unusually strong.  For the X-Men, this role was filled by a giant metal Russian named Colossus.  Iceman, on the other hand, was the wise guy with all of the quips.  I think Iceman was also really into ice-based puns, but I may be confusing him with Batman's Mr. Freeze...

Rogue

Rogue was super-strong and could fly and, if she touched you with her bare hands, she could temporarily take your powers for herself.  And she was supposed to be a southerner, so she went around calling everyone "shugah", which, I believe, is the word "sugar" spelled phonetically.

Bishop

...do you all remember the character Cable, from X-Force?  Bishop was basically black Cable.

Cyclops

Cyclops was the bland, boy scout leader of the X-Men.  He could shoot beams of red energy out of his eyeballs.  I don't know that Cyclops was ever anyone's favorite character.

Gambit

Gambit was the ladies man.  He always had a deck of playing cards and a metal stick.  There is not a single comic book character more 90's than Gambit.  I thought he was cool, and so did you.

Jean Grey

Jean Grey was a telepath and her story was so convoluted and confusing that I never quite figured out what was going on with her.  Wolverine bought her some flowers once.

Professor X

Like Jean Grey, Professor X could read people's minds and lift things with his brain.  He put the team together and he got killed and resurrected every other issue.

...also, Beast

I kind of squeezed him in behind Storm and Gambit.  He's upside down, see him..?  He was a blue ape with a genius-level intellect.

I read a lot of comic books in my day (and I still make room for the occasional issue of "Powerman and Iron Fist"), but the X-Men held a special place in my heart...

...I was also really into Rai, from Valiant comics.

Does anyone else remember Rai..?  I've never heard anyone say his name out loud.  I wonder how it's supposed to be pronounced...  Maybe it sounds like "Ray-eye"?  Maybe it's "Rye"?  Maybe it's just "Ray".  Who knows.

Come back for some more creekness next Monday.  I'll try to be less geekful.

Cheers.