10 Freaky Yet Awesome X-Men You Probably Forgot

1. Tag

First Appearance: New Mutants Vol 2. #10 - 2004 Even though readers are supposed to sympathise with the oppression of mutants, many mutants deserve the fear they receive. In particular, psychics. What's scarier: Cyclops blowing up your car or Professor Xavier making you forget what cars are? Getting stabbed by Wolverine, or having Mastermind create the illusion of you being stabbed forever? Obvious choice. Likewise, Brian Cruz's mutant power is subtle yet freaky. He had a psychic ability called the "Pariah Effect": he could create a psychic field around someone - or something - he touches that makes people involuntarily run away from the target. As if his choice of name wasn't obvious enough, his catchphrase was shouting "tag, you're it!" while using his powers. He was a dick. Unsurprisingly, Tag's niche power made him a red shirt from the beginning - he died after 14 issues in a bus explosion. A bus explosion. Even Poochie from The Simpsons got a better sendoff. Nevertheless, consider the terrifying uses of this power - people affected by his power are aware of what they're doing, but are powerless to stop it. It's implied that his unconscious use of his ability unintentionally made him a pariah himself, and no-one was shown to be resistant to it's effect. He could force someone to run into a wall at full speed till they die, he could force a mother to abandon her child in the middle of the street. At the very least, he could be the world's greatest cock-block. Or chick magnet. Despite his short tenure as an X-Man - and as a living person - the implications of Tag's power has inspires people to build prototype Sentinels in preparation for the arrival of real-life mutants.