Creating superpowered characters - heroes and villains - for the X-Men universe of comic books has always had one clear advantage over the same process for other Marvel titles: theres no need to take the trouble to invent an origin story. Mutants, you see, come with their own one-size-fits-all origin. It was Marvel legend Stan Lees idea: to streamline the creative process and cut down on the storytelling necessary to introduce brand new characters, something that came in extraordinarily handy in the film adaptations of the franchise that began in 2000. However, once something becomes too easy, the danger of complacency begins to creep in. Thats certainly something the X-Universe Marvel titles have illustrated. Theres a casual laziness to the invention of the new in the mutant books that doesnt seem to exist in the same way in the rest of the Marvel universe: the concept of mutant acting as shorthand for different and negating the need for proper characterisation, background and motivation. All of which is to say that the X-Mens roster of role models and reprobates probably contains a fair few of the worst characters in all of comics. The X-Men themselves have generally translated to their cinematic counterparts rather seamlessly. The following characters, however, are a different proposition. Whether hopelessly derivative, poorly conceived, badly executed, lazily written or some horrifying cyclopean gestalt of the four: these godawful characters should never see celluloid treatment, and everyone would probably prefer never to see them again.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
