7. Banshee
What Makes Banshee a Great Character: Banshee, aka Sean Cassidy, has always been one of the older X-Men characters both in age and comic history first appearing way back in X-Men #28. Possessing a sonic scream, his first appearance was less than amazing but it was his revival during the bronze age of comics that gave him the depth to make him outstanding. Being an older character Banshee tended to behave more maturely than some of his younger teammates and though he respected Charles Xavier he lacked the tendency to deal with all of his bull$hit (a trait most X-Men today now wish they had displayed.) Being the archetypal father figure Banshee later had a daughter, Siryn, introduced who became a good character in her own right. He held a long rivalry with his cousin, Black Tom, who very often teamed up with mega X-Men villain the Juggernaut. He was involved in some of the most memorable storylines including the dark phoenix and Muir island sagas before teaming up with Emma Frost to teach the newest generation of mutants in the 90's.
Why He is So Under-Rated: Though not as recognizable as characters such as Storm, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine, Banshee was an important figure in the stories of the seventies which contained some of the best story arcs in all of X-Men history. Many fans and critics underestimate Banshee's powers. In a general sense he has a sonic scream. In a more complex sense he emits sonic waves through stimulation of his vocal chords. Not only does this require a great deal of focus and precision but allows him to both fly and makes him capable of using sonar. It's said that Banshee can manipulate these waves to such a degree that not only can he simply shatter glass but can liquefy or disintegrate objects! Despite having a strong power, Banshee is one of the few characters to actually soar above his power set and become known in terms of actual characterization rather than what he can do with his mutant abilities. He had a strong romance with longtime X-Men ally Moira MacTaggert and was a natural born leader. Once an agent of Interpol, Banshee's skills included amazing skill in hand-to-hand combat and a high intelligence coupled with a keen sense of strategy and combative expertise. Unfortunately, he was rarely able to display such characteristics as he was often moved to the background as the 90's roared on. To see what I mean check out Uncanny X-Men #254 in which Sean helps stave off an attack by the Reavers and survives a devastating shot to the chest. Also, the Phalanx Covenant crossover in which Banshee takes the lead when all others are incapacitated as well as Uncanny X-Men #401-403 as Banshee struggles with alcoholism, adding to his character depth and reminding us that even superheroes fall victim to the hardest of life's problems, and gathers the strength to overcome it and in turn face the issues that have been plaguing him.
Where He is Now: For a while, Banshee was dead and the way he went out, being crushed between two airplanes by Vulcan, only proves how unfairly the character had been treated. He was recently revived, and though he's currently not himself, here's hoping that his revival isn't wasted and that he may soon join the rest of our favorite mutants once more.