In 1992 the X-Men had become the biggest thing on planet Earth. I still loved The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with much fanfare, yet this would completely die out once Wolverine unleashed his adamantium claws in some comic book I picked up and I was instantly enthralled in how awesome it would be to have those coming out of my hands. Not long after I began to get into the comic book the cartoon started showing up on Saturday mornings after all the horrible cartoons like Taz-Mania and Bobby's World were over on Fox. Soon everyone in my classroom had a favorite mutant and everyone both boys and girls couldn't get enough of the X-Men.



However there was a huge difference in the roster between the comic book and the cartoon show. Since the X-Men have been one of Marvel's greatest comic books since 1963, there have been several different members of the team who have come and gone. So with the huge success of launching a comic book simply called "Spider-Man" and having Todd McFarlane illustrate and write the book, Marvel decided to do the same and create a new offshoot comic book of The Uncanny X-Men and simply call it "X-Men." The task of writing the first issues went to Chris Claremont, who had scripted several of the most memorable storylines for The Uncanny X-Men, namely The Dark Phoenix Saga among several others. The artist given the job to illustrate the X-Men was Jim Lee, my all-time favorite comic book artist. With this talent, it is no wonder that the first issue of the "X-Men" sold over 8 million copies and still holds the record for the most copies sold of a single comic book. Due to the fact that there were now two different X-Men comic books, the writers came up with this solution: Split the team up into two groups, The Blue Team and The Gold Team. What this equated to was one of the most unfair and unbalanced mutant drafts of all time...



Let me take this time to expand on how this split-up was "unfair." Understand, first of all, that it's logical to assume that the more popular team would be put as the team that would be featured in the new "X-Men" books assuming that Marvel's goal was to make it sell better by giving it better characters, but come on, not only did the X-Men Blue Team have better X-Men but they also faced the more well-known X-Men villains! Within the first five issues the team battles Magneto and the Acolytes and faces off against a then new character, Omega Red. The Gold Team on the other hand, battled some lame mediocre group called The Upstarts and Trevor Fitzroy-an odd time traveling mutant who lures Bishop from the future to join the Gold group. Understand this, Bishop originally wasn't in the Gold Group! Instead the Gold Group was Storm, Jean Grey, Iceman, Colossus, and Archangel. Archangel was barely in some of the issues I had and Jean Grey was put in a catatonic state due to her mind being bonded to Emma Frost or something. To further investigate the differences between The X-Men Gold Team and The X-Men Blue Team I will look at each member and how they contribute to the appeal of hardcore X-Men readers.



Powers: She can fly and has nearly unlimited control over weather which includes summoning tornadoes and hurling lightning bolts

Appeal: Of all of the X-Men very few have more appeal than Storm. I would go so far as to say that she paved the way women in comic books as being great leaders. It was clear that she would be the obvious leader of the Gold Team since Cyclops was the leader of the Blue Team of X-Men. It is also safe to say that her power is possibly the greatest of all the X-Men (aside from Jean's Phoenix transformation) as the ability to control the weather can aid in any situation. Storm is the perfect leader, and in my opinion even superior to Cyclops, as she also has a mother-like quality. Of all the members of this X-Men faction Storm is my favorite, but she deserved far better teammates.



Out of the Comic Books: Storm has appeared in some form on television making appearances in Spider-Man cartoon from the 70s. She was a prominent member of the X-Men team on the X-Men cartoon show on Fox in the 90s where she was second in command, following Cyclops. She has appeared in all three of 20th Century Fox's X-Men movies portrayed by Halle Berry (although I always thought that Angela Besset would have been better for the role). Storm also is in several video games starting with LJN's X-Men for the NES, Konami's X-Men arcade game, Spiderman and The X-Men in Arcade's Revenge, Marvel Vs. Capcom series, and the X-Men Legends games.


Powers: He possesses super-human strength and is able to turn his body into organic steel

Appeal: Here we have the obvious 'strong guy' of the Gold Team of X-Men, Colossus, the Russian artist that can turn his body into steel, yet he has a heart of gold. I have to say that I always liked Colossus, but he has seemed to lack the personality of several of the other X-Men characters, particularly those on the Blue Team. Sadly, Colossus spends most of his time with the Gold Team in grief over his sister Illyana, who contracts the Legacy Virus, and eventually dies in an issue that has Jubilee crying on the cover. This causes Colossus to become angry at Xavier and soon the Russian joins Magneto's Acolytes. It would be nice if Colossus had the arrogance of say, Ivan Drago, but instead he is more of a teddy bear rather than a rampaging monster.



Out of the Comic Books: Colossus also appeared in the 70s Spider-Man cartoon like Storm, and was also part of the X-Men team in "Pryde of the X-Men." He was not a regular on the Fox cartoon, but he did make two memorable appearances, the first is during a battle with Juggernaut, and the second is when he goes to Russia with Jubilee to fight Omega Red. In the film, X2: X-Men United, he is on screen for about thirty seconds and only has one line. In the third movie, X-Men III: The Last Stand, he appears in roughly three short scenes, the first in the Danger Room, once talking to Iceman, and the final battle. In both movies he is played by Daniel Cudmore, and altogether the dialog he speaks in both movies is roughly less than this paragraph. Colossus is a playable character in both the NES X-Men game and Konami's X-Men arcade game where he is the second best character due to his special ability, and in Marvel Vs. Capcom. He did not make an appearance in another widely known X-Men video game until his appearance in both X-Men Legends titles.



Powers: His steel wings allow him to fly and were even used to decapitate Cameron Hodge, and he can also fire steel projectiles from his wings at will.

Appeal: You really have to feel sorry for Warren Worthington the Third, a.k.a. Archangel. Once he was a wealthy playboy with wings, yet during a mission with X-Factor his wings had to be amputated, then later he becomes transformed into one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen, only to end up with the less popular X-Men faction. Sure Apocalypse made him look cooler than his former self "Angel" but he has no personality besides the resentment he holds for Apocalypse, who basically did him a favor. The blue skin looks really cool, as well as the razor sharp wings that can fire projectiles at people was a bonus power he didn't have. As one of the very first X-Men I always thought Angel/Archangel got the a raw deal on his powers. It seems that three out of every five mutants nowadays can fly, plus they have other powers on top of that! Flying is all Archangel really does, besides the steel feather things he shoots out. If we were to compare Archangel to Superman, it becomes totally lop-sided as Superman's flying ability is almost an after-thought compared to all of Supe's other powers! Warren makes a funny remark to Rogue in the Fox cartoon where he says something to her like "You can fly without wings?" Heh heh, yeah not mention that both Storm and Jean Grey having flying capabilities which mostly made Archangel obsolete with the Gold Group.



Out of the Comic Books: Archangel and his former self Angel have been in the Fox X-Men cartoon a few times, but was never a permanent member of the X-Men, just more of an unreliable ally. He appeared as a support character in the first Sega Genesis X-Men game, where he flies back and forth on the screen firing missiles at your enemies. He recently appeared in X-Men Legends as Angel, but wasn't a playable character, he returns in the sequel, X-Men Legends II Reign of Apocalypse, where he is kidnapped in the middle of the game and becomes Archangel, after Mister Sinister does gene-splicing experiments on him, soon after this he becomes a boss your team must battle. In the X-Men films, Archangel was to appear in X2: X-Men United, but his scenes were written out. Angel does appear in X-Men III: The Last Stand in a memorable flashback sequence and as an adult, with the adult Warren Worthington III being played by actor Ben Foster.



Powers: Telepathic abilities ranging from the ability to read the minds of others and enter the astral plane. She also has telekinetic powers which allow her to move mass with her mind and also allows her to create shields and even fly. Jean can even transform into the Phoenix making all of her powers enhanced and limitless.

Appeal: Along with Storm, Jean is the only other woman in the Gold X-Men faction, and the sole telepathic member of the group not counting Professor Xavier. Jean has went through so much trauma over the years, going through an identity crisis and constantly changing her costume and hairstyle, that she can't believe she is put on the Gold Team away from her husband Cyclops. Still you can't go wrong with a hot redhead, just try not to get her confused with her evil clone, Madeline Pryor, who was also married to Cyclops.



Out of the Comic Books: Jean first appears on television in the Fox X-Men animated show as a regular member of the team. In the later seasons, she becomes a more important character due to both the Phoenix Saga and the Dark Phoenix Saga, which were both based on the Chris Claremont issues of Uncanny X-Men from the 1970's and 80's. She also appears in all three X-Men feature films being played by Famke Jansen.



Powers: Can transform into solid ice and has the power to create ice in a variety of shapes.

Appeal: Iceman is the smart-mouth rebel of the group who always is looking for a fight. Iceman is portrayed as being more of a ladies' man, (even though that seems to be more suited to Gambit in the 90's era and earlier in the 80's era to Longshot) yet is constantly unlucky with most of his relationships. I've always seen Iceman as a generic Silver Surfer, both characters fly around on boards, it's just that I never thought Iceman was as cool.



Out of the Comic Books: Iceman was a regular member on the cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends during the 70's as one of Spider-Man's "amazing" friends. He later appeared in only one episode of the animated X-Men show. In all three X-Men films, he is played by actor Shawn Ashmore, where he finds a love interest in Rogue, and a rival in Pyro, although prior to the movies he never is in love with Rogue in the comic books.

Powers: He is able to absorb energy by either redirecting or storing energy that is directed at him. He can use this energy in a variety of ways such as creating energy blasts or enhancing his speed and strength.

Appeal: Bishop comes from an alternate future where the X-Men are seen as legendary heroes that are deciminated by a traitor. He is a worthy addition to the Gold Team, even though because of his heavy use of firearms, it seems he may have been a better addition to X-Force. To me Bishop was my favorite member of the Gold Team, simply because he was a completely original character in the X-Men universe.



Out of the Comic Books: Bishop has appeared in a number of episodes from the Fox X-Men show, one in which he even chases he nemesis Trevor Fitzroy through time. Oddly enough, aspects of Bishop from the comic books were reflected in the show, namely his hatred for Gambit and later on his sister Shard. Bishop is a playable character in the game X-Men Legends II:Reign of Apocalypse.


Powers: Has the ability to fire optic blasts from his eyes.

Appeal: One of the greatest and most well-known leaders in all of comic books is Scott Summers, or Cyclops. From the first issue back in 1963 to the first issue in 1992, Cyclops has stood the test of time as having great leadership skills. Not only this but Cyclops also is one of the most intergral figures in the history of the X-Men universe. His son, Cable is from the future and comes back to lead the group called The New Mutants, and later was renamed X-Force. During the 80's and early 90's Cyclops was the leader of X-Factor, a government funded mutant team comprised of the original X-Men, and later a new X-Factor team would be lead by his brother Havok. His appeal is also matched by the feud that exists between Wolverine and himself regarding Jean Grey. During issues of X-Men Cyclops found himself in yet another love triangle between Jean and Psylocke with him caught in the middle. Cyclops life is incredibly complex, yet he still manages to lead his team to victory time after time.


Out of the Comic Books: Not surprisingly, Cyclops is included in nearly every X-Men television show, feature film, and videogame since he is the leader of the group. Cyclops is a playable character in nearly every videogame involving the X-Men such as the NES game from LJN, the arcade game from Konami, the two Sega Genesis games, the Super Nintendo game, the Game Gear game, Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge and the X-Men Vs. Street Fighter/Marvel Vs, Capcom series as well as X-Men: Next Dimension and the X-Men Legends games. He is the leader of the group in the Fox cartoon show and appears in all three X-Men movies being played by James Marsden. Sadly, apart from the first movie, Cyclops is given less screen time in the 2003 sequel X2: X-Men United, and even less in X-Men III: The Last Stand. Regardless, no matter where the X-Men are in this world, Cyclops will lead them.

Wolverine

Powers: A healing factor that can heal wounds instantly which also slows his aging as well as allowed Adamantium to become bonded to his bones. He also has feral-like senses. It is later revealed that underneath his adamantium he actually has claws as part of his normal skeleton.

Appeal: He's Wolverine, he's the best at what he does and that's putting asses in the seats and selling millions of comic books and movie tickets and merchandise. Wolverine is by far not only the most popular member of Alpha Flight but also the X-Men and one of Marvel's biggest cash cows of all time. Frank Miller and Chris Claremont provided Wolverine's backstory as well as developed his character during the Wolverine limited series in the 80's. In general Wolverine is much like a samurai who fights with a code of law and of conduct. Much as Wolverine's past is shrouded in mystery and has been revealed over the years in both the pages of X-Men as well as his own comic book. During issues of X-Men, Wolverine confronts various figures from his past namely a mysterious ally named Maverick and his former nememsis Omega Red. Unfortunately, after a battle with Magneto, Wolverine painfully loses the adamantium from his bones and leaves the Blue Team, but continued to kick ass in his own comic book for a while with "bone claws." He later returned to the group following X-Men storylines like The Age of Apocalypse and Generation Next, during which time he was replaced by his greatest enemy Sabretooth. No matter how many ways you dice it, Wolverine is the most popular X-Man as he was named The Greatest Comic Book Character of All Time by Wizard Magazine. Not only that but Wolverine is also in The Canadian Hall of Fame with Martin Short and Michael J. Fox.

Out of the Comic Books: Wolverine, much like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk, has become a brand name to Marvel. Wolverine is in nearly every piece of X-Men multimedia you can find. He was in both Sega Genesis video games, where he is arguably the best character in the game, or at least the second best following Nightcrawler. In both games, his healing factor makes him the only character who can go without any health power-ups. In the first Sega game, X-Men, having his adamantium claws out count for using his mutant power and slowly drains the meter. Once it is gone Wolvie goes into Berserker mode and goes crazy. He also is in the SNES X-Men game where he can do moves using the same Street Fighter II Hadoken down to forward motions with the control pad. He was also the star of his own NES game and his own Sega Genesis and SNES game Wolverine Adamantium Rage. I never played Wolverine on NES but Adamantium Rage is one of the Genesis games that I still have and it is awesome! The SNES version is made by a different company and back in the day it was called the better of the two, but I disagree.



Wolverine was a major reason why the X-Men were so famous in the 90's. Several episodes of the cartoon were solely written for his character, as they revealed much of his past with Sabretooth, the Weapon X program, and with the Canadian superhero group Alpha Flight. In the sole animated feature "Pryde of the X-Men" Wolverine also is included in the group only for some reason he has an Australian accent. Oddly enough the actor that become a star playing Wolverine in the X-Men films, Hugh Jackman, is actually from Australia, and he will play Wolverine in the spinoff. Wolverine has become a major part of our culture and will show up in X-Men multimedia for years and years to come.


Powers: Can absorb the powers and memories of anyone she touches. She also has superhuman strength, can fly and is nearly invulnerable.

Appeal: To me Rogue was one of those fictionary characters that I wished was real. She oozed sex appeal as well as a certain grace that only she has. With her southern charm, a belt drooping to the side, that white streak in her hair, and a leather jacket that was a few sizes too small, Rogue was a welcomed guest in my fantasy world of pre-teen adolescence. It only seemed like a natural fit for her to have an on again off again relationship with Gambit, the womanizer of the Blue Team. The modern Rogue is a little more darker, almost like some sort of depressed gothic teeanger. No matter how they try to change her image I'll always remember the Rogue from my fond memories.



Out of the Comic Books: Other than the X-Men cartoon on Fox and the X-Men films, Rogue appears in subsequent X-Men cartoons and such. I should take this time to further expand Rogue's unique persona. Rogue is one of the few mutants in the X-Men universe that sees her power as being more of a curse than an actual blessing, even though essentially her power is possibly the greatest considering that she can have any power. To me the Blue Team of X-Men was my favorite just for having Rogue. the rest of the group, even Wolverine, was just a bonus.



Due to her popularity Rogue has been in X-Men multimedia in various forms. In the Sega Genesis game she appears as a support character who flies on the screen and damages your enemies. Later she is a playable character in X-Men Vs. Street Fighter and later in the Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting games, then ten years later she is in the X-Men Legends games. Several of the episodes of the cartoon dealt with Rogue's dilemma involving not being able to touch or become physical with anyone else without harming them. Rogue becomes such a beautifully tragic figure, much like The Incredible Hulk. In the movies she is played by Anna Paquin, who appears much younger than she did in the comics, and sadly her sex appeal in non-existent. In the first movie she seems like Wolverine's sidekick, a role us true fans know is meant for Jubilee who merely has deleted scene appearances. In the second and third films Rogue is given less screen time and more of a secondary role, focusing more on her relationship with Iceman. Rogue to me is more than a comic book character-she is a goddess.


Powers: Has superhuman agility and tremendous dexterity.

Appeal: Beast is a unique character in his own right, very similar to The Thing from The Fantastic Four. Hank McCoy is one of the most intelligent men on the planet, only slightly less smarter than Albert Einstein and Reed Richards. What he has in common with The Thing is that despite all of his good nature and his redeeming qualities, he is seen for who he is on the outside, a blue hairy freak. It is characters like Beast that provide for the all of the social messages that the X-Men convey. The blue fur of Hank McCoy was not given to him originally, as he was just some guy who went around showing off his big bare feet. It is not until the 80's while Beast is in X-Factor that he turns blue. Beast is a welcome addition to the Blue Team, because he is blue for one thing, as well as the resident doctor of the group. In later issues of X-Men McCoy makes it his life mission to find a cure to the Legacy Virus, a deadly illness that was similar to HIV/AIDS that killed mutants.



Out of the Comic Books: On the cartoon show, Beast is a regular character on the show. During the first season, he spends most of his time in prison. The best Beast episode, and one of the most enduring episodes of X-Men, has Beast falling in love with a blind girl, whose mutant-hating father does not want Beast to perform an operation that can cure his daughter's blindness. After the operation is a success, the blind girl sees Beast for who he truly is, someone who is beautiful regardless of his outside appearance. In what has to be the most touching moment in any cartoon she hugs McCoy, only then does Hank decide to never contact the girl again. How this episode didn't recieve an Emmy nomination is anyone's guess. Beast also appears in the SNES X-Men game where he is probably the worst character to use due to his big size and lack of moves. He also is a playable character in the second X-Men game for the Sega Genesis, X-Men 2: The Clone Wars, where he is also not very good. He appears in both X-Men Legends games, the first allows him to be a playable character, while in the second he is kidnapped by Apocalypse and is not playable at all. He appears in the third X-Men movie in Beast form as Kelsey Grammer, who gives a subpar performance, especially in the fight scenes where he fights like some overgrown muppet. Let's hope that in the future they give Hank McCoy the attention he deserves.



Powers: Has the ability to create plasma energy in the form of fireworks with her hands.

Appeal: With pink shades that were taken from Bret Hart and a big yellow raincoat from the closet of April O' Neil, Jubilee is a retro artifact that will always reflect the look of any California mallrat of the 90's. Jubilation Lee is the youngest of the group as well as the sidekick for the group's lone wolf Wolverine. Despite all of this it's hard to imagine the Blue Team without her, even though she eventually left the group in favor of being the leader of a new pack of 'new mutants' called Generation X. Some could argue that Jubilee really serves no purpose, to which I disagree. Jubilee represents youth as well as the embodiment of a student of Xavier-trying to study a world that does not appreciate her.



Out of the Comic Books: Jubilee was a major character in the cartoon show, as the first season revolved around her learning of her mutant powers and eventually joining the X-Men. A similar role is given to Kitty Pryde in "Pryde of the X-Men." Her appearances in other media remains very stagnant-except for one made for TV movie. In 1996, Fox aired "Generation X" a movie involving the group of the same name. Jubilee was a main character in this film and was played by Heather McComb, who would go on to marry actor James Van Der Beek from Dawson's Creek fame. The most memorable aspect of this movie was the wide range of different shades of lipstick Jubilee used that also matched her outfits-my favorite is the yellow lipstick that matched her coat. This movie was originally going to be used as a pilot for a Generation X television show, but it didn't get picked up. In all three X-Men movies Jubilee is not Wolverine's sidekick. Instead they make Rogue the sidekick, while Jubilee is hardly in any of the three movies. In two of them, Jubilee is only in deleted scenes, in the first movie she is played by an actress named Katrina Florence and in the second and third movies is played by Kea Wong. Jubilee hasn't really fared very well in video games either. Often she is regulated as being in the background to games such as X-Men Vs. Street Fighter. She is however a playable character in the first X-Men Legends game, but as you may already guess, she isn't as good as several other characters you can choose from.



Powers: Is able to create kinetic energy and transfer to anything he touches, which is mainly a deck of cards. He also has a sort of hypnotic charm that he uses to entice and charm women.

Appeal: With the Blue Group of X-Men, each member of the group had their own stereotype much like those found in an 80's John Hughes teen movie: Cyclops is the alpha male, Beast is the smart one, Wolverine is the loner, and Gambit is the cool one that breaks all the rules. With his silver tongue and cajun smirk, Gambit's personality reflected the easy going, smooth style of the Big Easy. Back when I was really into the X-Men, it was hard to pick whether I liked Gambit or Wolverine more. This made it difficult when playing the video games, obviously as both were in several of them. Gambit is a ladies' man first and foremost, with the roughness of a 1980's Mickey Rourke as well as the charm of a young Paul Newman-then topped off with a big sloppy bird's nest for hair, and a voice from a southern bayou. What Rogue and Psylocke were to male readers, Gambit was to the female readers. It's only logical that Gambit and Rogue become the hot couple of the Blue Team, which was also reflected in the cartoon. Gambit's appeal for me reflected how cool and confident he is, and to young teenage boys he became an instant idol.



Out of the Comic Books: Gambit was a regular member of the X-Men cartoon and even was given his own episode in the second season where he visits his brother in New Orleans and also runs into his ex-wife Belladonna. In the three X-Men movies there was always scripts that included him, but he was always written out. He is scheduled to appear in the Wolverine movie. Gambit shows up in the two Sega Genesis X-Men games and in the SNES game and also in subsequent fighting games such as X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, X-Men: Next Dimension, as well as both X-Men Legends games. Gambit has been so popular that he has had three separate limited series of his own.



Powers: Has the ability to read minds and can move mass with her telekinetic energies as well as enter the astral plane. She also produces a 'psychic knife' with her fist, that she uses to harm living beings by stabbing them in the head. Psylocke also is able to shield other telepaths from sensing her mental signature causing her to have immunity from other telepaths, and as another bonus she has ninja stealth and agility.

Appeal: Rogue as I said earlier is sexy but Psylocke is sexier. Her outfit is essentially a dark bathing suit with long gloves and a cut up pair of leg warmers. She uses her hotness to her advantage in several issues I had particularly in seducing Cyclops. In an issue I can never forget, Psylocke is seen coming out of the shower in front of Cyclops only wearing a towel. This image has been tatooed in my mind for several years. Originally, Psylocke was intended to be Marvel's answer to Wonder Woman, as she is the younger sister of Captain Britian. Psylocke appeared in British comic books years before she made her first appearance in a Marvel Comic in the U.S. which was a New Mutants Annual Special where she is given bionic eyes by the villainous alien mogul, Mojo. Much of Psylocke's past is very mysterious and difficult to understand. Somehow Betsy Braddock, or Psylocke, becomes fused with a female ninja warrior named Kwannon. Anyway, aspects of both Betsy and Kwannon are split between two different women-Psylocke and Revanche, who also later joins the Blue Team. Anyway, Psylocke begins to test Cyclops' loyalty to Jean as she seduces him several times over issues of X-Men, which leads to Jean and Psylocke having a total telepathic catfight! Yeah, it's just as cool as it sounds-too bad I lost that issue a long time ago.



Out of the Comic Books: Psylocke is the only original member of the Blue Team of X-Men that was not a regular character on the X-Men cartoon. She did make a brief appearance in one of the final episodes and is given a British accent true to her character. In the Sega Genesis game, X-Men 2 The Clone Wars, she is a playable character, who can use her katana blade as well as her psychic knife. In the SNES X-Men game, Psylocke is the only female character. X-Men Children of the Atom, is the first appearance she made in a Capcom fighter. She is also playable in the first X-Men Legends game as being the last team member that becomes available. Of the three X-Men movies that have been produced, she only appears in the third film, very briefly and is not even referred to by name. She is played by actress Mei Melancon.


Powers: She shares the same powers as Psylocke, which includes telepathy and telekinetic abilities. She is also a former assassin, so she's got that going gor her, and instead of a psychic knife, she uses an even cooler psychic blade that's much bigger.

Appeal: There was a storyline in issues of the Amazing Spider-Man during the 1970's which involved the idea that Spider-Man was cloned, and the actual Spidey had dissapeared. Later in the 90's Marvel used this idea, for a new Spider-Man named Ben Reilly. Why do I say this? Because this makes it easier to understand Revanche, as thinking of her as a clone of Psylocke. Actually, the truth is so complicated and odd. Kwannon was an assassin in Japan who fell in love with Matsu'o the leader of a group of ninjas called The Hand. Kwannon falls off a cliff and nearly dies and is brought back to Matsu'o. At the same time, Psylocke is also near death and is also brought to Matsu'o. Spiral, an alien woman with like four arms from Mojoworld, decides that the only way to save both women is to combine their souls. This results in a huge identity crisis as both women face off in the mansion both claiming to be Betsy Braddock. I see Revanche as Psylocke's twin sister, even though it's more complicated than that. Unfortunately, Revanche contracts the Legacy Virus and before she dies by it-is killed off in true ninja fashion.



Out of the Comic Books: Revanche has not appeared in any media other than the comic books, unless you count everything that Psylocke has been in.


Powers: Has a healing factor similar to Wolverine's that allows him to heal any wound inflicted on him easily. He also has similar feral senses that Wolverine also possesses.

Appeal: Following Wolverine's departure from the Blue Team, the X-Men put a personal ad in the newspaper for any mutant who has a short temper, is really hairy, and has wolfman-esque prowess and abilities. Luckily for them, Sabretooth was available and gave them a call. Victor Creed, or Sabretooth, represents the darkness and the evil that Wolverine could become if he were to ever give in to his savage nature. Sabretooth is a merciless killer who was more of a prisoner of the X-Men, rather than an actual member. His personality is that of a self-centered jerk who only cares for himself. He spent more time while he was with the X-Men fighting them instead of fighting alongside them.



Out of the Comic Books: Sabretooth appears as a villian in X-Men multimedia, since he is seen as one. He appears in the Sega Genesis X-Men game as a sub boss. In Street Fighter Vs. X-Men Sabretooth is a playable character, and he is a boss in the game Wolverine: Adamantium Rage and X2: Wolverine's Revenge. In the X-Men cartoon, Sabretooth made some appearances and is in the first X-Men movie played by Tyler Mane, and will appear in the Wolverine spinoff played by Liev Schreiber.


The split up within the X-Men as a group represent a moment in time when X-Men were literally the biggest thing not only in comics but also everywhere else. Even today, the X-Men are still popular appearing in cartoons and movies but to me it's all because of what they achieved in the 90's. The Blue Team had so much more to offer fans because they had way more popular characters and that's that. Every now and then a member of the Blue Team would appear in Uncanny issues and vice versa, but it was clear that Marvel and the X-Men writers and artists favored the Blue Team more.



Eventually I grew out of reading the comic books. Sometimes I stop and check out the comic rack at book stores and see that there are even more X-Men titles now than there was in the 90's. Now there's New X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, New Ultimate X-Men, Ultimately New X-Men, and so many others that it's not the same. I'm sure now the groups are divided completely differently and many of the characters are completely different, but I will always remember how great the X-Men used to be, and how much better the Blue Team was over the Gold Team.

Special Thanks- I would like to give credit to the website http://www.uncannyxmen.net for several of the pictures and some of the information I used. This site is a favorite for any X-Men fan! Check it out!