100 X-Men: Rating Forge, Dazzler, Husk, Dark Beast & Madrox

Who are the greatest ever X-Men? We’re going to try to answer that question with your help, by putting the spotlight on different individual X-Men from across the franchise’s long history and pairing up your votes with the votes and opinions of our panel of highly opinionated X-Men fans. Your scores will be added to ours to determine the top 100 X-Men.

Today is Dazzler day; we're asking you to rate Dazzler's greatness, and we may be very disappointed in you as a result. But we couldn't just put Dazzler to the vote on her own, as much as she deserves the spotlight, so we've also offered up a few other, less disco-themed X-Men, including the hero who is his own best friend, and another great Guthrie.

FORGE

Aaron: He’s cool and all, but he loses points for creating the neutralizing gun that stripped Storm of her abilities. Sidebar: The man has exceptional interior design taste, as seen in his “Eagle’s Nest” pad. 6/10

Katie: I picked him for my fantasy team and truth be told, it’s because I see a lot of untapped storytelling potential for him. He has such a cool power, but is so often bogged down by the angst around his backstory --- I still think putting him on a team book (particularly the team I chose that was full of several high energy, enthusiastic characters) would be good for him. 6/10

Andrew: I like him with Storm, and I agree about his swank Dallas apartment, and I like the adaptability of his powers. But Marvel could do a whole lot better with one of its most high profile Native American characters, because he has a ton of unused potential. 6/10

Elle: Forge is cool. You’ve already covered it pretty well. 6/10

Steve: He doesn’t even have a real name! Forge was only good when he was acting as “Q” for Mystique --- and even then that was mainly because every other panel she’d knee him in the balls. 4/10

OUR SCORE: 30/50

YOUR SCORE:

DAZZLER, ALISON BLAIRE

Elle: If Marvel had any interest in attracting young female readers, there would be an ongoing Dazzler series by a young female creative team aimed at those readers, and it would be huge. She’s a pop star who’s also a superhero. That’s can’t-miss stuff. Thankfully she’s currently in good hands in A-Force, so maybe that will lead to something. Dazzler’s awesome, and Marvel’s failure to make her a big deal says more about Marvel than it does about her. 10/10

Katie: The more I read of her, the more I love her. I mean, Jem and the Holograms is pretty much my favorite comic out right now, so the aesthetic works for me, you know? 9/10

Steve: Dazzler’s one of the best. She’s this long-haul, hard-drinking, all-blazing, night-raving, rollerskating lawyer superhero popstar and she lights up the pages whenever she shows up. Just don’t mention that awful redesign she got a year or two ago, blech. She’s back to being 24/7 sass in A-Force right now, with a better design, and all is well again. 10/10

Aaron: So, so, so fabulous. 8/10

Andrew: A legend. 10/10

OUR SCORE: 47/50

YOUR SCORE:

HUSK, PAIGE GUTHRIE

Andrew: Husk went crazy for a time there, because that’s what happens to all female superheroes eventually, but that aside, she’s a brilliantly quirky character with a fantastic aesthetic. Peeling off your skin to unveil new superpowers every time? Brilliant. But maybe a little tough for writers to get to grips with. 8/10

Katie: I am fond of the entire Guthrie family and I really dig Husk’s powers, but I mostly know the character from that aforementioned era where she went all crazy/evil, which is a shame. I would love to see her used more. 6/10

Elle: I’ve pretty much always liked Husk better in theory than in practice. She’s fine I guess. It was weird when she and Toad were in love. 5/10

Steve: Love Husk. This try-hard who eventually learns not to change her ways in order to get ahead, but instead the best way to get ahead is to date the literally hot dude at school who doesn’t have a torso because he exploded it off. No nonsense (and as always, the court recognizes that Wolverine & The X-Men don’t count) and collected, Husk is just like her brother, because she’s great. Simple as that. 7/10

Aaron: Paige has a stellar power-set. Considering the metamorphisis she went through as a character, her abilities stand as a tangible metaphor. 6/10

OUR SCORE: 32/50

YOUR SCORE:

DARK BEAST, HANK MCCOY

Elle: Dark Beast is a silly name. He gets points for being Hank McCoy, but loses most of them for being the wrong Hank McCoy. 3/10

Katie: I’m disappointed Dark Beast doesn’t wear a felt goatee, like darkest timeline Abed in Community. 2/10

Steve: When was this guy an X-Man? Is it in Uncanny X-Force? He’s better than Beast, which is actually not a great thing for him. When the ‘evil’ version of a character has actually perpetrated fewer mass-murders than the ‘heroic’ version? That’s when you have to wonder who the real villain really is. (It’s Beast.) 3/10

Aaron: He freaks me out in Rick Remender’s X-Force. Sadistic little fart.. 4/10

Andrew: I like Beast, but there are way too many of them. I don’t need a color wheel of one dude. 2/10

OUR SCORE: 14/50

YOUR SCORE:

MULTIPLE MAN, JAMIE MADROX

Elle: If I’d read more Peter David X-Factor, I’d probably have stronger feelings. I haven’t, so I don’t. 6/10

Katie: Same. I mostly know him as the Bruce Campbell look-alike from X3. 4/10

Steve: Why haven’t more people read Peter David’s X-Factor?! It’s brilliant, and Madrox is a decent lead throughout it, although he’s nowhere near as good as the supporting cast around him. He’s still pretty great, though, able to twist his character and filter it in a million ways just through one tap of his foot. He’s all things to all men, but that does sometimes mean he’s a master of nothing. 8/10

Aaron: He was such a waste of space on Muir Island, usually getting knocked out. But hey, at least he was played by McDreamy in X3! 5/10

Steve: He was McSteamy, not McDreamy!!

Andrew: Madrox has really freaky powers that have actually been pretty well explored. For a beige-looking fella, he also has an unexpectedly complex set of neuroses and traumas, and I find that compelling. I guess I don't mind there being way too many versions of this dude. 7/10

OUR SCORE: 30/50

YOUR SCORE: