Why haven't any of the Black Male X-men caught on other than Bishop?

[Triniking1234]

Are you sure? Because American and european media keeps pushing black male - white female relationships for some reason

Too much free time.

[PhoenixStudies]

Hope isnt preventing Synch from being used

I didn’t say she was. I just think they should bring him back and get rid of her.

[Criticalfan]

Bishop and Sunspot had Claremont involved in their creation, the rest did not. There you go.

[U.N. Owen]

Bishop was apparently so popular in the Dark Age that he took Kitty Pryde's place in X-Men TAS which only brought him to a wider audience who gave him more fans.

[Armageddon]

I love Maggott!

[Armageddon]

Maggott. Unique design, bizarre power set, gross but apt codename, and a distinct and interesting backstory. Joe Kelly took what I've long presumed was a random, off-hand character design by Lobdell and Madureira and turned him into an interesting person with a history and understandable motivations.

Then, of course, he was redshirt-ed by Frank Tieri. Such a waste of a good character.

I wish Morrison had gotten to use Maggott. That would've been a lot of fun to read.

Hell yeah, I wish Morrison got to use him too

[CRaymond]

Bishop and Sunspot had Claremont involved in their[his] creation, the rest did not. There you go.

Wasn't John Byrne responsible for writing his first appearance alongside Malcolm and Randall?

[cranger]

Wasn't John Byrne responsible for writing his first appearance alongside Malcolm and Randall?

Yeah, it was at the tail end of Claremont's era but not in Claremont's book. I think most people still associate anything at the time with Claremont, thinking that at the least it would have had his approval if not involvement.

[Devaishwarya]

I think it basically comes down to writers having their fan-boy faves and just not being interested in those "secondary" characters (they are not A-listers, and more decidedly B/C-listers) to begin with, coupled with...editorial "allowing" only certain characters to be used, and How and When they could be used. Plus...the (short) length of time current writers are given to tell their stories, before they move/are moved on to other books/projects.

Take Gentle on XMR by Taylor as a most recent example of my last point.
That was an 11-issue run. And While Gentle was given some character development, in order for him to be given the chance at Bishop-level prominence Taylor would have to be on that book for a good two years plus in order to devote some major story development time to the character. As it stands right now, Gentle is back in limbo.

Today's writers just aren't given the same opportunity and leeway as Claremont had back in the day, or even Bendis for a more recent example. They are writing plot-driven stories instead of character-driven stories. Then consider...as with Bendis, they would much rather devote time and effort into introducing and promoting their creator-owned characters rather than those belonging to/chosen by Marvel and editorial.

[Star_Jammer]

Synch was the best thing about GenX. Which says a lot about him, because there were a lot of great things about the Lodbell/Bachalo era.

[Devaishwarya]

Synch was the best thing about GenX. Which says a lot about him, because there were a lot of great things about the Lodbell/Bachalo era.

While I could understand why the killed him off, knowing he was a huge fan-favourite...I can't help but believe that if they hadn't, he could/would have been as important and prominent as Bishop.

[Silver Fang]

While I could understand why the killed him off, knowing he was a huge fan-favourite...I can't help but believe that if they hadn't, he could/would have been as important and prominent as Bishop.

Or he'd have been degraded to fodder and mediocrity like Storm, Gambit, and other X-characters. Looking at the state the X-books are in, Synch was spared the character assassination that would've befallen him. lol

I wish some of my favorites were dead, given how horribly they've been treated alive.

[CRaymond]

He was Gen X’s Jean Grey. Too proficient, had to go. His absence leaves the rest reeling. That’s not to say he couldn’t have RETIRED from X-adventures. THAT would be interesting. A mutant who doesn’t want to fight, and prefers to hide among humans because he can. Hmmmm

[Mah VM]

I'm hoping to see Prodigy becoming more prominent this year. He could have his powers back now but even without them he's still perfectly cabable of fighting and has a variety of knowledge and skills. He has ties to both X-Men and Avengers so there's no shortage of oppotunity to use him.

The most frustrating part of this process is a character can't become A-List if they aren't used in big time stories.

Agree with everything but this part specially and it is the most frustrating part of being a comic fan for me. Seeing characters I like and am interested in getting sidelined so that the same old same old can be front and center in yet another storyline. And given the demographics of the Classic/Old characters, that's what keeps Marvel from ever being truly diverse.

Sunspot has caught on and if there weren't ALREADY plans for Cyclops to come back you could literally have the X-men be lead by a "BLACK MALE", but think... since he's masculine, straight, and dark skinned... he is far to great a threat to the "Status Quo" of the X-men. Jesus, what if Jean kisses HIM? Or maddy or Rachel, or manic pixie X-girl.
The effects of the utter and absolute fear of black male hetero-sexuality cannot be understated in the american diaspora. So I'm shipping him with Illyana. . .

Not commenting on his full post but in America and Europe in multiple forms of media the Black male is hardly ever seen/depicted in engaging in a hetero relationship. They are also often depicted with what would be deemed as feminine qualities, asexual, and/or Beta Males.

Here we go...

[Devaishwarya]

Or he'd have been degraded to fodder and mediocrity like Storm, Gambit, and other X-characters. Looking at the state the X-books are in, Synch was spared the character assassination tat would've befallen him. lol

I wish some of my favorites were dead, given how horribly they've been treated alive.

...then there's this other side of the "prominence/A-list" coin. So very true. LOL.