After Cyclops and Storm who do you consider the third best leader?

[Glio]

Any of those characters could be a fine leader but I would like none of them as a long-term solution because they have personalities that I see incompatible with long-term leadership.

I would choose Jean Grey.

[ChronoRogue]

I apologize, I wish there was a way to hide huge walls of text for people who just want to pass over it lol.

TLDR; I think good leaders need a good balance of pragmatism, idealism and a commitment to the team which few characters have. For the X-Men in general, I rate idealism as important because of it's core message "protecting a world that hates and fears you" so characters that reflect that are higher. Being flaky and controlling are huge weaknesses as leaders IMO, which is why you'll see some choices listed as lower.

If you feel like I get the wrong impression on a character, feel free to add your thoughts!

1. Jean Grey: Before X-Men: Red I wouldn't say Jean had much potential in the area, but it really changed my mind regarding her. I'd say she's the student most influenced by Xavier's leadership style, with a mask of idealism and an undercurrent of cunning. I don't see Jean sanctioning extreme force but I can see her making tough choices when it's necessary. Her main issue is just a lack of real experience, she's lead very sporadically during her history and has missed a ton of time while she's been dead.
(+) stable, responsible, teacher, empathic
(-) inexperienced

2. Moonstar: A bit of a left-field choice but I think she's actually one of the best candidates. Dani rivaled with Sam for the new mutants leadership position but she's basically become the teams de facto leader (outside of Roberto when the whim strikes him). She has all the qualities for good leadership; a level head, a kind and teaching heart, experience, and the ability to make tough choices. Most impressive is how active she was with the team when she was depowered, just like Storm. I'd rank her higher than Jean but her lack of seniority is a bit of a barrier for breaking into leadership positions.
(+) responsible, stable, committed, teacher, empathic
(-) emotional, some inexperience

3. Rogue: Bias aside, Rogue can be reckless. During Carey's early run she was overconfident and the villain team blew up in her face, ending up with her needing to get rescued. However, the same wild card energy is the entire reason Scott assigned her to be a leader and can be a huge strength; she was the X-Man who basically drove off the Children of the Vault twice. Her unpredictability can be a double-edged sword. Rogue's other leadership stints (Revolution, Uncanny Avengers) were more stable if at times prone to bouts of insecurity and outburst. Like some of the others, she'd shown an interest in teaching and as well as passion for mutants rights so I think she can be a solid leader if a bit... unorthodox.
(+) adapativity, teacher, empathic
(-) stubborn, reckless, emotional

4. Kurt: Kurt has the rare ability to inspire and connect with people that few other characters have. He has a good amount of experience with Excalibur and like Xavier, I can see him as a leader that works best during times of growth and peace. On the other hand, I question his ability to make touch choices. How would he have handled decimation in a leadership position? His sense of morality can be a weakness there, sometimes you need to be cruel to survive.
(+) inspirational, communication, commitment
(-) indecision, naivety

5. Magneto: Intelligent and extremely charismatic, Magneto has lots of experience leading. Unfortunately he can be a divisive leader and if he lets his pride rule him he can be extremely controlling. His diplomacy leaves a lot to be desired and tends fall to extremes too quickly which only adds to his list of enemies. He's fine with smaller teams but his large-scale leadership track record is horrible; see Asteroid M and Genosha. a bit Cassandra didn't personally care about Magneto, Genosha was a point she wanted to make Like Charles he's chosen to take a step back and serve more as a guiding figure that pulls the strings from the background.
(+) intelligent, charismatic, committed, visionary
(-) manipulative, prideful, controlling

6. Sunspot: Not mentioned a lot here but he's been pushed into the position more often (New Avengers, New Mutants Vol 4). For all that he can act like a silver spoon playboy, he's shown his fair share of intelligence and cunning. He's a bit of a cloudcuckoolander, as he'll play the fool but could be springing up plans in his head. Sometimes anyway, other times he's honestly playing the fool lol. His leadership style is probably most similar to Rogue, in that he's a wildcard who can win or lose big. Probably not the best candidate if you want stability.
(+) intelligent, resourceful
(-) unpredictable, self-centered

7. Kitty: She has a lot of good qualities to lead (intelligent, has heart, can be inspirational at times) and was basically the defacto leader of Wolverine's faction during the Schism era. Her main weakness is that she's flaky and can get a bit of tunnel vision when something upsets her. Let's not forget she basically gave the leadership position back to Storm right when IvX happened and returned when basically it was all over. Mostly bad timing but she has a history of indecision which isn't a good quality in a leader.
(+) intelligence, communication, teacher
(-) indecision, lack of commitment, emotional

8. Bishop: Like Rachel, he's seemed to made a home of this universe enough to stick around and be consistently used on teams. However his ability to lead hasn't been proven with the X-Men. His station as Captain is the first real position of authority he's had in a long while and he's constantly taking orders from Kitty; we haven't seen much agency from him. As a weakness, Bishop can stubborn and withdrawn from the team at times. Communication is really important in leadership positions as well as transparency. At his best, he is analytical, confident, and passionate.
(+) analytical, committed
(-) communication

9. Cannonball: Cyclops and Cable have both seen the potential in him to be a good leader. I see him as a mix of Scott and Kurt, with a lot of good qualities from both. However... maybe once upon a time he had the potential to fulfill this role but his marriage to a space cop is sort of a big distraction for him to fully commit to leading. that said, xavier and lilandra... But even if we ignore that, I just don't think Sam is that invested personally in being a leader. He's basically the opposite of Havok, he has talent but he doesn't care about it. If he did, he'd probably be above Rogue.
(+) responsible, stable, level-headed
(-) inexperience, no amibition

10. Wolverine: Wolverine probably has the most combat experience among the X-Men, he's a man of war and if he had more a will to lead he'd probably be an excellent commander. As it is, at his first real shot of leading the school I think he left 90% of the actual responsibility to Kitty and basically just added his signature to everything. At his worst, he can be extremely irresponsible and petty, which caused the X-Men to have to choose sides between him and Cyclops. I think even when he feels forced into leadership responsibilities, he's too independent to fully function well in the role and tackle the managerial aspect of leading.
(+) experience, mentor
(-) emotional, petty, irresponsible

11.Emma: Emma lacks the charisma to be a good leader. She struggles getting people to trust her and to form close relationships. She has the ability to command others from a position of authority, which is why she's fine as a teacher to kids, but getting her peers to follow and believe in her is the main issue. That said, she has clear strengths; she's intelligent, cunning, has lots of experience teaching and leading to an extent. I think she'd be perfect to co-lead and act as headmistress like she worked with Scott or Kitty with the Marauders who can temper her hard edges but I can't see her head the entire team. It'd be Generation X and the Hellions all over again with people resenting her controlling style leadership.
(+) intelligent, pragmatic, ambitious, teacher
(-) networking, manipulative, controlling

12. Cable: Similar to Wolverine, potentially one of the best field leaders to have during war time but he's too used to being independent to fully commit to leading. His communication and team building abilities are questionable even during his stints with X-Force, the kids had their fair share of issues with his leadership style. He's more comfortable making his own plans and intervening when he feels necessary, rather than being responsible for others. Unlike Bishop his man out of time stint means he has a hard time setting down "roots".
(+) experience, mentor
(-) controlling, self-centered, communication

13. Havok: Is a bit of mess. I think he wants to be a team leader more than he's actually good at it. On his good days he can be level-headed and pragmatic. On his bad, he's insecure, emotional and is the source of drama on teams. Cyclops has had his fair share of personal issues too but it doesn't really bleed into his leadership outside of the Schism but it was indeed very stupid. The "call me alex speech" will haunt Alex's character for a good long while.
(+) pragmatic
(-) emotional, gullible, insecure

[Cruelrain]

Rogue but where's kitty

[Uncanny X-Man]

Absolutely love your post ChronoRogue, very well written and thought-through!

[ChronoRogue]

Absolutely love your post ChronoRogue, very well written and thought-through!

Thanks very much! I was afraid I wrote way too much for anyone to care lol.

[Tenebrae]

That's a great well thought out post ChronoRogue.

[Proxy]

ChronoRogue pretty much summed it up for me. I think it’s rare to get a well rounded leader that can deal with all situations. Some are better for battle, others for peace time.

I always felt the leader of the x-men wasn’t always the best leader for the school and the roles could have been shared out more.

[Kingdom X]

That's a great well thought out post ChronoRogue.

ChronoRogue literally never fails to impress me with the level of thought and care in their posts.

[jwatson]

I apologize, I wish there was a way to hide huge walls of text for people who just want to pass over it lol.

TLDR; I think good leaders need a good balance of pragmatism, idealism and a commitment to the team which few characters have. For the X-Men in general, I rate idealism as important because of it's core message "protecting a world that hates and fears you" so characters that reflect that are higher. Being flaky and controlling are huge weaknesses as leaders IMO, which is why you'll see some choices listed as lower.

If you feel like I get the wrong impression on a character, feel free to add your thoughts!

1. Jean Grey: Before X-Men: Red I wouldn't say Jean had much potential in the area, but it really changed my mind regarding her. I'd say she's the student most influenced by Xavier's leadership style, with a mask of idealism and an undercurrent of cunning. I don't see Jean sanctioning extreme force but I can see her making tough choices when it's necessary. Her main issue is just a lack of real experience, she's lead very sporadically during her history and has missed a ton of time while she's been dead.
(+) stable, responsible, teacher, empathic
(-) inexperienced

2. Moonstar: A bit of a left-field choice but I think she's actually one of the best candidates. Dani rivaled with Sam for the new mutants leadership position but she's basically become the teams de facto leader (outside of Roberto when the whim strikes him). She has all the qualities for good leadership; a level head, a kind and teaching heart, experience, and the ability to make tough choices. Most impressive is how active she was with the team when she was depowered, just like Storm. I'd rank her higher than Jean but her lack of seniority is a bit of a barrier for breaking into leadership positions.
(+) responsible, stable, committed, teacher, empathic
(-) emotional, some inexperience

3. Rogue: Bias aside, Rogue can be reckless. During Carey's early run she was overconfident and the villain team blew up in her face, ending up with her needing to get rescued. However, the same wild card energy is the entire reason Scott assigned her to be a leader and can be a huge strength; she was the X-Man who basically drove off the Children of the Vault twice. Her unpredictability can be a double-edged sword. Rogue's other leadership stints (Revolution, Uncanny Avengers) were more stable if at times prone to bouts of insecurity and outburst. Like some of the others, she'd shown an interest in teaching and as well as passion for mutants rights so I think she can be a solid leader if a bit... unorthodox.
(+) adapativity, teacher, empathic
(-) stubborn, reckless, emotional

4. Kurt: Kurt has the rare ability to inspire and connect with people that few other characters have. He has a good amount of experience with Excalibur and like Xavier, I can see him as a leader that works best during times of growth and peace. On the other hand, I question his ability to make touch choices. How would he have handled decimation in a leadership position? His sense of morality can be a weakness there, sometimes you need to be cruel to survive.
(+) inspirational, communication, commitment
(-) indecision, naivety

5. Magneto: Intelligent and extremely charismatic, Magneto has lots of experience leading. Unfortunately he can be a divisive leader and if he lets his pride rule him he can be extremely controlling. His diplomacy leaves a lot to be desired and tends fall to extremes too quickly which only adds to his list of enemies. He's fine with smaller teams but his large-scale leadership track record is horrible; see Asteroid M and Genosha. a bit Cassandra didn't personally care about Magneto, Genosha was a point she wanted to make Like Charles he's chosen to take a step back and serve more as a guiding figure that pulls the strings from the background.
(+) intelligent, charismatic, committed, visionary
(-) manipulative, prideful, controlling

6. Sunspot: Not mentioned a lot here but he's been pushed into the position more often (New Avengers, New Mutants Vol 4). For all that he can act like a silver spoon playboy, he's shown his fair share of intelligence and cunning. He's a bit of a cloudcuckoolander, as he'll play the fool but could be springing up plans in his head. Sometimes anyway, other times he's honestly playing the fool lol. His leadership style is probably most similar to Rogue, in that he's a wildcard who can win or lose big. Probably not the best candidate if you want stability.
(+) intelligent, resourceful
(-) unpredictable, self-centered

7. Kitty: She has a lot of good qualities to lead (intelligent, has heart, can be inspirational at times) and was basically the defacto leader of Wolverine's faction during the Schism era. Her main weakness is that she's flaky and can get a bit of tunnel vision when something upsets her. Let's not forget she basically gave the leadership position back to Storm right when IvX happened and returned when basically it was all over. Mostly bad timing but she has a history of indecision which isn't a good quality in a leader.
(+) intelligence, communication, teacher
(-) indecision, lack of commitment, emotional

8. Bishop: Like Rachel, he's seemed to made a home of this universe enough to stick around and be consistently used on teams. However his ability to lead hasn't been proven with the X-Men. His station as Captain is the first real position of authority he's had in a long while and he's constantly taking orders from Kitty; we haven't seen much agency from him. As a weakness, Bishop can stubborn and withdrawn from the team at times. Communication is really important in leadership positions as well as transparency. At his best, he is analytical, confident, and passionate.
(+) analytical, committed
(-) communication

9. Cannonball: Cyclops and Cable have both seen the potential in him to be a good leader. I see him as a mix of Scott and Kurt, with a lot of good qualities from both. However... maybe once upon a time he had the potential to fulfill this role but his marriage to a space cop is sort of a big distraction for him to fully commit to leading. that said, xavier and lilandra... But even if we ignore that, I just don't think Sam is that invested personally in being a leader. He's basically the opposite of Havok, he has talent but he doesn't care about it. If he did, he'd probably be above Rogue.
(+) responsible, stable, level-headed
(-) inexperience, no amibition

10. Wolverine: Wolverine probably has the most combat experience among the X-Men, he's a man of war and if he had more a will to lead he'd probably be an excellent commander. As it is, at his first real shot of leading the school I think he left 90% of the actual responsibility to Kitty and basically just added his signature to everything. At his worst, he can be extremely irresponsible and petty, which caused the X-Men to have to choose sides between him and Cyclops. I think even when he feels forced into leadership responsibilities, he's too independent to fully function well in the role and tackle the managerial aspect of leading.
(+) experience, mentor
(-) emotional, petty, irresponsible

11.Emma: Emma lacks the charisma to be a good leader. She struggles getting people to trust her and to form close relationships. She has the ability to command others from a position of authority, which is why she's fine as a teacher to kids, but getting her peers to follow and believe in her is the main issue. That said, she has clear strengths; she's intelligent, cunning, has lots of experience teaching and leading to an extent. I think she'd be perfect to co-lead and act as headmistress like she worked with Scott or Kitty with the Marauders who can temper her hard edges but I can't see her head the entire team. It'd be Generation X and the Hellions all over again with people resenting her controlling style leadership.
(+) intelligent, pragmatic, ambitious, teacher
(-) networking, manipulative, controlling

12. Cable: Similar to Wolverine, potentially one of the best field leaders to have during war time but he's too used to being independent to fully commit to leading. His communication and team building abilities are questionable even during his stints with X-Force, the kids had their fair share of issues with his leadership style. He's more comfortable making his own plans and intervening when he feels necessary, rather than being responsible for others. Unlike Bishop his man out of time stint means he has a hard time setting down "roots".
(+) experience, mentor
tic

This is pretty spot on and well organized so easy to read.

[chamber-music]

Cannonball seemed destined to be a future X-Men leader for a while before he got shipped off to space. His resume in regards to who he has worked with seems to have provided him the tools to be extremely capable.

As a New Mutant he was trained by Professor X and Magneto. He co-lead the team with Dani.
Trained by Cable to be a para-military as a New Mutant/X-Force member. Trained as an X-Man by Cyclops. Trained in espionage and black ops by Pete Wisdom.

[Killerbee911]

They are two major roles for X-men leaders

1.Leader of the mutant world/mutant movement, Face of the mutants in public and inspirational leaders of mutants-( Think kinda MLK and NAACP) this person generally runs the school
2. Field commander of the X-men- which means strategic use of mutants as sort of an army at times- (Think the person who gets to scream at Captain America)

Either one of these two at times has gotten the "final" say in mutant and X-men affairs, They are two different skill sets needed

Professor X begins as that Headmaster/Face with Cyclops as field leader then he turn into field commander with some real autonomy, Xavier dies and for awhile it was Cyclops with both, after that both roles moved around from Kitty, Wolverine, Storm, Jean and it is now back to Xavier and Cyclops. If we are taking leaders seriously then only Kitty, Wolverine, Cyclops, Storm and Jean Grey(for a tiny period) have been Headmaster/Face and Field commander for the X-men group at same time. You can throw in Magneto in as well but it is kinda unfair. Everybody else has been just team leader or just a headmaster of school.

Anyways the perfect situation for X-men leadership for me looks like Xavier dead(he gets too much respect to be around everything will default to him ), Jean Grey as Headmaster/Face and Cyclops as Field commander with council of leaders with each of the teams having a representative, I was happy when Krakoa got a council, It never made any sense that Xavier or Cyclops seem to have so much power in decision making with some many people who have experience as leader. I hope the council transition to whatever status quo is when Krakoa era ends at some point.

[jamgut]

Dani Moonstar should have been listed as choice so I could have voted for someone instead of "Other".

[Triniking1234]

No Moonstar option? RIP.

[sunofdarkchild]

It depends on what kind of leadership. A general and a king are different. There's battlefield tactics, long-term planning, ability to make the hard choices, ability to inspire.

In terms of battlefield tactics, that's something it seems pretty much every X-Man who's been around long enough has down nowadays. Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Dani, Sam, Roberto, Karma, Magik, Kitty, Bishop, OG Cable, Jean, Kurt, Hope, Rogue, the list goes on forever. Pretty much anyone has the tactical skills to lead a squad in battle. In terms of people who have been around a long time the number who wouldn't be fit to do that is pretty low, like maybe Colossus and Boom Boom, though I could see it argued that Colossus has developed tactical skills as well over the years.

Long-term planning is where things start to whittle down a little. Cyclops, Xavier, Magneto seem to be the big ones for this. Emma, Cable, and Bishop are next. Magik showed this in her plot to destroy the Elder Gods. Roberto in his time as head of AIM. Beast think's he's this and his presence on the Illuminati would suggest that he is, but his plans have tended to fail spectacularly over the last 10 years. From what I can recall of Storm's stints as leader she tended to be more reactive and less about planning things out long-term. Same goes for Wolverine. Other leaders like Dani and Sam haven't shown a real propensity for this, but then again, most squad leaders wouldn't have the opportunity to show this sort of thing.

Ability to make the hard decisions. This is what really separates the 'boys' from the 'men' and where I really feel fan favorite leaders like Dani might fall short. This is where she and Sam have been shown to struggle in their stints as leaders. This is also likely the biggest factor in the choice in-universe of Magik, Bishop, and Gorgon to be war captains. Sometimes there are no good options and leaders must make a tough call. Storm was called on to do this throughout the terrigen crisis, Cyclops from Decimation through his death.

In terms of ability to inspire, Xavier and Magneto remain the top and its not even close. Cyclops is next, followed by Storm. After that it gets harder to find people with this quality. I don't see too many people being inspired by most other choices. Wolverine is the opposite of this. Jean is more inspiring as a martyr than whenever she's alive. This is Magik's main weakness as a leader and why Kitty was a poor choice to lead mutantkind in X-Men Gold. That kind of charisma that makes people want to follow you isn't something every mutant or every leader has.

[RamaBird]

That's a great well thought out post ChronoRogue.

Very nice post ChronoRogue.

One tiny disagreement with Emma though. I actually think she's great at "networking" since she's a very successful business woman. So I'd replace that with "untrustworthy".

I wish they gave Moonstar more to do. If they invested time and experience on her, she's prob be the best bet for a leader.