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

[Kingdom X]

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.

It’s interesting that you mention that about Kitty, because if I remember correctly she ends up being the first mutant president in one timeline. I’d love to see future stories actually highlight her struggles transitioning from being the “kid” of the team to being one of its most capable leaders. I often feel like they just drop us into Kate being perfect and a jack of all trades.

[Rang10]

Jean Grey has been the best leader.

Right.

I voted on Bishop, he has a giant potential.

Nightcrawler is good too, but it has been a long time since he was a leader. Now seems like is back at

[Master of Sound]

Rogue, so I voted ROGUE.

[MentalManipulator]

Wolverine and Emma should be on that list.

My leader rankings would be, in order :
Storm
Cyclops
Magneto
Wolverine
Dani
Rogue
Emma
Kitty
Betsy
Kurt
Cable
Jean
Cannonball
Bishop
Multiple Man
Havok
Archangel

[Grey]

Technically speaking magneto is an excellent leader, I’d say one could argue even better than storm and cyke (I don’t feel this way, but I do think it could be argued). He commands attention well, is charismatic, convinces people of his cause. He’s also a great tactician, considering angles ahead of time. He’s also logical and rational, knowing when to cut losses to avoid more losses.

The only reason I think he doesn’t rank above storm and cyke in the end is because his few flaws are too glaring- especially the fact that he doesn’t always see his followers as people- more like pawns to get his willl done. And a good leader values his followers, loves them, shows them appreciation, and sincerely wants to be on the same page with the people who follow them. Erik generally fails here.

Now, I don’t think he’s a good leader for the xmen. Bud I think his leadership skills are superior technically speaking, even though they often show m dark and sinister ways.

(Think about cult leaders. Technically ltheyrr great leaders because they somehow convince a mass of people to follow their will. Similar situation IMO.)

My list would look something like

Cyclops
Storm
Magneto
Jean/Wolverine (tie)
Xavier
Emma
Kitty
Beast

[Grey]

That's what they have him say... and then he's constantly surrounded by sidekicks, he's teaching the younger generation and has been leading X-Force for years now

I don’t think this disproves the quoted poster. Many leaders step into roles because people naturally follow their lead.

I think Wolverine belongs in the top 5 due to natural charisma and affinity for people to follow his head, but I also know he does t want to do .

[cable guy]

I have to go with Cable.

[NewMutant]

Rogue? LOL

[salarta]

I voted Others because I'm biased and see Polaris as that.

The problem is Marvel doesn't allow her to lead anything except to briefly fill in for other characters they like and respect more than her. They seem to believe she can't be anything other than a supporting character for other characters' stories and agendas. But in the very few times she's been allowed to lead, and the scenario wasn't a contrived one to build up other characters at her expense, she's done very well.

But, obviously even with my bias I'd still say Cyclops and Storm are better leaders.

[Triniking1234]

Rogue? LOL

Hey, man. Carey wrote a good leader Rogue.

[rhaenylis]

Rogue? LOL

I think Carey's run and Uncanny Avengers vol III (by Duggan and Zub) fully justify Rogue's qualities as a leader

[Cap808]

I'm going with Havok.

[From The Shadows]

I understand the idea of having the personality for leading but the whole idea of being born to lead really isn't reality. People set aside personal things/feelings to do their job tons more than the more popular "one" theory in reality. Ideas on this subject seem kind of uh, royalty leaning. I just don't believe in that being the rule.

[ericng]

I would vote for Iceman but he's not on the list. He has the power and potential.

[ChronoRogue]

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.

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.

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

Late response, but thank you all as well!

But yea I agree with Proxy and others stating that there are two (or potentially more) leader types so that could affect the rankings depending on what type of situation the X-Men find themselves in.