Why Do So Many X-Women Lose Their Codenames?

[kevlon]

"Were" being operative word.

Broo, Warlock and Longshot also don't have code names technically. Rusty Collins didn't ever either. Or Artie Maddiks and Leech.


I mean, she did sort of manage it longer than anyone else in history. And also didn't die due to it.

Didnt he become "firefist" . What a ridiculous name.

[hedgehogvampire]

I actually have no idea why they don't have code names or why most of them no longer use them. Personally it doesn't bother me since I didn't start reading the comics till like 2008 or 2009 so most of them been going by their birth names since before I started reading X-men comics. I just thought that the X-men don't really care about secret identities. But for some characters their code names maybe don't fit anymore. Like for Rachel and Jean Marvel Girl works best for a younger character and the Phoenix works best when one of them actually have the powers.

[Mike_Murdock]

Jean Grey. Kitty Pryde. Emma Frost. Danielle Moonstar. Rachel Summers. They didn't even attempt one for Cecilia Reyes or Hope Summers.

Emma doesn't hold the position of The White Queen anymore, so that's fine. I just wish Mr. Morrison had given her a diamond-centric codename when he secondary mutationed her. Phoenix, Shadowcat and Mirage are all pretty dandy codenames. Marvel Girl is iffy for many people, but I've always liked it. And I thought it was cute to have Jean and Rachel switch names.

Anyhoo, I have no theories on why this happened. Anyone?

I think most of these have different explanations. Starting with Emma Frost - let's keep in mind that Sebastian Shaw, Donald Pierce, and Harry Leland all lack codenames not associated with the Hellfire Club. That's why Emma Frost doesn't usually have a codename either.

Kitty Pryde and Danielle Moonstar both have the problem that they couldn't think of a good codename at first: Kitty was Sprite, Ariel, and then Shadowcat. Dani was Psyche before she became Mirage. I grew up in the 90s and Kitty was never in the 90s X-Men cartoon, so my first introduction to her was in X-Men: Evolution where she was introduced as Shadowcat, so that nickname has more sticking power for me, but people who grew up reading her in the 80s went years before she got that name (iirc, she first got that name in the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine mini-series in 1984, four years after she was first introduced). I still call Dani "Mirage" and am upset that it apparently isn't around anymore - that being said, the New Mutants are often referred to be their actual names: Sam, Bobby, Dani, Rayne, Ilyana, Xi'an, and Doug. Cannonball and Sunspot might have more recognition (I'd argue due to X-Force and Hickman's Avengers), but I'd submit that the rest are more well-known by those names than Wolfsbane, Magik, Karma, and Cypher.

Jean and Rachel are the most complicated. You eluded to it with the idea that they switched codenames. That alone creates confusion that is best resolved by using their real names. The problem is that no one really liked Marvel Girl. This led to Jean Grey getting a new nickname from Claremont in the form of Phoenix. When Jean died and Rachel was created, Rachel got the codename Phoenix (which she continued to have with no problem all through Excalibur). The problem was with the retcon and the resurrection of Jean Grey. X-Factor used Marvel Girl but deemphasized it. It was that deemphasis that caused the 90s cartoon to just use "Jean Grey." I think if people liked Marvel Girl more, we wouldn't have had this problem.

So, overall, I think the examples aren't related to being women. In fact, with both the Hellfire Club and New Mutants, I think the same rules are applicable to both genders. It ends up just being due to circumstances and is mostly a coincidence. The biggest rule is, if your nickname keeps changing because they can't think of a good one at first, you'll probably end up known as your real name.

I've decided to just call the X-Women by their code names

Jean Grey - Phoenix
Emma Frost - White Queen
Kitty Pryde - Shadowcat
Cecilia Reyes - Forcefield
Rachel Summers - Hound
Danielle Moonstar - Mirage/Moonstar

etc etc

I really, really dislike calling Rachel Summers "Hound" (or any other name calling back to her Hellhound days). I realize she's a fictional character and I try not to get insulted by someone hurting the feelings of a fictional character but if there's any name that comes close, it's that one. It's nearly up there with giving Magneto the nickname "Sonderkommando" from his job in the Holocaust (it obviously isn't that harsh simply because that's a real event so it's insulting to real people, but it's easily equivalent in the fictional universe). Rachel Summers was so traumatized by her role in the DOFP timeline that, for awhile, she would have PTSD flashbacks simply for helping the X-Men try to find someone. I can't think of a more inappropriate name for her.

[Sardorim]

Well in Rachel's case she's still Marvel Girl but doesn't really get called it anymore for good reason. What with being an adult and that name kinda got taken up by Tean.

Not to mention that other than the Hound and Starchilde names her other names are typically from Jean. They had to be removed so Rachel could be better seen as her own character and not just a stand in for Jean. Like, Marvel Girl and Phoenix are more associated with Jean to both comic and non comic readers.

I can also see why they don't use her Starchilde name as it was what the Shi'ar typically called her when they were actively trying to murder her.

She shouldn't be referred to as a Hound. It's offensive and she was forced to be a hound against her will to do horrible things. So bad is her ptsd from it that she still has issues with it from time to time and her tenure as a Hound greatly developed her into a character who is extremely aggressive, more accessible to verbally lashing out and very emotionally stunted outside her inner friend circle.

It has also effected her character's ability to even get romantically involved with other chatacter's due to her traumatizing past as a Hound.

Heck, her most "normal" adult relationship was with Korvus who was sent to kill her. She only started sleeping with him because the Phoenix/Jean made them insanely attracted to each other. She tried to end it multiple times but couldn't fight the urging from the Phoenix until after she lost the fragment and was back on Earth.

Than there's her confusing feelings towards Sublime, who killed her mother, which wasn't healthy at all. Him being in an attractive body and constantly flirting with her when Storm, her friend and old mentor, was making her feel like trash only made things worse. Good thing she didn't bed the guy and ended it before it got too heated.

It was also implied that she had feelings towards the guy destined to become her tormentor/handler in the future - Arab.

Than her odd flirting with Nightcrawler who helped raise her in her timeline so he's like an Uncle too her. Awkward.

[Digifiend]

Starcat seems nice for Kitty current position but I don't think that's going to last much after Bendis leaving GOTG. Tbh I see lots of people used to calling her Shadowcat. Codenames not really catching was the reason they ended up being called by just their names to begin with. New ones are a wast of time, and I don't think Rachel would like to be called The Hound or anything related to that.

Kitty already has a GOTG related codename anyway - Star-Lady. It's a feminine version of Peter Quill's codename, adopted when she took over his role on the team when he was King of Spartax. Before that development, she was still wearing her X-Men uniform. After Peter returned to the team, she changed her costume from something similar to his, to what seemed to be an armoured version of her X uniform. Peter told her it looked crap (of course, that's not out of character for Kitty!), so then a couple of issues later she debuted her current light blue look. But she kept the Star-Lady codename, though I guess she'll drop it when she leaves the team, which is imminent.

[ClanAskani]

What's annoying to me about Kitty's codenames is this belief that she's changed codenames so frequently. Both Bendis and Whedon have mentioned that as a reason for her not having one - but that's only Kitty when she first joined the X-Men. It ignores the fact that she was Shadowcat for 100+ issues of Excalibur. But so many writers ignore any comic written after 1984 and it's very clear that editorial has decided to make everything in Excalibur non-continuity.

Rachel's codename situation makes sense that she uses her name. She's not Phoenix. Marvel Girl has the "girl" problem which sounds far too sexist. Starchilde has "child" which also doesn't reflect that Rachel is a grown women. Askani probably would be an alternative, but it's not a real word and that tends to be something that isn't done very often.

[JudicatorPrime]

Kitty already has a GOTG related codename anyway - Star-Lady. It's a feminine version of Peter Quill's codename, adopted when she took over his role on the team when he was King of Spartax. Before that development, she was still wearing her X-Men uniform. After Peter returned to the team, she changed her costume from something similar to his, to what seemed to be an armoured version of her X uniform. Peter told her it looked crap (of course, that's not out of character for Kitty!), so then a couple of issues later she debuted her current light blue look. But she kept the Star-Lady codename, though I guess she'll drop it when she leaves the team, which is imminent.

Star Lady? Seriously? Wow. That's pretty appalling. They have to give more effort in coming up with character names. For the record, in British aristocracy women can be either Lord or Lady. Think of Queen Elizabeth II, who is also known as the Lord of Mann, not the Lady of Mann.

[mikeb]

Heck, it's been 35 years and we STILL don't know what Rogue's last name is...

[LoganAlpha30X33]

We also have no idea what Forge's real name is either and he's been around about the same amount of time as Rogue...

[JudicatorPrime]

Considering how long it took before we found out Logan's real name, I'm not surprised. Marvel is good on mysteries. And retconning the answers to those mysteries.

[Mike_Murdock]

We also have no idea what Forge's real name is either and he's been around about the same amount of time as Rogue...

That one is unfortunate. Is there any indication that he has a mysterious past or just that the writers couldn't be bothered?

[LoganAlpha30X33]

So far as I know it looks to be pretty much the latter as the only thing that they've changed about his past is which war he fought in to lose his arm and leg, so far no writer has seemingly bothered to give him a real name since he was created...they have however added codenames to his, Forge, The Maker...

[victor borkowski]

I like it a lot too. Very appropriate.

yup. agreed.

[Likewater]

We also have no idea what Forge's real name is either and he's been around about the same amount of time as Rogue...

Bob Robertson