X-Characters you think have been handled badly over the years.....

[Sutekh]

1. Aurora. She started off really well in Alpha Flight but quickly the character was ruined and I honestly dont think she ever fully recovered from that. Her appearances in X-Factor as part of the Brotherhood were disappointing - They just didn't do anything with her. She then reappeared in Alpha but contributed nothing. Her time on the X-Men was brief. Such a waste of a great character.

The latest writing she's unrecognizable as a character, and her powers are all over the place. X-Factor, when she returned to life, had her 'reset' to her original unmodified mutant powers, where she touched her brother and they generated light, instead of her modified powers that allowed her to generate light independently, slowed her down, and made her and JP negate each others powers if they ever touched. Now, she's generating not just light, but some weird electrical blasts? And that's just part of the strangeness, as she's also being written kind of weirdly inconsistent, personality-wise.

2. Emma Frost. Such a fantastic villain she was as the White Queen. Cunning and ruthless. I always wanted her relationship with Cyclops to be part of a much bigger story. Again proving his weakness for bad ladies (Maddy as the other example) The fact that they eventually just split up when he died was a bit on an anti-climax.

In her introduction, she was suggested to be older than most of the X-Men, and close to being a contemporary of Xavier, which I kind of liked. She was a brilliant business woman, and also capable of creating psi-tech (like the mindswitch device she used on Storm), which was previously something only Xavier had any real skill at (creating Cerebro).

And she was flat-chested, not the young surgically enhanced stripper who used telepathy to cheat and get ahead that she's been turned into. Everything about her has changed.

4. Psylocke - Biggest mistake ever, in my opinion, was separating the 2 again and having Betsy become Captain Britain. Totally ruined both characters. The mind switch happened and Revanche died and as far as I'm concerned that was that. The fact that she 'willed' herself a new body is ridiculous. If you apply that principle then the X-Team could revive Revanche and then we would effectively have 3 Psyloches. Betsy in Kwannan's body worked really well and defined the character.

I kinda like Captain Britain for Betsy. It's new and interesting.

What I seriously dislike is the changes to Kwannon. She was not a mutant, originally, and suggested to only be weakly psychically sensitive, not a full telepath, and certainly not a telekinetic, and now she's basically Jean Grey-lite, despite not even being a mutant? I would much prefer that she got rid of all the Psylocke/Betsy stuff and went back to being a badass ninja with perhaps a smidge of psychic potential, not a mutant-for-no-darn-reason with the exact same powers as a half-dozen other mutants (Jean, Betsy, Quentin, Nate, Rachel, Cable, etc.). So boring. She deserves better.

Imma throw out the freebie

The entire human race for never being allowed to develop and actively made worse by the writers so they can push the races war angle as hard and as fast as they could.

Yeah. I remember wanting to see more of characters like Trish Tilby, Charlotte Jones, Lee Forrester, Stevie Hunter, Gabrielle Haller, Tom Corsi, Lucinda Guthrie, Scott's grandparents in Alaska, etc. but with what has ultimately happened with characters like Moira and Candy Southern and Kitty's dad and Piotr and Jean's families, perhaps it's best for any past human allies to stay the hell away before they are sucked into some event or shoved into a fridge and used as angst fodder...

[Jackraow21]

Percy does write a good wolverine my main problem with his wolverine is like his x-force it's repetitive. Just think about how many stories logan could have had visiting arrako or doing some galatic diplomatic business for Storm or any of the many places the gates could take him but it's like none of that is being taken advantage of. it actually became quite frustrating rather than the book just being blatantly bad.

Well, it does look like in this next arc the X-Force team is going to Arakko in pursuit of Sevyr Blackmore.

[Rift]

Ulyssy didn't post about Hellion, so I guess I'll briefly mention him.

Basically, he had his character development lifted by Quentin Quire. Conversely, many writers forgot Hellion's development and stuck him as his generic bully who needs to be humbled or learn to treat others better, because retreading his previous character beats over and over again, is easier than having consistent development. Except now, the books don't even cover his varied and unique relationships, his "big man on campus" complex, or his blatant caring side.

And that's even assuming he's being used as anything but background filler, usually when they need characters to be knocked out by a big threat. There were a few attempts to show him straddling the line between good and evil, becoming an extremist in his views, and dealing with the trauma of losing his hands and being abandoned multiple times. But lol, we're just gonna forget all that. Though to be fair, it's hard to make Hellion a reprehensible villain. Hellion was totally right about everything, and his only crime was not finishing off Omega Sentinel. He's literally a perfect character.

Tbh though, I don't mind him being reset and used as a bully, simply because he can be hilarious. To this day, I still laugh at him calling Quentin Quire a brony and telekinetically slamming him.

[Askani's Flame]

HOW IN THE HELL HAS NO ONE SAID RACHEL????

Rachel is the punching bag for the X-Office for a while and usually not because of the intended arcs for her character but moreso editorial decisions that then affected/changed her character and story. Here is a list of all the shitty things that has happened to Rachel in her time in the X-Office:
- "Lousy tears"
- In order to re-establish Jean Grey in the franchise, Claremont had to hastily remove Rachel from the board so that precious Jean could not see the Phoenix or Rachel. Off to Mojo she went, and there was going to be a mini but then editorial killed it....
- Returns in Excalibur enslaved (again), more of an adult, but on the hit list for major universal players (Roma, Merlyn, Saturnyne, Galactus, etc), often jobbed in the series to display superiority of villains
- she is turned into a mannequin and almost marries a demon
- nerfed by Mesmero (1st time)
- hounded by Ahab briefly, but then rejected and treated poorly by Jean in "Days of Futures Present"
- returns from death to act like a child around Jean again (why?) but they make up
- editors don't like Jean not being Phoenix and the potential impact having a "Phoenix" character could have as they re-integrate Excalibur into the X-Fold so away to distant time shores she goes
- Rachel returns enslaved (again) by Gaunt and needs saving
- Rachel returns to the X-Men enslaved (again) by Bogan and they is freed to rejoin Storm's X.S.E.
- Claremont has a team of mostly veteran adult characters (except Sam) and decides that Rachel needs to be the inexperienced but POWERFUL character...because she was clearly inexperienced the previous 20 years
- Lousy Tears 2.0: now Rachel cries for mommy all the time......like really gurl?
- Rachel relearns an ability (actually a few) that she showed in her first few appearances because she is bad at being a telepath and needed to job to Emma in some form
- the entire R'Chel Saga..... I mean this was just the WORST for her character
- Rachel gains the acceptance of most (except Elaine) of the Grey family for them to be executed. Elaine then gave her the slap that Jean likely felt in the WHR
- Rachel gets branded AGAIN. This time with a penis tattoo on her back.
- Rachel is emotionally enslaved in a toxic relationship with Korvus
- THE RETURN OF THE HOUNDMARKS AND MASSIVE DEPOWERING OF RACHEL!! Why? Because Jean/Hope was coming and they were concerned that readers might get confused by two telepaths/telekinetics with red hair and last name Grey. Also the writer (Yost) really disliked Rachel and decided she needed to be reset to base powers just because. No other Phoenix host gets jobbed this way.....
- She lets Lilandra die...... (like boo could have sussed out Raptor but couldn't because she was a level tp again so not really her fault but also come on.....)
- returns IN THE ASTRAL BODY OF JEAN GREY (Age of X). I mean come on, give the girl a break.
- oh wait, she has not body because she doesn't know where in space it is and may die (also let's note that she sent her astral form across the ENTIRETY of the universe which has yet to be done by anyone else)
- she's back and at the Jean Grey School, but wait she's NOT allowed to interact with her niece who is the current Phoenix host AND IN THE X-MEN. Or her brother.
- AvX. Need I say more?
- The teen O5. And the removal of Rachel from her own book for months because Bendis hated Rachel and he wanted Jean to be free of any ties (but then resaddles her with stories that were partially Rachel's). Also Kitty is a better telepathic teacher than Rachel because....reasons
- Jean doesn't like Rachel 2.0 - teen Jean avoids Rachel at all costs. It takes a year for them to interact on panel and when they do it's turned into a comedy (again, Bendis hates Rachel), and then after BotA, Rachel doesn't interact with Jean again on panel until the Gold and Blue era thanks to Bunn. Tyke also mostly avoids Rachel but then warms to her. Tean, does not.
- Jean (whose tp is brand new) is a better telepath than Rachel and Rachel is trashed in several books about it
- RACHEL IS HOUNDED AGAIN. During AXIS. Oh and Ahab is now Havok's mortal enemy not Rachel's....
- GOLD. What a trashbag era for Rachel. She's given a generic and crappy costume. A really crappy codename, and is said to be given power boosts galore but is usually knocked out 5 minutes into every battle by every foe. Also her houndmarks come back but no one knows what they are..... no for real no one including the X-Men's own doctor who has Rachel's medical history. Also Kurt? VOM
- Mesmero is more powerful than Rachel as a telepath. No really, according to the editors and "He who shall not be named", Mesmero was a better telepath. Hounding comes up several times
- Return of Jean - Rachel gets knocked out issue one and sleeps the entirety of the event. Also in the Teen Jean mini series she's vaguely consulted about the Phoenix but given little time to connect. BUT at least adult Jean reconciles with Rachel (for now but wait til Extermination)
- THE DARK RACHEL SAGA. I mean honestly everything from 2004 forward has been that but this was just awful.
- RACHEL IS ENSLAVED AGAIN - this time by Cassandra Nova. At the same time as Mesmero.
- Extermination. Worse than Gold. Not only does Rachel's houndmarks come back, but for an event that features and CENTERS around Ahab and hounds, SHE IS TURNED INTO A MINDLESS AND MUTE HOUND. Let that sink in. Rachel, the first hound who broke through the programming, is turned into a mindless hound in issue 2, and does nothing the remainder of the event. She says not one word. Every other hound can talk. But not her. And at the end SHE'S LEFT A HOUND AND DISAPPEARS WITH AHAB AND NO ONE CARES BUT BOBBY. Not Jean. Not Kitty. Not Kurt. Not Storm. NO ONE. adult Jean is apathetic to Rachel the entire event and is like, "Oh well Rachel's pain was real so I couldn't fix her but where's my son?" That's it.
- X-Force. Not only does Rachel not appear in the first 5 issues, but when she does in a flashback SHE'S FROTHING AT THE MOUTH AND BARKING. She's then trafficked to the future, mind-raped by her clone brother and his Krang blobs, forced to kill mutants. Artwork even shows her on a leash. Like seriously, why did anyone think this was a good idea. By the end she at least frees herself (sort of), but then it's Krakoa and let's forget that the entire X-Men left her for dead because it's Krakoa.
- Jean and Rachel don't interact on panel for a year even though they live in the same house, and Jean repeatedly leaves Rachel out of any conversations with the family or when gathering strong telepaths.....

Once X-Factor kicks off the ground, Lean and Tini have done some good things and she's finally on a upswing. But the only person who has had it worse than Rachel is Lorna, and not by much.

[JB]

Wow, yeah. The award for most abused and mishandled character goes to Rachel IMO. Thank you for the breakdown, Askani's Flame.

[Rift]

Extermination was pretty funny because it was like the third time Rachel got enslaved/brainwashed in that year alone. You could just tell a lot of writers had no idea what to do with her, even though the groundwork's already there.

[FluffyCyclopsRLZ]

HOW IN THE HELL HAS NO ONE SAID RACHEL????

1. Quite the breakdown. Just... yeah. Had honestly half-forgotten about a solid quarter of this list. Poor Rach.
2. Why not Rachel? Personally went with the *unintentional* mishandling angle. I don't think writers dislike/hate Rachel. It just feels like they don't really know what to do with her because the X-verse has too many tele... aw, screw it, they'd rather be waifuing other female telepaths. There. Please don't shoot the messenger.
3. Can't believe you didn't mention Rach recently becoming Betsy's sex slave, lol. I mean, while we're at it...

[Omega Alpha]

Extermination was pretty funny because it was like the third time Rachel got enslaved/brainwashed in that year alone. You could just tell a lot of writers had no idea what to do with her, even though the groundwork's already there.

Yeah, I remember even JDW when asked about it I don't remember if it was here on these boards or in an interview seemed kind of baffled by all the mind control, which happened in stories written or planned in the previous editorial.

[Kurolegacy]

Extermination was pretty funny because it was like the third time Rachel got enslaved/brainwashed in that year alone. You could just tell a lot of writers had no idea what to do with her, even though the groundwork's already there.

Sounds like the Rachel fans and the Ben Reilly fans should start a support group together.

[salarta]

I mean, if she’s been written badly “almost her entire character history” then maybe the character you fell in love with originally is not really who she is.

By this "logic," any flimsy, half-assed misuse of a character is 100% accurate if it's done for long enough. Suddenly, Captain America was really a Hydra agent all along and never actually a hero, Superman has always been an easily manipulated and/or corrupted tool, etc, just cause writers kept doing it. Similarly, according to this "logic," Sue Storm should still be called Invisible Girl, Carol Danvers should still be called Miss Marvel, and the M'Baku seen in Black Panther is terribly out of character for not being a racist caricature called White Gorilla/Man-Ape.

I know you're looking for excuses to put down fandom for the character and the chances of Lorna getting treated better, but if you're gonna be committed to that effort, find better excuses with valid points.

[Uncanny Mutie]

Claremont *WAS* right here. Those "GREAT" Magneto "villian" stories you're referring to were for the most part absolute shit, especially Grant Morrison's BS.

I knew someone was going to bring up Morrison's crap. I hate his run and didn't even have it in mind when I said Magneto was great when he returned to villainy. But Hell, even Claremont wrote a great return to villainy for Magento in X-Men 1-3. That alone was much better and way much interesting than him just being a nuetered member of the X-Men for 15 years, doing pretty much nothing.

[KC]

Two examples especially come to mind for Cyclops:

-Leaving his wife and young son for his resurrected Ex-Girlfriend

-And how he was handled during the Terrigen Cloud era.

[Phoenix Raptor]

I'd personally say Nightcrawler, pretty much from his, Kitty's and Peter's return in UXM360.

As a member (and subsequent leader) of Excalibur, it was shown that he was beyond competent in a leadership role. Hell, Kitty even addressed this when Excalibur and the X-Men reunited briefly (a couple of issues about trolls in London. Can't remember the specifics.). But, as soon as that trio return to the main team (UXM360, XM80), Kurt's automatically taken off the table with an injury and does essentially nothing of any note.

From that point, he's really had minimal impact anywhere until, arguably, A.X.E. 5 this month. He was co-leader in Joe Casey's very short run, then Austen made a big thing of Cyke berating him for trying to shirk his responsibilities. There's all the The Draco garbage that I truly wish I could erase from history! Waaaay too much emphasis placed on his faith and religious views, almost to the exclusion of any other facet of his personality.

Notable events for him:

"Saving" a Scalphunter clone via religion.
Sacrificing himself to save Hope in Messiah Complex.
Sacrificing his soul to return to life.

Even his current stint in Legion Of X is (to me) pretty lackluster. It seems as if whenever he's with the "main" X-Men, all his tactical knowledge is forgotten. With multiple, higher volume or distance teleporters available (Magik, Pixie, etc), he's not even the premier 'porter in the ranks.

I'd honestly like to see him strike out and join the Avengers or similar, where his skills and powerset would be largely unique and, hopefully, appreciated and used effectively.

[Askani's Flame]

Yeah, I remember even JDW when asked about it I don't remember if it was here on these boards or in an interview seemed kind of baffled by all the mind control, which happened in stories written or planned in the previous editorial.

I asked JDW about it here on the boards and he told me (again this was before he became head editor of the X-Line) that there was supposed to be some synergy between all the mind control plots with Rachel (which he was against) leading to Extermination but that fell by the wayside and each writer continued with their own "Rachel is mind-controlled" plot regardless. So you got her mind-controlled by three different villains in three different books all within the same time period and no editor batted an eye. And Rachel staying a hound was a last minute change because they green-lit Brisson's X-Force and he wanted there to be a purpose from the fallout of Extermination but that was not executed well (my words not his).

[Askani's Flame]

Extermination was pretty funny because it was like the third time Rachel got enslaved/brainwashed in that year alone. You could just tell a lot of writers had no idea what to do with her, even though the groundwork's already there.

At least someone found it funny.