I have no idea maybe he has won some fans recently or after Generation X or maybe change address has done well for him as did with Rogue and Sunspot a chance to see the character in a new environment with new faces. Sometimes this works better than being a mutant leader.
For me while he continues to give headaches to Avengers and not X-mens wish all the luck in the world for him .
Breakout Star of the Year
Which characters made the jump from the C or D-List, to the forefront, skirting the edge of, had exciting focus, or development, or possibly joining the ranks of the A-List of Marvel’s Mutants. Or who made a come-back from death or absent and a great way? There are those who had a solo series with their name on it, did that make them break out, or did it break them down instead? Some characters became X-Men for the very first time and some rebelled against the standard. These were the ones who you considered to be the biggest breakout stars of the past year. We had 2 runners up, who were actually number 1 and 2 of last year: Iceman and Honey Badger, both with 19 points.
3rd Place
With 22 points (2 x voted #1)
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SHATTERSTAR
Poor Shatterstar has been in limbo for quite some time and came back in X.F.I. some years back, started a thing with Rictor and became more popular. He got a brand new and cool look and finally lost that ponytail.
Now, he has his own mini-series and that is a big breakthrough for Ben. He also became a member of the newest incarnation of X-Force, so lets hope 2019 will give him all the room he requires to be awesome in 2019.
2nd Place
With 23 points (4 x voted #1)
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JEAN GREY
Well taking about an impressive come-back, Jean Grey lived up to it. She came back from the dead and created her own team and in the end, did lead all the X-Men in Disassembled. Now there was some discussion if she would qualify in this category, hell yes she does, if you status is dead for 15 years and then you come back from the dead in such a way, you do more than deserve a nomination. But the winner is someone, the only one, who actually challenged the way Jean is handling things...
1st Place
With 27 Points (4 x voted as #1)
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ARMOR
Finally Hisako came out in a great way. Yes she once was a member of Astonishing X-Men, but did not really stood out there. She was an off and on X-Man for various teams, but was never a core member and now, this year she had enough of it. She disagreed with Jean and the other core X-men and made clear she was tired of them getting used as back-up and clean-up crew. And she had a point in letting them hear what Legion had to say. She stood up! Well deserved Armor, well deserved.
"COURAGE, DON'T YOU DARE LET ME DOWN"
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Armor? She was the most annoying character of the year
She was also a roster filler in Gold - But only when the X-men are short handed.
Actually, I'd argue the fact that she gets picked on an on and off basis makes her a good pick to make this point.
Remember, her argument isn't simply that they adults don't let the kids do anything - but that they don't treat them like their fellow X-men.
They get used when the X-men need extra firepower or when they have missions they don't want to deal with (like the trip to the sewer in isssue 1), but get dismissed otherwise.
The fact that Armor gets used occasionally is kinda referenced in story - Jean actually tells her, and ONLY her to join the team on a mission while the rest of the kids are relegated to rubble duty - And Armor refuses to let her team get treated like that.
I like Armor. I understand and get her character beats in Disassembled even if she was a bit obnoxious about it. Disassembled is a huge break for the character for the rise in profile alone.
Guest Star of the Year
The X-Men do have friends in the MU who will turn up to help in a fight, train a character, date them, drink with them or are kidnapped by some X-men to help them out in a space battle (...!). This year the X-Men did not have a lot of guest appearances, but those who did appear were really cool.
3rd Place
With 21 points (3 x voted as #1)
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SPIDER-MAN in Iceman
It's always cool to see the 3 Amazing Friends work together. Just like the cartoon series of the past. Sweet memories to our innocent childhood (just dropped a tier). This time their adventure was only one issue, so let us hope we see them reunite real soon again.
Now with just 1 point difference (you see, each vote counts!)
2nd Place
With 22 points (4 x voted as #1)
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SHANG CHI in Domino
Domino needed to get some Kong-Fu training to face Topaz, a brad new villain. Well, she did get the training and some more than that.... It was great to see these two team up. Let's hope we see them do this again.
1st Place
With 35 Points (6 x voted as #1)
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VENOM in X-Men: Blue
What if you need someone like Venom to help you out in outer space? You don't ask, you just kidnap him. That was a hilarious thing to do. They were actually a great team-up and would have lved Venom to stick around with the team till they went back. Somehow this weird combo worked well, even-though the Venomized and Poison X story itself were not all that great.
"COURAGE, DON'T YOU DARE LET ME DOWN"
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Death of the Year
Unfortunately every year brings us farewell as well. Some of those heroes we all adored passed away and some villains like Bastion and Sapphire Styx were put to the permanent sleep as well. Well, permanent,… in the Marvel Universe you will not stay dead for long if you are a popular character. We saw some ultimate sacrifices from heroes like Shen Xorn and Mimic to save the world or to save their friends. We had 2 very temporary deaths (Teen Jean and Eyeboy) and we had these dramatic and unexpected deaths. In the beginning of 2018 there were very few killed of besides Kyle, the blue boy muttant kid, killed by Cassandra. But Mothervine and Extermination made sure we have enough to mourn about. Last year Fantomex' sacrifice had won.
3rd Place (shared)
With each receiving 20 points (2 x voted as #1)
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MIMIC and ESME & SOPHIE CUCKOO
I did not witness the 2nd death of the Cuckoo sisters, as I gave up on Laura and Gabby stories. The sacrifice of Mimic was really unexpected. But it was a beautiful way to go.
Quite a gap in points...
2nd Place
With 34 points (once voted #1)
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BLOODSTORM
Since we knew the O5 would return, the only question remaining was, what will happen to Bloodstorm. Is she going back to her own time-line, or will she tag along with her lover-boy Teen Cyke? This death I did not see coming and thank God I did not read the spoilers, so I was really shocked and surprised.
and then an enormous point gap....
1st Place, with the highest score in this 2018 award election
With 96 points (23 x voted as #1)
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CABLE
Unfortunately we had some people not using spoilers tags on this board, so I knew Nathan Grey, aka Cable would be shot to death. But the bigger shock was of course that he was killed by himself. I think that is quite unique in X-Men comics. Who know this year another older version of Cable might pop up and kill Kid_Cable. But let's hope that Hope gets a hold of him first.
"COURAGE, DON'T YOU DARE LET ME DOWN"
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What? Esme and Sophie are dead? So only one Cuckoo remains now? Mindee, was it?
You only need to know Mindee, who we will protect at all costs and die for.
I don't blind date I make the direct market vibrate
You only need to know Phoebe, who we will protect at all costs and die for.
"COURAGE, DON'T YOU DARE LET ME DOWN"
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