Who’s Your Favorite X-Men Character?

I just recently watched X-Men: First Class. From the teasers, press releases and film trailers, I learned that the film would not be based on the X-Men: First Class comic series—I thought of not watching the film. Why can’t 20^th Century Fox make an X-Men film that is faithful to comics? Why do they have to mix up all the storylines? I told myself, don’t watch the film.

I, like most fans of the comics, only want the true history of the X-Men to be told. Fans are fans—they may rant about this and that but still they will watch the film. Me, I rant about the films not being faithful to the comics but I’ve never missed a single X-Men film.

Though I hate the film and writers for rewriting the X-Men history, I still watched the film because, finally, they are including two of my favorite X-Men in the film.

Who’s your favorite X-Men character? Who’s your favorite mutant? Do you even have a favorite X-Men character? Me, I have several favorites. Below are my favorite X-Men characters:

                                                                                                                                               

1.  Cyclops

Scott Summers is the elder brother of Havok and Vulcan.  As a young boy, Scott Summers is orphaned after watching his parents die in a plane crash. Scott and his brother, Alex, are the only survivors—they would later learn they have a third brother, Gabriel. Alex was adopted, but Scott was placed in an orphanage in Nebraska. He ran away when his powers manifested uncontrollably. His display of power attracted the attention of Charles Xavier. After getting rescued from the mutant criminal Jack O'Diamonds, Scott becomes the first member of the X-Men.

Cyclops possesses the mutant ability to project a beam of heatless ruby-colored concussive force from his eyes. He is also a skilled leader, martial artist and strategist.

2. Cable

Nathan Summers is the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor. His birth was orchestrated by the geneticist Mister Sinister, who created his mother as a clone of the mutant telepath Jean Grey. The ancient mutant Apocalypse infected Nathan, with a deadly techno-organic virus, after learning that Sinister originally planned to use Nathan as a weapon against him. In order to save Nathan, he was sent to an alternate future of Earth-4935. After Stryfe—his enemy and clone—fled to the 20^th century, Nathan followed. He arrives in Scotland, years before his birth, and was taken in by Moira MacTaggert. He adopted the codename Cable. Cable was later sent to visit Charles Xavier in the US. Meeting the professor, Cable helped design the security system of the X-Men Mansion.

Cable was born with telepathic and telekinetic abilities; his psychic powers are used to restrain his techno-organic infection. He also has to ability to project mental energy blasts and of astral projection.

3. Banshee

Sean is a member of the famed Cassidy clan of Ireland.  He discovered his mutant powers as an adolescent but concealed them – partly because his wail spooked the superstitious elders of the community, who likened it to the ghostly banshees of Irish lore. After graduating from college, Sean went in to law enforcement and became an agent of the Interpol.  He was in Tennessee when Charles Xavier recruited Sean and several other mutants to form the second generation of X-Men to rescue the original X-Men team from the living island Krakoa.

Banshee's superhumanly powerful lungs, throat and vocal cords could produce a sonic scream for various effects, including flight and sonic blasts.

4. Jean Grey

Jean Grey was 10 years old when her mutant telepathic powers first manifested after experiencing the emotions of a dying friend. Her parents took her to be treated by Professor Charles Xavier. Jean was unable to cope with her powers, forcing Professor X to install psychic shields on her mind to prevent her from using her powers until she was mature enough to control them. Jean Grey was a founding member of the X-Men and the only female member of the original team. After a successful mission on a space station, the X-Men returned to the earth in a shuttle through a lethal solar storm. Dying from radiation poisoning, Jean was saved by the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force.  

Jean Grey is an Omega-level mutant with the telepathic and telekinetic abilities.  She is also one of the physical hosts of the Phoenix Force.

5. Havok

Alex is the Summers’ middle child. He and Scott survived the plane crash that killed their parents. Alex was adopted by the Blanding family, who had lost a son, while Scott remained comatose in a hospital. Alex’s mutant powers manifested during an encounter with the school bully—incited by Mr. Sinister. After Alex incinerated the bully, Sinister placed a psi-block upon Alex and her foster sister, who also witnessed the events that night. When Alex went on to study geophysics at college, he bumped in to the original X-Men, and learned that Cyclops is his brother. Alex was captured by Larry Trask and his Sentinels. Trask gave Alex the codename Havok and fashioned a costume for Alex to help him control his powers. Havok was rescued by the X-Men and officially joined the team.

Havok can absorb ambient cosmic energy and discharge it as plasma blasts, with a concentric circle pattern.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds

Although Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds has been in development since the summer of 2008, fans only learned that the game is on the works in April 2010—a decade after Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes first came out to the arcades.

Since its announcement last April, fans of the series have been itching to get their hands on the fifth game of the Marvel vs. Capcom series.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds features the same tag-based three-on-three team format as the other games of the series, where each character can be swapped at any point during a match. This time around, the game features three-dimensional characters instead of the two-dimensional sprites of the previous installments. The gameplay remains restricted to two-dimensions, on the other hand, limiting the character to move only backward, forward, or straight up into the air.

The game features new and returning characters to the Marvel vs Capcom franchise. It has a full roster of 36 playable characters—which is an upset compared to the last game's 56 characters. Fan favorites like Wolverine, Spider-Man, Morrigan Aensland and Ryu return while newcomers include Arthur from Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Trish from Devil May Cry and Phoenix aka Jean Grey of the X-Men. 

Marvel	Capcom
Captain America	Akuma
Deadpool	Albert Wesker
Doctor Doom	Amaterasu
Dormammu	Arthur
Hulk	Chris Redfield
Iron Man	Chun-Li
Magneto	Crimson Viper
M.O.D.O.K.	Dante
Phoenix	Felicia
Sentinel	Hsien-Ko
She-Hulk	Mike Haggar
Spider-Man	Morrigan Aensland
Storm	Nathan Spencer
Super-Skrull	Ryu
Taskmaster	Trish
Thor	Tron Bonne
Wolverine	Viewtiful Joe
X-23	Zero

Two additional characters, Jill Valentine and Shuma-Gorath, are available as downloadable content. Galactus will appear as the game's AI-controlled boss. 

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds is set to be released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles on February 15, 2011—a great Valentines gift for us boys.