X-Men Vote: Our Predictions

 

Most of the members of the team will be chosen by Jonathan Hickman and his creative team, but they did offer the fans 10 nominations for the final member of the team.

 

· Banshee

 

· Polaris

 

· Forge

 

· Boom-Boom

 

· Tempo

 

· Cannonball

 

· Sunspot

 

· Strong Guy

 

· Marrow

 

· Armor

 

There are many reasons to choose any one of these mutants as they will all bring something interesting to the team. The polls closed on February 2nd and while we wait for the Hellfire Gala to see who was elected onto the team, we decided to put together who we think will make up the new X-Men team of heroes.

 

There are a few guidelines we tried to follow while picking this team:

 

1. Number of Members. While it has not been stated how many mutants will be on Hickman’s X-Men, we know from the past that it can be anywhere from 5 to 10 members.

 

2. Popularity. This is an election and so therefore a popular vote. When deciding on members we tried to think who the mutants would vote for. What would their reasoning be for voting for said nomination?

 

3. Diversity. There is a big push for more diversity in comics. You can see from the other books some of the ones that are performing the best have some of the most diverse rosters. Since this is the “team of the people”, it needs to reflect the diverse mutants of Krakoa.

 

4. Busy Elsewhere. Is a nominee already in another book? We can see from the fan vote nominees that there are a few that are busy in other books. But it does raise the question, would they be better on Hickman’s X-Men or should they stay where they are?

 

5. Villains. Hickman and his creative teams have been doing a great job of incorporating the villains into Krakoa and rehabilitating many of them. How would they win a popular vote? Could they be considered heroes?

 

6. Time to Shine. While we all have our favorites, some of the most successful books currently are ones that are using lesser known mutants in new and creative ways.

 

7. Face of the People. This series is to be the heroes of the nation and the members should for the most part be heroes.

 

8. Synergy. Hickman and his creative team has done a great job at focusing on mutants that have really good ability synergies i.e. the five

 

So who will make the team? After scouring through the long list of mutants we have crafted our list. We decided to keep the team to eight members. That’s a great number to give enough variation in powers etc, while also giving each member enough time to shine. Below are the members we feel that have strong potential to make the cut and become the Krakoan X-Men!

 

 

Cyclops & Jean Grey

We all know these two are already going to be on the team. That was obvious because it was their idea in the first place. It also is great to see these two back together on a team, and will also help to give a strong nostalgia feeling to this new and exciting team. We also know that Hickman is a big fan of the Summers family, and who better to have lead than these two!?

 

 

Banshee – Sean Cassidy (Fan Vote)

While there were a few nominees we wanted to vote for we ended up having to go with Banshee. Yes he’s been an X-Man before. But this guy needs some redemption. Ever since his passing in ‘X-Men: Deadly Genesis’ he has been given a raw deal. With resurrection protocols we have Banshee back and he needs time in the spotlight to shine again. Also when you talk about being a hero, Banshee is one of the mutants that immediately come to mind. He was the headmaster of the Gen-X team don’t forget. Also we know that in some way Moira will appear again and there is a small hope we will get a Banshee Moira reunion, no matter how small the chances are.

 

 

M / Penance – Monet St. Croix

Not every team needs a Wolverine. While we did debate about nominating Wolverine (Laura Kinney) but again not every team needs a Wolverine. That led us to M. She was part of the group that infiltrated the Orchis Group Mother Mold. She has shown to work well with Cylops and Jean. Her abilities also make her a well-rounded mutant for the team especially filling the “Wolverine” roll. I think this also gives us the chance to really see her grow. While she would never win the popular vote, her abilities could be a reason many would vote for her. She is a force to be reckoned with.

 

 

Rogue – Anna Marie LeBeau

Yes she is currently on ‘Excalibur’ but I honestly feel she isn’t the right fit for that book. I would rather see her in the hero book. If we take her then ‘Excalibur’ could enlist some more magical based mutants like Selene which would be really interesting for that book. When we think of mutants that could win the popular vote, Rogue is a fan favorite and immediately comes to mind. Also Hickman has said before that he is not a fan of Rogue. He thinks she is too pretty for the drawbacks of her powers. I think this would be a great challenge for him and also be a chance to deliver something new and unique. This also gives Rogue a chance to shine on her own apart from Gambit. While we enjoy the two of them together we would like to see her on her own for a while.

 

 

White Sword

We are pretty much guaranteed to have a representative of Arakko. Knowing that, we looked into many of the mutants there. If Krakoa’s Quiet Council are not eligible, then we feel that might be the same for the Great Ring. Therefore White Sword feels like he would be a great representative. He is a man of honor which fits perfectly into what this team is about. He also potentially needs some redemption as well for his actions on Okkara. I think he would be a great choice to also bridge the gap between Krakoa and Arakko. White Swords abilities could also come in handy on missions. He also has an army. That's a pretty good backup for a team that's set out to protect a nation.

 

 

Surge – Noriko Ashida

This speedster has been widely underused since ‘New X-Men: Academy X’ ended. Noriko would be a great fit or the first Krakoan X-Men team. We thought that she would have somewhat of a roll in ‘New Mutants’ but that hasn’t happened. She is another mutant with a lot to prove and so this is the perfect opportunity for her. Since she was a leader of her New X-Men squad, she might be able to pull the popular vote from the Sextant mutants. She is their peer and a perfect representative for that group of mutants.

 

 

Stacy X – Miranda Leevald

If any mutant was going to manipulate their way onto a team it would be Stacy X. But also she is a mutant that needs some redemption. Originally she brought something really unique and different to the team. Though the following writer who has arguably the worst received run obviously didn’t know what to do with her. They made some terrible creative decisions and for that alone Stacy X needs her redemption. It mirrors why she joined the New Warriors after being depowered on M Day. She joined the New Warriors to change her life and become a hero. I don’t see a reason not to continue her path to redemption here. Even if she has to manipulate her fellow mutants to get it.

 

Notable Exclusions:

 

There is no doubt that Storm should be on this team. She is being underused on ‘Marauders’ and she has made it clear in the pages of that book that she is leaving that team. Also she has stepped down from her role on the Quiet Council. It led us to believe that she was an obvious inclusion to the new Krakoan X-Men team. Though in a teaser for ‘Reign of X’ we see Storm holding the material retrieved at the end of ‘S.W.O.R.D.’ issue one. This leads us to believe that she will be transitioning to that book. As much as we want her on the Krakoan X-Men team, her being on ‘S.W.O.R.D.’ is also very exciting and so we left her off our list for that reason.

 

While Bei would be the most obvious choice as she is seen on the teaser image for ‘Reign of X’. But with Banshee on the list of nominees we felt that the potential of him being chosen makes her addition unlikely. They are both sonic based mutants and having two mutants on the team with similar abilities is improbable. Now they could have her as a backup if Banshee isn’t the winner of the fan vote. So fans of Bei I wouldn’t count her totally out.

 

So there you have it our predictions for the potential winners of the election. The official roster will be announced in June at the Hellfire Gala. Until then we can only speculate on who will be elected.