The X-Men are known for their incredible powers, dedication to protecting humanity, and interest in preserving mutant rights. However, not every X-Men member boasts impressive powers or legacies. Some of the worst X-Men have completely useless powers, middling morals, and little desire to keep mutants safe.
Thanks to these conflicting or boring traits, X-Men members like Glob, Cypher, and Puck find themselves at the bottom of the X-Men's roster. Interestingly enough, some of the worst X-Men had promising introductions that hinted at unique backstories or future conflict. Others joined the team in a splashy arc or raised fascinating moral questions. Unfortunately, they never carried that energy into future appearances, slowly fading into the background.
10 Longshot
Longshot first appeared in the wild miniseries Longshot (created by Ann Nocenti, Arthur Adams, Bill Anderson, Whilce Portacio, Scott Williams, Christie Scheele, and Joe Rosen). There, he escaped Mojoworld and established a place for himself in Earth-616. He introduced the entire concept of the Mojoverse and the cosmic villain Mojo.
While Longshot's introduction let him leave his mark on X-Men history, he hasn't been particularly great since. With the power to manipulate luck, he's become a less interesting Domino. He's often left out of the X-Men comics completely, because there's nothing Longshot can do that other heroes can't do better.
9 Bailey Hoskins
Bailey Hoskins is far from a typical X-Men student. In fact, he was introduced in a book fittingly titled X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever (created by Max Bemis, Michael Walsh, Ruth Redmond, and Clayton Cowles). The series is a comedic story about a mutant with the power to make himself explode. The catch is that he can only do it once.
Worst X-Man Ever is a fun adventure that showcases the lives of several less powerful mutants. Unfortunately, by its premise alone, Bailey can't actually do much for himself. Bailey is a horrifically bad hero with no real future in comics, even if he eventually appeared in Earth-616.
8 Wraith
It's hard to find an X-Men member more useless than Wraith. His power gives him the ability to turn his skin invisible, but that's it. He runs around the world with his muscles and bones showing, and it doesn't hurt him at all. Of course, Wraith's first impression in Uncanny X-Men #392 (created by Scott Lobdell, Salvador Larroca, Scott Hanna, Tim Townsend, Hi-Fi Design, and Saida Temofonte) paints another picture.
After being attacked by a mob, Wraith joins Jean Grey on a futile mission to stop Magneto. Wraith's debut highlighted his tenacity, his fears, and his heroic instincts. Unfortunately, he also proved useless in a fight. With all the dangers that plague the X-Men, if one can't participate in battle, there's little hope for them to make a name for themselves.
7 Glob
There's not a lot to love about a pink blob of flesh with a skeleton inside. Glob can perform interesting feats like setting himself on fire without feeling any pain, but he contributes little during a fight. In fact, Glob barely contributes to the X-Men at all.
Glob appeared sparingly before his true introduction came in New X-Men #135 (created by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Tim Townsend, Chris Chuckry, Richard Starkings, Saida Temofonte). There, it became evident that Glob wasn't someone to be trifled with. Glob encouraged Kid Omega to lead a riot that overtook Xavier's school as they fought against Xavier and the teachers. That arc made Glob relevant and thrilling, but he hasn't risen to that previous height since.
6 Egg
Egg is a member of the Five, but he isn't really particularly interesting on his own. With the power to create gold balls that shoot out from his chest, he's often more of a joke. It doesn't help that his previous name was "Goldballs."
In his introduction in Uncanny X-Men (2013) #1 (created by Brian Michael Bendis, Chris Bachalo, Tim Townsend, Jaime Mendoza, Al Vey, and Joe Caramagna), Egg raised a lot of interesting questions. He also proved that even the least powerful mutants needed to be protected from authoritarians. He also brought a lot of humor with him — even unintentionally. Despite becoming a Krakoan legend, he's never really been able to grow from the laughable "Goldballs" impression.
5 Cypher
Cypher became the voice of Krakoa and married Bei the Blood Moon. Outside of those roles, he doesn't really have a lot going for him. Cypher has the power to comprehend and communicate in any language, but that's all that he can do. Cypher's origin was genuinely interesting. Having discovered his status as a mutant, Xavier elected to let Cypher roam the world in peace.
Cypher was eventually recruited by Emma Frost to join her academy, prompting the New Mutants to launch a daring rescue. The idea Xavier was leaving some mutants to their own devices was fun and raised questions about who else was out there. Unfortunately, Cypher failed to keep readers interested in further appearances. Even with his important roles, he feels like a background character.
4 Kylun
Excalibur knows how to take middling characters and turn them into legends. Introduced as an innocent little boy in Excalibur #2 (created by Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Paul Neary, Glynis Oliver, and Tom Orzechowski), Kylun was simply a missing child for countless issues. Then he returned as a heroic cat-like mutant.
By the time he was reintroduced, Kylun was leading the people of the otherworldly Ee'rath into war. From there, he joined Excalibur and forged a name for himself among the X-Men's greatest leaders. Unfortunately, with Ee'rath out of the picture, Kylun is just a cat with a story. Armed with a mutant power that lets him replicate sounds, Kylun just isn't interesting enough on his own.
3 Proteus
Proteus is at his best when he's a villain. As a member of the X-Men, he just doesn't have much to do. Reality warpers always struggle to really define themselves as characters. They can't participate in fights without being exceptionally overpowered, and unless the situation calls for serious firepower, they have to hold themselves back the entire time. Even as a member of the Five, Proteus has been relegated to a generic background character.
As a villain, Proteus was brilliant. He first truly appeared in X-Men #127 (created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Glynis Wein, and Tom Orzechowski), where he terrorized the X-Men. Driven by fury, Proteus launched from host to host, wreaking havoc everywhere he went. He was terrifying, left a trail of bodies in his wake, and captivated readers — but only as a monster. Since joining the X-Men, Proteus is just another boring hero with no distinct traits to set him apart.
2 Aurora
When she was introduced in X-Men #120 (created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Terry Austin, Glynis Wein, and Tom Orzechowski), Aurora was a serious threat. She and the rest of Alpha Flight fought against the X-Men, desperately trying to take Wolverine back. Like the rets of her team, Aurora proved highly competent and a deadly fighter.
After her strong introduction, Aurora fell by the wayside. As powerful as she was, her struggles for autonomy left her with no stories of her own. She hasn't even developed a consistent temperament, which led to shaky characterization and a generic voice. Despite a fun start. Aurora's far from one of the best X-Men.
1 Puck
Another key member of Alpha Flight, Puck became one of the X-Men's most disappointing members. His introduction was incredibly strong in Alpha Flight #1 (created by John Byrne, Andy Yanchus, and Joe Rosen). It depicted Puck as a rough fighter willing to do anything to get his way. The moment Puck joined the team, he started wrestling with Sasquatch and Northstar, while the team descended into hilarious bickering.
Sadly, that's as interesting as Puck gets. He pined after Heather for most of the original Alpha Flight run. Other than than that, Puck simply bounced from wall to wall with his absurd rubber powers. While he enjoyed a boost in profile by joining Gamma Flight and X-Force, it's never been enough to save the Puck from mediocrity.