History YMMV / XMen

** Jean Grey is abruptly killed off by a single touch on the shoulder from Xorn/Magneto (just one issue after she survived being hurled into the sun, no less) to make room for the new Scott/Emma pairing in ''ComicBook/NewXMen''. It's justified in-universe by the revelation that Scott and Emma ''not'' hooking up will lead to TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and a ridiculously convoluted plot in which Jean's spirit psychically forces Scott accept the new relationship without complaint. Apparently, gradually easing them into the relationship wasn't an option--Jean ''had'' to die right then, and Emma ''had'' to make out with Scott the day after it happened. [[CrossesTheLineTwice On top of Jean's grave]]. It should be noted that Morrison did not do this because he himself disliked Jean or preferred Scott with Emma (in fact, he expressed in interviews that he had several more stories planned for Jean had he stayed longer). Rather, it was because [[ExecutiveMeddling those higher on the totem pole than him]] felt Jean was [[StoryBreakerPower too powerful]] and thus had to be removed.

** Creator/GrantMorrison during his tenure writing created Angel Salvadore as some sort of vaguely Latina, foul-mouthed 14 year-old who was kicked out of her house by her step-father when her mutant powers developed.

** Some fans think this way about Scott dating Emma Frost. Some even like to believe that Creator/JoeQuesada (well-known for his dislike of characters being married) forced Creator/GrantMorrison to [[DroppedABridgeOnHim drop a bridge on Jean Grey]], because they don't want to believe that Morrison came up with something like this on his own. (As a matter of fact, no X-Men writer ever had a freer hand what to do with them.) What's really bad is the excuse given for why they're dating so soon after that is "not" a rebound relationship (Morrison had them have an adulterous psychic affair before Jean's death, but realistically that was Emma -- his supposed therapist -- unethically taking advantage of him when he was vulnerable.) As proof it was contrived, there is this BadFuture that Jean needed to avert. Going back in time, like ''every other'' such future, somehow wasn't an option. Instead the only options were: 1. Scott and Emma didn't get together, the X-Men would fall apart and things go all to holy hell. 2. Jean brainwashes her husband into forgetting his feelings for Jean and giving in to his attraction to Emma.

** Emma Frost's background makes her qualify for this, and in addition Emma lost all of her students three times, was the SoleSurvivor of a massacre that killed more than 14 million people, and struggles with herself a lot for her past (and present) morally questionable acts. It's even exaggerated because it seems that after Emma's HeelFaceTurn, she decides that if she cannot KickTheDog, she will PokeThePoodle, because she treats everyone as a JerkAss: Friend, foes, people she doesn't know, Celebrities, people she needs to ask a favor, people much more powerful than her... as a matter of fact, the only person Emma seems to have treated with respect was TheGrotesque Toad, when she was still a villain at the Hellfire Club. And when the Phoenix Five storyline, she became not a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, but a {{Jerkass God|s}}.

** Despite being created and originally produced by Creator/StanLee and Creator/JackKirby, the series suffered from low sales and never truly found its voice until Creator/ChrisClaremont and Dave Cockrum (and soon after, Creator/JohnByrne) took over in the [=1970s=]. It's to the point where ''X-Men'' provides the trope picture. While it's true that Claremont didn't create the X-Men themselves, it's also true that he created many, ''many'' characters and concepts associated with them such as Rogue, Psylocke, Shadowcat, Phoenix Force, the Brood, Lockheed, the Shi'ar, the New Mutants (Magik, Sunspot, Cannonball, Karma, Cypher, Warlock, Magma, Wolfsbane, Dani Moonstar), Excalibur, Madelyne Pryor, Mr. Sinister, Gambit, the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost, Strong Guy, Rachel Summers, Forge, Mystique... you get the idea. If that weren't enough, he also was the one who made the mutants an analogy for the Civil Rights movement and brought in the themes of equality in general. Can you imagine the X-Men without any of ''that''?

** Poor Kurt went through a massive one after his return from Excalibur in the late 90s. First, he got turned into a priest with basically no build-up. Fans found this pretty strange, but at least the ensuing miniseries was well received for the most part. But then he fell into the hands Chuck Austen and was subjected to some really, REALLY unpopular retcons in regards to his heritage. After the infamous Draco storyline no one really seemed to know what do with him. He was less frequently featured when Pixie (also a teleporter and supposedly much better at it than him) got introduced to the X-Men. Then he was outright killed during the Second Coming storyline and didn't return to the comics for almost five years (although his [[DarkerAndEdgier darker and edgier]] counterpart Kurt Darkhölme from ''Age of Apocalypse'' found his way to the 616-universe during that time). Thankfully when he finally did return in Amazing X-Men, Jason Aaron managed to turn Azazel into a pretty cool hell pirate as well as bringing Kurt's [[CharacterRerailment characterization back on track]]. He has been with the main X-Men team ever since.

** Poor Kurt went through a massive one after his return from Excalibur in the late 90s. First, he got turned into a priest with basically no build-up. Fans found this pretty strange, but at least the ensuing miniseries was well received for the most part. But then he fell into the hands of "writer" Chuck Austen and was subjected to some really, REALLY unpopular retcons in regards to his heritage. After the infamous Draco storyline no one (except Chris Claremont who just flat out ignored everything written during Austen's run) really seemed to know what do with him. He was less frequently featured when Pixie (also a teleporter and supposedly much better at it than him) got introduced to the X-Men. Then he was outright killed during the Second Coming storyline and didn't return to the comics for almost five years (although his [[DarkerAndEdgier darker and edgier]] counterpart Kurt Darkhölme from ''Age of Apocalypse'' found his way to the 616-universe during that time). Thankfully when he finally did return in Amazing X-Men, Jason Aaron managed to turn Azazel into a character that fans actually enjoyed (by making him a pretty cool hell pirate) as well as bringing Kurt's [[CharacterRerailment characterization back on track]]. He has been with the main X-Men team ever since.

** A fierce one has brewed between X-Men fans and ComicBook/TheAvengers fans since the late 2000s thanks to the competition between their two individual cinematic adaptations. The ''Avengers vs. X-Men'' CrisisCrossover event and its perceived treatment of both teams added more fuel to the fire. X-Men fans have become increasingly resentful of the Avengers, accusing Marvel of playing favorites with the latter team due to Marvel Studios owning the film rights to the Avengers and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse being a massively successful CashCowFranchise, but a lot of the "evidence" of this apparent conspiracy to undermine the Fox-produced X-Men films (and to a lesser extent, the Fox-produced Fantastic Four film in 2015) is either questionable at best or outright fabrication at worst, or even things the X-Men fandom enjoy themselves now such as multiple books about their sub-teams, solo-books for their characters, and publicity towards their regular events. Conversely, a lot of the criticisms Avengers fans have thrown at the X-Men (being too dark, exaggerated depiction of incompetent or abusive government and law enforcement figures, frequently recruiting former villains, a large cast, preachy anvilicious messages, etc.) are largely criticisms that equally fit the Avengers too, as well as other big superhero teams like DC's ComicBook/{{Justice League|of America}} and ComicBook/TeenTitans. In general, the only thing that Marvel is doing for one that they're not doing for the other is producing a current animated show for X-Men, which is something they've done repeatedly in the past for the X-Men and only started doing for the Avengers once the MCU's success grew (X-Men have had [[WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries three]] [[WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution animated]] [[WesternAnimation/WolverineAndTheXMen2009 shows]] and an [[Anime/XMen anime]], while the Avengers have [[WesternAnimation/TheAvengersUnitedTheyStand now]] [[WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes had]] [[WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble the]] [[Anime/MarvelDiskWarsTheAvengers same]]).

** What makes Wolverine such a frustrating example of this trope is that the character is basically a KarmaHoudini on wheels -- other Marvel U AntiHero characters like ComicBook/ThePunisher, [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Agent Venom]], and in the X-Universe [[Characters/MarvelComicsMagneto Magneto]] and most pointedly [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]], '''all''' suffer the consequences of their JerkAss behavior through generous doses of CantGetAwayWithNuthin, etc. Logan is a character with a body count behind him that would make most SerialKiller characters blush yet enjoys a consistent HundredPercentAdorationRating and is regarded as a trusted ally of characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, etc... you know, the same people who would be calling for him to stand trial [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality if he were anyone else]]. In general, both the character ''[[RunningTheAsylum and the narrative]]'' bend over backwards to handwave Wolverine's crimes. At one point Logan even [[MoralMyopia says himself]] that he's only ever killed people who deserved it; as his victims mostly consist of various {{Mooks}} and {{Redshirt}}s, the narrative treats this as him telling it like it is rather than the WhatTheHellHero moment it ought to be.

** ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'' crossover is often ignored by fans of the late series due to its killing off the well-liked [[spoiler:Rachel Van Helsing]] in a series with radically different themes from her original one.

** In ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula,'' Rachel's status as a BadassNormal HunterOfMonsters who isn't prejudiced against mutants could have given her interesting dynamics with the X-Men if they'd teamed up. Instead, [[spoiler:she's turned into a vampire by Dracula and placed under his thrall before she even meets any of the X-Men.]]

*** Claremont, who created Madelyne Pryor, has been the only one at Marvel who has repeatedly tried to remind readers what Pryor was originally like before ''Inferno''; i.e. in ''X-Men: The End'' (2004-2006), ''X-Men: Gold'' (2014), and ''X-Men: The Exterminated'' (2019).

* {{Narm}}:
** Creator/ChrisClaremont has a fondness for over-narrating ''everything'', not to mention... dramatic pauses. It can get overdone sometimes [[NarmCharm (though there are those who enjoy them)]].
** During one of Claremont's early issues, Storm defeats a Sentinel, then momentarily angsts over the fact. Why? Because it screamed as she destroyed it. Never mind that it was just trying to kill her and the other X-Men, destroying a killer robot is bad enough to make Storm have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment.
** This infamous line from early in Austen's run is a pretty good sign of EXACTLY what you're in for:
--->[[BeliefMakesYouStupid More people have died in the name of religion than have ever died of cancer. And we try to CURE cancer.]]
** The only thing narmier than the dialogue from the Austen era was the art from the Austen era. Thrill to [[https://comicdomwrecks.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/mamaguthrie.jpg Angel and Husk's all-too-enthusiastic mid-air intercourse]] (with special guest appearance by Husk's own mother)!

** ComicBook/{{Juggernaut|MarvelComics}} suffered from this in the early 2000s thanks to the poison pen of Chuck Austen. A timely AuthorsSavingThrow after Austen's departure gave a reason for it (the deity that empowered Cain was displeased with him going good and decided to weaken him as punishment).

** Despite Chuck Austen's work on the series being [[DorkAge widely panned]], Mammomax the Elephant Man is surprisingly well-remembered by the fandom, probably due to his inherent NarmCharm.

** Kitty Pryde fits the premise. She started out as the team's NaiveNewcomer, and grew up to be a badass [[GratuitousNinja ninja]] [[TeenGenius genius]] with a [[TeamPet pet space dragon]] and [[Creator/ChrisPratt Chris]] [[Characters/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyModern Pratt]] as her boyfriend. The fandom rejoiced, for they watched every step of this journey from Everygirl to Super-Special Heroine and wished they could be her (or "be ''with'' her").

** As related on the X-Men Ho Yay page, a [[http://comicsalliance.com/poll-who-should-magneto-hook-up-with-in-his-last-days/ Comics Alliance poll]] asking readers to vote for who Magneto should be with wound up with a staggering '''96%''' of voters preferring the Magneto and Professor X relationship. While the actual numbers of this poll are not visible and it only represents online comics readers (and then only online comics readers that read ''Comics Alliance''), it's pretty hard not to call it compelling evidence for labeling the Magneto and Professor X couple as this.

** Prior to ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', Azazel was one of the most unpopular of all the X-Men villains. Now, he's... well, ''still'' unpopular, at least in his original incarnation, but his adaptation has fared rather a bit better in reception.

** While Cyke was always more of a BaseBreakingCharacter than a Scrappy, after both ''Schism'' and [=AvX=], he seems to have shot up in popularity, possibly usurping Wolverine (Going by recent sales, ''Uncanny'', Scott's book, had nearly double the sales ''WATXM'' has, which is after having solidly lead it prior to [=AvX=]). Due to the DesignatedVillain treatment he got, combined with his genuine attempts at helping people, apparently being the only one bothering to reach out and help any of the newly awakened mutants, and the fact he's the only one who tries to suggest peace rather than tossing insults and fighting whenever he runs into the people who currently dislike him, despite it being ''them'' we're apparently supposed to root for. Notably, when Cyclops popped up in ''WATXM'' to help Wolverine fight off sentinels, fans actually cheered Cyclops on and called for him to JustShootHim now that Wolverine's without his HealingFactor since Wolverine was being such a huge dick to him (which he did literally the second after Scott saved his life).

** Flip-flopped with Madelyne Pryor, who seemed to have been the most [[{{Hatedom}} vehemently hated]] character among X-Men fandom for many years [[ComicBook/Inferno1988 after 1989]]. The attitude had already begun shifting before Morrison's run, when fans started to accept reinterpreting Cyclops as having more culpability than initial reactions suggested. And then after Cyclops and Jean Grey were broken up and Grey killed off again, and Emma Frost hooked up with Cyclops, the hatedom towards Pryor seemed to abruptly wither and then die with a whimper.

** Onslaught is quite infamous among fans for being one of the most blatant ExecutiveMeddling-forced comic-book villains ever, up to the point where mentioning him in certain circles of the fanbase is a bit of a BerserkButton. Besides that, he's [[GenericDoomsdayVillain extremely generic]] and has little plot significance outside of [[CrisisCrossover Crisis Crossovers]]. However, he managed to be RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap for some thanks to his role as the FinalBoss in VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcomClashOfSuperHeroes.

** Onslaught is quite infamous for being one of the most blatant ExecutiveMeddling-forced comic-book villains ever, up to the point where mentioning him in certain circles of the fanbase is a bit of a BerserkButton. Besides that, he's [[GenericDoomsdayVillain extremely generic]] and has little plot significance outside of [[CrisisCrossover CrisisCrossovers]].

** Onslaught is quite infamous for being one of the most blatant ExecutiveMeddling-forced comic-book villains ever, up to the point where mentioning him in certain circles of the fanbase is a bit of a BerserkButton. Besides that, he's [[GenericDoomsdayVillain extremely generic]] and has little plot significance outside of CrisisCrossovers.

** Very few people seem to like Ink. Even fewer like the new Hellfire Club made up of 12-year-olds.

** Flip-flopped with Madelyne Pryor, who seemed to have been the most %invoked%[[{{Hatedom}} vehemently hated]] character among X-Men fandom for many years [[ComicBook/Inferno1988 after 1989]]. The attitude had already begun shifting before Morrison's run, when fans started to accept reinterpreting Cyclops as having more culpability than initial reactions suggested. And then after Cyclops and Jean Grey were broken up and Grey killed off again, and Emma Frost hooked up with Cyclops, the hatedom towards Pryor seemed to abruptly wither and then die with a whimper.

* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]]. It’s revealed in ''ComicBook/XOfSwords'' that he loved very much his very first family, his first wife and their four children, but he was separated from them in the War with Amenth. His whole [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]] ideation comes from the last words his first wife said to him sending him down the road to becoming the ice-cold warrior he’s been known to be. Everything he’s done since his debut was so he can prepare Earth and more specifically Mutantkind for a war with Amenth so he can reunite with his family. And when he does they’ve turned on him and made an alliance with Amenth. Furthermore his wife has become one with its leader Annihilation.

** In the mainstream universe, Cyclops killed Professor X while possessed, as such, he instantly became one of the world's worst villains in the eyes of the X-Men, and essentially became the leader of a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; meanwhile, Wolverine was depicted as being in the right for blaming Cyclops for the Professor's death despite the fact that Scott clearly wasn't in control of himself, and ended up as Xavier's rightful successor as leader of the X-Men school.\\
However, in the home timeline of long-term ''ComicBook/{{Exiles}}'' member Nocturne, Wolverine killed Professor X while possessed, and subsequently ended up as Xavier's rightful successor as leader of the X-Men school; meanwhile, Cyclops was depicted as being in the wrong for blaming Wolverine for the Professor's death despite the fact that Logan clearly wasn't in control of himself, became PersonaNonGrata in the eyes of the X-Men, went crazy and became the leader of a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.\\
In short, Wolverine is always right and Cyclops is always wrong, no matter which side either of them is on.

** AscendedFanon: One ComicBook/WhatIf issue had the X-Men long since trapped on another planet where Logan and she have a child. Likewise, ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' involved an alternate timeline, created by Xavier's assassination in college, where Storm and Logan were married. There was also Logan/Storm ShipTease in the ''WesternAnimation/XMenEvolution'' cartoon series.

* FanonDiscontinuity: A lot of stuff is contested by fans, but if there's one thing fans can agree on, it's that Creator/ChuckAusten's entire run should be relegated to the wastebin of history.

** Despite Creator/ChuckAusten's work on the series being [[DorkAge widely panned]], Mammomax the Elephant Man is surprisingly well-remembered by the fandom, probably due to his inherent NarmCharm.

* MemeticBadass: Juggernaut is renowned by fans as one of the toughest customers in the MU, and not without reason. Even all the worfings he's had to put up with haven't diminished his badass cred.

** Creator/CullenBunn has quickly entered this status for modern writers. His take on Magneto as a ruthlessly pragmatic anti-hero coming close at times to being a mutant version of ComicBook/ThePunisher is seen as a great evolution for the character.

** Prior to ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', Azazel was one of the most unpopular of all the X-Men villains. Now, he's... well, ''still'' unpopular, at least in his original incarnation, but his adaptation has fared rather a bit better in reception

** [[Characters/MarvelComicsApocalypse Apocalypse]]. For many who feel he was a GenericDoomsdayVillain, ''ComicBook/DawnOfX'' and ''ComicBook/XOfSwords'' gave him a more clear motivation and backstory that made his Social Darwinist status more sympathetic.

** Many fans see Magneto's actions and view him as a liberator, ignoring many of his more questionable acts. It likely isn't aided that any time he [[MoralEventHorizon commits an act that would make it impossible]] for him to continue [[HeelFaceRevolvingDoor skirting the line between hero and villain]] as the writers would like, the act is {{Retcon}}ned out of existence.

** Dr. Nemesis is a minor one due to being a hilarious, daredevil-like mad scientist.
** Of all the characters introduced in Grant Morrison's run, Fantomex was definitely the most popular. He's managed to last while most of the characters from Morrison's run were largely forgotten about, changing from a minor new guy into a series regular.
** For being a Chuck Austen character, Mammomax the Elephant Man is surprisingly well-remembered by the fandom, probably due to his inherent NarmCharm.

** Creator/GrantMorrison during his tenure writing created Angel Salvadore, as some sort of vaguely Latina, foul-mouthed 14 year-old who was kicked out of her house by her step-father when her mutant powers developed.

** Psylocke became this for some in the 90s after she body-swapped into a nubile Japanese ninja character. Twenty years later, AdaptationDisplacement has kicked in so thoroughly that most X-Men fans don't even know that character wasn't originally a Japanese ninja at all.

* FanonDiscontinuity: A lot of stuff is contested by fans, but if there's one thing fans can agree on, it's that Chuck Austen's entire run should be relegated to the wastebin of history.
** That time John Byrne tried to turn Wanda evil.

* LoveToHate: As of ''ComicBook/DawnOfX'', Sinister is now an ally of Xavier’s and even a member of the Quiet Council Of Krakoa. He’s still every bit as duplicitous, gene-greedy, and antagonistic as he always was, put on full display in ''ComicBook/{{Hellions}}''. But damn if he isn’t funny while lying, scheming, stealing, and generally trolling everyone he can.

* {{Misblamed}}: The weird way [[StrangledByTheRedString Cyclops and Emma Frost were hooked up]] and Jean Grey dying were never Grant Morrison's intention. They had something entirely different planned out but [[ExecutiveMeddling an editorial proclamation forced them to change it at the last minute]].

*** Cullen Bunn has quickly entered this status for modern writers. His take on Magneto as a ruthlessly pragmatic anti-hero coming close at times to being a mutant version of ComicBook/ThePunisher is seen as a great evolution for the character.

** Creator/ChrisClaremont has a fondness for over-narrating ''everything'', not to mention... dramatic pauses. It can get overdone sometimes (though there are those who enjoy them).

** The existence of Master Mold, a giant Sentinel who spawns 'smaller' Sentinels from his tummy. Yes, he has the power of robot pregnancy.
** There's also Sauron, one of the X-Men's oldest villains and definitely their campiest. He's like a walking example of why people read comics -- deep and complex stories are fine, but sometimes you just want to check your brain at the door and read about people in silly costumes being menaced by a hypnotic vampiric were-pterodactyl dinosaur man.

** Ironically, Wolverine was widely hated when he first debuted, so much that the creative team seriously considered killing him off. (He was spared in favor of Thunderbird due to the fact that a HealingFactor and WolverineClaws powerset was very unique at the time.) After some character expansion and a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome, Wolverine became so popular that he's now the face of the X-Men. Though he's become a BaseBreakingCharacter since then, partly because his popularity got taken [[WriterOnBoard a bit too far]]...

** Arcade crossed this in ''ComicBook/AvengersArena'', which transformed him from an AffablyEvil joke villain to an unrepentant [[WouldHurtAChild child killer]].

* [[AuthorsSavingThrow/XMen Authors Saving Throw]]

** Depending on who you ask, the Magneto/Rogue ship also falls into this trope. It's always been one of the weirder X-relationships, being pushed every couple of years by the PowersThatBe despite it never really picking up steam until Gambit's popularity as a character waned, and it was also made canon in the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse''. Recent years have seen it cross into UnfortunateImplications territory (particularly in ''X-Men Legacy'') as Magneto's appearance has been drawn as steadily older while Rogue's has been drawn as (for some reason) steadily younger. Add in one ''very'' [[http://i.imgur.com/8n4h2Vj.jpg revealing conversation]] between Rogue and Toad in ''X-Men Legacy'' #265 and you have the perfect red string storm.