The X-Men have some weird characters, but some of the guest cameos in their books are even stranger!
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00:00X-Men comics have been host to a multitude of bizarre and interesting characters over
00:04the years.
00:05In a world filled with mutants and superheroes alike, you'd think there isn't much that
00:10could be truly weird, but these comics certainly fit the bill.
00:13So prepare for what might feel like a drug-induced trip down memory lane, because we're taking
00:18a look at some of the weirdest guest appearances in X-Men history.
00:22So with this in mind, I'm Dan from WhatCulture and these are 10 Bizarre Cameos in X-Men Comics.
00:29Number 10, Santa Claus.
00:31Santa has had more than a handful of appearances for Marvel Comics, but one that especially
00:36comes to mind is from 1991's Marvel Holiday Special.
00:40In this story, the brotherhood of evil mutants are making trouble around Christmas time.
00:45The X-Men of course jump into action, struggling at first, until a jolly man in a red suit comes
00:50to their assistance.
00:52He handily deals with the brotherhood and introduces himself as Kris Kringle.
00:57The team is understandably skeptical, but soon grow to believe him when he turns the brotherhood
01:02into toys.
01:03Unfortunately, the X-Men can hardly thank him before they are teleported away, with their
01:08minds being completely wiped of the experience, courtesy of Mr. Claus himself.
01:13Number 9, Darth Vader.
01:15Star Wars comics are published by Marvel, so perhaps Darth Vader's appearance on this
01:20list isn't the strangest.
01:22And yes, technically Vader himself hasn't actually appeared in the comics, but his costume
01:27certainly has.
01:28Kitty Pryde tests out a costume creation machine that apparently was just lying around on a
01:33Shi'ar spaceship.
01:35After a montage of costumes, Kitty tries on Darth Vader's suit, much to Nightcrawl's apparent
01:40worry.
01:41This has no real bearing on the plot, and nothing of consequence really happens because
01:45of it.
01:46The 80s X-Men references pop culture icons a lot in this manner, and it's always nice
01:50to see one beloved franchise show respect to another, even if it is only for a brief panel.
01:56Number 8, the Star Trek cast.
01:59While chasing Proteus through dimensional portals, most of the cast of X-Men the Animated Series
02:04wind up in the Star Trek universe.
02:06Their ship is destroyed, and they are forced aboard the Enterprise, doing so in secret.
02:12Spock soon finds them, and after some misunderstandings, the two teams decide to team up to stop Proteus.
02:18And just in case you're disappointed that they featured the wrong Star Trek cast, a few
02:22years later, a second series landed the X-Men and the Next Generation cast into a team-up.
02:28Eventually, in a move that feels weird for both franchises, a crossover novel was published
02:34under the name Planet X.
02:36Number 7, Frankenstein.
02:38By the late 60s, early Marvel creators must have been running out of ideas, because in
02:431967, X-Men number 40 borrowed the concept of Frankenstein's monster.
02:49To their credit, Marvel writers did put their own spin on it, going to great lengths to explain
02:54how Mary Shelley's book was actually non-fiction, and Frankenstein's monster was in fact a high-tech
03:00android, with a possible mutant creator. The X-Men ultimately defeat the monster, and in
03:06a big reveal, Professor X tells the team that Frankenstein's monster was actually an android,
03:11built by aliens. It was sent to Earth long ago, to act as a liaison to humanity, but it
03:17malfunctioned, and was condemned to be frozen in ice. When it was thought, it misidentified
03:22the X-Men's bright costumes as those of its creators. It would almost be tragic if the plot
03:27wasn't so bonkers. And, to add further confusion to it all, the actual Frankenstein's monster
03:33has appeared in several Marvel comics since, but this version of the character is a one-off
03:38never to appear again.
03:40Number 6, Teen Titans.
03:42In 1982, the Teen Titans and Uncanny X-Men were quite possibly the most popular superhero
03:48teams in comics. So, you can imagine the collective excitement from Marvel and DC fans alike, when
03:54the one-shot crossover, the Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, was announced. What's
03:59even more exciting, is that it's actually quite good. The plot teams up the two superhero
04:04groups, and pits them against a collection of Darkseid, Deathstroke and the Dark Phoenix.
04:10Darkseid schemes to use the power of the Dark Phoenix for his own malicious purposes.
04:14The heroes are initially captured, but rally against the villains, allowing Cyclops and Professor
04:19X a brief moment to plead to the last bit of Jean Grey's humanity within the Dark Phoenix.
04:25They beg it to destroy Darkseid, and, in a sacrifice much like the original climax of
04:30the Dark Phoenix saga, Jean gives her life a second time and saves the universe.
04:35Number 5, Wildcats.
04:37One of the biggest real-life storylines of the 1990s comic book scene was the defection
04:42of Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and a host of other major writers and artists. From the big-name
04:48comic book publishers, two creator-owned, independent publisher, Image Comics. At the core of this
04:54conflict, was comic creators wanting to own the original characters they created for companies
04:59like Marvel and DC, which would allow them to make royalties if the characters turned out
05:03to be profitable. For years, comic creators were overworked and underpaid for companies
05:08that reported huge profits using the creator's works. Image was created by Lee and his peers
05:14to fix that. One of Jim Lee's most notable works at Image Comics was Wildcats. After just
05:20a few years, Wildcats became a pretty widely known comic and could safely be called a success.
05:26So given all that background, it was a little bit strange when the crossover Wildcats slash
05:31X-Men found its way to shelves in 1997. It should be made clear however, Jim Lee was
05:37no longer writing the book at the time. But it still seems weird that the legacy of one
05:41of the founders of Image Comics would cross over with everything the company was created
05:46in rebellion against.
05:47Number 4, KISS. KISS is a world-famous rock band and KISS, according to Marvel Comics KISS
05:54Nation issue 1, is also an alternate reality superhero team. This one-shot comic switches
06:00between the expected comic book action and artifacts of KISS memorabilia. The story is as generic
06:06as you'd expect. A bunch of monsters are attacking New York, so KISS and the X-Men have to team
06:11up and stop them. This comic book may seem like an out-there concept for KISS to do, but
06:17when you remember that you can actually be buried in a KISS casket, this feels a lot less
06:22outlandish. Honestly, this comic was just meant to tell us how cool KISS are, and hey, in
06:27the end, it kinda works.
06:29Number 3, Chris Claremont. Chris Claremont, the godfather of X-Men comics, self-inserted himself
06:35into X-Comics on more than one occasion. The most memorable of these appearances was
06:40in Excalibur, Mojo Mayhem, which has him travelling with some fellow comic book creators to a book
06:46signing somewhere in England. Kitty Pryde stops their call and commandeers
06:51the vehicle, assuring the group that it's an emergency. Some brief hilarity ensues, ultimately
06:56leaving Chris and his fellow comic book creatives stranded on a British road in the middle of
07:01nowhere.
07:02Number 2, The Many Celebrities in the Hellfire Gala.
07:05In universe, the Hellfire Gala was meant to be a showcase of mutant culture and prosperity
07:11on their new island nation of Krakoa. It is also quite notable because it featured several
07:16real-life celebrity cameos. You may have seen some of it over on Twitter, as the event reached
07:21out to celebs from a large range of backgrounds and fanbases, from Eminem to Conan O'Brien,
07:26George RR Martin to Killer Mike. The sheer quantity of guests featured here was staggering,
07:32but perhaps the most interesting invitee was Kevin Feige, who makes a brief appearance
07:37talking to Cyclops in X-Men 21. Feige, for those not in the know, is the father of the
07:43Marvel Cinematic Universe.
07:45Number 1, Obnoxio the Clown. If you don't know who Obnoxio the Clown is, that's fine.
07:50Few people do when they open up this comic. The answer is just so baffling. Turns out Obnoxio
07:56was the mascot of Crazy Magazine, a now defunct Marvel Humor publication that really never had
08:02much to do with the comics. For some reason, after Crazy Magazine went under, Obnoxio starred in a
08:08one-shot comic titled, Obnoxio the Clown vs The X-Men. The story has the X-Men celebrating Kitty
08:15Pride's birthday, and Professor X, being a wise and reasonable guardian to a 14-year-old girl, hired a
08:21drunken slovenly clown to help Kitty celebrate. He also told no one that he did this, which is
08:26unfortunate because Charles is promptly knocked out by an intruder at the beginning of the story,
08:31causing the X-Men to mistake Obnoxio for the guilty culprit. Somehow the Clown manages to survive
08:37against the full might of the X-Men, while the actual intruder attacks everyone from the danger
08:42room's control panel. Obnoxio ends up thwarting the villain, and the X-Men apologize for attacking
08:47him. But it's too late, and Obnoxio simply turns and angrily grumbles his way out of the mansion.
08:53And that's our list. Know of any other bizarre cameos in X-Men comics? Let us know in the comments
08:58section below. You can follow me on Twitter, at Dan J Durkin, and after that be sure to swing on over
09:04to whatculture.com for more lists and articles like this every single day. For now though,
09:09I've been Dan, and I'll catch you in the next one.