Comics Did Marvel break the mold when they made the X-Men?

[ProfeZZor X]

Maybe you guys can answer this question for me, because I’ve been a little perplexed for years on how it came to be:

Why aren’t there mutants with the same or similar powers to the X-Men in the marvel universe, and if so, why haven’t they been used in any big story arc, or used as ongoing characters?

I can understand the similarities of some, but there doesn’t seem to be another Marvel character with identical powers, unless they are twins, a clone of someone else, or they’re being mimicked in some sinister or diabolical way. Surely with the hundreds of thousands of mutants that existed before the “House of M” tragedy, there had to be some that were very alike. Even with the current line up of all the main X-Men characters, there was never any other mutant with the same abilities.

For example, there are a lot of fire bearing mutants (Firestar, Sunfire, Sunspot, Thunderbird), but most of them have special attributes that set themselves apart from each other. The same goes for most of the telepaths (Emma, Phoenix, Xavier, Quentin Quire, Psylocke and so on). Iceman, Storm, and Dust appear to be all by themselves as elementals, and everyone else seems to be on their own, in terms of being one of a kind. Windrider, Rockslide, Mercury, and some of the other New X-men have powers similar to the main X-Men, or are similar to other Marvel characters, but not nearly as interesting as their counterparts. To a degree, even Colossus has had doppelgangers in past issues, but there always seems to be something that differentiates them.

Why do you think that is?

 

[javon]

Was this the thread tou were talking about Profezzor X??

 

[mightiest_mortal]

Actually... DC was meant to have come up with its own team of mutants first.
(cant remember where i read it. but apparently the teams were created so closely together that thered be no case for it as a rip off though)

 

[Harlekin]

Nah, DC had a team of outcasts, not mutants, named the Doom Patrol. They also had a mentor in a wheelchair.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

Was this the thread tou were talking about Profezzor X??

Not really, but this question came to mind, so I thought I'd post it anyway.

 

[mightiest_mortal]

Nah, DC had a team of outcasts, not mutants, named the Doom Patrol. They also had a mentor in a wheelchair.

Thats the one.. cheers matey

 

[bored]

So they didn't want too many derivative characters. Nothing wrong with that.

And if it helps, there's Magneto and Polaris.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

So they didn't want too many derivative characters. Nothing wrong with that.

And if it helps, there's Magneto and Polaris.

It just seems a little odd that in the entire 616 world, there are no mutations that are alike. Having a world full of some 100k mutants and none of them have a strong likeness is very unrealistic, in an unrealistic kind of world. Go figure....

 

[Valechan]

There are only 198 mutants now, so mutants with the same powers are scarcer than ever.

I think it's refreshing. It's better to have hundreds of different mutations than always the same ones. It makes them feel even more unique, even more special.

 

[bored]

It just seems a little odd that in the entire 616 world, there are no mutations that are alike. Having a world full of some 100k mutants and none of them have a strong likeness is very unrealistic, in an unrealistic kind of world. Go figure....

I will repeat: Magneto and Polaris. And Wolverine and Sabretooth. And it isn't like we've seen EVERY mutant in existance.

 

[LEGO Spidey]

Angel and Icarus. Slab and Blockbuster. Rictor and Avalanche. These are just off the top of my head... There are dozens of examples.

 

[ProfeZZor X]

Angel and Icarus. Slab and Blockbuster. Rictor and Avalanche. These are just off the top of my head... There are dozens of examples.

I guess you're right, but I was hoping to find more duplicate examples of Cyclops, Storm, Colossus, Iceman, Kitty Pryde and Bishop. Makes you wonder though, if Xavier knew how rare of a mutation some of his students have, and claimed them for that specific reason.

 

[RSS]

Hurricane, of the Dark Riders had weather controls(he actually thought he could challenge Storm... ). Dazzler has Bishop's power, only limited(she can only absorb sound and convert it into light, whereas he can absorb several types of energy and transform it into bioenergy/plasma blasts).

 

[mightiest_mortal]

Shinobi Shaw has similar powers to Kitty,

Cyclops i guess is just a generic energy projector if you dont count that it come out of his eyes.

Lifeguard could turn into a golden metalic form, similar to Colosus (but more adaptable)

 

[usagicassidy]

Well, I remember about two years ago when people were complaining about Austen's runs because they were making bunches of mutants too similar. I don't remember what the werewolfs were, but I think they were explained as mutants. Then there were a bunch of flying mutants. Or perhaps that was never executed, just talked about so much that that's all I remember.