If you didn’t believe the X-Men were like a soap opera, you might change your mind after this list.
What if I told you that the X-Men managed time travel better than their love lives? When legendary writer Chris “The Man” Claremont took over the reins of the X-Men universe in 1975 something happened to the mutant heroes that hadn’t really up to that point. They became people. With all the drama and humanity that comes with the condition, they also started doing other things. Like playing sports, and uh, sleeping with one another, and boy did they. The X-Men have swapped partners more often than the actors from the cast of Saved by the Bell.
Today we’re going to take a look at the most notorious of the bunch. There are a couple of qualifiers for this list; while we may be addressing alternate reality hookups, they won’t affect rank. To qualify, both must be actual characters (no wallpaper extras or hearsay). There has to be enough on panel innuendo to insinuate beyond a reasonable doubt that something more than a kiss occurred between them. Ok, let’s get into it! We’ll start with some honorable mentions, first.
Domino
Domino said it herself. She has a type and is definitely lucky. Neena Thurman is the ultimate friend-with-benefits and she’s not in the least ashamed of it. On more than one occasion she’s mixed saving the world with pleasure. She’s been romantically linked with Warpath, Colossus, Wolverine and probably most famously with the soldier from the future, Cable. There’s a lot of metal in her life, to say the least. (Related: 10 Times The X-Men Horrifically Failed)
Emma Frost
Being the massive flirt and lingerie-clad seductress that Emma Frost is, she’s quite chaste. Having openly pursued a married man in Cyclops, you’d think she be a bit more open. Not to mention it happened while giving him and his wife of the time, Jean, couples therapy no less. Other than participating in Cyclops’ extramarital affair, Emma is also tied to Namor and Sebastian Shaw during her stint in the Hellfire Club as White Queen. Namor is a funny case because I believe she cheated on Cyclops to make that happen!
Jamie Madrox
When Multiple Man was first introduced to the X-Men universe, he was a smart-mouthed trickster, not unlike Morph from the X-Men animated series of the same era. He did have more of an edge and even “died” of the Legacy Virus, but that proved to just be one of his many dupes. It wouldn’t be the last time Madrox’s dupes would make his life difficult, however. After relaunching X-Factor as an investigation firm, Madrox unknowingly got involved with not one, but two of his teammates… at the same time. While he (or a dupe) was romancing Monet on a one-night stand, one of his dupes managed to impregnate his girlfriend, Siren! He’d later settle down with and marry another teammate named Layla Miller. At one point there were dozens of dupes running around the world. Jamie could be the most experienced X-Men of all time.
10. Rogue
For someone known for having issues touching people, it didn’t stop the writers from finding convenient situations where that suddenly wasn’t an issue. Everyone from normies to the highly informed is aware of her long relationship with Gambit but there are more out there worth mentioning. Magneto for instance. Probably the only man to give Gambit any kind of real competition for Rogue’s hand, these two consummated their relationship during X-Men Legacy immediately following the Age of X storyline. The two would break up by series end after Rogue turned down a strange proposal from the Master of Magnetism. A little time before her flirtation with Magneto it was revealed that she also had an off-panel relationship with The Sentry.
Luckily, the instance was wiped from the minds of the world and the readers. We’ll never talk about that again. Rogue would later join the Uncanny Avengers which set off 3 more dead-end relationships. Though it was only referenced during the Age of Ultron alternate future timeline, Rogue married her teammate Havok, but that doesn’t count, so moving on. Later in the book’s life, she’d again be paired off-panel with the Human Torch. After forging a friendship with Deadpool, Rogue and the Merc had a passing encounter that amounted to two kisses. (Related: 10 Most Heartbreaking Deaths of the X-Men)
9. Storm
It’s always the quiet ones, right? Ororo Munroe is most famous for her courtship and eventual marriage with T’Challa, the Black Panther. However, he’s not her first or last conquest in the grand scheme. Storm started quite humbly. She wasn’t involved in any real romantic adventures, outside of a kiss here or there, until she and Forge became involved during the early ‘90s. A proposal was born of the relationship, but that’s as far as it went between the two. (Related: The Real Top 10 X-Men of All Time!)
For someone that often sleeps naked in the open wilderness, it’s probably not a surprise that she’s not much of prude when it comes to her sexual relationships. It’s been insinuated that she’s bisexual due a couple of encounters with Yukio (the character that was used in Deadpool 2) and at least one other woman. However, the real kicker is that she’s maintained casual relationships with both Wolverine and Gambit, the latter being her best friend’s new husband. Small world, I suppose? While her coupling with Gambit appeared to just be something they’d do every so often- Storm and Wolverine were on/off up until his untimely passing.
8. Kitty Pryde
Who would have thought that starchy old Mistress Pryde had needs like the rest of us schlubs? I guess it’s not all that hard to imagine after witnessing her somewhat inappropriate pursuit of Colossus. He would eventually become her first conquest (as possibly illegal as that was), but Rasputin wasn’t her one and only. Heck, he wasn’t even her only man named Peter. Not counting her Ultimate universe relationship with Peter Parker (Spider-Man), Kitty had relationships with two more men by the name.
The first post-Colossus Peter was Pete Wisdom. During her tour of duty on the European X-Men action team, Excalibur, Kitty and her teammate forged a passionate relationship spun out of a love-triangle when Colossus later joined the team. The next Peter was Star-Lord, Peter Quill, which occurred in the latter half of the All-New X-Men run. There was another man, though not named Peter. In between the last two, she dated original X-Man, Iceman, before his coming out of the closet. (Related: 10 Times Members of the X-Men Joined Other Marvel Superhero Teams)
7. Iceman
Bobby Drake has been one of the more active X-Men for a very long time. Which is what makes his somewhat recent revelation difficult to believe, but in the real world, not all that unheard of. Iceman has been seen with any number of nameless background art characters, most of, if not all, human. One of these examples was named Opal. Bobby doesn’t have a large amount of lore in comparison to most of the X-Men, but Opal is most certainly part of his catalog.
Iceman’s most impactful relationship may have been the one he had with the princess of the House of M, Polaris. Lorna Dane is best known for her connection to Alex “Havok” Summers, which is why she left a bigger impression on him than on her. During the ‘00s era, while Mystique was running with the X-Men (we’ll talk about her later), Iceman strangely enough developed feelings for the shapeshifter. Any hope of future development was squashed when she threatened to kill him on sight the next time they met during her exit from the team. After Iceman came out he began dating the new Pyro, but his last female partner was his teammate Kitty Pryde.
When Bobby was infected with a Celestial Death Seed from an alternate reality, his subconscious reached out, stalked and abducted all his past loves to save them while he attempted to freeze the planet.
6. Psylocke
By far one of the most alluring characters in the totality of the X-Men catalog, Psylocke (Betsy Braddock) is also one of the most deadly. Braddock’s first romantic encounter came by way of Cyclops during the early ‘90s. You know, while he was still with Jean. Cyclops for sure found her attractive and had been caught staring on several occasions. Betsy being a telepath was easily able to pick up on those feelings and sought to explore them, even after being confronted by Jean.
She’d later move onto Warren Worthington, the Archangel. The two remained in an exclusive relationship for years but took a break around the turn of the century. At that time Betsy began seeing new teammate Neal Sharaa, Thunderbird, up until her murder at the hands of Vargas. Years later after her resurrection, she and fellow X-Force member Fantomex started sleeping together following Angel’s mind-wipe. When Fantomex was cloned into three beings, one of which was a female named Cluster, Betsy fell for her as well. Yeah, it’s weird.
5. Professor X
Chair? What Chair? Nothing has been able to stop Professor Charles Francis Xavier from pursuing a love interest. Professor X’s love life began in his younger years when he met and courted Moira MacTaggert while they were both attending Oxford University. While the relationship didn’t last, Xavier wasn’t deterred. He’d later meet Gabrielle Haller and even conceive a child with the budding politician.
Soon after losing the use of his legs, Xavier came into contact with Amelia Vought, a nurse and physical therapist that assisted him while in the hospital. A mutant herself, she gradually fell in love with him, more so when she discovered Xavier was also a mutant, but they later parted ways. It wasn’t until Professor X finally sensed the approaching presence of his soulmate Lilandra, a royal of the Shi’Ar Empire, did he truly find love. Following her ascension to Empress, he would go onto become her royal consort. After Xavier’s passing at the hands of a Phoenix-possessed Cyclops, it was revealed in his will that he and Mystique secretly married. Which means that obviously, he’d successfully bedded her as well at some point. Underestimate Professor X all you want, even without full access to his lower half, the man gets around better than most.
4. Cyclops
I know what you’re thinking. How the heck did the squeaky-clean, soldier boy get so high on a list of the most promiscuous X-Men? Well, for one, he ain’t all that innocent. Cyclops, for all his virtues, is something of an undercover ladies’ man. He may have begun as a one-woman fellow, but that’s not how it stayed. Not at all. Although his interaction with Dazzler was pretty innocent at first, it did play a part in creating the Dark Phoenix as Jean thought there was more to it.
When Jean “died,” Cyclops took a leave of absence from the X-Men. In Alaska, he met, married and had a child with Madelyn Pryor but abandoned his family when he discovered that Jean was alive. Later after Maddy’s death, but before marrying Jean, Cyclops was caught red-handed ogling Psylocke as she finished a swim. That was less than one-sided as Psylocke openly pursued him and even shared a kiss with him. It wasn’t until Emma Frost came around did things start to go really sideways for good ol’ Slim.
After Cyclops had shared a body with Apocalypse (that sounds weird with the context of this article), he’d been left emotionally stunted. Emma stepped in to help Scott, but in the process fell in love with him. The two would enter into a psychic affair until they were discovered “exchanging thoughts” by Jean. Cyke didn’t stop there. During a mind-altering event created by Professor X’s son, Legion, he and fellow X-Man Frenzy were romantically involved for weeks, or perhaps even months. (Related: X-Men Spotlight: Frenzy)
3. Gambit
The accused and self-proclaimed ladies’ man, Gambit is not now, nor has he ever been celibate. He probably came out of the womb eyeing his nurse. It did take a while for him to build out his history though. Soon after his debut Gambit was, for lack of a better word, shackled to his longtime love interest and teammate, Rogue. While they would eventually end up married a couple of decades later, Gambit, despite being known as explicitly active, was only attached to two women up until the late ‘90s. One of which was his ex-wife, Bella Donna.
Rogue wasn’t the only X-Man that fell prey to the Cajun. He and Storm seemingly had some sort of casual relationship over the years. Before joining the team, during his less savory days, he and Frenzy had at least one intimate encounter. Peppered in over the years, Gambit has also to some degree been with Tiger Tyger, and possibly even Blackcat. In his younger years, Gambit seduced a French heiress named Genevieve with the intentions of stealing a jewel. More recently he got “stuck in the snow” with a fellow thief named Joelle. There’s also been any number of characters exclusive to his solo books and background art such as an unnamed silver woman, a nun, a trio of women from the Deadpool V Gambit series, and a woman he made a sex tape with. But those shouldn’t count, right?
2. Mystique
If black don’t crack, then blue certainly stays new. Raven Darkholme, notoriously known as Mystique, has been around a really long time. She’s also broken the hearts of many men and women, due to her extremely fluid sexuality. Her three most famous conquests are undoubtedly her lover and fellow member of the terrorist group the Brotherhood, Destiny, as well as Azazel and Sabretooth. With the last two, she produced children with. The X-Man, Nightcrawler, and the leader of the Friends of Humanity, Graydon Creed, respectively.
Mystique doesn’t mate for the long term. In fact, out of the three I mentioned, she only maintains a relationship of convenience with Sabretooth. Over her years of being both a villain and anti-hero, Mystique has explored relations with teammates including Iceman and Forge. There’s also another instance worth mentioning. She may or may not have slept with Gambit. You know, her daughter’s husband? On two occasions, in fact. Once while aping Rogue’s appearance and another as she impersonated a set of twins. Yes. Both of them. Mystique also squeezed in a secret marriage to Professor X somewhere along the line as well.
Over the years she’s insinuated that she routinely takes the form of many others while sneaking around. There’s no telling who she’s taken advantage of. Not too long ago she demonstrated her skill, and her dark sense of humor while teasing Cyclops by taking the forms of his past lovers… and Wolverine. Who happens to be another one of her conquests. In an alternate future, the two produced a child named Raze. In short, the woman is willing to do whatever necessary to maintain her cover. And I think she enjoys it.
1. Wolverine
During the century and a half long life of James Howlett, it’s safe to say he’s been around the block a couple of times. Frankly, I’m surprised he only has one child in the main timeline (that he’s aware of). Not counting the legion of clones, reality hoppers, and time-travelers. Out of all the X-Men, Wolverine probably has the most fully fleshed out characters in his love life. While I do not doubt that Mystique, due to her line of work, dwarfs his number, Logan’s been with more actual characters. He’s even been with her once or twice.
He’s been married several times. His former wives include Mariko Yashida, Itsu (Daken’s mother), and the villain Viper. His partners range from barely known to superstar status. Some of the names you’ll immediately recognize are; Storm, Domino, Typhoid Mary, Silver Fox, Yukio, possibly Snowbird from Alpha Flight, and of course, Squirrel Girl. Some of the lesser-known subjects that only die-hard Wolvie fans would recognize are Amir, Atsuko, Gahck (Savage Land native, unbeknownst him, he impregnated her), Agent Lathrop, Melita, Pinch, Remus, and Seraph- and those are just the ones with names. He says it all the time. He’s the best at what he does. (Related: 10 Best X-Men Leaders of All Time)
What do you think about the list? Should we have given Mystique’s unconfirmed encounters more credit? Let us know below!