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 the years.
00:05In a world filled with mutants and superheroes alike,
00:08you'd think there isn't much that could 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,
00:17because we're taking a 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.
00:2910. Santa Claus
00:31Santa has had more than a handful of appearances for Marvel Comics,
00:35but one that especially comes to mind is from 1991's Marvel Holiday Special.
00:40In this story, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are making trouble around Christmas time.
00:44The X-Men, of course, jump into action, struggling at first,
00:48until a jolly man in a red suit comes to their assistance.
00:52He handily deals with the Brotherhood and introduces himself as Kris Kringle.
00:56The team is understandably skeptical,
00:59but soon grow to believe him when he turns the Brotherhood into toys.
01:03Unfortunately, the X-Men can hardly thank him before they are teleported away,
01:08with their minds being completely wiped of the experience, courtesy of Mr. Claus himself.
01:139. Darth Vader
01:15Star Wars comics are published by Marvel,
01:18so perhaps Darth Vader's appearance on this list isn't the strangest.
01:22And yes, technically Vader himself hasn't actually appeared in the comics,
01:26but his costume certainly has.
01:28Kitty Pryde tests out a costume creation machine
01:31that apparently was just lying around on a S.H.I.E.L.S. spaceship.
01:34After a montage of costumes, Kitty tries on Darth Vader's suit,
01:39much to Nykrol's apparent worry.
01:41This has no real bearing on the plot,
01:43and nothing of consequence really happens because of it.
01:46The 80s X-Men references pop culture icons a lot in this manner,
01:50and it's always nice to see one beloved franchise show respect to another,
01:54even if it is only for a brief panel.
01:568. The Star Trek Cast
01:58While chasing Proteus through dimensional portals,
02:01most of the cast of X-Men the Animated Series wind 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,
02:15the 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,
02:22a few years 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,
02:32a crossover novel was published, under the name Planet X.
02:367. Frankenstein
02:38By the late 60s, early Marvel creators must have been running out of ideas,
02:43because in 1967, X-Men number 40 borrowed the concept of Frankenstein's monster.
02:49To their credit, Marvel writers did put their own spin on it,
02:52going to great lengths to explain how Mary Shelley's book was actually non-fiction,
02:57and Frankenstein's monster was in fact a high-tech android with a possible mutant creator.
03:03The X-Men ultimately defeat the monster, and in a big reveal,
03:07Professor X tells the team that Frankenstein's monster was actually an android built by aliens.
03:13It was sent to Earth long ago to act as a liaison to humanity,
03:16but it malfunctioned and was condemned to be frozen in ice.
03:20When it was thawed, it misidentified the X-Men's bright costumes as those of its creators.
03:26It would almost be tragic if the plot wasn't so bonkers.
03:29And to add further confusion to it all,
03:31the actual Frankenstein's monster has appeared in several Marvel comics since,
03:36but this version of the character is a one-off, never to appear again.
03:406. Teen Titans
03:42In 1982, the Teen Titans and Uncanny X-Men were quite possibly
03:46the most popular superhero teams in comics.
03:49So, you can imagine the collective excitement from Marvel and DC fans alike
03:54when the one-shot crossover The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans was announced.
03:58What's even more exciting is that it's actually quite good.
04:02The plot teams up the two superhero groups
04:04and pits them against a collection of Darkseid, Deathstroke, and the Dark Phoenix.
04:09Darkseid 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,
04:17allowing Cyclops and Professor X a brief moment
04:21to plead to the last bit of Jean Grey's humanity within the Dark Phoenix.
04:24They beg it to destroy Darkseid and,
04:27in a sacrifice much like the original climax of the Dark Phoenix saga,
04:31Jean gives her life a second time and saves the universe.
04:355. Wildcats
04:37One of the biggest real-life storylines of the 1990s comic book scene
04:41was the defection of Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane,
04:44and a host of other major writers and artists
04:47from the big-name comic book publishers
04:49to creator-owned independent publisher Image Comics.
04:53At the core of this conflict was comic creators
04:55wanting to own the original characters they created for companies like Marvel and DC,
05:00which would allow them to make royalties if the characters turned out to be profitable.
05:04For years, comic creators were overworked and underpaid
05:08for companies that reported huge profits using the creators' works.
05:12Image was created by Lee and his peers to fix that.
05:15One of Jim Lee's most notable works at Image Comics was Wildcats.
05:20After just a few years, Wildcats became a pretty widely known comic
05:24and could safely be called a success.
05:26So, given all that background,
05:28it was a little bit strange when the crossover Wildcats-X-Men
05:32found its way to shelves in 1997.
05:35It should be made clear, however,
05:36Jim Lee was no longer writing the book at the time.
05:39But it still seems weird that the legacy of one of the founders of Image Comics
05:43would crossover with everything the company was created in rebellion against.
05:47Number four, KISS.
05:49KISS is a world-famous rock band,
05:51and KISS, according to Marvel Comics' KISS Nation Issue 1,
05:56is also an alternate reality superhero team.
05:58This one-shot comic switches between the expected comic book action
06:02and artifacts of KISS memorabilia.
06:05The story is as generic as you'd expect.
06:07A bunch of monsters are attacking New York,
06:09so KISS and the X-Men have to team up and stop them.
06:13This comic book may seem like an out-there concept for KISS to do,
06:17but when you remember that you can actually be buried in a KISS casket,
06:20this feels a lot less outlandish.
06:22Honestly, this comic was just meant to tell us how cool KISS are.
06:26And hey, in the end, it kind of works.
06:29Number three, Chris Claremont.
06:31Chris Claremont, the godfather of X-Men comics,
06:34self-inserted himself into X-Comics on more than one occasion.
06:38The most memorable of these appearances was in Excalibur Mojo Mayhem,
06:43which has him traveling with some fellow comic book creators
06:46to a book signing somewhere in England.
06:48Kitty Pryde stops their car and commandeers the vehicle,
06:52assuring the group that it's an emergency.
06:54Some brief hilarity ensues,
06:55ultimately leaving Chris and his fellow comic book creatives
06:58stranded on a British road in the middle of nowhere.
07:01Number two, the many celebrities in the Hellfire Gala.
07:05In-universe, the Hellfire Gala was meant to be a showcase of mutant culture
07:10and prosperity on their new island nation of Krakow.
07:13It is also quite notable because it featured several real-life celebrity cameos.
07:18You may have seen some of it over on Twitter,
07:20as the event reached out to celebs from a large range of backgrounds and fan bases,
07:24from Eminem to Conan O'Brien, George R.R. Martin to Killer Mike.
07:29The sheer quantity of guests featured here was staggering,
07:32but perhaps the most interesting invitee was Kevin Feige,
07:36who makes a brief appearance talking to Cyclops in X-Men 21.
07:40Feige, for those not in the know, is the father of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
07:45Number one, Obnoxio the Clown.
07:47If you don't know who Obnoxio the Clown is, that's fine.
07:50Few people do when they open up this comic.
07:52The answer is just so baffling.
07:54Turns out, Obnoxio was the mascot of Crazy Magazine,
07:58a now-defunct Marvel humor publication that really never had much to do with the comics.
08:04For some reason, after Crazy Magazine went under,
08:07Obnoxio starred in a one-shot comic titled Obnoxio the Clown vs. the X-Men.
08:12The story has the X-Men celebrating Kitty Pryde's birthday
08:16and Professor X, being a wise and reasonable guardian to a 14-year-old girl,
08:20hired a drunken Slovenly clown to help Kitty celebrate.
08:24He also told no one that he did this, which is unfortunate
08:27because 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.
08:35Somehow, the clown manages to survive against the full might of the X-Men.
08:39While the actual intruder attacks everyone from the Danger Room's control panel,
08:43Obnoxio ends up thwarting the villain, and the X-Men apologise for attacking him.
08:48But it's too late, and Obnoxio simply turns and angrily grumbles his way out of the mansion.
08:53And that's our list!
08:54Know of any other bizarre cameos in X-Men comics?
08:57Let us know in the comments section below.
08:59You can follow me on Twitter at DanJayDurkin,
09:02and after that, be sure to swing on over to WhatCulture.com
09:05for more lists and articles like this every single day.
09:08For now though, I've been Dan, and I'll catch you in the next one.