The X-Men have some weird characters, but some of the guest cameos in their books are even stranger!
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00:00 X-Men comics have been host to a multitude of bizarre and interesting characters over the years.
00:05 In a world filled with mutants and superheroes alike, you'd think there isn't much that could
00:10 be truly weird, but these comics certainly fit the bill. So prepare for what might feel like a
00:15 drug-induced trip down memory lane, because we're taking a look at some of the weirdest guest
00:20 appearances in X-Men history. So with this in mind, I'm Dan from WhatCulture, and these are
00:26 10 Bizarre Cameos in X-Men Comics. Number 10, Santa Claus. Santa has had more than a handful
00:33 of appearances for Marvel Comics, but one that especially comes to mind is from 1991's Marvel
00:39 Holiday Special. In this story, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants are making trouble around Christmas
00:44 time. The X-Men, of course, jump into action, struggling at first, until a jolly man in a red
00:50 suit comes to their assistance. He handily deals with the Brotherhood and introduces himself as
00:55 Kris Kringle. The team is understandably sceptical, but soon grow to believe him when he turns the
01:01 Brotherhood into toys. Unfortunately, the X-Men can hardly thank him before they are teleported
01:07 away, with their minds being completely wiped of the experience, courtesy of Mr. Claus himself.
01:13 Number 9, Darth Vader. Star Wars comics are published by Marvel, so perhaps Darth Vader's
01:19 appearance on this list isn't the strangest. And yes, technically Vader himself hasn't actually
01:24 appeared in the comics, but his costume certainly has. Kitty Pryde tests out a costume creation
01:30 machine that apparently was just lying around on a S.H.I.E.L.S. spaceship. After a montage of
01:35 costumes, Kitty tries on Darth Vader's suit, much to Nykrol's apparent worry. This has no real
01:42 bearing on the plot, and nothing of consequence really happens because of it. The 80s X-Men
01:47 references pop culture icons a lot in this manner, and it's always nice to see one beloved franchise
01:52 show respect to another, even if it is only for a brief panel. Number 8, the Star Trek cast.
01:58 While chasing Proteus through dimensional portals, most of the cast of X-Men the Animated Series
02:04 wind up in the Star Trek universe. Their ship is destroyed, and they are forced to board the
02:09 Enterprise, doing so in secret. Spock soon finds them, and after some misunderstandings, the two
02:15 teams decide to team up to stop Proteus. And just in case you're disappointed that they featured the
02:21 wrong Star Trek cast, a few years later, a second series landed the X-Men and the Next Generation
02:27 cast into a team up. Eventually, in a move that feels weird for both franchises, a crossover novel
02:33 was published, under the name Planet X. Number 7, Frankenstein. By the late 60s, early Marvel
02:40 creators must have been running out of ideas, because in 1967, X-Men #40 borrowed the concept
02:47 of Frankenstein's monster. To their credit, Marvel writers did put their own spin on it,
02:52 going to great lengths to explain how Mary Shelley's book was actually non-fiction,
02:57 and Frankenstein's monster was in fact a high-tech android with a possible mutant creator.
03:03 The X-Men ultimately defeat the monster, and in a big reveal, Professor X tells the team
03:08 that Frankenstein's monster was actually an android built by aliens. It was sent to Earth
03:14 long ago to act as a liaison to humanity, but it malfunctioned and was condemned to be frozen in
03:20 ice. When it was thawed, it misidentified the X-Men's bright costumes as those of its creators.
03:26 It would almost be tragic if the plot wasn't so bonkers. And to add further confusion to it all,
03:31 the actual Frankenstein's monster has appeared in several Marvel comics since,
03:36 but this version of the character is a one-off, never to appear again.
03:40 #6 Teen Titans In 1982, the Teen Titans and Uncanny
03:45 X-Men were quite possibly the most popular superhero teams in comics. So, you can imagine
03:50 the collective excitement from Marvel and DC fans alike when the one-shot crossover,
03:55 The Uncanny X-Men and the New Teen Titans, was announced. What's even more exciting is that it's
04:01 actually quite good. The plot teams up the two superhero groups and pits them against a collection
04:06 of Darkseid, Deathstroke and the Dark Phoenix. Darkseid schemes to use the power of the Dark
04:12 Phoenix for his own malicious purposes. The heroes are initially captured, but rally against the
04:17 villains, allowing Cyclops and Professor X a brief moment to plead to the last bit of Jean Grey's
04:22 humanity within the Dark Phoenix. They beg it to destroy Darkseid and, in a sacrifice much like
04:28 the original climax of the Dark Phoenix saga, Jean gives her life a second time and saves the universe.
04:35 #5 Wildcats One of the biggest real-life
04:39 storylines of the 1990s comic book scene was the defection of Jim Lee, Todd McFarlane and a host
04:45 of other major writers and artists from the big-name comic book publishers to creator-owned,
04:50 independent publisher Image Comics. At the core of this conflict was comic creators wanting to own
04:56 the original characters they created for companies like Marvel and DC, which would allow them to make
05:01 royalties if the characters turned out to be profitable. For years, comic creators were
05:06 overworked and underpaid for companies that reported huge profits using the creators' works.
05:12 Image was created by Lee and his peers to fix that. One of Jim Lee's most notable works at Image
05:18 Comics was Wildcats. After just a few years, Wildcats became a pretty widely known comic
05:24 and could safely be called a success. So, given all that background, it was a little bit strange
05:29 when the crossover Wildcats/X-Men found its way to shelves in 1997. It should be made clear,
05:36 however, Jim Lee was no longer writing the book at the time. But it still seems weird that the
05:40 legacy of one of the founders of Image Comics would cross over with everything the company
05:45 was created in rebellion against. #4 KISS
05:49 KISS is a world-famous rock band. And KISS, according to Marvel Comics' KISS Nation Issue 1,
05:56 is also an alternate reality superhero team. This one-shot comic switches between the expected
06:01 comic book action and artefacts of KISS memorabilia. The story is as generic as you'd
06:06 expect. A bunch of monsters are attacking New York, so KISS and the X-Men have to team up and
06:12 stop them. This comic book may seem like an out-there concept for KISS to do, but when you
06:17 remember that you can actually be buried in a KISS casket, this feels a lot less outlandish. Honestly,
06:23 this comic was just meant to tell us how cool KISS are. And hey, in the end, it kinda works.
06:29 #3 Chris Claremont Chris Claremont, the godfather of X-Men comics,
06:34 self-inserted himself into X-Comics on more than one occasion. The most memorable of these
06:39 appearances was in Excalibur Mojo Mayhem, which has him travelling with some fellow comic book
06:45 creators to a book signing somewhere in England. Kitty Pride stops their car and commandeers the
06:51 vehicle, assuring the group that it's an emergency. Some brief hilarity ensues, ultimately leaving
06:56 Chris and his fellow comic book creatives stranded on a British road in the middle of nowhere.
07:01 #2 The Many Celebrities in the Hellfire Gala In-universe, the Hellfire Gala was meant to be a
07:08 showcase of mutant culture and prosperity on their new island nation of Krakow. It is also quite
07:14 notable because it featured several real-life celebrity cameos. You may have seen some of it
07:19 over on Twitter as the event reached out to celebs from a large range of backgrounds and fanbases,
07:24 from Eminem to Conan O'Brien, George RR Martin to Killer Mike. The sheer quantity of guests featured
07:31 here was staggering, but perhaps the most interesting invitee was Kevin Feige, who makes a
07:36 brief appearance talking to Cyclops in X-Men 21. Feige, for those not in the know, is the father of
07:43 the Marvel Cinematic Universe. #1 Obnoxio the Clown If you don't know who Obnoxio the Clown is,
07:50 that's fine. Few people do when they open up this comic. The answer is just so baffling. Turns out,
07:55 Obnoxio was the mascot of Crazy Magazine, a now-defunct Marvel humour publication that really
08:02 never had much to do with the comics. For some reason, after Crazy Magazine went under, Obnoxio
08:08 starred in a one-shot comic titled Obnoxio the Clown vs. the X-Men. The story has the X-Men
08:14 celebrating Kitty Pryde's birthday, and Professor X, being a wise and reasonable guardian to a 14-year-old
08:20 girl, hired a drunken Slovenly clown to help Kitty celebrate. He also told no one that he did this,
08:26 which is unfortunate because Charles is promptly knocked out by an intruder at the beginning of
08:31 the story, causing the X-Men to mistake Obnoxio for the guilty culprit. Somehow, the clown manages
08:36 to survive against the full might of the X-Men. While the actual intruder attacks everyone from
08:41 the Danger Room's control panel, Obnoxio ends up thwarting the villain, and the X-Men apologise
08:47 for attacking him. But it's too late, and Obnoxio simply turns and angrily grumbles his way out of
08:52 the mansion. And that's our list! Know of any other bizarre cameos in X-Men comics? Let us know
08:58 in the comments section below. You can follow me on Twitter @danjaydirkin, and after that, be sure
09:03 to swing on over to whatculture.com for more lists and articles like this every single day.
09:08 For now though, I've been Dan, and I'll catch you in the next one.