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Can we assemble the info on the ages of the X-Men?
We can start with the original 5 members!

If you mean them as they are now, or the last time they were alive?

I'd say most of them are around mid 30s. Maybe a little more, considering the weird scale ageing has in comics.

A very good thread. Also, an incredibly hard question, because of numerous retcons.

I was thinking about this the other day, and I really think that, bar Rogue due to all the crap surrounding her, you can narrow down at least something of a bracket.

For starters, it's outright stated that Scott is 16 when Xavier finds him, so my feeling on it is something similar to this:

Original five fighting Magneto:

Cyclops - 16
Beast - I would guess 16 but he MIGHT be 17
Angel - Around 16
Jean - 16 to be the same age as Cyclops
Bobby - 14

-

Mimic - Not sure
Changeling - Not sure
Havok - should be about 2-4 years younger than Cyclops due to their origin making Cyclops old enough to actually look after him.
Polaris - Don't know.

-

Deadly Genesis people, don't care. my guess though, is that Krakoa happens about... 4 years after the start of the series, so for example, if Cyclops is 20 by this point:

Colossus - 16 (seems the best age for him to stay in keeping with Claremont's intentions)
Storm - 16-18?
Logan - I dunno, 105?
Banshee - He's easily in his 20s if not 30s. He seems even older than Cyclops iirc.
Thunderbird - Don't know.
Sunspot - Late teens early 20s?
Nightcrawler - Mid to late teens.

-

A year or so later, they bring in Shadowcat who iirc is 13, which would make:

Cyclops & Jean 21 (as we see them going to bars etc)
Colossus 17 so there's a 4 year gap between him and Katya.

I may be remembering wrong, so please, any corrections are welcome.

Sean seemed older; he always complained about his age, didn't he?

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Sean seemed older; he always complained about his age, didn't he?

Yeah, iirc, I just couldn't nail it down. I also considered that both he and Charles seemed to be in love with Moira, and if they are rivals for her attention, then Sean could have even been in his 40s.

Agreed. Damn, Nick Fury must've given him the Infinity Formula to slow his aging down or something.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW


Agreed. Damn, Nick Fury must've given him the Infinity Formula to slow his aging down or something.

That would keep him in line with Xavier and Mags, who've been plenty de-aged themselves too.

A little off-topic; what happened to Charles' TK abilities? When did they disappear completely?

There wasn't any explanation given for that, right?

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
A little off-topic; what happened to Charles' TK abilities? When did they disappear completely?

There wasn't any explanation given for that, right?

Not that I can recall, I think it was just one of those things that we only saw a couple of times before they stopped using it, and nobody else ever cared to pick it up.

Similar to Kurt's shadow-blending ability?

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Similar to Kurt's shadow-blending ability?

I think so, though Claremont was the last one to use the shadow-bending iirc, so I'm just going to assume he still has it, and **** everyone else.

"We're not teenagers."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tjh15NCZSFg/TpXD6jLpGMI/AAAAAAAAHrk/FIMPRUP_SVQ/s1600/new+X-Men.jpg

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
"We're not teenagers."

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tjh15NCZSFg/TpXD6jLpGMI/AAAAAAAAHrk/FIMPRUP_SVQ/s1600/new+X-Men.jpg

That was when Xavier was what, evil? Or an imposter? Or undercover?

The scene still works even if we exempt Colossus. Because of his powerset he didn't have to worry about being hurt, especially considering how Claremont (in a nice way) wouldn't shut the **** up about how durable he was.

Nightcrawler was around 20 when he was recruited (he has his 21st birthday during the annual with Doctor Strange), and Storm could easily be 20 when she's recruited, unless I'm remembering wrong.

I think he was just being mean for no real reason, jealous of how well Cyke's been doing without him? It's been a while. One of the best Cyclops' moments, btw.

Xavier was far from a flawless character. Even excluding the Deadly Genesis and other recent reveals.

Maybe time flew faster for Colossus?

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
I think he was just being mean for no real reason, jealous of how well Cyke's been doing without him? It's been a while. One of the best Cyclops' moments, btw.

Xavier was far from a flawless character. Even excluding the Deadly Genesis and other recent reveals.

Maybe time flew faster for Colossus?

Ah okay, I must be thinking of something else.

Yeah, he was always a bit of a ****. He had a noble dream, but he had a darker side too.

lol, that and it's kinda hard to limit the sixteen year old kid that's nigh-invincible and spent his entire life living through Siberian winters.

Originally posted by -Pr-
Ah okay, I must be thinking of something else.

Probably of that time when the dark side of his psyche took control during his dream? The evil Xavier with a cape thing (green in color, naturally, as all villains in Marvel are green). Appeared in TAS, too.

Originally posted by -Pr-
Yeah, he was always a bit of a ****. He had a noble dream, but he had a darker side too.

Way made him responsible for Wolverine's brainwashing shocklaugh

Originally posted by -Pr-
lol, that and it's kinda hard to limit the sixteen year old kid that's nigh-invincible and spent his entire life living through Siberian winters.

True.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Probably of that time when the dark side of his psyche took control during his dream? The evil Xavier with a cape thing (green in color, naturally, as all villains in Marvel are green). Appeared in TAS, too.



Way made him responsible for Wolverine's brainwashing shocklaugh



True.

All I remember is that there was an end of an arc where Xavier was like "It wasn't me/it was all an act" or something like that.

Oh ffs, seriously?

You even see him drinking during Nightcrawler's 21st. Even if the writer messed up Colossus's age, he's still probably been drinking vodka since he was 5, so it works.

Originally posted by -Pr-
Oh ffs, seriously?

Yes. It was a cross-over between Wolverine: Origins and X-Men Legacy, co-written by Mike Carey.

https://images.moviepilot.com/images/c_limit,q_auto:good,w_600/gpt4aoslwdwz60xjvw2k/the-6-darkest-things-professor-x-has-ever-done.jpg

Originally posted by -Pr-
he's still probably been drinking vodka since he was 5, so it works.

Sweet Jesus. How much did he actually do to him?

Most if not all of the memory wiping... normally, Weapon X implants are blamed for that, but Way/Carey had this stupid idea of making Xavier responsible...

It was the first "Original Sin" story. Years later, Marvel did an actual event called the same, which for example revealed how Stark sabotaged the gamma bomb and shit like that... smh.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Most if not all of the memory wiping... normally, Weapon X implants are blamed for that, but Way/Carey had this stupid idea of making Xavier responsible...

It was the first "Original Sin" story. Years later, Marvel did an actual event called the same, which for example revealed how Stark sabotaged the gamma bomb and shit like that... smh.

So wait, Weapon X did nothing? What about Silver Fox etc?

They didn't elaborate on that. In Xavier's defense, Wolverine was tasked with killing him, so mindraping Logan and remodeling him as a superhero wasn't that bad...

Honestly, all those retcons and "shocking reveals" are giving everyone a headache. Hell, according to Loeb's last story arc, it was actually Wolverine's plan to get Weapon X'd

https://universaldork.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/wolverine-312-page-20.jpg

...

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
They didn't elaborate on that. In Xavier's defense, Wolverine was tasked with killing him, so mindraping Logan and remodeling him as a superhero wasn't that bad...

Honestly, all those retcons and "shocking reveals" are giving everyone a headache. Hell, according to Loeb's last story arc, it was actually Wolverine's plan to get Weapon X'd

https://universaldork.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/wolverine-312-page-20.jpg

...

So if I wanted to read Logan's actual origin, is there no single story anymore?

Exactly. It's one big convoluted mess.

Logan's past should've stayed a mystery.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Exactly. It's one big convoluted mess.

Logan's past should've stayed a mystery.

Damn. That sucks.

He's not the only one.

What a great story Odin has. Usurper, rapist, Mjolnir disobeys him, etc.

Tony Stark... adopted, created the Hulk, invented Octavius' arms, etc.

What I'm saying is... writers should stop trying to mess with the past. The results are often catastrophic.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
He's not the only one.

What a great story Odin has. Usurper, rapist, Mjolnir disobeys him, etc.

Tony Stark... adopted, created the Hulk, invented Octavius' arms, etc.

What I'm saying is... writers should stop trying to mess with the past. The results are often catastrophic.

Yeah. Ever read that awful "children of the atom" origin for the xmen a while back, where they were all in the same school? crock of shit.

This one? Nope.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Men:_Children_of_the_Atom_(comics)



Omg...

It's REALLY ****ing bad. When I was trying to nail down Cyclops's proper origin, I ended up just disregarding it completely.

It doesn't even follow the timelines properly.

It wasn't referenced again?

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
It wasn't referenced again?

Not that I know of.

This is the updated list I have so far:

If Cyclops is 20:

Angel: 20
Beast: 20
Colossus: 16 (Recruited at 16)
Gambit: 16
Iceman: 18 (Recruited at 14)
Nightcrawler: 20 (Recruited at 20)
Rogue: 13-15 (Recruited at 17-18)
Shadowcat: 12-13 (Recruited at 13 1/2)

These are all general estimates based on comics, so you can go a year either way to make it fit.

Gambit? Rogue? Seriously?

Hey, I trust you, but it sounds just weird.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Gambit? Rogue? Seriously?

Hey, I trust you, but it sounds just weird.

Oh, it's all over the ****ing place. You weren't wrong when you talked about how awful it was. It doesn't help that Rogue is inconsistent as hell age-wise.

When Rogue joins, she says in an issue soon after that she's 18. In the very next issue, Colossus says he's "nearly twenty", so there's a 1-2 year gap between them. Colossus being 19 brings Shadowcat up to 15 or at least close to it, and she's already had her 14th birthday in space iirc.

By this time we're coming up on Inferno, and by my best guess that puts Scott and the like in their early 20s (say 22-23). Best I can tell, Gambit is 18 when the Mutant Massacre happens as it's not long after this that Inferno happens. In that nebulous gap between that and X-Men #1, I don't see more than 2-3 years of "in universe" time happening.

I'm just going off what I can glean from the comics and best guesses, so it's always open to editing and changes.

Not sure if that helps, but Gambit was a kid/young teenager at max during the Weapon X project (happening around 70s)...

Damn, Remy should be ~55 now then Might explain why he damaged his ankles when he jumped off the building with X-23.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Not sure if that helps, but Gambit was a kid/young teenager at max during the Weapon X project (happening around 70s)...

Damn, Remy should be ~55 now then Might explain why he damaged his ankles when he jumped off the building with X-23.

Sweet ****. It just goes to show how badly they are at keeping shit in line.

Yeah...

Gambit was hired by Mister Sinister to infiltrate the Weapon X lab and recover his old diary.

He succeeded, but after witnessing the atrocities there, Remy decided to blow the book up, as he felt it was all connected.

http://orig05.deviantart.net/3804/f/2008/330/9/8/gambit_page_3_weapon_x_fc_by_coltnoble.jpg

I'm certain Marvel put Gambit in that mini because "XMO: Wolverine" was coming to theaters next month or so.

Originally posted by StiltmanFTW
Yeah...

Gambit was hired by Mister Sinister to infiltrate the Weapon X lab and recover his old diary.

He succeeded, but after witnessing the atrocities there, Remy decided to blow the book up, as he felt it was all connected.

http://orig05.deviantart.net/3804/f/2008/330/9/8/gambit_page_3_weapon_x_fc_by_coltnoble.jpg

I'm certain Marvel put Gambit in that mini because "XMO: Wolverine" was coming to theaters next month or so.

Makes sense.

Stupid Marvel.

Sad thing is, that little backstory was probably the best thing about Weapon X: First Class mini-series.

And yeah, all FC minis are canon. Sigh.