If the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters existed in the real world, TMZ would be permanently planted outside its gates. With a school full of attractive superhero teachers and students, the tabloids would have a field day with the X-Men. While most of the time, the X-Men would be off saving the world from bad guys, they would also spend a fair amount of time doing a little extracurricular activity, and believe us, it’s not all softball games.

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Imagine the salacious headlines that would be plastered on the front pages of the tabloids! “Underage girl hooking up with older man made of steel!” “Man sleeps with cloned version of his dead ex-girlfriend!” “Genius falls in love with android!” “Headmaster who can control minds secretly wishes he could be with his best student!” Those are just the tip of the iceberg. The scandalous love affairs between X-Men spans all taboos. Hell, there’s even a couple that falls in love when one of them is in a coma! The love stories seen in the pages of X-Men would rival the trashiest soap opera, but fans eat it up. So, let’s take a look at 16 of the most scandalous liaisons in the history of Xavier’s School.

16 BEAST AND ABIGAIL BRAND

Beast and Abigail Brand in Marvel X-Men Comic panels

Hank McCoy aka Beast and Abigail Brand had an interesting love affair. While there were probably some emotions involved, on the outside this pairing seemed to be fueled by sex. After some heartbreaks in his past, stemming from his animalistic appearance, it was scandalous to have a woman so unabashedly lustful for McCoy. She was just into the big blue Beast and didn’t care who knew.

Abigail Brand is the half-alien, half-mutant leader of S.W.O.R.D., basically the alien version of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is a no-nonsense hothead, with a strange love of blue furry men. So where did this love of blue, furry men stem from? Well, it’s revealed that her love of blue, furry men was born from the fact that her father was also blue and furry, adding a whole new, scandalous subtext to the heated affair between Brand and Beast.

15 KITTY PRYDE AND COLOSSUS

15 Kitty Pryde and Colossus

Kitty Pryde will always be the sweetheart of the X-Men. She was so young when she joined Xavier’s School, and she was viewed as the little sister of the team. That’s what makes her relationship with Colossus totally creepy.

When the flirtation between Kitty and Peter began, most fans peg their ages as 14 and 19, respectively. Kitty was the aggressor with Peter telling her it was forbidden, even calling her “little one.” Of course, Colossus didn’t put an end to the flirtation, and gave in to his desires on multiple occasions. There were many times that Colossus and Kitty were spotted kissing passionately, when she was definitely under 18. The relationship was so scandalous, Marvel Editor Jim Shooter didn’t approve of it and ended it during Secret Wars. Thankfully, Kitty and Colossus waited until they were both adults to engage in the relationship again.

14 ROGUE AND MAGNETO

14 Magneto and Rogue

The strange love affair between Magneto and Rogue had its genesis during a story in Uncanny X-Men #274 where they were both in the Savage Land. They share a very brief romantic moment, but in actuality, they never had a relationship. That didn’t stop the “will they or won’t they” between the characters in the years to follow.

While they had a real relationship during Age of Apocalypse, Rogue and Magneto were always written as lovers that never had a fair chance. During battles, Rogue would reference their moment on the Savage Land. There were hints throughout issues that maybe their love affair could have lasted. Let’s be honest though, it’s a good thing this wasn’t explored more fully. The age difference alone is creepy. Magneto is clearly old enough to be Rogue’s father. That would be like Professor X hooking up with Jean Grey. Oh, wait…

13 PROFESSOR X AND JEAN GREY

3 Professor X and Jean Grey

Oh, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, what were you thinking? In a panel in X-Men #4 from 1964, Professor X is seen wishing Jean Grey luck as she ventures out on an adventure. She replies by telling Xavier, “Don’t worry…” and goes on her way. Xavier then thinks to himself, “As though I could help worrying about the one I love! But I can never tell her! I have no right! Not while I’m leader of the X-Men, and confined to this wheel-chair!” Oh, wow, where to begin.

It’s interesting a middle-aged man thinks the only inappropriate part of secretly lusting after a young teen girl is the fact that he’s the leader and in a wheel-chair. The icky-factor of this panel is off the charts. There’s just not much else to say other than “gross!” Thankfully this was never fully developed in subsequent issues.

12 MYSTIQUE AND DESTINY

13 Mysique and Destiny

When Destiny was first introduced in Uncanny X-Men #141, writer Chris Claremont has gone on record saying he always intended for her and Mystique to be lovers. Unfortunately, their relationship relied on innuendo for years due to the Comics Code Authority that had specific rules about portraying gay and bisexual relationships. The scandalous relationship would be even more taboo when it would have been revealed that Destiny and Mystique were the biological parents of Nightcrawler, with Mystique shapeshifting into a man for conception.

Eventually, it was revealed in much later issues that Mystique and Destiny had been lovers for decades. At the beginning of the 20th century, Destiny met a man by the name of Eric Raven, and they became friends and eventually partners. Eventually, Destiny learned that Eric was Mystique, but that didn’t end things. Their love affair persisted. If only the CCA would have allowed the relationship, we would have been spared another Mystique relationship on this list.

11 BEAST AND TRISH TILBY

12 Beast and Trish Tilby

Hank McCoy and Trish Tilby’s relationship is the definition of a toxic love affair. Jealousy, lies, and a lack of acceptance ran rampant during their rocky relationship. Trish Tilby was a news reporter that was a close ally with the X-Men, and mutants in general. After meeting Beast, they quickly fell for each other, but it was all downhill after that.

The rocky road began with Beast becoming jealous of Tilby’s co-worker relationship with her ex-husband. Then they fought over Tilby’s leaking of Legacy Virus information, where Hank dumps her. They eventually get back together, but then she breaks his heart. After Cassandra Nova “outed” their relationship to the world, she dumped Hank once and for all after headlines said their relationship was bestiality. Heartbroken, Hank tries to play it off by saying he’s gay, but that was later shown to be not true. Thankfully, they never rekindled their horrible relationship.

10 HAVOK AND ANNIE

11 Havok and Annie from Marvel Comics

Havok and Annie’s relationship is an example of what happens when something horribly creepy spawns from something that was meant to be sweet. During the time he was in a coma (long story, don’t ask), Havok “met” a nurse named Annie, and a relationship was born... a very creepy, weird, stupid relationship.

It’s best not to ask many questions, but the short version is that Havok and Annie shared telepathic dream time together while he was in a coma. When he awoke, he didn’t remember those times, but Annie did. Some drama with Polaris occurred, with Havok leaving Polaris at the altar. Then he remembers his comatose dream times with Annie and they fall madly in love. It’s such a weird, melodramatic soap opera angle that just never works. Thankfully the Brotherhood attacked the school and scared off Annie and she’s never seen again.

9 ANGEL AND HUSK

10 Angel and Husk

You know what the opposite of a hot sex scene is? It’s when two people have sex in front of their friends and family while flying. Gross. Paige Guthrie, aka Husk, is the teenage mutant with the power to rip her skin off to turn into any element. Angel is the early-30’s rich guy with angel wings, who can fly. The age difference alone would put them on this list, but the events of Uncanny X-Men #440 secured them as one of the most scandalous relationships in X-Men history.

After the X-Men visit Husk’s parent’s house, Husk and Angel kiss and decide to fly together to get more intimate. Yes, they actually have sex flying above the rest of the X-Men and Husk’s mom. It’s not even clever innuendo, either. There’s a panel where Wolverine catches Husk’s dress in the air after Angel takes it off her. It makes you long for the innocent days of Kitty and Colossus making out.

8 SHATTERSTAR AND RICTOR

9 Shatterstar and Rictor

Shatterstar and Rictor have a long, storied friendship in the X-Men Universe. From their time together in X-Force, the two heroes developed a close friendship that fans started to wonder about. While nothing was explicitly stated, many fans started to look at the relationship between these two heroes as potentially more than platonic. The controversy ensued with debates over whether this relationship was more than what meets the eye.

All questions were answered in X-Factor #45, when the two friends officially became more than friends. After a sudden breakup with a female teammate, Rictor was feeling a little vulnerable. That’s when his long, lost buddy Shatterstar comes back in his life, and the two share a passionate kiss. The scandal surrounding their friendship was finally put to bed when the world was shown that there was always a little more subtext going on between the two men.

7 CYCLOPS AND MADELYNE PRYOR

Madelyne Pryor striking Cyclops in Uncanny X-Men 175

In a tale as old as time, a man meets the clone of his dead ex-girlfriend. He marries said clone, has a baby, but then abandons both wife and baby for work. He then betrays his wife’s trust by dating his newly-resurrected ex-girlfriend, essentially ending their marriage. The wife goes crazy, and demons are involved, but eventually she fights her husband and his team. Evil clone wife dies. That’s the most basic way to describe the insanity that is the Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor story.

Somehow, through all of this, Cyclops actually comes out looking good. His friends and Jean Grey all say it’s not his fault, when it is clearly 100% his fault. There are so many layers to this scandalous relationship between Scott and Madelyne. Moral of the story, don’t go off marrying clones of your dead ex-girlfriend. It never ends well.

6 MYSTIQUE AND AZAZEL

7 Mystique and Azazel

Mystique has always been an independent, free-thinking mutant. That has led her to go down a dark path most of the time, but no matter what you think, she’s always been a fierce, strong woman. Apparently, writer Chuck Austen didn’t get that memo when he wrote her relationship with Azazel. The Mystique you get in that relationship is scared, melodramatic, and a baby killer.

We don’t have the time to go into Azazel’s history, but long story short, he’s a demon that comes to Earth to impregnate women. One such woman was Mystique. After leading Mystique on and impregnating her, Azazel decided to leave Earth. During the delivery, Mystique turned into her blue self and is chased out of town. Distraught after Azazel abandons her with a newborn, Mystique thought it would be best to throw little Nightcrawler off a cliff. Thankfully, he was teleported to safety, but it shows readers how ridiculously out of character Mystique truly was.

5 GAMBIT AND ROGUE

6 Rogue and Gambit

Southern belle meets bad boy about sums up the scandalous on-again, off-again love affair between Gambit and Rogue. Both characters are damaged and broken people, with troubled and mysterious pasts, but together they always seem to click. Then through the years, these two have been together, then apart, then together, then apart. It’s maddening.

The main reason that Gambit and Rogue grace this list is the fact that these two characters are bad for each other. Rogue and Gambit being a couple creates drama and scandal. If they would be able to leave each other alone, they could have become greater heroes. Look at the modern Rogue. She’s smart, strong, and a leader, but that’s only because she doesn’t have the Gambit dead weight dragging her down. All these two did for each other was drag everyone else into their drama.

4 WOLVERINE AND STORM

5 Wolverine and Storm

Let’s face it, any relationship that Wolverine is part of is dramatic. However, when you date someone after a messy divorce, and years of being friends, it’s a downright scandal. That’s what happened when Storm and Wolverine hooked up. For years, Storm and Wolverine have been flirtatious. They’ve always been the odd men out of the X-Men relationship drama. Wolverine always pined for Jean Grey, and Storm was a professional who didn’t bother with the drama and only dated sparingly.

That changed when Storm divorced Black Panther and ran the Jean Grey School with Wolverine. Sparks flew and for once, these two X-Men were given a chance at love. Some might say that this is scandalous because Storm was coming out of a relationship and could have used Logan as a rebound. Other’s might point out that this is just a relationship born out of convenience. Either way, this relationship was never given a real chance with Wolverine’s eventual death.

3 MADISON JEFFRIES AND DANGER

4 Madison Jeffries and Danger

Marvel has never shied away from robot love in their comics. One of the most classic love stories in the history of Marvel is between Scarlet Witch and Vision. However, that doesn’t really make the short love affair between Danger and Madison Jeffries any less scandalous.

Madison Jeffries is a mutant with the ability to control plastic and glass. He’s also hopelessly attracted to a robot named Danger. Danger is the sentient version of the X-Men’s Danger Room. See? It’s weird. They go on a date after Jeffries is hypnotized and asks out Danger. They have a picnic and a pretty nice time. Seriously, a man takes a female robot on a picnic date. It’s similar to Beast dating Cerebro or Wolverine dating the Blackbird. It’s just a strange pairing of a man with a female robot, that was brought upon by hypnotism. Can’t get much more scandalous than that.

2 WOLVERINE AND JEAN GREY

2 Wolverine and Jean Grey

You are either Team Logan or Team Scott when it comes to Jean Grey. Before Twilight, and the ridiculous number of copycats, there was the most important love triangle – Cyclops/Jean Grey/Wolverine. Eventually, Cyclops and Jean Grey made it official, but even after that, Jean was always tempted by the little fur ball with claws.

The "will they or won’t they" love affair between Wolverine and Jean Grey is classic X-Men storytelling. Jean Grey is married to the smart, successful leader, but deep down, she craves the wild, bad boy. Whenever Scott and Jean would fight, she’d confide in Logan and maybe they would sneak a kiss. This prevented Logan from ever really finding a true love because he always wanted the girl he could never have. The real tragedy is how when Scott and Jean call it quits, he only briefly gets a passionate moment with her before she dies.

1 CYCLOPS AND EMMA FROST

1 Cyclops and Emma Frost

You either love Emma Frost or hate her. Even after Wolverine tried for years to come between Scott and Jean, it took Emma Frost to make it official. She is the woman that broke up the X-Men’s most perfect relationship, and she did it with a smile on her face. Emma even used her powers to make herself look more like Jean to help seduce Scott, which is the definition of scandalous.

Emma and Scott’s relationship also marks the turning point in the history of Scott Summers. He was the boy scout and Xavier devotee who was married to the most amazing mutant ever. Then he falls for Emma and he goes to the dark side. He ultimately becomes the misunderstood villain, and it’s clear that Emma was the driving force in that transformation. The drama and scandal that surrounded Scott and Emma’s relationship tore the X-Men apart.

Which Uncanny X-Liaison was your favorite? Let us know in the comments!