The X-Men are one of Marvel's foremost teams. The team consists of some of the most powerful and skilled heroes around, facing down threats that no one else could handle. They also have a very interesting mission mandate: they aren't just superheroes, but also teachers of the next generation of mutants and a group that exists to defend mutants from the racism of humans while also showing how foolish that racism is, defending a world of bigots who hate and fear them. That's a lot for any group and they need a leader who can handle all of that.
Luckily, they have Cyclops, a man who has spent years proving just how good of an X-Man he is. That said, is Cyclops the best choice for leader of the X-Men, or are there better alternatives? Let's take a look.
10 Cyclops Should Be Leader: Making The Hard Choices
Cyclops has been leading the X-Men since he was a teenager and all of that time as leader has gotten him used to making some very hard choices. Every leader has to make hard choices, but those are compounded when one is the leader of the X-Men, any wrong choice can cost mutantkind a lot more than just a simple loss for a superteam.
Cyclops has taken a lot of heat over the years for his decisions and he's okay with that. He knows that a leader isn't going to be the most popular person on the team and he's more than willing to be the bad guy if it means everything working out.
9 A Better Choice: Storm
Storm has been a leader of the X-Men before and she took to it very well. After her amazing powers manifested, she was a goddess to the people of the African veldt and this prepared her for leadership. While one would think this experience would make her haughty, she was actually a very compassionate leader of the team, always ready to listen to her teammates when they had better ideas.
She also had a spine of steel to her, ready to take down anyone who messed with her and her teammates. Her tactical acuity grew over the years as well and she's proven herself to be one of the best leaders the team has ever had.
8 Cyclops Should Be Leader: His Optic Blasts
Cyclops's optic blasts are easily underestimated as just some beams he shoots from his eyes. However, that's a terrible way of looking at them. While they may not be as flashy as some other powers, his optic blasts are one of the most useful and devastating powers of any X-Man. He's spent years honing them and they've made him into one of the most formidable heroes around.
Cyclops has used his optic blasts to even up the odds against many foes. Their power and utility allow him to lead from the front, taking the fight directly to the team's foes.
7 A Better Choice: Nightcrawler
Nightcrawler is a long time member of the team who hasn't really gotten the chance to lead the main team very much. He does have some leadership experience, having led the team Excalibur. As a member of the X-Men, he's someone who everybody respects and looks up to, having overcome a lot to become the hero he is.
Nightcrawler has what it takes to be a leader and deserves a chance to lead the A-team. He's already set himself apart from the others as a member of the team and it's time for him to shine as the leader.
6 Cyclops Should Be Leader: All Those Years Of Experience
Cyclops has been leading the X-Men for most of its existence, starting off with the team back when they first revealed themselves to the public. There are few leaders of any team who have the kind of experience that he has leading- he's been fighting the good fight from the front since he was a teenager, spending most of his life in the trenches.
While he's not always the most liked mutant, he's definitely one of the most inspiring, having seen the team and mutantkind through some terrible times in his long tenure as team leader.
5 A Better Choice: Kitty Pryde
Kitty Pryde has had a chance to lead the X-Men, taking over after the team's war with the Inhumans. However, the team was sort of in flux at this point and it's not a well regarded run as a leader. However, she did a very good job as leader with what she had to work with, running the school and group after a very stressful time for mutantkind.
Lately, Kitty has proven how good of a leader she is with the Hellfire Trading Company and the Marauders and it would be a great time for her to prove what she can do with the main team after her stint there is over.
4 Cyclops Should Be Leader: Not Just A Hero But A Teacher
One of the most important parts of being leader of the X-Men is the ability to teach and train others. Often, the team finds powerful mutants and has to teach them not only how to control their powers but also how to integrate themselves into a team. Over the years, Cyclops has proven himself an expert at this sort of thing.
Cyclops knows what it's like to have a mutation that is hard to control and to learn how to live with it. He brings that experience to his teaching of young mutants. He's also an expert at setting up training regimens that put the team through their paces, readying them for anything they face on the battlefield.
3 A Better Choice: Jean Grey
Jean Grey is a long-time member of the X-Men who hasn't gotten as much chance as one would imagine in leading the team. She's lead the main team on occasion but her most successful stint as leader was her time in charge of X-Men Red. She led that team against one of the X-Men's most dangerous foes, Cassandra Nova, and was able to counter her at every turn.
Defeating someone as formidable as Nova is a big feather in Jean's cap and proof positive she has what it takes to lead the X-Men against any threat they come across.
2 Cyclops Should Be Leader: The Mutant Gold Standard
While Cyclops has made mistakes over the years, he's more than proven himself to be the gold standard when it comes right down to it. Even mutants who don't like him respect him because of his tenacity and skill. He's the poster boy of mutant perfection, the consummate leader, and hero.
If there ever was an ideal for just what a member of the X-Men should be, it would be Cyclops. He hasn't let his mutation hobble him, turning a negative into a plus. He's trained himself to perfection, fighting the good fight even when other would have given up, and held the mutant race together during its worst day. There are few, if any, who could do what he's done over the years.
1 A Better Choice: Wolverine
Wolverine has grown and changed over the years more than just about any X-Man. He went from the gruff loner that bucked authority to a valuable team player and one of the team's most important members. He would get his first cracks at leadership with X-Force, the mutant black ops squad, but after a fight with Cyclops over how the team was run, would strike out on his own.
He would re-establish the school in New York, renaming it the Jean Grey School and lead his own team of X-Men, proving that he could do everything as a leader that anyone else could. Since then, he's died and come back, taking a back seat since his resurrection, but he's proven he has what it takes to be an amazing team leader.