Most superhero teams showcase strong, heroic characters, with moral codes as strong as their shields. Teams like the Avengers and Justice League represent the best of the best -- not just in terms of powers, but also in character. For the most part (though there are a few exceptions) these superheroes are “Good” with a capital “G.” And then there are the X-Men. Unlike most other superhero squads, the members of the X-Men weren’t chosen because of their upstanding morality. Xavier didn’t want them because he saw the next generation of civil servants. He wanted them because they were mutants. The X-gene is the only common factor among the X-Men. This means there are a lot of X-Men members who don’t share the same love for the golden rule as Captain America and Superman. Most of X-Men members are just normal people who happened to be born with the X-gene -- they didn’t ask to be heroes and they don’t always act like heroes.

That isn’t to say there aren’t X-Men who do act like heroes. Everyone who calls him or herself an X-Men member has had a heroic moment or two. Still, like everyday people, the X-Men can be less than heroic. They hold grudges, start petty arguments, and say pretty nasty things when they get angry. In particular, the X-Men are known for not getting along with each other. The X-gene lumped them together but it didn’t make them like one another. We’re counting down twenty of the most infamous X-Men teammate rivalries that have stained the pages of X-Men comics for decades.

20 GAMBIT AND WOLVERINE

Put two guys who struggle with paranoia and social environments into a room together and you have Gambit and Wolverine’s first meeting. Like Angel, Remy LeBeau doesn’t always get along with his long-time teammate Wolverine. This makes sense: both Wolverine and Gambit are certified jerks. The fact that they’re so similar, and have many of the same issues, is what puts stress on their relationship.

They’ve physically fought in the past, with Wolverine going so far as to batter Remy in "Messiah Complex". However, they’ve also starred together a series together. Even still, with two mutants like Wolverine and Gambit, we’re pretty sure they’re still holding their grudges.

19 KITTY PRYDE AND EMMA FROST

Katherine “Kitty” Pryde’s first step into the world of mutants was meeting Emma Frost. Emma visited Kitty at her home after the young mutant’s powers emerged and offered her a place at her nefarious academy. Kitty turned her down and joined the X-Men but a few months later, Emma telepathically forced Kitty to become her pupil. Eventually, the X-Men got their young charge out but the event made Kitty’s hatred for Emma sink deep.

Years later, after Emma joined the X-Men, Kitty and her once-teacher became teammates Astonishing X-Men. Kitty was distrustful of Emma for most of the series. Her distrust solidified after Cassandra Nova possessed Emma and forced her to mentally torture Kitty. They eventually made amends, but Kitty still treats Emma with a cold shoulder.

18 ROGUE AND MYSTIQUE

Rogue Fights Mystique

The relationship between mothers and daughters is rarely easy. Parenting in any form can be a serious challenge, but there’s something especially difficult about mothers and daughters. That’s certainly the case for Rogue and her adopted mother Mystique, who haven’t gotten along well in a very long time.

The century-old mutant Mystique adopted the abandoned Rogue when she was a child and raised her to be a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. When Rogue grew up, she fought with the Brotherhood until she realized that Mystique had effectively brainwashed her into being a killing machine. Rogue joined the X-Men but, unfortunately, Mystique was never far behind. Mystique’s criminal past and constant meddling makes her relationship with Rogue strained at best.

17 CABLE AND BISHOP

Cable Fights Bishop

There is pretty much only one reason why X-Men members Cable and Bishop can’t be in the same room without fighting. That reason’s name is Hope Summers. Hope was the first mutant born after M-Day and while most of the X-Men saw that as a positive sign, Bishop saw her as a threat. For years, he chased Hope and her adoptive guardian Cable through time and space, trying to kill the “Mutant Messiah.”

He never succeeded but his persistent need to murder the only thing Cable cared about in life mutilated Bishop’s relationship with Cable. Now that Hope is no longer a major player in comics, it’s unknown whether they were able to come to some sort of truce.

16 M AND JUBILEE

Jubilee and Monet

The 1994 series Generation X welcomed a whole new cast of mutant characters, including the now-popular Monet St. Croix (or “M” for short). Both incredibly gifted and exceedingly narcissistic, M frequently clashed with her teammate and fellow mutant Jubilee because of her unnerving personality. Similar to Wolverine and Angel, M and Jubilee mixed as well as oil and water. Jubilee’s care-free outlook and joking disposition seemed alien to M, who rarely joked unless it was at someone else’s expense.

With a character as cold as M, any of the X-Men could’ve become her sworn rival. It just so happened, Jubilee was the first target she set her eyes on. Their relationship isn’t violent, and they’ve had some sweet moments, but there’s still some bad blood between them.

15 FIRESTAR AND ICEMAN

If you weren’t a fan of the very dated, poorly animated TV show Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, you might be a little surprised to see Firestar and Iceman on the list. For the most part, the two don’t really cross paths in the comics. Bobby is part of the “old-school” X-Men group from the ‘60s and Angelica Jones’ is (somewhat) newer, first arriving on the scene in 1981.

However, this duo did star in Spider-Man’s show, and they appeared in the subsequent comic. In later issues, Firestar and Iceman began dating and quickly fell in love. But, as with so many superhero relationships, Iceman and Firestar’s love story ended in flames. After what was said, chances are they don’t talk much anymore.

14 STORM AND MORROW

Marrow Fights Storm

You have to try pretty hard to get on Storm’s bad side. Naturally kind and forgiving, the weather “goddess” ordinarily isn’t anything like her burly ex, Wolverine. The only exception to that rule is the mutant Marrow. A true ‘90s creation, Marvel created Marrow during a frenzied time in comics. They gave her the bizarre mutant power of accelerated bone growth and a childlike bad attitude.

Marrow’s relationship with Storm went awry when the young mutant implanted a bomb inside her heart. She thought that would make the X-Men give up, but instead Storm forcibly ripped Marrow’s heart out. She survived and later joined the X-Men, but neither she nor Storm ever got over that day and they continue to be on rocky terms.

13 FIRESTAR AND EMMA FROST

Firestar flying through the city

Although Firestar appears on this list twice, she isn’t an intrinsically difficult person. More, it’s the people who she surrounds herself with that cause her problems. In her origin series, Firestar, a young Angelica Jones makes a big mistake when she trusts Emma Frost to be her mutant teacher. Emma fulfills her promise and trains Angelica, but she does so in order to use her young pupil as a trained assassin.

Once Firestar learns of her teacher’s villainous hidden agenda, she’s furious. In a fiery battle, the future X-Men member tries to take out Emma. In the end, she leaves the White Queen unscathed. But, before leaving, Firestar demands she leave her alone forever. Not surprisingly, the terrified Emma agrees.

12 ROGUE AND SCARLET WITCH

Thanks to three little words, Scarlet Witch has racked up her fair share of enemies. Her spell that wiped out the majority of the mutant population ticked off most of the X-Men, but few were quite as vexed as Rogue. Neither party is ever open to communication, so their hatred for each other has only increased over the years. Since their both “heavy-hitters” in terms of superpowers, their physical fights are some of the worst on this list.

While the problem is double sided, Rogue is perhaps the guiltiest party. Even though Wanda has apologized and gained the forgiveness of other X-Men members, Rogue refuses to move past M-Day. She continues to view Wanda as a global threat that needs extinguishing.

11 DAKEN AND ICEMAN

Daken and Iceman

Wolverine’s son, Daken, is just about as hard to get along with as his dear old dad. Armed with claws, healing factor, and the ability to alter emotions via pheromones, Daken is also just as dangerous. The young time-displaced Iceman finds this out firsthand during his solo series. In it, Daken “steals” one of Bobby’s students, which leads to a fight.

Weeks later, things escalate further when Daken attacks the X-Mansion and critically injures Bobby’s boyfriend. Because Daken has Apocalyptic-power coursing through his veins at the time of the attack, Bobby isn’t able to defeat him. While Bobby tends to his boyfriend’s injuries, Daken escapes. Iceman is a forgiving guy, but we’re pretty sure he won’t be teaming up with Daken anytime soon.

10 CYCLOPS AND HOPE SUMMERS

Hope Fights Cyclops

Cyclops and Hope Summers are technically family, but they don’t always treat each other as such. When Cyclops met a teenage Hope for the first time, they immediately clashed thanks to Hope’s constant willingness to break the rules (and Cyclops’ willingness to follow them).

During Avengers vs. X-Men, Cyclops became the Phoenix, which infuriated Hope who, since birth, was “destined” to become a Phoenix host. This series also saw numerous battles between Cyclops and Hope, which only intensified their already bitter feud. Since Cyclops is now dead and Hope is rarely mentioned in recent comics, their relationship can’t be identified precisely. But, just by looking at the events in A vs. X, it’s safe to say they weren’t very close.

9 SABRETOOTH AND WOLVERINE

Wolverine and Sabretooth snarl at each other and prepare to duel

The fan-favorite feud between the clawed mutant Wolverine and Sabretooth goes way back. They first encountered each other in 1912, when Creed mortally wounded Logan’s lover Silverfox. Many years later, Wolverine and Sabretooth met for the first time while sporting their costumed personas. Naturally, the two rage-filled mutants attacked one another, though neither technically “won” the fight.

Instead, the two created a never-ending cycle of hunting and brawling that somehow lasted half a century. There have been moments where the two briefly get along, but their age-old rivalry always reappears. This is partly because they both have healing factors, which makes them each other's perfect enemy. In a weird way, they were sort of made for one another to hate.

8 CYCLOPS AND PROFESSOR X

Cyclops and Xavier

In the first issue of X-Men, Charles Xavier is the equivalent of Cyclops’ father. He would do anything for Scott and Scott would do the same. In Xavier’s last appearance, a Phoenix-possessed Scott take out his mentor. So, where did everything go wrong?

For most of his life, Charles had a good relationship with Scott. But, as time went on and Scott took over more X-Men leadership duties, their close bond faltered. Cyclops began questioning some of Charles’ more controversial decisions, such as imprisoning the sentient Danger Room in Astonishing X-Men and ending his twin sister. By the time Scott gained the Phoenix force in A vs. X, he was harboring a lot of ill feelings for Charles, and the Phoenix released those feelings.

7 LAYLA MILLER AND WOLFSBANE

Compared to most of the people on this list, X-Factor members Layla Miller and Wolfsbane don’t have a horrible relationship. Wolfsbane just had frequent and violent visions of murdering Layla in order to prevent her from marrying Rahne’s long-term crush Multiple Man. As far as X-Men go, that’s practically just another day at the office.

Layla and Wolfsbane don’t necessarily hate each other, as evidenced by the dozens of X-Factor issues where they appear somewhat friendly. The only reason they’re on the list is because of a ridiculous love triangle. Layla (who can “see” the future) claims she’ll marry Multiple Man one day... which infuriates Wolfsbane. After Rahne began having visions of killing Layla, their relationship became suitably more strained.

6 RACHEL GREY AND STORM

Rachel and Storm have never physically fought like Rogue and Scarlet Witch, but they don’t exactly always get along swimmingly. As frequent teammates, Rachel and Storm are oftentimes forced to fight side by side -- even if they don’t want to. They’re not the kind of characters to use their fists to solve their problems, but they’re both willing to stand their ground when verbally accused.

In the 2013 run of X-Men, Storm becomes the leader of the X-Men, much to Rachel’s ire. After Storm makes a few hasty and questionable decisions that could’ve put lives in danger, Rachel confronts her. The argument that follows recklessly endangers their mission. They realize this and handle the situation maturely, but their relationship suffers afterward.

5 MULTIPLE MAN AND SIRYN

multiple man siryn

During her fairly short life, Siryn, aka Theresa Cassidy, hasn’t had an easy life. Her parents died, she was raised by a supervillain, and she had the unfortunate displeasure of meeting and dating Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man. Jamie easily seduces her and uses “dupes” to maintain relationships with both Monet St. Croix and Siryn. Eventually, the girls find out about Jamie’s cheating.

However, since Theresa discovers she’s pregnant around that same time, she stays with him. When Theresa gives birth, Jamie absorbs the baby, thus revealing the baby to be a dupe. In her anger, Siryn breaks his finger and promises to break his neck the next time she sees him.

4 WOLVERINE AND ARCHANGEL

Wolverine and Angel have been members of the same X-Men team numerous times but, for some reason, they just can’t get along. The origin of their age-old grudge is unknown, but chances are it derives from the two mutants’ obvious differences. Their personalities and their backgrounds are so opposite that it makes working together difficult. Logan thinks Angel’s rich and vain while Angel sees Wolverine as the hard-headed canuck with a bad attitude. From the start, they were never supposed to be friends.

Recent times, however, have changed that a little. In a somewhat random show of moral responsibility, Angel apologized to Wolverine for treating him poorly for so long. Wolverine kindly accepted the apology and shortly after the pair reformed the X-Force team together.

3 MAGNETO AND PROFESSOR X

Magneto Fights Charles Xavier

As most X-Men film fans know, the famous duo of Charles Xavier and Magneto wasn’t always tainted with violence. For years, Charles and Xavier were friends who shared a similar passion for mutant rights. It wasn’t until Xavier began expanding his influence on young mutants that Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, became the caped supervillain Magneto.

Although both Charles and Magneto have always wanted to help mutants, their different methods kept them from combining forces. Magneto always believed mutants should be the dominant race, presiding over humans instead of under. On the other end, Charles wanted humans and mutants to live together peacefully. Their differing opinions frequently led to fighting, though Charles’ death led to Magneto joining the X-Men out of unspoken guilt.

2 EMMA FROST AND JEAN GREY

They’re probably not the most well known hateful X-Men duo on our list, but Emma Frost and Jean Grey’s rough relationship is a fan-favorite in the X-Men comic fandom. Emma’s first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #129 and 130 also mark her first meeting with a Phoenix-infused Jean Grey. Their first fight quickly ended with a badly beaten Emma.

The White Queen’s injured ego tainted the pair’s relationship, even after Emma joined the X-Men officially. In New X-Men, Jean and her husband Cyclops’ deteriorating marriage encourages Emma to have a psychic affair with Scott -- which Jean eventually discovers. The nasty fight that ensues solidifies the two as sworn enemies. With the adult Jean recently resurrected, it’ll be interesting to see if she and Emma can finally get along, sans Cyclops and the Phoenix.

1 WOLVERINE AND CYCLOPS

Like so many of the other X-Men on our list, Wolverine and Cyclops didn’t like each other from day one. While they definitely have the capacity to be friendly, Cyclops and Wolverine’s strong personalities naturally pin them against one another. With a loner like Logan and a team player like Cyclops, their constant feuding makes sense.

To make matters worse, both Wolverine and Cyclops had feelings for the same girl: Jean Grey. Most of Cyclops and Wolverine’s interactions in the ‘80s and ‘90s dealt with the redheaded telepath. Cyclops always won, but Jean’s lingering attraction to Wolverine made the situation very complicated (and occasionally violent).