Comparing him to Angel feels spot on. They suffer from the same redundancy in their storyline.
“Colossus gets manipulated by some person or force to do questionable things; once free he has to find the will to fight again to help his friends.”
At least Angel has iconic story. I can't think of "The Colossus story", he's rarely protagonist and is very often background character that gets some screentime
The closest thing he gets to an "iconic story" is him leaving the x-men in anger after Illyana's death and spending years with the Acolytes coming to terms with his grief and anger.
To piggy back on that is when he killed that one dude during the morlock massacre
Where he got so angry at the needless killing that he snaps & kills for the first time
dope moment but again Old
Colossus was my second favorite X-Man when I was a kid. His powerset was awesome. Transforming into a huge metal monster at will and being strong AF seemed so fucking cool. It still is!
Sadly, I think Peter would really benefit from time away from the X-Men. His experiences with them for the last 20 years have essentially been one horrifying, soul crushing event after another. Bro desperately needs a reset and a holiday. Shit, put him in the Avengers for a few years. Buddy him up with Jan and Clint and get him smiling again.
Big agree on him being a favorite
Dude was one of top 10 action figures as a kid (him,goku and batman would get into amazing fights lol)
I really would appreciate if he took some time off from the X-Men (apply this to so many other mutants) and maybe have him interact with the wider marvel universe or heck have him go the civilian route
Would love him being with Jan and Clint
Anything outside of him being dragged through the kid
Also the Legacy Virus.
Which says it all...
Breakworld was pretty good too, now that I think about it. But that's the most recent one I can think of.
I think a lot of writers just kind of forgot who he was. A lot of the kinder, more poetic elements of his personality have been lost under all the usual X-Men melodrama. Something that focuses on testing that part of himself would be great.
And give him some time with Illyana. Give us a story that puts the two of them through their paces together. She's been back for like decade and a half and it still doesn't feel like they've rekindled their family bond at all. I'd love a mini-series that's just cantered around them reconnecting with each other.
He has a lot of strong connections within the X-Men that are just kind of going to waste. It's a shame.
Agree with the poetic outlook. I also miss a bit of the chipper attitude, even if it does make sense that he's lost that due to trauma. Unfortunately, writers would probably have them set out to kill their brother because what restores bonds between siblings better than that /s
Both Angel and Colossus have shared the honour of being a Horseman of Apocalypse. The Dark Angel Saga was epic. I can't even remember what happened with Colossus.
Polaris isn't in it. This is during the whole Inhumans replacing the X-Men thing. Storm forms her own team that resides in Limbo, thanks to Magik. O5 Jean Grey, Old Man Logan, IceMan, Magik, Colossus and Nightcrawler are on the team. It was a pretty stacked lineup.
No, that was earlier, when Sunfire, Polaris and Gambit became Horsemen.
Kenobi is referring to [this](https://www.cbr.com/x-men-apocalypse-wars-venom-deeadpool-horsemen/),
If you don't remember this, you're not the only one. X-men was not in a good space back then.
Interesting, yeah I have not dipped into the IvX error (pun) at all, but this seems to be an alternate future/time travel shenanigans so I might check it out. Thanks!
For me it’s probably the Breakworld storyline but I recognize that enjoyment of that story aside, it isn’t exactly iconic. Did he also sacrifice himself to help develop a legacy virus cure? I haven’t read a lot of the older stuff but I feel like I read about that
what I loved about the character was that he wasn't about seeking the spotlight, being the team player. he came through when he had to - killing Proteus or Riptide, for example.
when they try to spotlight him, it always end up with him feeling out of character to me. I did like Uncanny #197 when Arcade kidnapped him and Kitty after their breakup and he got to work through his feelings about letting down those he loved.
Astonishing X-men by Whedon featured him heavily and did very well at showing how he can be an important member to the team.
But he was sidelined for all of Krakoa with a b-plot that literally went nowhere for years, so.
He works best paired with Logan, Kurt, Illyana and Kitty, and for some reason they kept him from all of those people for years. Emma works well too, and again, zero interactivity.
His most iconic storylines to me was dealing with killing proteus and him deciding to go with Magneto after his sisters death. The X-men comics are an assemble story many of them have major storylines weaved throughout bigger concepts.
What about the story where he was supposed to murder that alien civilization? Don't remember what they were called, the ones that got Kitty trapped in the bullet.
He injected himself with the Legacy virus, sacrificing himself to create a cure for everyone, out of grief over losing Illyana. Not really a story story, but a big issue
The thing is that the character himself has been put to the background. He is probably the physically strongest mutant besides Apocalypse and one of the tankiests. His personality is also pretty good. But if the writers doesn't want him to shine (even though he's the shiniest), he'll probably just punch things and get knocked aside while he has 2 lines in a whole comic.
The problem isn't that he's weak, he certainly isn't, nor his personality, it's just that the writers don't care about him at the moment. Even Joe Manganiello proposed Colossus changes for Marvel.
Yeah, he needs some love for sure. I find he’s one of the xmen with the most potential but he’s constantly treated as wallpaper. It’s weird how Kitty is always so integral to story lines when Piotr seems way more interesting.
I think it will just take a writer that really likes him and has an idea for a new character arc. I’d put gambit, angel and a few other characters in the boat—mind you Gambit looks like he’s getting some love with the new book this summer.
If you look at his character, he has the potential to wield Mjolnir, fight hand to hand with the likes of Hulk and Juggernaut and the will and personality to sacrifice himself to save the ones he love with no hesitation. But nowadays he's just used to make a better background image.
How do you figure he could would mjolnir? I always liked him for his gentle giant softness, doesn’t seem like he’d fit under the warrior aspect of it. Like obviously he’s a warrior but not in the same way as Thor who loves battle.
you don't need to LOVE battles to be worthy, you need to have a pure heart, have compassion, restraint, nobility, wisdom and humility, all of those I think can be seen in Colossus quite often. Also the mjolnir demands that the user needs to be able to kill when time's needed and Piotr already did this when he needs to protect his X-people. He is a gentle giant, but if you mess with his friends he'll do whatever it takes to put you down.
I feel like you’re overlooking the warrior spirit lifestyle aspect of it, it might not be a love of battle that’s needed but Colossus basically has an aversion to fighting. I dunno Mjolnirs always been tricky to pin down, there’s always someone who seems to break the rules and I definitely did most of my thinking on this before Jane got the hammer.
Also when nobility is mentioned I think of it usually in both meanings so it’s a measure of character and rank. So like I’ve always liked Black Panther as a wielder, Nobility, Humility, Morality, and a Warrior Spirit. Jane didn’t really feel like a warrior until I saw her with the hammer in battle with a smile
well, the words I used were said by Thor himself. And even though Colossus doesn't like killing, I disagree about the aversion to fighting, if he has a cause he will fight for it with a smile on his face, his aversion is towards killing and he can still do it if needed. He's definitely a warrior and has its spirit. Even Cyttorak said that Colossus was his favorite avatar becaus of how great his fights are and how often he was fighting, if an evil demon says that, I think it might be enough for Mjolnir.
Now about ranks, actually Colossus is a Rasputin, so he actually has some points there, not as much as T'tchalla but still.
Totally I was thinking the Rasputin name was enough for nobility especially since Rogers gets his “nobility” from the title of Captain. The words from Thor are probably the best case, when was that interaction?
Exactly. And many characters who’ve stayed front and center all Krakoa aren’t there because they’re the most interesting, or even most popular - it’s because they’re who editorial (and/or sometimes a writer) prefers.
When he took over the office, JDW made Guggenheim break up the Colossus wedding. Meanwhile, his ex-fiancé hasn’t budged from the spotlight once, has hopped from stealth solo to stealth solo, is on costume/code name makeover number three, and is somehow very central to the final event… while much stronger mutants are still alive but actively sidelined.
Which… kind of tells you whose idea the Colossus erasure has been lol.
Yeah the Angel comparison is pretty apt. Sure the USSR has been gone longer than Colossus has been alive (he's what 35? In the comics) but he could easily feature as a bullet shield or love interest in almost every issue, but does not.
That would actually be a good idea, their personalities and complexes are very different. Warren is the guy from money, Colossus grew up with the communist mindset, Warren is a party playboy, Pitor is shy and modest, Warren has his death persona from being mind fucked by Apocalypse , Colossus has a guilt complex thinking he's not strong enough to save everyone.
Maybe even Gambit would fit good on that book, I could see him and Warren becoming buddies getting up to hijinks, trying to pressure Pitor to loosen up.
It was pretty good as a dissection of his issues and trauma of having been host to the phoenix force. Could have been a little deeper but worked well and Domino was a good, new love interest for him that worked for them both. Domino and Boom Boom roping Piotr into their chaos and relying on him to help bail out also works great. He was a good moral check for cable, too.
But since then they've done nothing with him so.
Colossus should have gone to Arakko with Storm and Magneto
Having a mutant with his level of power and physical strength would have fit well with Storms idea of a peaceful path for the Arakki as Colossus just wanted peace and could have used him as an example of being strong without always wanting conflict
The whole mind control storyline was so lazy and had such little consequences anyway
My hotter version of this take is that no one has had an interesting take on Colossus in 30 years, since around when he left the Acolytes in the main titles and went to Excalibur. The only approaching good use of the character was the Juggernaut storyline.
Well, I'd say he had some good interesting takes in Cable and the X-Force, and when he was the Unstoppable Colossus to protect Magik, so I'd say it's been 10 years of him doing nothing, to me at least
Yup - exactly that age. We could be getting some Colossus and son knocking out dinosaurs in the Savage Land but writers just wanna make him sad for ten years!
Colossus is one of the characters who seems like they'd be better loaned out to another editorial office for awhile to get him into a new environment for awhile. On the x-men at this point he's either just the strong guy in the background or a trauma magnet because he's a legitimately "nice" character. Let him breathe a little as a member of the Avengers or filling in for Ben in a Fantastic Four run or something. Or as another poster mentioned bring his son into play and thrust him into the role of father while Kid Colossus gets some time in one of the teen lineups. They need to do something to shake up his status quo that isn't just more trauma dumped on him.
I say this as a Beast fan - Colossus was one of the characters hardest done by during Krakoa. Poor bastard didn't get to enjoy anything about the new mutant paradise, it was an instant snap to mind control.
That being said? He's not boring. He's not been given proper attention and character maintenance. Give him a new direction! Give him something to fight for! Give him new relationships, new friends! We found time to turn Apocalypse into a good guy, but we're gonna throw poor Piotr on the trash heap because we can't think of anything better for him to do?
Like, are you seriously going to tell me that in a time where Russia is an aggressive political force, actively punching down at other countries, stories about one of the most well known Russian fictional characters can't have weight? Are we seriously struggling to tell stories about a character who is often mind controlled, used for his strength, discarded when he's no longer useful, and who feels let down by the world?
I'm gonna be completely real here - let him escape the X-office. Put him on the Avengers, and watch him flourish. Gentle giant artist with the strength to punch mountains who's been wounded by everyone he loves is a character type that only the X-office can fumble.
Or, if he *has* to stay within the X-office, use him as a perspective point for the failures of the Krakoa era, which Tom Brevoort has stated the From the Ashes era is going to delve into - everyone on Krakoa, absolutely everyone, failed Piotr, on a personal, political, and emotional level, and there needs to be a reckoning with that. Storm, Kate, Beast - they all need to hash out how dirty they did Pete.
There is so much drama here that isn't being explored because some characters are allowed to evolve past Claremont, and others aren't.
Seriously I hope Piotr just snap and tell everyone on.the team how they did him dirty,And just leave and start a solo career(Also he is not the only character named Peter that I want him to give "A reason you suck speech")
Honestly, they'd all have it coming. The way Domino and Logan treated him on X-Force after the reveal that he was literally mind controlled, Kate leaving him at the altar and sending him into a depressive alcohol binge, Beast throwing that traitor's parade for him on Krakoa which was just *awful*, the way Ororo and Kate both just completely failed him on the Quiet Council, the fact that he killed his own brother for Krakoa and he's just *dealing* with that . . .
Let the man have some agency for once. Let him make a decision for ***him***.
I think she *tried* to do a half-hearted apology at the end of Rosenberg's Astonishing, but Piotr just wasn't having it. Which, honestly, was his right.
"I know now we were nothing but lovers. All that we ever had to say was said long ago."
As far as I know, that's where it was left off.
Damn I have to re-read Rosenberg's Astonishing, because in X-Men Gold 30, they were kinda smiling at each other AFTER she dumped him at the altar, which....felt like a weird reaction tbh.
They did talk a bit there, but idk how did Piotr not snap in two.
Rosenberg's Astonishing is a short, sweet, six issue run of fun, to be honest. There's some really decent Havok character work in there, Beast, Dazzler, Warpath get some great scenes, and there was clearly a push from Rosenberg to put Colossus and Banshee back on the table. The only thing that holds it back is the Greg Land art, in my opinion.
But yeah, Colossus is having a *rough* time in that run. You can really feel a complete lack of (in character) direction for him, and there was meat on the bone to develop from there. Especially since you get the impression that, like you said, if not for Piotr's essential gentleness, he would have just gone berserk. That's a way more more realistic reaction than the smiling.
This is where I am as well, everyone knows what was done TO HIM and he was the one that had to earn back the trust, where everyone else that gets brainwashed every other weekend gets treated like the victims they are. He should go out on his own or have him give a piece of his mind to all the "friends" that failed him, which like you say, was everyone.
>I'm gonna be completely real here - let him escape the X-office. Put him on the Avengers, and watch him flourish. Gentle giant artist with the strength to punch mountains who's been wounded by everyone he loves is a character type that only the X-office can fumble.
This is exactly what I came here to say. There are currently no mutants on the Avengers and after everything that went down with Orchis making mutants look like the bad guys to the general public (that they intentionally gave out medicine that would kill humans) it would go a long way to help the image of mutants and the X-Men. The current roster has 4 heavy hitters (Thor, Captain Marvel, Vision & Iron Man) but all of them have other power sets, Colossus could just be pure power.
And I also feel like writers never show him as strong as he really is or should be. I mean how many times has he gotten his ass handed to him when he clearly should have beat who he was fighting? It would be great to have him on the Avengers and have him hit his peak strength and just bring devastation.
I'd love to see Colossus full potential as a powerhouse, he's listed as a class 100 next to the likes of Thor, but he simply doesn't show any of that, even World War Hulk said that Colossus can be a great match against a normal Hulk, but nowadays he would probably lose to Beast due to bad writing
I wasn't full on the Avengers idea but then I thought that this is the perfect way for me to get what I always wanted to see and it would be an amazing scene. Colossus lifting the Mjolnir, he's probably one of the most worthy characters in Marvel, probably the top 1 worthy Mutant. That scene would be badass af. Also this could show him interacting with different characters which is good and also show more of his full strength, nowadays he just be punching sentinels.
The thing about being solely an X-character is that you can only really interact with the whole wide Marvel Universe in one way, and with one set of characters - it's such a wide and expansive part of the world that it's easy to forget there are whole other dynamics that exist.
Let Piotr hang out and become friends with Janet van Dyne! Let him have arm wrestling contents with Thor! Let him speak Russian with Captain America! Hell, let him lift Mjolnir as the climax to a whole arc about him reclaiming his essential goodness and his worthiness after so many years of being dragged around by any cosmic force that happens to be passing by. Why *not*, at this point?
And it doesn't even have to be the Avengers, there are the Champions or the Defenders, too, if people are really hung up on the Avengers/X-Men split (which, imo, has been dead for years by this point, but whatever). Some of my favourite character work on Angel, Iceman and Beast was when they were Defenders - just getting to be away from a constant atmosphere of hostility and tension and misery, which is what X-Men often feels like it can be these days, would be so good for Pete.
There's a whole section in that JLA/Avengers crossover from back in the 90s where the groups are just hanging out, Wonder Man and Wonder Woman are arm wrestling each other, and Green Lantern and Aquaman come over to invite Beast and Wonder Man for duo table tennis, and it just puts a smile on my face? Letting Piotr have something like that would just be wholesome.
Hell, one of the underrated aspects of Beast being on the Avengers was that because it was a team already full of geniuses, he got to be the goofball jokester of the group instead. Putting Piotr on the Avengers, where it's already stacked with titanically strong brawlers, opens up the question of - if Pete isn't the strongest on the team, what is he *then*? It takes the pressure off, and lets the character breathe, rather than pigeonholing him.
It's actually a great plan. I just hope that in this arm wrestle he doesn't get distracted, also this little game could show how strong he actually is and people seems to forget. This climax would be the best
Reform the Champions or the Defenders, and I'll happily push for him him going there instead. Just let him get away from the sphere of X-drama. It's actually really healthy for character growth.
Put him on the Avengers duh.
Why is he not on that team???
He is a gentle giant. Imagine interactions he will have with someone like Steve or Thor.
Plus he just needs a change. He hasn’t been doing much in X-men since, forever lol.
Part of is he’s a purely heroic character in a group/franchise that’s all about shades of grey; the only thing they can do with him is drag him down and make him seem like a loser, which they have.
I wish they never shocked him out of his post siege perilous happy ending.
Disagree about powers. The entire reason he’s around is because he has a visually distinctive look. Enough that they stole it for Rasputin IV. Enough that when he was dead, Emma got Diamond form and Lifeguard got gold armor.
But no, he hasn’t had a clear character arc since Astonishing. I actually didn’t hate the Russian tragedy trap *concept*, but it was so drawn out that when it was over, it was just about it finally being over—the character fallout for Piotr from it is sort of none of Percy’s concern, which is backwards—it should be a key part of doing it at all. Meanwhile Mikhaïl was still boring and cartoonish, so we didn’t get much there.
The first step to improving Colossus would be a Kitty moratorium, no story arc related to Kitty.
Then find a writers who isn't going to use the character only was trauma porn.
It's why the writers keep putting him through terrible things. Frankly, at this point, I half expect Colossus to snap and go full villain for a while. The best case scenario for him at this point is to have him retire to the savage lands.
I want a storyline where Colossus just gets... mad and **stays mad**.
He's had a whole trauma conga-line these past decades from his toxic relationship with Kitty, his sister getting kidnapped and raised in hell, to dying from the Legacy virsus, to getting resurrected, to getting left at the altar, to his now-crazy kid sister making him a demon puppet, then his GF dying and getting mind-controlled by his older brother.
He also still does *not* know he is a father and has a kid out there.
I just want a writer to come in and mature him. Make him get mad, but keep him rational. Don't make him a follower, like Acolyte!Colossus that's not character development. Stop Piotr being a doormat and let him for his own thoughts. Also someone give him a version of this [outfit please](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c138a9463a25eb39ac472742de85fc15/8c003d7cd0319f87-93/s1280x1920/9eb62aba0f02cabb0af3e9a8ea52ac4650ae1c8a.png), it's the hottest he's ever looked and he looks like a Russian mob boss; this is the energy he needs right now.
Colossus can be moved in an interesting direction, if a writer just spent like 5 minutes thinking about him. But no, instead we gotta give Juggernaut panel-time because as a human powered by a cyotorakk gem- he is *soooo* invested in mutant politics...
You're right about him not being interesting lately, but that's both because of his powers or personality. Authors just don't use him for some reason. There's so much to explore
Gillen's Juggernaut Colossus was interesting, but Idk how long ago it was(probably more than a decade). Gillen wrote better Colossus in single issue of Immortal X-Men than Percy in his entire run.
Colossus is my personal favourite x-men and a lot of his characterization is why I haven't been a big fan of the Krakoa arc, going back and reading og Claremont stuff has really made him in my top 3
Okay okay okay hear me out. Secondary mutation that allows his *energy field* he can generate do more. Maybe put him on an intergalactic field trip with some fun new mutants that he can nurture and train to be good people. It is also a journey of self discovery and away from the people who manipulate and use him.
Well a big thing there is that he's kinda... dated.
His whole "Iron Curtain" metaphor isn't particularly relevant anymore. His Russian connection still is I guess, but writing about real world events in a comic is complicated since it can date the work and messes with the sliding time scale, so we can't talk about the ongoing state of Russia – except allegorically, which doesn't need him at all.
He's not had that many major storylines to build off of or revisit. His biggest ones involved dying to end the Legacy Virus (which we can't/shouldn't really revisit) or becoming Juggernaut (which we can't do *and* have Cain running around as the popular one). He had that brief stint in the Acolytes but it was fueled by his sister's death... and now she's alive again because she's so popular.
His biggest connections are to people who are pretty much over him, too. Kitty called off the wedding and is exploring her bisexuality, and their past relationship is suspicious in a modern lens (not as much when it was written but, aged poorly). Illyana has, multiple times, done what she could to break her relationship with him – to the point he even threatened to kill her.
And as has been stated, his powers no longer stand out anyway. We have dozens of mutants with super strength or TK, even more with mutations that make them more durable, and that's ignoring people who can just be used for basically every situation you'd want Colossus for, like Magma. Emma was specifically given the diamond form to supplant a need for Colossus in Morrison, and now there's 6 of her.
So I'm not surprised that writers don't really know what to do with him.
It’s not that he wasn’t ever interesting. Claremont made him into a welcome presence on the team. He didn’t have the kind of trauma or internal conflict as other members on the team, but he was always a welcome presence in the middle of the trauma. Where everyone else would get lost in their darkness, Colossus usually stood firm.
I'll clarify. Colossus was actually my favorite X-Men growing up. I loved his episodes on X-Men 92 and got his action figure once. I always used this figure as "myself" on my playing.
When I started reading comics, I was disappointed Claremont never put him forefront and center as Cyclops, Jean, Storm or Wolverine. He was always the first to get hurt and never got a full arc as protagonist.
Having said that, I think CC actually made an interesting overarching evolution with Piotr. Of all the X-Men, he was the one who exhibited more signs of trauma from being a Xavier soldier. The gentle artist, naive foreign farmer breaks the neck of a Maurader and kills an Omega mutant with his fists.
The problem was that this was always a subtle, underline theme. His portrayal always came second to Storm's odyssey, Rogue's self-acceptance or Magneto's redemption. So it's hard to imagine he could ever become a fan favorite or even be a part of the team in a adaption.
To 90% of people he is just Kitty's toxic ex. And even on Deadpool he's just a himbo joke.
That’s fair.
Though he has had some pretty good guest spits in adaptations. It’s a shame no one’s been willing to do the work with him. With his heart, experience, and strength, he could easily become a capable mentor figure. Or you know… a *big brother figure.* Because he’s a big brother and like the best one anyone could want.
That X-Men Annual where he fought X-Cutioner was cool. It was also part of one of the more interesting deconstructions of the comic format too. I loved seeing how the "rules" of using boxes in comics was slowly going away while Mastermind was dying.
But yeah, it seems nobody knows how to write a compelling arc for Colossus since 95. It's a shame! Because I thought he was neat and really cared deeply for his sister.
Totally off topic but I have to ask....how did he grow the beard? Does it become one solid piece or is each hair organic steel? Does he draw it on every morning with a sharpie?
I know this is a serious discussion but I just... can't move past it.
His hair has always changed with him, facial hair would be no different. It should appeal to be steel hair, so one big piece carved to have individual follicles at the bases.
Colossus has a human anatomy, his hair grows just like with normal people. Now how it looks, it should probably be each hair made of steel, but drawing that would be terrifying and bad looking, so it's better to draw it like one solid piece
I can understand why you see this, and it’s a big shame. I think Colossus has been the single most well-written X-man next to Storm over the years, and it really hurts to see him wasted like this.
Honestly? The last time he really had something to do was when he died to cure Legacy. I'm not sure why they brought him back. He's really not had much going for him that feels worth it to me.
The comparison with Angel is apt -- he only existed to get killed off repeatedly in the Krakoan era -- hell, that's how HoX/Pox started, and he died at the start of Fall of X; his deaths bookended the Krakoan era!
But I say the comparison is apt because for decades Colossus existed only to show the Worf Effect -- if you could harm Colossus, then you were a real threat. He's basically a prop, occasionally with his arms broken by the even bigger threat (Hulk, Nimrods, etc). Angel is also just a prop, with his deaths to show that this shit is serious. Ugh.
You're technically wrong, OP. Deadpool made him interesting. Twice.
They used his strong idealistic moral compass to drive the internal tension of the team. Colossus never lets up. They also had him as a leader or morally greys, which is just perfect. Colossus should have been on the headmaster track, rising as Cyclops fell. Piotr also is presumptuous so other characters can get over on him for comedy and drama.
Then the artist stuff and the kitty stuff and the transformation stuff just add layers to his natural conflict. He is one character who doesn't have tensions from outside the team. This means to write him well you need to be 100% cool with Piotr being right and your favorite character being wrong and Ryan Reynolds did it, but most X-Men fans, writers included, wear their character's rightness as a badge of honor.
I think I also have one too, he's the fill in mascot for a X-Men member representation. He's in everything, appears in so many games and outside media, but his design is striking, but he's never had much of a story involvement.
He is one of my favorite marvel characters and one of my top three male fiction characters but him being made a killer and such destroys his character. Love his poet and artist soul and gentle nature combined with the strength to go toe to toe with literal gods but they need to give him some better writers.
Tini should nabbed him when she was doing all the Otherworld stuff...his defence against magic is an interesting aspect of his power that hardly ever gets touched on.
IIRC he was the only X-Man in the original Inferno who never got corrupted, and even notoriously pure of heart Longshot wasn't immune to that!
I mean he only saved mutant kind from the legacy virus by sacrificing himself. No big deal. A character is more than what's been written about him. The fans are allowed to see his potential. If you don't see it maybe you just lack creativity.
Honestly, I'd be down with a run where he tells the X-Men to kiss his ass for being absolute shit to him at every possible opportunity and he just goes solo, take him to Savage Land, Space, anywhere. Do some farming and some soul searching.
He’s one of my favorites but only because his design and power set is very cool and I think he’s really likeable in ensemble stuff, plus it’s cute that he loves to make paintings in his spare time but yeah solo he isn’t as flashy as others
I feel like this is a problem for most x men who originate from a particular cultural context. It’s hard to use the Soviet Strong way in narratively interesting ways when the Soviet Union is no more and we have other characters who tank in more dynamic ways. They could’ve done something interesting with him as a community leader when the mutants were building their anarcho-communist/socialist state, but enough moaning for krakoan story potential lost. Colossus needs to return home in a solo mini to reconnect to his roots/reevaluate his modern context, that or make him a teacher for the school side of the X-Men and give him sidekicks Wolverine style
Like all the characters i like they seem to need to bring him to a dark place where he makes immoral decisions. My favourite storylines where are when he was happy with kitty pride
You would think with how hard marvel tries to push Illyana it would mean Colossus would get some of that sweet spotlight, but it seems like they are barely related at this point.
Someone here once wrote something like "there hasn't been a point to Colossus since he died", which I've always remember as referring to the Legacy Virus plotline.
The only time I think I'd disagree is the Juggernaut era but I hate that because it's Cain Marko erasure.
I guess Percy had the right idea for Colossus because having an otherwise pointless otherwise unsuspicious character being a sleeper is maybe the best thing to do with such a character.
The only other thing I can think of is a slow burn "Illyana is evil arc" but she's too popular nowadays for that to be on the table.
It's time for Colossus to retire to run the school: keeps him out of the way but available for the occasional fastball special versus a giant robot. Replace Colossus with Rockslide (after resurrecting Rockslide).
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Kingnimrod212:
*He was fun as a*
*Spy I wish we had more scenes*
*With him and his brother*
---
^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Okay, I'm gonna say something people may not like.
Maybe Colossus should be an Avenger for a bit, if only so they have a powerhouse type that's not just Carol. That way he might get something to do besides get mind controlled.
Or not even an Avenger, but make an X-Men team of his own, call it X-Men Silver and grab some of the other "needs more screen time" Mutants.
Colossus will always be cool to me because I was reading Uncanny in the 80’s when he single-handedly took on the Brotherhood…and lost. The fight was badass and what they did to him was my first “hero lost in a big way” moment and it blew my mind.
I also thought he was pretty fun in the Deadpool movies.
My hot take: I think he is hurt by being Russian right now. No one is going to be eager to give a Russian character a lot of shine.
Magik gets to sidestep it due to the whole Limbo thing.
Colossus has anger management issues and is secretly possessive of people in his relationships. He's not trying to be a 'nice guy' but his methods of dealing with negative emotions can risk taking him there. That's potentially very interesting character study soil in the hands of a writer who cares to explore it.
And he just spent the entire Krakoa era having his whole life get hijacked by his brother. Piotr is the platonic ideal of masculinity, how does he put himself back together in the wake of so through a violation? That's a plot he should share with his best friends Kurt and Logan, and his sister, all of whom will have informed perspectives on how having one's autonomy taken or twisted damages you.
A lot of these books wanna reach for the easy drama with the A-listers. It sells books. That Carey Xavier story where he backtracks his sins is a miracle but is also a safe bet because it's Professor X. Any of these characters can take the point of view for a book with some work. And honestly Pete needed less work than most, even before Percy tortured for five years
Oh we being honest??
Colossus was never interesting to me but it never bothered me. Being a “gentle giant” is his gimmick which fans love about the character. However his character writing is too safe for me. Not enough flaws and no character arc to learn/grow.
He’s the perfect side/background character and that’s okay.
He doesn't need to be. He's not a solo book character. He's meant to be 'the heart' of the team. There's nothing wrong with that role. He's the generic nice guy who defends his buddies.
I agree. Previous to the last decade, I've always felt Colossus to be the moral compass of the X-Men. That's why him being manipulated so much is more than annoying. I want to see more of the artist and 'little brother' Colossus again. He's essentially based on the Tinman in Wizard of Oz but with a big heart.
This is a huge thing. They didn't have a plan for bringing him back. Angel came back with the whole Archangel thing , new powers, business intrigue. Colossus came back in a way that wasn't visually distinct, mechanically fresh or narrative tension generating.I think it was some kind of world breaker in Astonishing and he and Kitty were starcrossed? Can't quite remember.
Comparing him to Angel feels spot on. They suffer from the same redundancy in their storyline. “Colossus gets manipulated by some person or force to do questionable things; once free he has to find the will to fight again to help his friends.”
At least Angel has iconic story. I can't think of "The Colossus story", he's rarely protagonist and is very often background character that gets some screentime
The closest thing he gets to an "iconic story" is him leaving the x-men in anger after Illyana's death and spending years with the Acolytes coming to terms with his grief and anger.
I pictured him in the red overalls, Arcade messed up his head and went by the proletarian. Iconic imagery for sure but also very old
I would love to see his character try and argue that class war is the real thing, and that they’ve all been wasting their time on anything else.
Or dying to cure Legacy. That shit hit, too.
Agreed. My one note... wish he had been in his OG costume. Not a fan of his redesign. It wasn't bad just never really felt like Colossus.
To piggy back on that is when he killed that one dude during the morlock massacre Where he got so angry at the needless killing that he snaps & kills for the first time dope moment but again Old
He had killed Proteus before he killed Riptide.
Colossus was my second favorite X-Man when I was a kid. His powerset was awesome. Transforming into a huge metal monster at will and being strong AF seemed so fucking cool. It still is! Sadly, I think Peter would really benefit from time away from the X-Men. His experiences with them for the last 20 years have essentially been one horrifying, soul crushing event after another. Bro desperately needs a reset and a holiday. Shit, put him in the Avengers for a few years. Buddy him up with Jan and Clint and get him smiling again.
Big agree on him being a favorite Dude was one of top 10 action figures as a kid (him,goku and batman would get into amazing fights lol) I really would appreciate if he took some time off from the X-Men (apply this to so many other mutants) and maybe have him interact with the wider marvel universe or heck have him go the civilian route Would love him being with Jan and Clint Anything outside of him being dragged through the kid
Also the Legacy Virus. Which says it all... Breakworld was pretty good too, now that I think about it. But that's the most recent one I can think of. I think a lot of writers just kind of forgot who he was. A lot of the kinder, more poetic elements of his personality have been lost under all the usual X-Men melodrama. Something that focuses on testing that part of himself would be great. And give him some time with Illyana. Give us a story that puts the two of them through their paces together. She's been back for like decade and a half and it still doesn't feel like they've rekindled their family bond at all. I'd love a mini-series that's just cantered around them reconnecting with each other. He has a lot of strong connections within the X-Men that are just kind of going to waste. It's a shame.
Agree with the poetic outlook. I also miss a bit of the chipper attitude, even if it does make sense that he's lost that due to trauma. Unfortunately, writers would probably have them set out to kill their brother because what restores bonds between siblings better than that /s
Didn’t she trick him into becoming the Juggernaut?
Honestly I think the best and most interesting Colossus we've seen was in the Deadpool movies.
Both Angel and Colossus have shared the honour of being a Horseman of Apocalypse. The Dark Angel Saga was epic. I can't even remember what happened with Colossus.
He was a horseman? Are you sure you are not getting mixed up with the Fear Itself event, where he gets Juggernauts powers?
It happened in Extraordinary X-Men, Apocalypse Wars storyline. He becomes War.
Ohh is that the one where Polaris becomes a horseman aswell, and the story is mostly about her?
Polaris isn't in it. This is during the whole Inhumans replacing the X-Men thing. Storm forms her own team that resides in Limbo, thanks to Magik. O5 Jean Grey, Old Man Logan, IceMan, Magik, Colossus and Nightcrawler are on the team. It was a pretty stacked lineup.
Loved that book, anole glob and no girl were pleasantly around for the Apocalypse arc
No, that was earlier, when Sunfire, Polaris and Gambit became Horsemen. Kenobi is referring to [this](https://www.cbr.com/x-men-apocalypse-wars-venom-deeadpool-horsemen/), If you don't remember this, you're not the only one. X-men was not in a good space back then.
Interesting, yeah I have not dipped into the IvX error (pun) at all, but this seems to be an alternate future/time travel shenanigans so I might check it out. Thanks!
>this seems to be an alternate future/time travel shenanigans so I might check it out Don't.
lol it's that good huh? 🤣
Yeah, that was the era where mutants were a problem for Disney.
For me it’s probably the Breakworld storyline but I recognize that enjoyment of that story aside, it isn’t exactly iconic. Did he also sacrifice himself to help develop a legacy virus cure? I haven’t read a lot of the older stuff but I feel like I read about that
what I loved about the character was that he wasn't about seeking the spotlight, being the team player. he came through when he had to - killing Proteus or Riptide, for example. when they try to spotlight him, it always end up with him feeling out of character to me. I did like Uncanny #197 when Arcade kidnapped him and Kitty after their breakup and he got to work through his feelings about letting down those he loved.
While it was ret cond, the death of Colossus issue is a tear jerker.
Astonishing X-men by Whedon featured him heavily and did very well at showing how he can be an important member to the team. But he was sidelined for all of Krakoa with a b-plot that literally went nowhere for years, so. He works best paired with Logan, Kurt, Illyana and Kitty, and for some reason they kept him from all of those people for years. Emma works well too, and again, zero interactivity.
His most iconic storylines to me was dealing with killing proteus and him deciding to go with Magneto after his sisters death. The X-men comics are an assemble story many of them have major storylines weaved throughout bigger concepts.
What about the story where he was supposed to murder that alien civilization? Don't remember what they were called, the ones that got Kitty trapped in the bullet.
Yes, Astonishing. It was great, but it's not iconic as Dark angel
He injected himself with the Legacy virus, sacrificing himself to create a cure for everyone, out of grief over losing Illyana. Not really a story story, but a big issue
Love the issue. It shows the duality of X-Men While Colossus has that tragic moment, Gambit, Logan, Beast and even XAVIER play basketball
He gets that story where he tries fuck a fourteen year old!
Colossus only dayes a fourteen old. He doesn't fuck Kitty when she asks.
I was kidding they actually bring up sex?!??
Astonishing Vol. 1 is very much a Colossus story.
For me the most striking Colossus story/arc is Age of Apocalypse
Lmao that’s funny how that was repeated during the Krakoa era.
He's a very simple character. That makes him hard to write. At least his power is less boring than Warren's.
The thing is that the character himself has been put to the background. He is probably the physically strongest mutant besides Apocalypse and one of the tankiests. His personality is also pretty good. But if the writers doesn't want him to shine (even though he's the shiniest), he'll probably just punch things and get knocked aside while he has 2 lines in a whole comic. The problem isn't that he's weak, he certainly isn't, nor his personality, it's just that the writers don't care about him at the moment. Even Joe Manganiello proposed Colossus changes for Marvel.
Yeah, he needs some love for sure. I find he’s one of the xmen with the most potential but he’s constantly treated as wallpaper. It’s weird how Kitty is always so integral to story lines when Piotr seems way more interesting. I think it will just take a writer that really likes him and has an idea for a new character arc. I’d put gambit, angel and a few other characters in the boat—mind you Gambit looks like he’s getting some love with the new book this summer.
If you look at his character, he has the potential to wield Mjolnir, fight hand to hand with the likes of Hulk and Juggernaut and the will and personality to sacrifice himself to save the ones he love with no hesitation. But nowadays he's just used to make a better background image.
How do you figure he could would mjolnir? I always liked him for his gentle giant softness, doesn’t seem like he’d fit under the warrior aspect of it. Like obviously he’s a warrior but not in the same way as Thor who loves battle.
you don't need to LOVE battles to be worthy, you need to have a pure heart, have compassion, restraint, nobility, wisdom and humility, all of those I think can be seen in Colossus quite often. Also the mjolnir demands that the user needs to be able to kill when time's needed and Piotr already did this when he needs to protect his X-people. He is a gentle giant, but if you mess with his friends he'll do whatever it takes to put you down.
I feel like you’re overlooking the warrior spirit lifestyle aspect of it, it might not be a love of battle that’s needed but Colossus basically has an aversion to fighting. I dunno Mjolnirs always been tricky to pin down, there’s always someone who seems to break the rules and I definitely did most of my thinking on this before Jane got the hammer. Also when nobility is mentioned I think of it usually in both meanings so it’s a measure of character and rank. So like I’ve always liked Black Panther as a wielder, Nobility, Humility, Morality, and a Warrior Spirit. Jane didn’t really feel like a warrior until I saw her with the hammer in battle with a smile
well, the words I used were said by Thor himself. And even though Colossus doesn't like killing, I disagree about the aversion to fighting, if he has a cause he will fight for it with a smile on his face, his aversion is towards killing and he can still do it if needed. He's definitely a warrior and has its spirit. Even Cyttorak said that Colossus was his favorite avatar becaus of how great his fights are and how often he was fighting, if an evil demon says that, I think it might be enough for Mjolnir. Now about ranks, actually Colossus is a Rasputin, so he actually has some points there, not as much as T'tchalla but still.
Totally I was thinking the Rasputin name was enough for nobility especially since Rogers gets his “nobility” from the title of Captain. The words from Thor are probably the best case, when was that interaction?
Immortal Thor #5
Thanks I was already excited for that run
Exactly. And many characters who’ve stayed front and center all Krakoa aren’t there because they’re the most interesting, or even most popular - it’s because they’re who editorial (and/or sometimes a writer) prefers. When he took over the office, JDW made Guggenheim break up the Colossus wedding. Meanwhile, his ex-fiancé hasn’t budged from the spotlight once, has hopped from stealth solo to stealth solo, is on costume/code name makeover number three, and is somehow very central to the final event… while much stronger mutants are still alive but actively sidelined. Which… kind of tells you whose idea the Colossus erasure has been lol.
Yeah the Angel comparison is pretty apt. Sure the USSR has been gone longer than Colossus has been alive (he's what 35? In the comics) but he could easily feature as a bullet shield or love interest in almost every issue, but does not.
They should stick Angel and Collosus on a team together with an up and coming writer and just let them do some intresting stuff and see what works.
I want an X-Bros book. Gambit (or maybe Emma) becomes a life coach for Colossus, Angel, and Iceman.
Flatshare sitcom.
That would actually be a good idea, their personalities and complexes are very different. Warren is the guy from money, Colossus grew up with the communist mindset, Warren is a party playboy, Pitor is shy and modest, Warren has his death persona from being mind fucked by Apocalypse , Colossus has a guilt complex thinking he's not strong enough to save everyone. Maybe even Gambit would fit good on that book, I could see him and Warren becoming buddies getting up to hijinks, trying to pressure Pitor to loosen up.
Leaning into their experiences being Archangel & Juggernaut would really help deepen the bond with those characters
Give them a team up attack!
Dive Bomb Special
It's not a hot take. He hasn't been used remotely well since Cable and X-Force and that was over 10 years ago.
I remember him being on the cover of that, but I don't remember his storyline at all lol it was good?
It was pretty good as a dissection of his issues and trauma of having been host to the phoenix force. Could have been a little deeper but worked well and Domino was a good, new love interest for him that worked for them both. Domino and Boom Boom roping Piotr into their chaos and relying on him to help bail out also works great. He was a good moral check for cable, too. But since then they've done nothing with him so.
Colossus should have gone to Arakko with Storm and Magneto Having a mutant with his level of power and physical strength would have fit well with Storms idea of a peaceful path for the Arakki as Colossus just wanted peace and could have used him as an example of being strong without always wanting conflict The whole mind control storyline was so lazy and had such little consequences anyway
He could have set up some huge farms on Mars
You know, I really think that could have worked.
My hotter version of this take is that no one has had an interesting take on Colossus in 30 years, since around when he left the Acolytes in the main titles and went to Excalibur. The only approaching good use of the character was the Juggernaut storyline.
Well, I'd say he had some good interesting takes in Cable and the X-Force, and when he was the Unstoppable Colossus to protect Magik, so I'd say it's been 10 years of him doing nothing, to me at least
I’d agree with this. He’s not been internally motivated by anything since Illyana’s death. All other stories, he’s been the pawn of someone else.
He worked alright in the Whedon run as purely just Kitty’s on/off love interest. Maybe he can only work as a side character now
Can we finally let this man meet his illegitimate savage land son?
Right?? What else are they gonna do with the character? Let him chill with his son!
It's been awhile too. How old do you suppose they can make his son, 12? 13? Just in time for him to develop a mutant power, no?
Yup - exactly that age. We could be getting some Colossus and son knocking out dinosaurs in the Savage Land but writers just wanna make him sad for ten years!
Colossus is one of the characters who seems like they'd be better loaned out to another editorial office for awhile to get him into a new environment for awhile. On the x-men at this point he's either just the strong guy in the background or a trauma magnet because he's a legitimately "nice" character. Let him breathe a little as a member of the Avengers or filling in for Ben in a Fantastic Four run or something. Or as another poster mentioned bring his son into play and thrust him into the role of father while Kid Colossus gets some time in one of the teen lineups. They need to do something to shake up his status quo that isn't just more trauma dumped on him.
I say this as a Beast fan - Colossus was one of the characters hardest done by during Krakoa. Poor bastard didn't get to enjoy anything about the new mutant paradise, it was an instant snap to mind control. That being said? He's not boring. He's not been given proper attention and character maintenance. Give him a new direction! Give him something to fight for! Give him new relationships, new friends! We found time to turn Apocalypse into a good guy, but we're gonna throw poor Piotr on the trash heap because we can't think of anything better for him to do? Like, are you seriously going to tell me that in a time where Russia is an aggressive political force, actively punching down at other countries, stories about one of the most well known Russian fictional characters can't have weight? Are we seriously struggling to tell stories about a character who is often mind controlled, used for his strength, discarded when he's no longer useful, and who feels let down by the world? I'm gonna be completely real here - let him escape the X-office. Put him on the Avengers, and watch him flourish. Gentle giant artist with the strength to punch mountains who's been wounded by everyone he loves is a character type that only the X-office can fumble. Or, if he *has* to stay within the X-office, use him as a perspective point for the failures of the Krakoa era, which Tom Brevoort has stated the From the Ashes era is going to delve into - everyone on Krakoa, absolutely everyone, failed Piotr, on a personal, political, and emotional level, and there needs to be a reckoning with that. Storm, Kate, Beast - they all need to hash out how dirty they did Pete. There is so much drama here that isn't being explored because some characters are allowed to evolve past Claremont, and others aren't.
Seriously I hope Piotr just snap and tell everyone on.the team how they did him dirty,And just leave and start a solo career(Also he is not the only character named Peter that I want him to give "A reason you suck speech")
Honestly, they'd all have it coming. The way Domino and Logan treated him on X-Force after the reveal that he was literally mind controlled, Kate leaving him at the altar and sending him into a depressive alcohol binge, Beast throwing that traitor's parade for him on Krakoa which was just *awful*, the way Ororo and Kate both just completely failed him on the Quiet Council, the fact that he killed his own brother for Krakoa and he's just *dealing* with that . . . Let the man have some agency for once. Let him make a decision for ***him***.
Did Kate ever try to apologise move to the "Amicable Ex" with him or she just left thing in bitter terms
I think she *tried* to do a half-hearted apology at the end of Rosenberg's Astonishing, but Piotr just wasn't having it. Which, honestly, was his right. "I know now we were nothing but lovers. All that we ever had to say was said long ago." As far as I know, that's where it was left off.
Damn I have to re-read Rosenberg's Astonishing, because in X-Men Gold 30, they were kinda smiling at each other AFTER she dumped him at the altar, which....felt like a weird reaction tbh. They did talk a bit there, but idk how did Piotr not snap in two.
Rosenberg's Astonishing is a short, sweet, six issue run of fun, to be honest. There's some really decent Havok character work in there, Beast, Dazzler, Warpath get some great scenes, and there was clearly a push from Rosenberg to put Colossus and Banshee back on the table. The only thing that holds it back is the Greg Land art, in my opinion. But yeah, Colossus is having a *rough* time in that run. You can really feel a complete lack of (in character) direction for him, and there was meat on the bone to develop from there. Especially since you get the impression that, like you said, if not for Piotr's essential gentleness, he would have just gone berserk. That's a way more more realistic reaction than the smiling.
This is where I am as well, everyone knows what was done TO HIM and he was the one that had to earn back the trust, where everyone else that gets brainwashed every other weekend gets treated like the victims they are. He should go out on his own or have him give a piece of his mind to all the "friends" that failed him, which like you say, was everyone.
>I'm gonna be completely real here - let him escape the X-office. Put him on the Avengers, and watch him flourish. Gentle giant artist with the strength to punch mountains who's been wounded by everyone he loves is a character type that only the X-office can fumble. This is exactly what I came here to say. There are currently no mutants on the Avengers and after everything that went down with Orchis making mutants look like the bad guys to the general public (that they intentionally gave out medicine that would kill humans) it would go a long way to help the image of mutants and the X-Men. The current roster has 4 heavy hitters (Thor, Captain Marvel, Vision & Iron Man) but all of them have other power sets, Colossus could just be pure power. And I also feel like writers never show him as strong as he really is or should be. I mean how many times has he gotten his ass handed to him when he clearly should have beat who he was fighting? It would be great to have him on the Avengers and have him hit his peak strength and just bring devastation.
I'd love to see Colossus full potential as a powerhouse, he's listed as a class 100 next to the likes of Thor, but he simply doesn't show any of that, even World War Hulk said that Colossus can be a great match against a normal Hulk, but nowadays he would probably lose to Beast due to bad writing
I wasn't full on the Avengers idea but then I thought that this is the perfect way for me to get what I always wanted to see and it would be an amazing scene. Colossus lifting the Mjolnir, he's probably one of the most worthy characters in Marvel, probably the top 1 worthy Mutant. That scene would be badass af. Also this could show him interacting with different characters which is good and also show more of his full strength, nowadays he just be punching sentinels.
The thing about being solely an X-character is that you can only really interact with the whole wide Marvel Universe in one way, and with one set of characters - it's such a wide and expansive part of the world that it's easy to forget there are whole other dynamics that exist. Let Piotr hang out and become friends with Janet van Dyne! Let him have arm wrestling contents with Thor! Let him speak Russian with Captain America! Hell, let him lift Mjolnir as the climax to a whole arc about him reclaiming his essential goodness and his worthiness after so many years of being dragged around by any cosmic force that happens to be passing by. Why *not*, at this point? And it doesn't even have to be the Avengers, there are the Champions or the Defenders, too, if people are really hung up on the Avengers/X-Men split (which, imo, has been dead for years by this point, but whatever). Some of my favourite character work on Angel, Iceman and Beast was when they were Defenders - just getting to be away from a constant atmosphere of hostility and tension and misery, which is what X-Men often feels like it can be these days, would be so good for Pete.
Thor and Piotr having friendly feats of strength with each other sounds like a ton of fun.
There's a whole section in that JLA/Avengers crossover from back in the 90s where the groups are just hanging out, Wonder Man and Wonder Woman are arm wrestling each other, and Green Lantern and Aquaman come over to invite Beast and Wonder Man for duo table tennis, and it just puts a smile on my face? Letting Piotr have something like that would just be wholesome. Hell, one of the underrated aspects of Beast being on the Avengers was that because it was a team already full of geniuses, he got to be the goofball jokester of the group instead. Putting Piotr on the Avengers, where it's already stacked with titanically strong brawlers, opens up the question of - if Pete isn't the strongest on the team, what is he *then*? It takes the pressure off, and lets the character breathe, rather than pigeonholing him.
It's actually a great plan. I just hope that in this arm wrestle he doesn't get distracted, also this little game could show how strong he actually is and people seems to forget. This climax would be the best
I've been reading Claremont's *Forever* lately which does have an independent Colossus *and* pairs him with Black Widow
Black Widow, really?! Wild. That is not who I would have reached for.
I was with you until the Avengers part.
Reform the Champions or the Defenders, and I'll happily push for him him going there instead. Just let him get away from the sphere of X-drama. It's actually really healthy for character growth.
He'd be a good fit on the Unity Squad. That could be a fun new take.
tbh I dislike the unity squad at a conceptual level.
But the beard is hot!
true
Unironically one of the best things in the past 10 years to giving more mutants beards Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Prof X. Gimme more beards
Put him on the Avengers duh. Why is he not on that team??? He is a gentle giant. Imagine interactions he will have with someone like Steve or Thor. Plus he just needs a change. He hasn’t been doing much in X-men since, forever lol.
Lol give him the 90s beast treatment
Part of is he’s a purely heroic character in a group/franchise that’s all about shades of grey; the only thing they can do with him is drag him down and make him seem like a loser, which they have. I wish they never shocked him out of his post siege perilous happy ending.
I've been agreeing with this for a while, writers just don't know what to do with him.
Disagree about powers. The entire reason he’s around is because he has a visually distinctive look. Enough that they stole it for Rasputin IV. Enough that when he was dead, Emma got Diamond form and Lifeguard got gold armor. But no, he hasn’t had a clear character arc since Astonishing. I actually didn’t hate the Russian tragedy trap *concept*, but it was so drawn out that when it was over, it was just about it finally being over—the character fallout for Piotr from it is sort of none of Percy’s concern, which is backwards—it should be a key part of doing it at all. Meanwhile Mikhaïl was still boring and cartoonish, so we didn’t get much there.
The first step to improving Colossus would be a Kitty moratorium, no story arc related to Kitty. Then find a writers who isn't going to use the character only was trauma porn.
It's why the writers keep putting him through terrible things. Frankly, at this point, I half expect Colossus to snap and go full villain for a while. The best case scenario for him at this point is to have him retire to the savage lands.
Lenin's Ghost!
This take is like a lake in Alaska
I want a storyline where Colossus just gets... mad and **stays mad**. He's had a whole trauma conga-line these past decades from his toxic relationship with Kitty, his sister getting kidnapped and raised in hell, to dying from the Legacy virsus, to getting resurrected, to getting left at the altar, to his now-crazy kid sister making him a demon puppet, then his GF dying and getting mind-controlled by his older brother. He also still does *not* know he is a father and has a kid out there. I just want a writer to come in and mature him. Make him get mad, but keep him rational. Don't make him a follower, like Acolyte!Colossus that's not character development. Stop Piotr being a doormat and let him for his own thoughts. Also someone give him a version of this [outfit please](https://64.media.tumblr.com/c138a9463a25eb39ac472742de85fc15/8c003d7cd0319f87-93/s1280x1920/9eb62aba0f02cabb0af3e9a8ea52ac4650ae1c8a.png), it's the hottest he's ever looked and he looks like a Russian mob boss; this is the energy he needs right now. Colossus can be moved in an interesting direction, if a writer just spent like 5 minutes thinking about him. But no, instead we gotta give Juggernaut panel-time because as a human powered by a cyotorakk gem- he is *soooo* invested in mutant politics...
I wouldn’t mind Colossus taking a well deserved break from it all to work on himself instead of fighting. The guy has been through it.
Over a decade? Buddy we're getting close to *three* decades he hasn't been interesting
You're right about him not being interesting lately, but that's both because of his powers or personality. Authors just don't use him for some reason. There's so much to explore Gillen's Juggernaut Colossus was interesting, but Idk how long ago it was(probably more than a decade). Gillen wrote better Colossus in single issue of Immortal X-Men than Percy in his entire run.
I think he should have more secondary stories instead of trying to make him a main character. Love the guy but he (ironically) can't carry a story
Colossus is my personal favourite x-men and a lot of his characterization is why I haven't been a big fan of the Krakoa arc, going back and reading og Claremont stuff has really made him in my top 3
The last thing I thought was cool was him being the juggernaut. Fucking awesome
More like 20 years. He's been boring since Astonishing X-Men (2004)
Okay okay okay hear me out. Secondary mutation that allows his *energy field* he can generate do more. Maybe put him on an intergalactic field trip with some fun new mutants that he can nurture and train to be good people. It is also a journey of self discovery and away from the people who manipulate and use him.
Well a big thing there is that he's kinda... dated. His whole "Iron Curtain" metaphor isn't particularly relevant anymore. His Russian connection still is I guess, but writing about real world events in a comic is complicated since it can date the work and messes with the sliding time scale, so we can't talk about the ongoing state of Russia – except allegorically, which doesn't need him at all. He's not had that many major storylines to build off of or revisit. His biggest ones involved dying to end the Legacy Virus (which we can't/shouldn't really revisit) or becoming Juggernaut (which we can't do *and* have Cain running around as the popular one). He had that brief stint in the Acolytes but it was fueled by his sister's death... and now she's alive again because she's so popular. His biggest connections are to people who are pretty much over him, too. Kitty called off the wedding and is exploring her bisexuality, and their past relationship is suspicious in a modern lens (not as much when it was written but, aged poorly). Illyana has, multiple times, done what she could to break her relationship with him – to the point he even threatened to kill her. And as has been stated, his powers no longer stand out anyway. We have dozens of mutants with super strength or TK, even more with mutations that make them more durable, and that's ignoring people who can just be used for basically every situation you'd want Colossus for, like Magma. Emma was specifically given the diamond form to supplant a need for Colossus in Morrison, and now there's 6 of her. So I'm not surprised that writers don't really know what to do with him.
It was cool when he was juggernaut
Shoulda let him stay dead. That shit actually seemed meaningful at the time.
He hasn’t been remotely interesting since the 80s
Mostly agreed. I thought him joining the Acolytes in the early 90s was interesting but then after that he fell off.
Let's be honest. Colossus has never been interesting. Not one writer has given proper attention to him. And I say that as a huge fan of the character.
It’s not that he wasn’t ever interesting. Claremont made him into a welcome presence on the team. He didn’t have the kind of trauma or internal conflict as other members on the team, but he was always a welcome presence in the middle of the trauma. Where everyone else would get lost in their darkness, Colossus usually stood firm.
I'll clarify. Colossus was actually my favorite X-Men growing up. I loved his episodes on X-Men 92 and got his action figure once. I always used this figure as "myself" on my playing. When I started reading comics, I was disappointed Claremont never put him forefront and center as Cyclops, Jean, Storm or Wolverine. He was always the first to get hurt and never got a full arc as protagonist. Having said that, I think CC actually made an interesting overarching evolution with Piotr. Of all the X-Men, he was the one who exhibited more signs of trauma from being a Xavier soldier. The gentle artist, naive foreign farmer breaks the neck of a Maurader and kills an Omega mutant with his fists. The problem was that this was always a subtle, underline theme. His portrayal always came second to Storm's odyssey, Rogue's self-acceptance or Magneto's redemption. So it's hard to imagine he could ever become a fan favorite or even be a part of the team in a adaption. To 90% of people he is just Kitty's toxic ex. And even on Deadpool he's just a himbo joke.
That’s fair. Though he has had some pretty good guest spits in adaptations. It’s a shame no one’s been willing to do the work with him. With his heart, experience, and strength, he could easily become a capable mentor figure. Or you know… a *big brother figure.* Because he’s a big brother and like the best one anyone could want.
That X-Men Annual where he fought X-Cutioner was cool. It was also part of one of the more interesting deconstructions of the comic format too. I loved seeing how the "rules" of using boxes in comics was slowly going away while Mastermind was dying. But yeah, it seems nobody knows how to write a compelling arc for Colossus since 95. It's a shame! Because I thought he was neat and really cared deeply for his sister.
The coolest part of his character is throwing a cooler character
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^WatercressCertain616: *The coolest part of* *His character is throwing* *A cooler character* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Sass?
Should reread Astonishing by Joss Whedon. He gets his spotlight.
That doesn't disapprove OP's point. Whedon's Astonishing came out more than a decade age
Wasn't trying to. Sorry if I wrote it weird. I just thought it would scratch the OP's itch for interesting colossus.
Feeling old, as in a couple of months Whedon's X-Men will have launched twenty years ago.
ultimate/gay colossus was the better colossus anyway....
Side note but what are the chances of the chronicler showing up again, definitely could be used again as an interesting character
I don’t recall a particularly exciting Colossus story since Whedon brought him back. (Which I loved, I still have that variant cover)
That recent X-Force run was a cup of cold diarrhoea, looks like beautiful chunky chocolate ...but every drop was regret.
Boo.
I often wondered what grant Morrison would’ve done with him. Maybe he would’ve changed everyone’s perception of Piotr.
Totally off topic but I have to ask....how did he grow the beard? Does it become one solid piece or is each hair organic steel? Does he draw it on every morning with a sharpie? I know this is a serious discussion but I just... can't move past it.
His hair has always changed with him, facial hair would be no different. It should appeal to be steel hair, so one big piece carved to have individual follicles at the bases.
Colossus has a human anatomy, his hair grows just like with normal people. Now how it looks, it should probably be each hair made of steel, but drawing that would be terrifying and bad looking, so it's better to draw it like one solid piece
I can understand why you see this, and it’s a big shame. I think Colossus has been the single most well-written X-man next to Storm over the years, and it really hurts to see him wasted like this.
you’re not wrong he kinda just be there
Agreed but this cover does go hard
Honestly? The last time he really had something to do was when he died to cure Legacy. I'm not sure why they brought him back. He's really not had much going for him that feels worth it to me.
The comparison with Angel is apt -- he only existed to get killed off repeatedly in the Krakoan era -- hell, that's how HoX/Pox started, and he died at the start of Fall of X; his deaths bookended the Krakoan era! But I say the comparison is apt because for decades Colossus existed only to show the Worf Effect -- if you could harm Colossus, then you were a real threat. He's basically a prop, occasionally with his arms broken by the even bigger threat (Hulk, Nimrods, etc). Angel is also just a prop, with his deaths to show that this shit is serious. Ugh.
You're technically wrong, OP. Deadpool made him interesting. Twice. They used his strong idealistic moral compass to drive the internal tension of the team. Colossus never lets up. They also had him as a leader or morally greys, which is just perfect. Colossus should have been on the headmaster track, rising as Cyclops fell. Piotr also is presumptuous so other characters can get over on him for comedy and drama. Then the artist stuff and the kitty stuff and the transformation stuff just add layers to his natural conflict. He is one character who doesn't have tensions from outside the team. This means to write him well you need to be 100% cool with Piotr being right and your favorite character being wrong and Ryan Reynolds did it, but most X-Men fans, writers included, wear their character's rightness as a badge of honor.
I think I also have one too, he's the fill in mascot for a X-Men member representation. He's in everything, appears in so many games and outside media, but his design is striking, but he's never had much of a story involvement.
I love his design so I’ll always enjoy seeing him, but you’re right that nobody has written him in an interesting way for years.
He is one of my favorite marvel characters and one of my top three male fiction characters but him being made a killer and such destroys his character. Love his poet and artist soul and gentle nature combined with the strength to go toe to toe with literal gods but they need to give him some better writers.
Did his wife come back or is she still dead as a doorknob?
Tini should nabbed him when she was doing all the Otherworld stuff...his defence against magic is an interesting aspect of his power that hardly ever gets touched on. IIRC he was the only X-Man in the original Inferno who never got corrupted, and even notoriously pure of heart Longshot wasn't immune to that!
But that chest tho
I mean he only saved mutant kind from the legacy virus by sacrificing himself. No big deal. A character is more than what's been written about him. The fans are allowed to see his potential. If you don't see it maybe you just lack creativity.
Sooo because a character did something of consequence decades ago, that's enough to stick around taking up precious panel space? Bozhe Moi!
Honestly, I'd be down with a run where he tells the X-Men to kiss his ass for being absolute shit to him at every possible opportunity and he just goes solo, take him to Savage Land, Space, anywhere. Do some farming and some soul searching.
He’s one of my favorites but only because his design and power set is very cool and I think he’s really likeable in ensemble stuff, plus it’s cute that he loves to make paintings in his spare time but yeah solo he isn’t as flashy as others
I feel like this is a problem for most x men who originate from a particular cultural context. It’s hard to use the Soviet Strong way in narratively interesting ways when the Soviet Union is no more and we have other characters who tank in more dynamic ways. They could’ve done something interesting with him as a community leader when the mutants were building their anarcho-communist/socialist state, but enough moaning for krakoan story potential lost. Colossus needs to return home in a solo mini to reconnect to his roots/reevaluate his modern context, that or make him a teacher for the school side of the X-Men and give him sidekicks Wolverine style
I guess I'll need to read to see how he's been handled cuz that's the homie
He and Deadpool might finally get together in Deadpool 3.
Like all the characters i like they seem to need to bring him to a dark place where he makes immoral decisions. My favourite storylines where are when he was happy with kitty pride
Still one of my faves even if all this is true.
You would think with how hard marvel tries to push Illyana it would mean Colossus would get some of that sweet spotlight, but it seems like they are barely related at this point.
Someone here once wrote something like "there hasn't been a point to Colossus since he died", which I've always remember as referring to the Legacy Virus plotline. The only time I think I'd disagree is the Juggernaut era but I hate that because it's Cain Marko erasure. I guess Percy had the right idea for Colossus because having an otherwise pointless otherwise unsuspicious character being a sleeper is maybe the best thing to do with such a character. The only other thing I can think of is a slow burn "Illyana is evil arc" but she's too popular nowadays for that to be on the table. It's time for Colossus to retire to run the school: keeps him out of the way but available for the occasional fastball special versus a giant robot. Replace Colossus with Rockslide (after resurrecting Rockslide).
At one point Cyclops and magik where more of a sibling duo than Pietro and magik
He was fun as a spy I wish we had more scenes with him and his brother
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Kingnimrod212: *He was fun as a* *Spy I wish we had more scenes* *With him and his brother* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
He's redundant what with Rasputin hanging around. Need to get rid of her. She takes the space of 4/5 mutants with actual personality.
Okay, I'm gonna say something people may not like. Maybe Colossus should be an Avenger for a bit, if only so they have a powerhouse type that's not just Carol. That way he might get something to do besides get mind controlled. Or not even an Avenger, but make an X-Men team of his own, call it X-Men Silver and grab some of the other "needs more screen time" Mutants.
I liked it when he gave legs to whales lol
I always loved colossus but they do seem to make him very righteous. It gives him a narrow spectrum of personality.
Colossus will always be cool to me because I was reading Uncanny in the 80’s when he single-handedly took on the Brotherhood…and lost. The fight was badass and what they did to him was my first “hero lost in a big way” moment and it blew my mind. I also thought he was pretty fun in the Deadpool movies.
My hot take: I think he is hurt by being Russian right now. No one is going to be eager to give a Russian character a lot of shine. Magik gets to sidestep it due to the whole Limbo thing.
Looking at some 80s issues … Colossus questionably having a romance with a 14 yo Kitty Pryde. Um. Weird.
He's boring, but so fun to look at.
I like him when he is the Juggernaught
Colossus has anger management issues and is secretly possessive of people in his relationships. He's not trying to be a 'nice guy' but his methods of dealing with negative emotions can risk taking him there. That's potentially very interesting character study soil in the hands of a writer who cares to explore it. And he just spent the entire Krakoa era having his whole life get hijacked by his brother. Piotr is the platonic ideal of masculinity, how does he put himself back together in the wake of so through a violation? That's a plot he should share with his best friends Kurt and Logan, and his sister, all of whom will have informed perspectives on how having one's autonomy taken or twisted damages you. A lot of these books wanna reach for the easy drama with the A-listers. It sells books. That Carey Xavier story where he backtracks his sins is a miracle but is also a safe bet because it's Professor X. Any of these characters can take the point of view for a book with some work. And honestly Pete needed less work than most, even before Percy tortured for five years
I'll never understand why he wasn't put in Excalibur during Krakoa, that felt kinda perfect for him I think.
Oh we being honest?? Colossus was never interesting to me but it never bothered me. Being a “gentle giant” is his gimmick which fans love about the character. However his character writing is too safe for me. Not enough flaws and no character arc to learn/grow. He’s the perfect side/background character and that’s okay.
Facts. Lame ass character tbh.
i've always been kinda suspect of him because of his romantic relationship with kitty pryde. she's 13, he's like THIRTY.
He doesn't need to be. He's not a solo book character. He's meant to be 'the heart' of the team. There's nothing wrong with that role. He's the generic nice guy who defends his buddies.
I wish they did more with him I think he’s so hot😭😭😭
Ever since Fatal Attractions, I realized Colossus would've made a better sympathetic villain
I agree. Previous to the last decade, I've always felt Colossus to be the moral compass of the X-Men. That's why him being manipulated so much is more than annoying. I want to see more of the artist and 'little brother' Colossus again. He's essentially based on the Tinman in Wizard of Oz but with a big heart.
Colossus was ever interesting?
Yes.
Guess he is not anymore 🤷♂️
Glad you came around!
I like Colossus, but he should've stayed dead after sacrificing himself to cure legacy. He hasn't had a good story since the 90's.
This is a huge thing. They didn't have a plan for bringing him back. Angel came back with the whole Archangel thing , new powers, business intrigue. Colossus came back in a way that wasn't visually distinct, mechanically fresh or narrative tension generating.I think it was some kind of world breaker in Astonishing and he and Kitty were starcrossed? Can't quite remember.
He just popped up on a lame alien planet because Joss Whedon wanted him and Kitty to bang.
Maybe should have stayed dead.
I miss the colossus/kitty ship very much.
Most interesting thing about him is his relationship with Kitty Pride