The X-Men got a second chance at stardom with 1974’s Giant-Size X-Men #1, a book that introduced readers to three of the greatest X-Men of all time – Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus. These three, along with Wolverine, would form the nucleus of the X-Men in the years to come, each of them playing a huge role in the development of the team. Wolverine would go on to become the most popular mutant of them all, joining the lofty ranks of Spider-Man and the Hulk when it came to stardom. Storm would become one of the best leaders in X-Men history, a fan-favorite character who has made he own mark on the Marvel Universe. Nightcrawler has long been the beating heart (and throbbing libido) of the team, everyone’s wise little brother always ready to help with every problem.
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That leaves Colossus. He was the strong, silent type, the iron man with a heart of gold. He grew up on the farm with his family, a sensitive helpful boy brought into an ugly world. His powers made him one of the team’s hardest members in a very literal sense, but underneath it all was the artist, a person trying to find the beauty in things. He played a big role in a lot of stories, but unlike some of his fellow mutants, he never got as big. Colossus is the forgotten star of the X-books, but lately we’ve gotten to see another version of the armored mutant, one that could be the key to his future.
Chris Claremont recreated the X-Men taking the clay from Giant-Size X-Men #1 and forming it into what it would become – the most popular team in comics. Cyclops was the uptight leader, Storm was the regal lady, Wolverine was the mouthy loner, and Nightcrawler was the wild younger brother. Colossus could have been the team’s big dumb meathead, but instead Claremont made him into the group’s sensitive soul. His anger was frightening, but on the inside Piotr Rasputin was a good man who wanted a simple life. He fought for the dream because he was strong where others were weak, trying to make the world in his mind a reality.
Claremont’s X-Men were masterful superhero epics, each character with their role in them. While he had set up Colossus as a subversion of the strong guy trope, most of his uses in stories where because he was the strong guy. One of his biggest moments came in Uncanny X-Men #125-128, with the X-Men battling Proteus, the reality altering son of Moira MacTaggert. The only thing that could hurt him was metal, leading to Colossus killing him with one punch in order to save lives. Killing devastated him, but if the choice was between him killing and people dying, he would kill. It showcased both his sensitivity and the iron inside of him.
After this story, Colossus was never really a major character for years. He had his own plot lines, like his relationship with Kitty Pryde, but as a character he mostly stayed the same. He was the big strong protector who would rather be an artist. He looked cool and did cool things in stories, but he wasn’t one of the most interesting members of the team. It wouldn’t be until the death of Magik in the early ’90s when we’d see him change again, joining Magneto’s Acolytes and doing nothing of any consequence before going back to being a hero and staying boring, leading to his death and return. His times as Juggernaut and then Phoenix Colossus were fun, but other than that, the character was basically dead in the water.
Recently, we’ve gotten two alternate universe Colossus who both turned out to be evil. In Wolverine: Revenge, he becomes leader of Russia and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, protecting the Eastern Hemisphere at the cost of the West and ending up in battle with Wolverine. In the new Ultimate Universe, he was a part of the Maker’s Council, the main villain of Ultimate Wolverine. Villainous Colossus is apparently on people’s minds and it’s plain to see why – it’s the only time he’s interesting.
Colossus was a fan-favorite, but you get the idea that there really wasn’t much that Claremont wanted to do with him in the ’80s. This led to future writers with nothing to play off, leaving him as the sensitive protector. His most interesting actions have always come when he’s doing something “wrong” – killing Proteus, leaving the X-Men after the death of Magik, becoming Juggernaut and indulging his anger, the power of the Phoenix corrupting him, his evil Russian leader phase we’ve been seeing more of lately – and it’s about time to recognize that he would work better in the future as a villain. Colossus hasn’t had anything to do in decades, but he’s too good to throw away. He would shine even brighter as a villain.
Colossus’s Future Isn’t With the X-Men
Colossus was introduced as a different kind of strongman, a fighter with the soul of an artist. This was his characterization for years and it honestly got pretty boring. It makes sense that creators would start to make him a villain; it’s the perfect way to shake him up. We’ve spent years with Piotr constantly under control, helping others, and suffering. When we see his temper, it’s presented as a mistake, but there’s a life to him that we don’t often get to see. Colossus as a hero is fine, but Colossus as a villain, giving into the rage inside of him, is a way more interesting version of the character.
We’ve gotten teases of evil Colossus in the X-Men comics over the years, but it’s time to pull the trigger and just make him a bad guy. This is someone who has spent years sacrificing his life for the X-Men and he has nothing to show for it other than heartbreak and failure. Colossus is ready for a change and the only one that’s going to work is making him a villain. It’s such a massive change that it will get fans’ attention, and it may be the thing that the character needs to break him out of his decades’ long funk.
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