Stephen A. Smith made his picks for a dream team of X-Men, but fans are roasting him after he left out Jean Grey.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is a prolific voice in the world of sports, but he’s not afraid to jump into other forms of media, either.
He often answers questions on his YouTube podcast about a variety of topics and has gone viral in the past after picking his Pokemon starter and pleading with Rockstar to put him in GTA 6.
Now he’s dipping his toes into comics after being asked to draft heroes for one of Marvel’s premier superhero teams, but fans have quickly pointed out he missed a big one.
Fans roast Stephen A. Smith for omitting Jean Grey from his X-Men draft
On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith responded to a tweet from ESPN’s Mina Kimes asking about his top three X-Men draft picks.
“First off, Wolverine,” Smith responds. “Let’s get that out of the way. We’re definitely going Wolverine. I’m doing to do that.”
https://t.co/qvkW5R1HPh pic.twitter.com/DLXhibCgKT
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) February 9, 2024
“I’m going to tell you Beast,” Smith continues. “I can do that. And how can I go against Storm? I mean Halle Berry, what do you want me to say? I’m not going against Halle Berry, okay.”
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Stephen’s picks are a pretty solid base X-Men team, but the comments weren’t 100% on board. In fact, a few users called him out for omitting one incredibly powerful character: Jean Grey.
1) Jean 2) Wolverine 3) Rogue or Storm. Nobody else deserves mention for top 3 lol
— Chris Robinson (@c_rob15) February 9, 2024
Am I a joke to you? pic.twitter.com/tEC97kXv3B
— Xtian (@niknok007) February 9, 2024
Many users were quick to accept it, calling his top three picks solid enough. But others pointed out Jean is a powerhouse, both as a telepath and as The Phoenix.
Jean, who has been a consistent team member since the very first issue, has also had the most wildly fluctuating powers over the years. Those powers were at their peak in The Dark Phoenix Saga, a story in which a cosmic entity turned Jean into a villain strong enough to destroy planets.
Beast over Jean Grey or Rouge?Never let this man draft again
— LakersSpin (@LakersSpin) February 9, 2024
Wolverine and Storm are definitely my top 2 but you gotta have Jean Grey in there… a brawler, a psychic and an elemental who can control the weather… that lineup is nasty work!!!
— James Hellams (@Jamieh711) February 9, 2024
Fans who want to see Jean at her full power can find her in the currently ongoing Fall of the House of X event, wherein the Krakoa Era of the X-Men is coming to an abrupt and violent end.
Jean will also appear in the upcoming X-Men ’97. There’s no news on a live-action Jean Grey joining the rest of the X-Men in the MCU just yet, but it’s bound to happen sooner rather than later.
