Marvel’s X-Men’s Most Humiliating Defeat Till Date Was By a Birthday Clown!!
The X-Men is a team of exceptionally powerful superhumans. The mutants that make up the team are some of the finest the Marvel Universe has to offer. With people like Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and Beast in the team guided by the watchful eye of the all-0seeing Professor X, the X-Men are a force to be reckoned with. They have gone up against some truly powerful heavy hitters. Everyone from Magneto to Doctor Doom and Mister Sinister have faced defeat when they fought the X-Men. But over the course of history, even the mighty X-Men have been beaten in some strange and peculiar ways. Their most humiliating defeat has been at the hands of a….birthday clown!!!
Marvel once had a magazine by the name of Crazy. This magazine was created in the lines of edgy magazines specializing in dark satire in the Seventies. In a way, Crazy was similar to Mad and Cracked. The magazine was hosted by an original Marvel character called Obnoxio the Clown. Obnoxio was not your typical party clown. He was more realistic – representative of the common man. Obnoxio had alimony to pay, a dead end job, and his career is on a sharp decline. He always had a cigar hanging from his mouth and lackluster make up. Obnoxio’s jokes were more akin to stand up comedy that a party clown’s puns.
Obnoxio the Clown Officially Enters The Marvel Comic Book Universe
In Obnoxio The Clown #1 by Alan Kupperberg, Obnoxio made his official debut in the mainstream Marvel Comic Book Universe. He was actually hired, ironically, to be the party clown in Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat’s Birthday Party. The person who contacted and hired him was Professor X himself. Right before Obnoxio arrived, Cerebro blew a fuse and knocked out Professor X. Cyclops found an unconscious Charles Xavier on the floor and thought that Obnoxio was an intruder. The X-Men assembled to take down the ‘villain’.
Little did they know, they are in for one hell of a treat. Obnoxio the Clown was more resourceful than Batman with his utility belt.
Obnoxio used Carbon Dioxide cartridges in his seltzer bottle and lit them up with his signature cigar. the explosion blew open the holding cell the clown was in. The X-Men met Obnoxio in the Danger Room, prepared to fight him. No matter how much training the X-Men have had, they could not catch the nifty Obnoxio, who kept evading the X-Men on his unicycle. Colossus came pretty close to catching him. But Obnoxio used a hand zapper to knock the hero out, his metallic skin becoming a wonderful conductor for high voltage electricity. The very next move involved Obnoxio spraying sneezing powder all over the room. Nightcrawler kept teleporting in and out of the room with every sneeze.
Enter The Actual Villain
It was after these wonderful shenanigans that the real threat was discovered. A Villain called Eye Scream had infiltrated the X-Mansion. He was a low level villain. His power allowed him to turn himself into any form and flavor of ice cream (yeah, the writers were real high when they came up with this one). Eye Scream had infiltrated the Danger Room and was responsible for everything. after Charles Xavier woke up and Eye Scream was put on ice (like literally), he revealed Obnoxio was invited and was a friend. The Birthday Party could now happen without interruption.
Except Obnoxio no longer felt like performing. He lambasted the X-Men for their poor treatment of their guest and stormed out of the building. Good for you Obnoxio!! Those idiots don’t deserve you.
Where is Obnoxio Now?
Obnoxio the clown has had an on and off relationship with Marvel. In 2019, Crazy was brought back for another issue and Obnoxio returned to the Marvel Comic Book Universe. despite his anonymity, he can hold his own against one of the strongest teams in the Marvel Comic Book Universe.
