The X-Men Made Me Feel Like One of Their Own From Wolverine’s claws to meeting Sunspot: how a first convention became a fandom, and a lifetime of memories.

So, we meet again! If you read my first article, you may remember me quickly bringing up X-Men, mentioning the special place in my heart that it has, and saying I would touch on it more in the future! Well, here it is! Here is my article about all things X-Men (probably not my last, either). I don't even know where to begin. X-Men has just been such a big part of my life for so long that I could go on for what seems like forever! (I even have a special surprise if you read to the end.)Let's go back to 2023. Retro-Toy Con. My first convention EVER. At the time, I had already been introduced to Marvel as a whole, and I was slowly watching the MCU and learning more as I went, but I had never seen anything that fell into the category of X-Men in particular. So, since this was my first con; I was really excited and wanted to do some research! That's when I found out that some of the voice actors from X-Men were going to be there! I was intrigued since it was Marvel, but still didn't know too much. I walked in and took in everything all at once. (It was a lot for a kid who had never seen anything like it before, scratch that... I actually very slightly recall a convention with some family, but I may have been 5 years old, and personally, don't feel like that really counts.) It was crazy!

I didn't think I had ever seen so many things I loved in one place! I walked around and stumbled across the booth of Cal Dodd. For those of you who don't know, Cal Dodd is our original '90s Wolverine. Absolute legend of a voice actor. I'd heard of Wolverine, who hasn't! Even for someone who didn't know anything about X-Men, I knew him. I looked around, but he wasn't at his booth! Only his lovely wife! (She is the absolute most delightful person to talk with.)I walked up and started talking with her, and she explained that Cal had stepped away for a moment. She then asked if I wanted to take a picture wearing his claws! No way—THE Wolverine's claws! Me?! I didn't know what to say! I got ready for a picture, and as I was posing, I heard a... rather distinct voice asking what I was doing wearing his claws! Oh my gosh! Cal Dodd himself! Now, of course, he was joking around, and he even jumped in the picture with me! After talking with both of them, his wife gave us two custom Wolverine stickers they had gotten specially made to bring with them! I walked around more and stumbled across Roscoe Handford, who voices Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) in the original X-Men Season 2, Episode 9—"A Rogue's Tale." I spoke with her for a while as well and even got a picture signed! For some of my first actor experiences, they truly made it such an amazing experience, and I felt so welcome. Afterwards, Cal Dodd had told me I needed to watch the show, so that's exactly what I did! I watched all five seasons and finished the night before the release of X-Men '97!

The night of the release. I remember it like it was yesterday. That evening, I was so excited, I got all cozied up and ready for the show—and switched it on. From there on out, I fell in love with the show, and it became my favorite show ever, like really, EVER. Now, as I watched the show, I did what anyone watching any show would do, I picked a favorite character. This was some of my first exposure to the character Sunspot, but right off the bat, I thought his character was really well written, and he had a certain personality to his character very... real.This kid has to come to the realization that he's different and realize how to navigate his idea of humanity flipped upside down now.

The "humans" he always sided with were now siding against him. He was scared—and rightfully so—because life going from being someone who's only ever known luxury straight to being abducted by the Friends of Humanity... yeah, that's a sudden change alright.The night when I watched the last episode, it was August 2024, and I was sitting in my hotel room after a crazy evening. Let's just say I was in town for a pretty big convention. I've never gotten to publicly share my experiences with the cast, so I'm really glad I finally have the chance to share it with all of you.I'm downstairs in the lobby, grabbing some yogurt to just sit down and take a breather. I'm standing up at the front desk to pay, and I'm just looking around, casually being aware of my surroundings.

I see the front door open to the right of me... and I internally start losing my mind!As the figure walks through the door, it's none other than MATTHEW WATERSON (that's our Magneto, folks). He makes his way inside and gets in line, but what he doesn't know is that this random kid in front of him is freaking out. (Now, be aware, during this series of events, I was a 14-year-old kid absolutely losing her mind meeting the actors of, like I said, my favorite show EVER.)I started PHYSICALLY SHAKING because I was SO excited. I mean, what else would one do if Magneto was casually standing behind them in line? As I turn around to say hi, I barely am able to get my words out—at this point, I'm just starstruck (and hoping there's nothing metal in my pockets), and I wave at him, and all I can get out is, "Are-are you Matthew Waterson?

"Now, of course, I KNEW it was him, but I really didn't know what else to say. I was able to grab a quick picture with him, and it's still one of my favorite pictures today because my smile was probably taking up half my face at that point!After he checked in and went upstairs, I was still in the lobby, so I started calling... pretty much everyone in my contacts. I finally get off the phone, and as I'm sitting there trying to fathom what just happened, the front door opens again. Cal Dodd (Wolverine) and Alison Sealy-Smith (Storm) walked in at the same time. Since I wasn't actually standing up there this time, I didn't want to run all the way up to them and bother them, but I was really excited, so I planned to say hello when they passed through the lobby from my chair. But before any of that could happen... I see my mom acknowledge someone... behind me? I turn around, and when I finally see, I see GUI AGUSTINI standing there! (My mom and I had been talking with him for the past couple of months, so he knew we would be there.)This was the FIRST time I had ever met him in real life! I... definitely lost it. I stood up faster than I think I've ever stood up before, hands over my mouth, in absolute shock, and all I felt was pure excitement! There was no way!

My favorite character standing RIGHT there! Somebody needed to pinch me because I was ecstatic.I stood there barely keeping my cool together, and we chatted for a little while, and I grabbed a picture. After a few minutes went by, Cal Dodd made his way over to all the excitement, and Gui told him what was happening and how huge of a fan I was. All I hear is Wolverine go, "Get over here!"I stood there with both of them, freaking out, taking a picture, and not believing that this was true. After that, Alison Sealy-Smith came over as well, and I was right in the middle of a small X-Men reunion.Eventually, there was a small little crowd with myself and my mom, the actors, and everyone who had accompanied them to the convention. After we talked in the lobby for a bit, everyone went up to their rooms, and my mom and I hopped on the elevator... with Cal Dodd and his lovely wife, who we had met prior to this.The four of us stood in the elevator, casually talking while I was ready to do a backflip I was so excited.

The elevator stopped at their floor, and as soon as they got off and the doors closed, my mom and I looked at each other and just lost it because WHAT IN THE WORLD, that was CRAZY!Just had a casual evening that went from grabbing a yogurt to hanging out with the X-Men? I RAN back to the room to go tell the rest of my family what happened. Safe to say, I had some trouble sleeping that night.The next morning, I woke up, and we decided to walk to a coffee shop across the street before hitting the convention. We walked in, and AGAIN we ran into Gui! Crazy stuff, right?! I chatted with him for a few minutes and then grabbed some breakfast!We waited in an INSANE line to get into Soda City 2024. I think the Sunday line for DragonCon this year was shorter! Oh, and it was August, so it was HOT! But it was SO worth it.We finally made it inside, and I walked in, and right there were all the X-Men lined up. Gui Agustini, Adrian Hough, Matthew Waterson, Lenore Zann, Alison Sealy-Smith, and Cal Dodd. At that point, nothing felt real anymore. It was absolutely insane.I got to spend the day getting things signed, going to a panel, taking pictures, and just being on cloud 9. I remember the last day when I got to do a picture with all of them. The second I walked in, they all said my name and seemed genuinely happy I was there.

That made me feel so welcomed, and it was so kind and it was so out of their way for them to make me feel like that—but they made sure they did, and that's not something you forget.I talked about this experience for so long, and I've even kept in touch with Gui since then. They're just the kindest people, and as X-Men fans, we're lucky to have people like them behind the characters.After talking about that for two years, I really wanted to have the chance to see them again. I found out some of the X-Men were going to be at DragonCon, so I decided how badly I wanted to go. As it looked like things weren't going to work out, my dad actually made it happen, and I want to shout him out for always doing everything under the sun to make me happy, I made such an amazing memory with him at DragonCon, and I still can't believe he was able to make it happen. I got to talk with Gui, Matthew, and Alison again, and I even got to meet Ross Marquand (Professor X and Apocalypse) this year! It was so fun, and I was even able to grab a couple more pictures and autographs from them!

And if you're reading this, you would have had to go through Back To Pop Media, so I'm sure you all know who I mean when I say Marc. We were able to meet up with him, and he helped us get around because when I tell you, if you've never been to DragonCon, it's CHAOTIC, but in a good way! We made our way around and even grabbed some lunch with him and got to catch up.While we were there, I was actually also able to participate in a Q and A panel and ask a question!

Well, this is just a portion of my experiences with all of the X-Men.

If I included everything, this article could wrap around the world. They're all such amazing people, and I still can't believe I have the opportunity to share this with all of you.If you remember, at the beginning, I said I had a little surprise.

Well, recently, I was able to speak with a few of the X-Men and get some really awesome and deep answers about what they love about X-Men. Hope you enjoy, courtesy of The X-Men!

Q: “What is your favorite thing about being a part of X-Men?”

A: Carolina Ravassa (Polaris): "My favorite thing about being a part of Xmen is that because it's such a diverse and inclusive family, people see themselves in one, if not many of the characters and it inspires them to create a better world."

A: Gui Agustini (Sunspot): "Being able to meet fans from all over the world, and hear their stories of how the show or my character Sunspot has positively impacted their lives"

A: Holly Chou (Jubilee): "My favorite thing about being a part of X-Men, is EVERYTHING 😂 You said it all when it comes to the X-Men and Jubilee specifically. I get to have a hand in telling some of the most fun, imaginative, moving, meaningful, action-packed stories on television today. No matter who someone is, their personality, what they look like, what they like, or what their life experience is, there's an X-Man they can identify with or take some meaning from. And thanks to the writers (from the comics as well as our show), artists, directors, and all the crew who work on our show, we get to tell these stories with the perfect line of dialogue, just the right expression, the coolest bit of action. That's the pleasure of anyone working in the arts, so consider that my favorite part!"

A: Matthew Waterson (Magneto): "It's weird being a part of something you grew up with. The idea that you somehow end up a part of something most actors never assume they'll become a part of is wonderful and weird."

A: A.J. LoCascio (Gambit): "I just love..I love X-Men, period, so getting to be a part of it is[...]I like every aspect of it, it’s this weird fulfilling wish of getting to be…you know as a kid I had such a hard time socially, and X-Men was something I super related to. Doug on nickelodeon and X-Men were things that I gravitated towards so to get to be a part of that is hypersurreal."