7 More X-Men Who Turned Into Villains, Ranked

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The X-Men are considered the premier team of mutant superheroes – for a mutant hero, being recruited is similar to a regular hero joining the Avengers. They’re often the first to protect mutants from prejudice and have produced many of Earth’s greatest heroes. However, the X-Men have also seen members turn to villainy, and considering their history, this isn’t surprising. They frequently battle powerful telepaths, making mind control a constant threat. More importantly, they consistently confront those who seek to wipe out mutantkind, a uniquely difficult and emotionally draining struggle.

Various pressures and events have led some team members to embrace villainy. While many of these heroes eventually try to make amends and earn back trust, not all of them do. Several X-Men have fallen from grace before, and here are seven more who turned to the dark side.

7) Sabretooth

It’s not surprising to see Sabretooth acting like a villain again. He’s consistently been one of Wolverine’s biggest enemies, though he’s tried to be a hero several times, always reverting to his old ways. This pattern started after the death of Birdie, a telepath who could control his violent impulses. He briefly joined the X-Men, requiring special restraints to prevent attacks. Later, Wolverine severely injured him in battle, and despite feigning a loss of intelligence, he attacked his teammates. He even joined Rogue’s team while secretly working for Romulus, and ultimately attacked Wolverine (though Wolverine had already decided to end him that time). After Wolverine’s death, an event called AXIS briefly changed his morality, but he inevitably returned to villainy.

6) Psylocke

Following their victory over the Adversary, the X-Men each went through the Siege Perilous, a mysterious trial that scattered the team and altered them significantly. This experience briefly turned Psylocke into a villain when she was captured by the Mandarin. He transferred her mind into the body of Kwannon, a ninja assassin, and she served him and the Hand, even fighting Wolverine. Fortunately, Wolverine defeated her and freed her, allowing her to return to being a hero. Although this villainous phase only lasted three comic book issues, it was a notable period in her history.

5) Havok

Man, if there’s one character who’s been a pawn in everyone else’s schemes, it’s Havok. Poor Alex Summers just can’t catch a break! It feels like he’s been mind-controlled into being a villain more times than I’ve seen Star Wars. I remember that Shi’Ar agent, Erik the Red, totally took over him and Polaris, forcing them to attack the X-Men and try to kill Xavier. Then there was that whole messy thing with Madelyne Pryor, Cyclops’s wife – she started messing with his head too, and he ended up fighting his own team during ‘Inferno’. Even when he was trying to be a good guy with X-Factor, the Dark Beast got in his head and turned him against them, making him fight for Onslaught. He even ‘sacrificed’ himself to save them, though it turned out he just got tossed into another universe! And don’t even get me started on AXIS – they flipped his morality, and he was a full-on mutant terrorist for a while. Honestly, after everything, I’m pretty sure his brain is just a tangled mess. It’s kinda sad, really.

4) Emma Frost

Emma Frost spent years as a villain before becoming an ally of the X-Men in the mid-1990s, where she helped train a new generation of mutants. She later briefly joined Magneto in Genosha, surviving its destruction, and then rejoined the X-Men. While generally a hero after that, she did briefly work with a villainous group called the Cabal, which turned out to be part of a larger plan orchestrated by Cyclops. However, after the release of Terrigen Mists and Cyclops’s death, Emma fully returned to villainy. She instigated attacks on the Inhumans by manipulating mutant teams and planned to wipe out the entire Inhuman race with reprogrammed Sentinels. Though she escaped, she eventually resumed her heroic role after Cyclops was brought back to life, though she did briefly lead the Hellfire Club again.

3) Sunfire

Sunfire has often played a supporting role with the X-Men, and his pride has sometimes made him difficult to work with. He was once Japan’s top hero, but a fight with Lady Deathstrike resulted in him losing both legs. Feeling hopeless, he almost ended his life, but ultimately sought help from Apocalypse, who transformed him into the Horseman of Famine. Interestingly, Famine adopted the costume Sunfire wore during the alternate reality storyline, “Age of Apocalypse,” where he fought as a hero. He then battled the X-Men alongside fellow Horsemen Gambit and Polaris, and later joined Mister Sinister’s Marauders to attack them again in X-Men (Vol. 2) #200. Despite this, both he and Gambit eventually aided the X-Men in victory. Since then, Sunfire has become a respected member of both the Avengers and the X-Men.

2) Wolverine

Over the years, Wolverine has often been portrayed as a villain. He’s been brought back to life and turned evil multiple times – once as an assassin for the Hand, and more recently, manipulated into a weapon by Beast. This trend extends to alternate universes, including the Age of Apocalypse storyline. In one such universe, after Jean Grey returned as Phoenix and joined forces with Magneto’s team, Wolverine believed the only way to save the world was to absorb the power of Apocalypse. He used a Death Seed to transform himself and rebuilt Apocalypse’s empire, leading to a war with the X-Men. Although eventually defeated, he became the dominant villain in that reality for a significant period.

1) Professor X

For years, Professor X has acted as a villain, believing his actions were necessary to fight prejudice. He’s made questionable choices, like enslaving the Danger Room’s AI to train mutants and erasing the memories of an entire X-Men team. He covered up the mistakes of the Illuminati and created protocols for eliminating X-Men if they became dangerous. He secretly laid the groundwork for the mutant nation of Krakoa, collaborating with Magneto and Moira MacTaggert, and then led it with ruthless tactics, even manipulating allies like Reed Richards. He was once controlled by Mister Sinister, contributing to the creation of the ‘Sins of Sinister’ reality and briefly becoming a host for the villain. Most recently, he tricked the X-Men into resurrecting Empress Lilandra to facilitate his escape from prison – a situation he engineered as part of a larger plan. Despite being a founding member of the X-Men, Xavier has increasingly become a major adversary for the team.

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2026-01-24 22:19