5 Ways Professor X Is Actually The X-Men’s Greatest Villain

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Professor X, often seen as the leader of mutants, hasn’t always been a hero. From the beginning of his story in Marvel Comics, Charles Xavier has made questionable and even deceitful choices. He’s also harmed his own X-Men, the students he’s meant to protect, sometimes putting them in unnecessary danger. Looking back at Cyclops’s often-criticized actions, it’s clear he learned from his mentor, and both men have acted as much like villains as they have heroes.

Professor X often put the X-Men in harm’s way and even created a foe who nearly ended the world. These actions suggest he was more of a hindrance to his team than a help.

5) Professor X Created Onslaught

Professor X did something shocking by mentally shutting down Magneto. While Xavier felt he had no other option – Magneto wouldn’t stop causing harm – it backfired. The act unintentionally merged Xavier’s own hidden anger about how mutants were treated with Magneto’s existing darkness and aggression, creating a much larger issue.

Onslaught originated within Professor X after he forcibly suppressed someone’s mind – a highly questionable act, even by his standards. This led to the creation of a powerful and dangerous Marvel villain who appeared to defeat the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. Though ultimately stopped, Onslaught nearly destroyed the world, and he wouldn’t have come into being without Xavier’s initial, problematic use of his psychic abilities.

4) Professor X Was Part Of The Illuminati

I always believed the Illuminati had good intentions – they really thought they were protecting us, working from the shadows. But honestly, their methods were risky, and they ended up causing a lot of the problems they were trying to fix. Professor X stepped up for all mutants, and the group was rounded out by some seriously powerful people: Iron Man for the Avengers, Reed Richards representing the Fantastic Four, the Inhuman king Black Bolt, Namor speaking for the oceans, and Doctor Strange, handling all things mystical. Despite all that power, they kept making really bad calls, and it just felt like they were digging a deeper hole.

The Illuminati caused major crises, like the Skrull invasion, by directly confronting the Skrull homeworld and threatening their people. They tricked Hulk into exile, which later led to the devastating World War Hulk. And in a desperate attempt to prevent multiversal destruction, they destroyed an entire Earth, fully aware it wouldn’t solve the problem. Ultimately, the Illuminati’s actions were consistently questionable, and Professor X played a role in decisions that repeatedly endangered the world.

3) Professor X Brainwashed Wolverine To Make Him An X-Men

Professor X hasn’t always been truthful about how he recruits mutants for his team. He secretly blocked Jean Grey from fully using her psychic abilities, which made her more vulnerable to the Phoenix Force’s influence. He also manipulated Wolverine into joining the X-Men through a disturbing form of brainwashing, a controversial moment in Marvel history.

Wolverine was previously mind-controlled by Romulus and sent to assassinate Professor X, but as revealed in *X-Men: Original Sin* #1, Professor X stopped him. Instead of simply helping Logan, Professor X reversed the brainwashing but also deliberately fragmented Wolverine’s memories, leading him to believe he freely chose to join the X-Men. While Wolverine later forgave Professor X, content with his life as a hero, Xavier’s actions were actually a manipulative tactic – a pattern he often repeats.

2) Professor X Sent An X-Men Team To Their Death And Covered It Up

For a while, Marvel stopped publishing new X-Men comics when sales of the original team’s stories declined. When they decided to bring the X-Men back, it wasn’t with the classic characters, but with a completely new group of mutants from around the globe. Professor X assembled this new team to rescue his original students, who were stranded on the living island of Krakoa. Disturbingly, this wasn’t Professor X’s first attempt – his initial team tragically perished.

According to the story in *X-Men: Deadly Genesis* #4, the original team witnessed Cyclops leaving with his brother, Vulcan, and teammates Petra, Sway, and Darwin. When they tried to rescue the X-Men, nearly everyone on the team was killed. Darwin managed to save Vulcan and Cyclops, but Professor X believed Cyclops was the sole survivor. Xavier then wiped Cyclops’ memories, including any recollection of his brother. While Xavier thought he was protecting Scott from emotional distress, he didn’t have the right to make that decision for him. Ultimately, Xavier was responsible for the deaths of these young mutants and refused to take accountability.

1) Professor X Trained Teenager To Become Soldiers

Professor X’s biggest flaw – and what makes him more of an antagonist to the X-Men than a guide – is that he always intended to train teenage mutants as weapons. The first team of X-Men was entirely made up of teenagers, including a very young Ice Man, and Xavier constantly sent them into dangerous battles, believing it would demonstrate that mutants and humans could coexist peacefully.

Although it seems contradictory, he’s repeatedly sacrificed mutants for what he believes in. He once sent Wolverine to kill a young mutant whose abilities were dangerous, fearing exposure would ruin his vision for a peaceful future. Later, Cyclops instructed a teenage mutant to assassinate opponents – a tactic clearly inspired by Xavier’s own actions. Professor X professes a desire for peace, yet he readily sends children with powers to their deaths to get what he wants.

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2025-10-16 21:42