Welcome to the penultimate chapter of AIPT’s X-Men Power Rankings!
At AIPT we, perhaps rather foolishly, set out to rank the top 25 X-Men using several criteria:
- How prominent are they in the X-Franchise (i.e., comics, movies, cartoons, TV series, games)?
- How do they embody (or subvert) Charles Xavier’s dream?
- What is the writer’s personal “connection” to the character?
It was a daunting challenge, for sure, but one that proved just as thrilling (and maybe a smidgen controversial?) With part one, we outlined those heroes at ranks #25-21. Then, part two revealed rankings #20-16 (some great showings, FYI), and part three showed the characters who just missed out on the top 10.
To make the top 10 in anything is no easy feat. These characters are beloved by nearly anyone who encounters them, and they’re fundamental to the X-Men franchise. So, without further delay, here are places #10-6.
— Robert Reed, AIPT Staff Writer
10) Magik
(121 Points | Highest Placement = 6th, Twice)
At their core, the X-Men are defined by their ability to reckon with their trauma. Wolverine was forged into a living weapon by the adamantium running through his skeleton, but he fights to be a better man. Gambit sought redemption for years. And Illyana Rasputin was dragged to Hell, where the demon Belasco tormented her for years. She came out older, battle-scarred, and a truly frightening presence to anyone who crossed her as Magik. Yet fans know that there’s more to Illyana than a massive sword and a FinalFantasy-esque wardrobe.
Don’t believe me? Check out X-Men #35 by Jed MacKay and Tony Daniel. In this issue, Hank McCoy is at a crossroads. He’s been approached by the Chairman of 3K, who happens to be an evil future version of himself, and has been told he’s obsolete. It’s a hell of an identity crisis, and Magik pulls him back from the brink with one emotionally stirring line: “You and me, we know what we’re capable of. Because we’ve met it. But that’s how we know where the line is.”
That shows why Illyana is such an iconic mutant. She has faced her own demons—literally and figuratively—but she’s still striving to protect others and make sure she can stay close to the most important people in her life (including her brother, Colossus, and friends like Kitty Pryde and Juggernaut). Charles Xavier made the right choice when he asked her to join the New Mutants.
I’m a relative newbie to the Magik fandom, but when I first really delved into her history, I had to wonder: Has anyone gone through more in their young life than Illyana Rasputin? The younger sister of Colossus has been trapped in the hellish dimension of Limbo; became ruler of said realm; was overtaken by a demon; died (and later resurrected); and was possessed by the Phoenix Force, all before she was legally able to drink.
Any one of those traumas would have been enough to drive a mutant over the edge, and yet Magik has become one of the biggest fan-favorite characters because she understands that her trauma doesn’t define her. The recent series from Ashley Allan and artist German Peralta hammered this home beautifully, and gave Illyana and Piotr the kind of family sit-down they have desperately needed for years. She’s also one of the most well-rounded members of the recent team, serving up badass moments and well-timed advice with ease. And her power set? Well, like Forge, it makes sense from a tactical perspective to have a few extra teleporters.
Yes, she can be rough around the edges at times, but there’s an inner strength to Magik that the best of all X-Men exude. That, and her commitment to the dream of Xavier, whether on a team associated with him or not, shows her devotion to the cause and her found family. If there’s any one member of the X-Men that deserves the bump in popularity thanks to their appearance in Marvel Rivals, it’s Magik.
09) Professor X
(135 Points | Highest Placement = 6th, Twice)
Professor X has to be on this list, simply because, without him, this list doesn’t even exist. He founded the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters to teach young mutants how to control their powers. He created the X-Men to altruistically defend a world that hates and fears them. The X-Men’s philosophy is based on his dream of peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans. And we all know, despite the tales of the “X” coming from their “X-traordinary” powers or their special “X-gene,” Charles Xavier named the X-Men after himself.
The story of the X-Men starts with Charles Xavier creating the team. That’s why he’s been a part of every incarnation of the franchise that I can think of, whether comics, animated TV shows, movies (RIP Sir Patrick Stewart), or video games. You can’t have an X-Men story without Xavier.
Now, I know personal opinions differ widely. Xavier, after all, is at times a huge jerk. He’s definitely arrogant enough to think he knows better than anyone else what’s best. But, in general, his dream is one of peace and kindness. Yes — depending on the writer — he’s been known to use immoral means to achieve his supposedly benevolent ends. But, in the end, Xavier’s teachings and philosophy give purpose and, therefore, life to the X-Men.
Simply put, if you don’t have Xavier, you don’t have the X-Men.
If you want to read a wonderfully complex, ultimately positive characterization of Professor X, I suggest Grant Morrison’s famous New X-Men run (issues #114 to #154). At least check out the “Riot at Xavier’s” story arc from issues #135-138. There, you’ll see what makes Charles truly extraordinary.
Charles Xavier is the character whose very ideas define the X-Men. As the team’s founder, he assembled the original X-Men and established the school that became the heart of the franchise. He’s remained a major presence through nearly every era, including Krakoa, while appearing prominently in animation, films, and games. Even stories where Xavier is absent often revolve around the philosophy he forged.
When it comes to Xavier’s dream, nobody has a more complicated relationship with it than the man himself. Charles believes mutants and humans can peacefully coexist, with the X-Men serving as a case study of that very reality. Yet decades of stories have exposed contradictions between those ideals and his actions. Xavier can sometimes be secretive, manipulative, and convinced that he knows what’s best for everyone around him. Krakoa pushed this tension even further by putting Xavier in a position of enormous political power. His dream remains one of the X-Men’s defining ideas, while Charles himself frequently demonstrates how difficult it is to live up to those aspirations.
Personally, Xavier ranks highly because removing him fundamentally changes what the X-Men are about. He’s a mentor, father figure, political thinker, and sometimes the person his students need to rebel against. Characters like Cyclops, Magneto, and Wolverine become more interesting through their differing relationships with the professor.
Xavier isn’t always the best example of Xavier’s own dream, and that’s exactly what makes him so interesting.
08) Emma Frost
(155 Points | Highest Placement = 3rd)
It’s no surprise that Emma Frost is one of my favorite characters — she’s bougie, fashionable, sexy, and, sometimes, a bitch. Yet my favorite thing about Emma Frost is how complex she is overall. While she’s been a major part of the X-Men for over two decades, her introduction as a villain and her subsequent growth into a hero make her someone you want to root for time and time again. While her goal is to open a school for mutants (a dream similar to Professor X’s), I love that she’s more grounded in reality about what mutants actually need to succeed, and the lengths she’s willing to go to for her students.
Even though Emma hasn’t been a villain in quite some time, it’s interesting to me that she’s still not widely seen as a proper hero. Part of that is because she regularly does things that are morally grey or straight-up wrong to get her way or in the name of the greater good, and she doesn’t try to hide what she’s doing or her intentions. Emma is always Emma, undeniably.
Another thing I love about Emma Frost is how fashionable she is, and while it’s normal for characters to have an outfit they wear regularly, Emma Frost isn’t one of them. Although she has her classic look and her iconic New X-Men look, her outfits change constantly and don’t stay the same for long. Her fashion sense easily puts her at the top of my list.
Emma Frost has been iconic from the moment she entered Marvel canon. I could talk about her all day, so I’ll keep it tight. More than standard cape comics, the X-Men invite us to consider the human body: its abilities and disabilities, the variation of our forms, and how we express ourselves in physical space in contrast to and in response to marginalization. Conversations on the body must account for sex, both the desire for and aversion towards it. Emma’s arrival in the Chris Claremont era brings sexuality into the story of mutantkind in a way that it had previously abstained. This alone makes her special, but her role as the domineering White Queen of the Hellfire Club is only the beginning of her journey.
Over the decades, Emma Frost has become a key member of the X-Men, which means facing down the darkest moments of her past. Stealing Storm’s body, being an accomplice to Mastermind’s sexual assault on Phoenix, and killing Firestar’s horse are crimes she’s paid the price for, and she comes out the other side a true hero. More so, she’s become a peer of the thought leaders of mutantkind, contrasting herself with Xavier and Magneto by trying to use mutant capitalism to pay for the children’s freedom.
Beyond that, Emma is just so damn entertaining. She’s fashionable, a formidable telepath with a diamond form, and she delivers some of the franchise’s best quotes. Also, she is one of the most trans-coded X-Men, and is more than willing to flaunt the body she paid good money to obtain. Off of that alone, she’ll always be one of my favorites.
07) Rogue
(156 Points | Highest Placement = 5th)
Oh Rogue, my sweet sugah. Is anyone more traumatized than poor Anna Marie? Sure, Kurt Wagner, Henry McCoy, and Raven Darkhölme can’t walk down the street without needing a little camouflage, but at least they can hold their loves without fear of killing them. Poor Rogue can’t so much as let someone graze her on the arm without fear of absorbing their life force.
Rogue’s one of the biggest examples of the “redemption” theme within the X-Men canon, as she famously started off as a villain and nearly killed Carol Danvers (which gave her those famous secondary superpowers of flight and strength). Throughout her time on the team in the ’80s, she had to fight to prove her place, gradually earning the other members’ acceptance until she became a full-fledged, iconic member by the early ’90s. Her determination as a fighter and a friend is what makes her so compelling, and her recent-ish turn as a leader of a group of wayward mutant teens is a wonderful full-circle moment.
Of course, there’s the star-crossed lovers aspect of Rogue as well, as her tragic affair with Gambit was a longstanding “will they/won’t they/CAN THEY?” that has now been null and void for almost a decade. The fact that she and Gambit can finally be an item, married no less, doesn’t take away from the tragedy of her upbringing, though. It’s proof that through determination and love for yourself and others, you can rise above your past and be a true light for the future.
Rogue has grown from a villain introduced in Avengers Annual #10 into one of the most recognizable and essential X-Men. She has led X teams, served with the Avengers, anchored countless major stories, and developed one of the franchise’s defining romances with Gambit. Outside comics, X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97 made her a fan favorite, and the original live-action films placed her near the center of their story. Clearly, everyone loves a good accent.
Rogue embodies Xavier’s dream because her entire life demonstrates the possibility of acceptance and change. Her powers make physical intimacy dangerous, and her history with the Brotherhood gave the X-Men every reason to distrust her when she first arrived. Xavier nevertheless welcomed her into the school. Rogue eventually became one of the people entrusted to lead the team. Her journey shows what the X-Men can offer someone who has nowhere else to turn: community, purpose, and the freedom to define herself.
Personally, Rogue has everything I want from an X-Man. She’s powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with Marvel’s heavy hitters, but her abilities carry an emotional cost that keeps her grounded. She’s funny, stubborn, passionate, and capable of tremendous vulnerability. Her journey from frightened teenager to veteran leader feels genuinely earned. Her yellow-and-green costume, complete with a very loose belt, is iconic in its own right.
Rogue once came to the X-Men looking for help. She became someone other X-Men could seek love and support.
06) Nightcrawler
(172 Points | Highest Placement = 3rd)
Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, is a study in contradictions. At first glance, he’s a frightening figure; his indigo fur, glowing golden eyes, pointed fangs, and twitching tail make him look like something that crawled out of the pits of Hell. It also doesn’t help that his mutant power of teleportation comes complete with clouds of sulfur. Yet beneath the demonic visage lies a true man of God, someone who has refused to let the world break his spirit. I think that’s beautiful.
In fact, when Charles Xavier sought out a new team of X-Men to rescue his current students, he ended up saving Kurt from a rabid mob. As a result, Nightcrawler has become one of the main mutants who fight for Xavier’s dream, putting his swordsmanship to the test whenever needed. Yet Kurt has also become the person who others confide in, offering the right words to his teammates when they feel lost or conflicted.
Nowhere is that more apparent than with Wolverine. At first glance, Logan and Kurt couldn’t be more different. Yet they’ve become the very best of friends, with Wolverine often saying that Nightcrawler was the first person to look past his rough nature and see Logan as a person. It’s one of many examples of how Nightcrawler is one of the best X-Men, and the best example of Xavier’s dream in perpetual action.
There’s a reason Dave Cockrum and Len Wein opened the classic Giant-Size X-Men #1 with Nightcrawler — and not just because he was Cockrum’s favorite. The mutant metaphor first became real with the all-new, all-different X-Men. This group personifies the oppressed and hated minority in ways that cannot be disguised. And that all starts with Kurt Wagner — a gentle-spirited, highly religious German man born with a demonic appearance complete with a pointed tail — chased by an angry mob.
As his character developed (mostly under Cockrum and later Claremont), we see why Nightcrawler best represents the X-Men’s creed: to defend a world that hates and fears them. Kurt’s most lovable characteristic is his deep empathy for and acceptance of all people, even going out of his way to love and win the friendship of people who fear him for his appearance. Maybe it’s his monstrous appearance itself that taught him to look beyond the surface to the heart of all people.
But maybe his characteristic empathy derives more from his religious beliefs. As a Christian myself, I’ve always enjoyed the way Nightcrawler’s Catholic faith has been depicted — at least when properly written. Nightcrawler has never been preachy about his faith; he just lives as a person of faith should. And that always means showing and perpetuating kindness and grace to everyone he encounters. Kurt loves all people, even if they hate or fear him. That’s what makes Nightcrawler one of the best X-Men.
For one of my favorite examples of Nightcrawler’s empathy, check out his interaction with Wolverine just before their deaths in House of X #4.
X-Heads, stay tuned for Part 5 (aka the finale!) on Tuesday, November 17!
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