X-Men Heroes Ranked

X-Men Heroes Ranked

We’ve gotten some of the best comic book movie characters of all time from the X-Men franchise. They gave us Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Professor X and so many other great heroes. Today seemed like a great time to stop and rank all of the X-Men heroes. Let’s get started!

NOTE: The X-Men franchise gets confusing when it comes to its heroes. Since multiple heroes have two different versions of them. Even though they’re playing the same character, they function as two separate characters. So in this ranking, I’m separating the older versions and the younger versions of the X-Men. ALSO, with this type of ranking this post will contain SPOILERS for the entire X-Men franchise including Deadpool & Wolverine, I will talk about some of the surprises in that film. If you haven’t seen that movie or any of the other X-Men movies, DON’T READ THIS POST! 

29. Armando Muñoz/Darwin: A character that had potential to be interesting, but the movie just wasted him. Once he’s recruited for the X-Men, he’s the one killed off that sets our X-Men into action against Sebastian Shaw. It’s a cool sequence and the way he dies is kind of interesting. But it feels like a waste of a character and a waste of screen time. He has an interesting set of powers that would have been fun to see in action, but he never gets to. It’s unfortunate that he was wasted, since the movie wasted him I have to rank him low on this. It is fun that the actor will be returning to the genre as Mr. Terrific in Superman (2025). 

28. Angel Salvadore: Along those same lines, she’s not really given much to do. She’s recruited by Professor X and Magneto and oncs Shaw attacks, she joins his side. Since we only spent 5-10 minutes with her, her transformation to evil doesn’t really work. It comes out of nowhere once again they kind of wasted the character. I feel like she’s a character that represents a problem with X-Men: First Class. It’s a movie called First Class, but it’s more focused on the relationship between Charles and Magneto and the first class team get sidelined. But once again, we got another actor that later joined the DC universe. Here, Zoe Kravitz joined The Batman playing Catwoman. 

27. Orono Munroe/Storm (Alexandra Shipp): She’s ranked low on the list simply because I don’t feel like they gave her anything interesting to do. She’s treated as a villain in X-Men: Apocalypse even though we all know she’s going to be good. The fact she’s treated as a villain, feels like a total waste of the character and weird path to take her. Then in Dark Phoenix, she’s put on the sideline until the final battle of the film. They didn’t do anything with the younger version of Storm to have her ranked any higher. 

26. Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee): Another younger version of a character that felt wasted and wasn’t given much to do. Once again, he’s introduced in X-Men: Apocalypse and has more to do in Dark Phoenix, but nothing too memorable at the same time. With Apocalypse, there’s so many characters and plot lines that it doesn’t feel like anything gets properly developed and fleshed out. Dark Phoenix had a troubled production that movie didn’t turn out the way people had hoped. The reason why I rank him higher is because he’s given more moments to shine and he gets some solid jokes here and there. 

25. Sean Cassidy/Banshee: Yet again another member of the first class X-Men team. Now he’s given a lot more to do then Angel and Darwin, but he’s not very interesting to me. He is given some fun moments in the training montage as he’s figuring out how to control his powers. He’s given fun heroic moments in the finale, but that’s about it. I don’t find his personality all that interesting or engaging. He’s ranked higher than Angel and Darwin because he’s given more to do therefore he's slightly more interesting. 

24. Moira MacTaggart: A character that could have been a lot more interesting if they used her more. She’s introduced in X-Men: First Class as a possible love interest for Charles Xavier, the movie ends with them possibly getting together. She returns in X-Men: Apocalypse but doesn’t remember the events of First Class. If they found a way to explore and flesh out the romance between Charles and Moira she could have been interesting and ranked higher on this list. Also, I’ve never bought Rose Byrne as this type of character, she doesn’t give off that vibe at all. 

23. Negasonic Teenage Warhead: A fun character in the Deadpool franchise but is defined by one characteristic, she’s a moody teenager. It’s fun at points, her dynamic with Deadpool brings out some fun moments. But I felt like her shtick really only worked in Deadpool (2016), once we got to Deadpool 2 they repeated a lot of the same jokes and it didn’t fully work for me the second time. So she’s fun, she has her moments. I just don’t think I can rank her higher. 

22. Kitty Pryde/Wildcast: A character that was very important in the plot of X-Men: Days of Future Past. In that sense, she's a more memorable character. She was the one that sent Wolverine back in time. She gets into a solid fight with Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand, it’s one of the more memorable sequences of the film. She’s not given much of an arc, she has 20-25 minutes of screen time in the entire franchise. Her relationship with Iceman isn’t fully fleshed out. She’s a solid character but not a great character. 

21. Peter Rasputin/Colossus: Technically they are two different versions of Colossus, but I’m ranking them together because they’re essentially the same for me. They pretty much wasted Colossus in the original trilogy. He’s not given much of a personality, he has zero character arc. I think the version of the Deadpool trilogy is much better, he’s more memorable and funnier. But I thought his shtick worked better in both movies. I found his relationship with Deadpool better. 

20. Alex Summer/Havok: A character that was given a bit more to do then Banshee, Angel, and Darwin simply because he appeared in three movies. In X-Men: First Class he was written to be a bit of a douchebag. He has more of a lively personality, so he sticks with you for that reason. Then he appears in X-Men: Apocalypse and he’s Scott Summers’ brother. He’s matured a bit because he’s gotten older, he gets a sacrifice moment. Those little moments make him a more memorable character. He’s still ranked in the bottom half of the list, so he’s not a fantastic character. I wish we saw him more as a member of the team. 

19. Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan): I feel like if they did a better job with X-Men: Apocalypse, this could have been a better version of Cyclops. If the movie was focused on Cyclops joining the X-Men. They fleshed out the relationship between him and Jean, he could have moved way up on the list. He’s given more to do in X-Men: Apocalypse, he gets moments to be a hero. There’s some nice moments of humor when he’s figuring out what his powers are. I felt like they underused the character in Dark Phoenix, the one defining characteristic of him is that he’s Jean Grey’s boyfriend. 

18. Hank McCoy/Beast (Kelsey Grammar): I actually really like Kelsey Grammar as Beast, I think he did a solid job in the role. He’s not one of the best comic book movie castings of all time. But I do wish we got more of Grammar in the role and if we did, he probably could have moved way up on this list. The reason why he’s ranked right in the middle, I wish they did more with him. He’s kind of important to the plot of X-Men: The Last Stand, but not really. That movie had way too much going on, so many plot lines so things got underdeveloped, I think Beast was one of them. But overall, I like this version of the character and the casting. 

17. Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming): I think Nightcrawler is given one of the best superhero introduction scenes of the genre. The White House sequence is one of the best sequences of the entire franchise. His power set is very unique, so they do a lot of fun stuff with that. I think Alan Cumming does a really good job, he’s great at playing weird and quirky characters. The nature and awkwardness of Nightcrawler, he’s awkward. I wish he was in more movies, I wish he was in X-Men: The Last Stand, I liked what we got, I just wanted more. 

16. Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix (Sophie Turner): I think she’s given a lot of time to be fleshed out because there was a movie dedicated to her. In Dark Phoenix we dive into the childhood of Jean Grey. We see her relationship with her father and how that affected her life. Because of that, she’s a better character then Cyclops and some of the other younger versions of the character. However, I don’t really buy Sophie Turner as the character. When Jean Grey needs to be intimidating and threatening, I don’t think Turner gives off that energy. It felt like Sophie Turner was having her big break with Game of Thrones, so they wanted to cast her in a big comic book movie franchise. I don’t think Jean Grey was the right character for her to play. 

15. The Void Superheroes: I debated whether or not to include them on this list. But they were heroes that helped Deadpool & Wolverine on their adventure to stop Cassandra Nova. They were all fun additions to the movie that had my theater laughing and cheering. If you know the backstory on the X-Men movies, you know why it was so much fun to see Channing Tatum show up as Gambit in the movie. Some of the dialogue between Wesley Snipes’ Blade and Deadpool is great given that Ryan Reynolds was in Blade: Trinity. They’re in the movie with a purpose that helps with the arcs and themes of the film. They’re fun surprises in the film, but also help with the emotional moments of the film. 

14. The New Mutants: I’ve decided to clump all of them together because I don’t have much difference in which I’d rank them. I thought they were all good and solid characters, yet none of them were fantastic. They’re all given a fun personality and a power set that makes them stand out. Anya Taylor-Joy’s character would stand out for me. I'm bummed that we’ll never get a sequel. I want to spend more time with them and. I’m curious if this movie had come out during its original release or not during COVID if the movie would have done well enough to get a sequel. This movie very clearly sets up more adventures with these characters. 

13. Scott Summer/Cyclops (James Marsden): This one is really frustrating for me because I think they got the right pieces to make Cyclops great. James Marsden is a solid actor, he can be a leading man and you can buy him as the leader. He gets some funny moments with Wolverine in X-Men (2000). He’s also underused in the original trilogy. He’s a hero in X-Men (2000), he’s kidnapped for the middle hour of X2: X-Men United. He’s killed off in X-Men: The Last Stand, I get that Marsden had scheduling conflicts with Superman Returns, they still could have done more with that. Watching X-Men ‘97 where Cyclops is this great character who’s the leader of the X-Men, this is a disappointing version of the character. 

12. Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver: One of the scene stealing side characters of the franchise. So quickly in X-Men: Days of Future Past, he becomes a fan favorite character that gets a fantastic sequence. His sequence in X-Men: Apocalypse isn’t as memorable, but still pretty solid and fun. Evan Peters is a lot of fun in the role, he has a fun energy about him. They really did waste the character in Dark Phoenix, he’s not given much to do. He’s sort of there to be there, it felt like he was starting to get a character arc in X-Men: Apocalypse that was never resolved in Dark Phoenix. 

11. Bobby Drake/Iceman: He made several appearances throughout the franchise, therefore I think he’s a solid character. He’s introduced in X-Men (2000) as a student of the school, he quickly forms a romantic relationship with Rogue. He gets a character arc in the original trilogy as by X-Men: The Last Stand he’s a member of the team, helping them in battle. What we get from him in X-Men: Days of Future Past, he’s one of the leaders of the new team of X-Men. He’s really given a character arc in his movie, so I think he’s a strong character. 

10. Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult): Another actor that started in the Marvel franchise and is soon to be in the DC universe. Because he appeared in all four of the prequel movies, he’s given a lot of time to be fleshed out and developed. He’s a nerdy and awkward scientist in X-Men: First Class and by the end of Dark Phoenix, he’s the new headmaster of the school. Essentially, he’s the leader of the X-Men. He’s given a character arc, it’s a solid character arc from beginning to end. However, I don’t like how they wrote the character in Dark Phoenix. His character in Dark Phoenix, doesn’t feel like the same character in the previous three movies. 

9. Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix (Famke Janssen): I feel like she’s actually given a good amount to do in the original trilogy. Where they adapted the Dark Phoenix storyline, it might not be handled the best in The Last Stand, but she was given a lot to do. She has this interesting dynamic with Wolverine in the trilogy. She’s in a relationship with Cyclops but cares a lot about Wolverine. She makes a great sacrifice at the end of X2: X-Men United that leads directly into the third film. Her sacrifice is a very memorable moment that shows that she’s a hero. I do wish they tackled this version of Jean Grey better with the Phoenix stuff. That’s great source material and they never did anything great with it. 

8. Laura/X-23: A young new character that was introduced in Logan. I thought she was a very interesting addition to the franchise, but interesting in a good way. Between lines of dialogue with Wolverine and Professor X, it’s clear that she’s a younger version of Wolverine and her character arc comes from Wolverine and what he’s teaching her. That’s very interesting, it’s an interesting way to do a character arc especially so late into a franchise. Since she’s a young hero with these crazy abilities it allows for some wild sequences and moments to take place. For being Dafne Keen’s acting debut, she does a great job who’s able to play this cute child but also this vicious person who can’t control her powers. I thought she was used nicely in Deadpool & Wolverine, as helping with Wolverine’s arc and journey in the film. 

7. Orono Munroe/Storm (Halle Berry): I think she’s another character that very clearly was given more to do. I think this was helped by the rise of Halle Berry. This was one of the roles that made her A-list, after this film she won an Oscar so she was prominent in the sequels. Because she was given more to do, she was a secondary lead with Wolverine in The Last Stand, she ranks high on this list. Halle Berry is a solid performer, she fits the X-Men universe really nicely. I feel like so many of the X-Men from the original and prequel franchises were wasted, I feel like Berry’s version of Storm was given a proper amount of time to be fleshed out and work as a character. With so many of the original X-Men characters feeling underwhelming with the way they’re portrayed. I feel like Storm was given more to do, therefore she ranks higher on this list. 

6. Raven Darkholme/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence): There’s a lot of interesting things they did with her character in the prequels. X-Men: First Class focuses on the different worldviews of Professor X and Magneto. Magneto wants to live in a world where mutants rule. That means that Mystique can be who she really is and doesn’t have to hide. That’s something very interesting, it makes Mystique this interesting character in the X-Men universe. In Days of Future Past, they use Mystique as the way that the assination attempt starts. That’s interesting and clever with the way that it’s done. I think once you get into Dark Phoenix, it’s very clear that Jennifer Lawrence didn’t want to be in the movie and her death was weird. But still, a solid character. 

5. Anna Marie/Rogue: Some people could argue that Rogue was another wasted character like Cyclops. I can understand that, this is a very different version of Rogue from what we saw in X-Men the Animated Series. But I thought they gave Rogue a lot to do in the original trilogy. She was one of the point of view characters in X-Men (2000), she was given an origin story there. Even her power set allows her to have some interesting dynamics with other characters. She forms this relationship with Iceman but because of her powers she’s limited with how much they can be together. When you get to X-Men the Last Stand, you understand why she wants the mutant cure. Since she was given a lot to do, I think she has to rank high on a list like this. 

4. Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy): I think the casting of McAvoy is great, I think it’s one of the most underappreciated comic book movie castings of all time. I think his best moments come from First Class, when they focus on his world view in childhood. Because we spend so much time with him, we see how he’s similar and different to Magneto. We see him in Days of Future Past, as this broken character that lost his powers but gained the ability to walk. They use Wolverine as the inspiration character for Charles, even though in the past it’s been the opposite, because it’s a time travel story so Wolverine knows the old Charles Xavier. Those first two films do a lot of interesting character work. I don’t think the writing of the character in Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix was the best, it knocks him out back for me. But still, a solid version of the character. 

3. Wade Wilson/Deadpool: A casting that was perfect from the very beginning, but wasn’t used the best in the very beginning. Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool is perfect casting, it should have worked so well in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but they completely dropped the ball and wasted the character. Seven years later he was given his own movie and as a result we got one of the best comic book movie castings of all time. Him being so juvenile and fun and just cracking all of these jokes is what makes him a great character. They show the humanity in him with his relationship with Vanessa, but he’s not a character that grows and changes. You don’t really want him to grow and change. Part of the fun of Deadpool is that he’s this loud mouth character that says anything he wants. Reynolds as Deadpool is fantastic casting, some of the best of the genre. 

2. Charles Xavier/Professor X (Patrick Stewart): With some other castings on this list they felt like a bit of a risk to cast an actor to play a character. That’s not the case with Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Professor X, if anything it’s too obvious of casting. It’s casting that makes sense, therefore it’s casting that worked for 17 years and continued to work in small appearances after Logan. The reason why I think Patrick Stewart as Professor X is such great casting is because Professor X is a great leader and father figure. He’s the voice of reason for so many of our heroes. Mainly with Wolverine in the first couple of X-Men movies, Wolverine is a character that lost his way a bit and Charles helps Wolverine find his humanity. Patrick Stewart is able to embody that so well. That’s one of the defining characteristics of Charles, he is reasonable and hopeful. Easily, this is another great piece of comic book movie castings that is obvious casting, but obvious casting done right. 

1. Logan Howlett/Wolverine: There’s a whole lot of reasons as to why Wolverine is such a great character. First up, he’s given a great character arc. When we see him in X-Men (2000), he’s a lone wolf. He’s doing cage matches, not really doing much in life. But through meeting Charles and joining the X-Men, we see that he’s a great leader, a great friend, and a great father figure to somebody like Rogue who doesn’t fully find her place in the world as well. Even how they used Wolverine in Days of Future Past, as the voice of reason to Young Charles. It’s a role reversal where Wolverine is teaching Young Charles all of the lessons that Old Charles taught him. Of course in Logan, they give him a great sendoff as the character. It completes his arc so nicely and it’s the version of Wolverine we’ve been wanting to see. But of course, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is one of the legendary comic book movie castings of all time. It’s so hard to imagine anyone else but Jackman playing the character. He was the fact of the Fox X-Men universe for 17 years, easily he’s #1.