Saddest X-Men Deaths:
The Mutants of the Marvel Comic Book Universe are the most vilified communities in all of existence. They are treated as outcasts in their own planet. The governments the world over have painted a picture where the entire global population considers them an enemy. As a result, the number of attacks and assaults the X-Men have faced have been the highest. Many of its members have died cruel and violent deaths that could be termed as completely uncalled for. Some of those deaths are even sadder than the rest because they are so depressing to watch, even though they are all but fictional characters.
1. Wolverine
When a deadly virus infects Wolverine, he loses his healing factor. But instead of looking for a cure, Wolverine decides to let it be and call it quits. He believes that this is the universe’s way of telling him to stop. Without his healing factor, Wolverine would one day succumb to death and die peacefully. But destiny has other plans for Wolverine. Doctor Cornelius, the man who is responsible for Wolverine’s adamantium claws, puts a bounty on his head. Wolverine tracks the doctor down and that is where Cornelius reveals his grand plan – he intends to use Weapon X project data to make hundreds of more adamantium laced mutants. Wolverine cuts open the huge vial containing all the liquid adamantium, and chases Cornelius. After killing him, he gets to the roof and has one final look at the sunset as the Adamantium solidifies and kills him. One Last Time indeed.
2. Professor X
In the Avengers vs. the X-Men story arc, Professor X is left to deal with the Phoenix Five, five mutants that now share the power of the Phoenix Force. Cyclops, a member of the Phoenix Five, is left absolutely corrupted by his thirst for power and he manages to steal the rest of the Phoenix Five’s powers for himself. When Professor X tries to reason with him, Cyclops lashes out violently and kills Professor X. The murder of Professor X by Cyclops was one of the turning points in the character development of Cyclops and has shaped his path in the recent times as a mutant leader and extremist in Marvel Comics.
3. Banshee
Sean Cassidy has returned back to Ireland where he is now just a regular small-town superhero. After recovering vital data regarding the current location of the missing Professor X, Banshee decides to get to the United States. Vulcan, who has hijacked the X-Plane, tries to ram the jet into the commercial airliner Banshee is traveling in. Banshee uses his sonic voice to save the passengers on the plane. He succeeds but his mutant ability had been severely weakened from past events and he had to sacrifice himself to do the good deed. Banshee is literally squeezed between two planes, dying mid-air.
4. Cyclops
The Inhumans release the Terrigen Mists all over the world. People with the latent Inhuman gene are affected and become super-powered Inhumans. But for mutants, the Terrigen Mists prove to be deadly. People with activated X-Genes, when exposed to the Terrigen Mists, contract a deadly disease called the M-Pox. Emma Frost and Cyclops lead the charge against Black Bolt and the Inhuman Royal Family, whom they consider answerable for the mutant massacre. Black Bolt is almost killed by Cyclops’ Optic Blast but he manages to use his ultrasonic voice at the last moment to rip Cyclops’ to shreds. It is then revealed that it was all Emma Frost’s plan. Cyclops had already died due to M-Pox. Emma Frost had used her psychic powers to cast an illusion of Cyclops’ sacrifice while fighting Black Bolt to make him a martyr and a symbol of mutant rights.
5. Pyro
As a long-time member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Pyro is most well-known as a villain. But he dies the death of a true hero when he is about to meet his maker. Pyro contracts the Legacy Virus, a mutant virus that kills people with the X-Gene. His powers grow out of control and he starts having deadly lesions all over his body. The mutant villain finds his true calling when Senator Kelly, one of the most vocal proponents of the Mutant Control Act, is about to be assassinated. Pyro saves Kelly but succumbs to his injuries. Before dying, he implores Senator Kelly to rethink his stance on the Mutant Control Act. And he does.
6. Cypher
The mutant Cypher did not have the most attractive mutant ability. His superpower allowed him to decipher any language or code. That made him as much as an asset on the field as a Google Home assistant or Amazon Echo. Doug Ramsey was still a cheerful soul and he found innovative uses of his ability. He could decipher and decode the most complex of codes and break into any computer system. He could also read body language and deduce how a person might act or react, using this ability to neutralize opponents in close combat or act as a human lie detector. The path of Cypher – from nobody to such a lovable guy, appealed to millions of readers. So his death from a single stray bullet was all the more tragic. His last words are some of the saddest we have come to a comic book self-eulogy.
7. Alchemy
Alchemy is one of the lesser-known mutants that even the most ardent of followers will have a hard time remembering he even existed in the Marvel Comic book Universe. Thomas Jones possesses the mutant ability of transmutation. He can change the atomic structure of one element into another. He almost always likes to stay to his devices and only act when absolutely needed. When the Terrigen Mists were about to engulf the Earth and kill thousands of mutants with M-Pox, Thomas Jones stepped up. He was sent to the upper atmosphere where he entered the Terrigen Mist cloud head-on before it could reach the surface. He transmuted the entire mist into another element that is harmless to mutants. But in doing so, he was exposed to a huge dosage of the mists, dying immediately due to acute M-Pox. He became an unsung superhero and savior of worldwide mutant-kind.
8. Colossus
Piotr Rasputin may have invulnerable steel coated skin and super strength but he has a heart of pure gold. A gentle and kind soul that prefers pacifism over violence, Colossus is loved by everyone and is the core of the X-Men. After his sister dies due to the Legacy Virus, Colossus is devastated and blames himself for being powerless to save his sibling. Beast manages to conjure up a cure but it has a catch – it has to be injected into someone for the anti-virus to start spreading throughout the upper atmosphere. The mutant who will be injected with the cure will die. Colossus happily decides to make himself the test subject despite repeated pleas by the rest of the X-Men to not do it. Colossus dies and the antivirus helps save the mutants from the mutant epidemic that could have made the entire species go extinct. Kitty Pryde then scatters his ashes in Russia after his dead body is cremated.
9. Nightcrawler
The blue-skinned teleporting devil is one of the most popular X-Men. The events of Decimation lead to the death of a vast majority of mutants all over the world. Hope Summers is the first mutant to be born after that event and is called the Mutant Messiah. She is an Omega level mutant and is called the one that will save mutant kind. A lot of people intend to kill her because of this title. Kurt is adamant in protecting Hope Summers. When the villain called Bastion gets close enough to make the killing strike, Nightcrawler makes him bite the dust. Bastion manages to anticipate where Kurt will teleport to next and rams his arm right into the spot where Nightcrawler teleports into. Kurt has one final teleportation jump where he takes Hope to the X-Men before succumbing to his injuries and dying a hero’s death in the midst of his allies.
10. Jean Grey
No matter how you look at it, The Phoenix Saga is a harrowing tale of an innocent young girl gaining the power of a God, being corrupted by it, and having to sacrifice her own life to ensure she does not cause too much damage. Nobody would have thought before the phoenix Saga that Jean Grey of all people would have been capable of such heroism. She proves everyone wrong by showing what she is truly capable of, proving why she is considered as one of the founding members of the X-Men team. The Phoenix Saga has been pivotal in placing Jean grey as a crucial mutant hero within the X-Men.
