Jacob’s Halloween Villains Countdown: The 10 Best X-Men Villains

By: Jacob Elyachar

Warning! Spoilers are ahead….

Marvel’s merry mutants have made a lot of enemies since 1962, but this edition of Halloween Villains Countdown has narrowed the list down to 10 of the X-Men’s most dangerous opponents.

10. Bastion (Created by Scott Lobdell & Pascal Ferry)

Since his first full appearance in Uncanny X-Men, Vol.1 #333, Bastion has one objective on his mind: ridding the world of mutantkind.   After years of being constantly defeated by the X-Men, Bastion resurrected a like-minded group of villains that helped him to build a strong anti-mutant militia that nearly bested the X-Men and killed veteran member Nightcrawler.    However, it was Hope that destroyed the monstrous machine during the conclusion of the Second Coming storyline.

While Bastion has not been adapted to any animated series yet, the villain was the main antagonist of several video games including X-Men: Next Dimension.  To watch him fight the Master of Magnetism, click here: http://youtu.be/QXxFHvlKqfU

9. The Brood (Created by Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum)

These Alien-like rejects made their first appearance in the X-Men Universe 30 years ago and the team has been the same since.   These parasitic and insectoid like creatures have plotted for universe domination and have been a pain to multiple heroes in the Marvel Universe including Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers) and the Sh’Iar Imperial Guard.

The Brood were briefly featured in an episode of 1990s cartoon adaption of X-Men.  To see them battling former X-Man Longshot, click here: http://youtu.be/VDkWWuNDvRk

 

8. Kade Kilgore’s Hellfire Club (Created by Jason Aaron and Carlos Pacheco)

This vile quartet maybe the most deadliest incarnation of the Hellfire Club yet as these four children have been successful in not dividing the X-Men but also showing their potential to wipe out the school and its students from the map as they manipulated Oya and Blob Herman to do their dirty work plus “murdered” Broo the Brood in the latest issue of Wolverine and the X-Men.     

 While these nightmarish children have not appeared in any form of media, you can catch their latest acts of terror in the pages of Wolverine and the X-Men.

7. Sabretooth (Created by Chris Claremont & John Byrne)

One of the dangerous assassins in the Marvel Universe is Victor Creed.  Also known as Sabretooth.   While he did not make his first appearance in an X-Man book, Sabretooth slowly became the bane of the X-Men’s existence through his rivalry with Wolverine and his involvement several big events in the X-Men’s history including the Mutant Massacre and the death of Senator Robert Kelly.  Recently Sabretooth has been seen teaming up with the likes of Kade Kilgore, Lord Deathstrike and Mystique.

Sabretooth has been featured in many forms of media including two movies and multiple video games and cartoons.  However, Liev Schreiber stands out as one of the best actors to play Sabretooth because of his ability to portray the villain as canning and diabolical: http://youtu.be/oi61l3sc9Ys

6. Mystique (Created by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum)

Another Claremont and Cockrum creation that has been a threat to the team for years is Mystique.   This shape shifter and one-time leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants has had close ties to the team including being Nightcrawler’s mother, Rogue’s adopted mother and lovers of both Wolverine and Iceman.   However, she has also brought so much tragedy to the team including betraying them during the “Blinded by the Light” storyline and brought on the death of longtime ally Moira MacTaggert.  By herself or on a team, Raven Darkholme remains one of their greatest female adversaries the team has ever faced.

Mystique has been featured in multiple forms of X-Men media. However, a majority of comic book fans liked Rebecca Romijn’s portrayal of the blue skinned criminal.  To watch a scene with her fight with Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), click here: http://youtu.be/bIM0m_rZxQ8

5. Cassandra Nova (Created by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely)

One of the best villains that comic book icon Grant Morrison created during his run on New X-Men is Cassandra Nova.   Nova is basically the evil twin of X-Men founder Professor Charles Xavier and used her powers to engineer some of the most shocking moments in the franchise’s history including using a different breed of Sentinels to kill of 16,000,000 mutants on Genosha and drove former Shi’ar Empress Lilandra insane.  While Nova was defeated, she left a lasting impression on fans and the team.

While Ms. Nova has not turned up in several forms of X-Men media, it would a be a good idea for Marvel Animation to bring her into the Marvel animated universe.

4. Dark Phoenix (Created by Chris Claremont and John Byrne)

Imagine having an alien entity control your every move.  That is what happened to two important X-Men as they fell under the Phoenix Force’s control.   Jean Grey committed suicide after atrocities that she did under the Dark Phoenix’s control including wiping out an entire alien species and countless of planets.   Many years later and in the pages of Avengers vs. X-Men, Cyclops became the Dark Phoenix and nearly destroyed the planet and killed his father figure Professor X in a rage.

The 1990s X-Men cartoon series perfectly adapted the Dark Phoenix Saga to television. To watch all of Dark Phoenix clips, click here: http://youtu.be/eJ3W8cKMtlk

3. Mr. Sinister (Created by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri)

One of Marvel’s greatest villains is also one of the best mad scientists in the world of fiction.  Scientist Nathaniel Essex was obsessed with evolution and he met the immortal Apocalypse who gave him powers including superhuman strength, longevity and a healing factor.    He shared his once mentor’s feelings on “Survival of the Fittest” and conducted plans that were seen in the Mutant Massacre, Inferno and Messiah Complex storylines that always tested the X-Men to their breaking points.

Mr. Sinister appeared twice in the animation world as a minion of Apocalypse and on his own.  To watch a clip show featuring the voices of Christopher Britton and Clancy Brown, click here: http://youtu.be/nzZGBGtiZFU

2. Apocalypse (Created by Louise and Walter Simonson)

En Sabah Nur was the very first mutant in the Marvel Universe.  He began to plot his way to become a world conquer and sought out his “survival of the fittest” attitude to look for underlings that would carry out his schemes.   What makes Apocalypse the second top bad guy on the list is his abilities to manipulate anyone including to join his side and his attitudes that make every major superhero team nervous.   Currently, a clone of Apocalypse, Genesis (Evan) is a student at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning but Uncanny Avengers writer Rick Remender stated that he could bring Evan to the dark side during his run on the new premiere title.

Apocalypse was the primary villain of X-Men: Legends 2. To watch the cinematic sequences of the game that feature En Sabah Nur, click here: http://youtu.be/i9GL_RnXa6Q

1. Magneto (Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)

The Master of Magnetism was the X-Men’s first opponent and he is still the best villain that the team has ever faced.    While Professor X believed in mutant and humanity co-existing peacefully, Magneto and his followers thought that humankind should be at their feet as slaves.   After years of battling his opponents, he worked the ranks and became a powerful member of Cyclops’ ruling council.   Now that Magneto has been branded an outlaw due to the events of Avengers vs. X-Men, it would be interesting to see if Magneto returns to the dark side.

Of all the actors who portrayed the Master of Magnetism over the years, only Sir Ian McKellen has done this role justice.  To see a classic scene from X2 of Magneto escaping his jail, click here: http://youtu.be/zbTyTyizz1s

For everything X-Men related, visit Marvel Comics’ website: http://marvel.com/