7 X-Men Deaths That Actually Meant Something

While deaths mean almost nothing in Marvel Comics anymore, there are some X-Men character deaths that did matter and changed the mutant community. When the Krakoa era in X-Men comics got underway, Marvel Comics made deaths mean even less thanks to the Resurrection Protocol. This meant that a group of mutants could resurrect any dead mutant in a new cloned body with their past memories added to the clone. This officially ended any worries about mutants dying for the most part, and no one worried anymore about death affecting any member of the X-Men. However, over the history of Marvel Comics, there have been several X-Men deaths that did matter.

Here are seven X-Men deaths that actually meant something in the Marvel Universe.

7) The Residents of Genosha

One of the most tragic moments in X-Men history came when millions of mutants finally found a safe home in Genosha, only to have it ripped away when Cassandra Nova sent Wild Sentinels to the island, where they slaughtered every man, woman, and child mutant living there, with only a few survivors (including Emma Frost).

This was a horrific moment and showed that mutants lived in fear, no matter where they went and no matter what they did, because people would always want to see them dead. Over 16 million mutants died, and, when added to M-Day, almost led to the mutant extinction.

6) Hope Summers

The most recent death that really matters happened in Fall of X. The X-Men lost their home on Krakoa thanks to the anti-mutant group Orchis. This cost the mutants their home once again and sent them scattering across the world for their own safety from humans who still hated them and wanted them dead. However, there was something even worse here because losing Krakoa meant losing the Resurrection Protocol.

It also brought the White Hot Room into the mutant world, where the afterlife for Phoenix Force hosts went when they died, which is also why they were able to be resurrected. One member of the Resurrection Protocol sacrificed her own life by staying in the White Hot Room, and Hope Summers’ death, among a few others, was proof that things had drastically changed for the mutants.

5) Wolverine

Out of all the mutants in the X-Men, the one who has always seemed almost unkillable was Wolverine. That made the Death of Wolverine storyline seem like a gimmick that would never hold true. Of course, he came back, as he always did, but this death was a huge one, and it actually had some major consequences in Marvel Comics and the X-Men comic book world. Wolverine died by covering himself in liquid-hot adamantium and suffocating.

This death affected everyone from his friends and allies to his enemies. The fallout focused on characters like X-23 and Daken, who began to take steps to replace their father, as well as his enemies like Sabretooth and Mystique. What was really important here was that he did die, and this wasn’t a fakeout. It was Persephone who brought him back from the dead later, but this was an X-Men death that was real.

4) The Morlocks

The Morlock Massacre is one of the most tragic X-Men events in history. This event was caused when Mister Sinister learned the Morlocks were clear evidence of his genetic research. The Morlocks were created thanks to the technology he got from the Dark Beast. He sent the Marauders to kill them all. This was simply killing an entire society of mutants, so Sinister could cover up his actions.

However, the fallout from this was massive. The murder of so many mutants who just wanted to live underground in peace was unthinkable. It wasn’t just the X-Men who were there to save them, but other heroes showed up to help as well. However, this was also where Angel suffered the injury that led to him losing his wings and eventually becoming an Archangel.

3) Colossus

Colossus’s death was incredibly important when it happened. During this time in Marvel Comics, the Legacy Virus threatened to decimate the mutant society. This was a virus that killed hundreds of mutants, and no one could figure out how to stop it. Beast finally found a cure, but there was one drawback. A mutant had to take the cure, which would kill that mutant instantly, but it would release the vaccine into the air and save all others.

When Colossus’ sister Illyana fell ill and died, Colossus swore to avenge her death, and he instead sacrificed himself to save the rest of mutantkind. Before anyone could stop him, Colossus took the cure and died, which finally ended the Legacy Virus and helped stop the decimation of the mutant world.

2) Jean Grey (Dark Phoenix)

Jean Grey has died more than almost any other Marvel Comics hero in history. It has happened so much that her death has become almost a running joke for fans. No one takes a Jean Grey death seriously at all anymore, and Marvel mostly uses it to nerf Phoenix and take her off the board when a big mutant storyline is coming that she would be too powerful for.

However, the first time she died was a shock to the system of Marvel Comics fans. At this time, heroes dying was unheard of, and when it came to the main comic line heroes, it never happened. No one expected Jean Grey to die at the end of the Dark Phoenix Saga, and Marvel wasn’t even going to do it until Jim Shooter demanded her death to pay for the slaughter of an entire galaxy. This was the issue that showed Marvel fans that anyone could die.

1) Professor X

Professor X has died several times in Marvel Comics, and he even faked his death more than once. However, there were two times that Professor X died that changed things drastically for the entire comic book line. The first time was when Legion went back in time to kill all his father’s enemies to protect him in the future, but when he tried to kill Magneto, Professor X sacrificed himself to save him.

This X-Men death created the Age of Apocalypse, which is an event that is in the multiverse, but it still has lasting effects for the Marvel Universe to this day. The second death was when Cyclops, possessed by the Phoenix Force, murdered his former mentor. This ended the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, but it also made Cyclops a martyr and changed the X-Men line for years to come.

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