Every Time Professor X Died in Comics

Professor X has been in Marvel Comics since the start of the X-Men, and he has died more times than some fans might have known. Charles Xavier is one of the world’s most powerful mutants, an Alpha-level mutant and an Omega-level telepath who worked to form the X-Men and create a school where Marvel’s mutants could come to learn how to control their powers and become heroes. This gives him dangerous enemies and puts him in deadly situations, and that has resulted in his death more than once in Marvel Comics. Of course, he is alive again, and none of the deaths stuck. Some of them were even undone after just one issue, but Marvel still seemed to kill off one of its most powerful mutants an impressive eight times over the years.

From deaths that Professor X set up himself, to getting murdered by one of his most loyal students, here are all the times that Professor X died in Marvel Comics, and how he returned.

9) Uncanny X-Men #42 (1968)

The cover of X-Men Vol. 1 #42 advertised “The Death of Professor X.” It even doubled down on it with a banner on the bottom of the cover reading, “Not a hoax! Not a dream! Not an imaginary tale! This is for real!” In this issue, the X-Men were battling Grotesk, and Xavier was acting suspiciously the entire issue. By the end, Professor X tricks Grotesk into destroying a machine that could destroy the Earth, but Professor X dies in the process.

The first twist at the end of this issue sees Professor X admitting he was dying of a fatal illness, but instead died saving the world. His funeral was in the next issue, including the reading of his will that asks the team to continue on with his dream. It was later shown that Professor X faked his death to plan for an upcoming alien invasion of Earth, returning in X-Men #65, almost two years after his “death.”

8) Uncanny X-Men #167 (1983)

The X-Men went through a tough time in the 1970s, with Marvel Comics basically canceling the title and only releasing reprints. However, with Giant-Sized X-Men #1, Marvel brought them back with a brand-new team. Soon, the X-Men were one of the best-selling comics in Marvel, and in 1982, it was time for another shocking moment. The cover of Uncanny X-Men #167 saw Cyclops carrying Professor X’s body. This was the next time that Xavier died in comics.

The issue opened with the X-Men returning and attacking The New Mutants, with the X-Men claiming Professor X was infected with a Brood Queen embryo. They were right, and after a battle with Xavier, who was trying to fight off the Brood himself, Xavier was killed. However, this was quickly undone, as a cloned body was created for Xavier and his mind was transferred into the new clone body, allowing him to walk again for the first time in Marvel Comics.

7) Uncanny X-Men #200 (1985)

Everything changed for the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1 #200. This issue saw Magneto surrender himself and agree to stand trial for his multiple crimes against humanity. That was the most significant part of this story, and it ended with a bit of mind manipulation, allowing Magneto to be freed and cleared of all his prior crimes. He then took over as the leader of the X-Men.

That is because Professor X announced that he was dying and needed Magneto to help carry on his dream. The issue ended with Phoenix telling the team that Professor X is “gone” and there is nothing left of him, making it seem like he had died. Magneto cries and promises to follow Xavier’s dreams. This turned out to be another false death, though, as Professor X left Earth with Lilandra to find a cure for his illness, and he blocked his existence from Jean to make it seem like he was dead.

6) X-Men #41 (1991)

In X-Men #41, Professor X really did die for a change, and his death created cataclysmic changes. Legion went back in time to kill his father’s most dangerous villains. However, when he tried to kill Magneto in the past, it was at a time when Professor X and Magneto were still friends, and Professor X leaped into the path of the assassination attempt and died instead.

This led to timeline changes. Since Professor X was never born, Legion disappeared from existence. Since Professor X died, it was Magneto who formed the X-Men, and since he didn’t have Xavier’s temperament, he failed to stop the rise of Apocalypse. This specific Professor X death created the Age of Apocalypse. Eventually, Bishop went back in time to stop Xavier’s death, which finally reverted Earth-616 to normal.

5) Ultimate X-Men #78 (2007)

Professor X also had more than one death in the Ultimate Universe. The first time occurred in Ultimate X-Men #78, where villains known as the Xix Pack from Earth-2107 showed up on Earth-1610 to fight the X-Men there. This included a new version of Cable, which was James Howlett (Wolverine) on Earth-2107. This version of Cable killed Professor X.

The death happened when Cable detonated a bomb in Finland during the battle, and when the X-Men cleared the debris, they found charred remains of Charles Xavier, which led to many X-Men members quitting the school in the next issue. In Ultimate Comics, the main rule is that when someone dies, they stay dead. However, Marvel cheated a little here. Cable didn’t kill Xavier, but instead transported his unconscious body to the future to prepare him for the coming of Apocalypse.

4) X-Men #207 (2008)

X-Men Vol. 2 #207 was part of the Messiah Complex crossover event series. This is the series that has Cerebra detecting a new mutant born in Alaska, and it turns out to be Hope Summers. The Marauders and Purifiers are hunting for the child, and then Bishop betrays the X-Men, admitting he was sent to Earth-616 to kill the Mutant Messiah, which is Hope Summers.

However, when Bishop tries to assassinate the baby Hope, he misses and shoots Professor X in the head, killing him. With Xavier dead, Cyclops officially broke up the X-Men, trying to end the team once and for all. Several X-Men moved to San Francisco and kept going as a team, which led to the Messiah War and Second Coming. Xavier survived here thanks to Exodus and his Acolytes, who took his body to their base, and Exodus worked to revive the mutant leader.

3) Ultimatum #2 (2008)

Professor X finally died in the Ultimates comics when Magneto killed him. As with all deaths in this world, unless it was a fake out, this one stuck. There was also no doubt as to what happened. In one of Marvel’s worst X-Men crossover events, Ultimatum, Professor X and Magneto were talking after Magneto wanted to punish all humanity for the death of his children, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. Xavier tried to talk him down, but he never expected what happened next.

Xavier then made a mistake. He said he would lead the heroes into hunting down Magneto, comparing him to Hitler. That was a line he would regret as Magneto snapped Xavier’s neck, killing him instantly. Magneto then said that Xavier had stopped his plans too many times, and it would never happen again. This death was permanent, and he was gone from Earth-1610 forever.

2) Avengers Vs. X-Men #11 (2012)

The most famous Professor X death in Marvel Comics history came in the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline. Here, the Phoenix Force possessed Cyclops and four other mutants to create the Phoenix Five. Cyclops was the last one standing, and Professor X tried to talk him down. However, the Phoenix Force had corrupted enough of Scott’s mind, and he unleashed a full optic blast onto Xavier, killing him on the spot.

Scott ended up falling and went to prison as a martyr. This led to some polarizing moments, such as when Red Skull stole Xavier’s body and took out his brain to use it to gain telepathic powers. However, Xavier’s soul ended up in the Astral Plane after his death, and he made a deal with Fantomex to allow him to assume control of a younger body, where he went by the name “X.”

1) X-Force Vol. 6 #1 (2019)

The most recent time that Professor X died was one that everyone knew wouldn’t last. That is because it was on Krakoa. This death happened in X-Force Vol. 6 #1, where someone assassinated Professor X, and the biggest mystery that the newly reformed X-Force had to figure out was who was guilty of this murder.

However, the one problem with Krakoa was that the Resurrection Protocol was in place, so no mutant ever stayed dead. By X-Force #2, Professor X was already back among the living, with the only explanation needed being that any dead mutant could be resurrected. His death only served the purpose of putting X-Force together as a shadowy team, a decision that eventually led to Beast’s downfall.

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