The X-Men were created to fight for mutantkind, trying to establish a world where human and mutants can live together in peace. The X-Men have done lots of amazing things for the mutant race over the years. There’s a very good chance that without the X-Men, the mutant race would have been destroyed many times over the years. The X-Men have given mutants a home and succor when they needed it, doing their best to train mutants so their powers don’t go haywire, all while putting themselves in danger for everyone. The X-Men devoted themselves to make a better world, but that doesn’t mean that everything they did for mutants was great.
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In fact, over the years, there have been many times that the X-Men not only messed up but completely failed the mutant race. The X-Men do their best, but they are often pulled into situations where there’s no good way out. These ten times saw the X-Men completely fail the mutant race, leading to some terrible things for the mutant race.
10. “Onslaught”
“Onslaught” saw Xavier go evil and almost destroy the world. Because of his mindwipe of Magneto, Xavier accidentally created the Onslaught identity in his mind, and enacted a plan to allow him to destroy humanity. Now, obviously, this would be pretty hard for the X-Men to stop on their own, because they had no idea who Onslaught was at. However, the battle against Onslaught began with the X-Men and the team failed to contain him. The X-Men knew that Onslaught was coming, but they never went to any other hero team for help. Onslaught’s attack on New York City and the “death” of the Avengers and Fantastic Four at mutant hands made the world hate mutants even more, leading to Operation: Zero Tolerance going after mutants. If the X-Men had been on the ball, there’s a good chance none of it would have happened.
9. Trusting Mister Sinister in the Krakoa Era
Mister Sinister is one of the X-Men’s greatest villains, his obsession with genetics leading him to battle the team. Mister Sinister is one of the most untrustworthy villains out there, which is what makes his place in the Krakoa Era so problematic. Sinister brought a lot to the table — his mutant DNA library made Krakoan resurrection possible — but if there’s any villain who shouldn’t have been trusted on the ruling Quiet Council, it was Sinister. Sinister’s machination throughout the Krakoa Era made everything worse for the mutant race. He was constantly out just for himself, and almost destroyed the entire world with his plans. There’s a good chance Krakoa would have ended differently if they would have kept Sinister on a shorter leash.
8. General Public Relations
So, this is going to be a weird one, but bear with me. If the X-Men had better public relations with the world, things would be very different for mutants. The X-Men have had many adventures over the years, and despite saving the world often, they aren’t nearly as well-liked by the general public as other superheroes. Every superteam in the Marvel Universe has made their mistakes with the general public, but the X-Men are the worst at it. If the X-Men would have maybe hired a PR person or worked harder to ingratiate themselves with the public, things would be much better for mutants.
7. Avengers vs. X-Men
Avengers vs. X-Men was a disaster for the X-Men, and it made things very bad for mutants. The gist of it is that the Avengers went after the X-Men because of the returning Phoenix Force. Cyclops had a plan to use it to re-ignite the mutant race, but Wolverine didn’t trust him and went to the Avengers. However, here’s the thing — if Cyclops would have went to the leaders of the superhero community himself with his intentions, there’s a good chance that none of it had to happen. Cyclops could have made a plan with the big brains of the Marvel Universe in order to harness the Phoenix and save mutantkind. This entire thing made mutants look even worse in the eyes of the public, and it didn’t have to be this way.
6. House of M
House of M is known as the story that depowered mutantkind. Looking at the events of the tale, it’s pretty hard to figure out where to blame the X-Men for it, but I think the best place to look is at Wanda Maximoff herself. The X-Men went to the Avengers for help with Wanda and the problem was that members of the X-Men wanted (namely Wolverine, but he wasn’t alone) wanted to kill Wanda. Quicksilver heard this, and that spurred him to warn Wanda and Magneto. If everyone would have kept a more level head at the beginning, especially the X-Men, none of it would have happened, and the mutant race never would have been depowered.
5. “Days of Future Past”
“Days of Future Past” changed mutantkind forever. This story was the first to introduce a dystopian future where Sentinels have taken over the world. This is basically the de facto mutant future, and it’s all because of the X-Men. These terrible futures where mutants are conquered by humans, machines, or both are always the X-Men’s fault. They’re never able to do enough to stop humans and mutants from coming to blows, and it results in the same thing every time — the total destruction of mutantkind at the hands of their enemy.
4. Cyclops’s Revolutionary X-Men
After Avengers vs. X-Men, Cyclops was put into prison for his actions as the Dark Phoenix. However, Magneto, Magik, and Emma Frost broke him out, leading to Cyclops starting a new X-Men team that was meant to take the fight for mutant rights against humanity directly. They were going to be the revolutionary team, and they failed completely. It all started out well, but pretty soon, Cyclops and his team got enmeshed in shenanigans that had nothing to do with making life better for mutants. Cyclops’s team ended up doing nothing for mutants, and then Cyclops declared victory at the end. The whole thing was asinine and it did nothing for mutantkind.
3. X-Men: Schism
X-Men: Schism saw Cyclops and Wolverine come to blows over their differences in philosophy. At this point in X-Men history, there was basically about 200 mutants, and they all lived together. The reason was simple — together, they were a harder group to destroy. However, X-Men: Schism ended with the mutant race splitting on ideological grounds. Each side didn’t like the other, and it made mutants as a whole weaker. They had humanity to deal with on top of their own problems with other mutants. Cyclops and Wolverine’s grudge against each other cost mutants a lot, and led to years of mistakes that endangered mutants.
2. Not Destroying Graymalkin Prison
During the Krakoa Era, the X-Men abandoned the X-Mansion. The government took control of it after the fall of Krakoa at some point, and it was transformed into a prison for mutants. Instead of freeing the mutants from Graymalkin or trying to take back their home in less violent ways (like in the courts, for example; there are plenty of superpowered law firms in the Marvel Universe), the X-Men just allow this prison for their people to exist in their former home. Mutants are experimented on there, their lives taken away from them, and it is a symbol of the powerlessness of mutants. The fact that the X-Men have done nothing to end Graymalkin, even working with the jailers at times, is damaging to mutantkind as a whole.
1. The Fall of Krakoa
The Krakoa Era changed the mutant race. The X-Men had created a home for the mutant race, one bankrolled by pharmaceuticals that only they could create. Mutants had safety and power in the world for the first time. They could decide to join a team and fight for Krakoa or they could hang out all day with the fellow mutants, drinking and carousing. It was the best thing to ever happen to mutants, and the X-Men failed completely to keep it extant. If the X-Men would have been smarter in setting up the mutant nation, things would have been much better for mutants, allowing them to have a home away from the depredations of humanity.
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