Since the 1970’s, the X-Men have been one of the most popular teams in Marvel comics. Whether it’s due to the incredible character dynamics, relatable characters, or their iconic villains, such as Magneto, Mr. Sinister, or bigoted humans afraid of change. The X-Men have incredible threats they face on the daily. That being said, not all of their villains land the mark and these villains are the perfect example of that. Whether it’s a lack of interesting powers, played out tropes, or even bad character design, these villains just aren’t what readers are looking for when reading the X-Men.
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The X-Men will always adapt to the times from which they’re being written. The early 60’s and 90’s were particularly strange eras for the X-Men. Every other issue we’d get either a villain to define the X-Men for that decade or a one-and-done mutant that’s aged like milk. For the X-Men in those decades, there’s no in-between on the villains which makes for an interesting read every time you go back to their original stories.
10) Gideon
With the ability to mimic the abilities of any mutant in his vicinity, Gideon was supposed to be the next “big deal” villain for the secondary X-Men team, X-Force. Unfortunately the powers were incredibly basic and his design with the long green ponytail left a lot to be desired. Not only was he unable to defeat X-Force, a group of mutant child soldiers and mercenaries, but he became the laughing stock of overly edgy ’90’s X-villains.
The biggest flaw with Gideon was the fact that he debuted in the same issue as Deadpool and Domino, two of the most notable mutants of the 90’s (especially Deadpool). It’s no wonder he didn’t take off. Ever since then, he’s mostly been forgotten with a couple dozen appearances here and there. There’s not much else to note outside of how much they really tried to hype him up.
9) Ahab
Another casualty of the ’90’s overdesigned villains with little motive, we have Ahab. Ahab is something of a strange mishmash between Captain Ahab from Moby Dick, and a time-traveling psychopath with mutant slaves. It feels like he was two characters pushed together into one as a compromise between the writer and artist. His only remarkable trait is the fact that he was the one who turned Rachel Summers into a hound in the Days of Future Past timeline.
Already a retconned villain from one of the most beloved stories, Ahab has nothing else of note to his character. It would have been one thing if he appeared in a small one-off story, but a five-part annual crossover between all of the X-titles and the Fantastic Four? That’s the definition of doing too much. He could have just been a time traveler looking for Rachel in Excalibur at most. There was no need to bring the entire X-roster into this.
8) Nanny and Orphan-Maker
Oh boy, where to begin with these two. Nanny and Orphan-Maker (insane names) are two mutants trapped inside of mechanical suits that kidnap mutant babies. Nanny, being an adult, put a young child in the Orphan-Maker suit as the first mutant child she “saved”. The two would capture mutant infants and kill the parents to protect them from the harsh reality of young mutant lives.
Always together as a pair, these two really are their own worst enemies. It would be one thing if these two protected abused mutant kids, but killing their parents on a hunch? An extreme reaction based on circumstantial evidence. Anytime they show up you can always expect a convoluted plan that takes too long to get resolved.
7) Unus the Untouchable
A prime example of a ’60’s villain with nothing to offer. Unus’ main ability is creating a forcefield to push his enemies back. With a device crafted by Beast, he was easily defeated and seemingly loses battles the same way every time. With him losing the ability to control his force fields in every battle, he makes you wonder why he’s still around. With his origin having him as a costumed wrestler, it makes you wonder why he doesn’t stay there. Making him similar to Dazzler as a famous mutant that’s not necessarily a hero would be the way to remove him as a villain but keep him around. Out of all of these he should be retired first.
6) Apocalypse
Apocalypse is often regarded as the “be-all, end-all” villain of the X-Men. But outside of the Age of Apocalypse event and his first couple of appearances in X-Factor, he is all bark and no bite. As the “first” mutant who is able to take everyone’s powers, the fact that the man loses every fight he’s in baffles me. If he got a small win every now and then he would get that title but it always backfires on him.
If he had kept the calculating angle as a villain and fought as hard as he planned everything, he’d be one of their best villains. If anything, he’s a worse version of Mr. Sinister, which is especially embarrassing given he was the one who made Sinister who he is today.
5) Marauders
The Marauders are a group of mutants working for Mr. Sinister to kill anyone he sees fit. While they debuted in the first major X-Men crossover, Mutant Massacre, they leave a lot to be desired as villains. A small group of mutants comprised of Greycrow, Harpoon, Arclight, Prism, Vertigo, Riptide, and Sabertooth, the team is pretty ineffective, save for Sabertooth who was a brief member and comprised 80 percent of the damage they caused in that event. Besides that, they get beat far too often.
Not to say any of these villains are bad by themselves, but outside of Sabertooth and Greycrow, none of them are remotely remarkable. As a group, they can be handled easily but if Wolverine can take out two of them by himself, how are they a threat? If you want them at their height, Mutant Massacre is the best way to enjoy them, outside of that there’s nothing of note.
4) Donald Pierce
As one of the original members of the Hellfire Club, Donald Pierce is a cyborg amongst the group of mutants. As the White Bishop, he’s the most one-note of the Hellfire Club. For the longest time he felt half-baked and was the black sheep of the group, just another rich villain wanting to suppress basic rights for mutants.
His one decent saving grace is his role as leader of the Reavers, the cyborg army funded by Pierce and co-lead by Lady Deathstrike. There he soars a considerable amount, but other than that he’s lost in the mix behind Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw.
3) Toad
As one of the first villains introduced in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants when they were led by Magneto, Toad is such a weird case as a villain. With leaping abilities and a long tongue, that’s all we really get with Toad. He’s very much a textbook gimmick villain, but for some reason, he pops up way more than you’d expect him to. Pair that with the horrible costume and you have an icon… somehow. The only great thing to remember about Toad also happens to be the dumbest thing that’s happened to him: getting electrocuted by Storm in the first X-Men film with the corniest line possible. At least we know what happens to a Toad when it’s struck by lighting.
2) Blob
Fred Dukes, aka the Blob, is in the same vein as Toad. His only ability is being a fat joke along with being bulletproof and immovable, except for the times he’s been knocked down and defeated. Using his body as a weapon to commit crimes, he’d learn quickly that his main ability is what fails him the most. Sure, he’s one of their oldest enemies, but it amazes me he’s lasted this long especially since Juggernaut is pretty much the same thing but better in every way. Blob will never not feel like a “first draft” of Juggernaut.
1) Mojo
Taking our top spot for worst X-Men villain easily goes to Mojo, no doubt about it. Hailing from his planet Mojoworld, he’s a media mogul wanting to take on the X-Men far too often. Bulbous and disgusting, he ruins almost every story he’s been a part of. Not just in the comics, but the animated shows as well. If he ever turns up you know you’re in for a bad time. Which is unfortunate given how any time Longshot shows up now, Mojo isn’t too far off.
I don’t think anybody would be too mad if we never saw him again. If all the various different X-Men factions teamed up to take him out, it would be the one thing every fan would agree on. He’s never part of the iconic stories and always feels tacked on every time he shows up.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
