Though the franchise has finally concluded and is set to be rebooted within the MCU, the X-Men film franchise will remain well-remembered in its own right for a number of great reasons. The franchise began in 2000 with the release of the first film focusing on Charles Xavier and his team of mutant superheroes.
From individually great films to incredible characters that stood the test of time to stories that stick with fans to this day, the X-Men franchise had it all. It was also surprisingly heart-breaking and emotional throughout the twelve movies, including some significant and even surprisingly brutal character deaths. Many characters in the franchise have come back from death, and some have even died multiple times, but there are certain deaths that stick with audiences in spite of what came after.
7 Magneto’s Family
In the original X-Men movie, young Erik Lensherr was taken from his family, prompting the emotional response that led to him first using his mutant powers, turning him against humanity. However, the character’s journey and emotional losses are shown in far more detail in First Class and Apocalypse, through the Michael Fassbender version of the character.
Between his mother being killed while they were in a concentration camp and the later death of his wife and daughter, there is seemingly no end to the suffering that this version of Magneto can go through. Though the audience didn’t have much emotional connection to any of these characters, the heart-wrenching way the deaths are presented makes for stunning and memorable moments and helps viewers understand his actions.
6 Mystique
Over the years, Mystique has, ironically, taken on a lot of faces within the X-Men franchise. From the early days when she was a mere side villain and a femme fatale of sorts to the newer set of films, where she was capably made into a much more complex character by Jennifer Lawrence, Mystique has become more than she ever was presented as in Marvel Comics before the X-Men movies began.
However, all of this led to a somewhat shocking death at the hands of the newly turned Jean Grey in Dark Phoenix. This wasn’t the first time Jean had turned and killed a teammate, but it was a complete shock to the audience at the time and made for a particularly depressing moment, as Lawrence had been playing the character for nearly a decade.
5 Jean Grey
While it isn’t clear whether Jean really died at the conclusion of Dark Phoenix, the earlier version of the character didn’t make it through her episode with the Phoenix Force alive. Famke Janssen played a somewhat differently styled Jean Grey in the first trilogy of X-Men movies, one who had a love triangle situation with Cyclops and Wolverine that never really resolved itself.
In The Last Stand, after already killing multiple teammates, it was clear that Jean Grey had been completely absorbed by the Phoenix Force and could not withstand it. This led to her becoming a danger to the entire world, with the potential to commit unimaginable acts of destruction. However, in a final heartbreaking moment, Wolverine knew he had to stop her despite still being in love with her. Logan managed to get to Jean, withstanding her destructive abilities due to his healing factor, and killed her. The most heartbreaking part of this death is that Jean had a final lucid moment as she died where she was herself again. The introduction of Wolverine in Deadpool 3 to the MCU could lead to a new Jean Grey being cast any day now.
4 Cyclops
Another sad moment in X-Men: The Last Stand is the death of Scott Summers. Scott has never been presented as one of the true faces of the X-Men in the films, despite having often been their leader in the comics, but his death still came as a terrible shock for viewers due to how unexpected it was.
This loss was a sudden shock to the team, which was quickly made much worse by further deaths within their ranks. All of this meant that this version of Cyclops, who had already been undervalued throughout the previous films, was killed in the first act of a movie and completely forgotten about immediately. He deserved more than the tragic death he received.
3 Alex Summers
Though Scott Summers never received a proper send-off, his brother did, with a much more significant death in X-Men: Apocalypse. Though he never really appeared in the earlier versions of the team, Havok was one of the first additions to the prequel team that came together in X-Men: First Class. He was a significant character for that team for a long time and became a much more endearing character as he matured over the years.
However, his powers were always dangerous. In X-Men: Apocalypse, this proved to be his undoing in a scene where Apocalypse arrived at the mansion and was teleporting away with Charles Xavier. Havok unleashed his powers which hit the portal and blew up the mansion. While Quicksilver got everybody else out with his speed, Havok wasn’t so lucky, and his death was a significant loss for the team and the school.
2 Professor X
Of all the different deaths and losses that occurred in X-Men: The Last Stand, the fate of Professor X himself was arguably the most impactful. While he has died multiple times, including in Logan, Days of Future Past, and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, it was his first death in The Last Stand that was felt the most by fans.
Trying to stop Jean Grey from becoming overwhelmed by the Phoenix Force, Xavier went to her childhood home and tried to match her powers. Xavier had always had to hold back Jean’s powers somewhat to make sure she could control them, but this became impossible after she became the Dark Phoenix, and her uncontrolled power and rage against Xavier led to her destroying him entirely. This death was one of the most heavily felt in X-Men history, but it could be reversed yet again with Professor X entering the MCU in a larger role.
1 Wolverine
Having been the true face of the X-Men franchise and appearing in almost every film in the history of Fox’s X-Men franchise, it is a wonder that, despite characters like Professor X dying so many times, Wolverine never actually did until Logan, another death set to be reversed as Hugh Jackman gears up to play the character once again.
This world was presented as very different from everything the series had shown before; all the X-Men died due to an incident involving Professor X after he developed dementia. After Professor X’s death in this film, Logan knew that all he had left was the hope for the future of mutant-kind presented by children like Laura, and so he helped her and the other mutant children escape the last of the Reavers and Pierce before getting impaled by X-24. The sweet ending of his death, with Laura and the other children burying him and tilting his grave marker to create an X, honoring him as the last of the X-Men, was the most heartbreaking moment of the whole franchise.