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Warning! Major Spoilers below!
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Magneto
"And now the whole world will know of us."
- Codename: MagnetoReal Name: Erik Magnus LehnsherrVoiced by: Christopher Judge Foreign VAs
The mysterious Magneto is one of the most powerful mutants alive. He has a long history with Charles Xavier, both as a friend and an enemy. Magneto has given up on the idea of peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans. His philosophy is in direct opposite to that of Xavier, who still believes mutants and humans can live together in relative peace. Magneto envisions himself and other mutants dominating over humanity as the only way to prevent bloodshed between the two groups. However, Magneto's dream is threatened by Apocalypse who has his own plans for world domination.
- Affably Evil: You can't ignore the fact that, as always, there is a certain charm to Magneto. And he tends to be quite friendly, unless you are a regular human or go against his plans.
- Ambiguously Jewish: In the episode "Operation: Rebirth", Wolverine rescues a young Erik from a WWII German controlled camp. Although it was not named in the episode, it was clearly a Nazi concentration camp. Magneto in the comics is famously a Jewish Holocaust survivor, though whether he's still Jewish here is neither confirmed nor denied.
- Bad Boss: He treats all those who work under his poorly and keeps them in line with either threats or blackmail.
- Badass Cape: The Master of Magnetism rocks an imposing purple/red cape in this incarnation.
- Badass Longcoat: Magneto typically wears a long black coat in civilian attire, such as his appearance in ”On Angel’s Wings” and in Wanda’s childhood flashbacks.
- Big Bad: He is the central antagonist of the first two seasons and remains a villain for the next two, but his position as the main threat is usurped by Apocalypse.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In the final season, he is defeated by Apocalypse and turned into one of his Horsemen.
- The Chessmaster: He orchestrated the unveiling of mutants to the entire world by using the X-Men, the Brotherhood and Bolivar Trask's Sentinel Project.
- Cool Helmet: Wears his famous-telepathy-blocking helmet, making Magneto difficult to control or impossible to find.
- Daddy Had A Good Reasonfor Abandoning You: He claims that he truly loves Wanda, and that her being sent away was for her own good since she was a danger to others and herself. Since the slightest irritation could make her set of an earthquake, it isn't hard to see where he comes from.
- Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto Us: His motive is to wipe out humanity before they can do the same to mutantkind.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Courtesy of his VA.
- The Faceless: His face always appears shadowed by his helmet in Season 1, until the double-episode season finale.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the future Xavier saw, Magneto is shown as an X-Man, helping the new recruits in the Training Room.
- Improvised Weapon: As long as it's metal, Magneto's powers let him use anything as a weapon.
- I Owe You My Life: After regaining his youth, he lets Wolverine and Rogue leave without a fight, saying that "there's a small boy in Poland who owes you [Logan] his life." A previous flashback in the episode showed Wolverine and Captain America saving a young Eric from a concentration camp in WWII.
- It's All About Me: His motivation to bring down Apocalypse is fueled by his desire to be the only one to lead the mutants to a better world and no one else is going to rule the world with him around.
- Karma Houdini: He not only attempted to murder all humans and make mutants the dominant species, and then publicly revealed the existence of mutants to the world which led to most mutants suffering discrimination and harassment from humans, but was also an incredibly abusive father. He manipulated his son, constantly putting him in danger to further his schemes, and Mind Raped his daughter into believing he was a caring and loving father to her after he left her at an abusive asylum when she was just a child, which left her an extremely violent and emotionally unstable girl prior to the Mind Rape. At the end of the series, in a Where Are They Now sequence, he's revealed to have been redeemed and evidently becomes a teacher at Xavier's school with few to no repercussions for his actions.
- Knight of Cerebus: Brought upon the first of many dark arcs in this series, and managed to also cause a dark shift in the overall plot at the end of the second season.
- Leitmotif: A quiet, ominous theme with a piano which crescendoes in and out.
- Mark of the Beast: He receives blue markings similar to those of Apocalypse when he "recruits" him as one of his horsemen.
- Mythology Gag: His face being obscure by darkness is based on how Onslaught is depicted.
- Noble Demon: He only wants to protect his people and sees a war between mutants and humans as inevitable so he wants to strike first. He may even have a point or two about this, he just can't resist going several steps too far.
- Not Quite Flight: He can fly or levitate by using the Earth's magnetic field.
- Older Than They Look: Statements about his age would put him at least in his 60s or 70s, but he appears much younger than that. Exaggerated once he uses Captain America's Super-Soldier apparatus to make himself younger.
- Parental Neglect: He zigzags between this trope in his relationship with his children, Pietro and Wanda.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: Unlike the comics, where he was no ties to the Horsemen, Apocalypse forcibly conscripts him to be one of them.
- Truer to the Text: Magneto in the comics is famously a Jewish Holocaust survivor, but in the original animated series, his backstory was Bowdlerised to a refugee from a war in a generic unnamed Eastern European country. In this series, Wolverine rescues a young Erik from a WWII German controlled camp. Although it was not named in the episode, it was clearly a Nazi concentration camp.
- Visionary Villain: Magneto wants only to prevent mutantkind from undergoing the same persecution he did in WWII. So he creates a satellite for mutants, Asteroid M.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: As usual for Magneto, his goals are entirely for the benefit of mutantkind. His methods, however, put him in direct conflict with the X-Men, who want mutants and humans to live in harmony, while Magneto wants mutants to reign supreme over humanity.
- Would Hurt a Child: He's implied to be responsible for Kurt's physical appearance, by having experimented on him as a newborn - though the context suggests that he was trying to help him look more human.
Sabretooth
"One shall fall by the other's hand. Our destiny we can't change it."
A violent man who has a deep enmity against Logan. Little is revealed about Sabretooth's past except that he had some involvement with Wolverine and the Weapon X project (possibly being a test subject), and that he is one of Magneto's most loyal followers.
- Absurdly Sharp Claws: More like sharp nails.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: While this Sabertooth is still psychotic, morally reprehensible self, he's fanatically loyal to Magneto for some strange reason as with most adaptations. In contrast, the comic Sabretooth would be unable to stand working with him for more than a few hours before stabbing him in the back.
- Animal-Themed Superbeing: With saber–toothed cats as the animal in question.
- Arch-Enemy: To Wolverine.
- Ax-Crazy: Has a bloodlust that only mindless battle seems to satisfy. And unlike Wolverine, he fully embraces his feral instincts.
- Badass Longcoat: His design features a long brown tailcoat with tattered edges and the sleeves torn off.
- Barbarian Longhair: Sabretooth has a long, unkempt blond mane.
- Beast Man: He has a very hirsute physique with a long and wild hairstyle along with sharp fangs and claws that don't seem to be retractable. He is also capable of lion-like roars and growls.
- Blood Knight: He really loves to fight.
- The Dragon: To Magneto in the first two seasons.
- Healing Factor: Less powerful than Wolverine's, but still more than sufficient.
- Lightning Bruiser: This is a big part of why he's so dangerous. He's massively strong, but he's also extremely quick and has superhumanly efficient joints and musculature that provides him with agility and grace that is far beyond what any normal human can pull off.
- Psycho for Hire: He was depicted as a loner in the first season, but from the first season's finale onward he is almost never seen without Magneto and he's shown to willingly perform tasks for him. Although once Magneto gets axed off by Apocalypse, Sabertooth vanishes without a trace. So it's more than likely he sees serving Magneto as a convenient way to further his own agenda.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: The first season was in development before his comic counterpart joined the Brotherhood and he was never a member of the Acolytes.
Gambit
"It's the X-Men, and it looks like they want to play!"
Trained as a thief, Gambit is a mercenary who will give his services to the highest bidder. He appears to have developed quite the soft spot for Rogue, especially during the season four episode, "Cajun Spice", in which he gives her his favorite card (the Queen of Hearts, his "lucky lady") at the end.
- Adaptational Villainy: Gambit was at least a heroic Gentleman Thief in the comics (despite his start as an Unwitting Pawn for Mister Sinister), while here he's described as 'amoral' and only caring of personal gain but with a soft spot, turning him from an Anti-Hero into an Anti-Villain.
- Art Evolution: Gambit appeared with normal eyes (brown iris and white sclera), which were later modified into how they look in the comics (red iris and black sclera).
- Badass Longcoat: Part of his wardrobe along with fingerless gloves.
- The Charmer: In comics, Gambit has a secondary mutation called “hypnotic charm” that allows people to fall under his charm- but only those who don't realize what he's doing. It’s implied that he does have this ability when Gambit first encounters Rogue in “Day of Reckoning Part 2” as she’s completely spellbound by him. But when in future episodes, Rogue definitely isn’t as mesmerized by him as she was the first time.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Handles Toad, Avalanche, and Blob all at once with no trouble.
- Death Dealer: Like his comics counterpart, he favors cards as weapons.
- Depending on the Artist: Gambit was redrawn with the more iconic red irises and black sclera in the third season, but in some shots would depict him with his normal eyes from his introduction episode.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: In “Cajun Spice”, Gambit makes no secret about his allegiances and plays Rogue to get her help, but he's out to save his father. He doesn't even like his father (or vice-versa), but he just can't let him die.
- Gentleman Thief: He affects the mannerisms of a Southern Gentleman, and for a given value of 'lovable', qualifies.
- The Gambler: He energizes playing cards to explode on impact and tosses them with precision at his targets. He could use anything if he felt like it, but playing cards are both convenient and stylish. Also his fondness for cards and gambling isn't just for show. He has both a sleight of hand and has indulged in card games on occasions.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes have been known to give off red energy when he's intended to look particularly badass.
- Having a Blast: He has a power to turn any object he touches into a bomb, as small as a playing card or as big as a car.
- Heel–Face Turn: Shown post-series to where he eventually joins the X-Men.
- Improbable Weapon User: Gambit's power works by inducing objects with kinetic energy. This not only makes these objects explode but also allows them to be propelled like a missile. He has weaponized playing cards, small change, beer cans, a parking meter, curtains, a beaded necklace, pencils, an overturned bus, and a speedboat.
- The Kindnapper: He kidnaps Rogue with her happiness or so he says in mind.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Gambit lacks his Cajun accent most of the time, but he does put an accent on whenever he speaks French, likely because he's trying to invoke Everything Sounds Sexier in French.
- Only Sane Man: During the search for Apocalypse, he gets between Magneto and Colossus during their fight and reminds them that they have bigger concerns at the moment.
- Stuff Blowing Up: He touches things, and they explode.
- Technicolor Eyes: He has red irises with black sclera.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: He wasn't a member of the Acolytes in the comics.
Colossus
"I am not a lackey! I... I have no choice."
- Codename: ColossusReal Name: Piotr RasputinVoiced by: Michael Adamthwaite Foreign VAs
Piotr is pressured into serving Magneto, who had abducted his family.
- Adaptational Heroism: Granted, Piotr was in the Acolytes briefly during Fatal Attractions and its aftermath, but that was willing on his part due to Illyana dying from the Legacy Virus resulting in a crisis of faith with Xavier and his dream of coexistence, and that he would rejoin the X-Men's side. Here, he's forced into joining the group due to Magneto kidnapping his family.
- Adaptational Villainy: Unwillingly. In the comics, he's a member of the X-Men from the start. Here, he works for Magneto, albeit only through coercion, though as mentioned, this is combined with Adaptational Heroism as his comic counterpart's counterpart brief tenure with the Acolytes was willing (due to a crisis on faith) on his part. However, Xavier's vision of the future X-Men lineup includes him as well, making this a subversion.
- Anti-Villain: A type-4. The only reason he even works for Magneto is to protect his family.
- Apologetic Attacker: When Wolverine asks him why he fights for Magneto, he becomes melancholy and quietly says that it wasn't his choice.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: Colossus is not a talker and seems quite emotionally detached. However, it wouldn't go well for anybody who truly angers him.
- Blackmail: Colossus is pressured into working for Magneto, who has abducted and threatened to kill his family if he doesn't.
- The Brute: Co-Brute with Pyro.
- Chrome Champion: He can transform at will from a normal (though fairly large and muscular) flesh-and-blood human to what the comics refer to as "organic" osmium steel, giving him an added layer of Super-Toughness.
- The Dog Bites Back: He finally has enough of Magneto's abuse during the search for Apocalypse and reverts to his non-metal form, effectively neutralizing Magneto's greatest advantage over him and easily manhandling him until Gambit reminds them that Apocalypse is the higher priority.
- Elemental Shapeshifter: Colossus can transform his body into organic metal.
- Forced into Evil: He’s working for Magneto solely because his family was kidnapped.I am not a lackey! I... I have no choice.
- Gentle Giant: He's huge and a fundamentally gentle person.
- Good All Along: He's a member of Magneto's Acolytes. In his second appearance, it is revealed during a confrontation between him and Wolverine that he is a reluctant member of the group and Magneto has blackmailed him into joining. In subsequent appearances, Colossus is consistently portrayed as the most sympathetic member of the Acolytes and is the first to abandon the group after Magneto is seemingly killed by Apocalypse. He later assists the X-Men in their final battle against Apocalypse (notably being the only member of the Acolytes to answer the X-Men's call for reinforcements against Apocalypse) and is shown in the Distant Finale to become a full-fledged member of the X-Men following Apocalypse's defeat.
- Heel–Face Turn: Post-series. He's shown in Xavier's vision of the future line-up of the X-Men.
- Husky Russkie: He's Russian, and very big and muscular even when he's not transformed.
- Instant Armor: Colossus can at anytime turn his entire body into steel.
- Monochromatic Eyes: His eyes turn to a solid white when he changes into his steel-armored form.
- Nigh-Invulnerability: His armored form is extremely hard to damage.
- The Quiet One: He's not too chatty, to say the least.
- Russian Guy Suffers Most: The details aren't explicit, but Magneto keeps his loyalty by threatening his family.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: His uniform is sleeveless, showing off his muscles and more of his transformation when using his power.
- Super-Strength: Colossus' strength doubles when in his steel form.
- Super-Toughness: Being made of steel, this is only natural.
- Token Good Teammate: He serves as this to Magneto's Acolytes, in contrast with the far more vicious or bloodthirsty members of the team.
Pyro
"Awful bold of you coming here, girl! Or are you just stupid?"
- Codename: PyroReal Name: John AllerdyceVoiced by: Trevor Devall Foreign VAs
Pyro is a crazy pyromaniac with a cackling laugh and a broken Australian accent. He has an affinity for destruction and complete ignorance of consequence border on outright insanity. In one notable scene he is watching footage of Magneto's supposed demise at the hands of Apocalypse, rewinding, playing back, and laughing several times. He differs from his comic book counterpart in that he needs a constant stream of flame to sustain his power.
- Adaptational Jerkass: In the comics, while Pyro was a somewhat unstable and violence prone Large Ham, he was unfailingly loyal to his friends and eventually died a hero. Here, he is as much of a sociopath as Pietro.
- Adaptation Name Change: His name is changed from Saint-John Allerdyce to the Americanized John Allerdyce.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: The appropriately flame-empowered Pyro has orange hair that sticks up, in what is a very classic use of this trope.
- Ax-Crazy: Whenever he's fighting someone, he has a grin on his face and is enjoying the mayhem that he's causing.
- The Brute: Co-Brute with Colossus.
- Elemental Hair Colors: His hair is orange and spiky, fitting for a guy who can control fire.
- Elemental Powers: His mutant abilities; namely, those of fire.
- Evil Has a Bad Sense of Humor: Treats Apocalypse's utterly domination and seemingly killing of Magneto like his favorite sitcom joke, spending his downtime watching the recording of the confrontation and cackling about it like it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. He even derangedly muses that watching the clip always makes his frown "turn upside down."
- Evil Laugh: He practically laughs more than he talks.
- Jesus Taboo: His first name in the comics is St. John. The "Saint" gets dropped for the adaptation.
- Laughably Evil: He seems to communicate exclusively through a combination of maniacal laughter and lame puns.
- Playing with Fire: Pryo can control fire, but he can't create it himself. He often carries around his own portable flamethrowers to do the job for him.
- Psycho for Hire: He's an eccentric and crazed thug, who willingly perform tasks for Magneto, though he clearly does it for the thrill more than any actual payment or respect for his boss. But that doesn't stop him from having a good laugh at the prospect of barbecuing his victims.
- Pyromaniac: A more subdued version, but there were times when he showed just how much he relished setting things aflame.
- Sixth Ranger: Joins the Brotherhood in the future.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: His comic counterpart was never a member of the Acolytes.
Mastermind
Mastermind/Jason Wyngarde
- Codename: MastermindReal Name: Jason WyngardeVoiced by: Campbell Lane
He's the gang's telepath. While his comic book counterpart could only cast illusions, this version of Mastermind uses telepathy, as well as reading and even rewriting memories of other people.
- Adaptational Superpower Change: This version of Mastermind is also capable of telepathy unlike in the comics where he could only cast illusions.
- Gonk: His face resembles a monkey.
- Master of Illusion: His specialty is conjuring up telepathic illusions to fool his opponents.
- Non-Action Guy: He spends most of his screen time being at the sidelines as he’s only ever really around when assisting Magneto with his psychic abilities, mostly for intelligence gathering.
- Squishy Wizard: Probably the most physically vulnerable of the Acolyte members, having no physical powers or weapons of any kind.
