The X-Men
The Original Team | '60s Members | '70s Members | '80s Members | '90s Members | 2000s Members | 2010s Members | 2020s Members
Other Teams
Children of the Atom | Excalibur | Generation Hope | Generation X | New Mutants | New X-Men: Academy X | S.W.O.R.D. | X-Club | X-Corp | X-Factor | X-Force | X-Statix | X-Terminators
Antagonists
Rogues Gallery A to I | Rogues Gallery J to R | Rogues Gallery S to Z | Villainous Organizations | Acolytes | Arakko | Brotherhood of Mutants | Clan Akkaba | Children of the Vault | Externals | Hellfire Club | The Hellions | Marauders | Mojoverse | Morlocks | MLF | Orchis | Sentinels
Other Characters
Supporting Characters | Mutants | Xavier Institute | Krakoans | The Savage Land | Shi'ar | The Starjammers | NYX | Cable's supporting cast | Deadpool's supporting cast | Wolverine's supporting cast
The Original Team
Professor Charles Francis Xavier / Professor X / X
Notable Aliases: Onslaught, Consort-Royal, Founder, Doctor X, Warlord, Entity, Prisoner M-13
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
The original founder of the X-Men. An idealist who believes that humans and mutants can live together in peace. He's pragmatic about it, though, considering he essentially runs a combat school. Lost the use of his legs during a fight with an alien called Lucifer who was planning an Alien Invasion, got it back after an intimate encounter with the Brood, was put back in his chair by the Shadow King, and is currently walking once again. Likes to keep secrets, thinking that redundant plans and safechecks are best for everyone, but this tends to bite him on the ass more often than not. Also tends to be obsessed about the cause to the detriment of his social life. Xavier is the world's most powerful telepath, being able to read and fully control the minds of large groups of people at a time.
Scott Summers / Cyclops
Notable Aliases: Slim, Slym Dayspring, Eric the Red, Mutate #007, Phoenix, Dark Phoenix, Captain Krakoa
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
The first X-Man, Scott Summers possesses the mutant ability to draw ambient energy from another dimension through his eyes, which are actually portals to said dimension. Usually channeling this energy into concussive force blasts, he is visually distinctive for the ruby quartz visor he wears to control his devastating power. A born leader, Cyclops succeeded his mentor Professor X to command the X-Men.
Robert Louis "Bobby" Drake / Iceman
Notable Aliases: Drake Roberts, Mister Friese, Frosty
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
As the youngest member of the original five X-Men, Bobby's abilities are mainly ice-related, but he can also manipulate temperature and moisture, making him one of very few omega-level mutants. His true power was unknown to him for quite some time, however, thanks in part to being riddled with insecurities — a product of growing up with his abusive father before being taken in by Charles Xavier. In spite of his rough upbringing, Bobby is known for his playfully sarcastic nature, if also being slightly guilty for his sensitive tendencies.
During the All-New, All-Different Marvel era, there were two Bobby Drakes populating the mainstream Marvel Universe: original Bobby, who's since grown into adulthood, and a time-displaced teenage Bobby, who (with his fellow original X-Men) was pulled from the 1960s into the present. Each served on a distinct faction of the X-Men: adult Bobby with the Extraordinary X-Men, teenage Bobby with the All-New X-Men. At the end of Extermination, however, the younger, time-displaced Bobby was returned back to his own time period and had his memories wiped.
Historically, he was also a member of The Defenders, the original X-Factor lineup, and the (much-maligned) Champions of Los Angeles.
Iceman is notable for being one of Marvel's most prominent —if not the most prominent— gay characters. While his sexuality was speculated (and joked about) for decades, he officially came out of the closet in 2015 — it went down about as well as you'd probably expect. Regardless, many were happy to see one of Marvel's oldest characters undergo such a reinvention, helping further the publisher's ongoing efforts to bolster diversity in their comic line.
He was portrayed by Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore in the original trilogy of the X-Men Film Series, as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past. Ashmore would also provide his voice in an episode of The Superhero Squad Show.
No relation to a certain Tom Kazansky.
Warren Kenneth Worthington III / Angel / Archangel
Notable Aliases: Avenging Angel, Dark Angel, Death, Master of the Seven Seeds
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
A beautiful, somewhat conceited wealthy young man who has wings which allow him to fly. Initially one of the proudest members of the group, became more and more progressively useless when several other mutants were introduced who could fly, as well as do many other useful things. Once lost his wings in a fight, which caused him to do a Face–Heel Turn to get cybernetic replacement wings. Sometime after that, he developed regenerative blood which caused anyone touching it (foremost himself, obviously) to heal from any injury. Recently, this wasn't seen as quite enough, so Angel was upgraded to have the ability to switch at will between feathered Angel and evil, razor-winged Archangel forms.
Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy / Beast
Notable Aliases: Blue Gorilla, Kreature, Mutate #666
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
A brilliant scientist, athlete, and bibliophile, at first the only thing that indicated that Hank McCoy was a mutant were large hands and feet, and, later, an overall simian aesthetic. However, an experiment to enhance his already superhuman strength and agility transformed him into a blue-furred ape creature and later a blue lion man. Beast is a genius in genetics and biology and enjoys quoting Shakespeare. His even-handed and professorial attitude tend to keep the other members from panicking in situations. He's actually been in more teams than any other X-Man, having been a member of The Avengers and The Defenders before; accordingly, being in the public eye as a member of the high-profile Avengers has made him one of the most accepted mutants by society at large.
Introduced as one of the original five X-Men, Hank was a genius-level intellect whose mutation manifested itself in the form of gorilla-like physiology and enhanced strength, but remained otherwise human-looking. Because of his combined brains and brawn, he's often regarded as a trope codifier of the genius bruiser trope. It wasn't until nearly a decade later, however, that Hank would transform into a literal blue, furry beast man.
Despite his monstrous appearance, Hank remained upbeat and witty for years, and continued serving as a stalwart X-Man and professor at the Xavier Academy in the following decades. He also became known for his pro-mutant activism and accolades in the fields of genetics and biochemistry. However, after M-Day, Hank grew angry and frustrated at his failures to prevent or reverse the depowering of almost all mutants and had a severe falling out with Cyclops over the morality of X-Force and other issues. From there, he became convinced that only he had the intellect to solve the problems facing mutantkind, to the concern of the rest of the X-Men who called him out for his increasingly reckless and immoral actions. Upon the founding of Krakoa, little remained of the witty and kind Dr.McCoy, and Hank was appointed the head of the new X-Force to act as the new nation's "mutant CIA", wielding a large amount of unchecked power which he believed only he had the intellect, right, and ability to hold.
Beast is also notable for being one of the few Marvel characters to serve as an X-Man, Avenger, and Defender, while also spending a period of time with The Inhumans as well. He was specifically placed on The Avengers by Steve Englehart because of his light-hearted personality, serving as a foil to some of their more serious members.
Because of his status as a founding X-Man, Beast has appeared quite often in other media. He's been in every animated X-Men series to date, and even two anime featuring Marvel characters.
Beast also appears in most of the X-Men Film Series, portrayed by a number of actors throughout the franchise — most notably Nicholas Hoult and Kelsey Grammer as the younger and older incarnations of the character, respectively.
Jean Elaine Grey / Marvel Girl / Phoenix
Notable Aliases: Jean Grey-Summers, Dark Phoenix, White Phoenix of the Crown, Redd Dayspring
Nationality: American, Krakoan
Species: Human mutant
First Appearance: X-Men #1 (September, 1963)
Jean Grey was one of the five original X-Men. An omega-level mutant telekinetic and telepath, Jean has gained near limitless powers as a recurrent host of the Phoenix Force. She is known for her many returns from death and as the deceased wife of Cyclops.
