The X-Men's fight for human and mutant coexistence has taken many forms over the years and gone through quite a few different battles, but the mutant team has continued to struggle against those who hate and fear them in an ongoing war for survival that has seen just as many losses as victories.

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The X-Men seem to be frequently brutalized in unforgettable battles that have cost the team greatly, whether it was through the loss of lives or the shattered faith in the dream that first united them— or simply through the pure ferocity of the fights themselves.

10 Multiple X-Men Were Traumatized & Injured During The Mutant Massacre

Thor carrying Angel during the Mutant Massacre

Chris Claremont and John Romita Jr. traumatized the X-Men in 1986 with the "Mutant Massacre" crossover storyline from Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor that also impacted a few other Marvel series. Mister Sinister sent his Marauders into the sewers to eradicate the underground society of mutants known as the Morlocks.

When the X-Men finally learned of the attack and intervened they were overwhelmed by the Marauders' ferocity. Colossus was paralyzed, Kitty Pryde was trapped in her phased form, Nightcrawler was left comatose, and the majority of the Morlocks were eradicated. Angel's wings were also severely injured, leading to their amputation and his eventual transformation into Archangel.

9 Survivors Of The X-Men Were Killed By Sentinels In Days Of Future Past

Wolverine and Kitty Pryde stand in front of wanted posters during Days of Future Past

A dark future for the X-Men was explored by Claremont and John Byrne in thier 1981 storyline "Days of Future Past" from Uncanny X-Men, which saw mutants hunted and imprisoned in concentration camps by powerful Sentinels.

The post-apocalyptic future had already suffered the loss of quite a few members of the X-Men and quite a few more were imprisoned, though a last-ditch effort from surviving mutants like Wolverine and Storm against the Sentinels resulted in brutal but iconic deaths that helped stall the seemingly inevitable end for the X-Men.

8 The X-Men Were Seemingly Killed In A Mystical Battle With The Adversary

Fall of the mutants poster and X-Men getting shocked by The Adversary split image

1988's Fall of the Mutants event featured catastrophic moments in titles like Uncanny X-MenX-Factor, and New Mutants that changed the status quo on each title. And while each team faced equally brutal battles that changed them forever, it was Storm's team of X-Men who were seemingly killed while in battle with The Adversary.

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Enemies from across the timestream converged on Forge's base in Dallas as The Adversary attempted to collect on an ancient pact with Forge before he turned on the world. The X-Men were able to stop The Adversary by sacrificing their lives in a mystical spell, though they were reborn thanks to the goddess Roma and resumed undercover operations in Australia.

7 Age Of Apocalypse's Final Battle Cost Many Lives To Reset The Timeline

Heroes from the Age of Apocalypse arc pose heroically against a blue background

After Professor X's son, Legion, accidentally killed his dad during a trip in the past, a new reality was created known as the Age of Apocalypse that dramatically altered the course of events in the Marvel Universe. A number of X-Men were changed and new characters appeared as Apocalypse rose to power and created a mutant superiority built on the blood of humankind.

In the final brutal battle against Apocalypse's forces, a number of lives were lost in their bid to reset the timeline. Colossus, overcome with madness for his sister, killed his own wife; Magneto tore Apocalypse in half with the last of his power; and Nate Grey/X-Man managed to accidentally survive AoA's destruction by stabbing his enemy Holocaust with a piece of the M'Kraan Crystal.

6 The Mutant Population Was Decimated After The Brutal Battle During House Of M

The final battle from House of M

Brian Michael Bendis and Olivier Coipel's House of M event saw a new reality created by Scarlet Witch that placed mutants in control— though the X-Men and the Avengers were awakened and launched an all-out war against the still-manipulated heroes and villains under Wanda's control.

Close friends dealing with trauma from the loss of their new life fought against each other to return reality to normal. It was the ferocity of the final battle and the reveal of Quicksilver's role in the altered reality that led to his death at Magneto's hands, which caused Scarlet Witch to snap and decimate the mutant population of Earth with a powerful spell: "No more mutants."

5 The X-Men Were Trapped & Nearly Exterminated During Second Coming

X-Men holding the bridge during Second Coming

While the X-Men dealt with an equally bloody battle in the original Messiah Complex event that introduced the first new mutant birth since House of M, it was the follow-up event Second Coming that really showcased the brutality the X-Men are forced to deal with when they were targeted by Bastion and his anti-mutant Human Council.

Bastion used the stolen alien transmode virus and Nimrod technology from the future to enslave the Council and entrap the X-Men on Utopia where he planned their and Hope Summers' extermination. It was only through the sacrifice of mutants like Cable and Nightcrawler that Hope was able to activate her powers and stop Bastion.

4 The X-Men Were Torn Apart By Cyclops & Wolverine During Schism

Cyclops and Wolverine leading the X-Men during Schism in Marvel Comics

The ongoing rivalry between Cyclops and Wolverine came to a brutal end during Jason Aaron's X-Men: Schism from artists like Carlos Pacheco, Daniel Acuña, Frank Cho, Adam Kubert and Alan Davis. Following a series of attacks from misguided mutants and malfunctioning Sentinels, Cyclops' extreme methods and reckless use of child soldiers cause Wolverine to question their mission.

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The divide leads to a violent battle between the two mutant leaders while a Super Sentinel attacked and nearly destroyed their home base of Utopia before they came to came together to take out their enemy. The mutants were then split as Cyclops remained on Utopia to continue the fight while Wolverine set up the Jean Grey School to resume peacefully teaching mutants.

3 They Fought Against Friends & Phoenix Hosts In Avengers Vs. X-Men

X-Men vs Avengers

Schism wasn't the only event that saw Cyclops and Wolverine on opposing sides, though the Avengers vs. X-Men event included the entirety of their respective teams as they went to war against each other when they disagreed over how to react to the Phoenix's return to Earth to possess young Hope Summers.

While there were a number of bitter battles between the warring teams, it was the ultimate battle against the untied heroes and Cyclops in his Dark Phoenix form that showcased the cosmic entities' brutality when it made Cyclops kill his mentor, Professor X.

2 This Is Forever Killed Off Nearly The Entire Team Before House Of X

X-Men vs Sentinels in This is Forever

Matthew Rosenberg teamed up with Salvador Larocca for what was described as the last X-Men story and served as the precursor to the House of X rebranding that launched a new status quo for the mutant team. "X-Men Disassembled" tied up a number of ongoing loose ends in the running storylines before trapping most of the X-Men in the Age of X-Man event.

Cyclops and Wolverine then gathered together the remaining members of the X-Men to take the fight to the X-Men's enemies one final time, which saw a number of surprising deaths bfore the missing team returned and they faced off against a new breed of transmode-infected Sentinels that continued to brutally clear house before the new direction.

1 X-Men Brutally Sacrificed Themselves To Stop Master Mold During House Of X

The wounded X-Men during an assault on Orchis in House of X

Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and R.B. Silva relaunched the X-Men with House of X and Powers of X, which introduced a new dark future as well as a new beginning for the mutant race on the island of Krakoa.

To protect their new home from the future threat of Master Mold that would lead to the dark future, a team of powerful X-Men headed to space on a suicide mission. Each mutant violently sacrificed themselves in battle in order to stop Master Mold from coming online, though they were soon resurrected by the new Krakoan protocols.

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