The X-Men was unlike any superhero comic book that Marvel had created in its early days. While there were some heroes, such as Spider-Man and Hulk, that were often at odds with the police, things were even worse for the mutants. Society deemed them as outsiders who they feared, while other superpowered beings were heroes.
The mutant that stepped forward was Professor Charles Xavier, a man with a dream. His goal was for mutants and humans to live together in peace and for all hatred and racism to remain in the past. His dream never came true. As a result, there are many moments throughout history where Xavier was one of Earth's greatest heroes and others where he was a villain through and through.
10 Great Hero: Xavier School
Arguably, the best thing that Professor X ever did was create the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngers. At first, Xavier was the lone teacher for his X-Men students, but over time, Xavier trained some of the best teachers for any young mutant to help the children sent to the school. Not only was this a school to teach mutants how to control and utilize their powers, but it was a safe haven for children who would otherwise suffer tremendously in the real world.
9 Villain: Sent Children Into Battle
While Xavier's School for Gifted Youngers is supposed to be a safe haven that teaches mutants how to use their powers and live safely in a society that hates them, it was initially so much more. This was where Xavier trained his X-Men, who were mostly kids, teenagers who Professor X then sent into deadly situations against powerful villains. He sent kids into a war and then treated them like soldiers. It is no wonder X-Men like Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Beast turned out as messed up as they did.
8 Great Hero: Protects Mutant Children
While Professor X sent kids into battle when the X-Men first started, he learned his lesson. After Jean Grey died in the Dark Phoenix Saga and likely partially due to the death of the first team he sent to save the X-Men from Krakoa, Xavier became overprotective, and that is a good thing. Professor X created X-Factor and tried to teach them while protecting them. He didn't always succeed since they were kids, but he proved he was learning from his mistakes, and that is heroic in itself.
7 Villain: Reprogrammed Wolverine's Mind
One of the darkest secrets in Professor X's life was how he got Wolverine to join his X-Men team. In Wolverine: Origins #29, Xavier and Logan are trying to save Daken from the Hellfire Club, and the two discuss how Wolverine came to join the X-Men.
This was an untold story. When Wolverine first showed up at Xavier's mansion, he was going there to assassinate Professor X. However, Xavier stopped the attempt and then did the unthinkable. He reprogrammed Logan's mind and turned him into a soldier for the X-Men, someone he frequently used from that point on.
6 Great Hero: Sought Peace Between Mutants And Humans
Professor X had one dream when he created his school and brought together his original X-Men team. He wanted to build a world where mutants and humans could live together in peace. Xavier sent his team out to stop evil mutants and to save humans, without ever showing superiority to them. He wanted to fight the good fight, and he had a dream for the world. Sadly, this was a dream that never came true due to the hatred and intolerance in the world, but he tried to be the hero the mutant race needed.
5 Villain: Xavier Protocols
Professor Xavier was always preparing for the worst. In one of his failsafe designs, he did something Batman did over in DC. Remember that Batman always looked to a future where the greatest heroes would eventually turn evil. To prepare for that, Batman had a plan in place to take out every member of the Justice League if needed. Xavier had the same thing called the Xavier Protocols. However, for Professor X, it was worse because these were children he took in to keep safe and then created ways to kill them if needed.
4 Great Hero: He Is A Great Leader
Professor X has done many questionable things in his life, but there is no doubt that he is one of the most brilliant and respected leaders in Marvel Comics. People outside the X-Men respect Xavier, which was shown when he convinced the world to allow Krakoa to become a sovereign nation.
In battle, X-Men will follow Xavier to the ends of the world and follow his every command because he has earned their trust. There are members of the X-Men who have become great leaders because they learned from Professor X, and he has created more great heroes than any other teacher.
3 Villain: Member of Illuminati
Professor X betrayed his X-Men, just as Iron Man betrayed the Avengers and Black Bolt betrayed his Inhumans. These trusted men, who are otherwise great heroes, created a secret organization known as the Illuminati and made decisions that they alone considered right for the world, behind everyone's backs. They exiled Hulk, among other things and all of these men lost the trust of the people who followed them before.
2 Great Hero: He Tries To Do The Right Thing
One thing that was very interesting about the early comic book series, as well as the Fox X-Men movies, was the relationship between Professor X and Magneto. The two men always debated which man was right and which was wrong. While Magneto remembered the Holocaust and knew that humans would always make racially dishonest decisions, Professor X saw the good in everyone, and he always tried to make sure that his actions matched his optimism. Professor X did many bad things in his life, but he always tried to do good, even if that meant being a little evil.
1 Villain: Onslaught
Professor X led his X-Men to battle Magneto when he felt that the Master of Magnetism had gone over the line. However, the truth when following the storyline was that Magneto just wanted to be left alone and left Earth to get away from the hate of humans.
When the Earth's governments wouldn't leave him alone, he struck back and killed many people. Someone needed to make Magneto pay, but Xavier stepped over the line when he went in and shut down his enemy's mind. It was an evil move, regardless of the situation. Professor X paid for it when the action eventually created Onslaught, and this villain destroyed the entire world.