Out of all the superhero teams in the DC and Marvel universes, the X-Men have suffered the most. Over their history, they've been persecuted by the public and the government. They've seen their home destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. And several members, if not all of them, have died at least once. Perhaps twice. Okay, they've died a lot.
Of course, we now know why these Merry Mutants keep coming back. Professor X retains their memories and puts them in cloned bodies. In other words, he's created a live-action video game. Nevertheless, when these heroes have died, the aftereffects have been devastating to their peers and to the readers. Here are 10 saddest X-Men character deaths, ranked.
10 Changeling
X-Men fans need to go back to the series' first volume to find this short-lived X-Man. Introduced as a lower-rate menace in Uncanny X-Men #35, Kevin Sydney had the mutant ability to change shape. While he thought it was a good idea to be mean, he decided to switch sides and tell Professor Xavier about the terrorist group he worked with.
Kevin also told Charles he had only a few months to live due to cancer. Instead of finding a cure for him, Charles asked the poor schlub to be him for a while as he worked to stop an alien invasion -- so he said. Changeling died a few issues later when he saved the Earth. He appeared a few more times in later years as an angry spirit and a zombie. It seems Charles didn't make a clone of him for restoration. Pretty selfish, honestly.
9 Thunderbird
You're John Proudstar. You join the second incarnation of the X-Men and get your picture on one of the most well-known covers in comic book history. You're set, especially from the percentages you'll get from the live-action films. Then, you die on your second mission.
While Thunderbird's powers allowed him to selflessly stop Count Nefaria's jet from escaping (though the villain remained alive), his death was one that could have been prevented. Years afterward, John's demise continued to haunt Professor X. It's probably the main reason he recruited his brother, Warpath, into the X-Men.
8 Cypher
Doug Ramsey didn't have the greatest mutant ability. Fact is, the power to translate any written or spoken language made him the equivalent of a human C3PO. Still, he was an integral part of many New Mutant adventures. He even saved a few people along the way with his non-mutant skills. Thus, his death by a single bullet was more tragic than other X-deaths.
The good news is Doug wasn't dead for long. He eventually merged with the alien Warlock to become Douglock. When that period of life was done, his personality was resurrected. Since then, Cypher has been through many adventures with various X-Men teams.
7 Nightcrawler
Despite the tragedies of his upbringing, Nightcrawler is one of the more upbeat X-Men. Fact is, he and Beast could go toe-to-toe in a joke-off. This lightness, along with his adventurous mindset, made his death so bitter.
Like other X-Men, Nightcrawler's demise was due to a selfless act. He was attempting to save Cable's daughter, Hope, so she could reignite Earth's mutant population. As he tended to be a mediator of various internal differences, his loss caused the team to splinter. One group ran Xavier's school while the other became an acapella singing group known as X-Singerz.
6 Cyclops
The death of Scott Summers would have had more significance if he wasn't such a jerk at the time. He was the public face of the X-Men for decades. However, after killing Professor X while affected by the Phoenix Force, Cyclops turned somewhat dour.
Nevertheless, his death from the Inhumans' Terrigen Mist was painful. He was mourned, of course, but there were probably some X-Men who were glad he was gone. Now they would have more screen time in the possibly upcoming movies or cartoons. However, like many of the people on this list, Cyclops got better and has returned to his leadership role in a much better costume.
5 Alchemy
Thomas Jones didn't have a flashy costume. He didn't have his own mini- or maxi-series. Hugh Grant didn't play him in any of the X-Men movies. Truth be told, the man known as Alchemy tried to stay out of the way of the X-teams, only called upon when needed.
He was needed when the Terrigen Mists started to affect the world's mutants. Flown up into the atmosphere, he changed the mists into something more benign, but with consequences to him. He received a concentrated dose of the mists before they became idle. In turn, he quickly died. In doing so, he became a hidden savior to mutant kind.
4 Professor X
Dying is bad. Dying at the hands of your trusted student and friend is worse. Especially when it's your 12th death in several decades. This is what happened when Cyclops, imbued with the power of the Phoenix Force, smote Charles Xavier in front of both Avengers and X-Men.
Not only was it sad but it was also humiliating. No one expects their pupil to kill them. Well, perhaps Professor Dumbledore. Or Obi-Wan Kenobi. Okay, maybe it's pretty common. Regardless, this death of Professor X caused the rest of the X-Men to falter. That is, until he recently he returned to create a mutant nation.
3 Wolverine
Some might believe Logan's death should be number one on this list. He is the person most connected with the X-Men. Even more so than Cyclops or any other mutant who graces the comics pages. Yet, everyone knew, of course, it wasn't permanent.
Still, his death was sadder than most because of the challenges Logan faced before he perished. He lost his healing factor, he had to battle a plethora of villains to get to the cause. Then, when he thought he was safe, he was encased in molten adamantium and suffocated as it cooled. Think a harder version of carbonite, minus the rugged handsomeness of Han Solo.
2 Jean Grey
Can we be honest about this? Jean caused her own death. She's the one who piloted the shuttle through radiation that ate her body away. She's the one who let the Phoenix Force become a facsimile of her. She's the one who ended up on trial because of a little thing like killing an entire planetary population.
Her original powers featured telepathy. So, why didn't she reach out to someone and say, "Um, hey. I'm at the bottom of Jamaica Bay. Someone want to pick me up?" Eventually, Jean's persona did combine with the Phoenix, and she selflessly ended her own life to save the universe. Something that would have been momentous if she hadn't died several more times over the decades. Show off.
1 Colossus
Out of all the X-Men's deaths, Colossus' was the saddest and the noblest. There aren't too many people, mutant or not, who would sacrifice themselves for the good of an entire population. Yet, the gentle Colossus did this very thing.
It was a combination of events that led him to be a catalyst for a Legacy Virus cure. The primary one being the death of his younger sister, Illyana -- a powerful mutant in her own right. Though it didn't initially bring Illyana back, it helped the mutant world recover and flourish so they could increase their daily angst and prepare for the next disaster.