Throughout its long history, the X-Men have seen their share of tragedy. Be it a death, departure, or the elimination of the world's mutants, tears were shed by the X-Men team members and their fans.
Many of these moments are based on specific comic book panels. These small illustrations continue to resonate when viewed on the internet or reprints. For a sample of these situations, here are ten classic X-Men panels that still tug on your heartstrings.
10 House Of M #6: Peter Parker Loses His Family
There was plenty of anger to go around in "House of M." Avengers and X-Men alike were furious when they realized they were in a pro-mutant world created by the Scarlet Witch. However, the hero who took it the worst was Peter Parker.
In the Witch's reality, he was married to Gwen Stacy and had a son. In addition, his Uncle Ben was alive. He snapped when he found out what happened. The panels that followed showed a broken man who didn't know how much more he could take. It was heartbreaking to see Peter's overwhelming outpouring of emotion.
9 Wolverine (Vol. 2) #57: Logan Kills Mariko
Logan has had several loves in his long life, but none compare to Mariko Yashida. The cousin of former X-Man Sunfire, Mariko and Logan connected immediately. What followed was an intense and tumultuous relationship. It involved battling The Hand, a called-off wedding, and Mariko's death by Wolverine.
However, this wasn't due to a battle between the former lovers. Mariko pleaded for Logan to kill her after a poison she was given wracked her with pain. One of the last panels revealed a devastated Wolverine holding his former lover. The left one grasped Mariko's shoulder while the right had its claws shoved into her torso.
8 New Mutants (Vol. 1) #60: The Death Of Cypher
Doug Ramsey became a member of the New Mutants as Cypher because he could understand and translate the language of the techno-organic creature Warlock. After that, the team relied on him more for his technological prowess than his mutant abilities. Nevertheless, he was an active member of the team until the end.
This is what made Cypher's death so emotional. He was always there for the others. To save his friend Rhane from a villain's bullet, Doug stepped in front of her. It's was the act of someone who was considered a true hero.
7 X-Men (Vol. 2) #162
What makes these four panels so sad is it was the end of two X-Men. One was the 10-year-old Squid Boy. The other was the reformed Cain Marko -- aka, Juggernaut. Cain became a surrogate father to the young mutant while he was at Xavier's Institute. He even started dating the boy's mom, which drew them closer.
Things fell apart when Squid Boy found out Cain was working for the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Though Juggernaut infiltrated the organization as a double-agent, Squid Boy didn't know this. The result was the young boy was attacked by the group's Black Tom Cassidy. As he slowly died from his wounds, Squid Boy told Cain how much he hated him. The words haunted Juggernaut for years.
6 New X-Men (Vol 2) #23: Purifiers Kill Depowered Mutants
M-Day was a tragedy for all mutants. In particular, those enrolled at Xavier's Institute. With a majority of them now human students, Emma Frost requested them to leave via bus and return to their respective homes. Though it was quietly done, Reverend Stryker and his Purifiers discovered their departure.
The resulting panel showed a bus on fire and 42 dead teens and young adults. The irony was they could have prevented the tragedy if they had their mutant powers. The tragedy of this image represented continued bigotry in comics and the world in general.
5 X-Men (Vol 2) #25: Wolverine Loses His Adamantium Skeleton
What makes this classic panel a tearjerker is it shows how even the most powerful of the X-Men can be hurt. In this case, both physically and emotionally. Without his adamantium skeleton, Logan was not only more brutal but also unsure of who he was.
For those years without the adamantium's support, Wolverine wasn't the stable influence others could go to. He tried to remain with the team, but his feral state made him harder to control. In the end, though this panel was sad, the time until his skeleton was restored was even more tragic.
4 Death Of Wolverine: Logan Dies
There have been plenty of times Wolverine died and came back thanks to his healing factor. Unfortunately, by the time "Death of Wolverine" came about in 2014, that ability was deactivated. Though Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four asked him to lay low, Logan ended up battling numerous opponents.
Turns out, a contract was put out on him by one of the Weapon X scientists who helped to create Wolverine. Encountering him trying to create a new batch of adamantium-laced soldiers, Wolverine killed the man. In turn, he was coated in liquid adamantium. The last panel of the event shows a dead Logan, suffocated from all of the metal that coated his body.
3 Uncanny X-Men (Vol 1) #95: Death Of Thunderbird
The original Thunderbird, introduced in Giant-Size X-Men, was actually a predicament for creators Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. They already had a brash and loud character in the form of Wolverine, and they didn't want to do an about-face with the X-Men's first Native American member. So, they decided to kill Thunderbird off.
They didn't wait long to do it, either. Two issues into the new team's run, Thunderbird sacrificed himself to stop Count Nefaria from escaping. Though the scenes of the character's destruction were painful, the panels that showed Professor X's reaction were the tearjerkers. So many different emotions in four small panels. It revealed how different this run of X-Men was going to be.
2 Uncanny X-Men (Vol 1) #136: Jean Grey Dies
Jean Grey has died a lot since joining the X-Men. In fact, it's somewhat surprising she hasn't met her demise in the latest reboot. While the other deaths were shocking, it was the first that produced the most tears.
What made it emotional was its suddenness. After panels of fighting to save the lives of the other X-Men, Jean's death as Dark Phoenix was three small panels. The last of these was a self-sacrifice to save her lover, Cyclops. In the end, it was redemption at its finest.
1 Uncanny X-Men (Vol 1) #390: Death Of Colossus
The X-Men are known for sacrificing themselves for the greater good of mutant-kind. Out of all of its members, Colossus is probably the one who performed the most selfless act. Not only for his adoptive family but also for his sister.
After the Legacy Virus killed Illyana, the young Russian joined Magneto's Acolytes for a while. When he returned to the X-Men he learned Beast had created a cure. However, it required a mutant to sacrifice themselves. Not wanting to see anyone else suffer, he injected himself and became the catalyst for the serum. The final panel showing his lifeless body was actually a symbol of regeneration for mutants across the globe.