Without Professor Charles Xavier, there would be no X-Men to fight for his dream of peaceful coexistence between human and mutants. The character has been mostly inseparable from the team he first formed in 1963's Uncanny X-Men #1, which has grown exponentially over the years to become one of Marvel's most popular superhero teams.
Given the success of the mutant team, the X-Men have been adapted outside of the comics quite a number of times, with Xavier featuring in nearly every appearance of the team in film and television. Fans have seen alternate live-action and animated takes on the character since 1966, but which adapted version of Professor X is the best?
12 The Super Hero Squad Show (2009)/Iron Man: Armored Adventures (2009)
The X-Men and Professor Xavier (voiced by Jim Ward) appeared once as a team in Cartoon Network's The Super Hero Squad Show, which normally featured Wolverine, but only explored his teammates during the "Mysterious Mayhem at Mutant Academy" episode.
The character also appeared in a brief cameo in 2009's Iron Man: Armored Adventures, in an episode that also featured Magneto and a disguised Jean Grey. While his name is mentioned, his face was never actually shown.
11 The Marvel Super Heroes (1966)/Spider-Man And His Amazing Friends (1981)
The very first appearance of Professor X and the X-Men came during the Namor segment of 1966's The Marvel Super Heroes called "Doctor Doom's Day," though the team was called the Allies For Peace and replaced the Fantastic Four in the adaptation.
Since Iceman was one of Spider-Man's titular amazing friends, the X-Men frequently appeared along with Professor Xavier (voiced by Stan Jones) both in the present continuity of the series and in flashback segments at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.
10 Pryde Of The X-Men (1989)
While the X-Men had made a number of animated appearances before 1989, they didn't star in their own series until Pryde of the X-Men introduced the team in a pilot episode that was intended to lead into a full series, though it was ultimately canceled.
Professor Xavier was voiced by John Stephenson, and he appeared heavily as the episode featured the introduction of Kitty Pryde to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, along with an attack from Magneto that touched on the history between him and Xavier.
9 Legion (2017)
Noel Hawley brought a mind-bending live-action adaptation of Legion to the small screen on FX, which focused on David Haller (played by Dan Stevens) as he explored his developing mutant abilities, mental instabilities, and psychic manipulations from the Shadow King.
The series also briefly touched on David's iconic (but absent) mutant father Charles Xavier, who was played by Harry Lloyd. David encountered Xavier after traveling to the past in an attempt to change the timeline, giving fans an alternate look at a young Xavier.
8 Dark Phoenix (2019)/Deadpool 2 (2018)
James McAvoy reprised his role as a younger Charles Xavier in 2019's X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which was the final entry on Fox's film franchise before the film properties were later sold to Disney, and the second attempt to adapt the "Dark Phoenix Saga."
While the film explored the darker side of Xavier, it wasn't the best outing for any of the prequel trilogy stars. That said, McAvoy's Xavier and his younger team of X-Men did appear in a hilarious but brief cameo in 2018's Deadpool 2.
7 X-Men: Anime (2011)
Marvel released a few anime that explored various popular characters like Iron Man, Blade, and Wolverine, though one of the most fondly remembered was 2011's X-Men Anime, which aired for one 12-episode season.
The series loosely adapted a few interesting storylines from the comics, but dramatically ended with a take on the Proteus/Legion storylines that reimagined the characters as Xavier's overpowered son Takeo. Professor Xavier was voiced originally by Katsunosuke Hori and then Cam Clarke in the English dub.
6 Wolverine And The X-Men (2009)
2009's Wolverine and the X-Men featured a Professor X (voiced again by Jim Ward) that mostly appeared in flashbacks or in a comatose condition following a devastating Phoenix event that left the X-Men splintered.
However, after waking from his coma in a "Days of Future Past"-like future, Xavier not only fights to survive, but also attempts to send telepathic messages back in time to warn Wolverine and his reassembled team about key events so they might prevent the dark future.
5 X-Men: Evolution (2000)
2000's X-Men: Evolution featured a reimagined take on Marvel's mutants that aired for five seasons on KidsWB!, which saw the teenaged team attend high school while also living at Professor Xavier's Institute.
Xavier was voiced by David Kaye and he appeared as a kind mentor & father figure to his students while also training them to fight against increasing threats like Apocalypse, who managed to take control of Xavier and other mutants like Storm, Magneto, and Mystique to become his Horsemen.
4 Logan (2017)
Patrick Stewart made his final appearance as Charles Xavier in 2017's Logan alongside Hugh Jackman's final outing as Wolverine in a fitting send-off for both characters that took them in a new, albeit bleak, direction.
Years after the X-Men had disbanded, Xavier was forced to rely on Logan's aid and medication to deal with the psychic seizures that not only threatened everyone in his vicinity, but also responsible for a destructive event that became known as the Westchester Incident.
3 X-Men: The Animated Series (1992)
One of the most popular and well-known versions of Professor Xavier was voiced by Cedric Smith and appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series, whose designs were based on the art of Jim Lee from the best-selling X-Men #1.
This version of the character was one of the most powerful adaptations and he starred in a number of storylines that explored his past, his friendship with Magneto, and even former romantic relationships that made him one of the better-developed characters on the series.
2 Prequel Trilogy (2011-2016)
Fox rebooted the cinematic X-Men franchise in 2011 with a prequel trilogy that began with X-Men: First Class and featured James McAvoy as a younger version of Charles Xavier as he first met Magneto (played by Michael Fassbender) and began to assemble his X-Men.
McAvoy would reprise the role in 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past alongside Patrick Stewart as the original Professor X from a future timeline. 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse was the final film of the prequel trilogy, featured Xavier's newest team of X-Men, and saw McAvoy adopt the classic comic look for the first time.
1 Original Trilogy (200-2006)
Bryan Singer was the first director to bring the live-action X-Men to the big screen in 2000, and he assembled a fantastic cast that included Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier and Ian McKellen as his long-time friend and enemy Magneto.
Stewart reprised his role for 2003's X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006, which featured the death of Xavier. The character's relationships with his X-Men & Magneto, along with the sincere beliefs that drove him, were perfectly captured by Patrick Stewart– making him the best adaptation of Professor Xavier that fans have ever seen.