50 Greatest Super Heroes In Comic Book History

14. Professor X

(Write-up by Nick Tylwalk, Bam Smack Pow Editor)

Charles Xavier was blessed with some amazing mental gifts, but precognition, the ability to see the future, wasn’t one of them. Instead, he was guided by a dream, one of a better world where humans and mutants could coexist peacefully.

That same dream has been the roadmap for his creation of the X-Men, his school for “gifted” youngsters (now named in memory of Jean Grey) and many of the actions he’s taken over the years. It’s an idea that’s so powerful that it’s survived numerous challenges from the likes of Magneto and others who believed it impossible, persisted even when some (I’m looking at you, Cyclops) had given up on it, and indeed, outlived the man himself.

Professor X has overcome some scrutiny for his choices and some retroactive additions to his personal history that cast him in a slightly less flattering light than before. But that’s par for the course for almost any benevolent father figure. It’s pretty clear that without his efforts, those looking to fan the flames of human-mutant distrust and hatred would have succeeded a long time ago.

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So without Xavier and his dream, there’s not only no X-Men, but it’s possible there are smoldering ruins where big parts of the mainstream Marvel Earth used to be. He’s a figure so beloved by those closest to him that even the hint that some part of his consciousness is still alive has made people do seemingly crazy things to try and save it.

It should be mentioned that he’s made a successful transition to movies as well, with both Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy playing him. The professor might be dead in the comics, but his legacy and his big screen persona both live on.

Next: No. 13: Making archery cool since 1941