14 best and worst retcons in comic book history
By Mark Lynch
Xavier is a jerk for real
In X-Men No. 168 Kitty Pryde (now Kate Pryde) called Professor Xavier a jerk. She went on to say he’s the, “cruelest, meanest, most heartless man on Earth.” That happened in 1983. Decades later we found out how true that really is.
Over the years, Charles Xavier was harsh, but he wasn’t evil. However, over even more time, readers have learned that Xavier isn’t the kind father figure he was made out to be. Above all, we saw how he erased Cyclops’ mind when the hero discovered that he had a brother. In X-Men: Original Sin, there’s a flashback showcasing how he erased and reprogrammed Logan’s mind because he “needed a weapon.” For someone who says that mental invasion is wrong, he sure seems to do it a lot.
Comic book retcon rating: Amazing
Characters have to grow. Sometimes the growth isn’t positive. That doesn’t make them less interesting. In this case, it made him more so. Xavier could do anything and say that it was for the love of mutants.
In the recent X-Men era (House of X, Powers of X, X-Force, etc), Xavier has been more like Magneto. He’s okay with killing and hiding secrets from the Quiet Council. These are only a couple of the new things he’s done. There have been more and he’ll continue to be a jerk going forward. He’ll just say it’s to keep Krakoa going. At some point, that excuse won’t be enough.