12 X-Men movie villains ranked from worst to best

akb_dtlra_stills_120415.089228 – Erik/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) has the power to manipulate magnetic fields. Photo Credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.
akb_dtlra_stills_120415.089228 – Erik/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) has the power to manipulate magnetic fields. Photo Credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.
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X of Swords, X-Men
227_xb_8265_v1086.1027 – Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), the original and most powerful mutant, embarks on a path of global destruction. Photo Credit: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox.

Who are the top 12 villains from X-Men movies? Keep reading to find out.

Villains being important is one thing that holds true when the topic of comic book movies is brought up. They can make or break a project. Malekith in Thor: The Dark World is a good example. He’s among the worst villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and so was that movie. If he was more like the comics, Thor 2 would have been better. 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise is the exception to the rule. They had bad villains in good movies and vice versa.

Magneto is one of the most popular antagonists in any genre. Thankfully he was played by Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender. Two actors who truly brought Magneto to life. Even when the movies were bad, they managed to make their scenes stand out. Sometimes, those two were the only reason the projects they were in were watchable. Imagine their roles being played by a subpar actor. The franchise may have been cut earlier than it was.

With that in mind, let’s look at the 12 best villains in the X-Men movies. In this list, you’ll see that some of them were fantastic despite being in bad films. Not just because they were trying to take over the world. It takes more than that to be memorable. A lot of people on this list are beyond deplorable. Some of them have their reasons and you may be able to relate. You’ll also see how words like villain or offender aren’t necessarily the right word to use. Let’s begin.

Honorable mentions: Pyro, Angel Dust, Juggernaut (Deadpool 2)