Overcoming prejudice and fighting for good, theX-Menmust contain powerful members who can help their team succeed against dangerous threats such as Magneto and Apocalypse. However, just because mutants are gifted doesn’t mean they are strong. Time and time again, certain members of the titular team aren’t able to keep up with the rest, slowing them down and failing to beat their opponents.
Only X-Men will be on this list, meaning it will not include general mutants, the Brotherhood, or students at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Similarly,only characters from the movies or TV shows are applicablebecause there are so many useless X-Men members from obscure comics, like X-Ceptional, who is literally the worst X-Man. Without further ado,these ten members of the X-Men need to carry their weight, as they prove to be the weakest among the group.
‘X-Men’ (2000)
Making his debut in 1963 withX-Men #1, Cyclops is one of the most recognizable members of the team, often even leading them. Scott Summers’ iconic power allows him to shoot energy beams out of his eyes, with a special eyepiece helping control his unstable abilities.James Marsdenplayed Cyclopsin the first live-action movies, and it’s safe to say fans were disappointed with the result.
Laser eyes seem anything but weak, with Superman being a prime example. However, the firstX-Mentrilogy somehow made Cyclops into a joke.He accomplished little in every movie, playing the jealous love rival to Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and taking a backseat before his off-screen death. Cyclops was absolutely useless, andhis energy blasts also did not deal much damage, making this iconic character one of the weakest X-Men, unfairly so.
‘Deadpool 2’ (2018)
Making his live-action debut as a cameo inX-Men, Colossus would appear throughout the trilogy and later feature inDeadpool 2.Len WeinandDavid Cockrumcreated this fan-favorite character in 1975 withGiant-Size X-Men #1. Colossus has always been a consistent member of the X-Men in multiple adaptations, with his powers allowing him to turn his skin into metal, giving him superhuman strength, durability, and stamina.
While Colossus may physically be the strongest X-Men, he is one of the weakest in terms of overall power. Unfortunately, brute strength alone isn’t enough to be one of the top dogs in the X-Men. While he has been pretty adept in his adaptations,his powers limit him from doing anything more besides being a brute force. He was thebest part ofDeadpool 2and managed to take down Juggernaut, but that is only because of some help and underhanded methods.
Deadpool 2
‘X2: X-Men United’ (2003) and ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006)
Literally one of the coolest X-Men, Bobby Drake made his appearance as Iceman inX-Men #1with all the other leading members. Iceman is a mutant capable of freezing everything around him, creating ice, and giving himself an enhanced ice form.Shawn Ashmoreplayed Bobby in the originalX-Mentrilogy and would have an essential dynamic withAnna Paquin’s Rogue.
While Iceman is no slouch in the comics, being an omega-level mutant,his role in the movies is significantly reduced. He does feature his powerful ice form, but it never does anything significant, which is the same for his character as a whole throughout all the movies. Reduced to a whiny teenager, Bobby is largely unimportant in the movies, with the rest of the cast sidelining him, makingIceman the biggest comic-to-movie X-Men downgrade.
X2: X-Men United
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‘X-Men First Class’ (2011)
Usually portrayed as an older mentor on the X-Men teams, Banshee made his debut in 1967 withX-Men #28. This versatile mutant has the powers of a sonic scream, increased hearing, and flight, giving him his name based on the famous Irish myth.Caleb Landry Jonesportrayed the character inX-Men: First Class, giving fans a younger version of the character and his first appearance in live-action.
As a younger member, assuming Banshee is at full strength would be wrong, considering fans witnessed his growth in thefantastic X-Men prequel movie. Banshee was very useful in detecting the enemy ship and saving Havoc’s life. However, while helpful, he wasn’t particularly strong.Many enemies overpowered Banshee, making him seem unimpressive in a fight. Banshee isn’t made for direct combat, making him one of the team’s weakest members.
X-Men: First Class
‘X-Men ‘97’ (2024)
Introduced inThe Uncanny X-Men #184in 1984, Forge is a mutant with multiple affiliations, including the X-Men, X-Factor, and the U.S. military.Forge has complicated ties to Storm, which fans can see inX-Men ‘97, his most recent adaptation. Forge’s mutant abilities give him a genius-level intellect with an affinity for crafting technology and other inventions.
Like many of the weakest X-Men,Forge has beneficial abilities that don’t hold up in a battle. Forge is an expert marksman, but that power doesn’t help against other mutants who can easily avoid regular bullets. His inventions are extremely impressive and help bolster each member, but it doesn’t do him any good in a fight. If Forge could craft something powerful for himself, he might be higher on the ranking, but as it stands, he is basically an overpowered tech support.
‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014)
Like Cyclops and Iceman, Beast also made his original debut inX-Men #1all the way back in 1963. Also similar to Cyclops, Beast is one of the most prominent members of the X-Men in almost every adaptation, from the original trilogy to the prequel movies and potentiallythe MCU after Beast’s post-credit scene. With a genius-level intellect, Beast also has razor-sharp claws and enhanced physical attributes, including strength, speed, stamina, etc.
It’s unfortunate that Beast ranks among the weakest X-Men because he is also one of the most iconic, but in most of his adaptations, he isn’t very strong. His intelligence, strength, and agility are relatively small powers facing the other prominent X-Men members. Beast has proven to be much more helpful in different areas, and while he can hold his weight,his mutation won’t hold up against so many other powerful mutants.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
4Nightcrawler
‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006)
Nightcrawler is another iconic X-Men member who appears inGiant-Size X-Men #1alongside Colossus in 1975. One of the character’s adaptations revealed him asthe son of the famous mutant Mystique, where he gained his recognizable blue look. The German Catholic mutant has enhanced abilities, can teleport, see in the dark, and has a tail.Alan Cummingplayed the character inX2: X-Men UnitedandKodi Smit-McPheelater gave life to a young version of the character inX-Men: Apocalypse.
Nightcrawler is in a similar situation to Beast; he has incredible agility and a unique power that separates him from other mutants. However, while this mutation is very useful, it doesn’t make him too powerful. Nightcrawler has used his teleportation, agility, tail, and night vision in a fight against ordinary people — indeed, the opening sequence ofX2remains one of the best in superhero cinema and a worthy showcase for Nightcrawler’s feats against normal soldiers. However,stronger mutants won’t have any trouble dealing with the wall climber.
X-Men: The Last Stand
Morph is a fun-loving and goofy character introduced inX-Men: The AnimatedSeriesepisode “Night of the Sentinels Part 1.” Described as the only character who could make Wolverine laugh, he was a prime candidate to explore, given an intriguing arc throughout the series. As his name implies, Morph can shapeshift into anyone and mimic their voice. However, his mimicked mutant abilities are always weaker than the original.
Like the movie version of Banshee,Morph just isn’t suited for combat. His ability is extremely useful before a fight, helping gather intel and reconnaissance, but when it comes to a fight, his power is of no use.Morph is a fascinating character, but the new X-Men show let him down. His past and trauma were perfect to explore, but instead, he only did the bare minimum with no fighting prowess and gotknocked out too many times inX-Men ‘97.
‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ (1992)
Often used as the young, relatable member of the X-Men to act as an audience surrogate, Jubilee was introduced inThe Uncanny X-Men #244in 1989. Jubilee can generate and manipulate pyrotechnic energy, allowing her to shoot energy blasts. Her character has appeared in many X-Men works, includingX-MenandX-Men: Apocalypse, played byKea WongandLana Condor, respectively.
Fans can pickany X-Men movie or TV showthat features Jubilee, and she will always be the weakest member of the team. Maybe it’s unfair to include her because she is young and still learning her powers, but that only means she is definitely the weakest. Her pyrotechnic energy blasts areessentially just fireworks and barely deal any damage, making all her efforts rather unimpressive. She hasn’t accomplished anything noteworthy since her introduction inX-Men: The Animated Serieswhen she toppled a water tower on a Sentinel.
X-Men: The Animated Series
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016)
Angel is another original X-Men member, introduced in 1963 withThe X-Men #1. He is a popular character, having featured in multipleX-Menmovies, where he is played by the equally underratedBen FosterandBen Hardy. Angel can fly and has superhuman strength, but he also has an alternate evil form called Archangel, a powerful mutant with metal wings, rapid healing, and improved stats on everything else.
While Angel isn’t shown to be an X-Man in the movies, he is referenced as one of the team members the Sentinels killed. Archangel may be an incredibly powerful mutant, but he didn’t do anything to show said power in theuneven yet entertaining enoughX-Men: Apocalypse, simply dying in a Jet crash. If that isn’t pathetic enough, Angel is even weaker inX-Men: The Last Stand. While his tragic backstory added plot relevance,all he could do was fly,providing nothing else and ultimately no upside in combat.
