With the release of Days of Future Past, X-Men has become the longest-running comic book movie universe. That's a lot of films, and a lot of characters. But how well have these uncanny mutants been translated to the screen? I thought it might be fun to look at every notable player, big and small, and rank them, according to how well the movies did them justice. Is there a scientific process here? Not really. But to prevent from just placing all my favorites at the top in blind bias, I thought it would be fair to at least hold everyone to the same set of standards. So after examining characters based on a number of categories (background, looks, adaptation of powers, characterization, use in the story, and casting) I've been able to pretty much get a clear picture of who from X-Men turned out to be the best character they ever did. And it might surprise you that it's not Wolverine.
*note that I have included characters that were multi-cast, if there was enough of a difference that one portrayal was better than the other, (Bolivar Trask, William Stryker, etc) but I did not include any child portrayals of known main actors (Cyclops and Emma Frost in X-Men Origins, kid Mystique in First Class) as they hardly compare to their adult counterparts.
So with the fine print out of the way, let's get it on!
#70. Henry Peter Gyrich
Pretty easy he'd be at the bottom. There's nothing to him, not even a look. He's not even really who he says he is...
#69. Phat
He comes in and sits down. Big Whoop.
#68. Travis and Heather Hudson
The leaders of Canadian super-team Alpha Flight, really got screwed in Origins. They're the old couple who take Logan in.
#67. Trask
Just a suit. In X3 he's not even an antagonist, and has nothing to do with his defining legacy; Creating the sentinels.
#66. Psyloche
No one ever remembers she's in X3. She popped through a shadow or something. Terrible waste because she looks so cool.
#65. Arclight
Some film presence, but only on a superficial level. The real crime here is the look.
#64. 70's Toad
Doesn't even match up with the first movie's version. There is literally no reason for him to be in Days of Future Past. What was the point?
#63. Bolt
You'd be forgiven if you thought he was invented for the movie. Charlie from LOST and the comic counterpart don't sync up at all.
#62. Callisto
A favorite of mine that was totally butchered onscreen. Wrong look, wrong powers, wrong everything. At last she got a cool fight.
#61. Syrin
Just a cameo, and not much to go on. But I thought the way her power was used in the movie was clever.
#60. Kid Omega
I'm ranking him so low because he's not even credited with the right name. He should be Quill.
#59. Riptide
His powers are modified a bit for the films, which is fine. But he's still pretty worthless.
#58. Jubilee
This just felt like a tease. Looked great in that iconic yellow jacket, and you're telling me in 3 movies she can't cameo those fire crackers once?
#57. Ink
Doesn't amount to much in Days, but it's an interesting new power to look at.
#56. (Agent?) Moira MacTaggart
Ugh. The usually great Rose Byrne kind of stunk in this horribly written role.
#55. Bishop
I was disappointed that the popular time-traveler was given nothing in Days of Future Past. And charging his gun makes him useless if unarmed.
#54. The Blob
His use in X-Men Origins is unnecessary and dumb. And frankly, he could have been bigger. But he was funny.
#53. Major Stryker
For one of the series' main villains, this Stifler lookalike was oddly mishandled, and awkwardly written into the past storyline.
#52. Warpath
Never really get a sense of his strength, and he looked awful- but he actually did okay for himself fighting-wise.
#51. Spike
One of the more memorable confrontations with Wolverine in The Last Stand. The look is wrong, but the bone projectiles are shown to great effect.
#50. Viper
Arguably the weakest character in The Wolverine, the characterization is more or less decent. The powers and casting mess her up.
#49. Sabertooth
At least they tried with the look. But the near mute brute had 0 relationship with Wolverine??
#48. Multiple Man
I'm giving him a little bit of credit for at least being used well in a good scene.
#47. Sunspot
Sunspot is all power in DoFP. It looks cool, but I still question how he even works without the sun charging him up.
#46. Sebastian Shaw
Resembles his comic counterpart in virtually no way. At least Kevin Bacon is having fun as a baddie.
#45. Agent Zero
Outside of look and casting, it might surprise people that Agent Zero and his skills are actually serviceable in Origins.
#44. Azazel
Another cool-looking character relegated to just silent henchman, Azazel (and his relationships) are completely ignored.
#43. Emma Frost
She certainly looked the part. They even got her powers right! But a poorly written role, and poor casting ruin it.
#42. Pyro
He may not be an Ausse, but John still makes a firey impression. If only he would form figures with his flames.
#41. Col. Stryker
I like the casting. unfortunately, he has to go off what was established in X2 for Stryker, which was...
#40. William Stryker
...Pretty decent in characterization, but lacking heavily on the preacher background, which could have been interesting.
#39. Havok
The hula-hoop...the not-Scott's-brother thing...Havok had problems. But the kid in the role is solid, and his power was fixed for DoFP.
#38. Dr. Moira MacTaggart
This is more like it. Looked right, felt right. She'd be higher if this wasn't just a cameo.
#37. Bolivar Trask
First good human antagonist for the X-Men since Stryker. And great look and characterization. But there's an elephant in the room as far as casting goes..
#36. Silver Samurai
Almost but not quite. They sort of mashup several characters for Samurai, which was working until the clumsy robo-suit reveal.
#35. Juggernaut
Charles' half-bro. Cytorak gem. He's a ridiculously designed, unfilmable character. I'm cutting them slack for giving it a shot. The power is there.
#34. Leech
Pretty lame he was normal-looking kid. But his power, and his use in the The Last Stand story, works well enough.
#33. Rogue
No flight, no strength, no charm, no looks. The movie Rogue is a tragedy to me. BUT, I still like what they find for her emotion-wise.
#32. Hank McCoy
Liked him well enough in First Class. It's in Days where he drops a little, because Beast should not be functioning like the Hulk.
#31. Raven
The Xavier bff retcon pretty much destroys this version in my eyes. But her awesome performance in DoFP, really saves this interpretation.
#30. Deathstrike
They didn't really bother with the look, the backstory, or characterization. But her powers, her casting, and the Wolverine fight is the series' best.
#29. Gambit
Could have done without the hat. Taylor Kitsch is still a bit of a miscast, but there's no denying he lights up Origins when he appears.
#28. The Phoenix
Yes, yes. She was the most epic of fails. But in their grounded reality, this is about as powerful as it gets. Her kill count is still one of the highest in CBMs.
#27. John Wraith
Believe it or not, but their John Wraith translation kind of ticks all the boxes (Will.I.Am's flat delivery aside).
#26. Blink
This Days of Future Past newbie stands out among the fresh faces. She had a power tweak that actually worked, and a pretty rad look.
#25. Darwin
The predominant black X-Man of the franchise wasn't Bishop after all, but Darwin, who got a memorable sacrifice and an unforgettable ability.
#24. Banshee
Was I the only one enormously entertained by comic relief Banshee? Training him on his abilities was a highlight of First Class.
#23. Cyclops
How he's been wronged in this series has actually raised his popularity stock a bit. I'm glad. Few people appreciate the great leader he is.
#22. Charles Xavier
Despite the hair, and the walking, and the complete 0 on my scale of characterization, I can't deny that performance-wise McAvoy owns it.
#21. Mariko
Wolverine's love interest, was a pretty standard representation. No issues except I would have liked more from the actress.
#20. Toad
The earliest example of X-Men upgrading an obscure character for the mainstream. It says something Toad is still the best henchman in the series.
#19. Victor Creed
Leiv Schrieber's take on Sabertooth is a vast improvement, (and kind of the best thing in Origins) even without the trademark golden locks.
#18. Shadowcat
Third time's the charm for Kitty Pryde, as it was Ellen Page who finally clicked in the role. But the unexplained time-travel ability knocked her down a notch.
#17. Colossus
He's been marginal at best, but it's pretty hard to get him wrong. A visual mainstay since X2.
#16. Iceman
Climbing the ranks, thanks to doing cooler and cooler things with each new movie. Pun very intended.
#15. Storm
Say what you will about Halle Berry's casting, they did right by Storm in the powers department. She gets many of the best scenes.
#14. Deadpool
Let's be clear: This is soley based on the perfect casting of Ryan Reynolds and the personality up until the transformation. The rest we will not speak of.
#13. Sen. Robert Kelly
It's a thankless role, but I can't overstate how well this character helped sell all of X-Men as something realistic back when it all started.
#12. Kayla Silverfox
Never really gets the appreciation, but outside of some altered abilities, Silverfox is used exceptionally well in Origins. Great version of this character.
#11. Angel Salvadore
Way too high? Remember, I'm talking translations here. And the never-could-quite-fit in Angel is pretty well done.
#10. Yukio
They dropped the short 'do and leather, for a more colorful look, but she has got to be my favorite sidekick to come along in forever. So kick-ass.
#9. Mystique
Prominently featured in nearly every film, Rebecca Romaijn's is the hotter, more badass version. Just wish we could lose those damn scales.
#8. Quicksilver
There's no denying that despite the look, Quicksilver is pretty much the sickest interpretation of speed we've ever seen. Awesome use of the character.
#7. Jean Grey
It's been a solid, consistent, run for X-Men's leading lady. And even if Jean is a tad old for my taste, I don't have any real complaints with how she was handled.
#6. Angel
I think he only has about 3 scenes in The Last Stand. But they make the most of it. His angst, and later acceptance are nice. And the wings are glorious.
#5. Beast
Say what you will about the flaws of X3, but they absolutely nailed Beast. Kelsey Grammer earns top marks for perfect casting. More than I can say for the new one.
#4. Nightcrawler
It says something that fans are begging for his return. The translation here, from his abilities to his religion, is impeccable.
#3. Professor X
I've already declared Patrick Stuart as the most perfect casting in a comic book movie. But as an individual X-Men character, its fair to say he's not the most thrilling top choice. He only gets beat by two...
#2. Wolverine
It goes without saying that the star of the franchise IS pretty much everything most fans could want (height be damned). Jackman will be hard to top.
#1. Eric Lenssher/Magneto
Ian McKellan or Michael Fassbender? Unlike other multi-casts on this list, I literally can't say that one actor is better than the other here. Both have been more than I could ever ask for. Both have displayed the most powerful scenes of their respective movies. Both have the exact same backstory and characterization. Both are the best translated X-Men ever put to screen.
Holy crap that was alot of people! Did I forget anybody? Are there adapatations I'm giving too much credit to? Or not enough? Who do you think the X-Men movies did the best job with? Sound Off!