Fans of film have become well acquainted with the awesome team of mutants that are the X-Mensince 2000. However, for comic book fans, their love affair with Professor X's famous wards go back far longer, with the X-Men comics being around since the early '60s. In that time, there has been a huge, diverse roster of characters that have passed through the pages, many who made for some very memorable villains.
Including the Wolverine and Deadpool films, there have now been 12 movies that have featured major mutant characters and villains. Among the villains, we've already seen many of the X-Men's most infamous and notorious ones, like Magneto, Apocalypse, Sabertooth, the Dark Phoenix, Juggernaut, and Sebastian Shaw. However, there are still many great X-Men villains from the comics that have yet to show up in any of the films as yet.
With the X-Men soon due to make their full introduction into the MCU, there will be plenty of opportunities to hopefully showcase as many of them as possible. Until we get to see who will show up and who won't, here's a look at the 10 best X-Men villains we haven't seen in a movie yet.
10 Mr. Sinister
With the success and brilliance of X-Men '97 bringing many classic X-Men characters back to the forefront of fans' minds, it's given us a chance to reflect on one of X-Men's oldest foes too. Among them, the second and third episodes of the show heavily featured the return of Mr. Sinister. Given his ultra-cool appearance, which makes him look like a terrifying vampire, and his proclivities for tormenting Cyclops, Jean Grey, and their son Nathan Summers (Cable), Mr. Sinister could lend himself to a very dark movie storyline.
He's Like a Mutant Dr. Moreau
First glimpsed in the comics back in 1987, Mr. Sinister was created by iconic X-Men writer Chris Clermont and artist Marc Silvestri. He was once a brilliant, but utterly mad scientist named Nathaniel Essex, who was obsessed with evolution and genetic engineering.
His dark fascinations caused him to experiment on his own mutant genome, leading to a range of enhanced mutant powers like telekinesis, regeneration, and energy projection, just to name a few. A mutant Dr. Moreau of sorts, Mr. Sinister has all kinds of potential to make for an awesome movie villain — and we've already seen glimpses that he's likely to soon be one.
9 Omega Red
Another awesome villain from the X-Universe, Omega Red is one that was often used to brilliant effect in the comics to blend action and intrigue with political story lines. He usually shows up as an adversary of Wolverine, Colossus, or Deadpool, and was actually already featured in a scene from Deadpool 2 that was cut.
He's actually Quite a Tragic Character
Making his first appearance in X-Men #4 (1992), a character with a dark background, Omega Red was once a Russian serial killer who was captured and experimented on by communist-era scientists.
Something akin to a tentacled venomous super soldier, Omega Red is usually depicted as huge, with long hair, two carbonadium tentacles, and the ability to secrete a poisonous pheromone known as "Death Spore". Owing to his own toxicity, he's often a tragic character who has to constantly find ways to dose himself with a synthetic antidote to keep the physical agony he has to endure at bay.
8 Mojo
The universe of mutants the X-Men inhabit can get extremely vast at times, and in the case of Mojo, even stretches into other dimensions and extratemporal realms. A member of a race known as the spineless ones, these beings had their evolution stunted. However, thanks to the scientist Arize, they were fitted with various scientific and mechanical enhancements that enabled them to be more mobile.
A Colorful Character with a Very Dark Side
First appearing in Longshot #3 back in 1985, Mojo used the television industry in his dimension to rise up and become its ruler, dubbing it the Mojoverse once he took over. He often creates reality TV spectacles, utilizing the X-Men from Earth-616 to star in his shows against their will. Grotesque and maniacal in his quest to stay in power, Mojo may be funny and playful at times, but he can also be ruthless and not averse to using slavery to keep his shows going.
7 Holocaust
A villain that is truly as horrible as his name suggests, Holocaust was created in the mid-'90s as a collaboration between Scott Lobdell and Roger Cruz. While he did appear earlier as a similar-looking and sounding villain in Stryfe's Strike Files, it wasn't immediately apparent if they were the same character. It is later confirmed that they are the same, with Holocaust later being kitted out with armor as he transitions into a full-energy being.
He's Been Responsible for Massacres
Holocaust is later revealed to be the character Nemesis, and is said to be the son of Apocalypse, serving as one of his four horsemen in The Age of Apocalypse timeline. Capable of absorbing ambient energy and draining others of their life force, he uses it to strengthen and sustain himself, growing more and more powerful along the way.
Huge, terrifying, ruthless, and genocidal in his quest for mutant supremacy, Holocaust is one of the most formidable villains to ever come out of the X-Men universe.
6 Proteus
An immensely powerful villain, Proteus basically consists of pure psionic energy. Also possessing the ability to warp reality. He regularly uses his powers to possess other bodies, but these can only sustain him for so long, since he burns out their energy pretty quickly. An omega-level mutant, Proteus' powers practically have no limit.
Proteus Has a Tragic Backstory and Serious Daddy Issues
Another co-creation by Chris Claremont, Proteus made his comic debut in Uncanny X-Men #125. Originally known as Kevin MacTaggert, he later also became known as Mutant X.
The son of Moira MacTaggert, the Scottish genetic researcher and love interest of Professor X, he was conceived in a brutal manner after his father, Joseph MacTaggert, horrifically beat and raped his own wife. Forced to spend most of his life in a research facility on Muir Island, Proteus wreaks havoc when he escapes and goes after his father.
5 Sauron
By now, even to audiences unfamiliar with the comics, between the X-Men animated shows and films, it's clear just how diverse and strange mutants can be. Whether it's their physical appearances that are shocking, or the range and nature of their abilities, the mutant world of the X-Men provides basically unlimited potential for characters. It should come as no surprise then that the X-Men actually have a villain that's basically a hypnotist dinosaur.
He Wasn't Always a Dinosaur
Originally a scientist and a psychologist, Dr. Karl Lykos was bitten by a mutant Pterodactyl living in the Savage Land. Infected with a mutant virus, he was forced to drain the life energy out of others to survive. Using his vast knowledge of psychology and genetics, Lykos created a hypnotic device to help drain the energy from victims.
However, when he later drained energy from Havoc, he transformed into a Pterodactyl-like creature himself, became known as Sauron, and is now able to hypnotize victims with his eyes.
4 The Shadow KIng
A particularly menacing villain that was something terrifying beyond a mutant, The Shadow King was often likened to a demonic entity for the way he could manifest and possess people. However, he's actually a manifestation of multiversal psychic energy. By inhabiting people's minds, he could tap into the darkest parts of a person's nature and make that part take over with malicious intent.
His Psychic Abilities Were Part of the Reason Why the X-Men were Formed
One of the X-Men's oldest foes, his comic history dates all the way back to the late '70s when he was first introduced as a man named Amahl Farouk. His legacy is significant, since his epic psychic battles with Professor X factored into Xavier's decision to form the X-Men once he realized the kind of threats that were out there.
Able to travel the astral plane, he's also famous for his run-ins with Storm when she returns to Africa, a story line given a lot of prominence in X-Men: The Animated Series.
3 Nimrod
If the X-Men didn't already have enough on their plate with a world that hates and fears them, and a range of evil mutants and other entities to keep at bay, they constantly face the threat that comes from Sentinels. Robots that were created by Bolivar Trask to keep the world safe from mutants, these giant robots come with all manner of weapons systems and other abilities.
Despite that, the X-Men pretty much know how to deal with them and usually make light work of them. However, the villainous character Nimrod is another story altogether, since he's like the apex sentinel.
His Only Objective Is to Wipe Out All the Mutants
Debuting in Uncanny X-Men #191, Nimrod is like a terminator on steroids. His relentless pursuit of mutants makes him formidable enough as it is, but Nimrod is especially dangerous because he possesses some self-awareness and autonomy. Add to that, his ability to learn and adapt, he usually comes back from the future to ensure mutants don't survive — meaning in his time, he's already succeeded in wiping them out.
2 Exodus
Bennet Du Paris first appeared in X-Factor #92, and is known for a range of mutant abilities like telekinesis. Back in the 12th century, Apocalypse enhanced him even further and turned him into Exodus. Basically immortal and sharing Magneto's beliefs for a world where mutants should be dominant, he becomes a loyal follower of the master of magnetism, and later rises to lead a radical group of antagonist mutants known as the Acolytes.
He Evolved From a Secondary Character into a Villain in His Own Right
His early comic story lines saw him evolve from a henchman into a powerful being and a formidable villain in his own right. His desire to see mutants rule the world makes him a deadly foe, often resorting to brutal methods to take out anyone who stands in his way.
1 Master Mold
Another Bolivar Trask creation, Master Mold was engineered to speed up the production of sentinels. He has the unique ability to create them, but unlike them, is much larger, more powerful, and even surpassed his own programming. A cautionary tale of AI gone rogue, Master Mold becomes self-aware and decides that the best way to protect humanity from mutants is to rule himself.
He's One of the Oldest X-Men Villains
An OG of X-Men villains, he first appeared back in 1965 in X-Men #15 and quickly established himself as a formidable antagonist. As we grapple every day now with the idea of AI replacing humans, Master Mold's concept was another great example of how the X-Men comics have always been way ahead of their time.
As we await the X-Men's full introduction to the MCU, fans can't wait to see who the iconic mutants will face next. With a range of amazing villains still not seen on film, any one of them could make for some amazing story lines. The fact that the X-Men have endured this long and continue to be as popular as ever (as X-Men '97 is proving with every episode) is a testament to their amazing concept as an allegory against things like racism, hatred, and prejudice.
Matt Neal summed it up perfectly in a piece for ABC:
Racism. Homophobia. AIDS. Anti-Semitism. Socialism. Prejudice. Puberty. These subjects aren't your typical fodder for comic books, but for the past 60 years, these kinds of themes have been at the heart of Marvel's mutant superhero squad, the X-Men. Partially born out of laziness (yes, really), the X-Men have become an integral part of the Marvel universe, and their comics have been a place where boundaries have been pushed and diversity embraced.
If you can't wait for the X-Men to show up on film again, check out the trailer for X-Men '97 below as a reminder of why they've always been among the coolest Marvel superheroes ever created.
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