X-Men Villains Who Have Reformed

Highlights

Sometimes X-Men villains can become heroes, like Emma Frost and Mystique, bringing complexity to their characters over time.
Characters like Pyro and Juggernaut have reformed multiple times, showcasing the constant evolution of villains in the X-Men universe.
Magneto, a prominent X-Men villain, has also undergone reformation, showing a nuanced motivation behind his actions and aligning with the team on Krakoa.

The X-Men are one of the biggest and most well-known exports of all comic books. The team of mutants became so famous that they were among the first superhero teams to get big-budget films made about them. In Marvel Comics, the X-Men became so huge that they span out into a variety of different teams, but the hero is only as good as their villain.

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However, sometimes villains are so good that they have to become good. In comic books, the most popular characters with fans have to be around more, and since it is difficult to keep a villain around in that many issues consecutively, it is common for villainous characters to redeem themselves, even if it doesn’t last. With the X-Men, some villains have reformed multiple times and still gone back to villainy in the end.

6 Emma Frost

The Queen Of The Hellfire Club

Emma Frost wearing shades and walking beside two blonde women in the comics

Reformed First In Uncanny X-Men Vol.1 #316
Reformed Again In Dark Reign

Emma Frost, also known as the White Queen, is a powerful telepathic mutant shown to have abilities near those of Charles Xavier himself in this department. She was the leader of the Hellfire Club at various times and served under the likes of Sebastian Shaw on that villainous team as well, but she has also been an X-Man, headmistress of Xavier’s School, and is currently a prominent member of the leading council of Krakoa, the new mutant-only society being featured prominently in Marvel Comics.

Emma Frost first reformed after her Hellions team was brutally murdered, the shock driving her desire to reform. She wavered back and forth over the years and temporarily became a full villain again when she decided to join Norman Osborn’s Dark Avengers. But she was only really working for mutant interests in Osborn’s new society and ended up leaving the team after they captured the X-Men.

5 Toad

Janitor For Good & Evil

Reformed First In All-New X-Men Vol.1 #1
Reformed Again In Wolverine & The X-Men Vol.1 #35

A mutant who has never really been in the spotlight for very long, Toad has nevertheless appeared on many occasions throughout X-Men history, in a variety of roles. He started as a grunt within the Brotherhood of Mutants, rising to eventually lead that organization for a time. But after being cast out as a second-class citizen of Utopia, he decided to travel with Wolverine as he attempted to restart the Jean Grey School for Mutants.

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However, despite his willingness to become a teacher, he instead took on the role of a janitor and subsequently felt mistreated by the students and turned back again, joining the Hellfire Academy for supervillains. This was a short-lived institution though, and Toad attempted to come back before being fired, then returned inexplicably and held the post for some time. Toad, like Emma Frost, has vacillated back and forth in recent years between villainous activities and innocuous appearances.

4 Mystique

Shapeshifting Body & Motives

Mystique standing next to a tree in sunlight

Reformed First In X-Factor Vol.1 #112
Reformed Again In X-Men Vol.2 #189

Mystique is another fascinating and strong female character, who has terrorized and worked alongside the X-Men at different points throughout her lengthy history in Marvel Comics. Having become popular enough to have starred in more X-Men films than many of the prominent members of the team itself, Mystique started with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and moved on to a wide variety of criminal endeavors.

She was forced to reform the first time, joining X-Factor, a government-sponsored team that she was forced to join after being caught, Suicide Squad style. Many years later, she actually would join the X-Men, albeit under a variety of guises, not often appearing as herself.

3 Pyro

Short-Lived Snitch & Marauder

Reformed First In X-Factor Vol.1 #8
Reformed Again In Marauders Vol.1 #1

Pyro has always been a bit of a loose cannon, and while he’s never really taken the lead in any serious endeavors, he has been a strong foot soldier for both sides of the mutant conflict over the years. He first reformed in a strange way that didn’t really work out, as the Brotherhood of Mutants signed on to work with the government, and still found themselves working against the X-Men most of the time.

But Pyro helped the government against his teammates when it was needed, before dying from a lethal dose of the Legacy Virus, a disease that specifically targeted mutants. He was later brought back by Professor X in Krakoa as a tester of their new mutant resurrection process. Pyro took on a role as a Marauder, an elite team that was sent out to help other mutants get to Krakoa. Pyro has remained a citizen and warrior of Krakoa, helping mutant-kind in general, as many former villains have taken to doing.

2 Juggernaut

Xavier’s Estranged Brother

Unstoppable Juggernaut rising in his new costume Cropped

Reformed First In Juggernaut Vol.2 #1
Reformed Again In Uncanny X-Men #416

After a series of truly bizarre early adventures as a villain, the massive Juggernaut has redeemed himself multiple times. From conquering an alien planet while he was supposed to be imprisoned on an asteroid to becoming the Avatar of a God, Juggernaut has had a strange life. He started out rough, watching his step-brother Charles Xavier get love while his father beat him.

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Juggernaut first began a heroic adventure when a group of eight Gods, one being the one who gave him his strength, tried to use him to help them invade Earth. He fought them off successfully, and after some deliberation, joined the X-Men later, reconciling with Xavier. He fell out and back in with them several times since then, finding himself currently working for various teams of X-Men on and around Krakoa.

1 Magneto

A Mutant Fanatic Who Despises Humans

Reformed First In Secret Wars
Reformed Again In Nation X #1

One of the most well-known villainous characters in Marvel history, Magneto was always such a great villain because it was easy to understand and even somewhat sympathize with his motives, despite those motives involving the downfall of humanity. He’d suffered as a child in a concentration camp, and seen the horrors of what humans could do to those they considered different, so he expected the same for mutants and wanted to protect them from that.

However, in the major crossover event Secret Wars, Magneto was forced into a position where he saw the similarities between humans and himself, and worked alongside them. After returning to Earth, it wasn’t quick, but Magneto eventually saw reason and reconciled with Professor X and many of the X-Men, joining the team and becoming a prolific member. Despite villainous leanings coming back time and again, Magneto was happily working alongside the X-Men on the island of Krakoa, until his tragic and heroic death in 2022, which has stayed in place in Marvel’s canon for two years now, though he’s likely to appear in more films soon.