TheX-Menfranchise has long been plagued by as many resurrections as there have been deaths.Before the Krakoa Era’s conclusion, the living island introduced the concept of a resurrection pool for mutants to enjoy the fruits of upon their deaths. That get-out-of-death free card expired as soon as Krakoa was over, but the franchise certainly expended this resource to its fullest extent.
While resurrections obviously took place in theX-Menfranchise under different circumstances before Krakoa came to pass, the Krakoa Era offered new opportunities for mutants to come back from the dead. Resurrection is a common element of superhero storytelling, particularly in the X-Men franchise. Whether they appear in grandiose events orat the hands of Z-list villains, some of Marvel’s most shocking deaths have happened to the X-Men. As established through Krakoa, with death comes rebirth, and some X-Men revivals are simply historically significant.
10Moira MacTaggert
House of X / Powers of Xby Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and R. B. Silva
It’s hard to talk about Krakoa as an era without talking about how it began with Moira MacTaggert. For years, Moira was a friend, adviser, collaborator, and oftentimes a lover to Professor X. Her death signified the end of that partnership - or so it seemed.House of X / Powers of Xrevealed that not only was Moira alive again, but she was retconned into a mutantwho always had the power to resurrect. As it turns out,Moira had lived several lives, with her tenth being the most significant.
Moira’s powers allow her to die, reconvene in her mother’s womb, and then carry on with life with full knowledge of the possible futures to come.
Moira’s powers allow her to die, reconvene in her mother’s womb, and then carry on with life with full knowledge of the possible futures to come. Her present knowledge formulated Earth-616. She used this knowledge to found Krakoa alongside Xavier and Magneto, making heressential to the creation of Krakoa’s Resurrection Protocols for the X-Men.
9Jean Grey
First Resurrection (of Many):The X-Men#101 by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Frank Chiaramonte, Bonnie Wilford, and John Costanza
Jean Grey has died so many times in Marvel lore, it’s almost become a running gag at this point that the X-Men have shrugged off in more recent scenarios. Her first death, though, remainsthe most significant not only to the X-Men, but the Marvel franchise. Jean’s reintroduction as the Phoenix changed the course of the character’s history and biology forever, with her surpassing any previous expectations she had for herself as a master telepath. In the same breath, the introduction of the Phoenix expanded Marvel’s cosmic lore.
Concepts likethe White Hot Roomfollowed, and the Phoenix took on new hosts over the years. The idea of the Phoenix and its hosts eventually dominated Marvel storylines, even being the main basis for theAvengers vs. X-Mencrossover event.
8The Entire X-Men Team
House of X#1 by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, and Clayton Cowles
House of X#1 is where the Krakoa era began, including the X-Men’s understanding of their resurrection pools on Krakoan soil - and how the readers understood them. The visual of Charles Xavier tending to his revived pupils, hovering over them as they crawl reborn at his feet as he echoed theiconic “to me, my X-Men” callmakes for asurprisingly haunting visual byX-Menstandards. As much as it served a purpose in establishing a new status quo, it also served to plainly state to the reader how horrifying of a process this is.
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Some will argue thatKrakoa was always doomed to fail, and seeing an image in the era’s first pages that looks as if it was pulled straight out of a horror movie makes for a prime example of something always being… off about Krakoa. Something was always rotten in the state of Krakoa, and it only took five years for the rest of the Marvel Universe to recognize it.
7Colossus
Astonishing X-Men#4 by Joss Whedon, John Cassaday, Laura Martin, and Chris Eliopoulos
During a time when mutantkind was plagued by the Legacy Virus, Beast was able to find a cure using notes from the then-murdered Moira MacTaggert. Knowing that the cure could only be released airborne upon the death of the first user, Colossus injects himself inUncanny X-Men#390 by Scott Lobdell and Salvador Larroca. For a time, this was recognized as one of theX-Men’s most noble sacrifices.
Colossus died with honor, andX-Men fans were ready to accept that he was gone. That being said, those same fans were even more delighted to see Colossus return.Astonishing X-Men#4 establishes how the alien Ord stole Colossus' body following his death, reviving him to experiment on until he’s eventually rescued by the team. Colossus manages to have one of thebest deaths and resurrections inX-Men history.
6Charlies Xavier (Professor X)
Avengers vs. X-Men#11 by Brian Michael Bendis, Olivier Coipel, Mark Morales, Laura Martin, and Chris Eliopoulos
Since the days of the original five X-Men students, Cyclops had always looked up to Professor X, and Charles Xavier saw Scott Summers as his star pupil. Overtime, their dynamic would shift the more that Scott witnessed his mentor commit acts that weremore akin to a villain. He outwardly started to question Xavier, and that doubt soon turned tohatred for the X-Men’s coach. Things reached their zenith once Cyclops became host to the Phoenix, using his newfound power to kill Professor X.
Xavier eventually returns, forcing Cyclops and himself to try to mend their fraught relationship.
In due time, as everyone does in X-Men lore, Xavier eventually returns, forcing Cyclops and himself to attempt to mend their fraught relationship. As hard as they worked to resolve their disputes, the damage was done beyond repair. Today, they can’t even co-exist on the X-Men anymore. Cyclops wants nothing to do with Xavier, and no matter how hard Xavier tries, they cannot fix their relationship.
5Nightcrawler
Amazing X-Men#5 by Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, Marte Gracia, Joe Caramagna
“The Battle of the Atom” is one of the mostdefinitive Nightcrawler stories in X-Men lore. His death makes for one of the most heartbreaking moments to take place within the franchise, but his resurrection makes for one of themost ambitious in all of Marvel. The Catholic mutant finds himself in Heaven, wishing he could return to his friends and missing a sense of adventure. He gets more than he bargained for when his then-father, Azazel (before Mystique is retconned as his father), uses his connection to his son to infiltrate Heaven.
With the help of mystical imps called Bamfs, Nightcrawler has the X-Men summoned to Heaven for help. He then uses the Bamfs to cast Azazel out of Heaven, but can’t do so without casting himself out as well. In doing so, he returns to the X-Men, having sacrificed his opportunity for eternal peace.
4Lilandra
X-Force#9 by Geoffrey Thorne, Marcus To, Erick Arciniega, and Joe Caramagna
Lilandra’s return is actually thelatest resurrection to happen in X-Men history, and simultaneously, one of the most surprising. Lilandra Neramani was introduced into X-Men lore in 1975 as the alien wife of Charles Xavier, both parents to Xandra. As such, she was anointed as the Empress of the alien Shi’ar Interstellar Empire. Lilandra was killed off during the 2009War of Kingsminiseries, but 16 years later in 2025, the beyond-powerful hero is back.
Lilandra first appeared in 1975’sThe X-Men#97 by Chris Claremont, Dave Cockrum, Sam Grainger, Don Warfield, and Annette Kawecki.
Seeing her return could not have come at a better time. Xavier’s relationship with Cyclops (and, really, the entire X-Men) is damaged beyond repair. Reuniting with his alien wife and retiring from Earth gives Xavier a new trajectory when he’s not able to redeem himself in the eyes of the X-Men.
3Thunderbird Returns After Decades
X-Men: The Trial of Magneto#5 by Leah Williams, Lucas Werneck, Edgar Delgado, and Clayton Cowles
Thunderbird has the misfortune of being the first member of the X-Men to die in battle. While a historical accolade on paper, this death stood for nearly fifty years. It’s rare to see any comic book character stay dead for that long, especially as an X-Man, but again,Krakoa’s resurrection pools changed the gamefor every member of the mutant race, John Proudstar included.
As much as his death has been celebrated andhonored by the X-Men, his revival allowed him to reflect on howhis death was his own fault. That’s one of the best parts about resurrection that often goes overlooked: the opportunities to tell new stories and character growth through the revived character’s reflection. Thunderbird managed to reflect and grow as a character by taking accountability for his own death.
2Cable
“Kid Cable” Debuts inExtermination#1 by Ed Brisson, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, and Joe Sabino
As if Cable’s death wasn’t shocking enough, it is soon revealed that the culprit was none other than Cable himself - specifically a younger version. The younger version of Nathan Summers, soon to be known as Kid Cable, was a time-traveler tasked with the mission of not only bringing the original five X-Men back to their timeline after being transported to the present, but to replace the adult Cable in duty.
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This was far from the first time that Cable died, but it remains the most important as itintroduced Kid Cable into X-Men lore. Kid Cable has managed to provide even more intrigue to Cable’s journey - to the point that him teaming with his younger self has been a highlight of his resurrection this past decade.
1Beast
Beast’s Clone Debuts inX-Force#48 by Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill, Guru-eFX, and Joe Caramagna
Most fans remember Beast as one of the original five X-Men and a gentle soul, but he hasn’t been either for a very long time. In more recent years, Beast has become a stone-cold antagonist for the X-Men, rebranding himself as Beast Prime and unleashing clones of himself to commit despicable acts in his name. Like Professor X before him, Beast’s crimes becametoo reprehensible to justify redemption or rekindling a positive relationship with the X-Men.
And so Hank McCoy was outright replaced by one of his clones, who is missing forty years of memories from the original Beast’s life. As such, this new Beast is, essentially, a past version of Beast that existed long before he ever became evil. It’s the only way that theX-Mencould’ve realistically gotten the old Beast back, and with Beast Prime presumed dead, this new Beast is here to stay.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
