All 20 X-Men Movies and Shows Ranked From Worst to Best, From The Gifted to X2

Kevin Feige had to turn what I would generously call Marvel's B-team into the A-team for Marvel Studios, because Spider-Man, the X-Men and other more well known characters had already been licensed to other studios when Marvel faced bankruptcy. Some of those licensed projects made major waves and laid the foundation for what became Fox's X-Men empire. Feige got his start in comics with the original X-Men films, sneaking a young Hugh Jackman comic books to make sure Jackman got the character just right, which is funny to think about now that Feige is fine telling actors they do not need to read Secret Invasion. As the X-Men and Feige reunite in the MCU, here is my ranking of 20 major X-Men projects, from the worst to the best.

20. The Gifted Was a Huge Embarrassment From the X-Men Producers

This TV drama from Bryan Singer and Lauren Shuler Donner was a huge embarrassment. I watched maybe three quarters of it, or at least the first episode, before I was done. Shows like this were probably why Feige infamously wanted nothing to do with Jeph Loeb, then head of Marvel Television.

I want to be fair to Loeb, since he has written some of the most incredible comic books, particularly at DC. But outside of the Netflix shows, and maybe Agents of SHIELD for some people (though that show being on network television was not his fault), a lot of what came out of Marvel Television under his tenure was not good. He has plenty of company though, as the bottom of this list shows.

19. X-Men: Dark Phoenix Wasted Sophie Turner on a Story Fox Had Already Botched

It is not easy to adapt this material, and it is not easy to do anything in Hollywood because there is a lot of bad work out there mixed with the good, which is part of why this list is fascinating. Simon Kinberg, a longtime writer and producer on the X-Men franchise, thought he could take over directing after Bryan Singer's scandal made Singer unhirable, but Kinberg failed spectacularly, even though he still somehow keeps getting work.

Like some other infamous films, this one let an actor get her character killed off because she did not want to play the role anymore. Jennifer Lawrence never liked being Mystique, even though the role had done a lot for her career, and by not wanting to play the character she ended up hurting it. I think she could not get out of the contract and did not want to turn down the money, but it was a mistake on everyone's part.

Sophie Turner was pretty good as Jean Grey, but did we really need to see the Dark Phoenix Saga again, especially done poorly a second time? This ended up being the last main Fox X-Men movie, and with good reason.

18. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Was Hugh Jackman's Rough First Try at Producing

Another clunker. Hugh Jackman loves this character and came from a good place, but this was his first effort at producing a standalone movie and it did not work. He eventually made up for it, but this was a bad start.

The movie is famous for two things: Jackman streaking across the screen, which I still remember my audience reacting to, and casting Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, a dream fan casting at the time. Even though this version of the character was a mess, it secured the role for Reynolds and set important wheels in motion that have led to Jackman and Reynolds leading the charge for this franchise's future. This was an important film even though it was awful.

17. X-Men: Apocalypse Had Cool Moments Even If the Poster Looked Like Torture

The poster makes this look like pure torture, but the movie was actually watchable and had some moments. This was the second full-on movie built around the First Class version of the X-Men, with Days of Future Past in between, and at the time it gave fans some hope for where the franchise was headed.

There were some cool sequences and clever use of powers, and at the very end the team finally got their classic comic book suits, which look laughably bad now next to what the MCU can do, but at the time fans were starved enough to be excited about it regardless. Psylocke made her live action debut, we got to see Hugh Jackman as a fan favorite reimagining of Wolverine, and there was an end credits tease with Mister Sinister. It left fans hopeful, which made it worse that none of it was delivered on in the follow up, Dark Phoenix, which was a huge shift in the wrong direction.

16. The New Mutants Rides Entirely on Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik

The only reason this ranks higher than Apocalypse is Anya Taylor-Joy's magical, perfect casting as Magik, one of the top fan requests for a character to make the jump from Fox to the MCU. I do not think that is going to happen, but she did a phenomenal job.

15. X-Men: The Last Stand Was the Worst of the First Trilogy Yet Its Biggest Hit

This was the worst of the first trilogy but, ironically, the most successful at the box office, probably because it was riding the coattails of the insanely popular and good X2. It was also the first time the Dark Phoenix story was done in live action, and, who knew, that became a broken record, because they really dropped the ball on it.

They did give us some strong scenes between Logan and Jean, which helped the movie. But overall this film and X-Men Origins: Wolverine were such a disappointment that Fox decided to reboot the franchise, recasting everyone except Wolverine, who got his own cameo before heading off into his own solo movie.

14. Wolverine and the X-Men Kept Fans Going but Only Lasted One Season

To sustain fans during the break between franchises, Marvel put out this animated series on Nicktoons, produced partly by Kevin Feige. Fans were not happy to see Wolverine front and center yet again, even in the title, while Xavier and Jean Grey had mysteriously disappeared. The show only lasted one season.

It did feature Emma Frost, who was becoming very popular in the comics at the time and has still not really made the jump to animation or live action in a meaningful way. It has taken so long to get Emma Frost right that the character sadly is not even that popular in the comics anymore, which I find hard to understand.

13. The Wolverine Sent Him to Japan and Paired Jackman With James Mangold

This movie was not great, but Fox and Hugh Jackman were beginning to course correct toward a more serious, comics-accurate version of the character. While the main X-Men line was rebooting, Wolverine went to Japan, delighting fans given the character's rich history there in the comics.

The movie itself was not great, though it was better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Most importantly, it paired Jackman with director James Mangold, which set up the pair going on to make Logan.

12. Legion Was Genuinely Sophisticated Television Before the Streaming Wars

For its first two seasons, this show was really good and was one of the first franchise shows to get it right and excite fans before the streaming wars fully took hold. Noah Hawley, who had done Fargo and is still doing it, built his name further with this show, which featured fantastic performances from an underappreciated cast including Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, and Amber Midthunder.

Many of that cast went on to bigger projects, some of them in the comic book space. I do wonder whatever happened to Rachel Keller, and joked that Margot Robbie must have "drank her milkshake."

11. X-Men Evolution Ran Four Seasons on the Back of a Popular Goth Rogue

Not the original animated series, but X-Men Evolution helped keep fans happy, arriving in 2000 to capitalize on the first movie and running for four seasons, which is a solid run. The goth take on Rogue was particularly popular with fans.

10. X-Men: First Class Delighted Fans Despite Weak Box Office

Before finalizing this list I actually swapped this with the previous entry, but I decided X-Men: First Class had to make the top 10. The box office was not great, but it delighted some fans quite a bit and got people excited for the future of the franchise again.

The casting was excellent, particularly James McAvoy as Professor X and Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Jennifer Lawrence was a huge get for this movie, signing on right as her career was about to blow up. At the time she felt she needed the role, even though she ultimately came to hate playing Mystique and, as noted earlier, damaged the character by not wanting to keep playing her.

The Hellfire Club material, including Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost, was embarrassing. The Wolverine cameo, though, was fun.

9. Deadpool 2 Cemented Deadpool as the Franchise's Second Most Important Character

Some fans might prefer the original, but I like this sequel a little bit better. It was just as successful as the first film, which cemented that Deadpool was the second most important character in the franchise and underlined the importance of Ryan Reynolds's creative and business instincts.

It was fun to see fan favorites Cable and Domino, along with nods to X-Force, who are often Deadpool's team in the comics. The film also made clear that R-rated comic book movies were here to stay.

8. X-Men (2000) Started It All With Near Perfect Casting

Bryan Singer, Lauren Shuler Donner and Fox, along with clearly some guidance from a young Kevin Feige, cast this movie extremely well. Almost all the casting is perfect, with only a few characters getting shortchanged, and that was more a writing issue than a casting one.

Halle Berry's Storm was not great, and some fans were not happy with her take, but it is fair to point out that she was the biggest star in the movie at the time, and the fact that she was willing to make a comic book movie was a big deal. She did a lot of heavy lifting from a business and mainstream audience perspective.

Along with discovering Hugh Jackman, the film gave us Rebecca Romijn's reimagined Mystique, which pushed the boundaries of a PG-13 rating in a way that felt game changing at the time.

7. Logan Made Me Cry Twice and Redeemed Jackman's Solo Films

They say the third time is the charm, and after two weak solo films that was the case with Hugh Jackman and James Mangold on Logan. This was intended as Jackman's sendoff after 17 years of playing the character, and the pair reunited to give fans a bleak, R-rated Old Man Logan storyline.

I cried twice during this movie, full on Pixar level tears, though I felt this movie earned them. We also got X-23, who was gaining popularity at the time and is today an even more popular, fully accepted member of the team, complete with her own older counterpart from later timeline messing. No wonder fans were delighted to see her return for Deadpool & Wolverine.

Logan is one of the most highly regarded comic book movies out there, and it significantly helped both Jackman and Mangold repair the damage from the earlier bad Wolverine films.

6. X-Men: The Animated Series Introduced the Franchise to the Mainstream

You could argue this Fox series was really the one that started it all for the X-Men in the mainstream. Debuting in 1992 and running for five seasons, it adapted many of the most famous X-Men comic book storylines, and did it well.

A huge percentage of X-Men fans today got into the franchise because of this show, similar to the influence of Batman: The Animated Series, which also came out in 1992, and Spider-Man's animated series two years later. These three shows laid a lot of the groundwork for today's comic book fandom and, in my opinion, do not get enough credit for it.

Kevin Feige remembers this legacy, and one of the first things he did once Marvel got the X-Men back was continue this show's story with X-Men 97.

5. Deadpool Only Got Made Because Ryan Reynolds Leaked the Test Footage

Back in 2016, this was a huge risk, and the only reason it got made at all was that test footage was leaked, sparking fans to demand Fox make the film. That leak speaks to the early influence of the internet and social media, and the leverage it started giving fans, a double edged sword like so many things.

This was the first major studio comic book movie to be rated R, and it was so successful it inspired other franchise entries to follow suit, particularly Logan and Joker. Neither of those movies would probably be rated R, or maybe even exist, if Deadpool had not proven R-rated comic book movies could succeed at the box office.

This was also huge for Ryan Reynolds's career, not only making him a Hollywood A-lister but showcasing his business skills, which have since led to him buying a soccer team, launching a hit reality show about it, and starting his own advertising agency that spun out of the PR campaign he helped design for this film.

4. X-Men: Days of Future Past United Both Casts Through Wolverine

Before the current multiverse craze, we got this movie based on one of the most famous X-Men comic book stories. It is a very loose adaptation, but it was still a lot of fun, bringing both X-Men casts together at the same time, linked by Wolverine. Bryan Singer returned to the franchise and seemed to get his mojo back, though only for this one film before sputtering out with Apocalypse.

The casting was excellent again: Evan Peters debuted as Quicksilver with beautiful sequences, and we got glimpses of Bishop and Blink played by international stars Omar Sy and Fan Bingbing. This was also, by far, Jennifer Lawrence's best performance as Mystique, because it was the most like Rebecca Romijn's version.

The movie was a huge hit, as big as the Deadpool movies would soon be, and it stood as the last great X-Men movie until now.

3. Deadpool & Wolverine Is a Love Letter to Both Characters

The two most popular X-Men movie characters strike out on their own with spectacular results here. Deadpool & Wolverine is the culmination of all these projects, both story-wise and business-wise, and it is a fantastic love letter to the two characters, particularly Wolverine.

The movie is smart, fun, emotional and action-packed, with a bunch of cameos highlighting the crazy journey these characters, fans and the franchise have all been on. It continues the ownership that Reynolds and Jackman have earned over these characters, with Feige happily handing over the creative reins once they had all agreed on a storyline. It is exciting for Reynolds, Jackman and fans to finally have these characters in the MCU, and that energy fuels and propels the film forward.

2. X-Men 97 Tells Its Own Story While Honoring the Original Series

The X-Men were having a good year, at least in my opinion, with two of my top three entries having just debuted under Feige's new reign. X-Men 97 is, in my view, even better than some might give it credit for, and I think it is even better than the original animated series it continues, because instead of adapting famous comics it is now telling its own story while still lovingly honoring those original comics.

X-Men 97 is bold, adult storytelling, and the creators acknowledge that a lot of X-Men fans have grown up and are now living in a world where we seem to be constantly experiencing history before our eyes, making the X-Men perhaps more relevant than ever. This show is also very sexy and represents the diverse fan base the X-Men have built up over the years.

1. X2 Is Still the Greatest X-Men Project of All Time

I bet most people agree with me that the greatest X-Men project of all time is still X2, banger after banger of action sequences. Before the Russo Brothers' run with the MCU movies, there was X2. After getting the hang of blockbuster filmmaking and visual effects with the first X-Men movie, Bryan Singer put the pedal to the metal, similar to how Christopher Nolan leveled up with his Dark Knight sequel, though I think the action sequences in X2 are superior, even though both are incredible, game changing movies.

Wolverine is once again front and center, but Magneto really shined here too, especially in that prison break sequence. I remember seeing this movie as a kid, dragging my parents to a sold out 10 o'clock screening and going crazy in my seat. Jean Grey got an amazing new haircut teasing the Dark Phoenix Saga as her flirtation with Logan heated up, the Nightcrawler opening was unforgettable, and Lady Deathstrike stalking Wolverine, sticking him like a pincushion, has stuck with me. The MVP is Mystique, Rebecca Romijn, who could not really act but it did not matter, because she understood the character's physicality so well.

The X-Men's movie future had never seemed brighter, but then something horrible happened. Bryan Singer turned out to be a huge fan of the original 1978 Superman movie, and he tried so hard to mirror it with his own Superman reboot that he did not really create anything new, just a weak echo of the 1978 film that undercut his own movie. Singer pursued Superman by getting Richard Donner's blessing for his pitch through X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner, then used that to get on Warner Bros's radar. The result was at least the temporary destruction of two franchises, and in some ways both are still reeling from that moment in Hollywood history.

X2 was just so good that I wonder what might have happened if Singer had stuck with the X-Men franchise and continued the X2 storyline instead. Days of Future Past turned out well when he came back briefly, and now, with X-Men 97 and Deadpool & Wolverine, it feels like the franchise is finally doing good again.

Now that you can see the whole picture, what do you think were the best and worst X-Men projects on this list?