Charles Xavier (Earth-10005)

"I can't do it. I am not the man I was. All those voices. So much pain. A flood of sorrow I can't tread!"
"It isn't their pain you're afraid of, Charles. It's your own. And believe it or not, that pain will make you stronger than you can imagine. That is our greatest strength, to bear their pain without breaking. And it comes from the most human power: Hope. We need you to hope again, Charles."

―Future Charles Xavier to his younger self^[src]

Charles Francis Xavier (born 1932), also known as Professor X, is a class 4 mutant who possesses telepathic powers.

Xavier dedicated his life to fighting for peaceful co-existence between humans and mutants. To aid in this crusade, he founded a school for gifted youngsters to secretly train young mutants to control their amazing powers.

Xavier has used his special abilities to lead his clandestine team of X-Men into battle against Magneto.

Biography[]

X-Men: First Class[]

"There's so much more to you than you know, not just pain and anger. There's good in you, too, and you can harness all that. You have a power that no one can match, not even me."

―Charles Xavier ^[src]

Charles was born into a wealthy family, but apparently had a strained relationship with his parents, particularly his mother. However, it's implied his parents took him to see the classic Western Shane in theaters. At the age of nine, Charles began to believe that he was going insane when his telepathy became active, it was not until the age of twelve that he discovered that he could in actuality read other people's minds. As a child, Charles met a shape-shifting girl named Raven, who had broken into his family's mansion posing as his mother and was scrounging for food. Overjoyed to meet someone else "different" like him, he invited her to live with his family as his adopted sister. A natural genius, Charles completed high school at sixteen. He attended Oxford University (accompanied by Raven, now his foster sister), earning PhD.s in Genetics, Biophysics, and Psychology. After completing his thesis on genetic mutation, he was approached by Agent Moira MacTaggert of the CIA for his help to stop a mutant named Sebastian Shaw, who was working with the Soviet Union. MacTaggert introduced him and Raven to the CIA, where they proved to her chief that mutants exist and Shaw was a threat. The chief refused to employ the help of the mutants, but the "Man in Black" offered to sponsor them.

Charles accompanied MacTaggert, Man in Black and a US Coast Guard assault team to arrest Shaw on his yacht. During the attack, his telepathy was blocked by Emma Frost. They also encountered Erik Lehnsherr, who was launching his own solo attack on Shaw at the time. When Shaw escaped in a submarine, Xavier prevented Lehnsherr from drowning in an attempt to stop it and brought him to the CIA's secret "Division X" facility. There they met young scientist Hank McCoy, a prehensile-footed mutant with enhanced intelligence, whom Xavier identified as a mutant. He then used a mutant-locating device designed by McCoy called Cerebro to find and recruit mutants for training to stop Shaw. Refusing CIA help, he and Lehnsherr traveled the world, discovering several mutants; exotic dancer Angel Salvadore; taxi driver Armando Muñoz; Army prisoner Alex Summers; and the young Sean Cassidy. They also approached Canadian mercenary Logan, but he immediately rebuffed them.

Lehnsherr and Xavier left with the CIA to find and capture Shaw, who was supposed to be meeting with a Soviet general. Soon after arrival they discovered that Frost had attended the meeting in his place, and Xavier and Lehnsherr captured her instead. Interrogating her led to the revelation that Shaw intended to spark a third world war to wipe out humanity, leaving mutants as the dominant species. Meanwhile, the other Hellfire Club mutants attacked Division X, turning Angel to their cause and killing Armando in the process. With the facility destroyed, Xavier relocated the mutants to train at his family mansion. During their stay there, Xavier applied his telepathy to help Lehnsherr reach new heights of his magnetic ability.

After Pres. Kennedy's address announcing the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba, Xavier's new team were soon called to action when Shaw engineered a stand-off between amassed United States and Soviet navel forces, that saw a soviet freighter forcibly commandeered by the Hellfire Club attempting to run the American blockade. Xavier telepathically searched the Soviet fleet in an attempt to locate Shaw, but found himself unable to thanks to a helmet that Shaw had devised to block all telepathic contact. Xavier then took mental control of a Soviet officer and had the man destroy the freighter, thus averting a nuclear catastrophe.

When Sean Cassidy volunteered to employ his sound generation power to act as a sonar, Xavier telepathically monitored the boy's progress and was able to then guide the X-Jet to Shaw's submarine where Lehnsherr could pull it clear of the water. The submarine and the X-Jet both crashed shortly after, bringing both teams into direct conflict with each other. Xavier stayed with the jet and continued his search for Shaw by linking with Lehnsherr who ventured into the stricken submarine alone. After Lehnsherr found and killed Shaw, Xavier found his attention turned to the new threat of the two navel fleets with crews who were rapidly becoming fearful of the mutants. The ships launched a combined missile strike against the mutants, which Lehnsherr quickly turned back on them. Xavier kept him from destroying the ships, but when MacTaggert fired bullets at Lehnsherr, a deflected bullet struck Xavier in the spine. A remorseful Erik left with Mystique, Angel, and Shaw's enforcers Riptide and Azazel.

Later, a wheelchair-bound Xavier returned to the mansion where MacTaggert promised never to reveal his location. They kissed, whereupon Xavier wiped her memory of the events. He soon after founded Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and ran from his family's Westchester mansion, which had been converted into a base of operations at which he trained mutants for his personal strike force known as the X-Men. The base included subterranean medical labs, a training facility called the "Danger Room", an aircraft hanger, and Cerebro.

X-Men: Days of Future Past[]

After the deaths of Banshee, Angel, Azazel and Emma Frost, and many of the mutant teachers and students being drafted into the military, Xavier shut down the school with only Hank at his side. Hank created a serum in order to control his beast form while Xavier used it to help him walk again with the side effect of stopping his powers all together.

X-Men: Days of Future Past[]

Charles didn't know what Mystique was planning on doing so never intervened, staying a recluse in the X-Mansion with Hank while Mystique killed Trask and spurred the Sentinel Program.

20 Years before X-Men: The Last Stand[]

Xavier and Magneto traveled together to a young Jean Grey's house and invited her to join Xavier's school.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine[]

"It will be all right, Scott. My name is Charles Xavier. I'm a mutant like you."
"I can hear your thoughts."
"Yes, and I can hear yours. You're safe now. Come. We have to go."

―Charles Xavier and Scott Summers^[src]

Xavier guided a group of young mutants, including a young Scott Summers, from the Weapon X facility at Three Mile Island after being freed by Wolverine. Xavier gave Summers directions telepathically, which led the mutants outside where Xavier waited. He then escorted the mutants back to his school in a helicopter.

X-Men[]

"Mutation: it is the key to our evolution. It has enabled us to evolve from a single-celled organism into the dominant species on the planet. This process is slow, and normally taking thousands and thousands of years. But every few hundred millennia, evolution leaps forward."

―Charles Xavier ^[src]

Years later, Xavier successfully created the X-Men. He sent Storm and Scott Summers to rescue Wolverine and Rogue from Sabretooth. Xavier believed that the attack had been ordered by Magneto and that Wolverine had been the intended target.

Xavier gave Wolverine and Rogue a home in the institute and promised to help Wolverine remember his past if he was allowed forty-eight hours to discover why Magneto wanted Wolverine.

Xavier used Cerebro to locate Rogue when she ran away, finding her in a train station. Magneto attacked the train station along with his Brotherhood of Mutants and came after Rogue. When Rogue was captured by Magneto, police came out and pointed guns at him. He lifted up the police cars and pointed all their guns at each of them at the same time. Xavier was able to control both Sabretooth and Toad at the same time and speak through them, in an attempt to talk Magneto out of his plans against humans. Mystique arrived in a helicopter and they escaped along with the girl.

Xavier tried to find Rogue but was poisoned when he used Cerebro (as Mystique had tampered with it) putting Xavier in an unconscious state.

Xavier recovered after Rogue was rescued and advised Wolverine to search Alkali Lake for answers to his past.

Xavier visited Magneto in his plastic prison after he was captured playing chess. Magneto told him that there was a war coming and he intended to fight it. Charles told him that he will always be there to stop him.

X2: X-Men United: The Movie Prequel: Wolverine[]

Shortly after stopping Magneto and the Brotherhood and saving Rouge; Xavier called Logan in his office. Keeping his promise of helping Wolverine piece together his past Xavier showed Logan an abandoned military facility near Alkali Lake where he told him that he might be able to find traces of his past at the facility. Logan proceeded to thank Xavier and before leaving the two wished each other the best. After Logan left Xavier pondered if he had done the right thing.

X2: X-Men United[]

"Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way it is a historical fact: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute."

―Charles Xavier ^[src]

Upon learning that the mutant Nightcrawler attacked McKenna, the president of the United States, Xavier sent Storm and Jean to bring the mutant in for questioning. Later Xavier and Scott left to visit Magneto as he was suspected to be behind the attack, leaving Wolverine in charge of the school.

In Magneto's cell, Xavier learned that Magneto was brainwashed by William Stryker and forced to tell Stryker all about the institute and Cerebro. Before he could escape, Xavier was knocked out as well as Scott.

Xavier woke up in Stryker's underground test facility in Alkali Lake, tied to a chair and fixed to a device that restricted his mental powers. He was left in the room with Jason Stryker, William's son and a powerful illusionist who Xavier previously taught. Now brainwashed by his father, Jason trapped Xavier into various illusions, keeping him in one where Xavier was back at the institute and Jason was portrayed as a scared little girl. To comfort the "girl" and find his students, Xavier went to use Cerebro. But in reality, Xavier was really being used to power a makeshift Cerebro that Stryker created. When his powers were magnified by Cerebro, Xavier could locate every mutant in the world. If he concentrated hard enough, he could kill all mutants or humans and possibly everyone in the world.

Under Jason's illusion, Xavier was tricked into concentrating on all of the world's mutants, nearly killing them. However just before he could succeed Magneto stops him. However instead of freeing Charles Erik then had Charles switch to attacking all of the world's humans after Magneto - immune to the assault thanks to his helmet - confronted and threatened Jason. Nightcrawler and Storm fortunately rescued Xavier from the illusion. Escaping on to the X-Jet they are unable to take off, But as the Dam breaks apart the group is at risk of drowning, but Jean at the last minute leaves the jet and using her powers lifts the Jet into the air allowing the others to escape but seemingly at the cost of Jeans life much to the grief and sorrow of everyone specifically Logan, Xavier, and Scott. Charles soon after had them all fly to Washington, to warn the President against the possibility of a mutant/human war if they don’t stop fighting each other and revealing William Stryker's crimes.

X-Men: The Last Stand[]

"Don't let it control you."

―Charles Xavier^[src]

Xavier expressed worry over Scott's grief over Jean's death and told Storm that should anything happen to him, she was to replace him as head of the school much to Ororo's shock.

When Jean was discovered alive, Xavier sedated her and told Wolverine that he had kept her powers in check with mental barriers since she was a child, resulting in her developing a second personality known as "The Phoenix". When Jean awakened as The Phoenix and escaped, Xavier tracked her down to her old home and tried to convince her to return. However he is met by Magneto with four members of the Brotherhood.

Rather than risk starting a fight outside her house, Xavier let Magneto come with him. Xavier tried to calmly talk Jean into returning to the mansion, but Magneto turned the unstable Jean against the professor. This caused Xavier to panic and speak to Jean in a less calm manner, now flatly telling her that she's a danger to everyone, including herself. He used the fact that Jean killed Scott to try to bring her back to herself, but it had the exact opposite effect he was hoping for, further enraging both the Phoenix and Jean instead of stunning her into realizing her evil potential. After much argument, the Phoenix manifested its great powers as she tried to keep Xavier from re-establishing the psychic blocks to imprison it again. Infuriated both by Xavier's meddling in her head and Magneto, who insinuated that Xavier wished to restrain her and "give her the cure", she used her mind to first lift her house into the air and then caused Xavier to explode into ash his last words to Jean encouraging her to fight back against the dark entity inside her and to not let it control her. His death caused a great impact on the residents of the institute and it was nearly closed until Storm decided to honor Xavier's wishes and act as its head following the arrival of Angel.

However, Xavier survived and spoke to Moira MacTaggert through the body of his brain dead twin brother, P. Xavier, implying that his consciousness survived by transferring itself into the body, an action that Xavier had discussed as part of an ethics class, the question being if it would be ethically right for a mutant like himself to attempt such a transference.

The Wolverine[]

"Hello, Logan."
"How is this possible?"
"As I told you a long time ago... you're not the only one with gifts."

―Charles Xavier and Logan^[src]

Some years later, Magneto sought out Logan and explained that something was wrong and that he needed his help. Logan asked why he should trust him, but Magneto replied that he wouldn't. Everyone around them froze and Professor Xavier revealed himself; alive and well, and recruited Logan to aid in a threat that required the reformation of the X-Men.

X-Men: Days of Future Past[]

"I was a very different man. Lead me, guide me, be patient with me."

―Charles Xavier ^[src]

Come 2023, ten years into the future, the powerful robot Sentinels rule over the Earth; exterminating Mutants. On the edge of absolute extinction and close to losing the war, Xavier alongside with Magneto, Storm, and Wolverine, met up with their former students Kitty Pryde, Iceman, and Colossus, along with some fellow mutant survivors; Bishop, Blink, Sunspot and Warpath in China. After seeing mutants all over the world being hunted down, Xavier told Kitty Pryde his plan to have her send him back in time to 1973 so that he could stop Raven from murdering Bolivar Trask, and in essence, stop the war before it ever began. Kitty however explained to him that his mind would be destroyed from being sent so far back. Logan then volunteered to be sent back as his mind can heal from the experience. Xavier, Magneto and Iceman stayed with Logan as Kitty Pryde sent him into the future. Sometime during this, Logan saw Stryker and, in his rage, accidentally slashed Kitty in the rib. Iceman demanded to let her rest but Magneto said that he needed more time in the past in order to change it so she continued. Professor X during this met his younger self who had given up on the possibility of any co-existence between Mutants and humans and told the younger Xavier that their greatest gift is to bear the pain of those who suffer and that it comes from the most human power: the ability to hope. Xavier told his younger self that he needs to hope again. After this, the Sentinels attacked. The X-Men tried to hold them off but to little success as they are all slaughtered one by one. The Sentinels broke through and were about to kill Charles when the timeline changed due to his younger self having successfully talked Raven out of killing Trask.

Character traits[]

Charles is a moral, selfless and benevolent teacher and a great leader by all accounts. He possessed immense strength of character, and viewed in an almost messianic way by any who knew him well enough.

As a young man, Charles was a fully-fledged genius - he graduated from the most accomplished college in the area and possessed multiple doctorates to such an extent that he achieved the title of professor. He was exceptionally learned in the fields of biology, psychology, chemistry, physics and even the subject of mutation itself. In spite of his idyllic upbringing and alleged genius, Charles was also extremely empathetic and compassionate to a fault - on the very night he first met Mystique, he took her in and treated her as a sister - and, in all honesty, his only friend. He did not see her as a freak of nature, but simply as "special". Charles's compassion made him firmly reluctant to kill another living being if he could possibly avoid it, let alone commit genocide. He was so compassionate that he risked his own life to rescue Erik Lehnsherr from drowning.

In spite of all his compassion, Charles was capable of being arrogant, callous and very naive in his youth - he modeled most human beings on those he liked, example Moira McTaggert whom he had strong romantic feelings for and was also not entirely capable of understanding why the likes of Mystique would be uneasy about humans, as his mutation is not physical but rather mental and consequently he had never been considered a freak - in stark contrast to Mystique, who has spent her entire life trying to hide her true physical appearance. He also promised her that he wouldn't read her mind, but later admits to have done so afterwards. However, in spite of his arrogance, he is very aware of his extremes, and because of this he is capable of repenting from this and it even makes him more ethical. He thus understands that Erik wants intensely to kill Sebastian Shaw, but also tries to persuade him that taking revenge will not bring him happiness.

As an older man, Charles was significantly wiser and more benevolent than he was in his youth. He was a famed and prolific teacher and mentor to hundreds of young mutants, to whom he personally approached to bring them to his school. Charles was a very calm and relaxed man, hardly ever known to lose his temper with others, not even his enemies. He was completely willing to help other humans and mutants in finding what they wanted, or to solve their insecurities, as shown prominently with Wolverine. Charles was not at all afraid of admitting his faults, and confessed that he was looking for some form of hope for his species. However, he disliked the idea of the Cure because he was aware humankind, knowing it would end the apparently terrifying existence of mutants, would force it on mutant kind in the end. Charles was also not an undefeatable teacher, as he was unable to sway Jason Stryker from becoming uncontrollable and dangerous, and admitted soon that the boy frightened him. He still maintained his firm personal goal to not kill or cause unnecessary harm in pursuit of his goals, which brought him into conflict with Magneto.

His relationship with Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, is extremely complicated to such an extent that it is hard to decipher. When they first met, Charles had only just saved his life and reached out to him. He eventually discovered that their philosophical standpoints were incompatible, but that did not stop him from trying to be friends with the mutant. He reacted incredulously or defiantly to Erik's insistences or demonstrations of violence or aggression. Erik believed in decisive and vicious course of action, whilst Charles was more astute and cautious in his actions.

However, their very first chess match together - the first of a great many - became the background of their first disagreement, as they both had conflicting interests and intentions that were in danger of severing their friendship. When the two of them battled Sebastian Shaw and his group of mutants, the climax of the battle was their final disagreement as colleagues. Charles tried to stop him from killing thousands of innocent people because they tried to do so likewise. This progressed into their parting of ways, and Erik went out on his own as part of his Brotherhood of Mutants. That being said, they still remained firm friends - to this day, they referred to each other as "old friend" and "were capable of playing chess together like civilized men".

Charles's greatest strength is his moral compass and indomitable will that would never waver, no matter what obstacles he faced. When Erik predicted that a war between mutants and humans was coming and he intended, by any means necessary, to fight it, Charles calmly promised that "He would always be there to stand in his way".

Powers and Abilities[]

Powers[]

Mutant Physiology: Professor X is an extremely powerful mutant who possesses powerful telepathic powers. Professor X is also one of the most powerful mutants on the entire planet.
- Telepathy: Professor X can telepathically communicate with, read the minds of other individuals or project illusions into their minds. He is able to sense where nearby mutants are. He demonstrated this when he sensed that Rogue had left the mansion and was at the train station, he was also able to find out that Jean Grey had left the X-Mansion. This power is enhanced when he uses Cerebro. Professor X was able to put mental blocks in Jean Grey's mind so she couldn't unlock the Phoenix part of her personality. When his powers were boosted by Cerebro, Professor X had enough power to cause every mutant in the world to experience a lethal, excruciating pain. He was also able to make every human experience the same lethal pain when Magneto reversed Cerebro. These blasts could not effect Magneto, as he was wearing his helmet at the time. Professor X is able to generate realistic illusions.
  - Illusion Generation: Due to Professor X's telepathy; he can generate, create and project several different types of illusions inside other individuals' minds.
  - Hallucikinesis: Due to Professor X's telepathy; he can manipulate several different types of illusions inside other individuals' minds; making them see things that are not actually there. He was able to hide himself, Magneto and all the assault troops while en route to the dacha of a Russian general without being detected while in the back of the caravan.
  - Consciousness Transferal: Professor X is able to transfer his consciousness into another body. In X-Men: The Last Stand, just moments before his body was destroyed, he transferred his consciousness into the body of his brain dead twin brother, P. Xavier.
- Mind Control: Professor X can manipulate the minds of other individuals; to get them to do what he wants them to do. He does not like using this power to make other individuals do what he wants them to do all the time as he said when talking to Magneto while going to Jean Grey's house when she was a child. He is able to enter the mind of another to control their body and see from their perspective. He demonstrated this at the dacha of a Russian general and possessed the mind of a guard. He can make others fall asleep just by telling them to. He can mentally paralyze others, making it appear as if time has been stopped. He has the power to develop a mental link with any individual which remains as a connection to that individual. This was seen when Jean Grey linked with him to communicate with the others in the X-Jet before perishing. He has the ability to cause loss of particular memories and amnesia in another person or group of people. He used this power to save himself and made it look like Jean killed him in X-Men: The Last Stand.
- Mnemokinesis: Professor X can manipulate the memories of other individuals. He can erase, restore or even implant false memories into a person's mind; he once threatened Wolverine, that he could make him believe he was a six-year-old girl. At the end of X-Men: First Class, he used this power while passionately kissing Moira MacTaggert and makes her forget all the time that she spent with Xavier and the mutants (although she recalls fragments, including the kiss) this might have been.
- Superhuman Immunity: According to William Stryker; the mind control serum will have no effect on Professor X, as his resistance to other individuals' telepathy, make it very difficult to control him. He can resist psychic attacks from others and protect his allies. It is likely that Emma Frost could not telepathically attack Professor X or Magneto; as Professor X defended both their minds from her, though he did feel a slight sting from her when trying to read her mind.

Abilities[]

Genius-Level Intellect: Charles is a highly intelligent individual. He is a leading authority on genetics, mutation and psionics. He also possesses considerable expertise in other life sciences. Charles is also the second most intelligent individual on the entire planet; second only to En Sabah Nur and rivaled only by Erik Lehnsherr.
Expert Engineer: Charles is a highly skilled engineer. With Erik Lehnsherr's help; he was able to successfully create the second Cerebro, a very complex device capable of detecting other mutants all over the world.
Chess Player: Charles is as good at playing chess as he was at planning out a battle strategy for the X-Men, shown prominently when he frequently plays the game with Magneto, who views him as as deadly on a chessboard as he is in a danger zone.
Master Hand-To-Hand Combatant/Martial Artist: As a young man, Charles was probably a highly skilled hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist, before his injuries, even though he preferred to direct his comrades from behind the front line. His disability prevented him from ever fighting an opponent hand-to-hand ever again, but he still managed to teach hand-to-hand combat and martial arts to his students.

Weaknesses[]

Paraplegic: Professor X has been unable to walk due to spinal damage; suffered when one of the bullets Magneto bounced off using his magnetic powers hit him in 1962.
Telepathy Blockage: William Stryker developed a "neural inhibitor" headset that prevented Professor X from using his telepathy; thereby making him vulnerable to the illusions of William's son Jason.

Relationships[]

X-Men
- Jean Grey/Phoenix - Former student and teammate turned unwilling enemy.
- Scott Summers/Cyclops - Former student and teammate.
- Ororo Munroe/Storm - Former student and teammate.
- Hank McCoy/Beast - Friend, former student and teammate.
- Logan/Wolverine - Former student, friend, ally and teammate.
Moira MacTaggert - Friend, ally and love interest.
Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto - Best friend and ally turned enemy, turned best friend and ally again.
P. Xavier - Twin brother.

Appearances/Actors[]

Earth-10005 (12 films)
- X-Men (First appearance) - Patrick Stewart
- X2: X-Men United - Patrick Stewart
- X-Men: The Last Stand - Patrick Stewart
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Patrick Stewart
- X-Men: First Class - James McAvoy and Laurence Belcher (Young)
- The Wolverine - Patrick Stewart
- X-Men: Days of Future Past - Patrick Stewart
Earth-10005 (2 video games)
- X2: Wolverine's Revenge - Don Morrow
- X-Men: The Official Game - Patrick Stewart

Behind the scenes[]

Digital processing was used to make Patrick Stewart look younger in X-Men: The Last Stand when he visits a young Jean Grey and again when he appears in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Patrick Stewart was uncredited in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
James McAvoy never read the comics, but loved the X-Men cartoons.

Trivia[]

In the comics, Xavier is on a wheel chair because he had his legs crippled by Lucifer, while in X-Men: First Class he is paralyzed by a bullet deflected by Magneto.
In X-Men: First Class, Hank McCoy asks Xavier if he can shave him, in order to better use Cerebro, but Xavier replies "Don't touch my hair", thus; making a joke about his elder appearance. He does it again at the end of the movie, complaining about getting old and saying to Moira that he'll soon become bald.
In the comics, Xavier had blonde hair as a child, but during puberty when his telepathic powers manifested, he lost his hair.
Professor X is the only characters to have appeared in all X-Men movies (not including the Deadpool movies or The New Mutants), though Wolverine is the only one to have been portrayed by the same actor.
Patrick Stewart is in the 2017 Guinness Book of World Records for playing the longest Marvel character in live action. Stewart shares the record with Hugh Jackman.