Summary
2024 has been a huge year for fans of the 20th Century Fox universe of Marvel movies. With the release ofDeadpool & Wolverine, popular Fox Marvel characters like Wesley Snipes' Blade and Dafne Keen’s X-23 have officially made their MCU debuts. However, one notable absence from the film isPatrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavierfrom the previousX-Menfilm franchise.
Fortunately, Stewart got to reprise his role as Professor X separately in 2022’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Still, there are plenty of comic book movie fans who miss seeing him regularly appear in Marvel’s theatrical releases. Let’s rewind through Marvel movie history to look atthe most iconic quotes spoken by Charles Xavier,played by either Stewart or James McAvoy.
Actor
Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart’sintroduction to the world as Professor Charles Xavierset the stage for the character’s sage wisdom in movies to come. It’s not very far into the film when Charles drops one of the most profound lines not just in theX-Menfranchise, but in superhero films as a whole. While giving Logan a tour of the X-Men mansion, he says this quote to the skeptical mutant.
It establishes right at the top of the character’s cinematic journey that, unlike other mutants (namely, Magneto), Charles has a great affinity for humankind and believes in their ability to someday accept mutants.
Not all of Charles Xavier’s students prove to be model students, as evidenced bythe new blood roaming the mansioninX2. During one scene at a museum, Pyro gets himself in a fight with some teens at a mansion, only for Bobby to reveal his cooling powers by trying to save one of them, but before anyone can notice, the entire room (except for mutants) freezes.
This is all the work of Xavier’s powers of mind control. However, Charles is far from impressed by the threat of their exposure, scolding Bobby with this scathing quote. The best part, however, is Patrick Stewart’s deadpan delivery of one of Xavier’s sassiest lines.
Theater audiences around the world were shocked when Patrick Stewart’s character met an untimely demise inX-Men: The Last Stand;at the hands of his own student Jean Grey, nonetheless. Xavier, alongside his fellow X-Men, do their best to subdue a rampaging Jean Grey, but she won’t let him inside her mind to free her. With his final words, Xavier tells Jean to not let her powers control her.
Although Charles is killed shortly after, the moment when he says this quote is perhaps the most epic part of the entire movie. With the entire house enveloped by the whirlwind that is Jean’s power, everything freezes for one moment so that Charles can deliver one final message to her. The only thing more epic is the smile Charles gives to Logan just before disintegrating.
James McAvoy, Laurence Belcher
X-Men: First Classserved as a reboot of the film franchise, exploring the origins of Professor X’s mutant school as well as his rivalry with Magneto. One of the most surprising parts of the film is Xavier’s relationship with Mystique, who he met when they were kids. Raven is simply surprised that she’s found one person who isn’t scared of her, and as Charles tells her, he has been waiting to meet someone like her his whole life.
This sets the stage for what becomes one of the best parts of the futureX-Menfilms, as Charles and Raven’s relationship morphs from family to friends to enemies. However, it also shows that Charles' willingness to accept all mutants started from a very young age.
Patrick Stewart doesn’t havemuchofa presence in 2013’sThe Wolverine, but he makes a surprise cameo in a mid-credits scene along with Ian McKellen as Magneto. The two encounter Logan in an airport, teasing the conflict that would come a year later in 2014’sX-Men: Days of Future Past. While Logan is initially startled by the sight of Charles, his former mentor repeats this iconic line of dialogue.
This is obviously a call-back to the very firstX-Menmovie, when Logan and Charles first meet. Charles says these exact words to Logan through telepathy, as proof that he’s in good company at the X-Men Mansion. Plus, it makes for a cool fan-servicey moment at the end ofThe Wolverine, assuming fans weren’t already shocked just to see Stewart return.
James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart
X-Men: Days of Future Pastis considered by many to be one of the best superhero films, as it combines the two Fox franchises into one timeline. Getting to see James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier interact with Patrick Stewart’s is certainly a treat, especially when Xavier is bestowing some wisdom to his younger self, such as when he says this prescient quote.
This comes at a moment when the younger Charles is having a crisis of faith, and his older self reads his mind to see that he’s too afraid of his own powers to help others. But as the older Charles reminds his younger self, he needs to overcome his own pain so that he can bring hope to all the other mutants.
James McAvoy
There are a lot of mixed feelings aboutX-Men: Apocalypse, but its climactic moment results in an iconic quote from James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier.Apocalypse’s plan to allow mutants to control the worldis foiled when Charles takes him to the astral plane, responding to his declaration that “Those with the greatest power” will rule the world by telling him that it’s actually their responsibility to help others in need.
What’s great about this line, as corny as it is, is it gets to the heart of who Charles Xavier is and why he formed the X-Men in the first place. As a character, he cares about using his powers for good, while others are too obsessed with greed and power to be truly altruistic.
Loganwas meant to be the end of an era, as Patrick Stewart planned for it to be his last hurrah as Professor X. As many fans predicted, this spelled bad news for Charles Xavier in the film, who is older and more bitter towards the world for its failing of mutant kind. However, it’s all actually self-loathing, as Xavier is responsible for the death of many mutants in the little-talked-about Westchester incident.
After spending an afternoon with an ordinary rural American family, Charles tells Logan that, while he’s grateful for a good day, he doesn’t feel he deserves it. Unfortunately, a twist reveals that this isn’t his old friend he’s talking to; it’s X-24,a doppelgänger of Logan designed to be a ruthless killer. Xavier meets his fate in a very tragic way, potentially thinking that Logan killed him, though hopefully, even an elderly Professor X is a powerful enough psychic to tell the difference.
Dark Phoenixwas Fox’s second attempt at adapting the infamous comic book storyline, albeit with the younger cast ofX-Mencharacters. Like many of the mutants at Charles' school, he gets off to a strong start in his mentorship of a young Jean Grey, but when she balks at the idea that she can be “fixed,” Charles matter-of-factly tells her that she doesn’t need fixing.
Unfortunately, Jean Grey is a lot more complicated than Charles expected at this point. However, unlike their confrontation inX-Men: The Last Stand, Charles survives a fight with Jean Grey, though sadly, Jean becomes a flying phoenix in an act of self-sacrifice. By renaming his school the Jean Grey School for Gifted Youngsters, Charles ultimately keeps his promise of helping Jean after all.
To the surprise of many, Patrick Stewart wasn’t done with playing Professor X after all. The actor reprises his role in the MCU’sDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, appearing asone of the members of the Illuminati, a multiversal council of powerful heroes who arrest Doctor Strange, believing him to be much more of a danger to their Earth than the Scarlet Witch.
The Illuminati are very, very wrong about that assumption, but Charles knows that, and frees Strange before telling him this familiar line of dialogue. Fans of theX-Menfilms will know that this iconic quote comes straight fromX-Men: Days of Future Past, in the same scene where Professor X is advising his younger self.
