Charles Xavier is a jerk! And how Dark Phoenix proves it

Listen, Charles Xavier is a complex character, but we can’t deny that he’s done some awful things to his fellow X-Men. Dark Phoenix proves that he is a certified jerk!

Charles Xavier is a hero. In the comics, various cartoons, and the X-Men films, he’s a resounding hero who houses, protects, and teaches his fellow mutants. At least that’s what he would want you to think. Although he does a lot of good deeds, Charles Xavier is a jerk — he always has been— but Dark Phoenix substantiates it.

We could configure our virtual scribblings into a list to layout every dubious and clear-cut terrible thing Professor X has done, but that would be a lot. And we’re not devoted to the idea of spending that much time on his shenanigans. However, we will run through some of his greatest horrible, horrible hitlist.

1. Knowingly sending an X-Men rescue team off to their deaths in Giant Sized X-Men #1 just to save another team of mutants. Oh, and he later erased everyone’s memories of the deceased team as I way to refrain from tarnishing his image. But in true Xavier fashion, he alleged the reasoning was to spare the students from the heartbreak. Ugh.
2. He spent the better half of the newer X-Men movie berating Mystique about her being visibily mutant and proud. While this just better showcases Charles’ plight with internalized ableism, it also illustrates how he wrongfully projects his harmful ideology onto others. Not full-blown villain in this scenario, but it still qualifies as multiple jerk points on his rhetorical tally.
3. Manipulating and brainwashed Wolverine for his own benefit.

Seeing a pattern here? Yeah, he has a habit of using his telepathic abilities to manipulate anyone who’s a threat to his selfish interests. Thus far, the X-Men franchise has only ever hinted at Charles’ unspoken title as resident jerk whenever Magneto questions his intentions. Similar to the aggregate of X-Men comics, Dark Phoenix illustrates the extent of Charles’ manipulation at the extent of Jean Grey.

Charles is the epitome of a manipulator. Not unlike his arc in Giant Sized X-Men, he altered Jean’s childhood memory of that infamous car wreck. Then he maintained that lie for years to keep her abandonment-filled rage at bay. Instead of addressing and actively helping her grief a father who never wanted her, he gave her false hope that he was her father figure.

Trying to praise himself as Jean’s savior, he convinced the other X-Men that tampering with Jean and her mental health was some form of altruistic escapade. But Charles is definitely no hero in Dark Phoenix, especially not Jean’s hero.

It’s especially heinous when you recognize the latent trauma Jean still has, which she only reexperiences as a heightened capacity when she escapes one emotional manipulator (Charles) to seek out a new one (Vuk).

Established in the first few frames into Jean’s childhood, the film depicts her self-image and lingering issues with not feeling like she deserves to feel happy or acceptable—especially when she first arrives at the X-Mansion. Presumably, after Charles has a chance to manipulate her, those feeling wane. It’s not until Jean discovers a resurgence of power through the Phoenix that she remembers that same rage trauma.

Perhaps a proper apology from Charles might have helped Jean cope with both her heightened powers and her mental health. However, we’ll never know because Charles never apologized to her. He apologized about what he did to Jean to Hank… Hank, a third party, who has absolutely nothing to do with how Charles treated her. Hank, a person who has no way to absolve Charles of his guilt because he shouldn’t have been the one to receive the apology in the first place.

His entire apology is misdirected because he doesn’t actually care about amending a familial bond with Jean. He only cares about someone — anyone — tending to his exposed ego. His pseudo-apology is nothing more than performative, and even then he frames his misconstrued interpretation of atonement to center around himself and his feelings.

Even when pleading for forgiveness from a man he didn’t harm — or at least not in the way he did to Jean, he couldn’t even own up to his mistakes or take accountability for his actions. This further proves that his latest notorious monologue while in mutant custody was a theatrical way to make him seem remorseful while upholding a last-ditch effort to play like a well-intentioned good guy. But Charles is in fact the worst.

Okay, he’s actually not the worst. It’s just hyperbole. There are a lot of horrible villains who do worse during their morning routine. Heck, even some of the writers might be worse than Charles. They did vilify a disabled character to some extent and innately draw negative connotations to a group of marginalized people.

After all, this analysis of Charles’ manipulative tendencies doesn’t account for the harmful implications that come from villain-coding disabled characters. That’s another (necessary) topic entirely. If you want a brief summary of why implicitly or explicitly vilifying people in wheelchairs is a trope that stigmatizes disability, we have a few helpful links worked into this sentence.

The underlying factor of Charles’ jerky persona is his manipulation, and Dark Phoenix brings that to the forefront from all angles of his characterization. His exploitive abuse of power. Using his authority and reputation as a good guy to bait for forgiveness. “Helping” Jean relive all their allegedly wholesome moments in one of her most vulnerable times to coax her own motives to align with his. All of this contributes to his being a hero disguised as a villain in some form. At least in relation to Jean, he is heinous.

In conclusion, Charles Xavier is a jerk!