The Many Loves of Professor X

Although he is chiefly devoted to his dream of mutant and human coexistence, Professor X has a surprisingly extensive relationship history. His many romances almost all ended in heartbreak, but were filled with promise and passion while they lasted.

The opening arc of Gail Simone and Dave Marquez’s UNCANNY X-MEN (2024) introduced Charles Francis Xavier’s first love, Sarah Gaunt. When her life took a tragic turn, her resentment towards Charles turned into an all-consuming hatred. Now, she hunts those Charles cares about most: mutantkind!

While the X-Men deal with Sarah’s vengeance, discover how Professor X’s other relationships turned out.

Moira MacTaggert 

Charles met Moira Kinross while attending the University of Oxford, as revealed in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #117 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne and UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #389 by Claremont and Salvador Larroca. The two bonded over their shared interest in genetics, much to the annoyance of Moira’s possessive boyfriend at the time, Joe MacTaggert. Joe’s jealousy quickly turned to rage, but Charles couldn’t resist Moira's brilliance and thought he had found his soul mate.

When Charles accompanied the couple on a weekend trip to the coast, Joe gave him a final warning to stay away from Moira before riding off with her. Left behind, Charles telepathically sensed that Joe and Moira got into a deadly crash, raced after them, and pulled them both to safety. In the aftermath of the accident, Moira broke up with Joe and began dating Charles. 

Charles and Moira enjoyed many happy years together. Just before they were to be married, Charles—partially motivated to prove Joe wrong about him not being man enough for Moira—enlisted in the army and went to war. During his tour of duty, he received a devastating letter from Moira; she had broken off their engagement and returned to Joe.

In time, Charles reconciled with Moira, who went on to become his closest companion and confidant. She assisted Professor X in the formation of the X-Men, and her unparalleled knowledge of mutantkind made her the team’s most trusted and valuable ally. Moira and Charles never rekindled their love, save for a brief moment in EXCALIBUR (1988) #81 by Scott Lobdell, Chris Cooper, Klebs Demoura Jr., and Paul Abrams. To lift Moira’s spirits after contracting the Legacy Virus, they went on holiday together to Paris, where they reminisced about simpler times and shared a kiss.

In X-MEN (1991) #108 by Claremont, Leinil Francis Yu, and Brett Booth, Moira died during a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants attack on her research facility, and Professor X bid her an emotional farewell on the astral plane.

HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, and R.B. Silva altered everything previously established about Charles and Moira’s relationship. Not only had Moira faked her death, but she was a mutant herself. 

When Moira dies, reality resets to her birth and she reincarnates with her previous lives’ memories intact. After lifetimes of failed efforts and misguided partnerships to save mutantkind from annihilation, she boldly decided to tell Charles the truth about herself in what was now her tenth life. 

Every action the pair took after their initial meeting at Oxford was done in service to their overarching mission to build a paradise for mutants on the island Krakoa. Even Joe was seemingly no more than an instrument Moira used to produce the Omega-level reality-warping mutant Proteus. 

While this revelation added startling new layers and depth to Charles and Moira’s history together, their clandestine plotting did little to foster more love between them, especially after Moira ruthlessly betrayed the X-Men and helped bring about Krakoa’s destruction.

Gabrielle Haller

Following his breakup with Moira, Charles travelled the world. Having earned a reputation during the war for his miraculous psychology skills, he was called to Haifa, Israel to assist with a woman named Gabrielle Haller, as told in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #161 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum.

Gabrielle was a Holocaust survivor who had withdrawn into a catatonic state, but within moments, Professor X’s telepathically broke down her mental barriers and brought her back to reality. Charles remained with Gabrielle in Israel, where he made another new friend, a volunteer at Gabrielle’s hospital named Magnus. Gabrielle fell in love with Charles and, although she was his patient and still in recovery, Charles ignored any hesitations and began a relationship with her. 

When Gabrielle was kidnapped by Hydra, Charles and Magnus came to her rescue. After empowering Gabrielle to confront her past traumas on her own, Charles parted ways with her on good terms, unaware she was pregnant with his child. 

Years later, Gabrielle turned to Moira for help with her son, David, who—perhaps by Moira’s own machinations—had grown up to be a powerful but unstable mutant. In NEW MUTANTS (1983) #26 by Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, Moira requested Charles’ assistance with the boy, now known as Legion. In order to repair his son’s sanity, Charles entered Legion’s mindscape and had to overcome the multiple personalities that inhabited it.

Bearing no ill will towards Gabby for keeping David’s existence a secret, Charles promised to try to his best to fix his newfound son’s shattered psyche.

Amelia Voght

Following his confrontation with the alien being known as Lucifer—the battle that cost him the use of his legs—Charles was taken to a hospital in India where he was cared for by American Red Cross nurse Amelia Vought. As shown in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #309 by Scott Lobdell and John Romita Jr., Amelia helped Charles with his physical rehabilitation and restored his will to live. 

Also a mutant, Amelia was initially alarmed when she found Charles’ designs for a mutant-detecting machine called Cerebro, but when Charles revealed to her that he was a mutant as well, it only strengthened their blossoming love.

Charles and Amelia eventually returned to the United States together, taking up residence in Xavier’s inherited mansion in Westchester County. After years of preparation, Charles was finally ready to form the X-Men—a concept Amelia was strongly opposed to. She thought mutants would be safer staying hidden and worried that assembling a group of them would spark the very species war Charles was so desperate to prevent. Amelia disapproved Charles’ early training sessions with Jean Grey and tried fruitlessly to ease rising tensions between Charles and his bitter rival Magneto, who also began recruiting.

Amelia reached her breaking point when Charles brought home a young mutant orphan named Scott Summers. After his words failed to convince her, Charles began to telepathically force Amelia to see things from his perspective—before stopping himself in horror of his actions. Realizing what Charles had tried to do, Amelia dished him a cold hard slap across the face before leaving.  

Years later, Professor X felt betrayed when he saw Amelia joined Magneto’s most devoted followers, the Acolytes. Although she embraced Magneto’s cause, Amelia occasionally aided Charles and the X-Men, even during battles where they were on opposite sides. 

Teri Martin

When Cerebro detected a powerful mutant in suburban Illinois, Professor X experienced a taste of domesticity in X-MEN: THE HIDDEN YEARS (1999) #10 by John Byrne and Tom Palmer. The mutant turned out to be a young girl named Ashley Martin, who had the ability to project her life force into living matter. After a close call with a Sentinel, Professor X decided Ashley was too young to handle her mutant gifts and installed mental blocks to prohibit her from using them. 

In the days that followed, Professor X stayed at the Martin household to observe Ashley. This led him to form a connection with her mother, Teri, who watched in awe as Professor X monitored the X-Men and even aided the Fantastic Four straight from her living room. Before returning to the X-Men, he confessed to Teri that, despite his budding feelings for her, there was simply no room in his life for her.

Lilandra Neramani 

Professor X’s longest relationship was with someone who understood duty and self-sacrifice as much as he does: Lilandra Neramani, Majestrix of the galaxy-spanning Shi’ar Empire. 

After her older brother Emperor D’Ken branded her a traitor and took her prisoner, Lilandra came into contact with Professor X in CLASSIC X-MEN (1986) #14 by Chris Claremont and John Bolton. Light-years away, Charles had harnessed all of humanity’s mental energy to repel the alien race known as the Z’Nox from Earth. This wave of energy found Lilandra and caused her to briefly merge minds with Professor X. She escaped from her captivity and fled to Earth to enlist Charles and the X-Men in her rebellion against her tyrant brother.

Professor X established a powerful psychic rapport with Lilandra and grew tormented by strange nightmares as she approached Earth. Upon arriving in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #105 by Claremont and Dave Cockrum, Lilandra was immediately recaptured by D’Ken’s forces. The X-Men followed after her and helped stop D’Ken from obtaining the legendary M’kraan Crystal—thanks in large part to Jean Grey, who had recently emerged as Phoenix. The ordeal left D’Ken catatonic, with Lilandra next in line for the throne.  

Before beginning her rule, Lilandra stayed on Earth for a time with Professor X. They fell deeply in love and, when the X-Men were presumably killed during a fight against Magneto, Lilandra helped Charles through his grief and persuaded him to return home with her. 

Going from leader of the X-Men to a royal consort proved to be a challenge for Professor X, especially since Lilandra’s responsibilities kept her well occupied. After researching the Phoenix Force in the Shi’ar archives, Professor X feared for Jean’s safety and returned to the X-Men. Soon after, he reunited with Lilandra under tense circumstances when she sentenced Jean to death for the crimes she committed as Dark Phoenix.

The X-Men risked their lives for Lilandra again when she her sister Deathbird attempted to overthrow her. During the conflict, Professor X was implanted with a Brood embryo and transformed into a Brood Queen. In UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #167 by Claremont and Paul Smith, Lilandra used the advanced technology of the Shi’ar to create a new cloned body for Charles. She remained on Earth with Charles for a time before departing with the Starjammers, a group of space pirates, to win back her throne. 

Following a brutal attack, Professor X teetered on the brink of death in UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #200 by Claremont and John Romita Jr. Sensing his condition, Lilandra teleported to his side and brought him on board the Starjammers’ ship. Healed but unable to return to Earth, Professor X fought alongside the Starjammers in numerous battles until they restored Lilandra's rule.

When Professor X went back to leading the X-Men, distance eventually took its toll, and he effectively ended their relationship upon witnessing how cold Lilandra had become leading her war-driven people in X-MEN UNLIMITED (1993) #5 by John Francis Moore and Liam Sharp.

Lilandra never stopped longing for Charles and readily accepted his request to reconnect in NEW X-MEN (2001) #117 by Grant Morrison and Ethan Van Sciver. Unfortunately, when she welcomed him for an extended visit, it turned out to be not Charles, but his evil twin sister, Cassandra Nova.

In Charles’ body, Cassandra psychically controlled Lilandra and unleashed chaos throughout the Shi’ar Empire. Although the X-Men defeated Cassandra, she had broken Lilandra’s mind so thoroughly that she attempted to assassinate Charles herself, and the Shi’ar faced no choice but to annul their union.

The X-Men weren’t done impacting Shi’ar politics. When crazed Omega-level mutant and former X-Man Vulcan conquered the Shi’ar Empire, it ignited a galactic war that led to Lilandra’s death. On a brighter note, Charles and Lilandra’s love lives on in Xandra, their genetically engineered child and the current Shi’ar Majestrix.

Mystique

Following Professor X’s death during AVENGERS VS. X-MEN (2012), the X-Men gathered for the reading of his last will and testament in UNCANNY X-MEN (2013) #24 by Brian Michael Bendis and Kris Anka. There, they were shocked to learn their founder had been married to Raven Darkhölme, AKA Mystique.

Flashbacks presented in ALL-NEW X-MEN (2012) #27 by Bendis and Stuart Immonen also revealed the mutant shapeshifter had given birth to Charles’ child—all while assuming the form of Moira, no less. Mystique gave the baby up and tearfully regretted that she was unable to perform some private responsibility Charles had entrusted her with.

In a now alternate timeline, Mystique and Professor X’s child grew up to be Charles Xavier II, a powerful telepath who formed a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and travelled to the present to destroy the X-Men, who he believed had corrupted his late father’s legacy.

Professor X and Mystique have rarely shown anything but contempt towards each other and further details about this aspect of their relationship have never come to light. In fact, due to timeline changes made by the time-traveling mutant Tempus, it is unknown how much, if any, of this discreet affair still exists. 

Sarah Gaunt

Now, UNCANNY X-MEN (2024) #2 by Gail Simone and David Marquez has revealed that Charles attracted the attention of another classmate during his time at Oxford: an outgoing American student named Sarah Gaunt. 

A month into dating, Sarah charmed the reclusive Charles out of his shell and already started planning their future together. It wasn’t until she lied about being pregnant that she realized that Charles had no real intention of building a family with her and sadly ended their relationship.

Years later, Sarah was living in New Orleans with her son, Brian, when a destructive hurricane hit the area. After losing her son to the rising floodwaters, Sarah surrendered herself to them as well—only to be reborn as a monstrous being with terrifying power.

Consumed by a maniacal hatred toward Charles, Sarah allied herself with Dr. Corina Ellis, warden of Graymalkin Prison. Formerly Xavier’s school, this mutant detention center's most heavily guarded prisoner is none other than Professor X, who Sarah delightfully taunts as she captures his “children.”

When her latest targets sought help from the X-Men, Sarah relished the chance to tear down Charles’ beloved pupils by savagely attacking Wolverine and Rogue while her own disciples hunted down her young mutant prey.

Behold Sarah’s first encounter with the X-Men in UNCANNY X-MEN (2024) #5, on sale now!

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