Top 10 Versions of the Brotherhood of Mutants (Ranked)

The Brotherhood of Mutants (originally Brotherhood of Evil Mutants) is perhaps the most iconic villain-team in X-Men history. Not just because the villainous team was founded by Magneto, or because it consistently has a roster of some of the coolest mutant villains in X-Men canon, but because it is a team that isn’t afraid to drastically change to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of comic book media.

Every few years since its introduction, the Brotherhood of Mutants has shifted members, leaders, and even the very name of the villainous group itself, all in an effort to stay relevant, and avoid being lost to the void of Marvel’s forgotten supervillain teams (ie, Masters of Evil). Given how often the team is updated and, indeed, upgraded, it only makes sense to take some of the best iterations and see which ones are the greatest of all time. Here are the Top 10 versions of the Brotherhood of Mutants, ranked.

10 Sunspot Led A Brotherhood Of Mutants Team (But They Weren’t Evil)

Young X-Men #2 by Marc Guggenheim and Yanick Paquette

One of the key factors that has to be included in every iteration of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is that, on some level, they have to be evil (or, at the very least, villainously ruthless). Unfortunately, the Sunspot-led team does not have that particular prerequisite. In fact, the very notion that there even was a team of evil mutants led by Sunspot and consisting of other former New Mutants like Cannonball, Danielle Moonstar, and Magma, was all just a ruse by the real villain of this comic, Donald Pierce.

No evil was committed, and no mutants were committing acts of terrorism using Magneto’s sacred ‘Brotherhood’ moniker, especially not by the likes of Sunspot – making this version of the Brotherhood of Mutants not only the most short-lived, but also the least evil.

9 Havok Pretended To Lead A Brotherhood To Smoke Out Dark Beast

X-Factor #143 by Howard Mackie and Duncan Rouleau

Another Brotherhood of Evil Mutants that wasn’t used to conduct villainous activity, but rather to smoke it out was led by Havok. After the events of Age of Apocalypse had concluded, one sinister variant actually made it out of that branched timeline alive, and promptly took root in Earth-616: Dark Beast. At that point, Dark Beast kidnapped the original Beast and took his place, and while he was able to convince the X-Men for a time, that didn’t last forever.

Suspicious of Dark Beast and wanting to know more about his experiments, Havok formed this version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, letting Dark Beast believe that he’d successfully brainwashed him into doing so. It was a complicated charade, but one that didn’t live up to the legacy of the original team – indeed, Havok’s Brotherhood was the antithesis of the original.

8 Professor X Tried To Merge The Brotherhood With The X-Men Uncanny

X-Men #363 by Steve Seagle and Chris Bachalo

After he was imprisoned, and the X-Men were scouring the country looking for him, Charles Xavier linked up with Toad and the other villainous mutants that had been affiliated with the Brotherhood of Mutants in the past. Charles took them under his wing, and told them to reach out to his X-Men. When the Brotherhood and the X-Men met, they immediately jumped into battle, only for Charles to telepathically reach out to both groups and tell them they are all brothers and sisters, and need to work together.

While a nice sentiment, the merging of the X-Men and the Brotherhood was ultimately doomed to fail. Plus, peace and togetherness were never cornerstones of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants’ ideology, making Professor X’s tenure as the team’s leader seem more than a bit out of place.

7 Xorn’s Brotherhood Was Too Insane (Even For Villains)

New X-Men #146 by Grant Morrison and Phil Jimenez

When Xorn thought he was Magneto, he decided to do as Magneto would do: lead a Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. However, Xorn quickly took things a little too far. Not only was the former X-Man obviously insane, but his insanity became too dangerous to ignore, even if that level of unhinged ruthlessness initially made him a perfect stand-in for Magneto as leader.

Xorn’s Brotherhood rebelled against him after he killed one of the members, a mutant named Basilisk. By doing so, Xorn broke the trust of every other member, and he was ousted as leader soon afterward.

6 Toad’s Brotherhood Failed To Live Up To The Original

X-Force #6 by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza

Toad is the only original member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who goes on to lead the team, which is a really cool accolade, if not a tad disappointing (and a little sad). Originally, Toad was Magneto’s right-hand mutant, suffering countless instances of abuse from his master in order to gain his confidence. Toad even endured cosmic exile courtesy of the Stranger alongside Magneto to get some precious one-on-one time with his mentor. And now, Toad finally has the chance to prove to Magneto and himself that he has what it takes to be Magneto’s true successor. Unfortunately, he doesn’t.

For starters, Toad’s Brotherhood doesn’t really stand for anything, they’re just constantly up to revenge schemes against the many X-Teams of the era, whereas Magneto’s Brotherhood actually fought for mutant supremacy. Not only that, but Toad’s Brotherhood consistently lost every fight they were in against said teams, proving further Toad’s lack-luster attempt at living up to his mentor’s legacy.

5 Red Queen’s Sisterhood Redefined The Team’s Legacy

Uncanny X-Men #499 by Ed Brubaker, Mike Choi, and Ben Oliver

The Red Queen aka Madelyne Pryor formed her own version of the Brotherhood known as the Sisterhood, which was an all-female iteration of the classic villain squad. While the majority of the Sisterhood’s story revolved around trying to trick Psylocke into becoming a full-fledged member through brainwashing, one of the coolest aspects of the Sisterhood is that it wasn’t just a one-off. The Sisterhood was spawned from the legacy of the Brotherhood, and it, in turn, created a legacy all its own.

After Madelyne Pryor, a former member of the Sisterhood took the reins as leader herself: Lady Deathstrike. Seeing a team as iconic as this one evolve like this is always fascinating, especially when it manages to take on a life of its own.

X-Men #141 by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

While Toad wished it was him, it’s fair to say that Mystique is Magneto’s true successor when it comes to leading the Brotherhood of Mutants. Not only has Mystique led more iterations of the team than anyone else, but she managed to do what no one else ever even attempted: Mystique got government funding. After rebranding to Freedom Force, Mystique and her Brotherhood of Mutants were sponsored by the government to take down ‘mutant threats’, and the greatest ‘threat’ to national security at the time was – of course – the X-Men.

Other than using Rogue to effectively take down the Avengers during another instance where Mystique led a version of the Brotherhood, Freedom Force is probably the most memorable thing she or any other Brotherhood leader has done with the team since its inception.

3 Exodus’ Brotherhood Was Probably More Committed Than The 1st

X-Men Vol. 2 #161 by Chuck Austen and Salvador Larroca

Exodus originated as an Acolyte of Magneto, and his devotion to the idea that mutants are superior to humans and therefore must inherit the Earth is less of a political stance and more of a religious belief. Sure, Magneto was ready to die for the cause, but even he wasn’t as culty about it as Exodus. So, when it came time for Exodus to lead his own version of the Brotherhood of Mutants, it’s fair to say he was probably more committed to its mission than even Magneto was.

Thankfully, the X-Men were well aware of Exodus’ insane and ruthless devotion to his unwavering cause, and laid the groundwork for his ultimate defeat – including Juggernaut acting as a mole on the team, and the X-Men themselves preparing for Exodus’ invasion of the X-Mansion.

2 Magneto’s Original Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants Is The Classic Lineup

X-Men #4 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Even if some of the other leaders that came after did a better or more meaningful job than he did, Magneto will always be the one who formed the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Magneto had the vision of forming his own team to combat the mutants taught and trained by Charles Xavier, thus creating the very legacy so many other villainous mutants can only hope to live up to.

Magneto’s classic lineup of himself, Toad, Mastermind, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch proved iconic enough to stand the test of time, while so many other villain-teams of that day and age fell into obscurity, which alone is worthy of its due recognition.

1 Daken’s Brotherhood Of Mutants Is By Far The Most Badass

Uncanny X-Force #26 by Rick Remender and Phil Noto

While Mystique might be the most successful, Exodus the most devoted, and Magneto the original leader, there’s no mistaking the fact that Daken is the leader of the all-time most badass version of the Brotherhood of Mutants in Marvel canon. The lineup alone is unparalleled, as it’s Wolverine’s more bloodthirsty and ruthless son leading the likes of Mystique, Sabretooth, Blob, Shadow King, Skinless Man (aka Weapon III), and the Omega Clan (which are individuals who collectively share the essence of the original Omega Red).

Not only is the lineup the most savage and overpowered it’s ever been, but the team’s goal throughout this storyline is the coolest too. Daken’s Brotherhood is trying to turn Genesis into the new Apocalypse, and recruit him as another main member of the team, while simultaneously trying to kill the X-Force. Out of all these 10 versions of the Brotherhood of Mutants, it’s fair to say that Daken’s is easily the most badass in X-Men lore.