Things looked bleak for the Marvel Comic Universe during the ‘Dark Reign’ storyline. With Norman Osborn managing to dupe U.S. leaders following the Skrull invasion, he took over S.H.I.E.L.D., renaming it H.A.M.M.E.R., and used his newfound power to destroy Tony Stark’s image. In this time, Norman not only assembled the Dark Avengers, a super team comprised mostly of villains, but also pulled together a Dark X-Men team to help manipulate the public image of mutants during the anti-mutant riots in San Francisco—and to do all of his evil biddings, of course. But wrangling some of Earth’s most dangerous and unpredictable mutants isn’t the easiest job. In this rundown, we’ll take a look at the characters' impact on the ‘Dark Reign’ storyline and how their abilities and cunning attitudes helped (or hindered) the Dark X-Men.

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10 Dagger

There’s been some debate about Cloak and Dagger’s mutant status over the years. The duo even told Norman Osborn that they're not mutants when he approached them with the offer to join his Dark X-Team. Nevertheless, the duo has regularly appeared alongside the X-Men. It’s no surprise that Norman would want them on his nefarious team. Dagger’s ability to manipulate Lightforce energy and her healing powers makes her a strong addition to any team, particularly one aiming to manipulate the image of mutants for the public eye. Despite the duo’s hesitance to join the Dark X-Men, Dagger was the one who finally accepted the offer.

9 Cloak

Always a package deal, when Dagger agreed to join, Cloak signed up to the Dark X-Men team too—which was exactly what Norman Osborn was hoping for. Anyone who can reach the Darkforce Dimension and channel its powers is an essential team member for power-hungry evil-doers, and his ability to project visions of someone’s greatest fears is ideal for someone desperate to manipulate the public. However, Cloak was a hesitant team member and quickly took the chance to escape with Dagger and join the X-Men when the opportunity arose. Despite their brilliant powers, their instilled desire to help people was stronger than their desire to help Norman, ranking them both lower on this list of disreputable villains.

8 Namor the Sub-Mariner

Marvel’s first mutant, Namor the Sub-Mariner was the only team member Norman didn’t hand-pick for the Dark X-Men. With an unlikely alliance with Doctor Doom and following a romantic past with Emma Frost, Namor found himself involved in Norman’s Cabal—a group of villains meant to advise him on his evil plans. The King of Atlantis is renowned for being an expert negotiator and fighter, and Emma—leader of the Dark X-Men—invited him to join the mutant team. But when Norman ordered Namor to publicly condemn and execute a group of Atlantean secret agents, Namor abandoned the Cabal and eventually turned on the Dark X-Men, escaping with the X-Force and building a new alliance with them.

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7 Mystique

One of the greatest supervillains in Marvel Comics, Mystique fights alongside those who best serve her own interests. Her superhuman strength and excellent combat skills allow her to stand toe-to-toe with some of Marvel’s strongest fighters, and her opportunistic attitude makes her completely unpredictable. So much so that Norman was wary about having her on his team. Injecting her with nanites to turn her into a human bomb and keeping her under a watchful eye, Norman warned against trying anything foolish. Despite being one of the strongest villains, being kept on such a tight rein meant Mystique couldn’t get away with most of her usual tricks, reducing her to a glorified PR representative as she posed as Charles Xavier to address the public in Norman’s publicity stunts.

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6 Mimic

Calvin Rankin has flopped between hero and villain status regularly over the years. Developing the powers to copy someone’s abilities, personality traits, and knowledge after a lab accident, he desperately sought ways to make his powers permanent, which often caused conflict between himself and other X-Men. In the Dark X-Men, however, he felt accepted. He quickly confused celebrity status with superhero responsibility, with repeated media coverage and Dark X-Men TV appearances cementing the idea that he was doing good in his mind. Discovering how to permanently hold the abilities of the original six X-Men (Professor X, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel, Beast, and Iceman), he was certainly a strong addition to the team.

5 Norman Osborn

Although not a mutant himself, it would be amiss not to mention the brains behind this super-villainous team. Norman Osborn has been terrorizing New York, Spider-Man, and the extended Marvel Universe since the 1960s. He’s a strong combatant, proficient with a variety of weapons, and an excellent marksman to boot. Being considered a hero after the Skrull invasion gave Norman the ability to use his influence however he saw fit, twisting the public image to portray himself as Earth’s mightiest hero. This ultimately shows Norman’s greatest power: manipulation. A highly intelligent man, he’s an expert in robotics and engineering, chemistry, and advanced genetics, but also knows how to use his intelligence to gain trust and heighten his own power. Combined with his unstable personality, he’s a truly dangerous mastermind.

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4 Weapon Omega

Originally unaware that he had the abilities to absorb mutant powers, Michael Pointer accidentally went on a murderous rampage across North America and Canada after absorbing Xorn’s consciousness. An event that haunted Michael for years to come, Norman Osborn suggested that his joining Dark X-Men would make up for the deaths he caused. Wearing a new suit created by Dark Beast which would help him to absorb the powers of mutants, Weapon Omega quickly became addicted to the device and the charge of powers it granted him. Unfortunately, siphoning powers from other mutants would eventually take its toll on Michael’s personality and mind. Retaining personality aspects of each mutant that he drained, he became increasingly unstable. Tormented by nightmares of those same mutants taunting him, he eventually turned to the Xavier Institute for help.

3 Dark Beast

As strong and intelligent as his Earth-616 counterpart, Hank McCoy (a.k.a. Beast), Henry McCoy uses his gifts for twisted plots and sadistic torture. Originally from Earth-295, he spent his time ruthlessly experimenting on mutants, carrying out inhumane tests. Finding himself on Earth-616, Norman granted him the opportunity to carry out his experiments once again. Setting up a lab in Alcatraz, Dark Beast resumed his horrific experiments using Earth-616's original Beast as his primary subject. Responsible for inventing Weapon’s Omega’s suit and the Omega Machine which drained mutant energy, Dark Beast went beyond Norman’s request of simply eliminating powers and instead sought to kill mutants. A truly depraved mind, he would continue with these experiments long after Norman’s downfall.

2 Wolverine

Son of Wolverine, Daken assumed his father’s hero codename and tan and brown costume when Norman originally recruited him for the Dark Avengers. Inheriting his father’s arrogance as well as his powers, he struggled to get along with his fellow teammates, regularly clashing with Bullseye, who doubted Daken’s loyalty to Norman. One of the most powerful fighters in the Marvel Universe, Norman also wanted Daken on his Dark X-Men team. He wasn’t the best choice for a campaign attempting to clean up the mutant image, however. Daken killed dozens of innocent people during his time in the Dark teams, even brutally decapitating and dismembering the Punisher before kicking his remains off of a rooftop. His teammates were right to question his loyalty, though. Despite his despicable deeds, Daken helped the Fantastic Four break into the Avengers tower to gather incriminating evidence against Norman and was the only one to escape when the Dark Avengers were eventually arrested.

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1 Black Queen

The top spot on the list has to go to the Dark X-Men’s leader, Emma Frost. An original member of Norman’s Cabal, Norman tasked her with leading a “civil peacekeeping” group of X-Men. Adopting the name Black Queen, she accepted and established the team as a serious force to be reckoned with as she rounded up and arrested mutants, including old friends and students. However, Emma Frost has always fought for the humane treatment of mutants. Learning of Dark Beast’s experiments and the torture of captured mutants, she double-crossed her own team, leading Norman to X-Force before escaping with Namor, Cloak, and Dagger, and personally freeing the real Charles Xavier from imprisonment. From her dark beginnings as a member of the Hellfire Club, Emma’s leadership and betrayal of the Dark X-Men cemented her as a character fully invested in doing the right thing for all of mutant-kind, no matter what it takes.

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