Avengers: Infinity War is all set to give the people what they want. Specifically, we are going to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe's biggest bad guy, Thanos, taking on the mightiest heroes of Earth and beyond in his search for the Infinity Stones. And chances are good that not all of our heroes are returning from this fight! Unfortunately, not everyone could make it to the party. Due to previous legal restrictions, the MCU has not been able to include certain Marvel characters whose movie rights were owned by companies like Fox. That means that, no matter how much we might wish it were so, we won't see the X-Men taking on Thanos.

Maybe that's a good thing, though. Part of what makes Thanos so scary in the MCU is that he is presented as the strongest and fiercest warrior. In the wider Marvel world, Thanos would have to contend with the Omega-level mutants. Take it from us: some of these guys would mop the floor with him! These Omega mutants are the most powerful mutants we've ever seen. Some, you may know about, while others are a total surprise. Ready for the match-ups? Keep scrolling to check out 15 Omega-level mutants that can take on the Mad Titan!

15 JEAN GREY

That’s right: if we got our pick of mutants to try to wallop Thanos, Jean Grey would be our first choice. Casual fans might not understand why, exactly: isn’t she just a telepath and telekinetic? While this is her normal mutant power set, she has access to the ultra-power cosmic entity known as the Phoenix Force. For those who don’t know, the Phoenix Force has an array of wild powers.

In terms of sheer destruction, it is a galactic threat: at one point, Dark Phoenix destroyed an entire alien planet on what was basically a whim. 

It can absorb energy, absorb the minds of everyone in the universe, and resurrect the dead. In short, we haven’t seen the upper limit of what this can do, so if Jean is rocking the Phoenix, Thanos should be shaking in his boots!

14 LEGION

Marvel Comics' Legion exercising his amazing power

Legion is another great choice to try to take on Thanos. In case there’s any confusion, this is the Legion that the TV show is based on. This is David Haller, son of Professor Charles Xavier. And while the show is both stylish and awesome, only comics fans know why he would pose such a threat to Thanos.

Legion gets his name because his brain is full of other personalities. Each one of those personalities comes with its own powers, and he seems to be able to generate new powers on a whim. For instance, he once accidentally erased himself from existence by going back in time and killing Xavier! Thanos dreams of the Stones that give him an unlimited array of powers, but Legion already has this built in -- we’d love to see this fight!

13 HOPE SUMMERS

Hope Summers is yet another time displaced part of the Summers family. Unlike many other Omega-level mutants, she does not have an explicitly offensive power. Instead, she is able to channel the powers of pretty much any mutant on the planet. Put that together, and she packs a hell of a punch that should have the Mad Titan worried!

While the number rises and falls in the Marvel Universe, the bottom line is that there are plenty of super-strong mutants all over the globe.

With access to all of their powers, Hope can become virtually unstoppable: this is the mutant power equivalent of asking the genie for more wishes! Throw in the fact that she can also merge with the Phoenix Force, and she makes a formidable foe for Thanos.

12 X-MAN

Nate Grey

To very casual fans, X-Man looks more like a typo than a character name. However, this is a very specific character created during the reality-warping events of "Age of Apocalypse". This is basically that universe’s version of Cable, created as a clone instead of being born as the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor. And he has some pretty damn off the charts powers.

For instance, he can tap into energy in the Astral Plane and manipulate matter as he sees fit. He’s got wild mental powers (including super-powerful telepathy, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis) in addition to the ability to fly and even manipulate Earth’s magnetic poles. In short, X-Man at his prime could give Thanos a run for his money, though more recent comics have severely limited his once limitless powers.

11 VULCAN

In a world of confusing comic storylines, the most confusing probably has to do with the bloodline of Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops. For instance, he has a half-human, half alien brother named Gabriel Summers, better known as Vulcan. And Vulcan has a pretty straightforward way of taking on Thanos.

Many of the mutants on this list have complicated powers that give them a shot at taking Thanos down.

In Vulcan’s case, it’s pure power: he has the ability to absorb energy, and back when Scarlet Witch rid most mutants of their abilities, Vulcan absorbed a huge chunk of their released energy. Just like that, he became a nearly unkillable powerhouse, and we’d love to see him in the ring with Thanos for a few rounds!

10 STRYFE

You may or may not know Stryfe, but you’re probably familiar with his face! He’s actually a clone of Cable, another mutant who has some extremely powerful abilities. Cable is pretty damn powerful, but some of that power is held in check by a Techno Organic virus spreading through his body. For a very specific reason, Stryfe has no such limitations.

You see, Cable was sent to the future as an infant because he was already infected by that virus and a mysterious tribe thought they could cure him. Once in the future, that tribe hedged their bets and cloned the baby. The clone was kidnapped, raised, and used as a host by Apocalypse. The result is that he has all of the raw telekinetic power he was born with along with no virus or morality holding him back. Altogether, this might be enough for him to take on Thanos!

9 ELIXIR

Some of these mutants would be ready to take on Thanos as soon as they wake up. Some, however, would need to be having a pretty damn good day. One such mutant is Josh Foley, better known by his codename Elixir. He has a very special power that, if he used it properly, might be enough to take Thanos down.

Initially, Elixir was a healer: he could heal damaged cells back to their normal state.

Eventually, though, he found out that he could destroy cells as easily as he could heal them, meaning he is an instant threat to any living creature, Thanos included. And as a side effect of his powers, he’s also immortal, which might just give him the edge he needs in a fight.

8 ABSOLON MERCATOR

There’s an old rule in the world of acting: never let them see the upper limits of your range. That’s a good rule for mutant powers, too, which brings us to our next Omega-level mutant: Mr. M. This is a mystery mutant also known by the name “Absalon Mercator,” and we never got to see the full extent of his power. At a glance, he seemed to have psionic powers without any real limitation. This alone would make him a pretty big challenge for Thanos, but there’s also Mr. M’s “death.”

The X-Men thought he was killed but then found that his body disappeared from his coffin, and he had left a mysterious message about not dying but evolving. The implication is that he cannot be killed and will only grow more powerful… watch out, Thanos!

7 MATTHEW MALLOY

The ultimate goal of Thanos is to gather the Stones and become like a god due to all the powers he now has. Who better to take him on, then, than someone who is already like a god? That’s why we think one of the best shots at beating him is to bring in Matthew Malloy.

We already know what you’re thinking: “who?”

This character had few appearances, but he found out that he could warp reality and basically do whatever he wanted to, including killing anyone who stood in his way. How dangerous was this guy? No one was able to actually beat him except by using time travel to ensure he was never even born. We’d love to see what happens when two fighters who can control reality really start going at it!

6 MADDIE

Of all the mutants on this list, Maddie might be the one that it's easiest to take for granted. After all, her power is teleportation, which makes you think of characters like Nightcrawler. Typically, this power is viewed as defensive instead of offensive, with characters teleporting themselves and others out of harm's way. So, how can someone with a teleportation power possibly stand up to Thanos?

Unlike Nightcrawler, Maddie is not limited to teleporting herself and a few others. Instead, she can teleport anything and everything in the area around her, ranging from herself and small objects all the way up to entire buildings.In addition to using that ability effectively, Maddie's teleportation actually kills most people she teleports. Altogether, this is an unexpectedly hefty threat for Thanos!

5 QUENTIN QUIRE

Between his haircut and his fashion sense, it can be difficult to take Quentin Quire very seriously. And on top of that, he's a world class pain in the butt to deal with. However, he has a wild range of powers that make him a threat to even the heaviest hitters, and he's also packing some pretty big wild cards up his sleeve.

His main powers are telepathic in nature: he can control minds, resist mental probing, and generally make large groups do whatever he wants.

He also has a full range of telekinetic powers that range from basic movement to psionic shotguns. In a pinch, he can even bring the dead back to life and has been the host for the Phoenix Force in an alternate reality. Put it altogether, and this problem child can really give Thanos a hard time.

4 ICEMAN

If you ask a casual fan to rank the most powerful X-Men, we're willing to bet that Iceman wouldn't even crack the top ten. So, why is the guy who is mostly known for throwing snowballs and riding around on ice slides on a list of mutants who could tackle Thanos? It tuns out that Iceman has some power and potential that most people never knew about.

It turns out that his full ice powers make him a bit godly: he can recover from any injury, for instance, and like the T-1000, put himself back together after being shattered into countless pieces. He can become liquid or gas, evading damage or capture. And he can even freeze every molecule of water in his target's body. To top it off, we've seen a future where he can create ice giants. Unkillable, super-powerful mutant who can raise an army? Watch out, Thanos!

3 FRANKLIN RICHARDS

Franklin Richards may not be on your radar unless you're a fan of the Fantastic Four. He is the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, and despite the fact that they are not mutants (simply mutated), Franklin was born as an Omega-level mutant. And he has an impressively large set of powers!

Put simply, Franklin Richards manipulates reality and shapes it into his image at will.

He has created entire universes with a stray thought and rubbed elbows with gods who felt him their equal. If that's not enough, he has pretty much every power set you can dream of: telekinesis, telepathy, energy blasts, and even an ability to see the future! How powerful, then, is Franklin Richards? He is the most powerful mutant on the planet!

2 EMMA FROST

When it comes to Omega-level mutants, Emma Frost is something of a special case. While she is a formidable foe on any given day due to both her wide array of psychic powers and her ability to turn herself into a diamond form that makes her nearly invulnerable. However, her Omega status primarily comes from her own brush with the Phoenix Force.

In "Avengers vs. X-Men", Iron Man's attempt to defeat the Phoenix Force actually splintered it into five pieces which went on to inhabit five mutants, including Emma Frost. At that point, she has access to all of the raw power of the Phoenix herself, meaning almost no single entity is powerful enough to stand up to her. Does that include Thanos? We don't know, but we'd pay to find out!

1 CABLE

At first, it may be surprising to see Cable on this list. He is mostly known as a cybernetic soldier character, and one we're going to get to see on the big screen alongside Daredevil. How, though, does a guy mostly known for using guns and lasers pose a threat to someone as major as Thanos? The devil is in the details.

As you know, Stryfe and X-Man are both powerful Omega-level mutants, and they are basically clones of Cable.

Meanwhile, Cable has only been held back in the power department by the Techno Organic virus ravaging his body. When that virus has healed, we have seen him get increasingly powerful until he was just as powerful as someone like X-Man. So, Thanos vs. Cable at full strength? We'll bring the popcorn!