There’s no question that the world of the X-Men is an incredibly dangerous place for humans and mutants alike. With so many superpowered beings roaming the planet, it’s no surprise that the world has such an overwhelming sense of paranoia regarding these individuals -- but the extreme methods employed by anti-mutant campaigners and politicians ultimately causes far more harm than good, driving a wedge between humans and mutants by putting both sides on the defensive. Unfortunately, for every brave, kind-hearted mutant that fights to make the world a better place, there’s another mutant plotting the extinction of humankind, and the X-Men movies have always done a great job of demonstrating the immense power of certain characters, highlighting exactly why mutants are both praised and feared across the globe.
Sure, the mutants featured on screen have a tendency to receive noticeable downgrades in power when compared to their comic book counterparts, likely for storytelling purposes, but seeing well-known heroes and villains use their abilities to lift stadiums, destroy Sentinels and save civilians is the kind of thing that never gets old for fans of the source material. While some mutants are landed with relatively lame powers however, others are blessed, or perhaps cursed depending on your perspective, with ridiculous levels of power. With that said, CBR is here to take a look at the most powerful mutant characters ever to be appear on-screen and rank them accordingly from least to most powerful.
20 BLINK
While the ability to create teleportation portals isn’t a superpower typically placed in the ‘offense’ category, The Gifted’s Blink showed off some surprisingly destructive applications of her power in the first season of Fox’s mutant-based show. Sure, the character’s abilities are extremely unstable and out of control in the show’s first season, but this only makes her even more dangerous.
Accidentally opening a portal onto the freeway at one point, Blink unintentionally summons a speeding truck into the Mutant Underground’s headquarters, causing considerable damage.
What’s more, Blink’s portals can also malfunction on occasion, causing whatever passes through it to be cut clean in half -- something that could definitely be used offensively if the situation called for it.
19 THUNDERBIRD
John Proudstar, aka Thunderbird, may just be the most underrated mutant in The Gifted’s impressive roster of characters, and while the show seems to lean into his superhuman strength as his primary ability, the character is probably the most versatile mutant in the series. With his strength allowing him to lift several tons of concrete and punch dents into thick steel doors, Thunderbird is also incredibly durable.
Able to shrug off gunfire and the force of a speeding truck throughout the series, John may not be easy to stop. Additionally, Thunderbird also has vastly heightened senses, allowing him to track pretty much anyone, hear conversations from incredibly far away and even catch glimpses of the past and future to a limited degree.
18 CYCLOPS
Scott Summers may not be the most powerful mutant on the planet -- in fact he’s probably amongst the weakest members of the Summers family -- but his experience and sheer determination make him a true force to be reckoned with. Possessing extremely effective optic blasts that fire from his eyes, Cyclops’ ability has incredible destructive potential.
This forces him to wear his iconic visor to contain his blasts in battle.
The character may not have gotten a fair shake in original X-Men movie trilogy, narratively speaking at least, but James Marsden’s portrayal of the character is still memorable and fun, encapsulating exactly why it is that Scott Summers was Professor X’s prized pupil in the first place.
17 DOMINO
Recently appearing in Deadpool 2, played by Zazie Beetz, Domino stood out as one of the movie’s most memorable characters in a movie filled with memorable characters. Giving Deadpool 2 several of its most impressive action scenes, Domino’s mutant power is luck, psionically tweaking probability to work in her favor.
This causes enemies’ guns to jam, enables her to land almost impossible shots and boosts her ability to perform death-defying feats, allowing Domino to breeze through her enemies with considerable ease. Still, Domino isn’t unkillable, being revealed as one of the murdered mutants in the X-Men: Days of Future Past timeline, but luckily the character appears to be here to stay this time -- having recently been confirmed to appear in the upcoming X-Force movie.
16 X-23
One of the central characters in last year’s critically acclaimed Logan, X-23 is the genetic clone of Wolverine himself, possessing a potent healing factor that allows her to sustain even the most serious injuries. Also boasting a set of adamantium claws on her hands -- as well as a defensive set on her feet -- the young mutant is amongst the evil Dr. Zander Rice’s most formidable creations.
Raised in an inhumane environment, X-23’s violent origins have given her anger issues rivalling those of even her father figure.
She shows no qualms when viciously butchering anyone she deems a threat -- with her surprising level of agility and strength allowing her to best entire groups of soldiers at once.
15 ICEMAN
There’s no getting around the fact that the Iceman appearing in the X-Men movies is inferior to his comic book counterpart in the power department -- with Bobby Drake being an Omega-level mutant in the comics -- but Iceman is still one of the X-Men’s most valuable heroes regardless.
Able to create strong ice blasts and freeze anything around him, Bobby’s powers vastly increase over the course of the movies, with X-Men: Days of Future Past finally giving audiences an Iceman more in fitting with the source material -- complete with his super-durable ice form and the ability to create ice ramps to slide on. Proving himself to be one of the most powerful weapons against the Sentinels, Iceman ultimately gives his life for the team, buying Wolverine and the young X-Men enough time to fix the timeline.
14 POLARIS
The daughter of Magneto in the comics, Polaris’ parentage is only hinted at on Fox’s The Gifted, though her impressive control over metal and magnetism is all but confirmation of her heritage.
Easily one of the show’s most powerful mutants, Polaris’ set of abilities are similar to those of her father -- albeit it to a lesser degree.
Already appearing to have significant control over her powers, Polaris displays several creative uses of her abilities in the show, bending silverware round her hands to use as knuckledusters; subduing enemies with their own weapons; using needles to escape imprisonment and even levitating. Polaris’ most impressive feat came in the show’s first season finale however, in which Polaris uses her powers to bring down an entire plane full of anti-mutant agents.
13 SUNSPOT
Although Pyro is perhaps the most memorable fire-wielding mutant in the X-Men movie universe thanks to his intense rivalry with Iceman, Sunspot is actually far more powerful than he is. Appearing in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Sunspot’s role may be brief, but the character quickly establishes himself as one of the most powerful mutants ever shown in live action.
Taking on a fiery form, Sunspot is able to emit gigantic fire blasts capable of overwhelming even the most powerful of enemies, with the character putting up an impressive fight against the Sentinels in the movie. Also able to fly with great ease, Sunspot’s nimble aerial skills make him a fast and sturdy opponent -- and one of the X-Men franchise’s most underrated powerhouses.
12 QUICKSILVER
Easily sitting amongst the most overpowered mutants in the entire X-Men franchise, Quicksilver is the kind of character that begs the question “why don’t they just use him all the time?”
Able to move impossibly fast, the use of Quicksilver’s powers resulted in two of the standout scenes from X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.
Quicksilver nonchalantly saves the lives of his friends -- and clears an entire roomful of enemies in increasingly creative ways -- in the blink of an eye. Secretly the son of Magneto, it kind of makes sense that Quicksilver is such an overpowered character, it’s just a shame the movies don’t make better use of him narratively.
11 CABLE
Like many characters appearing in Fox’s X-Men movies, the powers of the time-hopping Omega-level mutant Cable were significantly toned down in Deadpool 2. Nevertheless, Nathan Summers remains a force to be reckoned with, seemingly retaining some of his psionic abilities from the comics, which he uses to create force fields and perform other similar feats.
Additionally, Cable also wields a gigantic gun designed with a whole host of increasingly powerful settings, giving the character a real edge in combat. In fact, Cable is such a powerhouse in Deadpool 2 that Wade is forced to create a whole new super-team to try and tackle him -- although that plan doesn’t exactly work out.
10 STORM
While Halle Berry wasn’t exactly the best fit for Ororo Munroe, there’s no denying that Storm’s weather-altering mutant ability is ridiculously powerful. Although she tends to use her power to summon lightning for the most part, Storm can shape any battlefield to her advantage by summoning blizzards, fog and even tornados at will.
This allows her to cause destruction on a truly massive scale.
Already one of the X-Men’s most valuable team members in the original X-Men film, Storm only gets more powerful as the movies progress, reaching almost godlike levels of power by the time X-Men: Days of Future Past rolls around.
9 THE STEPFORD CUCKOOS
Of all the mutants to appear in the first season of The Gifted, the Stepford Cuckoos are by far the most dangerous. Named Esme, Sophie and Phoebe Frost, the characters’ origins differ somewhat from their comic book counterparts, but retain the telepathic hivemind that makes them so effective.
Able to control the minds of others, the Frost Sisters make quite an entrance in the show, immediately intercepting a Sentinel Services convoy and forcing them to massacre each other. Also capable of mentally torturing their victims, the triplets aren’t above using brutality to achieve their goals, slowly convincing Polaris to join their crusade throughout the series.
8 WOLVERINE
Serving as the heart of the X-Men franchise since the release of the first movie, Wolverine really is the best there is at what he does, relying on sheer brawn and combat prowess as opposed to flashy superpowers. A mutant with an incredibly potent healing factor and bone claws, Wolverine became even more powerful after having his skeleton bonded with adamantium as part of the Weapon X program.
Thanks to his slowed aging process, Logan has had almost two centuries of experience with his powers.
He's fought in multiple wars and honing his talent for violence. Capable of taking as much damage as he dishes out, Wolverine is essentially the X-Men’s tank, using his infamous berserker rage to get the job done.
7 SEBASTIAN SHAW
Appearing as the villain in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, Sebastian Shaw is one of the toughest opponents the mutant team has ever gone up against. Leader of the Hellfire Club, Shaw managed to command the respect of Azazel, Riptide and Emma Frost -- all powerful mutants in their own right -- thanks to his raw power and calculating mind.
Able to absorb energy -- as well as attacks from other mutants -- Shaw is almost indestructible, redirecting the absorbed energy into potent attacks. He can even use his power to boost his own physical attributes, giving him superhuman strength and durability as well as an immunity to the aging process.
6 THE SHADOW KING
Spending most of his existence as the disembodied consciousness of mutant telepath Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King is the main antagonist of FX’s Legion. Losing his body after being defeated in battle on the Astral Plane by Professor X, the Shadow King subsequently implanted his consciousness into David Haller, the show’s titular hero and Xavier’s son.
He feeds off his power and has a negative impact on both David’s mutant abilities and mental health.
A top-tier telepath, the Shadow King has a whole host of other skills too, including telekinesis, astral projection and manipulation, reality warping, matter manipulation, possession and the ability to absorb the consciousness of others. Simply put, the list of characters in the X-Men Universe who stand even the smallest chance of tackling the Shadow King is extremely short.
5 PROFESSOR X
Ranking highly amongst the X-Men franchise’s most profoundly powerful telepaths, perhaps bested only by Jean Grey, Professor X has achieved complete mastery of his incredible powers over the years, with his telepathic abilities pairing effectively with his genius-level intellect. Brought to life by Patrick Stewart in the original X-Men movies, the character has arguably become even more iconic in movie form than in the comic books.
Capable of reading minds, inducing stasis in countless people at once, mind control, psionic blasts and manipulating memories, Professor X’s list of feats is almost endless. Charles is so powerful however that his mind was eventually deemed a weapon of mass destruction in Logan, with his deteriorating mind accidentally wiping out almost all of the X-Men, and posing a threat to countless other innocent lives.
4 MAGNETO
One of the most beloved villains in comic book history, Magneto translates to the big screen much more smoothly than most supervillains, played by both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender in the franchise’s movies. The self-proclaimed Master of Magnetism, Magneto has the ability to control metal and magnetism on both an enormous and miniscule scale, able to lift and manipulate the Golden Gate Bridge and also weaponize the iron in his victims’ blood.
While both versions of the character have displayed some truly amazing feats however, Fassbender’s version just about has the edge in the powers department.
This is particularly after having his powers enhanced by Apocalypse, which allowed him to control Earth’s magnetic poles and cause global destruction.
3 LEGION
One of the most overpowered characters in all of comic books, David Haller has been dialled back significantly in FX’s Legion -- and for good reason. Nevertheless, Legion is still immensely powerful in the show, possessing incredible telepathic and telekinetic abilities, along with a lengthy list of other powers.
As well as being able to manipulate energy, matter and even time itself, David has potent reality warping abilities -- though he hasn’t quite learned to control them yet. Thanks to the interference of the Shadow King, David’s abilities have been somewhat dampened throughout the series thus far, but now the evil entity is no longer lodged in his head, David’s powers are set to expand even further going forward.
2 APOCALYPSE
One of the X-Men’s most fearsome foes, En Sabah Nur, better known as Apocalypse, is the world’s first mutant, possessing a godlike set of abilities that resulted in his deification by the people of Ancient Egypt.
Reawakening in 1983, Apocalypse sets out on a crusade to enslave all of mankind with the help of his Four Horsemen.
With the powers of telekinesis, telepathy, matter manipulation, transmutation, possession and power absorption under his belt, there really isn’t much Apocalypse can’t do, even proving himself capable of bestowing superpowers upon his followers, as well as enhancing their existing abilities. Naturally, it took the combined might of the X-Men to take him down -- as well as a helping hand from the Phoenix Force -- singling out En Sabah Nur as the most formidable X-Men villain ever to appear on-screen.
1 JEAN GREY
Anyone familiar with the name Jean Grey is probably aware of the character’s unparalleled levels of power. Most famously played by Famke Janssen-- although her younger, alternate-timeline self is currently being portrayed by Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, set to return in X-Men: Dark Phoenix -- Jean Grey is easily the most powerful telepath on the planet.
Falling under the influence of the Phoenix, Jean Grey’s powers became truly unstable in X-Men: The Last Stand, killing beloved team members Cyclops and Professor X and jeopardizing all of mutantkind, as well as the world at large. Gaining the power of molecular manipulation, Jean is able to assemble and dismantle matter at a subatomic level, enabling her to disintegrate anyone and anything in her way in the blink of an eye.