When it comes to mutants, the strength levels of the heroes and villains have never been great compared to other hero types. While The Avengers have powerful members like The Hulk, Thor and Captain America, the X-Men have always had heroes that are sneakily strong in other areas. The original X-Men team consisted of a man in a wheelchair that might be the most powerful hero in the world, a skinny kid who shoots powerful force blasts from his eyes that can destroy a tank, and a young teenage girl who at one point had the power to destroy an entire universe. An that's just three of them! None of these heroes would win many fist fights against members of The Avengers but are dangerous nonetheless.

However, that does not mean there are not mutants who have extraordinary physical strength levels. Whether in the X-Men, X-Force, New Mutants or even villains like the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and Hellfire Club, there are certain mutants whose powers give them the physical strength that allows them to win the down and dirty fights without relying on psychic powers. While there are obvious examples, such as Colossus, there are also many who are much stronger than they look. With that in mind, here are the 25 strongest Marvel mutants, officially ranked.

25 CANNONBALL

Cannonball was one of the original members and leader of The New Mutants, as well as a founding member and former leader of X-Force. When it comes to his strength level as a man of his age and height, he is simply average for someone who stays in good shape. However, while that puts his strength at moderate to lower levels for a superhero of his stature, his mutant powers are what really raise his strength to almost unlimited levels. Cannonball's powers create a thermo-chemical energy field, which he then uses to propel himself, emitting a blast field and giving him superhuman durability.

A Marvel character considered one of the most powerful in all of comics is Shi'ar Imperial Guardsman, Gladiator. When Cannonball and Gladiator battled in Uncanny X-Men #341, Cannonball actually took down the powerful alien -- albeit only temporarily. This is all because of his blast field powers, and when he is in full thrust, he can move over a ton of weight on his own. He has also proven to have the power to destroy many city blocks with his pure strength when thrusting full-speed into the ground from the sky. Without his powers, or at least enough room to get a head start, his strength diminishes significantly.

24 ICEMAN

For a few years after his introduction, Iceman was a joke in the Marvel Universe when it came to his power levels. However, as was proven when Emma Frost took over his body, he is an Omega Level mutant who is more powerful than even he realizes. When Iceman is in his ice form, he is almost indestructible, and he has proven that even if he is destroyed, he can regenerate himself using moisture in the air. On a normal basis, Iceman is strong and can lift double his body weight, which puts him at an average power level for someone his age and build that maintains good conditioning.

However, there is also the fact that Iceman can control his molecules and merge himself into giant masses of ice using hydrokinesis, immediately increasing his power and strength levels. When there is enough moisture or water for him to tap into, his strength levels rise significantly to match the size of being he grows into. The problem is that he needs the available moisture or water to reach these levels, or else his strength is at its lower levels. Since he can't do it on his own without enough water to aid him, Iceman is only average without that help.

23 WOLVERINE

Wolverine is one of a number of mutants who have the power of regeneration from injuries. He is almost unbeatable in a fight due to his unbreakable skeleton and healing factor, listed by Nick Fury as a Power Level 9 threat. Thanks to the adamantium he lived with on his skeleton for so many years, Wolverine's strength increased for a number of reasons. One of the key reasons is that the limitations of the human skeleton, which could cause broken bones if a person lifts too much weight, do not apply to Wolverine.

In examples of his strength, Wolverine has been shown to break chains, overpower up to a dozen men, and in Wolverine: First Class #8 lifted Russian hero Ursa Major and threw the 955-pound mutant across the room. The more berzerk Wolverine becomes, the stronger he grows to be. However, at the height of his strength, he is still below many mutants in the pecking order. Thanks to his skeleton, Wolverine has lifted nearly 1,000 pounds and can possibly lift up to two tons, although Wolverine: Weapon X Files #1 claims the maximum weight he can carry for brief times in his normal state of mind is around 800 pounds.

22 DEADPOOL

Deadpool is very similar to Wolverine when it comes to his power levels. Much like Wolverine, if Deadpool finds himself injured, his body immediately starts to heal to return him to peak conditioning. That helps him regenerate and maintain his strength levels. His regeneration also halted the aging process, allowing him to maintain his peak level of strength no matter how old he is. With that said, Deadpool also has a number of superhuman powers on top of his healing factor -- including superhuman strength.

On average, Deadpool can actually lift as much as two tons! The reason behind this is also his healing factor, as his body generates fewer fatigue toxins than other beings and that gives him enhanced levels of stamina in all physical activities. His bone and muscle tissues are also raised to levels harder and stronger than other humans, allowing him to prevent injuries, even if he lifts something heavy enough to tear the muscles and injure normal men. All this adds up to an amazing hand-to-hand fighter because he can match up to another superpowered hero or villain in pure strength but outlast them in stamina and heal from any injuries they inflict in the fight.

21 EMMA FROST

Much like many mutants, the most powerful of Emma Frost's abilities are telepathic in nature. She is an Omega level mutant telepath and her powers rival those of even Charles Xavier. When it comes to hand-to-hand combat, Emma is above average and has some training in self-defense. However, while she is a master telepath and uses those mutant skills to battle most of her opponents, she has another mutant power that makes her physically strong and dominant in a hand-to-hand fight as well.

Thanks to a secondary mutation caused by Cassandra Nova, Emma Frost also has the mutant ability to turn her entire body into an organic, flexible diamond form. There is one problem with her diamond form, and that is that it costs her the use of her telepathy when transformed. Despite that, she has superhuman strength, stamina and durability, as well as an immunity to telepathic powers. When it comes to her strength in diamond form, Emma Frost is able to lift up to two tons when at her physical peak. This mutant power is very similar to Colossus' mutation, although she is nowhere near as strong as the Russian mutant when she transforms into her diamond form.

20 SABRETOOTH

Throughout his entire existence in the world of Marvel Comics, Sabretooth has most often been associated with Wolverine. Both men have their beastly attributes, although Victor Creed takes on the look of a beast more than Logan. Both men have similar attacks, Wolverine with his retractable claws and Sabretooth with his natural claws. Also, much like Wolverine, who has his Adamantium skeleton, Sabretooth also has an unbreakable skeleton that was augmented by Weapon X (though only sporadically was it covered in adamantium). Finally, just like Logan, he has a regenerative healing factor.

Wolverine has been shown lifting up to 1,000 pounds, but he needs his berzerker rage to really lift the heaviest of weights. When it comes to Sabretooth, his healing factor allows him to push his muscles to work harder and lift more than normal humans, which gives him superhuman strength. In Wolverine: Weapon X Files #1, the data on Sabretooth claims that he is actually stronger than Wolverine without needing the rage-inducing episodes. It reports Sabretooth's strength levels as a Class 10, and he can lift somewhere between two and 10 tons. Sabretooth also possesses superhuman durability which, along with his healing powers, protects his muscles from tearing if he tries to lift too much at one time.

19 BEAST

One problem with the original X-Men was that they were not that special. Angel was just a guy who could fly. Beast was just a guy who was really muscular and athletic. There were heroes all over Marvel that were more impressive when it came to power sets. However, Beast really improved through the years thanks to his highly advanced intellect as well as the fact that he tried to cure himself once and ended up looking like a blue, furry beast. One thing that the new mutation did was to augment his already immense strength, making him a more powerful mutant and even adding a healing factor along the way.

When it comes to his powers, he has the abilities of a superhuman primate, which includes superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, dexterity and senses. As we mentioned, he even has a healing factor to help him recover from moderate injuries faster than normal mutants, though not as powerful as Wolverine's. The Beast is a Class 10 mutant when it comes to his pure strength and power. That strength allowed him to lift one ton, but since he mutated into his simian form, his strength increased and he can now lift as much as 10 tons. His strength also extends to his legs, similar to The Hulk, and he can use his leg muscles to propel himself up to 50 feet away.

18 BRUISER

Molly Hayes started her career as a mutant superhero when she was a young child, a member of the Runaways whose parents had telepathic powers. While she did not show any mutant genes as a child, she developed her powers as she got older and was very excited to become a superhero when the kids ran away from their supervillain parents. Known as Bruiser, Molly's powers include superhuman strength and invulnerability. When Molly's strength starts to increase, her eyes start to glow pink to show that business is about to pick up.

As a young girl, there is no telling how strong she will become as she ages and gains even more control of her powers. Molly has still never experienced the maximum limit of her powers but has fought giant monsters and tunneled through rock. However, at the moment, Molly can lift between 800 pounds and 25 tons with the strength growing as she powers up. There is one big weakness and it is one that might diminish as she gets older. When Molly uses her mutant powers to increase her strength, it only lasts for a limited time and she often falls asleep when she drains her endurance.

17 ARMOR

Armor is a mutant named Hisako Ichiki who joined the Xavier Institute and started training under Kitty Pryde. The mutant powers of Armor involve a psionic exoskeleton that allows her to create a giant armor that forms completely around her body and draws its power from her ancestors. This ability gives her superhuman strength, dexterity, agility, stamina, endurance, durability and makes her pretty much invulnerable. However, the problems arise with the fact that she can only keep it up for short periods of time before her energy is drained and she has to release the hold on the armor.

When it comes to superhuman strength, when Ichiki is powered up, she has highly destructive blows that are amplified with concussive force. Her strength class is not quite up to a Class 75 level. When she first started training, she could lift about 20 tons but with training, she has built up the ability to be able to lift between 30 to 50 tons while using her exoskeleton. She can only keep the armor up for about an hour, and as time wears on, her power and strength begins to decrease as she tires. Her power does sadly increase every time one of her relatives dies.

16 SUNSPOT

Roberto Da Costa is one of the original founding members of The New Mutants and has since gone on to even bigger heights in the Marvel Universe -- a millionaire who purchased A.I.M. and worked with The Avengers. Originally, Bobby's main powers were solar radiation absorption that allowed him to increase his physical strength while using the solar energy. Once Sunspot absorbs the energy, he can then re-channel it in a variety of ways, which then gives him numerous powerful and useful mutant superpowers.

Sunspot can use the energy to fly, enhance his durability and strength, shoot plasma and concussive energy blasts, alter the temperature in any given space, and can use them to survive where there is no oxygen, such as outer space. When it comes to his enhanced strength, Sunspot at one point could lift two tons. However, due to the M-Pox, his mutant powers are now at an increased level, which allows him to lift up to 50 tons. The counterbalance to this increase in strength is that every time he uses his mutant powers since developing the disease, he ages prematurely.

15 FRENZY

Frenzy was the daughter of an abusive military man. After the death of her brother, her dad came at her and started to abuse her again when her mutant powers activated and she punched a hole through his chest. At that point, Frenzy's powers were clearly very strong. Frenzy is a mutant powered with superhuman physical attributes -- the usual mixture that everyone wants. Her physiology makes her almost invulnerable and her skin considered as strong as steel. There is almost nothing that seems to penetrate her skin, with the exception of adamantium.

As for her strength, the mutant supervillain can lift somewhere between 25 and 75 tons. Standing almost seven feet tall, she is able to go toe-to-toe with some of the strongest heroes in the world. While her original appearances showed her with basic super strength, Frenzy has since battled both the She-Hulk and Rogue, who had the strength of Ms. Marvel at the time, in hand-to-hand combat and held her own. While she is invulnerable and has super strength, she is still beatable, as she has fallen to everyone from Ice-Man to Gambit, although it was always by knockout and she never suffered any physical damage in the beatings.

14 BLOB

Fred Dukes is an interesting case. His mutant power relates to his body mass. He is a giant hulking man, with superhuman durability and strength. It is almost impossible to move him when he plants his feet and it takes someone of immense power to even try. He also feels no pain, as his nerve endings do not send any information to his brain, so while he might suffer an injury, he can't actually feel it. There is no telling what kind of impact his body can take and any weapon used on him will just bounce off without even piercing his resilient skin.

His secondary mutant power, which ties into his superhuman endurance, is his strength. He has Class 70 strength levels, meaning he can lift up to 70 tons. There are some questions about his current power levels, however. When the Scarlet Witch depowered 90-percent of all the planet's mutants, Blob was one of those mutants affected. He still had his large girth, but it turned into giant mounds of flesh hanging from his body and it took a while for him to accept his new role in the world. However, in Uncanny X-Men #16, Blob made his return as a mutant using Mutant Growth Hormones supplied by Mystique. It is unclear if his strength is at the same levels during his original standing as one of the X-Men's most formidable mutant foes.

13 M

Monet St. Croix is a former member of the Hellfire Club that has since gone on to work with The X-Men, X-Factor and Generation X. The mutant powers of the woman called M are really a mishmash of abilities that, at the end of the day, make her an almost perfect being. Her mutant powers basically make her perfectly enhanced in almost all areas, including speed, endurance, reflexes, intuition, flight, telepathy, telekinesis, and most importantly here -- strength.

M is able to lift up to 75 tons, making her one of the stronger members of The X-Men, and her superhuman endurance and supernaturally dense tissue allow her to lift heavier items if needed without risking too much injury. Similar to Deadpool, whose regenerative powers allows his muscles to immediately start to regenerate if he overextends himself, M needs little time for her healing factor to kick in as well. While not looking the part, M is deceptively strong and has even fought She-Hulk on even ground in She-Hulk Vol. 2, #31 before Strong Man had to get involved. At the end of the day, Monet St. Croix is one of the strongest, fastest and most agile mutants in all of the Marvel Universe.

12 ROCKSLIDE

Rockslide made his debut in the pages of The New Mutants, a young mutant who ended up as part of Emma Frost's Hellions. Rockslide is made of inorganic granite, so while he looks almost indestructible, he has been destroyed on numerous occasions. In New X-Men: Hellions #4, Kingmaker shattered him but Hellion put him back together again. In World War Hulk, The Hulk actually ripped off his arms and legs. This proves that, as tough as Rockslide looks, he is not invulnerable to attacks by other high-level super beings. It also means that Rockslide, despite his impressive attributes, is nowhere near the strength of an Alpha-level superhero like Hulk.

With that said, Rockslide has a regenerative ability that can possibly bring him back stronger each time. His mutant powers include launching rock projectiles, having superhuman stamina and durability against natural attacks, and superhuman strength. He is able to lift at least 75 tons with no effort, making him one of the more powerful members of the X-Men. Also, thanks to his superhuman stamina, Rockslide is able to remain at peak capacity -- and peak strength -- for longer periods of times than other mutants, making him a frontline warrior in the larger X-Men battles.

11 WARPATH

At one time, Warpath ranked much higher on the list of the strongest Marvel mutants. However, as the years have gone by, his strength powers have lessened, though his others have seemed to increase. James Proudstar is a mutant with the same powers as his brother, Thunderbird. His brother died on his second mission as a member of the X-Men and that caused Warpath to start his career as a villain before becoming a member of various X-teams. The interesting thing about Thunderbird and Warpath is that they have basically the same mutant powers, which is superhuman attributes all around, including superhuman strength.

Warpath is more powerful than his brother was and often held back on using his powers in deference to the memories of his brother. In X-Force #107, it was shown that the High Evolutionary enhanced Warpath's powers to considerable levels of strength. At one point, his strength was Class 90 levels (the ability to lift 90 tons). However, depending on who is writing him, Warpath has shown to not possess that strength all the time, weakening him when the story calls for it. With that said, there was nothing that happened to decrease his Class 90 strength, so it is assumed he still has that power, but only uses it when the need arises.

10 DARWIN

X-Men fans who only watch the movies and don't read the comic books have a very poor view of the mutant Darwin. In X-Men: First Class, Darwin was part of the original team and was there to stand toe-to-toe with Sebastian Shaw when he attacked the recruits. In that movie, his mutant powers allowed him to adapt to any situation. However, that did little good when Shaw forced a batch of energy down into Darwin's throat and caused him to explode and die. In the comics, it takes a lot more than that to beat Darwin.

Darwin's powers are the same in the comics. He can take any situation, and his body immediately reacts and adapts to it. That means that if he needs to survive in outer space, his body will allow him to survive without oxygen. If he is underwater, his body will grow gills to allow him to breathe. His skin can become fireproof. Also, when it comes to strength, it is even more impressive. Darwin has no limits to his strength whatsoever and can be as strong as he needs to be to survive. What keeps him lower on the list is that his body won't let it get to that point. When Darwin faced The Hulk in World War Hulk: X-Men #3, instead of becoming as strong as Hulk, his mutant powers just transported him to safety.

9 MAGNETO

Magneto has been the X-Men's greatest villain as well as their strongest alley on other occasions. He is also one of the most powerful mutants to ever live, an Alpha-mutant with immense powers -- both physically and mentally. While he is no longer as strong as he was before thanks to a connection with the Phoenix Force leaving him weaker, he uses the controversial Mutant Growth Hormone to raise his powers back to their original levels -- if only for a limited amount of time. Of course, his main power is magnetokinesis -- the controlling of all magnetism.

With this power, he can create force-fields, armor, shoot rays and fly, and control metal of all forms. It is hard to forget the time he ripped out Wolverine's adamantium skeleton. However, with all these powers, many people don't seem to realize how strong he really is. When at peak conditioning, and when using the MGH that he needs now, Magneto is able to magnetically increase his physical strength a great deal, and according to the Marvel Directory, he can lift well over 100 tons, making his strength level a Class 100 -- almost the top of the food chain for mutants.

8 ROGUE

When it comes to the power of Rogue, it really lies in who she has stolen power from in the past. Of course, Rogue's mutant abilities is power absorption, which means when she touches someone skin-to-skin, she can absorb the superpowers, memories, talents, personality, knowledge and physical abilities of that person. The longer she touches them, the more she gains, and she can actually kill a person is she is not careful. With that said, in her past life as a villain, she has absorbed the powers of two of Marvel's most powerful heroes -- Captain Marvel and Wonder Man.

Carol Danvers lost almost all her powers to Rogue when they battled and that is what gave Rogue superhuman strength and the ability to fly -- one of the rare times that she gained someone's powers permanently. At her current power level, Danvers can lift up to 50 tons, and Rogue got her at full-power before that. Rogue also gained Wonder Man's powers, and actually kept those as well, increasing her strength level to 100 tons, making her a Class 100 level. The limits of her strength have never been tested above that, and at this time, there is also no limit known on how many powers she can absorb at once.

7 COLOSSUS

When breaking down the strongest mutants in Marvel, the one that always rises to the top of the debate is Colossus. His entire mutant power is based on strength and power, but he is not quite the strongest member of the mutant race. Colossus' main power is the ability to convert his body into solid steel. He can change at a moment's notice and there is no limit to how long he can remain in this form. Luckily for Colossus, he maintains his speed and agility, even when in steel form, making him one of the most formidable fighters in the X-Men.

When it comes to his superhuman strength, it all comes down to what he is able to do in his steel form. He is already unnaturally strong as a human and can pull tree trunks from the ground in human form. That power is magnified when he turns into Colossus. When he was a teenager, Colossus was immensely powerful, able to lift 70 tons with optimal conditions. However, as he grew into adulthood and developed a mastery of his superpowers, he can now easily lift over 100 tons according to the most recent Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe.

6 NAMOR

When talking about Namor, the Sub-Mariner, most people don't really talk about his mutant lineage. What most people see is his leadership of the underwater kingdom -- he was basically Aquaman two years before DC Comics created Aquaman. However, unlike Aquaman -- who was a joke for years for comic book fans -- Namor is an arrogant and unsympathetic jerk who imposed his will on anyone he deemed beneath him. He made Quicksilver look kindhearted in comparison. Add to that the knowledge that Namor is a hybrid Atlantean-mutant, and his powers are significantly higher.

Namor is an Alpha-level mutant and much like Aquaman, his powers are amplified by the water. Namor is stronger underwater than he is on land, but that does not lessen his power regardless of where he is. All Atlanteans possess superhuman strength underwater, but Namor surpasses all those of his race. When out of the water, Namor was able to beat Luke Cage and She-Hulk in fights. He even knocked out The Hulk in Incredible Hulk #118, so he remains very powerful compared to other superhumanly strong heroes. While in contact with water, Namor can easily press and lift over 100 tons and overpowers just about anyone in the Marvel Universe.