Since you're reading this right now, you're most likely an unfortunate member of the Homo Sapiens species born too early (unless you're a time traveler). The only means of communication we are capable of right now are either verbal or physical. Telepathy is still way out of our evolutionary reach. Such mental limitation of our species is quite sad—it would have been very useful in a game like poker, for example. The closest glimpse we have of telepathy is through our favorite comic book metahumans.
In fact, there's actually quite many of them in comic books, particularly in the Marvel universe. Moreover, if a character usually has telepathy, you can bet they are some of the most powerful individuals ever. After all, being able to read and influence minds is even more powerful than physical superhuman abilities. So, if you're still not sold on telepathy being more powerful than super-strength or flight, here are 10 of the most powerful telepaths in the Marvel universe who can convince you telepathically.
10 MANTIS
It's true that there might actually be more powerful telepaths compared to Mantis from the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially mutants from alternate universes, but how many of them were actually able to pacify Thanos? Mantis achieved such an astounding feat in Marvel Cinematic Universe's (MCU) Avengers: Infinity War with the help of the heavy hitters.
Granted, Mantis' telepathy only happens on physical contact, which is quite unwieldy in most situations. When used in conjunction with other superheroes, however, Mantis can become an instant silver bullet. In the comic books, Mantis was also able to knock out the likes of Thor. Underestimating her wouldn't be wise.
9 CABLE
When you're the son of Scott Summers in an official timeline of the Marvel universe (Earth-616), you're bound to be a powerful mutant. Cable or Nathaniel Summers is just that. Having a Jean Grey clone as her mother also gave him some psychic powers to a degree. As a result, Cable is actually capable of telepathy.
He's quite a skilled telepath in addition to being a Terminator of the Marvel universe. Powerful as he is, Cable is actually bearing a heavy handicap on his telepathic capabilities in the form of a techno-organic virus. Such an affliction made Cable's powers gradually weaker, meaning he never really reached his full potential.
8 NATHANIEL/NATE GREY
Cable is supposed to be the perfect mutant but his techno-organic virus got the better of him. Luckily, different versions of him in alternate realities were not so unfortunate. Nate comes from Earth-295 and is the son of Jean Grey (the real one, not her clone) and Scott Summers. Nate was a lot more different since he was grown in a test tube.
Nevertheless, Nate's powers are similar to his mother's and he's a lot more powerful than Cable. He was able to cross over to the official timeline, where his arrival became instrumental to the X-Men defeating Apocalypse. For that reason, Nate was sort of a messiah and was even designed to be the spitting image of a certain son of God.
7 RACHEL SUMMERS
Rachel Summers is the legitimate child of Scott Summers and Jean Grey in Earth-811. Like Nate Grey, Rachel also had the privilege of crossing over to Earth-616 and helping that miserable timeline. Like her mother, Rachel is also an Omega level mutant. She pretty much inherited many of Jean Grey's powers, including telepathy and the ability to project her mind through space and time.
To be honest, a fight between her and Nate Grey would be quite close. Rachel, however, has one advantage: the picky Phoenix Force likes her better. It's only fitting that it does since she's basically Jean Grey Jr. Anyway, anyone who has the Phoenix Force is bound to be more powerful than even Celestials. Why Rachel's so low on this list is due to her being originally from an alternate timeline.
6 FRANKLIN RICHARDS
Let's hate this kid in unison, alright? He's just too unfair! Franklin's a mutant, he's the son of Reed Richards, he has telepathy... and he gets to marry Rachel Summers (in the alternate timeline where she exists). What he is now? The Mary-est of all Sues? (Even his mother's named Sue.) Anyway, there's no doubt that Franklin Richard's powers are absurd and he's too fortunate to be likable.
That's probably why his most powerful or grown version was kept an alternate universe. Franklin, because of his genetic cheating via his parentage, is regarded as the most powerful mutant on Earth. We're talking about someone who was able to create a pocket universe by himself when he was just a boy. Oh, he's also a fully-fledged telepath.
5 SHADOW KING
The Shadow King is no mere human or being. It's an astral entity made manifest out of the dark recesses of the human consciousness. As such, it was spawned by the first nightmare of human beings, meaning it's pretty old. However, the Shadow King only became one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth through a mutant named Amahl Farouk, a leader of an underground syndicate and a Nazi agent himself.
Farouk already had the psychic ability to control those around him, so the Shadow King really lucked out when Farouk merged with it. After their merging, it became unclear who was in control or if Farouk himself became the Shadow King. Regardless, Shadow King/Farouk has proven to be capable of mentally manipulating the likes of Black Panther or Psylocke without their knowledge.
4 SENTRY
Sentry (Robert Reynolds) might not be the best telepath in this list (he probably deserves to be lower) but when you have the power of a million exploding suns at your disposal, anything is possible. Apart from being an unstable Marvel version of Superman, Sentry's immense power appears to obey no rules. That means in addition to super strength, speed, durability, energy projection, flight, and other godly stuff, he also occasionally dabbles in telepathy.
Sentry has even used that hidden ability in order to wipe all memories of himself from everyone's minds on Earth (even Charles Xavier's). Even the likes of Emma Frost would have trouble penetrating Sentry's mind since he apparently has paranoid schizophrenia and has an alternate evil version. Beyond wiping everyone's memory of him, he doesn't do much telepathy, and thankfully so—otherwise he'd be too unstoppable.
3 EMMA FROST
Not many people can rival Charles Xavier when it comes to telepathy. That is until Emma Frost came along and showed how it's done. Emma is considered an Omega-class telepath or World-class telepath, meaning she's extremely skilled with her powers. Emma is also among the only five telepaths on Earth-616 who can seamlessly alter a person's mind.
In fact, she's been able to overcome other accomplished telepaths such as Nate Grey and Rachel Summers. It's not just Emma's powers that are formidable but also her skill and experience with it. She can even manipulate certified Alpha-level baddies like Magneto and has filled in for Jean Grey's role in the X-Men after the Phoenix Force's host's death.
2 CHARLES XAVIER
Here we go, the bald legend who was responsible for grouping the most powerful mutants together like atoms in a ticking nuclear bomb. Miraculously, that figurative bomb didn't go off thanks to Charles Xavier's experience and telepathic prowess. Without a doubt, Charles Xavier's brain is the most powerful on Earth-616.
He can stop/freeze people (and mutants) on a massive scale, modify memories and minds, change people's personalities, and, of course, he can control Jean Grey and her chaotic tendencies. Even without interfacing with Cerebro, he can connect with every single life form on Earth or even make contact with alien beings across galaxies. So great was his mutant power, even Apocalypse wanted it so bad.
1 JEAN GREY
Emma and Charles said it themselves: Jean Grey was the most powerful telepath in the universe. It was even surmised that she was more powerful than Thanos with the Mind Stone/Gem—and that is without the Phoenix Force. It's just that Jean always had trouble wrestling with such immense powers. Without Charles Xavier's help and tutelage, Jean wouldn't have been able to take control of them.
With that in mind, it's easy to see why the Phoenix Force prefers Jean Grey. She's the most powerful mutant ever and can be seemingly immortal with the Phoenix Force. Moreover, Jean Grey's telepathic and telekinetic powers appear to have limitless potential.
Think there's someone more powerful than Jean Grey? Feel free to discuss in the comments.