WARNING: This article contains spoilers for House of X #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, Clayton Cowles and Tom Muller, on sale now.
The most powerful members of the X-Men and Marvel's other mutants are usually referred to as Omega-level. While that term indicates the absolute peak of mutant powers, the rules that define it have always somewhat nebulous. At times, the phrase "Omega level" was used interchangeably with similar terms like "Alpha-Level Mutants" or "Omega-Level Telepaths," which further confused its true meaning.
However, House of X #1 firmly establishes the rules for defining what an Omega-level mutant is, in addition to setting up the X-Men's new status quo. A text piece in the issue identifies the 14 known Omega-level mutants as characters with powers that have "an undefinable upper limit" that "cannot be surpassed in any measurable fashion." These mutants are considered the greatest natural resource of the new mutant nation Krakoa and must be protected at all costs.
Now, CBR is breaking down, in no particular order, all of the characters House of X establishes as Omega-level mutants.
JEAN GREY
Unsurprisingly, House of X reaffirms the long-established belief that Jean Grey is an Omega-level mutant. Even without the cosmic power of the Phoenix Force, the founding X-Men member is still one of the most powerful telepaths in the world and could potentially outclass Professor X, who isn't on this list.
While Jean has both telepathic and telekinetic abilities, House of X explicitly establishes that only Jean's telepathic powers are Omega-level. As House of X notes, many mutants have multiple powers, but only one is usually Omega-level.
ICEMAN
House of X also confirms Iceman is still an Omega-level mutant. Although Bobby Drake has historically been something of a habitual underachiever, he still has the potential to be one of the strongest mutants ever with his ice-producing and temperature-manipulating abilities.
Although Iceman has performed plenty of impressive feats, he's considered Omega-level because of what he could potentially do, rather than what he's actually done. While he's used his powers more extensively in recent years, Iceman is still only beginning to fully utilize them.
JAMIE BRADDOCK
Jamie Braddock is the brother of Psylocke and Captain Britain. With the mutant power to manipulate reality on a quantum level, Jamie has long been established as an Omega-level mutant, which is reaffirmed here.
Although he has a tenuous grasp on reality, Jamie has used his powers to transform people into creatures, resurrect the dead and restore locations to their previous states. Originally, his powers could only affect his immediate surroundings, although he appears to have evolved past that limitation, and the upper limit of his strength is unknown.
ELIXIR
As Elixir, Joshua Foley was one of the New X-Men trainees throughout the 2000s. The gold-skinned mutant has Omega-level biokinetic powers that he can use to heal or harm organic matter on a microscopic level.
While he's still discovering the limits of his healing abilities, Elixir has a death touch that can kill instantly. He can also seemingly raise the dead, and the young mutant nearly revived 16 million dead mutants at once before passing out from the strain.
LEGION
Legion, the son of Professor X, has almost always been considered one of Marvel's strongest mutants. David Haller's ability to spontaneously manifest new powers makes him an Omega-level mutant, and he usually creates a new mental persona for each of those abilities.
Although most Legion stories revolve around him trying to deal with his mental instability in some capacity, David has a potentially unlimited power set that gives him a legitimate claim to being Marvel's strongest mutant.
MAGNETO
Despite Magneto's well-documented mastery of magnetism, House of X marks the first time he's been explicitly called an Omega-level mutant. Until now, he's been referred to as one of the strongest Alpha-level mutants, which put him just outside of the Omega-level power rankings.
However, Magneto's Omega status is well-earned. He's used his powers to affect Earth's electromagnetic field on a planetary scale and has been able to draw giant metal objects to Earth from galaxies away in deep space.
PROTEUS
Proteus, or Kevin MacTaggert, is the son of longtime X-Men ally Moira MacTaggert. While he has Omega-level reality-warping abilities, Kevin MacTaggert's body couldn't handle the strain of his mutant powers. He now exists as a psionic entity who must jump between host bodies, which he continuously burns out.
Although Proteus seemingly died recently in Astonishing X-Men, House of X indicates he is alive and affiliated with Xavier's efforts on Krakoa, which marks the first time he's shown any cooperation with the X-Men.
MISTER M
Although Mister M might be the most obscure Omega mutant, he's still one of the most powerful. Introduced by David Hine and David Yardin in District X #2, Absolon Mercator lived in a mutant enclave in New York City. Thanks to powers that allowed him to manipulate matter and energy on a subatomic level, he was also briefly seen as a messianic figure.
Although he was seemingly killed in 2006, M may have evolved into a being of pure energy who no longer needs a physical body.
STORM
After being called an Alpha-level mutant for years, Storm has finally been confirmed as an Omega mutant by House of X. Although her weather-manipulating powers are deceptively simple, Storm has refined control over her abilities to let her create disparate things like tornadoes, lightning and torrential rain with ease.
While she usually uses her powers on a fairly small scale, Storm has been able to whip up continent-wide storms in minutes, affect planetary weather patterns and even manipulate solar winds in space.
EXODUS
House of X also certifies Exodus, Bennet du Paris, as an Omega-level mutant for the first time. This ancient, immortal mutant has a host of powers but is explicitly identified as an Omega-level telekinetic.
This frequent Magneto ally and X-Men enemy has used his abilities for precise work, like putting Professor X's brain back together atom by atom, and for large-scale displays of power, like erecting an impenetrable telekinetic barrier around the island of Genosha while distracted.
QUENTIN QUIRE
Next to Jean Grey, Quentin Quire might be the most powerful telepath in the world. As his codename, Kid Omega, suggests, Quire is still one of the X-Men's younger, in-training members, but he already has Omega-level abilities.
There's essentially no limit to his potential, and he's already used his ability to psychically create a fully populated virtual reality and projectile weapons made out of pure psionic energy. While he also has telekinetic abilities, only his telepathic powers are identified as Omega -level here.
VULCAN
Gabriel Summers is the long-lost brother of Cyclops and Havok. After his lone mission with the X-Men ended in tragedy, Vulcan went mad and briefly conquered the intergalactic Shi'ar Empire.
Vulcan has somewhat ill-defined energy-manipulating powers that allow him to absorb and redistribute vast amounts of energy, even magic, in a number of forms. He's also one of the few mutants who's been described as potentially past Omega, if such a categorization was ever established.
HOPE SUMMERS
Hope Summers, the adoptive daughter of Cable, was the first mutant born after the Decimation of the global mutant population. As a teen, she used her Omega-level power-manipulating abilities to activate and stabilize the powers of a new generation of mutants.
On a practical level, Hope's powers usually function like an idealized version of Rogue's abilities. Hope can mimic the abilities of any mutant she's near and use those powers to their full, often untapped potential, frequently better than the mutant she borrows powers from.
FRANKLIN RICHARDS
Franklin Richards may very well be most powerful being in the Marvel Universe. As the son of the Fantastic Four's Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman, he has Omega-level reality-warping abilities that allow him to do almost anything on a universal scale.
As a child, he created the pocket Heroes Reborn universe with his imagination, and he'll only get more powerful as he ages into adulthood. With powers that will tame Galactus and rival the Celestials' abilities, Franklin is likely Marvel's most powerful mutant, which could be why his name is the only one highlighted in red on the House of X list.