The X-Men have had plenty of enemies over the years, but the Marauders have been one of their biggest threats to date. Formed by Mister Sinister to assassinate mutants, the team has been responsible for many atrocities including the massacre of the Morlocks and the kidnapping of Madelyne Pryor.

Whilst they may not be as threatening as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants or Apocalypse's Horsemen, there're plenty of members within the Marauders that have some powerful abilities, all willing to do whatever their leader desires. We rank the 10 most dangerous members of the Marauders and look at why they're the best at what they do.

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10 Arclight

During Vietnam, Arclight fought alongside Scalphunter when they went by their real names of Phillipa Sontag and John Greycrow. The two would team back up when the Marauders were sent to commit the genocide of the Morlocks, with Arclight helping to kill many of them in the massacre.

What makes her so dangerous is her ability to strike enemies with a deadly shockwave and how much joy she takes in hurting her enemies. Both sadistic and powerful, Arclight is a dangerous member of the Marauders, and even though she lost her life during the demonic invasion of New York, she was cloned by Mister Sinister to fight at his side once again.

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9 Bushwacker

Whilst not technically a 'member' of the Marauders, they would hire him to assassinate various mutants for large sums of money. Much like Arclight, Bushwacker is a sadist who takes great joy in murdering and has often been an enemy of Daredevil, Wolverine, and the Punisher.

Once a Catholic priest, he abandoned the church following the deaths of his young parishioners caused by drugs. After he left the church, the C.I.A. recruited him and gave him a cybernetic arm to carry out assassinations for them. However, he became a bounty hunter, and this is when the Marauders decide to hire him for their own gain.

8 Harpoon

Whilst not as famous as Mister Sinister or Sabretooth, Harpoon played a major role in causing anguish towards the X-Men during the Mutant Massacre. His powers allow him to convert his weapon into a source of great bio-energy once it is thrown. He was also responsible for Angel having to have his wings amputated after he pinned him to a wall with his harpoon.

Harpoon also caused Kitty Pryde to remain constantly in phase, leaving her in a ghost-like state thanks to the bio-energy that coursed through her body when attached to Rogue. Thanks to Mister Sinister's ability to clone all the Marauders, he survived N'astirh's invasion of Earth. Later, he lost his powers during M-Day and also fought for Magneto as a new clone.

7 Riptide

The massacre of the Morlocks was a brutal affair, and Riptide was at the forefront, using his abilities to cause untold damage. He used great speed to cause a small whirlwind which would fire sharp projectiles at his enemies, often severely hurting plenty of individuals at any one time.

His actions almost cost the lives of Nightcrawler and Colossus due to his powerful ability but lost his life when a furious Piotr snapped his neck like a twig. He would later return as a clone to fight for Mister Sinister, but again he died once more during the Inferno event. Some guys just can't catch a break.

6 Polaris

The Mistress of Magnetism is a powerful mutant sharing abilities similar to her father, Magneto. She had been through a lot, but after she moved to New Mexico with Alex Summers, the two tried to live a peaceful life. However, when Summers left to rejoin the X-Men, Polaris was attacked.

As a member of the Marauders, she was possessed by Malice—a mutant capable of manipulating the darkness within sentient life and controlling them to do her bidding. She became a serious threat to the X-Men, and did much of Mister Sinister's dirty work for years until his death, causing her bond with Malice to eventually cease to exist.

5 Mystique

Raven Darkholme has been a member of many mutant teams over the years, including the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, X-Factor, and Freedom Force, but she was also a member of the Marauders. Much of Mystique's life has been about protecting her foster daughter Rogue, but, during her betrayal of the X-Men, she shot Rogue and joined the Marauders.

It turned out that Mystique was undertaking the prophecies as outlined in the Destiny Diaries and that her actions against Rogue were solely intended to protect her. After killing Mister Sinister in the Messiah Complex story arc, she used the baby to try and save Rogue. After she awoke, she scorned Mystique and tried to kill her for all the evil she had done.

4 Malice

In an effort to lure the X-Men out of hiding, Mister Sinister used her to bond with Dazzler. Malice is composed of pure psionic energy and can bond with sentient life of any kind to bring out their weaknesses and manipulate them. Whilst in control of Dazzler, the X-Men did arrive to help her, but in turn became corrupted as well, making Wolverine temporarily attack his teammates.

She was also made to bond with Polaris and kidnap Madelyne Pryor, but the two ended up separating. Mister Sinister tried to get the two to become entwined once again. However, Malice went after Havok, attempting to kill Polaris in rebellion against Sinister's original plans for the two to become one.

3 Scalphunter

Scalphunter is a manipulator of mechanics, and can use a wide variety of weapons to perform his brutal killings. Ever a faithful follower of Mister Sinister, he was one of the Marauders responsible for the mutant massacre, famously killing many Morlocks under the streets of Manhattan.

When he was first introduced in Uncanny X-Men #210, he killed Hellfire Club member Richard Salmons point blank, then led his team of Marauders to murder many of the Morlocks, including Tommy who'd inadvertently led them to the Alley. It was in these sewers that he also gunned down innocent children, proving him to be one of the most dangerous of the team.

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2 Sabretooth

A close up of sabretooth sneering

A mutant that needs no introduction, Sabretooth was one of the original mutants recruited by Gambit to fight for the Marauders. His superhuman strength and agility makes him one of the most dangerous members of the Marauders, and with his regenerative abilities, he has proved time and time again that there's no easy way to take him out.

In his first big fight for the mutant assassins, he tangled with Wolverine—his biggest rival. The fight came to a halt when a plethora of rubble falls between the two of them. He was also part of the team that hunted down Polaris, as well as the kidnapping of Madelyne Pryor during the Inferno event.

1 Mister Sinister

Nathaniel Essex became heavily obsessed with the theory of evolution, and, after the death of his son, it drove him deeper into his work, experimenting on individuals to continue his research. After the death of his wife, he adopted the name Sinister and welcomed mutations that granted him new powers, bestowed on him by Apocalypse.

His intelligence is his greatest weapon and has led the Marauders for many years. He used Gambit to hire new members that would eventually lead the charge against the Morlocks and cloned Jean Grey to use her against Apocalypse. Sinister was also responsible for bringing the cloned Jean Grey and Scott Summers AKA Cyclops together and have a child, the time-traveling mutant Cable.

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