In the world of Marvel, there is no one who adapts to a situation as well as Raven Darkhölme a.k.a. Mystique. It’s not just that she can easily change her alliance to suit her own needs but literally as well; her ability is such that she can change her appearance at will, and at any time, without depleting her energy in any way.
In films and in comics, her skill has been showcased in the most fascinating of ways—sometimes using her allure to bend others to her cause, other times hiding in plain sight for the right moment, to strike at the right time.
Although Rebecca Romijn did an excellent job at portraying these chameleon-like abilities in the early X-Men films, her version of Mystique didn’t get the amount of screen-time that Jennifer Lawrence’s version did. Apart from a more prominent role, Lawrence’s Mystique also got a new background, and a new set of relationships to forge and destroy—making her quite different from Romijn’s Mystique and, more importantly, the Raven Darkhölme of the comics.
10 Accurate: She Is Uncomfortable In Her Own Skin
It's a scene that has launched a million memes: Raven is trying to seduce Magneto, changing her appearance in order to appeal to him, but he keeps telling her that he prefers "the real Raven". Taken aback a bit, Raven then transforms into her blue form, and receives a kiss from Magneto, who tells her to be proud of her mutant powers.
This reluctance to see the beauty in her natural form, this level of discomfort in her own skin is apparent in the comics, too. She would do anything rather than see her own reflection in the mirror.
9 Inaccurate: She Sees The Error Of Her Ways
In the source material, even when she joins Charles Xavier's team of mutants, even when she seems to be fighting for the right side, she inadvertently shows her real self by backstabbing the X-Men and going back to her wily ways. She even takes on the appearance of another mutant to gather information and spy on people.
Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique is not exactly cut from the same cloth. Yes, she is led astray by Magneto for a while and she thinks only the most revolutionary way could be used to make her voice heard. But her years spent in the company of Charles Xavier, who she considers to be her brother, leaves her vulnerable to his pleas and allows her to realize the error of her ways.
8 Accurate: She Is Nightcrawler's Mother
Nightcrawler’s connection to Mystique, the fact that he is her son, is only hinted at when the character is first introduced in the comics. But soon enough, his parentage is made clear and he is shown to be the child of Mystique and Azazel.
This connection isn’t canon in the movies, but there is a moment in a blooper scene where Jennifer Lawrence calls Nightcrawler her "illegitimate son with Azazel." The words are uttered on camera, in jest, but the truth of their connection is spoken out, at least.
7 Inaccurate: She Is A Founding Member Of X-Men
Jennifer Lawrence’s first foray into X-Men, as Mystique, starts with the film X-Men: The Last Stand, where she is shown to be one of the team's founding members. It’s only natural at that point, considering the movie-canon, she is Charles’ foster sister.
In printed form, in the comics, things couldn’t be more different. She is never truly a part of Professor X’s exceptional team, she only ever truly aligns herself with one group—the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. And even then, she doesn’t join the team when Magneto is in charge, but establishes a version of the mutant group on her own.
6 Accurate: She Disguises Herself As Psylocke To Further Her Plans
In the film X-Men: Apocalypse, Mystique takes on the appearance of Psylocke and attempts to fight Apocalypse and stop him in his tracks. But it doesn’t have the desired effect, as he strangles her and lifts her off the ground in doing so. It’s so painful for Mystique that she has to revert to her original form. It’s only when Charles infiltrates Apocalypse’s mind that she is released from his clutches.
In the comics, in Uncanny X-Force #26 to be specific, Mystique takes on the form of Psylocke to make Fantomex spill some secrets. Unfortunately, even here, her disguise doesn’t last, and she is found out to be Mystique instead of Psylocke.
5 Inaccurate: She Is Charles Xavier’s Foster Sister
The closest Professor X and Mystique come to a relationship is when she becomes a secret agent for him. But even then, the deal between them doesn’t last for long. In the films starring Jennifer Lawrence, though, the two are pretty much siblings.
A young Charles comes across an equally young Raven in his kitchen, and decides to let her grow up with him as his foster sister. Theirs is an easy friendship in the beginning, with them bonding over how “different” they each are from the others. When we met them adults, that friendship has evolved into a relationship akin to that of brother and sister.
4 Accurate: Her Shapeshifting Capabilities Are The Same
The one thing that remains constant throughout the character’s portrayals, in comics or on screen, is her power of shapeshifiting. It’s not infallible; there are times when she loses her ability and is left vulnerable. Barring those moments, though, Mystique’s enviable transformations come in quite handy when she needs to fit in and disappear into a crowd, or stand out and allow focus on her for a plan to succeed.
In both the comics and the films, she morphs her cells to form into any human or mutant she wants to. She can even mimic their voice and tone of speech, making it almost impossible for someone to figure out who she truly is. However, few mutants, like Wolverine, are quite good at observing that it’s her beneath another’s skin.
3 Inaccurate: She Is Magneto’s Associate
In the comics, although Mystique shares Magneto's views about mutant superiority, she doesn't really stick to his side all the time. In fact, she has her own path to follow, and doesn't quite interact with Erik/Magneto the way she does in the films.
In the films, she starts off on Charles' side but soon makes the decision in Erik's favor, choosing the moment where Charles lies wounded on a beach to declare her changed point of view. From thereon, she appears to follow the violent path Erik prefers only to abandon assassination attempts when Charles convinces her to. In the films, there is still good in her.
2 Accurate: She Gets Stabbed To Death
In the comic Wolverine (vol.4) #9, Wolverine is hellbent on killing her. He has just come back from the dead, and has been made aware of the fact that Mystique was the one to trap his soul in hell, so he has no goal in mind but to make her suffer just as he had. After a lot of chase, he finally finds her cornered and stabs her to death with his claws.
She is only trying to help Jean Grey in X-Men: Dark Phoenix—soothe her down and reign in her powers before Jean is unable to control them herself, when she is struck by the Omega mutant's wave of psionic blast and gets impaled by sharp debris, dying on the spot.
1 Inaccurate: She Has A Soft Spot For Beast
Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique has a soft spot for Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast. They meet early on, even before X-Men is a proper team of mutants, and share their vulnerabilities with each other in X-Men: First Class. Though it doesn’t lead anywhere—all they do is exchange a kiss—they still hold affection for each other during the rest of the films series.
In the comics, Mystique doesn’t have any such relationship with Beast. Instead, she has romantic interludes with several other mutants—some of them being Destiny, Azazel, Sabretooth, and Forge. She even becomes a mother, and mentors Rogue as her very own daughter despite not being a blood relative.