The Summers family is one of the most powerful - and complicated - in the world of the X-Men. Over the years, the once small clan has grown considerably, stretching beyond time and space to become a dynastic power in the past, present, and future of numerous dimensions and realities. The soap opera twists and turns have made them compelling, but not as much as their powers.
Some of the most powerful mutants alive carry the last name Summers or are related to them by blood or marriage. Each has a distinct superpower, though many of them share some common features that link the family in power.
10 Hope Summers - Power Manipulation / Mimicry
Hope Summers is significant among the Summers clan for a number of reasons. As the first mutant born after the harrowing events of House of M, she had a target on her back. She's also an Omega-Level mutant, making her one of the most powerful mutants alive. Hope can manipulate and mimic the powers of other mutants around her to near unlimited levels. She uses this ability in concert with the Five to resurrect dead mutants. Cable adopted her as a baby and named her after his late wife, Hope Summers.
9 X-Man - Psionic
The story of the X-Men is the story of alternate futures and realities. As such, there are numerous versions of the man known as Cable around. Nate Grey, AKA X-Man, is just one. Nate is an extraordinarily powerful telepath and telekinetic. He's also an Omega-Level Mutant who has proved his power many times. He hails from the grim Age of Apocalypse alternate future. Nate Grey crossed over into the main Marvel universe of Earth-616 at the end of the event and was last seen in the Age of X-Man, a major story before the Dawn of X era began.
8 Ruby Summers - Optic Blasts / Ruby Skin
Ruby Summers is another Summers descendant from another alternate future, this time the one that Bishop hailed from. Unlike Nate, who is the son of Cyclops and Jean Grey, she is the daughter of Scott Summers and Emma Frost. Consequently, she shares elements of both her parents' abilities. She can project optic blasts like her father and harden her skin to a dense ruby, as her mother did (though the White Queen hardened into a diamond). She maintains her ruby form to keep from aging rapidly.
7 Hyperstorm - Psionic
Hyperstorm is another major powerhouse from another alternate future for the X-Men, with strong ties to the Fantastic Four. This forgotten, famous villain from the 90s was meant to have been a much bigger deal than he was. Hyperstorm is the son of Rachel Summers and Franklin Richards, with god-like powers.
Jonathan Richards possesses psionic abilities and could also alter reality, making him insanely powerful. He could also draw on the psionic energy of the universe itself.
6 Stryfe - Psionic
Stryfe is another 90s character with a tragic and complicated backstory. He is the clone of Nathan Summers, better known as Cable, created in the far future to try and save Summers from a deadly techno-organic virus. Stryfe has all of Cable's abilities, including Cable's considerable telekinetic and telepathic powers. Stryfe's powers are much more robust than Cable's, though, never having been infected with the virus. As such, he can do many things Cable can't, including creating telekinetic force fields and blasts.
5 Vulcan - Psionic / Energy Manipulation
Gabriel Summers is the long-lost third Summers brother after Cyclops and Havok. Unlike those two, he is primarily a supervillain. Vulcan continues the Summers tradition of being an Omega-Level mutant with vast psionic powers. He can use his mind to manipulate energy, which gives him unimaginable power. Far beyond simply controlling energy like his brother Cyclops' optic blasts, Vulcan can alter energy to create heat and light. He can also absorb and rechannel latent cosmic energy.
4 Rachel Summers - Psionic
Though it's debatable whether Rachel Summers is the most powerful Summers kid (or it's Cable), there is no doubt that she is one of the most powerful mutants around. Rachel Summers once was the host of the Phoenix Force, making her a cosmic powerhouse who actually defeated Galactus in a head-to-head battle. She has since lost the Phoenix Force but remains a significant telepath and telekinetic with few if any peers. She once blocked a blow from Thor's hammer with her mind.
3 Cable - Psionic
Nathan Summers is, in terms of Marvel continuity, the original Summers child. He is the son of Cyclops and Madeline Pryor (a clone of Jean Grey). His powers are exactly the same as Stryfe's, though somewhat limited thanks to his having been infected with the techno-organic virus as an infant.
His abilities aren't limited to just his mind. Cable - and his current Kid Cable iteration - both possess considerable strength and stamina, as well as advanced fighting and combat skills that make him an ideal combatant in the ongoing X Of Swords event. He's also very stubborn. Cable has died many times but always comes back.
2 Havok - Energy Blasts
Early on, Alex Summers existed in the shadow of his older brother, Scott. He has proven he's a powerhouse in his own right again and again with major displays of power. Havok, like both Vulcan and Cyclops, can absorb cosmic radiation. Havok releases it in tremendous blasts of energy that also create destructive shockwaves and concussive force. Havok once blasted Captain America into the lower atmosphere with a blast directed right at Cap's adamantium shield.
1 Cyclops - Optic Blasts
Cyclops is one of the leaders of the X-Men and one of the most powerful mutants in the world. His power is pretty straightforward - he can emit very powerful blasts of ruby light that can demolish building-size Sentinels. As the father of many alternate reality Summers and the brother of two powerful mutants, he's the center of a complicated family tree. It's almost as complicated as all of Cyclops' love interests, many of which have resulted in some of the most dramatic stories in X-Men lore.