The mysterious mutant known as Raven Darkholme is an enigma wrapped in a blue-boxed mystery, with a red bow on top. She's easily one of the most fascinating villains of the Marvel Universe, primarily because of her amazing shapeshifting abilities that stand unparalleled among her contemporaries. This has allowed Mystique to survive in a world bigoted against mutants while thriving as a mercenary and an assassin.
Over the years, Mystique's powers have continued to evolve and strengthen, turning her into one of the most deadly mutants around. These skills and qualities have given her a huge advantage against her opponents while solidifying her reputation as a fearsome foe not to be trifled with.
10 She Possesses Wisdom Far Beyond Her Years
There is some speculation that Mystique may be a very old soul, and not just inside. The comics have established that she's been around for perhaps a few hundred years, if not longer. She's had a friendship going with the character Destiny since the early 20th century, which suggests she's walked the beaten path for a while.
If this is true, Mystique has probably amassed significant knowledge over the years. There's no substitute for experience, which is possibly the reason why she's such an elusive and formidable opponent. To her, even the most capable superheroes are relative children when stacked against her life experience.
9 She's An Expert At Manipulation And Deception
Mystique knows the art of infiltration well. She's an Oscar-worthy actress of the highest caliber, demonstrating her talents time and time again by playing both her support and opposition against each other, for the desired effect. She can easily swing public opinion and turn them against her foes to buy time, or effect a greater plan.
When all else fails, Mystique uses her shapeshifting abilities to play the victim, garnering sympathy and convincing her threats to lay down their arms. Most of the time, she accomplishes this feat by morphing into a little girl, through which she can greater manipulate people into trusting her, and showing empathy.
8 She Can Shapeshift In More Ways Than Just One
While Mystique's shapeshifting abilities are a main focus for the character, they tend to revolve around her assuming the form of someone else, either to avoid detection or to infiltrate and replace key targets. Her powers don't stop there, however. In fact, she has quite a few tricks up her sleeve.
Following her resurrection by The Hand, Mystique can now use her abilities to change her limbs, sometimes forming tentacle-like tendrils that can snag and choke her targets. In addition, she has displayed the ability to shapeshift beyond her general size, both as a little girl, and also as larger beings, though this is usually the exception.
7 She Can Anticipate And Adapt On The Fly
Mystique may be able to shapeshift and use misdirection to her advantage, but that's not enough to succeed in her world. To truly excel at what she does, she requires a level of adaptation and quick thinking in order to stay one step ahead of those who may be attempting to sniff her out.
The character can only assume the appearance of other beings, but she cannot tap into their minds. This means she's effectively operating in the dark whenever she assumes the form of another person. If she doesn't have her wits about her, the chances of being detected go up tenfold. Most times, she's able to stay undercover just fine.
6 She Has Adaptive Physiology
Mystique's mutant shapeshifting abilities don't just stop at assuming other forms. She can go far beyond that, and literally rewrite the structure of her own DNA and internal organs. She's been known to shuffle her insides around to protect vulnerable areas from mortal damage, which is a feat of epic proportions.
She can also change her physiology to take on non-human forms, including several animal species. This technique was honed and perfected over time, and although she doesn't always rely on it, it's just another example of how powerful a mutant she truly is.
5 She Possesses Superhuman Strength
At first glance, Mystique may appear to be a finely trained female mutant with the powers of shapeshifting at her disposal, but that's not her only trick. In her base mutant form, her super strength is far beyond that of a normal human, capable of shattering solid steel with a single, effortless strike.
In addition, Mystique can enhance her inherent strength by shapeshifting her molecular structure to increase muscle mass and stopping power. She's gone up against some of the toughest beings in the Marvel Universe and either held her own or won hands down.
4 Her Healing Factor Helps Her Stay Alive More Easily
Mystique is constantly getting into scraps, sometimes with far greater threats than herself. To compensate, she possesses a healing factor that allows her to focus-close wounds and repair damaged tissues at a quicker rate than humans. Though not on par with other mutants like Wolverine, her healing abilities are a feather in her cap.
This also extends to passive abilities, such as resistance to toxins. It's unknown just how far her healing factors go, but if her other powers are any indication, Mystique may be able to hone and enhance this ability through repetition and practice. Time will tell.
3 She Possesses A Massive Resistance To Telepathic Intrusion
Mind-reading super-beings have essentially no chance of reading Mystique's thoughts, and that's a huge plus in her line of work. By scrambling their ability to hone in on her innermost secrets, she's able to maintain her subterfuge without being outed by telepathically-enabled beings.
In fact, Mystique's mind is so impenetrable that even Charles Xavier, one of the most powerful telepaths in existence cannot breach her barriers. This also makes it impossible to know more about her, past what she's willing to voluntarily divulge. Since she's a cunning liar, even this cannot be trusted.
2 She Can Mask Her Own Scent And Pheromone Trails
As if it wasn't difficult enough to detect Mystique in a small room full of people, she's even taken her subterfuge and infiltration skills to the next level by developing the ability to mask her scent. Those with strong olfactory senses, such as Wolverine, are unable to pick up her trail, despite their best go.
This ability was developed following Mystique's resurrection by the ultra-secretive order known as The Hand. By preventing anyone from picking up her scent or pheromone trails, Mystique is virtually undetectable. Her only weakness lies in her inability to replicate the thoughts, mannerisms and possible powers of her target, forcing her to rely on misdirection and fake-outs.
1 Her Martial Arts Skills Are Unparalleled
Mystique is a natural acrobat, and when she combines her agility with raw strength, she's a force to be reckoned with. Her martial arts skills have been honed throughout the decades, giving her a massive leg up in comparison to her younger peers. As such, her fighting abilities rival those of Black Widow, and even Captain America.
She's been shown to hold her own in combat against many deadly enemies throughout the years, and her martial arts training has a lot to do with it. She's nimble, fast, and she packs a wallop. If she ever learned Kill Bill's Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, she'd probably rule the universe.