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Hey there Comic Attackers! If you’re like me you can never get enough of the X-Men. Yet, there are so many mutants out there that they’ve become incredibly hard to keep track of, let alone stay up to date on what their current power levels are. That’s why I have taken up the task to power rank all of the active X-Men post Messiah Complex from the very least to the top beast! There are 75 mutants in all to rank and today we break into the TOP 3!!

So what are power rankings? Mostly used to rank sports teams on how well they are playing now, my power rankings are a list of X-Men based on what their power set is in current continuity (or most recent appearance). Other factors that determined a character’s ranking are: what their power potential is, what they’ve already proven they can do (so long as it is still relevant in current continuity), and their over all level of badassness. If you disagree with me that’s totally cool- please feel free to call me out and explain what your reasoning is. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me, and while I believe this list to be very solid in its numbering, I’m interested to hear what you have to say! So let’s spotlight our little bald friend now, shall we?

#3. Charles Xavier: Notice how I omitted the ‘Professor’ from his name? Well, considering Charlie baby isn’t teaching anymore I deemed it appropriate. Originally Chuck didn’t even rank in the Top 15 because not only did Cyclops kick him off of the X-Men (for good reasons), but he had his head blown open at the end of Messiah Complex and when Exodus brought him back to life in X-Men Legacy, he seemed to take a severe hit in his power level which accompanied a fractured memory. Xavier has also become a man who has lost his way and is trying to desperately discover who he is as a person. However, the events of X-Men Legacy #225 swayed my opinion of his power status when Xavier literally marched into the base of the Acolytes, easily dismantling the traps and security systems. Then, without a single attack from either side, he convinced Exodus, Omega Sentinel, Random, and all of the other Acolytes to disband for the betterment of mutantkind. Wow. Plus in previous issues of Legacy he tamed the living embodiment of the Danger Room-Danger, manipulated Juggernaut even with his psi-shielded helmet on, cleared the remnants of Mystique from Rogue’s psyche, and helped her to finally control her absorption powers. Sure, in the Utopia storyline Charles was a drooling vegetable and prisoner of Norman Osborn, but he was rescued from that situation and has since been welcomed to stay on Utopia provided he play 3rd or 4th fiddle to Emma and Scott. He wasn’t too keen on Cyclops admitting Magneto onto the island mutant sanctuary, but as Cyke made very clear, his opinion really doesn’t matter anymore in the grand scheme of things: the dream of a peaceful co-existence between man and mutant is a thing of the past. Now it’s all about the survival of a species, and Charles has been forced to accept this… but at least he can walk again!

Powers: Chuck is one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet (but one person has recently trumped him), and as such he can read minds and project his thoughts into the minds of others within a 250 mile radius, create telepathic illusions, telepathically mask his presence (and those around him) from others, as well as change his perceived physical appearance. Xavier also has the ability to place large amounts of information into some one’s mind or alter their memory, control the minds of others or mentally possess their bodies to use as his own, cause memory loss, and he can sense the presence of nearby mutants. As a form of defense Xavier can create a psychic shield around himself (and those nearby), and for offense he can project psionic blasts that have the power to incapacitate or even kill. What’s really bad ass about Charlie is that he has the ability to transfer his mind and powers into another host body in-case he was ever killed. He is also a natural genius, is skilled at creating equipment to enhance psionic powers (like Cerebro and Cerebra), and is trained by the U.S. Military (he fought in Korea) as an expert fighter. Not to mention that Charles’ dark side has come to light recently as he’s not someone to be f-ed with.

First Appearance: X-Men #1, 1963.

Click here to see the previous 72 X-Men Power Rankings! Next up: #2!!

Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net