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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 finally break into the Top 20!

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 it’s numbering, I’m interested to hear what you have to say! So lets see the first batch of mutants to make the Top 20!

#20. Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man): Currently Jamie is the leader of X-Factor and is one resourceful son of a bitch. He was recently in a future timeline along with Layla Miller, Ruby Summers, and a Cyborg Cyclops taking part in the Summers Rebellion against the threats to mutant kind. Before this time-jumping escapade though, Jamie had a very traumatic moment where Siryn gave birth to his child. As Madrox was holding the baby, he reabsorbed it into himself, proving that the kid (named Sean after Siryn’s late father, Banshee) was just a dupe which had fooled Theresa’s body into caring for it as if it were an actual fetus. This traumatized both Siryn and Madrox, pushing him off the deep end and desiring suicide. He then sought out a full grown dupe in a small town who was living a life as a priest, complete with a family totally detached from any X-activity. This tore at Jamie’s heart and as he went to kill himself, an adult Layla (not the little girl we last saw in Messiah Complex) popped out of nowhere and dragged him into the future. The two are very much in love and have done the McNasty.

Powers: Jamie has the power of Kinetic Duplication with which he creates an identical physical living duplicate of himself upon physical impact, which is spontaneous and cannot be prevented. He can create multiple duplicates, and the dupes can create dupes, but each can only do so one dupe at a time… follow all that? To date, he has tapped out at around 40 duplicates before he couldn’t create anymore, but that isn’t counting the dupes of his dupes. If each multiple could produce 40 copies of themselves, that means the most Multiple Mans that could be running around at any one time would be around 1600. That’s enough for a small army and the reason why Madrox takes the final spot in the Top 20! Each dupe thinks, acts, and feels independently, but is always guided by the original. Every dupe manifests an aspect of Jamie’s personality, which increases in independence the longer they are separated from him. Madrox is telepathically and empathetically linked to his dupes, meaning when one dies he suffers severe trauma. It is unknown what would happen to Jamie’s dupes if he were to be killed, but it is believed that one of them would take over as the new original. The original Jamie can re-absorb his duplicates at will, which includes their memories, skills, and experiences, and he can take back in injured clones at no harm to himself. It’s practically impossible to tell the dupes apart.

First Appearance: Giant Size Fantastic Four #4, 1975.

#19. Danger: For the X-fans who haven’t been reading comics in awhile, Danger is probably an unknown character to you. In short, ’she’ is the physical manifestation of the Danger Room. In X-Men Legacy Danger tried to use Rogue as a decoy to enact her revenge on Professor Xavier for keeping her contained for so long. Danger created a virtual reality to mess with the heads of Rogue and Chuck, having them encounter various people from Rogue’s past. Danger gets Xavier in her grasp, but through logic and by erasing certain lines of her machine code, Xavier has regained control of the machine, taming it considerably. Since then the living machine has been a regular cast member of X-Men Legacy and a real asset to the team.

Powers: Since Danger’s sole purpose was to train the X-Men in using their powers, she is a formidable hand to hand combatant, and has superior knowledge of the combat styles, strategies, and tactics of the X-Men and their foes. The catch is even though she can beat the X-Men to a pulp, Danger’s programming prevents her from actually killing any of them. It remains to be seen if this is also true for foes who aren’t members of the X-Men. She can lift up to 100 tons, create force fields, has enhanced agility and reflexes, and can upload her programing into other computers, thus overriding them. Danger is made of organic muscle tissue accompanied with a titanium steel alloy, meaning she is extremely durable and virtually tireless so long as her gears and electrical systems don’t wear out.

First Appearance: Astonishing X-Men #9, 2005.

#18. Angel/Archangel: Warren Worthington III has turned into one bad ass mofo since joining X-Force. He brutally had his feather wings ripped from him (again) by a possessed Wolfsbane in order for the mutant hating group, The Purifiers, to extract his DNA and create their own army of winged warriors. At first it was believed that Angel had permanently lost his wings, but out of nowhere he transformed into the Angel of Death- a.k.a Archangel! Complete with the trademarked blue and purple skin and his techno-organic metal wings, Archangel was a crazed maniac hungry for blood. Eventually the team managed to calm him down, and Warren can now change between the Angel of Life and the Angel of Death. His character turned a corner during the Messiah War when he was called upon by Apocalypse. Apocalypse was in a weakened, starved state and commanded Archangel to finish him off. As a big ‘F you’ to his former master, Warren claimed that he no longer commanded him and that he’d make his own decisions, and he chose to let Apocalypse live. Apocalypse then proposed that the two join forces to combat a common enemy: Stryfe, who currently has possession of the Messiah Child. Angel then carried the frail En Sabah Nur to a place where he could recharge his strength for the coming battle. Once Apocalypse is fully re-powered, Warren can’t help but wonder if he just made a big mistake…

Powers: Warren has the uncanny ability to change between the Angel of Life (Angel) and the Angel of Death (Archangel). As the Angel of Life he has feather wings for flight spanning the length of 16 feet from wingtip to wingtip and can reach speeds up to 180 mph while airborne. He can also heal others who come into contact with his blood, provided they have the same blood type. As Archangel, Warren has techno-organic wings which were given to him by Apocalypse. These wings give him the ability to fly at Mach 1, are razor sharp, and adequately shield his body from most attacks including bullets and energy blasts. He can fire razor sharp blades from these wings as deadly projectiles, and even remove them to hold in his hands as weapons. While Warren is getting better at it, he still cannot fully control his transformation into the Angel of Death as it is sometimes triggered during moments of severe stress or intense conflict. Warren’s body is naturally adapted to flying; his bones are hollow like a bird’s, his body is virtually devoid of fat (which helps in his womanizing adventures), his eyes are specially adapted to withstand high speed winds, and he can breathe naturally at high velocities and altitudes. Angel has enhanced stamina (he can fly at maximum speed for 12 hours), durability, and strength (he can lift up to 500 pounds). This isn’t the flake we all knew in the 60s!

First Appearance: X-Men #1, 1963.

#17. X-23: During Messiah Complex Laura Kinney took down Lady Deathstrike in a fierce battle, and killed the Marauder, Scrambler, effectively saving Wolverine’s life. Since then she has become a key member of the mutant assassination team, X-Force, eliminating threats to mutant kind. Literally born to be a weapon, X-23 survived an injection of the Legacy Virus thanks to some quick action by her teammate Elixir. During the Messiah War, Laura was reunited with her friend Kiden Nixon for the first time since making her comic debut in the NYX mini series. Unfortunately, Kiden was strapped to a time machine 800 years in the future, most likely being held there due to her mutant ability to stop time. That reunion ended on a sad note, and since then Laura has only gotten more bad ass. She recently out battled her arch-nemesis, Kimura, with only one arm and has proven to be an integral member of X-Force.

Powers: X-23 is a clone of Wolverine and possesses his mutant powers. However, due to her young age, they aren’t as developed as old man Logan’s. She has a regenerative healing factor, allowing her to reattach severed limbs, heal from bullet wounds within minutes, and be immune to poisons, diseases, and drugs (except the Legacy Virus). It is assumed that she will also have an extended life, much like Wolverine, due to her healing factor slowing down the aging process. With her super-humanly acute senses she can see in darkness, track scents, and hear sounds at a great distance. Laura also possesses super-human agility, stamina, durability, and reflexes. She has two adamantium claws in each arm, and one in each foot, which are virtually unbreakable and capable of cutting through any substance. Like a younger Wolverine, her berserker rage can be triggered at any moment where she’ll kill whatever living things are close to her. Laura is an expert tracker, hunter, and martial artist.

First Appearance: NYX #3, 2004.

Stay tuned as the countdown continues!

Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net