Blog

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 get a little magical with some old faces!

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!

#37. Dani Moonstar: Moonstar was amongst the many mutants to lose her powers on M-Day, and since then she’s been a teacher at the Xavier Institute while sporadically popping up throughout various X-titles. During the Divided We Stand mini series she helped council Surge who was having difficulty dealing with the post Messiah Complex fallout. Dani also played a part in Young X-Men and is currently a leading cast member of the New Mutants series where she’s having some serious issues with team leader, Cannonball. Despite her wisdom and evolved role as a mentor/teacher to the younger mutant generation she has no powers, which has resulted in her ass repeatedly getting kicked. That is until the recent events of Utopia where Dani acquired the powers of a Valkyrie (via a boon from the Norse Goddess of Death, Hela), bringing the God of War, Ares, to his knees with little effort. That’s nothing to scoff at and as a result, no character on this list has bounced around more than Dani Moonstar. Originally I had her ranked in the 70s, then after the events of Utopia I bumped her into the Top 20, and now with the beginning of Necrosha and no clear indication on what the status of her Valkyrie powers are, I moved her to the middle of the pack.

Powers: Currently she has none (except for, maybe, the Valkyrie powers), but Dani used to have a number of different powers such as Empathic Illusion Casting, the ability to create three-dimensional images of visual concepts from the thoughts and emotional impressions within the minds of herself and others. The images that Dani caused to appear are similar to holograms (but created by psionic energy instead of lasers) that could be seen by anyone within their vicinity. However, only the people whose minds Dani pulled the images from would perceive them as ‘real,’ whereas everyone else could recognize them as illusions. In order to use this power, Moonstar had to be able to see her proposed target and actually be in the vicinity of that person (meaning she couldn’t target a person on the T.V., but could target someone she sees through binoculars miles away). She could also create Neural Arrows which would stun an opponent and then force them to relive a tragic memory. Animal Empathy was another ability Moonstar possessed and with it she could have a quasi-telepathic rapport with primates (but not humans), felines, members of the dog family, and birds. This power really came in handy when she had her winged horse, Brightwind (who was newly resurrected in Utopia). Other former powers included a Death Sense that allowed her to perceive the coming of Death, Resist Death which gave Dani the ability to challenge Death itself using a Cheyenne Ghost-Shaft made from her image powers, and Quantum Energy Manipulation where she could affect energy and matter on a subatomic level and fire powerful energy blasts. Yep, I’ll bet she hates the Scarlet Witch right about now.

First Appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4, 1982.

#36. Korvus: Korvus Rook’shir is another guy who most people probably don’t know much about and are questioning why he is ranked ahead of many fan favorites. Well, the reason is because he wields a sword with the power of the freakin’ Phoenix Force! Not to mention that when Korvus was first introduced, he whooped the shit out of an entire team of X-Men (including Havok, Polaris, Professor X, Darwin, Nightcrawler, and Warpath) with ease. The only reason why those characters are ranked ahead of Korvus is because the Phoenix Force has temporarily left his sword… or maybe permanently as nothing has really happened with him since X-Men: Kingbreaker. Still, a Phoenix-less weapon hasn’t prevented the Shi’ar warrior from kicking ass. He has recently taken up with Havok’s team of X-Men and the Starjammers, assisting them in their battle against the evil Summers brother, Vulcan. While he may look like he belongs in the video game Soul Calibur, the guy is hardcore. Plus, he’s nailing Rachel, so, you know… score.

Powers: Korvus doesn’t possess any super powers, but gains his abilities through wielding the Blade of the Phoenix. The weapon can only be handled by someone from his bloodline and as a result Korvus’ mind is opened to the lives and histories of it’s former owners.

First Appearance: Uncanny X-Men #478, 2006.

#35. Surge: Noriko Ashida is a young character who has the potential to make a major splash in the Marvel Universe at some point in the future. Surge was leader of the New X-Men, and during Messiah Complex was furious at Cyclops for ordering her young team of mutants to stay on the side lines while the adult X-Men went looking for the Messiah Child. Acting on impulse, Surge led her team on a covert mission to strike at the mutant hating Purifiers in hopes of finding the baby and proving Cyclops wrong. Things didn’t work out too well though as the New X-Men got their butts kicked by The Reavers, and her teammate Hellion ended up getting Lady Deathstrike’s claws through his chest- all because Surge couldn’t follow orders. After MC ended, Emma Frost gave Noriko a verbal pat on the back, stating that she chose the young mutant to lead the team because Noriko would “protect them no matter what.” Despite the vote of confidence from Emma, Surge struggled with the pain of losing so many friends to horrible deaths while leading the New X-Men, and has yet to rejoin the team. Most recently she was held hostage by the Leper Queen, but X-Force came to her bloody rescue. Noriko’s true power potential went on display during the rescue, as her electrical limits were overwhelmed, forcing her to lose control and release the absorbed electricity conatined in her gauntlets. The result was a devastating electrical explosion in the middle of a city.

Powers: Surge has the power of Electrical Absorption as she is absorbing electricity at all times. She wears power gauntlets that regulate the electric intake and eventual release, but if she doesn’t discharge the electricity build up in her body it causes her mind to race, usually resulting rash decisions and a short temper. Noriko can discharge the electricity in bursts of lightning from her hands or body and also use it to give her super human speed.

First Appearance: New Mutants (vol. 2) #8, 2004.

#34. Meggan: After a long hiatus Meggan re-appeared in comics during the recently canceled Captain Britain and MI-13. She was featured in the series Annual, residing in Hell while leading an army against the evil forces there. She does something unheard of in hell: she grants her soldiers happiness. They grant her the name Gloriana, and Meggan gives them a chance to find hope in Hell by creating Elysium- a sanctuary for souls to escape from the torment of the under-word. The Annual ends as Meggan comes across what she believes is moonlight being projected into Hell, taken as a sign of victory. In the final issues of the series, Meggan aided her lover Captain Britain and the MI-13 in taking down Dracula and his vampire army.

Powers: Meggan is an Empath, a Metamorph, and an Elemental. As an Empath she can sense the emotions and feelings of all living creatures and can project her own feelings to influence the emotions of others. With Natural Perception she can see and hear the biological patterns of the world around her, and even talk with ghosts. Being a Metamorph, Meggan can assume the form of any living creature, including humans and those that exist only in legend, like a dragon. Due to her Empathy Megan’s body will change in response to the emotions around her; becoming beautiful when she feels loved or hideous when she is angry. Her body also adapts to her environment, growing fur when it’s cold or sprouting gills when underwater. If she takes on the appearance of another mutant, she also gains their powers. However, just because Meggan gains their abilities does not mean she can necessarily control them. As an Elemental she can absorb or release the energies of earth, fire, water, and air. She has this ability because of her psionic link with the natural forces of Earth as a result of her Empathy. She can command her surrounding environment, and her emotional state affects the nearby ecosystems. With a mere thought or wave of her hand Meggan can extinguish forest fires, part the waters of a lake, summon tornadoes, or even create earthquakes. By focusing the elemental energies around her she can release devastating energy blasts. Meggan becomes more powerful when in magical realms, can manipulate magical energy, and fly via her own willpower. Meggan’s major weakness is that she is very impulsive, often acting without any concern for the past or future.

First Appearance: Mighty World of Marvel #7, 1972.

The countdown continues…

Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net