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Hey there Comic Attackers! If you’re like me you can never get enough 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 meet some old faces and a completely new one that will have you seeing red.

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! 3… 2… 1… BOOM:

#54. Meltdown (formerly Boom-Boom): After reading the series Nextwave it became apparent that Tabitha Smith has definitely amped up her power level, creating destructive time bombs at will that can cover a large radius. In X-Men Manifest Destiny Tabby had a one shot story in which she combated the villain Nuwa, and after doing a little research (which is unheard of for the blond shopaholic) she discovered his weakness and easily took him down! It was difficult to rank her this low given her destructive potential, but the fact that the Leper Queen was able to put a bullet in her head during the current run of X-Force resulted in her getting bumped back a bit. Sure, some careful time traveling by X-23 post Messiah War changed this end result, but still, it was a little too close for comfort.

Powers: Tabby can create balls of plasma which she dubbed ‘time bombs.’ She developed a greater control over powers recently, being able to time out their explosions to the millisecond and varying them in degrees of severity. To a limited extent she can also muffle the sound of her explosions and even release explosive energy in the form of intense streams. Meltdown can also absorb the energy of un-diffused bombs.

First Appearance: Secret Wars II #5, 1985.

#53. Hellion: Julian Keller has the potential to be a bad ass character, but since Messiah Complex he’s done nothing but get his butt handed to him. In MC Lady Deathstrike nearly killed him, skewering him with her talons, then during X-Men Divided We Stand he tried to join Magneto but was denied by the Master of Magnetism, in X-Force he allowed himself to get captured by the Leper Queen and was nearly executed, and then in Utopia he got himself captured by the Dark X-Men by acting like the impulsive punk he is. Julian really should be ranked higher on this list, but has done virtually nothing but set himself back since Messiah Complex began, preventing him from making the top 50.

Powers: Hellion possesses the power of Telekinesis, making him able to move solid matter with his thoughts. With this power he can fly, move objects from a distance, create kinetic shields, and create blasts of telekinetic force. Emma Frost recently removed subconscious blocks on his power, and while it has stabilized at a higher level before her intervention, Julian is now having problems focusing his ability due to the increase.

First Appearance: New Mutants (vol. 2) #2, 2003.

#52. Gentle: After the events of Messiah Complex, Nezhno Abidemi decided to return to his homeland of Wakanda, happy to be free of the insane life of being an X-Man. However, he was surprisingly ostracized by his people because he is half Russian, and has since realized that his friends at the Institute weren’t so bad after all. Nezhno most recently appeared in the X-Men: Worlds Apart mini series where he helped Storm defeat the Shadow King in Wakanda.

Powers: Gentle possesses Extreme Strength that increases the muscle mass of his body when in use. As a result, his powers cause serious strain on his body so he wears vibranium tattoos that help prevent his power from getting out of control. However, every time he uses his mutant ability he inherently gets stronger and eventually the tattoos will fail, and when/if that happens Nezhno would die due to his inability to control the expansion of his muscle mass. He has the potential to rank higher on this list, but the fact that his powers could kill him prevent Gentle from gaining more ground in the rankings.

First Appearance: New X-Men #23, 2006.

#51. Ruby Summers: Ruby is from Earth 1191 (the same future as Bishop) and, along with Layla Miller, helped start the Summers Rebellion against the mutant oppressors of her time. Even though we don’t know much about her yet, the fact that she has lived, thrived, and survived in a horrible future where mutants are exterminated like roaches, she has earned this slot in our rankings. Something is up with this crazy red chick, but we’re going to have to wait to find out what that may be in future issues of X-Factor.

Powers: Like her father, Ruby can emit force beams from her eyes, but her energy blasts are black (not red) and take 93 seconds to recharge. She can also transform her body into organic ruby, similar to her mother’s diamond form. The ruby form prevents her from aging and allows her to survive without sustenance. This sounds awesome, but she has been in this form for so long that if she were to revert back to flesh and blood she would most likely age years in a matter of seconds- so she chooses life instead.

First Appearance: X-Factor Special: Layla Miller #1, 2008.

Tomorrow we break into the top 50!

Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net