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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 delve into some third string characters!

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 keep moving along before Morph steals my soap box:

#57. Morph: From Earth 1081, Kevin Sydney is an absolutely ridiculous character that I could not bring myself to omit from the rankings. Having most recently appeared in Chris Claremont’s New Exiles and then again in Jeff Parker’s series relaunch entitled Exiles (as the snarky exposition dude), I felt he deserved to be ranked and expect some flak for giving him this high a number. I think he’s earned it though given the nature of his powers and how if he weren’t such a jack ass, he could do some serious damage as opposed to being a poor man’s Mystique or Mr. Fantastic.

Powers: Kevin is made up of unstable molecules allowing him to shapeshift and mimic voices and sounds. He can fly and change the chemical composition of his body from a solid to a gas or liquid. Morph’s elastic composition give him the additional ability to stretch, contort, extort, compress, and expand his body, and even change color. He is extremely durable and resistant to physical attacks, however energy based strikes can hurt him. When ripped or blown apart, Kevin can reform (but with effort), and he is also odorless making it impossible to track him. With powers like that, I think he’s earned this spot.

First Appearance: Exiles #1, 2001.

#56. Mercury: Cessily Kincaid was most recently seen in the mini series X-Infernus where she and some teammates traveled into Limbo to find pieces of Pixie’s and Magik’s soul. She fought bravely in the ensuing battles, however in X-Men Manifest Destiny, Mercury admits to how sad her powers make her, claiming that she’s just a “blob of malleable goop.” Her lack of confidence and significance in the recent X-universe prevents her from advancing any further on this list.

Powers: Cessily is composed of a non-toxic liquid mercury which allows her to alter shape by collapsing into a pool of metal liquid, create extendable blades from her skin, cling to solid surfaces, and mold herself into different forms. She is not a carbon based lifeform so she doesn’t need to eat or breathe, and when ‘shattered’ can re-congeal herself making her difficult to kill. Cessily also has some resistance to magic and spells which made her a perfect candidate to enter Limbo.

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

#55. Pete Wisdom: The British (and poor man’s) version of Gambit, Pete Wisdom was one of the head guys in the recently cancelled series, Captain Britain & MI-13. Wisdom is one of those C list characters that floats around in the Marvel U, having been a former member of Excalibur, X-Force, and New Excalibur. His role with the MI-13 was interesting because while he may have bene a top dog with the group, he was the one responsible for the current outbreak of Dark Magic in England. During Secret Invasion he had Merlin resurrect a deceased Captain Britain to combat the Skrulls, and in doing so effectively opened up a prison that contained the previously defeated forces of Dark Magic. At the time it was a good idea- owing Wisdom for setting him free, the Dark forces set up a protective anti-Skrull shield around the British Isles… but now Wisdom and his crew live to put those very forces back where they came from. While the MI-13 team may have defeated Dracula and his vampire army, they’ve all gone their separate ways.

Powers: Wisdom is naturally skilled in espionage, intelligence gathering, and firearms. His powers permit him to absorb ambient heat and solar radiation which is then released from his finger tips as semi-solid energy projections called ‘hot-knives.’ These blade shaped darts are made up of pure thermal energy and can be used as slashing weapons, to stun, or even to kill an opponent.

First Appearance: Excalibur #86, 1995.

Don’t miss the mutant bus tomorrow when we close in on the top 50!

Andy Liegl
andy@comicattack.net