Summary

  • Mutant powers in the X-Men universe vary greatly, with some like Leech's nullifying abilities being particularly devastating to others.
  • Characters like Colossus showcase incredible strength and durability, while Wolverine's healing factor borders on immortality.
  • Magneto's control over metal, Storm's weather manipulation, and Quicksilver's super speed make them formidable forces in the X-Men series.

Fox's the Fox X-Men movie series have clear winners and losers when it comes to the genetic lottery that is the X-Men's power system, with some truly world-breaking abilities on display.

The variety in mutant powers the X-Men feature makes it easy to determine which characters have the most desirable powers. Some mutant powers have clear downsides by their very nature, such as Cyclops' always-on eye beams of destructive power or Rogue's life-sucking absorption on skin-to-skin . Other X-Men are biologically mutated, with powers that alter their body into monstrous forms, like Beast, Nightcrawler, and Angel, which makes it hard to blend in to human society. The best powers have none of these weaknesses while being unfairly strong in their own right, especially compared to some of their peers.

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10 Leech's Powers Invalidate Other Mutants

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Leech in a white room in X-Men 3: The Last Stand

As powerful as this trump-card of a mutation is, it doesn't necessarily give the any specific edge in battle.

Though not an especially famous mutant, the unique ability of Leech in X-Men: The Last Stand is many mutant's worst nightmare to go up against. The child's mutant ability to nullify other mutant abilities is so powerful, that simply being near him is enough to instantly deactivate any mutant powers, with the "cure" to mutantkind being synthesized from the young boy's blood. As powerful as this trump-card of a mutation is, it doesn't necessarily give the any specific edge in battle, simply leveling the playing field. Additionally, ranged mutant attacks could hypothetically still penetrate Leech's short range.

9 Colossus' Metal Form Is Even More Resilient Than It Looks

X2: X-Men United (2003)

When it comes to identifying the most powerful X-Men, Colossus may not immediately come to mind. Yet the Russian-born mutant's metallic form is one of the strongest powers introduced in X2: X-Men United. By the third movie, Colossus is able to easily throw around Wolverine despite his adamantium skeleton, and in Deadpool 2 he even goes toe-to-toe with The Juggernaut. Best of all, Piotr is able to turn his power on and off, avoiding the troubles of X-Men like Beast or Nightcrawler. At the end of the day, however, Colossus' capabilities are limited to straightforward strength and durability.

8 Wolverine's Healing Factor Is Near Immortality

X-Men (2000)

Of course, one of the most iconic X-Men would have one of the series' stronger powers, and there's little that can keep up with Wolverine's healing factor. Having come back from injuries from gunshots to even nuclear blasts without any scars to show for it, Wolverine's healing would've kept him alive forever if it weren't for the adamantium poisoning he received as a result of the Weapon X program. Unfortunately, the very real pain Logan feels with every injury and the trauma of being an ageless mutant does make his healing factor as much of a curse as it is a blessing.

7 Magneto's Magnesis Is Insanely Powerful

X-Men (2000)

Magneto has proven time and time again that he's one of the most powerful mutants the X-Men movies have ever featured.

The master of magnetism, Magneto has proven time and time again that he's one of the most powerful mutants the X-Men movies have ever featured. His innate ability to telekinetically lift and maneuver any metallic object is a surprisingly versatile power in the modern age. Magneto is able to life objects as heavy as entire stadiums while also having enough control to extract the iron from the blood of a guard. As impressive as Erik's capabilities are, he is still limited by the composition of the objects he can move, meaning he can be defeated by plastic or wooden weaponry.

6 Iceman's Cryokinesis Is As Versatile As Water Itself

X-Men (2000)

Bobby Drake Iceman sliding on ice in X-Men Days of Future Past

A favorite ing character from the original X-Men trilogy, Bobby may not be quite as powerful as his comic counterpart, who is able to manipulate water on a molecular level. Still, his power to instantly freeze his environment with powerful blasts of frigid energy and his versatile creation of icy structures makes him a force to be reckoned with. In addition, Iceman is able to protect himself with a layer of ice over his skin, hard enough to knock out Pyro with a simple headbutt. Still, Iceman's powers do have the classic elemental weaknesses of fire and high temperatures.

5 Storm's Weather Control Is A Destructive Powerhouse

X-Men (2000)

Halle Berry's Storm in X-Men trilogy looking offscreen

Whereas Iceman only has control of one aspect of inclement weather, Storm is able to innately manipulate the atmosphere itself, generating everything from lightning storms to gale force winds as easily as thinking. Between flight, offensive attacks, and a wide area of effect, there's little Storm can't do with her nature-based powers. Even if she doesn't have as fine control over her environment as Magneto or Professor X, Storm was a force to be reckoned with every X-Men movie continuity.

4 Mutant Telekinesis Can Be A Devastating Power

X-Men (2000)

Famke Janssen's Jean Grey using power in X2

As the only Category 5 mutant in Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Jean Grey's powerful telekinesis was officially recognized as a force to be reckoned with, even within the universe. Unlike Magneto, who is limited to mentally manipulating metallic objects, Jean Grey and other telekinetics like Apocalypse can do so much more than merely lift objects. From flying by telekinetically moving themselves to forming shields of pure psychokinetic energy, the telekinesis of the Fox X-Men universe allows for offense, defense, and mobility in one encoming package.

3 Telepathy In The X-Men Universe Is The Ultimate Trump Card

X-Men (2000)

X-Men First Class Professor X

As great as the ability to effect the world around oneself can be, the mutant power of telepathy is even more highly regarded in the X-Men series. Jean Grey's telepathic powers were strong enough to scare Charles Xavier into placing a mental block on them, showing just how dangerous the inherent control over the minds of others can be. No matter how strong a given threat is, without some form of defense, instant control of another person's thoughts will always win out. So far, the only counters against this power has been Magneto's helmet, or an even stronger telepath.

2 Quicksilver's Super Speed Makes Him Untouchable

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

Stealing the show in the scenes it's used in, Quicksilver's super speed moves him so quickly that time essentially pauses, giving him free rein to do whatever he wants without anyone even realizing. Even telepathy has to move at the speed of thought, and Quicksilver's sped-up perceptions are so beyond the limits of human reaction that he's essentially immune to any threat the world might pose to him. Fast enough to save the life of every single student of Xavier's School while an explosion was unfolding, Quicksilver's speed is the ultimate mutant power that turns the world into his playground.

1 Apocalypse's Mutant Power Is To Have Every Mutant Power

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

A close-up of Oscar Isaac's Apocalypse in Fox's X-Men Universe

Despite being the first mutant to ever exist, Apocalypse's power essentially encomes everything any mutant power could ever do. From telepathy to immortality to manipulating the world around him at an atomic level, there's a reason Apocalypse was so feared in his titular movie appearance. Apocalypse was even able to interact with powers themselves, bestowing and augmenting mutant abilities at his own discretion. Taking the entire cast of the X-Men to take him down, Apocalypse's powers are still the most deadly threat ever encountered in the Fox universe.