Power may be endearing, but it can be both revered and feared depending how the cards are played. Kicking off our list of Top 10 Most Powerful X-Men Characters, is a girl who knows this struggle all too well.

Anna Marie, also known as Rogue, is just as powerful as she is fragile; but make no mistake, her unique abilities may make her one of the most dangerous gals to stand toe to toe against. Rogue possesses an ability that at first glance was something more likened to that of a living hell. The power to absorb not just anyone’s mutant abilities, but their entire essence as well. This may sound cool on paper, but the reality is that if she ever made contact with another person, she could potentially kill them with just her touch. Throwing her into a life of solitude.

When used in battle, Rogue’s absorption abilities make her one of the most capable opponents yet. By simply absorbing another’s powers, she could match and even surpass the strength of any opponent she faces. However, as always, there’s still a downside. Her powers depend on the presence of someone else with powers, making her useless otherwise. Though on the contrary, if Rogue is daring enough to do so, she can take on another’s powers permanently. Just as she did with Ms. Marvel. This fitted Rogue with the ability of superhuman strength, flight, resistance to telepathy, and pretty much invincibility. If this wasn’t enough to convince you of her worth as a powerhouse, Rogue is known to be capable of using the powers acquired from another in a more expert fashion than the original user themselves. She literally becomes your perfect version of you!

Just to solidify her worth, Rogue once tapped into all of the abilities that she’d previously acquired; placing some of Marvel’s greatest combatants’ powers right at her fingertips, all at once. Is there any need for further explanation?

The mind is the most powerful element of the human body. Our only limitation is the human body itself, and if made possible, the consciousness could transcend that limitation and expose itself to true freedom. Freedom to explore, freedom to discover; and most of all, freedom to control. With the minds of many, the saying “two heads are better than one” takes on a new meaning. Next up on Honey’s list of Top 10 Most Powerful X-Men Characters is none other than Legion.

David Charles Haller is an inclusion that is quite difficult to place a number on. As the son of the Professor himself, David was birthed as one of the greatest telepaths within the X-Men universe. In short, David has the ability of flight, super strength, matter manipulation, X-ray vision, time travel; and arguably the most troubling of them all, the ability to absorb others’ minds. His downside; however, is the fact that he is limited from access to all of his abilities due to the multitude of personalities taking up residence within his head. Each of his powers can only be used individually by each of his differing personalities, greatly hindering his true capabilities in the process. He is as fragmented as a piece of shattered glass, and would easily make his way up to the top of this list had he found some means of tapping his torn self back into one solid sheet of paper.

“A power, if corrupted, that could consume him utterly, as well as all around him.”

These are the words of the renowned Dr. Moira MacTaggert; and they are words that paint a picture more vivid than any paintbrush ever could. With that being said, allow me to introduce you to Nathaniel Grey, or better known as X-Man. A genetic creation from the hands of Mr. Sinister, Nate Grey is considered one the most powerful mutants ever. He is without a doubt an Omega-level mutant, but even that at times seems like a downsize of his true abilities.

Nate’s abilities are to not only Omega status but even comparable to that of the Dark Phoenix. For him to match such a force should be mind-boggling at the least. He is capable of telepathy, telekinesis, and can manipulate matter and energy to list a few. Just to paint a portrait of how powerful his telepathy actually is; Nate was able to block out Cerebro, a feat that not even the greatest minds can accomplish.

Unfortunately, Nate is now only a shell of what he once used to be, having lost most of his powers. However, in paying homage to the man that he once was, Nate has earned himself a firm spot here on our Top 10 list of Most Powerful X-Men Characters. He’s been shown to regain his powers at certain points in time, and thus, we can never truly know just how high he might climb again in the near future. Stay strong X-Man!

Power birthed for the sake of symbolizing the essence of life before birth. An entity that is timeless in and of itself. A power, that is merely ineffable. Such power transcends that of human cognitive thought, and can only be looked upon as nothing short of godlike; but when god and man become one, a new entity is birthed. That entity, is Jean Grey, or the Phoenix.

A mind that is rivaled to that of the Professor himself, stretching from reading and controlling minds, augmenting other’s abilities, telekinetically moving objects, flight, and also tapping into the astral plane. It would have been careless to leave Jean Grey out of our Top 10 list; but things really begin to pick up speed thanks to the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix force. After tapping into the mind of a young Jean due to her unique abilities, and “worthiness” of its power, Jean was elevated from an already Omega level worthy mutant, to an all-time unstoppable force. Taking on the powers of the Phoenix, Jean was awarded with the abilities of matter manipulation, instant space travel across the universe, and best of all, the ability to resurrect herself as well as others back from the dead. Quite intimidating is it not?

Considered the first mutant to ever walk the earth, En Sabah Nur is a chronicle of overwhelming power and strength. His abilities are numerous and unrelenting to say the least. But his greatest strength of all, unlike many other great mutants that we’ve mentioned earlier, is the key fact that Apocalypse is in full control of his abilities. He is an unwavering force, and he seeks nothing short of domination.

He possesses superhuman strength, molecular manipulation, energy generation, telekinesis, teleportation, and even immortality. The last one being a bit controversial given that he lost the ability after being modified by Celestial technology. He still, however, manages to live on endlessly through transferring himself into a new body once his current one begins to whither. He is also capable of interfacing with numerous types of technologies, including that of alien origin. Thus, making technologically reliant societies even more vulnerable to his wrath, despite having been so already.

He is also shown to be incredibly resistant to all forms of attack; even psychological ones like those of Professor X, and all attempts to kill him have been feeble at best. Even witnessing his death may not be enough resolve to confirm that this cockroach of a mutant won’t resurface somewhere down the line. At this point, it’s a literal pissing contest as to who’s more invulnerable, the almighty Apocalypse or clawed savage Wolverine?

The consequences of humanity. A man pained with the reality of never seeing an avenue of resolve; for the likes of mankind and mutantkind may never live a harmonious life together. Thus, for the sake of mutant safety, man shall know pain; man shall know suffering; and man shall know what true power really is. When it comes to Magneto, the right path is never an easy answer to find; but one thing always goes without question; that Magneto has enough power at his fingertips to carve whatever path he chooses. Be it good or bad.

Looking at his abilities as simple control over magnetism is an amateur’s point of view. To understand the full scope of Magneto’s strength, you need to understand the environment in which he lives. We live on a planet that operates largely in part to its electromagnetic field. Are you starting to catch on here? Not only can Magneto manipulate any metal object he very damn well pleases, he can also manipulate the magnetic fields around him, allowing him to sustain flight, as well as create one of the most indestructible force fields out there. He can dismantle entire buildings, bridges, submarines, you name it; but probably the most impressive of all; as aforementioned, is his ability to manipulate the earth’s magnetic field. Giving him the power to dismantle entire cities. There was even once a scenario in which he dispersed every cell within Apocalypse’s body. Ouch!

Erik Lensherr is a bona fide powerhouse. Period!

We’ve seen many with great minds carve their imprints onto this list, but if you were to ask who is one of the greatest minds of them all, the answer is simple; Professor Charles Xavier. Despite his telekinetic powers, Charles is a genius like none other, and accolades from there on just seem to continue without end.

Close friend, and enemy, of Magneto himself, Professor Charles Francis Xavier is arguably one of the best contestants mentioned thus far. A highly respected and highly intelligent diplomat recognized by both mutants and humans alike, Professor Xavier stands out from the rest no matter how powerful they may be. He is a unique character worth taking note of for many things; and one of the most important aspects are not necessarily his mutant abilities, but his genius level intellect alongside them.

He is known to be able to read minds, control those of others, wipe memories, and suppress another mutant’s powers as well. Just imagine someone that could make you feel and believe anything they wanted you to. As mentioned before, the mind is a powerful thing, but it can be extremely dangerous when you’re not the one who’s in control of it. He could essentially turn you into a vegetable with less stress than it takes to squeeze a lemon. All in the comfort of his rolly chair. Do I smell an Omega level mutant somewhere around here?

To have someone make this list above Professor X may seem like a joke to some, but we implore you to silence your laughter, for there are still great forces to come. Compared to those that were mentioned before, this mutant may truly possess the power of a god. Wanda Maximoff, aka, Scarlet Witch.

Scarlet Witch started off quite basic in regards to what she was able to pull out of her sleeves. She could make force fields, use hexes, and do other flashy things as well. Until eventually, her magic show turned from pulling bunnies out of hats into sawing people in half with the bat of an eye. This was due in part to her ability to utilize Chaos Magic, which eventually developed into her holding on to the very pen and paper used to rewrite reality at will. This is one girl who surely can put her money where her mind is, because if she thinks it, it becomes real. It’s as simple as that; and she’s never shy to use what she’s got. So watch your manners, because it’s best not to make this mutant think poorly of you.

Reality must be a fickle concept, because to the likes of this next choice, similar in fashion to our dear Scarlet Witch, reality is nothing more than what he makes it out to be; and his reality becomes everyone’s reality. Let’s just hope he doesn’t have any bad nightmares when he sleeps at night. Without further ado we bring you Franklin Richards, son of the great Mr. Fantastic, and the invisible woman herself, Sue Storm.

Unlike Scarlet Witch, this kid’s ability to take reality by the horns is all natural and no additives. In other words, he is 100% organic and doesn’t rely on the use of magic to give him powers. Not to forget, his abilities are here to stay; for as long as he lives. He has the power to make anything he wishes; or thinks for that matter, come to reality. That’s right, anything as in ‘anything’. At this point is it even worth mentioning his psychic abilities? We’ll do it anyways. He’s telepathic, telekinetic, and oh yea, he can peep into the future.

Since we compared the previous characters’ abilities to that of God status, it only makes sense for us to compare Franklin’s as well right? However, it’s not a matter of comparing, but confirming. Confirming that this kid may truthfully be a God. With the ability to create a new reality, and even cheat his own death; it makes you wonder, if this is not a God then what the hell is?

With the names that have come thus far, it’s hard to believe that there’s still room for another. We had a long list coming, with not only some of the greatest names in X-Men, but within the Marvel Universe as a whole. But now it’s time to settle things once and for all; to bring forth the cream of the crop. The crème de la crème. The one, the only, Matthew Malloy.

Deciding who deserves this high horse between Mathew and Franklin will be a debate for centuries; and we’re here to evoke just that. Similar to the previously mentioned Franklin Richards, Mathew has the ability of telekinesis, telepathy, matter manipulation, teleportation, and even self-resurrection. With his ability to access an outer dimensional source of power, he can even; wait for it, distort reality. But what gave him this highly sought after number one placement on Honey’s Top 10 list, is the fact that he is “the largest mutant power source Cerebro has ever registered”.

Clearly there’s something to him that makes him special. Now, only if he can get his tantrums under control, he may actually turn out to be a good drinking buddy!