Unfortunately, not every mutant or member of theX-Mendevelops amazing powers. While every mutation comes with drawbacks, some mutants are just dealt a worse hand than others. Vastly altered appearances, incomplete biologies, or powers of mass destruction, these abilities can segregate and isolate mutants even within their own communities. Even worse off are the mutants whose powers destroy themselves.
Over the thousands of generations that mutants have existed,long before Apocalypsewas ever born, mutant powers have mixed and combined, creating wild combinations in the modern day. Some mutations have shifted into uncontrollable conduits for cataclysmic power. Others display incomplete evolutions or incompatible biology, in which case a mutant’s body isn’t able to handle the strain of their mutation. Then there are some whose mutations are “unfavorably” topical, isolating the mutant from general society.The X-Men and Marvel’s mutantshave been around for a long time, butsome just have worse powers than others.
10ForgetMeNot
Debuted inX-Men: Legacy#300by Mike Carey, Simon Spurrier, Christos N. Gage, Rafa Sandoval, Steve Kurth, Tan Eng Huat, Jordi Tarragona, Craig Yeung, Allen Martinez, Ulises Arreola, Rachelle Rosenberg, José Villarrubia, and Cory Petit
One of the most well-known, yet often forgotten, misfits of the X-Men is ForgetMeNot. While nobody remembers him, ForgetMeNot isone of the X-Men’s most crucial allies, and he has been with the group through nearly every major event since M-Day.Unfortunately, none of the X-Men actually remember. ForgetMeNot has the power of unmemorability; the moment someone looks away from him, they immediately forget he ever existed in the first place.
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This cursed power also extends into the psychic and technological realms. No psychic power or A.I., no matter how strong, can detect ForgetMeNot the moment he’s gone from direct sight. On the surface level, ForgetMeNot is an incredibly comedic character, as he is often portrayed hanging around during keyhistorical X-Men moments. However, his power affects every aspect of his life. Unable to make continuous friends, unable to visit most doctors, and once accidentally left behind to die on the battlefield,no one in the world remembers to care about himthe moment they look away.
9Skin
Debuted inUncanny X-Men#317 byScott Lobdell, Joe Madureira, Dan Green, Steve Buccellato, and Chris Eliopoulos
Skin has one of those powers that, at first glance, is absolutely pointless but that he has dedicated himself to developing. In fact, he hasfound ways to use his uncomfortable power heroically.Also known as Angelo Espinosa, Skin’s skin is, frankly, just long and stretchy. Possessing around six feet of loose extra skin, the X-Man can stretch, smoosh, wrap, and expand his skin in as many useful ways as he can conceive.
Not every human is going to look at him and see the real hero that lies beneath his abundant epidermis.
While he has proven himself a worthy and adaptable hero, garnering love and affection from those around him, Angelo is still forced to lug aroundloose, baggy, gray skin that hangs off of his gaunt body constantly. In essence, he’s Mister Fantastic if Reed Richards couldn’t go back to his original shape. Duringthe Krakoa Saga, Skin found a home without prejudice, but now that Krakoa’s gone, not every human is going to look at him and see the real hero that lies beneath his abundant epidermis.
8Wither
Debuted inNew Mutants#3 by Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, Keron Grant, Robert Stull, Dan Kemp, and Randy Gentile
Kevin Ford’s powers are outright destructive and seemingly villainous in nature. Whenever Kevin touches any organic matter other than himself, the matter rapidly decays until all that is left is dust. For decades Wither’s power was nothing short of a curse. Like many young mutants with exceedingly dangerous powers, Wither was christened in chaos and death, aseverything around him seemed to decay, including his clothes, once his powers developed. In an effort to console the boy, Kevin’s father rushed to his son, only to decompose within seconds in front of Kevin’s eyes.
As expected, Wither, like Rogue, has spent most of his life in self-imposed isolation, unable to make physical contact with anyone. Fortunately, he did later find a home for himself withEmma Frost’s Hellionsand, since being revived during the Krakoa Saga, has gained some control over his abilities. Even so, the mutant will never be able to fully escape fromthe dozens of lives he has taken or ruined simply by touching anotherliving thing.
7Mister Sensitive
Debuted inX-Force#117 by Peter Milligan, Michael Allred, Laura Allred, and Nate Piekos
Also known as Guy Smith, Mister Sensitive’s powers developed earlier than most mutants. At first, he thought he had been plagued with horrific allergies after his skin had become easily irritated and painful. Over time, the rest of his senses caught up, leaving Guy withsuperhuman senses without any way to dampen their intensity.Like exposed nerves, even the slightest breeze is felt as agonizing pain. The only way Guy can act as a hero is because his suit serves to dampen his powers and grant some semblance of relief.
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Even so, in the more intimate moments of life where an X-Man suit isn’t needed, even the simplest or most pleasurable experiences arecut by the excruciating pain of his elevated senses.To make matters worse for Mister Sensitive, his perceptive abilities are relativelycomparable to Wolverine’s, who doesn’t have to suffer just to smell or hear something well. Despite these drawbacks, Mister Sensitive has served as a fearless X-Man and even taught himself how to levitate through sheer will alone.
6Beak
Debuted inNew X-Men#117 by Grant Morison, Ethan Van Sciver, Prentis Rollins, Hi-Fi, Saida Temofonte, Richard Starkings
Beak is one of those few examples where it feels like his mutation didn’t completely develop. His power grants him avian physiology in almost all facets of his body and life. While being a bird person could be cool, Beak’s biggest drawback is the effect his powers have on his skeletal structure. Just like birds,Beak’s bones are hollow.While still durable, they ultimately don’t have the same fortitude as normal human bones.
The most glaring and obvious drawback of Beak’s abilities is his appearance. Depending on the artist, Beak’s visual appearance varies. But more times than not, he is portrayed asan unsettling combination of a human and a bird, looking too strange to belong to either side. Despite the considerable surface-level issues with his power, Beak compensates with his extraordinary charisma. Currently, he is happily married with many children.
5Jesse
Debuted inUltimate X-Men#41 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Finch, Art Thibert, Frank D’Armata, and Chris Eliopoulos
Though he is certainly one of Marvel’s mutants, Jesse does not come from Earth-616. Jesse was first introduced as a tragic side-story inthe Ultimate X-Men’squest to rally a new generation of mutants in need of a loving home to grow and prosper. Unfortunately, Jesse never gets to enjoy that fate. Seemingly a fan of the X-Men himself, when Jesse’s mutant powers first activated he became immediately suspicious when itfelt like he was somehow the only person around.Seeing only a few piles of clothes and crashed cars, he found relief once he got to school and saw more people.
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Horrifically, everyone around him began spewing hot smoke from inside their mouths and eyes before disintegrating - until nothing was left but dust and clothes. Jesse’s power, similar to Wither’s, radiates a combination of toxins and acids,effectively vaporizing all organic tissue nearby.Within the first half hour of his powers’ development, Jesse unintentionally kills around 256 people. Wolverine chose to kill the teenage mutant to ensure that no one learned that a mutant had caused that much death.
4Glob Herman
Glob is one of the most aesthetically pleasing characters to have come from his generation of mutants. Almost universally loved by fans and even creators outside the world of the comics, Glob has, of course,faced intense feelings of loneliness and isolationthanks to the physical manifestation of his powers. After his X-Gene was activated, Glob’s skin was replaced with a dense bio-wax similar to beeswax, while his muscles, bones, and organs were left visible.
As a hero, Glob is more resistant to physical attacks and can even light himself on fire without feeling a thing. Despite his fan-favorite status and his current job as the Alaskan X-Men’s personal chef,Glob has felt his fair share of rejection over the years.His frustrations and fears first led him to Kid Omega’s anti-human rhetoric. However, after some well-taughtlessons from Spider-Man, Glob emerged on the other side with less hate towards himself and the world. Sadly, Glob still finds himself as an immediate outcast to anybody who isn’t a mutant.
3Ugly John
Debuted inNew X-Men#114 by Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Tim Townsend, Brian Haberlin, and Comicraft
Admittedly, there’s not much to talk about regarding Ugly John. His extraordinary mutant ability is that he has three faces. That’s it. With no useful powers,Ugly John has only really been a hindrancein the past for the X-Men, frequently being captured by Sentinels and needing rescue. In one instance, Ugly John received such critical injuries that he begged Cyclops to kill him and put him out of his misery.
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After Krakoa’s collapse, Ugly John has tried to make some semblance of a life for himself in Australia alongside other outcast mutants. He does seem like a genuinely okay person and keeps his chin up in the face of adversity, but perhaps to a fault. Despite seemingly having a group of mutant friends who can look past his differences, nobody even calls him by the right name. His name is Steve, not John.People just like calling him Ugly John.
2Zeitgeist
Debuted inX-Force#116 by Peter Milligan, Mike Allred, Laura Allred, and Nate Piekos
Axel Cluney is another mutant born with powers that his body isn’t entirely resistant to. Zeitgeist has the power to discharge super stomach acid from his mouth,effectively making him a vomiting superhero.Unlike human stomach acid, Zeitgeist’s is highly corrosive and can melt through nearly a foot of pure steel in seconds. To counteract his acid’s extraordinary corrosive strength, Zeitgeist wears a permeable face mask to protect himself and others from accidental catastrophes.
When his powers first manifested, Cluney was in the middle of a drunken make-out with a girl beforespewing acidic vomit all over her.However, Zeitgeist is not a good person and only had nightmares about the instance because he forgot her name. Having thrown away hisfame as an X-Manfor a life of anti-human domestic terrorism, Axel has reduced himself to an old man who vomits on people while waiting for the next“culture war.”
1Xorn and Zorn
Debuted inNew X-Men Annual 2001#1 by Grant Morrison, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Hi-Fi, Saida Temofonte, and Richard Starkings andX-Men#157 by Chuck Austen, Salvador Larroca, Danny Miki, UDON, Rus Wooton
The Xorn brothers havetwo of the most terrifyingly powerful mutant abilitiesof all time, transforming them into walking solar apocalypses. When the twins’ powers first manifested, their heads were burned and eaten away, instead replaced by a star (Xorn) and a black hole (Zorn). In essence, the twins’ heads possess quantum singularities that, once released, could manifest as either a star or a black hole.
Sadly, the twins have both been manipulated and used over the years for the phenomenal power their minds hide.
Regardless, the consequences are fatal. To contain their cosmic power, the twins must wear specialized iron helmets, although they have existed without the devices before. Sadly, the twins have both been manipulated and used over the years for the phenomenal power their minds hide. That said, Xorn is getting a new chance at life as the AlaskanX-Men’s resident healer.
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
