AIPT’s X-Men Power Rankings: Part 1 (#25

Who is the greatest mutant hero of all time? Let’s find out — welcome to AIPT’s X-Men Power Rankings!

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We wanted to explore the best and brightest of mutantkind (outside of our ongoing, totally awesome X-Men Monday, of course), so we asked our most mighty contributors to rank their top 25 X-Men. However, ranking characters can be a tad difficult, so we assigned the following criteria:

• How prominent are they in the X-Franchise (i.e., comics, movies, cartoons, TV series, games)?
• How do they embody (or subvert) Charles Xavier’s dream?
• What is the writer’s personal “connection” to the character?

These criteria were meant more as a guiding star than any hard-bound rules, meaning different voters could prioritize different things, ensuring that each list was unique (indeed, no two voters shared the same top three X-Men). We then assigned points to each ranking (first place on each ballot would receive 25 points, second place would receive 24 points, etc.). The top 25 would then be determined by their total point values.

And just because it wouldn’t be fun with a few more levels or steps, we had some additional rules:

1. The character had to have been depicted as a member of the X-Men/X-Force/X-Factor/non-villainous supporting cast prior to the Krakoan era (this was to keep out normally villainous characters like Apocalypse, Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, etc.)
2. No Deadpool. He’s not a mutant! Plus, he’s rarely actually a member of an X-team.
3. Any ties would be handled by two tie-breakers:
   1. Highest number of first-place votes.
   2. Highest number of the next highest individual rankings. (As in, if no first place vote is received by either character or they tie in first place votes).

If a tie is still present, the characters will be listed as “tied” for the highest placement (i.e., T-22 for “tied at 22nd place”).

In the end, over 59 characters received votes, but only 25 could make the final list. We’ll be revealing the first five places today (#25-21). With each character, we’ll explain just why we love them. We’ll also list their point total as well as their highest individual placement on a list.

And with that out of the way, let’s get started!

— Robert Reed, AIPT Staff Writer

25) Warpath

(28 Points | Highest Placement = 14th)

I was introduced to the X-Men via the ’90s cartoon, and the team also was my first foray into superhero comics with Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely’s New X-Men #114. I adore that run, but as a 13-year-old, I was struck by something that still bothers me even 25 years later: for stories that are about both the next step in human evolution and about oppressed people, the X-Men were awfully white. DK’s Ultimate X-Men only exacerbated my understanding of the issue — heroes and villains alike, the X-Men were white. Storm, Bishop, and Jubilee were anomalies. POC heroes like Sunfire left the team after only a few issues. Others, like John Proudstar, were killed off.

Enter Warpath. James Proudstar, John’s younger, began his comic book journey in New Mutants #16, seeking to avenge his brother’s death. I, however, met him properly in 2008’s X-Force. There, Proudstar served as the stoic muscle to a team led by Wolverine. In particular though, the arc “Old Ghosts” was fascinating as it saw Warpath face off with the Demon Bear. The story sees James attempt to turn the corner in his violent streak, only to again be drawn down the bloody path of vengeance.

It is a righteous anger that drives Warpath throughout his history. First for his brother who perished, then his tribe who were massacred, then mutants who were de-powered. He is an exemplar not only of the strength needed for Xavier’s dream, but of the people who the dream failed, in-universe and out.

One of the most shocking moments in X-Men history happens early in Chris Claremont’s iconic run, specifically X-Men #95. During a battle with Count Nefaria, newly-minted X-Man Thunderbird leaps on the villain’s plane…and dies in a fiery crash. This was a game-changer in more ways than one: it hinted that Claremont intended to take the mighty mutants in directions they hadn’t gone before, and that signing on to fight for Charles Xavier’s dream of mutant-human coexistence came with a heavy price. Enter James Proudstar, Thunderbird’s younger brother.

At first, James seeks vengeance against Xavier for his brother’s death. However, he eventually winds up siding with Xavier during the “Rise and Fall of the Shi’ar Empire” story arc. It’s in this moment that James — now calling himself Warpath — is able to point his anger, and his signature throwing knives, in a more constructive direction. While he might not be Xavier’s biggest fan, his willingness to help the X-Men’s founder shows that Xavier’s ideals, on some level, resonate in a meaningful sense.

Perhaps the best way that Warpath lives up to Xavier’s dream is when he joined Cyclops’ X-Force, a black ops unit dedicated to protecting mutants by any means necessary. Those means tended to be bloody, but it also shows that some of the mutants who fight for Xavier’s dream are willing to cross lines others cannot.

24) Dazzler

(36 Points | Highest Placement = 8th)

Despite disco being long dead, Disco Dazzler has managed to outlive the trend. It would make sense for a character to be so tied to disco to be forgotten in the ’80s, especially one who was created in partnership with a music label. And yet Dazzler has managed to evolve with the times and remain as shimmery as ever.

Her most recent miniseries has her taking after one of the most popular pop stars today. As an extension of her star status, Dazzler doesn’t necessarily want to be an X-Man. Her main focus is her career, and yet in her early days, she kept finding herself aiding the X-Men. Even now, she’s more focused on her tour rather than being a hero. Part of what makes her so charming is the fact that she chooses to help even when she’s trying to prioritize her career. A lot of Dazzler stories are feel-good stories, even if they’re not the best, which in my opinion, perfectly captures the feeling of listening to pop music.

While Dazzler hasn’t made many appearances outside of the comics, there’s been ample online speculation on which current blonde pop star will be cast as Dazzler in the MCU. While everyone might not know her, she’s still a pretty relevant character, and Marvel has the opportunity to make Dazzler the ever-evolving pop queen who occasionally happens to be an X-Man.

It never ceases to amaze me that before any other X-Man – before even Wolverine – Dazzler got a long-running solo series. She was meant to be a gimmick, a true multimedia product, and while you could view that as crass corporate manipulation, I choose to see it as a sort of blind optimism on Marvel’s part. (That is, we can do anything and it will work.)

That sort of optimism bleeds into the Dazzler stories themselves, where she takes on Doctor Doom and Galactus with a sort of blind exuberance. Even at her most militaristic – times on the actual X-teams, in a doomed relationship, or gunning for vengeance – there is a sort of (pardon the pun) lightness to the character, a tone that often doesn’t jibe with the bleak and gruesome mainline X-narrative; she draws cosmic attention, can form deadly lasers, and she uses that power to provide light shows to her disco singing. She could have been an easy punchline for decades, but longtime fans have always kept her close, heightening some occasionally mediocre adventures (and, in the Jim Shooter-y conclusion to her series, outright bad stories) to something to be cherished in full.

Dazzler is the very model of a fan-favorite character which, in a franchise chock-full of somewhat neglected fan-favorites, is all the more special. She signifies what admiring the X-Men really is about: laser-focused fan love, targeted at the most varied array of characters in all of comics.

23) Wolverine (Laura Kinney)

(40 Points | Highest Placement = 12th)

Laura Kinney has grown from Wolverine’s teenage clone into one of the most important X-Men of her generation. Laura has headlined X-23 and All-New Wolverine, served on X-Force and multiple X-Men teams, and ultimately inherited the Wolverine mantle. Her popularity extends well beyond comics thanks to Logan, Deadpool & Wolverine, and various animation and video game titles. Few characters created this century have become so firmly embedded in the X-Men franchise.

Laura also embodies Xavier’s dream in a deeply personal way. She was created and conditioned to be a weapon, with much of her early life defined by people trying to control her every thought and move. Her story eventually became one of choosing what kind of person she wanted to be and committing to that goal. By joining the X-Men, forming a family, and eventually becoming Wolverine, Laura proves that someone’s origins don’t have to dictate their future. She can be brutally effective when necessary while constantly fighting to remain more than the killer she was made at birth.

Personally, Laura is a favorite because she earned the Wolverine name while developing an identity distinct from Logan. She’s quieter, more introspective, and often carries her trauma differently. Her relationships with Gabby, Logan, and the wider X-Men family have given her a rich emotional history.

Laura started as Wolverine’s legacy character. She grew into Wolverine – full stop.

As a parent, you want your kid to do a little better.

It’s your hope that their stumbles are a little smoother, and that their victories last a smidgen longer. That you’ve succeeded if your kid can do just an iota better than you did.

That’s very much the story of Laura Kinney and her ascension as Wolverine.

Laura began as a Logan rip-off, an illegal clone of Sarah Kinney and the Facility. And many of her early stories followed especially close to Logan’s own life: a complicated family relationship (her trainer/de facto second parent, Kimura, beat her to a pulp on the regular); endless confusion about her lineage and humanity; bouts with her baser/animalistic instincts, and this sustained perception she was little more than a weapon. It was Logan’s story to a tee at certain points, and even if there were differences, editorial tried hard enough to generate the same star through the same regimen of pain.

Along the way, she’s found her own path. She’s moved in and out of the X-Men’s orbit; briefly earned the powers of Captain Universe (take that, Logan!); clashed with more family (see bloody battles with Daken); survived big events like (Messiah War and M-Day); been a member of X-Force (a personal fave for her personality and developmental arc); been involved with the Avengers (it’s clearly a family thing); and generally built her own relationships (her stuff with the Sisters proved to be huge for her growth and general worldliness). Was there pain and confusion along the way? Absolutely, to the point that her short history feels as all over the map as her dear old dad’s much longer canon.

But there was also so much more: love. I mean, not in the traditional sense, but every new twist and turn has shown Laura to she’s every bit a person as anyone else. And while she bled and struggled along the way, what ultimately gave her a worthwhile life wasn’t the patience and attention of others; it was inside her all along. Laura’s always proven that there’s someone smart, caring, and oddly intuitive under her often snarling exterior, and even as she has every reason in the world to be super messed up (see, again, Daken), she couldn’t ever truly get that lost. That’s because she epitomizes why Xavier always takes in so many “strays”: He knows who they are as soon as they step into frame, and we’re all just waiting for them to become the person they’ve always been. To see Laura follow her path is an affirmation that goodness can survive anything, and people just need time to become themselves.

Sure, there’s been setbacks, like the whole hunting her dad (post-Orphans of X), and even (temporarily) relinquishing the Wolverine moniker. But in recent years, Laura’s found something even Logan never truly has: stability. I’d say her relationship with Synch (while in no way perfect) was a clear sign that Laura could commit in a big-ish way, and find the quiet strength to try and build a life outside her status as “lone wanderer” a la Logan. She can never escape her place as Logan’s clone daughter, but it’s something she loudly celebrates after years of pained uncertainty. I’d never speak for Logan, but I’m sure he’s proud of his “little girl” for having the strength to embrace the pains of life and find her place in the world. And she’ll keep fighting for that joy and contentedness with all six claws a swingin’.

22) Forge

(48 points | Highest Placement = 10th)

Why is Forge here? Well, it’s easily because he falls into the “personal favorite” category more than the other qualifications (if only for me, of course). Back when the X-Men toys were lighting up the ’90s shelves, I have a vivid memory of learning about Forge and Mister Sinister at the same time, and for some reason that Forge toy was one of the coolest figures in the line. The clear plastic showing off his leg and arm enhancements blew my young mind, and he quickly made it into my little roster of figures in my cool carrying case.

The cybernetic enhancements got me in the door, but as I got older, Forge’s background – government contractor who made anti-mutant weapons only to turn over a new leaf – stood out as one of the core tenants of the X-Men franchise: redemption. As far as character introductions go, Forge has one of the more interesting avenues for joining Xavier’s ranks. Sure, Gambit was part of the Marauders, and responsible for heinous acts under Mister Sinister, but he wasn’t working with the government on ways to get rid of mutant powers. The trust he needed to build with the team to get them to accept him was palpable, but then it’s always been Xavier’s dream to foster that hard-fought level of peace and understanding. (Yes, even when the person at your door is responsible for giving your enemy the best  advantage they could have against you and yours.)

But what makes Forge stand out for me is the sheer tactical advantage he brings to any mutant team he’s on. If you’re constantly going up against supreme technological threats like the Sentinels and the Phalanx, why wouldn’t you want to have Forge on your team? He can create anything if given the time to do so, which allows him the chance to help bring Xavier’s message to as many people as possible.

Of all the things I took away from the Krakoa Era, I hold a special place in my heart for Forge.

Before this saga, I think I was naive in thinking there wasn’t really anything all that special to a guy who could builds stuffdesigns, especially in the ’90s X-Factor series.) Heck, even Tony Stark could build amazing machines with paper clips and arc reactors; who needed someone who couldn’t even understand what he’d actually done?

When it came time to establishing Krakoa as a global superpower, Forge was among the most important of all the mutants. He developed the Arakko comms network, set-up bases/HQs worldwide (like the badass Seneca Treehouse), and helped stop death itself with his part in the Resurrection Protocols. All of these (and I’m missing so many other contributions) made Forge a linchpin in one of the X-Men’s most interesting and informative eras. But with Krakoa, Forge wasn’t just elevated — he was clarified.

Sure, he didn’t always know what he was doing, but I think now that’s the point. If Krakoa was a chance for mutants to evolve (socially, technologically, etc.), it’s because they had the desire to act. And that’s what Forge is all about: seeing problems/opportunities in the world, and seizing on them. The how of it all matters less, and what does mean a damn is that you have a mission to make the world better. Forge is the embodiment of that very attitude, the living, breathing engine of seeing a better version of the world and seizing on it. He’s a force of communal good, a sea change in person form that defined what made Krakoa this robust experiment in true humanity.

Now, I don’t want to take away from or mitigate what the character accomplished before Krakoa. His stuff in New X-Men was cool, and the aforementioned X-Factor series was part of my earlier comics immersion. (Plus, he had sizable enough roles in the “X-Tinction Agenda” and “Days of Future Present” storylines.) He’s always been there for his mutants — even if it’s just as tech support. But with Krakoa, it felt like he achieved not only his potential, but that of Xavier himself. If the good professor’s whole dream was to build a new world for mutants, then it’s Forge who, for 40-plus years, has been the hands making that happen. He’s not the mutants’ collective heart and soul, but their infrastructure, blazing a new path toward a future where community and connection are more feasible than ever.

Post-Krakoa, Forge launched and led the new X-Force book (from late 2025). And that team not only proved to be extra stylish, but the whole “secret strike force fixing ‘errors’ universe-wide” was a great new angle for Forge. But it’s Krakoa that remains his true apex, a time where he not only got ample page time, but a moment for all of us to learn that those who build the future also help guide and shape it, too.

Also, he built a damn perpetual motion machine in his spare time, how cool is that?

21) Rachel Summers

(48 points | Highest Placement = 7th)

Rachel Summers grew up in Hell (or at least the closest approximation of said dimension). In the apocalyptic “Days of Future Past” timeline, she witnessed the decimation of the mutant race while also dealing with the scars of being transformed into a mutant-hunting “hound.” That would break anyone, yet Rachel remained resilient — much like her father, Scott Summers.

Very few mutants have fought harder for Xavier’s dream than Rachel. She sent her friend Kate Pryde’s consciousness back in time to prevent the hellish future she grew up in. When she was ripped from time and brought to the present, she kept fighting with the X-Men. Perhaps her greatest claim to fame is mastering the Phoenix Force, which consumed her mother, Jean; it was also an incredible moment to witness this cosmic power being used to help the X-Men after it’d been used against them for years.

Rachel also symbolizes how the X-Men reinvent themselves over the years, as she’s taken on multiple identities. Whether it’s changing her surname to Grey to honor her then-dead mother, or taking on the mantle of the Phoenix, Rachel has always sought to keep the X-Men’s legacy alive no matter the timeline.

Reading through the X-Books of the ’80s and ’90s, it’s hard not to fall in love with Rachel Summers, who starts out as a sort of frightened child powerhouse and ascends, by the time she exits the scene in Excalibur, into a full-fledged heavy hitter. Like her brother (and niece), Rachel is an unwilling chrononaut, adrift in time. Rachel has the distinction of being not only a time traveler but a universe traveler, having been shunted to our timestream from the uncertain future of “Days of Future Past,” a future that presupposes that Scott Summers and Jean Grey had a child before Cable, which they did not happen to do on Earth-616.

She has the ability to be a hero in not one, not two, but in (at least) three versions of reality, when she is shunted off into an Apocalypse-ruled future just in time to raise (as Mother Askani) her own little brother. She reaches these heroics against her will, but she always rises to the occasion; she does these things almost without acknowledgment from her peers, whose own dramas continue on whether she’s reality-jumping or not. She deserves a place on this list not because she’s very powerful (she’s a Phoenix, after all), but because she upholds a version of Xavier’s dream that is distinctly unique to her.

She didn’t grow up with a functioning X-Team (let alone X-Parents) to instill in her the freedom fighting ways, and yet she is always – even at the end of time – fighting for real freedom.

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