5 Best Mutant Heroes Who Have Never Been on the X-Men

The X-Men are Marvel’s number one mutant team. They are the face of mutantkind, always charging headfirst to tackle any issue or threats that their people face. The X-Men have made it their mission to protect every mutant in the world, and as such, have recruited a whole lot of them to join their ranks at one point or another. It makes sense, given that they are the mutant team, that most new mutant characters are introduced in X-Men comics. They also constantly shift their roster and often have multiple teams operating at once, which lets them add dozens, if not hundreds, of characters to their roster.

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However, while the vast majority of mutants have joined or fought the X-Men at some point, not all of them have. There are still a select few who have never worn the X, and today, we’re going to examine five of the best mutant superheroes who haven’t become X-Men. Yet. Odds are that these five will join the team at some point, but until then, they remain the very special group that has yet to do so. Each has their own reasons, but we won’t know for certain until we dive right in and look at these incredible Marvel heroes.

5) Namora

While her cousin, Namor, has a very tumultuous history as hero, villain, and everything in between, Namora has stood as a hero through it all. And, just like Namor, Namora is a mix of human, mutant, and Atlantean, letting her survive on the surface indefinitely and granting her the same power of flight. She’s strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Captain Marvel and stands up for her people against everything. When Namor went too far and became a tyrant, she led a revolution to liberate her people, even being willing to face public execution to set an example of courage against all odds. She doesn’t show up very often, but Namora is at least as interesting as Namor and definitely deserves to be expanded on.

4) Justice

Vance Astrovik has powerful telekinesis that was awakened when his future self tried to stop him from becoming an astronaut, which led to him being frozen for one thousand years. He originally operated as Marvel Boy, but after accidentally killing his abusive father and serving jail time, he rechristened himself Justice. Vance is a deeply underrated character, despite being extremely nuanced and having one of the most interesting perspectives on his own inadequacies. He constantly undervalues himself while being a massive fan of other superheroes, but eventually learns to be more mature while in prison. He’s a great character that deserves a lot more screen time, at the very least.

3) Mister Immortal

Craig Hollis is well and truly immortal, able to resurrect from any kind of death almost immediately. Technically speaking, he’s not just a mutant, but the stage of evolution past mutants, Homo Supreme. Despite his apparent destiny to see the end of the multiverse alongside Franklin Richards, Craig is a terribly sad man. He discovered his immortality when he tried to take his own life, and decided to put that to use by becoming a hero and founding the Great Lakes Avengers. He’s definitely a joke of a character, but he can be a pretty funny joke with a surprising amount of depth, which makes him great in my opinion.

2) Squirrel Girl

Talking about jokes, Doreen Green is the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl. She originally appeared as a way to teach Iron Man not to underestimate someone just cause their power seemed silly, with her beating Doctor Doom with an army of squirrels, but the meme became that she can beat anyone, and Marvel ran with it. She’s stomped every major villain in a one-on-one, from Thanos to Korvac to the freaking One Below All (Squirrel Girl: Infinity Comic). She loses on-screen fights pretty easily, but Squirrel Girl is never to be underestimated, as whenever she shows up, odds are that she’s about to put a major villain in the dirt.

1) Franklin Richards

Franklin’s history as a mutant has been contentious. Originally, he was called a mutant, but later retcons would argue he was actually a human mutate whose perception of himself changed reality to make him a mutant. Currently, he actually is a mutant, but is using his powers to pretend not to be a mutant, posing as a depowered human mutate. Regardless, Franklin is easily one of the most powerful mutants to ever live. He can rewrite reality on a whim and has been making pocket universes since he was a child. He helped remake the entire multiverse when it was destroyed. Of course, his allegiance has always been to his family in the Fantastic Four, so as powerful as he is, he likely won’t be jumping ship anytime soon.

Which of these mutants would you love to see join the X-Men? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!