7 Best Mutant Anti-Heroes In Marvel Comics, Ranked

Marvel did more to make anti-heroes popular than any other publisher out there. Anti-heroes truly came to prominence in the ’70s, when the Dirty Harry and Death Wish films got big. The House of Ideas introduced the first two major anti-heroes in comics history with Wolverine and Punisher, one mutant and one human. Both characters became massively popular over the decades, and set a path for many others to follow. Wolverine has been especially important, since he was just the first of many mutants who would become anti-heroes. Since then, plenty of his people followed in his footsteps, which makes a lot of sense when you look at the place of mutants in the world.

Mutants exist in a world where the people in power, and most of the public honestly, wants them dead. Many mutants still want to do good in the world, but they don’t buy into the ideals of the more traditional heroes, embracing more violent methods. These seven mutant anti-heroes are the best in Marvel Comics, battling evil in their own often deadly way (Deadpool isn’t a mutant, so he won’t be on this list).

7) Domino

X-Force has had the deadliest members of any X-team, and numerous members of the group are anti-heroes. One of the most skilled, and interesting, has always been Domino. Born with luck powers that give her a greater than normal chance at success and survival, she’s worked as a mercenary for years, first meeting Cable as a member of the Wild Pack. She’d become X-Force’s second-in-command, and has been a member of several different versions of the team, including the Utopia and Krakoa Era permutations of the group. She’s as dangerous as they come, and her powers give her a greater than normal chance of surviving just about anyone.

6) Psylocke

There was a time when Psylocke wasn’t an anti-hero, before Elizabeth Braddock had her mind put in Kwannon’s body. Betsy got more violent over the years, even joining X-Force under Wolverine, but was never considered a true anti-hero. Eventually, the two of them would be put back into their proper bodies. Kwannon has taken the Psylocke name and gone full anti-hero. She was once a Hand assassin, and has no problem with killing the enemies of mutantkind. She’s an extremely skilled, agile fighter, and while her telepathic abilities aren’t as powerful as heavy mental hitters like Emma Frost, they help make her a much deadlier fighter. She’s as tough as nails and deserves more credit for how much she’s climbed up the ranks of the anti-heroes.

5) Greycrow

The Krakoa Era was great for the X-Men, with numerous characters getting a chance to shine they never had before. Hellions was one of the best titles of the early days of the era, and it showed readers just how great Greycrow could be. The former Marauder with gun powers (he can make a gun out of anything) was one of the breakout stars of the book, and became a favorite of fans. The X-Men office has, for some mysterious reason, not pushed him. He’s an amazing anti-hero, a guy who has done terrible things in his past, and now does terrible things for the right reason.

4) Magik

Magik has become one of the breakout stars of the last decade. The younger sister of Colossus came to prominence with the New Mutants in the ’80s, when she was stranded in Limbo and became a powerful sorcerer mutant warrior teen. She’d eventually go back to her old age, dying of the Legacy Virus, but was resurrected and has since become more and more popular. She loves to fight, and is constantly battling against the demonic side that living in Limbo saddled her with. She’s showed that being an anti-hero is still a road to success, becoming one of Cyclops’s most trusted soldiers. She has no problem taking things further than most superheroes, and her skill and power level make her an extremely formidable threat.

3) Bishop

Bishop came from a stereotypical dark mutant future, one where the world was a wasteland for reasons, the X-Men were all killed by a traitor, and a mutant police force called the XSE battled against evil mutants. The mutant policeman was used to dealing with the most violent enemies in the most violent ways, and this became his MO when he traveled back to the present to hunt down Trevor Fitzroy. He is a patented ’90s style anti-hero, carrying guns, grimacing a lot, and having to be pulled off villains by his teammates when he gets too violent. Then, there was the time he went evil and decided to hunt down Cable and Hope Summers, killing numerous people to keep his terrible future from coming true. He’s no longer as bad as all of that, and he’s back to being a trusted member of the mutant community.

2) Cable

Cable is the anti-hero who launched a million other anti-heroes in the ’90s. He had it all: the mysterious past, the pinched, grimacing face, the cyborg parts, the pouches and bandoliers, and the guns that don’t like any gun that has ever actually existed. He was violent, came from a dark future, and considered himself a soldier more than he did a superhero. The character was popular right from the beginning, and remains one of the biggest success stories of the ’90s; there were only two mutants who could keep ongoing series back then, and he was one of them (he was so popular that he technically had two solo books — Cable and X-Man, which starred the Age of Apocalypse version of the character). Nathan Summers has grown, as well, and he’s one of the best mutants ever.

1) Wolverine

Wolverine is the best there is at what he does, and what he does is be Marvel’s premiere anti-hero. Logan isn’t just the best mutant anti-hero, he’s the best anti-hero in Marvel. The long-suffering mutant helped make the concept popular in comics, and has starred in more comics than any of the others. He’s violent, he’s mouthy, and he has a heart of gold. We’ve watched him survive basically everything thrown at him and keep going. He’s one of only three Marvel heroes to be a member of the X-Men, Avengers, and the Fantastic Four, and is among the most popular superheroes of all time. Wolverine is an anti-hero superstar, and anyone who thinks he isn’t the best mutant anti-hero hasn’t been paying attention.

Who are your favorite mutant anti-heroes (shout out to Warpath, Fantomex, and Shatterstar, who just missed this list)? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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