X-Force has long been the most dangerous mutant team of them all. It all began with the New Mutants. These young mutants ended up under the tutelage of the mysterious Cable and decided to leave the X-Mansion behind, joining him in his secret war against Stryfe, the Mutant Liberation Front, and Apocalypse. They were the outcasts, hunted by the X-Men, X-Factor, and their enemies. The team went through several permutations, with Cable leaving the group, the younger mutants striking out on what they learned from him (seriously go read any mid ’90s issues drawn by Adam Pollina; it was the best era of the original group) and fighting evil. Eventually, a new version was introduced that became a government/reality show team, changing its name to X-Statix, before it became the premiere hit squad for the X-Men under the command of Wolverine.
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While the team hasn’t always ostensibly been the “kill ’em all” team – back in the ’90s it was mostly that they were willing to kill rather than that they actually did any killing – it’s evolved into a new form, becoming more dangerous than ever. While it’s not a team with world-shaking power (except the Krakoa version, which had Jean Grey and Quentin Quire), they have been able to get the job done, employing many of the most vicious mutants ever. These are the seven most dangerous members of X-Force, each one a threat on another level.
7) Domino
Domino has had a long career in the black ops corner of the Marvel Universe. Her mutant powers changed the color of her skin and gave her luck powers. She’s always making the lucky shots, surviving explosions, getting out just in the nick of time. She’s honed herself into the perfect weapon to take advantage of her abilities, becoming a feared soldier the world over. She first met Cable when he first came back to present, fighting alongside him in the Wild/Six Pack (they had to change the name because Silver Sable already had mercenaries named the Wild Pack), but was eventually kidnapped and replaced by Copycat. She would escape and rejoin them, and the group has been her home for years, working with Wolverine during the Utopia and Krakoa Eras. She’s the person you drop into a room fill of goons with an assault rifle, a sidearm, and a grenade with the pin pulled, letting her work her magic. She’s as dangerous as they come and has made mincemeat out of foes for years.
6) Psylocke
So, currently, ninja Psylocke is Kwannon, with Elizabeth Braddock operating as Captain Britain. However, for years, Betsy was the ninja version and she ended up joining X-Force when Wolverine decided that mutantkind still needed a team willing to shed blood to save their people. She soon became the team’s second in command, her relationship with Archangel getting very complicated when he became the new Apocalypse. She stayed with the team until Wolverine left and then took over as leader, commanding her own group of mutant killers. Betsy at this point had all of the ninja skills of Kwannon and has spent years honing her body into the perfect killing machine. She knew how to use her telepathy in concert with her fighting skills; while she wasn’t on the level of someone like Xavier or Jean, she was powerful enough to make killing her foes rather easy. She was the perfect addition to the team over the years, taking down the enemies of mutantkind one foe at a time.
5) Deadpool
Deadpool has a long bloody history with X-Force. Wade Wilson was made into a super soldier by Weapon X and soon became one of the most in-demand mercenaries on the planet. He was eventually hired by the mysterious Gideon to go after Cable and would start battling the group. Early Deadpool wasn’t as insane as he is now but he went hard in the paint, gaining respect for the group that would become a grudging partnership. He’d work with Cable pretty often, but was never officially a member of the group until Wolverine recruited him for the second incarnation of the team. Deadpool is the master of walking into anywhere, killing everyone, and walking out the other side regrowing parts of his body. If he wants you dead, you’re dead. He can survive anything you throw at him and is skilled with all kinds of weapons. He’s a supreme annoyance, but his deadliness more than makes up for it.
4) Cable
Cable has become a Marvel legend. He was a Rob Liefeld special – a cool looking character who grimaced a lot and carried massive guns with a mysterious past. It would be revealed that he was Nathan Summers, taken by the Askani and trained to use his powers to control his techno-organic virus, becoming the most dangerous soldier of the future. When he first got to the present, he became a mercenary, getting the lay of the land and eventually setting his sights on the New Mutants as his best shot at allies. He turned them into soldiers and has taken his place as one of the most deadly mutants out there. Cable is an expert with every kind of firearm you can think of and his cybernetic limbs hide a variety of surprises for his foes. While he prefers using guns, there have been times where he used special psionic weapons like his Psimitar (I love the Psimitar), and has wasted legions of enemies over the years. He’s as powerful and skilled as they come, having fought evil his entire life.
3) Omega Red
Omega Red is one of Wolverine’s most dangerous enemies. Arkady Rossovich was a Russian mutant born with a death factor – his body produced an aura of disease that combined numerous maladies and infected anyone in a certain radius from him. He drained the life force of those so afflicted, gaining more strength the more they suffered. He was taken by Soviet authorities and made into a weapon, given carbonadium tentacles and sent into the field during the Cold War. Wolverine and Team X defeated him and he was put into hibernation (looking at him and the Winter Soldier, it seems like the Soviets loved freezing their killers), but would return in the modern day. He battled Wolverine and the X-Men numerous times, his death factor a powerful weapon against his foes. During the Krakoa Era he worked for the vampires and Mikhail Rasputin, and was brought onto X-Force on a trial basis, becoming a member in good standing surprisingly. The only people immune to his death factor are those with healing factors; that means that the vast majority of people in the world would be at a massive disadvantage against him, one that would end in death.
2) Archangel
It might seem weird for Archangel to be this high, but his time with X-Force revealed why. Warren Worthington III was a mutant with angel wings, losing them in battle with the Marauders. Apocalypse stopped him from killing himself and transformed him into the Horseman of Death. He was given organic steel techno-organic wings. Their feathers were razor sharp and could be fired at his foes, each flechette coated in poison, giving him long range attacks he never had before. The wings had a mind of their own at times; they would sometimes slaughter everyone around Warren to protect him. So, he’s definitely dangerous but there’s a whole other dimension to it. He was Death and that meant that if Apocalypse died, he was supposed to take his place. So, there’s always the chance that Warren is going to become a new Apocalypse. This makes him not only dangerous to his foes, but to his teammates as well. He has a body count in the thousands, showing that he is definitely not someone to be trifled with.
1) Wolverine
Wolverine has survived the most brutal battles for over a century, proving just how dangerous he is on every battlefield on the planet. James Howlett’s mutant powers give him a healing factor, bone claws, super senses, enhanced strength and agility, and various bestial abilities that make him quite formidable. Add in the adamantium skeleton and you have one of the most dangerous men on the planet. Much like Archangel, it might not seem like he should be so high on the list; he’s deadly, but he has to get within arm’s length. However, years have been spent by everyone from the ancient mutant Romulus to the Canadian government into the ultimate killing machine. Logan might not be able to end the world with a thought or transform into an all-powerful lord of Darwinism, but if he wants you, he’s going to kill you. There’s no one worse to have on your tail, because in the end, he always gets his prey.
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