The X-Men aren’t a team that everyone thinks of when they think of power, but that’s a mistake. Over the decades, the team has called some of the most powerful mutants of all-time members, and has faced off against nearly omnipotent enemies and situations that even the Avengers would find difficult to deal with. On top of that, the team has trained themselves to perfection; they’ve spent ages in the Danger Room and other training environments to master their powers and teamwork. The X-Men are an extremely formidable unit and they have to be; not only do they save the world, but they also have to protect their race while their at it.
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The X-Men face some powerful enemies, and they need the heaviest hitters they can get. From powerful groups containing multiple Omega-class mutants to well-balanced mutant strike forces, the team puts together some amazing groups. These are the ten most powerful X-Men rosters, able to face off against the deadliest enemies ever and come out the other side.
10) The “Mutant Massacre” Era Team
Chris Claremont was constantly redefining the X-Men over his 17-year run, and the mid ’80s saw the team morph when Cyclops left. Storm took over the team, and brought them through events like the “Mutant Massacre”. She led a powerful team — Wolverine, Rogue, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde, and Phoenix II — and was able to forge this group into not only a formidable combat unit, but a true family. None of the characters are at their most powerful, but they have the skill and teamwork to take down numerous other teams out there.
9) The Blue Team
The ’90s were the decade of the X-Men, and the Blue Team was a huge reason why. Introduced in 1991’s X-Men (Vol. 2) #1, this team consisted of Cyclops, Wolverine, Beast, Rogue, Gambit, Psylocke, and Jubilee and was much more skilled than they were powerful. The group didn’t have any Omegas, but they had Cyclops, and that makes a lot of difference. This is a very balanced team, consisting of some of the most skilled X-Men ever. They were able to hold their own againstmore powerful foes, and were known for their toughness in the worst situations.
8) The First Krakoan X-Men Team
The Krakoa Era didn’t get their own X-Men team until 2021, after the inaugural Hellfire Gala. The team was voted in by the mutant nation and it was honestly a pretty great line-up. Cyclops was the leader and he was joined by Jean Grey, Wolverine II, Rogue, Polaris, Sunfire, and Synch. The group had amazing leadership, Omega level mental powers, magnetic skills, two of the X-Men’s best fighters, and a mini-sun, along with a guy who can copy any of their powers. This team had it all, and would be able to hang with the even more powerful rosters on this list, at least for a while. It’s a great mix of skill and power (even if its 12-issue run as a team in X-Men (Vol. 6) wasn’t the best).
7) The Gold Team
The Gold Team is one of the smaller rosters on this list, but they are honestly one of the most powerful even with all of that. Storm fielded Jean Grey, Iceman, Colossus, Archangel, and Bishop for a team that was majority Omega. While Iceman wasn’t at his highest power level yet, he was still ridiculously powerful, and Jean and Storm have always been two of the team’s best trained heavy hitters. Archangel, Colossus, and Bishop are all great “brawlers”, each of them skilled and powerful in their own right. The only member without a power that can hit at long range is Colossus, and he’s one of the strongest mutants ever, so that makes up for that. It’s an all killer, no filler unit, and it would run through all kinds of Marvel teams given a chance.
6) Outback Team
The X-Men’s Outback era is one of the most fondly remembered of all time. Claremont took the team completely out of their element and dropped them in the middle of the Australian Outback with the inability to show up on all kinds of sensors and the world thinking they’re dead. The team consisted of Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Colossus, Psylocke, Havok, Dazzler, Longshot, Gateway, and Jubilee towards the end, with Madelyne Pryor hiding out with them for a while. While this team only has one Omega in Storm, the rest of the group is extremely skilled, and most of them have pretty great powers that aren’t at the highest level, but still formidable. The group’s teamwork was outstanding, and they proved to be one of the toughest rosters of X-Men ever.
5) The Amazing X-Men
So, the team from Amazing X-Men (Vol. 2) is ridiculously underrated, but they are easily one of the most powerful X-teams ever. Wolverine and Storm brought together Iceman, Firestar, Northstar, Colossus, and Rachel Grey to rescue Nightcrawler from the afterlife. That’s a team, right there. Storm and Iceman were at the height of their powers, Firestar has always been an underrated mutant, and Northstar can move at the speed of light, and that’s before you get to his light powers. He’s got the goods. Meanwhile, Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler make one of the best hand to hand combat corps in the team’s history. This roster could do an insane amount of damage.
4) The Onslaught Era Team
The Blue and Gold separation didn’t last that long, and was a thing of the past by the end of “The Age of Apocalypse” in 1995. Both teams became one, and the X-Men were Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Gambit, Storm, Iceman, Psylocke, Bishop, Rogue, Beast, Cannonball, Joseph, Archangel, and Wolverine (Quicksilver hung out with the team for a song after Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1). This is basically the greatest members of the team since the beginning, a perfect mixture of power and skill. It’s a massive roster, with several Omegas, great teamwork, and leadership of the highest order, and the team would trounce pretty much any villain you put in front of it.
3) The Phoenix Team
“The Dark Phoenix Saga” is an all-time great, and it came at one of the best times for the team. X-Men (Vol. 1) #100 brought Jean Grey back to the Giant-Size team of Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Xavier as Phoenix, with Banshee and Sunfire sometimes showing up, and Kitty Pryde joining. This was a pretty young team, but it had an ace in the hold, namely Phoenix. She was able to hold her own against a Herald of Galactus, and were amazing together as a combat unit. It’s a pretty great team, all in all, and would be able to take down most comers because with the help of the Phoenix Force.
2) Extinction Team
The Extinction Team is a ridiculously powerful group, and that’s all there is to it. Cyclops decided that the much-reduced mutant race needed the most powerful protectors and recruited Emma Frost, Storm, Magneto, Magik, Colossus with the power of Juggernaut, Namor, Danger, and Hope Summers. This is a team with several Omegas, Emma’s deft telepathy, the strongest version of the X-Men’s strongest member Colossus, a guy who takes down the Avengers on his own at times in Namor, and the best tech person ever in the nanite-based Danger. Add in Magik’s teleportational powers and sorcery, and Hope’s power-copying and enhancing schtick, and you have a team that can laugh off most threats pretty easily.
1) The New X-Men Roster
Grant Morrison’s New X-Men is amazing and the team’s roster is a key reason why. The team started out with only six members — Cyclops, Xavier, Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Wolverine and Beast. That’s a solid line-up, but things only got better. Xorn proved to be extremely powerful, Beak and Angel Salvatore were great young members of the team, and Fantomex made for awesome addition to the group. Jean eventually got the full power of the Phoenix back, Xavier could walk for a good portion of the run, and the rest of the team were at their best. If you want to count the Special Class as part of the team, you also get the Stepford Cuckoos, Martha Johanson, Ernst, and Basilisk, making them even more powerful. However, just the core team would be enough to take anyone out there.
What X-Men roster do you think is the most powerful? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
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