The First 10 Members of X-Force, Ranked by Power

The first 10 members of X-Force all spun off from the teenage superhero title, The New Mutants, and it turned these young heroes into a paramilitary mutant strike team. Initially, Professor X created the New Mutants to be a team of younger mutants whom he planned to educate in the Xavier Institute while also teaching them how to use and control their powers. When the X-Men disappeared, the New Mutants ended up having to fill in, although they were in no way ready. Despite this, the most powerful members of the young mutant team were able to handle some heavy hitters in mutant villains over the years.

However, when Cable took over as their leader, he began to shape them into something bigger and deadlier. Cable turned these kids into a proactive mutant strike force and added a few new members who had no problem taking lethal action against the villains. Here is a look at the first 10 X-Force members, ranked by their power levels.

10) Feral

Feral first appeared in The New Mutants #99 (1991) and joined X-Force as a founding member in X-Force #1 (1991) by Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza. Feral is Maria Callasantos, a Morlock who had a feline mutation: razor-sharp claws and fangs, a prehensile tail, accelerated healing, and superhuman speed, agility, and senses. Originally, she was one of the Callasantos sisters (with Thornn), and Cable recruited her off the streets. Her abilities are all physical hand-to-hand fighting, so she isn’t great in every battle. She later defected and joined the New Hellions, becoming a tragic villain.

9) Rictor

Rictor is Julio Richter, and he debuted in X-Factor #17 (1987), created by Louise Simonson and Walt Simonson. He later joined X-Force in X-Force #15 (1992) as the team’s 10th member. He generates and channels seismic energy through physical contact, triggering vibrations that shatter steel, crumble stone, and produce localized earthquakes. After his full evolution, his powers grew even more, so he could actually terraform the land and remotely shape earth and stone without simply destroying it. He has a longer range of attack than Feral, but he still has to make physical contact to do anything. On a more personal note, he and Shatterstar are one of Marvel’s most prominent gay couples.

8) Siryn

Siryn is Theresa Cassidy, the daughter of one of the earliest X-Men members, Sean Cassidy (Banshee). She debuted in Spider-Woman #37 (1981) by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha, and she was the ninth member to join X-Force, signing on in X-Force #12 (1992). She has the same powers as her dad, with the ability to scream up to 140 decibels, fly via sonic vibration, and project a focused sonic lance. Siryn is more powerful than Rictor because her scream can shatter steel, and she can fly, making her a solid weapon in any battle. She ended up second in command of the team after Cannonball.

7) Domino

The character of Domino in comics has a complicated origin. A character named Domino debuted in The New Mutants #98 (1991) and was a founding member of X-Force, but that was an imposter named Copycat. The real Domino (Neena Thurman) joined the team in X-Force #8 (1992) when Cable convinced her they needed the real deal on the team. Before X-Force, she was a founding member of the Wild Pack with Cable. She has probability manipulation, which skews the odds in her favor, making her luckier than anyone else in any battle. Add in her expert marksmanship and hand-to-hand training, and it is almost impossible to beat her in a fight.

6) Boom-Boom

Boom-Boom is Tabitha Smith, and she debuted in Secret Wars II #5 (1985) by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom. She was a mutant who was traveling to the Xavier Institute to ask if Professor X could help train her, but she was distracted along the way. She eventually made her way there and was a founding member of X-Force in the team’s first issue. She generates plasma time bombs that she can hold, throw, or detonate with controlled delay. The bomb size ranges from a marble to a beach ball, with concussive force to match. She has been part of several other mutant teams, including the New Mutants and Nextwave.

5) Shatterstar

Shatterstar is an interesting mutant because he was sent from the future to seek out the X-Men and met the New Mutants instead. Gaveedra Seven was a genetically engineered gladiator from Mojoworld a century in the future, sent back by Arize as part of the Cadre Alliance rebellion against Mojo V. He has superhuman strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and senses combined with master-level swordsmanship. He can also channel a vibratory shockwave through his swords as a one-shot mutant ability. He also possesses teleportation power that can open portals across hundreds of miles. As a melee fighter, his shockwave bursts make him a battlefield option in almost any fight.

4) Warpath

Warpath is James Proudstar, the brother of Thunderbird (John Proudstar), who was the first member of the All-New X-Men to die in battle after their debut. James hated the X-Men because of his brother’s death, and when his mutant powers developed, he was someone who wanted nothing to do with Xavier or his school. He debuted in The New Mutants #16 (1984) by Chris Claremont and Sal Buscema, as part of the Hellions. He ended up as a founding member of X-Force in their first issue. His mutant abilities include superhuman strength (comparable to Colossus), superhuman speed (up to 100 mph), enhanced stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes. His durability is immense, and he has always been X-Force’s heavy hitter.

3) Sunspot

Roberto da Costa is Sunspot, a founding member of the New Mutants who went on to become a founding member of X-Force. Cannonball’s best friend, Sunspot’s cells absorb solar energy and convert it into superhuman strength (up to 50 tons), durability, and stamina. In overcharged states, he can fly up to 750 mph and project concussive blasts of solar plasma. One thing holding him down is that his power runs on solar charge, so if he hasn’t had enough sunlight, he can’t power up. He is also extremely wealthy and used his money to, at one time, buy AIM and then form his own Avengers. He doesn’t rank as high as Cannonball, though, because he has to be at full charge to have his full powers.

2) Cannonball

Cannonball was a founding member of the New Mutants, and he carried that on to become a founding member of X-Force. He was also the man that Cable entrusted to serve as the team’s leader in the field. He generates thermo-chemical energy, propels himself at jet speeds, and is enclosed in a near-impenetrable blast field while powered up, making him nearly invulnerable. He can also use his blast field to protect teammates or imprison enemies. It was once teased that he was an External and would be one of the mutants who lived forever as an immortal. He can survive almost any fight thanks to his blast field.

1) Cable

Cable is Nathan Summers, the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, who was sent to the future when he was infected with the techno-organic virus, and there was no way to save him in the present day. When he arrived in the far future, he was trained as a warrior in a world ruled by Apocalypse. Cable is an Omega-level mutant. He has massive telepathy and telekinesis, plus technopathy facilitated by future-tech implants. He routinely uses a large fraction of his energy to hold back the techno-organic virus eating his body. Cable also wears a cybernetic eye, left arm, and shoulder, plus futuristic weaponry and armor. He is also a trained soldier and master strategist from decades of fighting Apocalypse’s forces. His Omega-level psionics beat out every other X-Force member in power levels.

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