Every Confirmed & Potential Mutant in the MCU To Date

Mutants are officially part of the MCU, and their numbers are growing with pretty much every release. Four years ago, Ms. Marvel left viewers reeling when the TV series revealed its version of Kamala Khan is in fact a mutant. Even in the comics, there are so-called “latent” mutants whose superhuman abilities are triggered by exposure to some sort of energy (the most well-known example being the X-Man Polaris). It seems that’s a little more common in the main MCU timeline than it is in those typically associated with the X-Men.

But things are in flux once again. Wonder Man‘s Simon Williams may be a mutant of a more traditional kind, given that his powers developed at puberty and he apparently has no trigger. After the introduction of Wonder Man, we’re faced with the thrilling possibility that there have indeed been some typical mutants in the MCU all along. So, looking back, which MCU characters have either confirmed to be a mutant in the main MCU timeline, or could be retconned as one?

11. Ms. Marvel

The MCU’s first official mutant was Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel. We’d initially assumed her powers came from her “bangle,” but all that changed in Ms. Marvel‘s final episode, when her friend Bruno revealed exposure to this mysterious cosmic artifact had caused some sort of “mutation.” As if that wasn’t enough to make viewers sit up and take note, Marvel deliberately riffed on the classic X-Men: The Animated Series theme tune to underline the point. Marvel has subsequently retconned Kamala Khan as a mutant in the comics, as well.

10. Namor

Namor the Sub-Mariner is often referred to as the first mutant over in the comics, and it’s therefore quite appropriate that Namor is a mutant in the MCU as well. His origin story follows a similar (but not identical) pattern to Kamala Khan’s, in that he mutated after his mother ingested a strange plant while pregnant, and its energies presumably triggered the Sub-Mariner’s X-gene.

9. Wonder Man

Simon Williams seems to be a mutant according to the more traditional comic book pattern. Wonder Man’s mysterious powers developed spontaneously when he was just 13 years old, leading to an explosion that his parents concealed as a fire. Since then, Simon Williams has been so much more than human, even if he doesn’t particularly like the super-powers; they’re a threat to his acting character, given the Doorman Clause means Hollywood is closed to enhanced individuals.

8. El Águila

Wonder Man isn’t the first “enhanced” being to be introduced into the MCU with no origin story, though. That pattern began in She-Hulk: Attorney of Law, which introduced El Águila, a swashbuckling superhero who possesses the power to channel energy into his sword. In the comics, El Águila is indeed a mutant, and the same is likely to be true in the MCU as well.

7. Mr. Immortal

She-Hulk also introduced a character named Mr. Immortal, an obscure character in the comics who typically calls himself a mutant. Technically, he’s something more; he’s supposed to be the next evolutionary step beyond even mutants, Homo sapiens supreme, a being who literally cannot die. Still, Mr. Immortal is the result of the same evolutionary process that developed the X-gene, so he should appear on this list – especially given the MCU just treated him like a “normal” mutant.

6. Scarlet Witch

The comic book version of Scarlet Witch is a mutant sorceress (a surprisingly common category, blending mutation and magic). In the MCU, Wanda Maximoff’s powers were triggered by exposure to the Mind Stone; however, subsequent reference books have blurred the issue, hinting the Mind Stone may have merely activated latent abilities. If that’s the case, Scarlet Witch is a mutant as well. WandaVision certainly seemed to suggest that was the case, providing strong supporting evidence.

5. Quicksilver

Supporting the above theory, Scarlet Witch’s brother Pietro was exposed to the Mind Stone as well; he didn’t develop mystical or mental abilities, but instead super-speed, which would make sense if the Mind Stone simply activated an X-gene. We know other versions of Quicksilver in the multiverse are indeed mutants, and possess the exact same abilities. It really does look as though the MCU has implicitly retconned both Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch as mutants.

4. Ghost

Introduced in Ant-Man & the Wasp, Ghost was exposed to Quantum Realm energies when she was just a child. These left her out of phase with reality, and she only survived due to a containment suit. But did the Quantum Realm grant Ghost her powers, or did they instead activate a latent X-gene? The latter possibility can’t be ruled out, because others who were exposed to similar Quantum Realm energy have developed very different powers.

3. Wasp

Janet Van Dyne is another individual who was granted powers by the Quantum Realm, and she’s literally said she “evolved” due to those mysterious energies. Her abilities are a lot more mysterious, with the most interesting being the power to stabilize Ghost’s condition with just a touch. It remains to be seen whether Marvel intend to revisit the characters from the Ant-Man corner of the MCU; if the studio does, we will hopefully learn more.

2. Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau (named “Spectrum” by Kamala Khan in The Marvels) gained her energy manipulation powers after she was exposed to the Scarlet Witch’s hex. There’s not really a direct connection between Wanda Maximoff’s hex and the powers Monica suddenly developed, which certainly raises the possibility that Wanda accidentally triggered a latent mutation. This would be perfectly fitting, given Scarlet Witch’s powers have both triggered and deactivated X-genes in the comics.

1. Ursa Major

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Finally, Dutch bodybuilder Olivier Richters insisted he played a mutant in Black Widow when he portrayed the Russian character Ursa Major. No powers were actually in evidence in the film, so it’s possible Ursa Major was a latent mutant whose abilities were yet to be triggered.

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