Who is the most dangerous X-Men member? If you ask most fans, they’ll answer Wolverine, and he’s certainly a prime candidate. The Canucklehead loves to insist he’s “the best there is at what he does,” and he’s done his best to prove it many times. Other X-Men are far more powerful, of course, with Omega-level mutants like Storm and Jean Grey able to threaten the entire planet.
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X-Men comics and TV shows have often tried to answer this question, pitting X-Men against one another so many times it’s become something of a tradition. X-Men ’97 is no exception, with Season 2 resurrecting Gambit as a Horseman of Apocalypse (and worse). Episode 8 reveals the new Gambit’s true power; contact with one of his cards corrupts a target, twisting them so they serve him. Worse still, he immediately targets what seems to be the most dangerous X-Man of all: Nightcrawler.
Yes, Nightcrawler is the Most Dangerous X-Man
The mind-controlled Nightcrawler pretty much solos both the X-Men and X-Force teams. He moves from one target to the next with effortless ease, teleporting from place to place before opponents can get a lock on him. Even Omega-level mutants like Storm need time to think, and Nightcrawler doesn’t give her any; Jean Grey doesn’t have a chance to lock on to his mind, and she’s beaten with staggering speed. When Morph shapeshifts into a tough form, Nightcrawler launches a flurry of strikes to neutralize him.
Most shocking of all, Nightcrawler easily puts the X-Men in life-or-death situations; he teleports targets high into the air, leaving them to fall. It’s an effective strategy, because their teammates are forced to divide their attention between trying to drive him back, and the need to save their friends. We tend to underestimate teleportation as a power, but episode 8 proves us wrong in spectacular fashion.
Nightcrawler does have a major advantage in this fight, of course. He’s under Gambit’s control, which means he isn’t pulling his punches. In contrast, even Cable and X-Force members are reluctant to shoot to kill, meaning the X-Men aren’t really putting all their effort into it. That said, given the X-Men train against one another in the Danger Room, you’d have to assume they should have prepared for this. The clear implication is that teleportation is almost impossible to counter.
I can’t help remembering X2: X-Men United, which opened with Nightcrawler rampaging through the White House. That, too, was a mind-controlled version of Kurt Wagner; and I’d always wondered whether he’d be just as effective if he went up against the actual X-Men in the same way. Now, 23 years later, Marvel has answered that question: and in doing so, X-Men ’97 has warned us against ever underestimating Nightcrawler again. It seems only one X-Man has the power needed to beat down all the others, and – surprisingly – it isn’t Wolverine.
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Image via Ollie Upton/HBO
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