X-Men: The 10 Most Powerful 'Beyond Omega Level' Mutants, Ranked

Summary

• X-Men’s most powerful mutants are described as Omega level, but some go beyond even that.
• Matthew Malloy, Franklin Richards and Vulcan were all explicitly termed beyond Omega.
• The mysterious mutant Miranda gave this type of mutant their own term, with Beast defining once-in-a-lifetime power as ‘Omicron level.’

Every dedicated X-Men fan knows that it’s a big deal whenever the franchise confirms a new Omega-Level mutant. The franchise’s most powerful heroes and villains, Omega-Level mutants are incredibly rare, with Marvel often hesitating to bestow the title even on godlike beings. However, on very, very rare occasions, X-Men has gone one step further, labeling a mutant as “beyond Omega-level” – so powerful that they transcend categorization.

Power classification in X-Men canon is a major battleground for fans, as the franchise has actually offered multiple definitions of what it means to be Omega level. In the simplest terms, Omega-level mutants are the most powerful, crackling with so much raw energy that they can be easily identified using mutant-detection technology like Cerebro. During X-Men’s Krakoan Era, this term was made more specific, denoting mutants whose ability reaches “an undefinable upper limit of that power’s specific classification” – a.k.a. a mutant who could not be any more powerful in relation to their given ability, even in a hypothetical sense.

By this definition, there are less than 30 Omega-level mutants known to the X-Men, with even fewer going beyond that categorization – something which makes ‘Beyond Omega Level’ a difficult term to quantify. However, in the simplest terms, beyond Omega-level mutants can be considered mutants whose powers are so potent, they redefine the previously understood limits of mutantdom.

10 Matthew Malloy

X-Men’s Most Tragic Mutant Had to Be Erased from the Timeline

The perfect example of a beyond Omega-level mutant, Matthew Malloy was introduced in 2014’s Uncanny X-Men #23, by Brian Michael Bendis and Kris Anka. The most extreme mutant power source ever recorded by Cerebro, Matthew was branded “more than an Omega level mutant” by the Beast, aka mutant genius Hank McCoy. Matthew manifested complete control over reality, with the ability to transform matter, resistance to all other mutant powers, and the ability to bring himself back from death.

Malloy’s powers were so powerful that on sensing his abilities as a child, Professor X placed a telepathic block in his mind to stop him realizing he had powers – something which sadly failed once Xavier was dead. Ultimately, he was only defeated when the time-traveling mutant Temp prevented Matthew Malloy’s parents from ever getting together, removing his birth from the timeline.

Up until Malloy manifested his power, the X-Men didn’t know that a mutant of his scale could even exist. Indeed, when the Omega-level mutant Exodus attempted to telepathically attack Malloy, he was instantly killed. Malloy would seem to qualify as a beyond-Omega level mutant by every definition – he is both more powerful than known Omegas by many orders of magnitude and there is no upper limit to his reality manipulation powers.

9 Franklin Richards, aka Powerhouse

The Fantastic Four’s Son Was Once the Paragon of Mutant Power

The son of Reed Richards’ Mister Fantastic and Susan Storm’s Invisible Woman, Franklin Richards – aka Powerhouse – is perhaps Marvel’s most powerful hero. His genes changed by his parents’ exposure to cosmic radiation, Franklin is another reality manipulator and is capable of creating entire new universes from his imagination. In fact, Powerhouse created the Marvel Universe as it currently exists, following the original’s destruction in 2015’s Secret Wars event. Franklin was described as “beyond Omega classification” by the Mad Celestials in FF #13 (from Jonathan Hickman and Juan Bobillo), and was also labeled “the most powerful mutant ever born” by Galactus in The History of the Marvel Universe #3 (by Mark Waid and Javier Rodríguez.)

Comics including The History of the Marvel Universe and Immortal Hulk have revealed that Franklin is destined to survive the end of Marvel’s current multiverse and play a part in creating the next, surviving as part of the cosmic structure in the same way that Galactus survived the prior version of the multiverse. Indeed, it’s possible that the Fantastic Four’s entire history was predestined in order to create Franklin and allow him to play his part in the cosmos.

While Franklin was long considered Marvel’s most powerful mutant, that changed in 2020’s Fantastic Four #26 (Dan Slott and R.B. Silva). There, Charles Xavier revealed that – due to his desire to have an identity outside his superhero family – Franklin has subconsciously altered his own DNA, giving himself an X-gene, and was not considered a true mutant. To drill home his new status quo, Franklin lost his powers entirely shortly after. The change was controversial among fans and may not be true much longer. 2024’s Fantastic Four #18 (Ryan North and Carlos Gómez) revealed that Franklin never lost his powers, and actually locked them away so he could have a normal childhood. Given his goal and his tampering with his own genetics (as well as Galactus calling him a mutant later in life), it wouldn’t be surprising for Marvel to reveal that Franklin is a mutant after all.

8 Gabriel Summers, aka Vulcan

Cyclops’ Brother Redefined the Limits of Mutant Power

After years of teasing, Ed Brubaker & Trevor Hairsine’s X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1 finally revealed the existence of a third Summers brother – the long-lost sibling of X-Men’s Cyclops and Havok. Indeed, Vulcan was part of a secret mutant team assembled by Charles Xavier before the ‘Second Genesis’ team that introduced Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus and more. After their mission went disastrously wrong and they were presumed dead, Xavier wiped all memory of them from his other students, only for Vulcan to return years later with a vengeance. Vulcan was labeled as “past Omega level” throughout Deadly Genesis, by both Professor Xavier and Rachel Summers (his niece, and Cyclops’ time-traveling daughter.)

Vulcan is naturally an Omega-level energy manipulator according to the Krakoan definition of the term. There’s no form of energy Vulcan can’t control and wield as a weapon, from controlling the powers of others to removing the electrical energy from their brains to stop them being able to think or move. Vulcan is a galactic-level operator, and when he fought the Inhuman leader Black Bolt, the two tore a hole in reality itself.

While Vulcan remains one of X-Men’s most powerful figures, he is no longer considered beyond Omega in today’s comics. At the time when he was labeled such by Xavier and Rachel Summers, he was fused with the former members of his ill-fated team and powered-up by a burst of mutant energy. Since being separated from his former teammates, Vulcan has been downgraded to Omega level, however if he were to absorb similar mutant energy again, he would likely regain his beyond Omega status.

7 The Beyonder

Beyond Even the Gods, This Cosmic Entity Claims It Was Once a Mutant

Guaranteed to be the most controversial entry on this list, the Beyonder is one of Marvel’s most powerful and most mysterious entities. In Marvel lore, Beyonders – aka the Omegas – were created by the Celestials and exist outside the structure of the multiverse, with different factions viewing reality either as a structure to be maintained or a playground for their own godlike young. While Beyonders haven’t officially been branded beyond Omega-level in mutant terminology, their power level unquestionably puts them on the same level or higher than Matthew Malloy or Vulcan – the real debate is whether they can be counted as mutants.

As a ‘species,’ the Beyonders’ origin is firmly part of the cosmic ecosystem, however the specific being known as the Beyonder has claimed a far more specific origin. In New Avengers: Illuminati #3 (by Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Cheung), Marvel’s secret cabal of heroes – including Charles Xavier and Black Bolt – encounter the reality-warping Beyonder, who has created his own celestial playground peopled by copies of Marvel’s heroes and villains. After scanning the Beyonder’s mind, the Illuminati make a haunting discovery – the Beyonder is a mutant/Inhuman hybrid who evolved into a cosmic being upon being exposed to the alien Terrigen Mists.

It’s possible the Beyonder fooled Charles Xavier, and most fans have dismissed this revelation as a proposed story that didn’t go anywhere, but when it comes to beings of the Beyonder’s level, causality isn’t necessarily linear. It’s possible that this specific Beyonder is somehow an ascended mutant, or even that the Beyonder caused himself to be born on Earth as a mutant to experience mortal life – an obsession he’s explored in many different ways, including becoming Peter Parker’s housemate.

6 Nathaniel Grey, aka X-Man

Cyclops’ Alt-Universe Son Is a Mutant Messiah

The most powerful mutant in Marvel canon, Nate Grey is the alt-universe son of Cyclops. Even for a reality-manipulator, Nate is incredibly powerful, boasting mastery of psionic power, matter control, and the astral plane. Nate even enhanced these abilities with the Celestial Life Seed, which allowed him to create entirely new realities. Fans witnessed this power level in Uncanny X-Men #4 (by Matthew Rosenberg, Kelly Thompson, Ed Brisson, and Pere Pérez), where the Omega-level mutant Legion describes him as, “Very very powerful. Omega level. More than. Is there something above that yet? If there is, he’s it.”

Cyclops’ relation to two beyond Omega-level mutants is no coincidence – his mutant bloodline is particularly powerful, leading the villainous Mister Sinister to secretly study and experiment on Scott for his entire life.

Created in the iconic Age of Apocalypse reality, Nate was the result of genetic tampering by Mister Sinister, who managed to unlock his absolute mutant potential. Like Matthew Malloy. X-Man is so powerful that even his subconscious desires have the potential to warp reality, however he is far more experienced in using his powers. X-Man is generally considered a hero and has utopian aims for the world, however he can also be dangerously controlling, as seen in the Age of X-Man event, where he kidnapped all mutants to live in his bespoke reality.

5 Onslaught

Onslaught Has The Power Of Two Beyond Omega Level Mutants

Onslaught was never classified as a beyond Omega-level mutant, but he should certainly count. Not only is he the combination of Professor X and Magneto, two immensely powerful mutants in their own right, but he also has absorbed the powers of Franklin Richards and Nate Grey. This surely puts him on the level of a beyond Omega-level mutant. At his most powerful, he was capable of taking on the X-Men, Avengers, and Fantastic Four all at the same time.

He proved himself a physical match to a Hulk that wasn’t held back by Bruce Banner. With Franklin Richards’ power added to his own, Onslaught demonstrated the ability to warp reality with ease, creating a fully functional sun in the palm of his hand. With his power to absorb other mutants into his own body, Onslaught has the potential to become one of the strongest mutants in existence.

4 James Jaspers

James’ Reality Warping Was A Threat To The Multiverse

In this esteemed company, the ability to warp reality is practically commonplace. But James Jasper’s ability to manipulate reality was on a separate level from most others. The James Jasper’s of Earth-238 could warp his universe to such a degree that it became completely unrecognizable. It became impossible to undo his manipulations, so the entire universe of Earth-238 had to be destroyed to prevent this corruption from seeping out to other universes.

While that all sounds very impressive, it’s important to note that the James Jasper of Earth-616 is much, much more powerful than his 238 counterpart. It’s been stated that while Earth-238’s Jasper could be contained by having his universe destroyed, this wouldn’t work on Earth-616’s version. James’ power was so great that he was considered an omniversal threat by Merlyn. Thankfully, it didn’t seem like Jaspers had the pure evil intent that some others on this list do.

3 The Marquis of Death

Marquis Was A Multi-Universe Destroyer

There are several powerful people on this list, but few can claim to be as absurdly dangerous as the Marquis of Death. This mutant is stated to be so powerful, Galactus is nothing more than a flea to him. Marquis has the power of total reality manipulation, as well as the ability to cross dimensions. Using this power, Marquis went on a multiversal massacre where he destroyed countless universes.

Reality warping isn’t a unique mutation, with heavy hitters like Franklin Richards able to warp reality and control Galactus, but not even Franklin has completely erased dozens of realities with a single thought. The Marquis of Death is even stated to be capable of controlling Eternity, the personification of the universe itself. All of this truly puts the Marquis of Death on a level that most Mutants can’t even hope to reach.

2 Santa Claus

Santa Might Be Marvel’s First Beyond Omega-Level Mutant

Everyone knows Santa Claus, but one fact that most people aren’t aware of is that he might very well be a mutant. Back in Marvel Holiday Special by Scott Lobdell and Dave Cockrum, Santa was stated to be “the most powerful mutant” that Cerebro had ever detected. The story was released back in 1991, which makes the case that Santa Claus was potentially the very first mutant to defy classification due to his innate powers.

While stronger mutants have been born and evolved since then, it’s still worth noting just how hilariously powerful Santa was for the time. As far as powers go, Santa seems to have mild reality-bending skills to explain how he delivers his presents, as well as what could only be understood as immortality. While these abilities pale in comparison to the others on this list, once upon a time, Santa was the most powerful mutant the world had ever seen.

1 Miranda

Marvel’s First Omicron Mutant Is Basically a Marvel Editor

The most powerful mutant outside X-Men canon, Miranda was introduced in Max Bemis and Michael Walsh’s X-Men: Worst X-Man Ever. This story takes place in an alternate reality, but actually offers perhaps the best definition of what ‘beyond Omega’ means. In the story, the mutant teen Miranda discovers she’s able to “edit” reality, making changes that – once finalized by her powers – become how the timeline has always been.

In the story, Miranda reveals that she’s the reason Marvel’s heroes seemingly don’t age, explaining she also made changes to reality like bringing back Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier and introducing Nick Fury Jr. to replace his father. After her powers are discovered, Beast invents the term “Omicron mutant” on the spot, denoting a once-in-a-lifetime mutant power which is able to fundamentally re-order reality.

What Does the Future Hold for X-Men’s ‘Beyond Omega’ Categorization?

In superhero comics, no sufficiently big idea goes unexplored for long, and it’s likely that sooner or later, X-Men will get more specific with what ‘beyond Omega’ means – just as the Krakoan era tried to nail down a workable definition for Omega mutants. Indeed, as the Krakoan Era comes to a close in 2024, it’s possible that the next era of the franchise will embrace this idea, and perhaps even give fans a new entry on this list of X-Men‘s most unbelievably powerful mutants of all time.

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  X-Men

  Comic Release Date:

  213035,212968

  First Film:

  X-Men (2000)

  TV Show(s):

  X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men (1989), X-Men (1992), X-Men: Evolution (2000), Wolverine and the X-Men (2008), Marvel Anime: Wolverine (2011), Marvel Anime: X-Men (2011), Legion (2017), The Gifted (2017), X-Men ’97 (2024)

  Movie(s):

  X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants (2020), Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

  Character(s):

  Professor X, Cyclops, Iceman, Beast, Angel, Phoenix, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Morph, Nightcrawler, Havok, Banshee, Colossus, Magneto, Psylocke, Juggernaut, Cable, X-23

  Video Game(s):

  X-Men: Children of the Atom (1994), Marvel Super Heroes (1995), X-Men vs. Street Fighter (1996), Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997), Marvel vs. Capcom (1998), X-Men: Mutant Academy (2000), Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000), X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 (2001), X-Men: Next Dimension (2002), Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (2011), Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (2011), X-Men Legends (2005), X-Men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), X2: Wolverine’s Revenge (2003), X-Men (1993), X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995), X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse (1994)