The X-Men franchise boasts some of the most remarkable characters in Marvel Comics. In the 21st century, Marvel’s creators have had to up the ante with each new mutant character they’ve created. Here, we present a ranking of the wildest, most exciting X-Men characters introduced since the dawn of the millennium.

The unpredictable nature of mutation allows the X-Men franchise to take some truly wild swings when cooking up new heroes.

The characters here might not all be happy that their X-genes activated, but we’re happy that they have become part of the tapestry of X-Men canon over the past 26 years.

10

“Danger”

Debuted In 2005’s Astonishing X-Men #5; Created By Joss Whedo And John Cassaday

The Danger Room is among the X-franchise’s oldest concepts. So, it was a big deal when the X-Men’s training room achieved sentience and turned heel on mutantkind. Danger knew all the X-Men’s strengths and weaknesses, making her a formidable foe. Eventually though, she came back into the fold and became a member of the team herself.

There have been robotic X-Men before, most notably the extraterrestrial Warlock. Yet Danger is notable because she’s a piece of mutant technology that eventually came to be recognized as a kind of mutant herself. A.I. has mostly been adversarial in X-Men lore, making Danger’s heroic shift even more unique. Though admittedly, her role in the X-franchise has been minimized lately.

9

“Rasputin IV”

Introduced In 2019’s Powers Of X #3; Created By Jonathan Hickman And R.B. Silva

For a little bit there, X-Men fans thought Rasputin IV could be the future of the franchise. The original version of the character was established in 2019 as part of Jonathan Hickman’s sweeping Krakoan Era X-Men reboot. A second version, from a different timeline, was reintroduced in 2023 and had a brief run as a fan-favorite mutant hero.

Rasputin IV is a “chimera,” created by Mr. Sinister by splicing together the genes of different powerful mutants. She has Colossus’ metal skin, Wolverine’s healing factor, Kitty Pryde’s intangibility powers, and more. Yet despite these callbacks, the character was never a retread. Instead, she felt like an inspired new way to remix and revisit classic X-Men powers.

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Unfortunately for Rasputin IV fans, the end of Krakoa in 2024 meant the end of the character. At least so far. It’s likely she won’t stay on the shelf forever, but the high expectations X-Men readers had for Rasputin IV just a few years ago have faded, and her future prospects don’t look bright anymore.

8

Prodigy

Debuted In 2003’s New Mutants #4; Created By Nunzio DeFilippis, Christina Weir, & Keron Grant

Prodigy was introduced in the early aughts as part of the second generation of New Mutants. He’s been an on/off franchise regular ever since. Maybe he’s never fully ascended to A-list status, but he’s a welcome presence in any X-book that he gets factored into. Partly because Prodigy low-key has a mutant power most people would actually want.

Prodigy can pick up the abilities of anyone in proximity to him. That means physical or mental powers. So, it comes in handy in combat, when he can mimic Juggernaut, for example, but it’s also extremely useful in situations where two genius-level intellects like Beast’s would be better than one.

7

“Darwin”

Revealed In 2005’s X-Men: Deadly Genesis #2; Created By Ed Brubaker And Trevor Hairsine

Darwin is one of the 21st-century’s most interesting mutant character concepts. In X-Men canon, though, he’s actually one of Charles Xavier’s earliest mutant recruits. Overall, Darwin is a shining example of a mutant character who is actually too powerful for their own good. To the point where Marvel rarely knows what to do with him.

Darwin’s whole thing is that he can evolve on-the-fly to compensate for any life-endangering threat. It’s a great idea for a power, but on the page, it has proven to be unsustainable. Pardon the pun, but considering it’s a form of functional immortality, Darwin’s power doesn’t have a lot of longevity, because he doesn’t de-evolve afterward.

6

“Glob Herman”

Introduced In 2001’s New X-Men #117; Created By Grant Morrison And Ethan Van Sciver

Glob Herman is the shining example of an X-Men success story. He was created as a background character, a minor student at Xavier’s School with a visibly noticable mutation which made him stand out on the page. He was part of Grant Morrison’s successful push to make X-Men weirder and wilder for the 21st century.

And guess what? 25 years later, Glob Herman is among the most prominent X-Men of his day. He’s become a full-on Wolverine-level badass, and an essential member of Cyclops’ team. The apex of this upward trajectory would, of course, be an MCU appearance, and X-Men fans are pretty confident it will happen.

5

“No-Girl”

Introduced In 2001’s New X-Men #118; Created By Grant Morrison And Ethan Van Sciver

No-Girl made her X-franchise debut just an issue after Glob Herman, in Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, but her career hasn’t quite had the same highs as her peer’s. Glob has matured into a hero, but No-Girl is a more tragic figure. Born Martha Johansson, as a teenager her brain was removed from her body and preserved by the villain Sublime.

In the years since, she’s been given a body, and gained official X-Men status, but it’s difficult for her to fully escape the trauma of her origin. Still, this is what makes her one of X-Men’s great 21st-century characters. No-Girl started out as a literal nobody, and over time she has found her identity.

4

“Egg”

Debuted In 2013’s Uncanny X-Men #1; Created By Brian Michael Bendis And Chris Bachalo

In his relatively brief thirteen-year history as a Marvel character, Egg has gained a reputation for one of X-Men’s most drastic character upgrades. Egg wasn’t always Egg. When he debuted in 2013, he was Goldballs. Originally, his power was that he could produce gold balls of varying sizes and shoot them out of his body.

Yes, seriously. Goldballs started off as a punchline. A likeable punchline, but still. That is, until 2019’s Krakoan relaunch turned him into one of the most important mutants in the world. That is, because Goldball’s gold balls turned out to be essential to mutantkind’s Resurrection Protocols.

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The character was made part of “the Five,” whose combined powers are used to create new copies of dead mutants. A copy of the deceased is grown inside of one of the gold balls, or as they were rebranded, eggs. The hero changed his name accordingly, in an all-time Marvel glow-up.

3

“Escapade”

Introduced In 2022’s Marvel Voices: Pride #1; Created By Charlie Jane Anders, Ro Stein, And Ted Brandt

Escapade is one of Marvel’s newest mutants. Her powers allow her to swap locations with anyone close by that she focuses on; moreover, she can also swap their abilities. It’s a unique take on familiar mutant abilities, the full potential of which the franchise is still exploring. However, many readers agree Escapade has a high ceiling of potential.

She’s also one of Marvel’s first openly trans superheroes. In a franchise that is all about inclusion, representation, and acceptance, Escapade is an essential part of X-Men’s future. In due time, she’ll be called up to one of the franchise’s main X-rosters, and then she can show out on an entirely new level.

2

Granny Smite

Introduced In 2024’s X-Factor #1; Created By Mark Russell And Bob Quinn

Granny Smite debuted the short-lived X-Factor volume that ran from 2024-25. She represents an extremely niche group in the Marvel Universe: elderly superheroes. Most mutants’ powers activate in adolescence, or at puberty. Smite was in her late ’80s when her abilities first manifested. The kicker? She is immortal and invulnerable to physical harm.

So, yes, she’s an almost 90-year-old woman who can throw herself recklessly onto the front lines of a firefight the same way Wolverine would. It’s another astonishing idea for a character that Marvel has only scratched the surface of. Granny Smite hasn’t appeared beyond X-Factor’s ten issues yet, but she’s too cool to stay sidelined forever.

1

“Doop”

Debuted In 2001’s X-Force #116; Created By Peter Milligan And Mike Allred

Doop…well, what exactly is Doop? Is anybody really sure? Doop is one of Marvel’s most bizarre characters, that’s about the one thing we can say about him with 100% certainty. He is a floating green ball of flesh with no legs, skinny arms, and a bulbous head. He looks like an alien, but he might have been created in a lab.

Again, nobody can, or will, say definitively. Doop low-key might be one of Marvel’s most powerful characters; because he’s primarily comedic relief, he can manifest basically any ability that the bit requires. Which means he’s demonstrated everything from superhuman strength to a Deadpool-level healing factor.

Doop also wields “the Power of the Funk,” which basically means he’s sick at bass guitar. Doop might not technically be a mutant, but he has the X-logo branded on his chest, for goodness’ sake, and there’s simply no other way to classify him. Doop is, without question, X-Men’s most infamously weird character, which is what makes him beloved.

Sound off, X-Men fans. What other 21st-century mutants deserve to be on this list?

Movie(s)

X-Men (2000), X2, 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, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

First Film

X-Men (2000)

TV Show(s)

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

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)

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

Comic Release Date

213035,212968