What's the lamest/worst mutant power ever?

[#1HulkFan]

My vote goes to Cypher. He had the amazing ability to translate any language! Not a bad skill to have, but not very useful in combat I'd imagine.

[Michael P]

There was a thread pre-Reboot that would have made you eat those words.

It's pretty much a tie between most of the Morlocks. Apparently, the only power they had was to be fugly.

[Catalyst]

There was a thread pre-Reboot that would have made you eat those words.

It's pretty much a tie between most of the Morlocks. Apparently, the only power they had was to be fugly.

Tar Baby had one of the most embarrassing powers ever. you'd basically get stuck if you touched him(her?). always had little leaflets and crap stuck to his skin.

[The Lucky One]

True; it'd be way more useful in, say... taking over the world. Man, I would take Doug's power any day. Use your understanding of computer languages to put Bill Gates out of business in a year, then become a powerful diplomat, ascend to political power- Doug could've been Lex Luthor so easily. So easily. But without the baldness. And, you know, the evil.

And then I'd rent 80 Bruce Lee movies and use my understanding of body language to become the Taskmaster. But that's just me.

No, you've gotta be a LOT more creative to find the worst mutant power of all time. I'd say it's a tie between Eye Scream, who could turn into any flavor of ice cream, and the guy from X-Nation 2099 who could create tiny pink bubbles. Heh... loser.

(Of course, there's something to be said for Polaris, with the power of... green hair. She's so damn lucky that Magneto robot activated her secondary mutation...)

-D

[Catalyst]

how about that kid Big Top? he could make his teddy bear grow to large size. wow, a giant stuffed animal.


or Peepers? he's so powerful that he cleans up after people in bars now.

[Jesse Newcomb]

Maggot was pretty lame with those slugs.

Well, if he wasn't lame, don't you think he'd still be in one of the teams today?

[Ryan K]

Anybody who's mutation physically deforms them and gives them no beneficial abilities, wins. Ugly John, Artie, etc., etc., etc.

Paint is bound to get a lot of votes as well.

[Catalyst]

Anybody who's mutation physically deforms them and gives them no beneficial abilities, wins. Ugly John, Artie, etc., etc., etc.

Paint is bound to get a lot of votes as well.

crap. how did i forget Beak?! :eek:

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Maggot was pretty lame with those slugs.

Well, if he wasn't lame, don't you think he'd still be in one of the teams today?

Always thought he was dumped too quickly and easily from the main X-book - likewise Cecilia Reyes, at the same time. But then, the whole change of direction that saw them dropped was so abysmally written that next to nobody survived that contrivance without looking stupid...

Mumble... :mad:

[atoningunifex]

True; it'd be way more useful in, say... taking over the world. Man, I would take Doug's power any day. Use your understanding of computer languages to put Bill Gates out of business in a year, then become a powerful diplomat, ascend to political power- Doug could've been Lex Luthor so easily. So easily. But without the baldness. And, you know, the evil.

And then I'd rent 80 Bruce Lee movies and use my understanding of body language to become the Taskmaster. But that's just me.


Strangely enough, I was actually thinking about this the other day.

And it doesn't fly.

You can certainly extend Dough's power to include reading body language. And stretch it even further to being able to imprint the way someone he watches moves. And he'd be able to mimic it perfectly and apply it.

But....

Doug can speak French. Fluently. Without thinking about it. It doesn't mean he can write a wonderful novel in French. His ability allows him to understand and absorb the mechanics of a language. It allows him to retain said mecahnics and utilize them. But he's only able to utilize them within his onw limitations. Imprinting a language from someone witty means he'll be able to speak the language, not that he'll be able to speak the language wittily.

Same thing with the phyiscality. He can watch and learn body movement from Bruce Lee and Wolverine and the X-Men all he wants. He'll know the moves and be able to recreate them eprfectly. That doesn't mean he'll be able to string them together into an effective combat routine. Nor that he'd be able to improvise fast enough to be effective against a truly skilled combatant.

Plus, watching someone like Wolverine fight and copying those moves isn't going to be as effective for Doug. he doesn't have Wolverine's size or strength. he doesn't have Wolverine's fluidity of movement. He doesn't have Wolverine's confidence in his healing ability that gives him an edge in combat situations. Doug would know how to look like Wolverine, but he'd still BE Doug.

In the end his ability would help him pcik up the basics, but he'd still need to train extensively to be able to utilize them to anywhere near their potential. And knowing how someone bigger and stronger fights, or how someone more limber and faster fights is going to get in his way when he's got to get his own body to do the work.

[The Sword Is Drawn]

True; it'd be way more useful in, say... taking over the world. Man, I would take Doug's power any day. Use your understanding of computer languages to put Bill Gates out of business in a year, then become a powerful diplomat, ascend to political power- Doug could've been Lex Luthor so easily. So easily. But without the baldness. And, you know, the evil.


Hidden within these words could be the most contrived comic book comeback and reinvention of all time... :D

[Sheldon]

My vote goes to Cypher. He had the amazing ability to translate any language! Not a bad skill to have, but not very useful in combat I'd imagine.

Yeah man cause being a mutant is all about fightin!!!!!

[The Sword Is Drawn]

That's why they paired Warlock with Doug, to compensate for his lack of fighting ability...

[The Lucky One]

Yeah man cause being a mutant is all about fightin!!!!!

...says the guy running the mutant fighting tournament.
;)

As far as Doug and fighting goes... I think you're right, au, that Doug's power wouldn't allow him to absorb talent in martial arts any more than it would make him a great writer. And it's true that Doug might not have had a natural aptitude for fighting (although for all we know, he did... who can say?) I do think, though, that knowing the moves themselves would make him at least a decent martial artist, just as one can write a successful book without being an extremely skilled wordsmith. You're quite correct in that he'd have to train extensively to truly mix styles and improvise in the ways that would take him beyond "competent" to "skilled martial artist." But at the same time, going back to your French example, you can pick up some measure of writing skill by hanging around a great writer all the time and seeing how s/he does things. It'll never give you skill that isn't there, but I think that in Doug's case, the answer would lie somewhere in the middle of what we're each saying. You're correct in that I was exaggerating by saying he could instantly be as good as Bruce Lee by copying his style... but I think the basics would make him at least able to hold his own in fights (with Danger Room training and all, he WAS in great shape), and training and natural skill would be what could potentially put him over the top into "kick anybody's ass, anytime."

-D

[Sheldon]

...says the guy running the mutant fighting tournament.
;)

-D

Yes I was aware of the irony......

[sugarmanandrobin]

I'd say the worst mutant power goes to Feral, for her ability to shamelessly provide the Marvel Universe with Wolverine lite.

[The Sword Is Drawn]

I'd say the worst mutant power goes to Feral, for her ability to shamelessly provide the Marvel Universe with Wolverine lite.

True she was rubbish, but would still be handy in a fight... :D

[LoneWolf21]

I'd say the worst mutant power goes to Feral, for her ability to shamelessly provide the Marvel Universe with Wolverine lite.

But on the plus side, when X-Force was fixing up Cable after Magneto soundly trashed him, she wanted to turn Cable's bionic arm into a Slurpy dispenser! :D

[DDM]

Kylun's mutant power to imitate any noise or sound effects at will.

Cypher's mutant power had potential, but he should have stayed behind at the school; on the other hand, many of Claremont's stories display Cypher is the hero such as when he wrote a computer virus for Magus to deage to an infant in The New Mutants #50 or with Warlock's help, together they saved Betsy's mind from being destroyed by Spiral in The New Mutants Annual #2. Cypher's mind is more like Sage's in this sense; he was an underdeveloped cyberpath with his gift to comprehend any language is just the tip of the iceberg...

[LoneWolf21]

The main use I can think for Kylun's power has to do with his swordsmanship, if he's fighting somebody, he can mimic the noise of say, a blastcap, or something loud, to throw his opponent off.

Other than that....

[jadegiant77]

Archangel. Look at me, I got birdy wings! Wheee! Real helpful against Sentinels. Unless you plan on running away from them. Which I would. :D

[LoneWolf21]

Archangel. Look at me, I got birdy wings! Wheee! Real helpful against Sentinels. Unless you plan on running away from them. Which I would. :D

Well there is an arguement I've heard from time to time "That if a goose's wing can break a man's bone, than imagine what Warren's can do" or something like that, but it's never really been used in the comics, iirc.

And his magical healing plot device blood makes me think of Monty Python's Black Knight. "What are you going to do, bleed on me?!"

[pirulaso]

yea i never understood why cypher would be combat oriented.

[LoneWolf21]

There was a thread pre-Reboot that would have made you eat those words.

http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=219881#post219881

Isn't too bad in that regard.

[Trystenn]

Like always, i am going to mention Skin, i mean he is a bulldog without teeth.

[Karl J. Barnes]

Beak. I mean, power-wise. Really...what is his powers or is just a mutated form with no powers?

[thik_3rd]

i dont care what rationale you give, cypher was still lame

[Karl J. Barnes]

i dont care what rationale you give, cypher was still lame

He was handled badly, there's no doubt. But think about what he could have been, if his powers were used to their full abilty: he could translate and understand and use ANY type of language, not just the spoken, but body language, the patterns of the air,land, the Earth itself! He could have been and in many ways should have been a bad ass mutant.

[Catalyst]

Cypher might have progressed into a competent leader if given the chance. he'd make an awesome quarterback with his ability to read body language. he could coordinate the new mutants; tell them when the enemy was about to attack. stuff like that. every mutant doesn't need to be a soldier. there's room for generals.

[thik_3rd]

He was handled badly, there's no doubt. But think about what he could have been, if his powers were used to their full abilty: he could translate and understand and use ANY type of language, not just the spoken, but body language, the patterns of the air,land, the Earth itself! He could have been and in many ways should have been a bad ass mutant.
first being able to understand something doesnt necessarily make you able to manipulate it...
and some of that stuff is really going off on a tangent...
"body language, the patterns of the air,land, the Earth itself"?
please...

[roguestorm]

Well there is an arguement I've heard from time to time "That if a goose's wing can break a man's bone, than imagine what Warren's can do" or something like that, but it's never really been used in the comics, iirc.

And his magical healing plot device blood makes me think of Monty Python's Black Knight. "What are you going to do, bleed on me?!"



how exactly can a gooses wings break a mans arm? is this soem kind of joke? as for lame powers it would have to go to the morlock tramp tommy whos mutation made her multicoloured and paper thin.

[LordAllMighty]

how exactly can a gooses wings break a mans arm? is this soem kind of joke? as for lame powers it would have to go to the morlock tramp tommy whos mutation made her multicoloured and paper thin.

Ohhhh...I see you never had a paper, are you would know how deadly she really was.

Anyway, the most interesting thing I've ever seen Doug do was generate a psionic field that allowed people from different land to speak the same languages.

[Sabre]

how exactly can a gooses wings break a mans arm? is this soem kind of joke? as for lame powers it would have to go to the morlock tramp tommy whos mutation made her multicoloured and paper thin.

I think he might have meant a swan's wing. And yes, not only are those birds huge, they're also aggressive when they're protecting their young. I think a swan could very well break a person's arm. I and some other people were watching a pair of swans and their newborn cygnets at a pond a couple of years ago, and one man got too close -- the father swan lunged on shore at him with wings outstretched, making everyone realize just how big the swan was, and the guy had to back off very quickly. That was one pissed off bird.

[The Lucky One]

i dont care what rationale you give, cypher was still lame

You're wrong. He was an extremely well-rounded, believable, relatable character, actually. But Lord save me from people who can't seperate the powers from the personality, or determine which makes them worth reading about...

And yes, the force of being hit by a goose's wing can easily break a man's arm. If you don't believe that, roguestorm, go piss one off. Please, try it.
:evilsmile

-D

[Karl J. Barnes]

first being able to understand something doesnt necessarily make you able to manipulate it...
and some of that stuff is really going off on a tangent...
"body language, the patterns of the air,land, the Earth itself"?
please...

Yes, but with training he could learn it faster than most. All they did with Doug is stick him in the background and never really developed him to his full potential.

You some characters have victim written all over them and it seems that Doug's main reason of being was to be the victim. They could have used him so many more interesting ways.

[The_15th_Sven]

I would have to go with Forge as having one of the more ridiculus powers.
"I can build any machine"
Are we even sure he is a mutant(ignoring the whole cerebra reading) and not just some really smart human. He has no idea how his stuff works, just that it does. He wakes up one morning holding a death ray and a wrench and his alarm clock has been taken apart. :D

[Karl J. Barnes]

I would have to go with Forge as having one of the more ridiculus powers.
"I can build any machine"
Are we even sure he is a mutant(ignoring the whole cerebra reading) and not just some really smart human. He has no idea how his stuff works, just that it does. He wakes up one morning holding a death ray and a wrench and his alarm clock has been taken apart. :D

Yeah, I'd like to see his powers more defined than the lame,"If I think it, I can make it" line.

[thik_3rd]

I would have to go with Forge as having one of the more ridiculus powers.
"I can build any machine"
Are we even sure he is a mutant(ignoring the whole cerebra reading) and not just some really smart human. He has no idea how his stuff works, just that it does. He wakes up one morning holding a death ray and a wrench and his alarm clock has been taken apart. :D
forge has one of the coolest powers imo...
its beyond just building anything, he can see how things work...

[Dizzy D]

Yeah, I'd like to see his powers more defined than the lame,"If I think it, I can make it" line.


Read the X-factor part of Phalanx-covenant for instance. It shows how his power work.

As for Archangel being useless:
1) reconnaissance
2) drawing enemy fire away from the high-offensive, low-defense mutants like Cyclops or tying up enemy flyers in hand-to-hand combat.
3) Evacuation/transport of teammates (Warren dropping Colossus on their enemies in X-men #1 for instance)
4) making high-offensive, low-defense mutants liek Cyclops more mobile by picking them up.
5) overview of battles (good for leadership or as a sniper like in Casey's first issue.)
6) diving attacks at 150 mph.... dodge that.
7) the aforementioned hitting with wings (the goose-wing was just one, in an issue of X-men unlimited he takes out an entire squad of soldiers by hitting them with his wings).
8) Using the wind created by his flapping wings to create dustclouds to blind opponents.

Things I would like to see him do:
-) using his wings and wingspan to screw up the thermics for other flyers (he has shown how good a flyer he is in Thunderbolts among others): he could just create virtual airsacks beneath an opponent flyer.

Yes, Archangel by himself is not going to win too many battles, but the X-men are a team and in a team there are more than enough roles for him.

[Indigo Al]

Three points:

Cypher was an awesome character
I miss the razor Archangel Apocalypse wings
I love Tommy the paper Morlock

The "worst" mutant power ever was some Hellfire chick who could make Gambit grow lung cancer on some X-Men annual. Tasteless, borderline offensive and gross.

The lamest mutant power? Foxbat.

[roguestorm]

Three points:

The "worst" mutant power ever was some Hellfire chick who could make Gambit grow lung cancer on some X-Men annual. Tasteless, borderline offensive and gross.



no, that wasn't her powers exactly, she could make any physical ailement exaggerated by 10 folds. so gambits poor cancerous lungs were amped up by her powers making him feel the effects of full on lung cancer.

[pirulaso]

now that i think about it............
ms sacharine.

[Go Go]

I think Bishop for coming from the height of the nineties of the "big men who fire blasts from their hands" was truly lame and came after a long line of lameness in comics (they kill of people like Cypher who weren't invulnerable or didn't have run of the mill super powers) and then replaced them with people like Bishop and Feral and Shatterstar. One of the reasons I loved Morrison's X-Men is that it brought back and celebrated mutants with one trick pony powers. Those can be more fun than a generic "look at me, I've got claws and boobs" anyday.

[Go Go]

I'd say the worst mutant power goes to Feral, for her ability to shamelessly provide the Marvel Universe with Wolverine lite.


Wait, with X-23, does Marvel now have it's reduced carb Wolverine lite then?

[Romus]

The ability to remove a flea's legs from a distance.

[Dizzy D]

Three points:

Cypher was an awesome character
I miss the razor Archangel Apocalypse wings
I love Tommy the paper Morlock

The "worst" mutant power ever was some Hellfire chick who could make Gambit grow lung cancer on some X-Men annual. Tasteless, borderline offensive and gross.

The lamest mutant power? Foxbat.

Foxbat is an Inhuman, not a mutant. (And the lamest Inhuman-title has a lot of competition.)

[Faded]

The lamest power is reality-alterers. Its just a bit much to be fun long term.