10 X-Men Characters That Are Better Spies Than Black Widow and Hawkeye
Turning a soldier into a covert agent is no small deal. It takes months, even years, to teach the required skills to be an effective asset. Assassination, infiltration, information gathering – all skills necessary on most black op missions… or going to a laundry mat, depending on your neighborhood.
In terms of raw ability and experience – there aren’t many operatives better than veteran Avengers the Black Widow and Hawkeye. They are the top of the top – and without any superpowers to boot! However, evolution strikes again. As good as they are, the X-gene has done better!
Here are 10 mutants that make better assets than the professionals!
10. Multiple Man
Jamie Madrox, best known as Multiple Man started his comic career as part of the 2nd iteration of X-Factor. His codename pretty much reveals what his special skill is – but we’ll talk about it anyway. Madrox can create massive amounts of self-sustaining duplicates of himself.
Referred to as simply ‘dupes,’ they can do and know everything that Jamie knows. Whatever they learn, Jamie learns upon reconstituting them. If there’s information that needs gathering, Madrox can source it from the largest of installations all on his own.
9. Gambit
Remy LeBeau is a born and bred thief and trained counter-intelligence operative. But we’re not here to talk about learned skills. This is all about what mother nature gifted via the X-gene. There aren’t many places Gambit’s power to charge objects with kinetic energy can’t get him into.
He can set delayed charges to use a diversion, or create shape charges big enough to blow through a wall or quietly disintegrate glass. Another useful ability is his subconscious power of persuasion. If his target is unaware, Gambit can convince most people to at least agree with him.
8. Wolverine
It’s not his adamantium skeleton, his healing factor or even his extensive black ops training that help him make this list. It’s his suite of augmented senses. Wolverine is a walking forensics lab able to smell, hear, see and even taste his way into and out of any situation.
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As purely an assassin, there’s only probably one person on this list that could do it better. So, in that instance, his unbreakable, razor-sharp claws are a big plus for the old chuckle-head.
7. X-23
Who might be better at assassinations than Wolverine? His cloned-daughter Laura Kenny aka X-23, that’s who. Unlike her gene donating dad, X-23 isn’t weighed down by a hundred pounds of adamantium. Because she’s not fighting off the effects of so much toxic metal, her healing factor also works better than his.
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For the same reason, she heals faster than Logan, X-23 is also much physically faster in terms of her foot speed and reflexes. Speed – being a huge part of covert operations – gives her advantage when the two are compared.
6. Psylocke
Whether we’re talking about Betsy Braddock or Kwannon, the mutant warrior known as Psylocke is as stealthy as they come. Kwannon was raised to be an unstoppable weapon. When the two’s souls were mingled together, Betsy gained her training.
That’s all well and good, but what makes Psylocke one of the best operatives of the mutant world is the way she blends her skills with her telepathic powers. Although she has telekinetic powers as well, Psylocke is best known for utilizing her psi-blades and telepathy.
5. Nightcrawler
Getting into places that aren’t supposed to be gotten into is a key skill that most agents have to master before entertaining the idea of taking on a mission. There are layers of security tailor-made to keep people out of places with sensitive information and valuable equipment.
Luckily, Kurt ‘Nightcrawler’ Wagner is built to be impossible to stop. With little more than a picture – Kurt can teleport himself just about anywhere as long as it’s within range. He can also walk on ceilings, blend into shadows and see clear as day in the dark. So that helps.
4. Kitty Pryde
Speaking of getting in places you’re not supposed to be, Kitty Pryde can go anywhere she wants – and doesn’t even need to see it. Kitty Pryde – or Shadowcat – has the mutant power to alter the density of her body and anything she’s touching.
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However, that’s not where her skills end. While she’s ‘phased,’ she doesn’t need to breathe and floats as she passes through objects. Her atoms are so loosely arranged, gravity has less hold over her. Also, when she phases through anything that uses electricity – it shorts out. Sometimes, people too.
3. Fantomex
Not technically a mutant, Fantomex does, however, possess several unnatural abilities. Other than being an espionage machine – Fantomex’s powers allow him to cast reality twisting illusions on subjects. He can make himself disappear or have someone think they are in a rainforest.
In the case that he has to fight his way out of a soup, Fantomex can defer the sensation of pain or erase it. His mind is also as flexible and nimble as a computer. In the case of coming against a telepath – he can set up barriers or make himself invulnerable to their probes.
2. Mystique
When someone can change how they look at moment’s notice they don’t need the power to read minds, teleport, or walk through walls. Raven Darkholme – better known as Mystique – is quite possibly Marvel’s most famous shapeshifter.
By aping the appearance of anyone she can think of, Mystique can easily infiltrate just about any installation on Earth, or beyond. If she’s on the run – her shapeshifting abilities are not limited to people. She can also blend into walls, floors, or turn into a potted plant – anything.
1. Domino
Sometimes espionage comes down to plain, dumb luck. A guard turns down a certain path. The camera system glitches. A door sensor malfunctions. Normal operatives cannot depend on serendipity during an op – but Domino isn’t normal.
As part of her mutant powers, Domino passively manipulates causalities which encourages circumstances to fall in her favor. To keep it simple – she’s extremely lucky. If something needs to fall, or a gun is fixing to jam – it will.
With so many people born with talents like these, it’s no wonder why governments around the world have exploited mutantkind for so long. What did you think about the list? Let us know below.
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