The Six X-Men Mutant Classifications explained

The X-Men came into existence thanks to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the reason why X-Men was created was due to the Success of Fantastic Four and co-creator Stan Lee thought of creating another Group. “And we figured, my publisher and I, figured why not do another group? My problem was, what powers would I give them? … Then, once I figured out what powers they’d have, I had to figure, how did they get their powers? And they were all separate people that weren’t connected to each other, so I knew that would be a hell of a job. And I took the cowardly way out, and I figured, hey, the easiest thing in the world: They were born that way. They were mutants.” - Stan Lee.

The world of the X-Men has evolved quite a bit over the last several decades. We've learned that each mutant, along with having unique brain wave patterns, is born with a mysterious X-gene that causes their abilities, usually activating during puberty. And from the beginning, we've seen that not all mutants are cut from the same cloth. Some look just like us, whereas others could pass for aliens, demons or animals.

Over time, a system of classification came about, one to simply help the X-Men keep track of who had what basic traits and power levels. So, for your benefit, here are the six basic categories of mutants in the Marvel Comics universe from the Weakest to the Strongest.

Epsilon Level

Epsilon mutants either have a non-combative power or no real powers at all, but are like Gamma level mutants in that they cannot hide what they are. To count as an Epsilon level mutant, you have to possess very little to no special abilities and a mutation that extremely negatively affects your day-to-day life. Some mutants of this level are killed by their mutations, like Sally Floyd's daughter, who around a few months of age began growing in reverse Many examples of such mutants can be found among the Morlocks, a community that choose to live in the sewers rather than among humanity.

Artie Maddicks' X-gene caused his body to alter, turning him into a pink, hairless being with growths on his head and large, blank eyes. Along with this, he lost his powers of speech and could now only communicate by projecting holograms of his thoughts. The weakest Mutant Level of all!

Delta Level

Delta Mutants don't have any significant flaws. The only problem is that Delta mutants don't have powers that match an Alpha mutant, or even a Beta or Gamma mutant. At least 50% of mutants are Delta mutants making them the most common type of mutant. Some examples of Delta mutants are Forge, Domino and Callisto.

Domino is a Delta mutant. When she finds her adrenaline rushing, she causes probability to win out in her favor within her line of sight. But even this is not automatic, as she needs to actively take advantage of the "good luck" she causes. If Domino is being shot at, she can't just stand there and count on the bullets missing her. But if she starts running from those shooting at her, she'll find that most of the time she'll wind up narrowly avoiding each shot. Another Delta mutant would be Forge, who can instinctively build and rework machines without being told or even fully understanding how they work.

Most Deltas do not even know they are mutants. They look just like us...

Gamma Level

Gamma mutants are very powerful mutants but they have flaws. Unlike the Beta mutants a Gamma mutant's flaw is a major flaw that makes their life very hard. A good example is Blink, Blink's power of creating teleportation discs and energy projection makes her pretty handy in a fight. But along with this, she has lilac skin, eyes with no visible pupil or iris, pink hair, and strange facial markings. Nightcrawler can cling to surfaces like Spider-Man and can teleport to places he's seen (within a limited radius), but was born looking like a demon, complete with indigo fur, only three digits on each hand, two major digits on each foot, blank golden eyes, elf-like ears, fangs and a prehensile tail.

Also, while Alpha and Beta mutants can pass as regular looking humans, Gamma mutants cannot because they have physical defects like Blob or Marrow.

Beta Level

As far as how potent their powers are Beta Mutants are on the same level as Alpha mutants. The difference between Beta Mutants and Alpha Mutants is that the Beta Mutants have flaws, albeit very small flaws. The Beta mutants are also believed to be about 10% of the mutant population. Some examples are,

Wolverine may seem human at first, but along with not being able to turn off his powers, he has an extra set of bones and muscles in each forearm, thus his famous retractable claws. Gambit can control his power and mostly seems human, but he has red eyes and black scleras.

Alpha Level

An Alpha level mutant is someone who looks no different from any other human being, and whose powers are pretty effective in combat. Likewise, they have no limitation placed on them as a result of their X-gene. Kitty Pryde looks like any normal lady and is capable of walking through walls. Dazzler seems no different than others but can absorb sound waves and redirect them as light or lasers. Colossus looks like a living metal man when he uses his power, but he can then turn it off and resume the appearance of a normal person.

The mutant Rogue is now an Alpha level mutant since she can control her power, but once was a Beta level.

Omega Level

An Omega-level mutant is one with the most powerful genetic potential of their mutant abilities. Some abilities depicted by mutants described as Omega-level include immortality, extreme manipulation of matter and energy, high psionic ability, strong telekinesis, and the potential to exist beyond the boundaries of the known physical universe. No firm definition has been offered in comics. These are mutants whose power levels are such that they are considered the most serious threats, capable of wide-scale destruction and proving very difficult to take down, contain or kill.

Mutants that have been confirmed as Omega-level include Jean Grey, Vulcan, Professor X, Magneto, Rachel Summers, Iceman, Legion, Elixir, and Franklin Richards. These mutants are the rarest of all mutants.

But what really bothers me is this video of how Magneto is fooled by Wooden Gun and gets arrested by normal Cops!

Poor Magnet now has a Mental Breakdown!

Anyways the Alpha, Beta and Gamma class mutants are all roughly the same power level - it would be possible to have Alpha and Gamma class mutants with say super-strength who were completely equally matched but the Gamma one has purple skin with pink polka-dots. There is also a lot of disagreement on what constitutes a “minor drawback” or “physical mutation. Marvel Says nothing about this, they just say " " that's it, literally nothing. So it makes it kind of tough to sort but hey! I have tried my best so trust me its the closest one.