Marvel's beloved X-Men are known for their varied and diverse power sets, granted to them by the X-Gene they were born with. However, above all other mutant powers, the "Telepath Class" remains one of the most popular, and powerful. From cosmic heroes like Jean Grey to disturbing villains like the Shadow King, the X-Men's telepaths are some of the strongest minds on Earth, and perhaps even the galaxy. Determining the most "powerful" psychic mutant is complex because it begs the question of how one should analyze raw power, experience, and control, all of which play crucial roles in the development of a psychic.

Psychics have been around since 1965s debut X-Men #1, which introduced the disgraced X-Men mentor Charles Xavier - an extremely powerful telepath - as well as Jean Grey, a young psychic who would eventually become the Phoenix, a cosmic being capable of vast psychic talent. Ever since then, other psychic mutants have slowly been revealed, introducing ever more powerful and talented psychics into the X-Men's universe. Below are the 10 most powerful mutant psychics, ranked:

10 Betsy Braddock

The iconic Betsy Braddock, formerly known as Psylocke and now holding the title of Captain Britain, first manifested her psionic abilities as precognitive power, which was quickly replaced by telepathy and telekinesis. While Betsy is an incredibly powerful psychic, she is not necessarily naturally strong but instead has honed her psychic abilities with years spent as a spy with S.T.R.I.K.E. Not only is Betsy trained as a spy, but she became a master martial artist after having her body forcibly switched with the psychic Hand assassin named Kwannon (another impressive psychic who deserves an honorary mention in this list!). Captain Britain's psychic energy is unique, often depicted as purple butterflies, and she is perhaps best known for her ability to create a psychic blade that is the "focused totality of her psychic powers," an impressive and dangerous feat.

9 Shadow King (Amahl Farouk)

Amahl Farouk is a high-powered telepathic mutant who was possessed by the Multiversal entity known as the "Shadow King" for decades. The Shadow King, supposedly, was created through the collective human unconscious after the world's first nightmare and is often said to be the opposite of the Phoenix Force. Possessing countless people over the centuries, the Shadow King latched onto Amahl Farouk as a vulnerable child on the streets of Cairo, greatly enhancing his already impressive psychic powers and making him effectively immortal. Unlike other psychics on this list, Amahl is most known for his astral projection, possession, and control, using the astral plane to fight and imprison his enemies. Now that the Shadow King entity has formally left Farouk, the mutant is much less powerful, which explains why the character is not higher on this list.

8 Exodus

The 12th Century crusader Bennet du Paris, now known as the mutant Exodus, is one of the most powerful superhumans on Earth, because of his natural Omega-level mutant ability and Celestial upgrades at the hands of Apocalypse. While many psychics are more known for telepathy, Exodus is particularly famous for his Highest Order telekinesis, which allows him fine control over objects down to a subatomic level. One of his greatest feats, with the help of Jean Grey, was bringing the island of Arakko through the External Gate, a truly miraculous example of mass telekinesis. Exodus' potential is extremely high, but it can be impacted by a fascinating weakness. Exodus' power is directly impacted by people's belief in him, meaning his "confidence empowerment" leads to decreased power if those around him lose faith.

7 Emma Frost

Emma Frost, or the White Queen, is one of those psychics whose true power comes from her experience and cunning. Frost has been said to be near the same level of telepathic strength as Charles Xavier, and has honed her abilities to such a sharp edge, that some believe she is more dangerous than Xavier himself. Emma Frost is capable of nearly every telepathic ability imaginable and has described herself as having a Level 10 psi shield against psychic invasion. While not nearly as "strong" as X-Men heroes Rachel Summers and Nate Grey, Frost has defeated both characters with telepathy due to her mental strength and experience. Of course, Emma also has her secondary mutation, her diamond skin, which gives her near-perfect shielding to psionic attacks, particularly helpful when going up against the X-Men's many telepathic enemies.

6 Xavier

Oh, Charles... Since X-Men #1 Professor Xavier has been the "template" for heroic psychics at Marvel Comics, and although more powerful telepaths have emerged since his debut, Xavier remains one of the most experienced and skilled in the universe. Xavier shows his feats through mass telepathy, which occurred at least three times throughout the Krakoan Era: once to announce the founding of Krakoa to all sentient beings on Earth, two to force mass suicide and genocide during Sins of Sinister, and three, to compel mutants to go into Orchis' hijacked Krakoan Gateways during the final Hellfire Gala. In fact, Sins of Sinister truly showed Xavier's monstrous potential, if he had truly no morals or ethics, and it was a frightening vision of what could have been in a different world.

5 Rachel Grey

Rachel Summers, Rachel Grey, Prestige, Askani... no matter her name, and no matter what reality she is in, this Multiversal daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers is one of the most powerful psychics in the entire Marvel Universe. Rachel has accomplished incredible feats, including the ability to cast her telepathy across multiple timelines and realities, allowing the hero to "chronoskim," or view events that occurred in different timelines. Originally hailing from the dystopian future of Days of Future Past, and trained as a vicious Hound, Rachel has spent years redeeming her past and becoming a hero any X-Man could trust. Most importantly, besides her mother Jean Grey, Rachel Summers has been the most consistent host of the Phoenix Force throughout history.

4 Quentin Quire

Quintavius Quire, or Kid Omega, has been a thorn in the X-Men's sides since his debut over 20 years ago... and he's a hero! Described as a Psionic of Highest Order, Quentin is a vastly powerful Omega-level telepath and telekinetic and has been shown to have almost limitless potential as a psychic. Kid Omega is nearly unmatched in the Marvel Universe in of sheer psychic strength, but his immaturity and youth have at times held him back from reaching the potential he possesses. Just like Rachel Summers, and the iconic Jean Grey, Quentin has been a successful host of the Phoenix Force, an incredible feat of strength. Kid Omega's psychic abilities also facilitate his incredible intelligence, with Marvel stating Quentin can think "ten million brilliant thoughts per second," organized through his psionic power, rivaling Marvel's smartest characters.

3 Cassandra Nova

Cassandra Nova is the twisted, evil reflection of her "twin brother" Charles Xavier. In their mother's womb, Charles recognized Cassandra's power and danger, forcibly aborting her in an attempt to kill her. Unfortunately, Nova survived as a growing clump of cells, a dark mirror to Xavier who has all of his same psychic abilities. Technically, Cassandra is a "mutant," but she is also a monstrous psychic entity known as a Mummandrai to the Shi'ar people, capable of truly horrific telepathic control, easily defeating the X-Men and nearly destroying the entire Shi'ar Empire. While Nova should have Xavier's same level of psychic abilities, she does not have any of his moral limits, meaning she is able to throw the entirety of her telepathic self into her assaults, making her explicitly more dangerous and powerful than her brother.

2 X-Man (& Cable)

Scott Summers' and Madelyne Pryor's child Nathan Christopher Summers, later known as Cable, was created by Mister Sinister to be the "perfect mutant," blending the genetic lineage of Cyclops and Jean Grey. Unfortunately, Cable was infected with the Techno-Organic Virus, and the amount of psychic energy Cable needs to control the virus severely limits his psionic abilities. However, the alternate reality version of Cable, Nate Grey or "X-Man," does not have the T-O Virus, and is one of the most powerful psychics on Earth-616. X-Man has been described as a "living god," the "ultimate mutant," and potentially the most powerful psychic in any reality. Capable of innumerable psychic abilities - really, his list of powers is basically endless - and near omnipotence, if Nate had not stayed in the "Age of X-Man" universe he created with the power of a Life Seed, he may have one day sured the powers of his genetic mother, Jean Grey.

1 Jean Grey

Jean Grey's sheer power and experience as a psychic truly cannot be overstated. She is the Omega-level telekinetic telepath, plain and simple, and it is likely that there will never be a more powerful mutant psychic in the X-Men mythos. Jean, whose powers were unlocked after witnessing the tragic death of her best friend Annie, was so strong from such a young age that Professor Xavier actually blocked her abilities because he worried they would overwhelm her. Jean is perhaps most known for her connection to the Phoenix Force, a celestial entity that embodies life and rebirth, and it was recently made canon that Jean is the Phoenix, and always will be. Phoenix is now starring in her own solo series, taking on major enemies like Thanos and Gorr the God Butcher, proving that she continues to be the supreme psychic of the X-Men, and Marvel Comics as a whole.