Genetically engineered to be the most powerful mutant who ever existed, the X-Men franchise’s Nate Grey (aka X-Man) is the “son” of Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Jean Grey from the Age of Apocalypse reality (Earth-295). His abilities are so vast that he can create or destroy entire worlds with ease, and he is way more powerful than his more famous alternate version, Cable.
Nate Grey was quickly integrated into the mainstream Marvel continuity, following the Age of Apocalypse event. His introductory miniseries became an ongoing series that lasted for six years. This run ended with a “death” of sorts, though as it turned out Nate had in fact ascended to a higher plane of reality.
The character – also known as X-Man – has appeared sporadically since, most notably just prior to the relaunch of the X-franchise with the Krakoan Era. In part, he has proved difficult to use precisely because he is Marvel’s most powerful mutant by a long shot.
At the start of 1995, all of Marvels’ X-Men titles were temporarily paused and replaced by equivalent titles set in the Age of Apocalypse timeline. In January, in place of Cable #21, readers received X-Man #1, introducing a similar character, but one who would go on to have a wildly divergent role in the Marvel Universe. While a number of characters originating in the Age of Apocalypse reality have made their way to Earth-616 over the years, Nate Grey was the first, most prominent, and most powerful.
The conflict at the start of X-Man #1 hinged on the revelation of Nate’s origin, as a creation of Mr. Sinister. Sinister wanted to use him for his own bid for power against Apocalypse, but Nate escaped, and was raised among peaceful mutants. When he grew up, he joined the rebellion against Apocalypse, and during a battle against the tyrant’s son Holocaust, they were both transported into Marvel’s core reality, Earth-616. Starting with X-Man #5, the character’s core struggle became about fitting into Marvel’s existing continuity, while managing his vast power set.
In this new world, the immense magnitude of Nate’s mutant power immediately attracts the attention of friends and foes alike. Upon joining the mainstream Marvel Universe, he was immediately the most powerful telepath – even if not the most skilled – in the world. On just one occasion, for example, he proved able to mind control powerful individuals, including Omega Red, Legion, and Magneto, at the same time. He also demonstrated the ability to communicate across the Multiverse, as well as being capable of sending a message to every person on Earth with ease.
Even more powerful than his telepathic abilities was Nate’s telekinesis, which had essentially no upper limit. He was depicted moving the tectonic plates of a planet, and even more impressively, disassembling and altering molecular and atomic structures at will. Nate was once described by Moira McTaggert as a psionic entity whose strength rivals a Phoenix Force-imbued Jean Grey. However, these are just his most basic powers. X-Man is also a reality-warping mutant who once created his own place of existence (called the Age of X-Man), which he molded into a mutant paradise.
Prior to that, Nate’s original X-Man ongoing series ended with issue #75, in one of the most spectacular finales of any Marvel title. Declaring himself “a shaman,” and stating that “mutants [were his] tribe,” Nate confronted an alien villain known as Anti-Man, a fight that resulted in the energy from both of them being dispersed across the cosmos. Even at the time, this was described as Nate Grey giving up his conscious existence for a form of immortality, as a trace of energy in all living things. Subsequently, upon his return, Nate was even more phenomenally powerful than he had previously been.
The X-Man ongoing series did a great job in constantly hyping up Nate’s powers and the fact that he is the most powerful mutant who ever existed. He is obviously an Omega Level mutant (but that’s a reductive description), and he has been referred to as the most powerful and most dangerous being on the planet, the ultimate mutant, and the most powerful psionic in all of reality. However, it was Norman Osborn who, during his Dark Reign, recognized Nate’s potential more than everyone else, calling him a living god.
Unfortunately, X-Man’s encounter with Norman Osborn ended with Nate being defeated by the Dark X-Men and the Dark Avengers, and then trapped in the Omega Machine, a fearsome contraption used to siphon off his powers. He was rescued by the New Mutants and went to live on Utopia island, but Nate’s abilities were reduced to those of a “normal” psionic and he was nowhere near his previous level. Later, Nate recovered his full power using a Celestial artifact called a Life Seed and actually became even stronger than before, if that was even possible.
Nate has since been classified as “above Omega Level.” However, his lifespan was meant to be short from the beginning, as Mister Sinister put a “time bomb” into his genes when he created him. With his death approaching, Nate wanted to make the world a better place – by force – which put the X-Men against him. As a result, Nate Grey acted in true godlike fashion, creating his own reality, and is currently trying to make that world perfect, leaving Earth-616 alone. This is perhaps for the best, as no other mutant comes even close to X-Men’s Nate Grey, the most powerful mutant who ever existed.