The X-Men are some of the most powerful heroes in Marvel lore, with the mutant X-gene granting them incredible abilities. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men can control the weather, warp reality, and travel through time, with 62 years of stories building out an army of mutant heroes and villains. It's therefore pretty surprising that some of Lee and Kirby's creations are still among X-Men's most powerful characters of all time.

Here are the 12 most powerful X-Men characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. We're ranking these characters by their current power level in Marvel Comics, and it's worth noting that countless creators have helped them reach that point over the decades.

12 Cyclops, aka Scott Summers

First Appeared in X-Men #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

The X-Men's leader only just makes this list, despite Cyclops' optic beams landing with the kinetic force of a freight train. Cyclops' amazing tactical mind has made him the X-Men's most frequent and reliable leader, with a sprawling family tree that includes many of the franchise's most powerful heroes, from his son Cable and daughter Askani to his long-lost brother Vulcan. At their strongest, Cyclops' beams have proved capable of instantly destroying a towering Sentinels and leveling dozens of trees.

While Cyclops is famous for his optic blasts, he actually possesses three distinct superpowers - his beams, an instinctual sense of trajectory and immunity to powers which have an energy signature similar to his own (most notably, those of his brother Havok.) Scott can predict with uncanny accuracy how his beams will ricochet and affect the world around him, making him a supernaturally amazing shot.

Many fans (and some creators) wrongly believe that Cyclops' beams are made of heat. While his beams can melt metal, this is because of the heat generated by friction, not the heat inherent in Scott's powers.

11 Mimic, aka Calvin Rankin

First Appeared in X-Men #19 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

One of X-Men's most underrated heroes, Mimic gained powers after being experimented on by his father. His abilities allow him to copy the superhuman powers and expertise of anyone in his immediate vicinity, although he spent so much time around the original 5 X-Men, he now permanently has their powers. Despite this, Calvin Rankin has rarely lived up to the potential of his pure power output, and is often reluctant to experiment with his abilities.

Fans of the hero's concept should check out Exiles Volume 1 by Judd Winick and McKone, which introduces an alt-reality variant of Mimic who gets to live up to his potential as the leader of his world's X-Men.

10 Unus the Untouchable, aka Gunther Bain, aka Angelo Unuscione

Debuted in X-Men #8 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

One of the X-Men's earliest villains, Unus the Untouchable has the power to generate near-impenetrable force fields. Even the Hulk has struggled to break through Unus' force fields, and when his powers were artificially heightened, his abilities threatened to kill him by cutting off his access to oxygen. Unus doesn't appear often in X-Men stories, but his force fields are incredibly potent - even the Inhuman mutant Karnak, who can sense the weakness in any physical objects and shatter steel with a single blow, considered Unus' force fields to be perfect.

9 Mastermind, aka Jason Wyngarde

First Appeared in X-Men #4 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

An oft-forgotten member of Magneto's original Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Mastermind has the ability to cast near-perfect illusions that fool all the senses. Incredibly dangerous - particularly because of his ability to trick others (like the ultra-powerful Jean Grey) into fighting on his behalf - Mastermind can extend his powers over entire cities and (against weak-willed people) even alter past memories in his favor.

8 Lucifer of the Quist

First Appeared in X-Men #9 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

An enemy of Charles Xavier from before the X-Men - and indeed, the reason Xavier uses a wheelchair - Lucifer is an alien being who can fuse himself with other people, turning them into his superstrong thralls. Lucifer's body is charged with ionic energy and he is incredibly strong and durable, as well as being capable of flight and energy blasts.

After repeated failures to conquer Earth, Lucifer was exiled by his alien masters, becoming an even more dangerous entity. As a disembodied consciousness, Lucifer can merge with seemingly unlimited numbers of people, so long as they have sufficient fear and anger for him to latch onto. Lucifer's ability to merge with others is so powerful that it takes a world-class telepath to undo it - otherwise, Lucifer's thralls can easily be killed when the connection is forcibly broken.

7 Juggernaut, aka Cain Marko

First Appeared in X-Men #12 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Alex Toth

The unstoppable Juggernaut has been both enemy and ally to the X-Men, often due to his complicated relationship with his step-brother Charles Xavier. A human empowered by the mystic Crimson Gem of Cyttorak, Juggernaut draws his powers from a demonic god who views destruction and chaos as worship. The more destruction Juggernaut causes, the more power Cyttorak channels into him, and at his strongest Juggernaut has proved a major threat to the Hulk himself.

Easily Juggernaut's most powerful ability is his magic momentum - once the Juggernaut reaches a certain speed, no force on Earth can stop him, even those who are physically stronger than the Juggernaut. Cyttorak also provides Juggernaut with self-healing armor that protects him from psychic attack.

6 Professor X, aka Charles Xavier

First Appeared in X-Men #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

One of the world's most powerful telepaths, X-Men recently made the surprising decision to elevate Xavier to Omega-level, confirming that his abilities are as powerful as it's possible for any telepath to be. Xavier can rewrite memories, create illusions and read the minds of any human or mutant, save for those protected with custom-made tools to guard them against his powers, for example Magneto's helmet. Xavier's powers also allow him to project his consciousness outside his body, entering the Astral Realm.

As well as his Omega-level telepathy, Xavier possesses a minor degree of telekinetic power strong enough to rend the human body - something he did during the darkest days of the Krakoan Era, when he believed that he was responsible for killing the majority of the mutant race.

5 Iceman, aka Robert 'Bobby' Drake

First Appeared in X-Men #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

Originally the X-Men's class clown little brother, Iceman has evolved time and again into an Omega mutant, harnessing his ability to slow molecular processes. While this originally manifested as the ability to create ice, Iceman is now capable of stopping time itself. He has also discovered that in ice form, he is actually a disembodied consciousness capable of surviving without a body. Bobby has harnessed this fact in multiple different ways, from turning himself into a towering ice colossus (and tiny ice spy) to creating an army of ice duplicates controlled by his subconscious mind.

4 Magneto, aka Max Eisenhart

First Appeared in X-Men #1 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

Another Omega-level mutant, Magneto has been both the X-Men's nemesis and a vital ally in the past. Magneto has total control over magnetism, which also lends him limited control over electro-magnetism and gravity. While Magneto can throw around metal, that's only the beginning of his power, and he can also generate force fields, control light itself and even create portals (the latter at great effort.)

Magneto's abilities exist on the level of a natural disaster, and he has been able to call down meteors, raise sunken islands and even terraform Mars (though there he had the help of other Omega-level mutants like Iceman.)

3 Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff

Debuted in X-Men #4 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

Though today she's far more associated with the Avengers, Scarlet Witch started out as one of the of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Her powers were originally depicted as a form of weaponized bad luck, with her 'hex bolts' bending probability against her enemies. However, later retcons revealed her as the latest in a long line of mystic practitioners who are connected to Chaos Magic - the earliest form of magic in the Marvel Universe.

Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful beings in Marvel canon, with the ability to totally rewrite reality and reshape the world itself. Since absorbing the Darkhold, Scarlet Witch is even more powerful, having become the embodiment of Chaos Magic, and is a candidate to become the ultimate nexus being - someone with the power to instantly alter the entire multiverse to her will.