The X-Men are among the most powerful superhumans in Marvel lore, with abilities that make them a near-unbeatable fighting force. However, some mutants aren't happy with shooting lasers from their eyes or controlling the minds of others, beefing up their offensive capabilities with unique weaponry. Here are the most powerful X-Men heroes who add to their offensive capabilities with swords, guns and more - including those who found ways to channel their mutant powers through weaponry.

We're being pretty strict with the definition of 'weapon' for this list, disqualifying heroes like Wolverine and Archangel, whose claws and blades are part of their inherent biology. We'll be ranking according to the power level of each mutant, not just their weapons, and yes, there are a few Omega-level mutants on this list.

15 Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson

The X-Force Hero Uses Carbonadium Swords and Custom Bullets

Everyone knows Deadpool - the motormouth merc whose healing factor keeps him fighting even in impossible situations. However, while Wade is unkillable, he's also one of the most skilled assassins in the Marvel Universe, always packing the right tools for the job at hand. That includes swords, guns, RPGs, tasers, bolas and grenades, with Deadpool keeping weapons caches in ice cream stores across the country so he's never far away from a serious arsenal.

Among Deadpool's most effective weapons are his carbonadium swords - near-unbreakable blades which negate healing factors - and adamantium-jacketed bullets which can even put down Wolverine, as Deadpool's recent head shot to Logan in Weapon X-Men #1 (from Joe Casey and ChrisCross) demonstrates. Open the image gallery above to see Deadpool take down Wolverine with an adamantium/taser bullet.

14 Nightcrawler, aka Kurt Wagner

The X-Men Icon Wields Cutlasses and the Hope Sword

The good-natured teleporter Nightcrawler grew up idealizing Errol Flynn and his various movie characters, becoming a swashbuckling hero whose unique physiology enhances his agility and dexterity while also granting him a prehensile tail. A huge fan of pirate movies, Nightcrawler fights with cutlasses whenever possible - X-Men '97 fans will his epic sword skills from season 1, episode 8.

More recently, Nightcrawler's inner goodness was converted into the Hopesword - one of Marvel's most powerful mystical weapons, which has surprising magical abilities Kurt has used to restore his mother's memories and purge humans of an alien virus.

13 Fantomex, aka Charlie Cluster-7

The Mutant Sentinel Totes Handguns Loaded with Semi-Sentient Bullets

A genetically engineered super-Sentinel who chose to side with mutatns, Fantomex has a range of powers, from his UFO-like sidekick E.V.A. (actually his mutant nervous system) to his hypnotic 'misdirection' powers. Fantomex tends to use handguns and has a limited armory of ceramic bullets which chase down their targets. These were created by Sir Brian Braddock - the father of Captain Britain and former Psylocke Betsy Braddock - using the skin of the mutant now known as the Skinless Man, who understandably has a major grudge against Fantomex.

The Skinless Man's skin makes Fantomex's bullets semi-sentient, with the dark side-effect that each has a screaming face on the tip. Fantomex was equipped with various ceramic weaponry and armor by Weapon Plus, presumably in preparation for the day he goes up against Magneto.

12 Gambit, aka Remy LeBeau

The X-Men Hero Wields a Bo-Staff and Ordinary Playing Cards

Gambit's powers allow him to charge inanimate objects with explosive kinetic energy, turning normal playing cards into grenades in his hands. However, Gambit also has a unique physiology which enhances his speed and agility, making him a skilled fighter. Remy LeBeau takes advantage of this fact by wielding a staff - a non-lethal weapon for a lifelong thief that can be charged with immense power in an emergency.

11 Warpath, aka James Proudstar

The X-Force Powerhouses Uses Vibranium Daggers

While recent comics have downplayed his powers, Warpath is one of Marvel's strongest X-Men, possessing immense strength as well as flight and enhanced durability. A longtime member of the lethal X-Force roster, Warpath wields incredibly rare Vibranium knives, gifted to him by fellow X-Man Storm back when she had access to Wakanda's stores of the anti-metal. Vibranium deflects most forms of energy, making them a near-unparalleled cutting edge, especially against metals.

10 Deathlok Prime

This Surprise X-Force Recruit Has Futuristic Guns and Energy Claws

Every so often, the X-Men take in a non-mutant, and that was the case with Deathlok Prime, who signed up with X-Force in Rick Remender and artist Jerome Opeña's celebrated Uncanny X-Force. Deathlok Prime comes from an alternate future where Earth's superhumans have been forcibly converted into cyborg soldiers, possessing a range of weaponry including an acidic spray and repulsor blasts based on Iron Man's technology.

However, Deathlok Prime's most impressive weapon is his energy claws, which use laser tech to replicate Wolverine's iconic claws. Deathlok's enhanced strength and agility make him deadly with all these weapons, and his capabilities are ed by a Tachyon Probability Generator that lets him predict the near future.

9 Lucas Bishop

This X-Men Hero Enhances His Powers with X.S.E Guns

Another future hero who traveled back to change history, X-Men's Bishop can absorb various forms of energy and unleash it back as blasts of force. His signature weapon is a gun provided by the Xavier Security Enforcers, aka the XSE, a heroic group from the future. Bishop's XSE gun fires a range of projectiles including super-heated plasma, and can be reloaded by feeding on Bishop's stored energy. The XSE gun can also channel Bishop's powers, allowing him to unleash enhanced energy blasts.

8 Gorgon, aka Tomi Shishido

This Former Dark Avenger Wields Supernatural Swords including Godkiller and Grasscutter

Originally a despicable villain who took control of the Hand and was killed by Wolverine, Gorgon was later resurrected and ed the mutant nation of Krakoa, becoming one of its four Great Captains. Gorgon's mutant power allows him to turn anyone he looks at into stone, though he also possesses enhanced strength and agility. However, Gorgon only uses this power on those he considers unworthy opponents.

Against those whose skills he respects, Gorgon wields a variety of swords. While working for Hydra, Gorgon wielded Godkiller - a mystic blade that can kill even supernatural beings. Gorgon used this sword to kill Phobos, the God of Fear and son of the Avengers hero Ares. Gorgon later took possession of its opposite number, Grasscutter, when competing in the epic X of Swords contest.

7 Psylocke, aka Kwannon

X-Men's Psychic Warrior Uses Psionic Katanas and a Psychic Knife

Trained as an assassin by the Hand, Kwannon is a master of fighting with katanas, able to infuse the weapons with her telekinetic power in order to land earth-shaking blows. She's also able to generate bladed weaponry using psionic energy, and often uses a 'psychic knife' to scramble the minds of her enemies. More recently, Kwannon has also taken to generating psionic swords and kunai. Being stabbed by Psylocke's psionic weapons gives her total access to the victim's mind, breaking any psychic defenses and allowing her to knock them unconscious immediately.

6 Cable, aka Nathan Summers

Cable Uses a Variety of Futuristic Guns, the Light of Galador and the Psimitar

The son of Cyclops and Jean Grey, Cable is one of the world's most powerful telekinetics, however he is forced to dedicate a lot of his power to fending off the techno-organic virus that is constantly attempting to convert his body into cybernetic matter. Despite being both a telepath and telekinetic, Cable has always preferred wielding ridiculously powerful weapons, keeping a secret armory of weapons from alternate futures beneath Xavier's school.

Cable's stash includes the Omega-One Pulse Rifle and a portable black hole cannon. Cable considers his Pulse Rifle "the gold standard of personal weapons of war," and X-Men Red #5 (from Al Ewing and Stefano Caselli) reveals "it fires bullets of ultra-dense solid light along a tunnel of hard radiation that can melt osmium. In the year 3877, it will be classed as a weapon of absolute destruction and banned from use in warfare."

Cable has also wielded the alien sword known as the Light of Galadaor and the Psimitar - a unique spear which focuses psychic powers into its point. The Psimitar has other abilities, including shapeshifting, immediate return to its wielder and disrupting the minds and powers of those injured by it. Cable owns a variety of cyborg arms with different capabilities including forcefields and explosives, and, as a young freedom fighter in the far future, was the inheritor of Captain America's shield.