The X-men have seen many telepaths come and go from the teams. They have displayed numerous amazing feats of power, versatility and most importantly, skill. But who among them has the most skill? I honestly belive each telepath is competent in a certain branch of their power, making them skillful in that aspect. However most fans believe skill can be measured, sparking much debate amonst the boards. Let's look at the candidates.

All feats are welcomed and please give concrete evidence for your stance.

@lordofallhumans: @devilsgrin81: @martinceld: @veitha:Here you go!

Emma was definitely most skilled in her time.

Jean was definitely the strongest.

Rachel is the most tamed TP as in she can control it the most IMO.

Psylocke, depends who writers her tbh.

Don't really care for the male telepaths tbh.

Yes. Xavier is the most skilled with Emma right on him.

Jean is hard to say where her skills start and massive power begins but she's still an easy third

Rachel is forth, she's got her moms raw power and a great deal of skill and beats other tp users pretty easily.

Quire no matter how you slice it is better then Nate and Cable...but Interesting enough the Stepford cuckoos have beaten him and a lot of other powerful people.

I guess I'd put Psylocke at about Quire level in some of her better interpretations

How is quire better than nate?

now, i guess the crown is with rachel. she was trained by emma and xavier plus downloaded xaviers telepathic know-hows and she has jean's raw power.

before jean died, it was Jean who is most skilled and powerful. I think she surpassed xavier and emma right before she died.

Agreed with you completely on Xavier and Emma, and with Jean being third in skill behind them.

Rachel... hmmm i'll concede her a fourth position, but only because you correctly pointed out Psylocke's INCREDIBLE inconsistency.

As a pure Telepath i agree Quire has the power advantage over Nate and Cable. ((i will argue endlessly that they are not the same being - in spite of being genetically the same, and don't have the same power levels, we should be comparing Nate and Stryfe not Cable if its a powers thing)). And if it comes to power as a telepath, i'd put Nate above Rachel. But this is a skill ranking, so i'll concede Nate isn't at Rachel's level. Quire hasn't yet shown top five skill ratings yet. He's like Jean... monstrously powerful, but where does the skill enter and the power take over.

The Cuckoos should never be underestimated. Individually they're truly formidable telepaths, with sublime skill - thanks to expert instruction from Emma. Combined into the Hive Mind... they are truly a scary prospect for any telepath to face. Sure three heads are less than five... but even the trio Hive was enough to go toe-to-toe with Xorn-Jean - Emma driving them of course, but still.

1. Xavier

2. Emma (but SO close to Charles its almost a blur)

3. Jean

4. Rachel

5. Psylocke (With a HUGE ? as she can be a monster or a pussy cat depending on the writers at the time)

6. Nate

7. Cable

8. The Cuckoos

9. Quire

10. Monet (she was strangely omitted from the list)

Interesting Roddy. I'll think on this one and come back.

if we add in the non x-men... i'd put

3. Shadow King (tangled with Charles, and while ultimately losing, he did have some victories. It took Jean and Betsy combined to trap him. And a Goddess to "destroy" him)

4. Exodus (is he an External? always wondered... anyway... he's more talented and skilled than virtually any other psionic alive. Another who put Jean in her place more than once)

6. Cassandra Nova (More power than skill. but she had Jean and Emma under her sway for a long time. Again Mostly power, but there has to be some skill to do that.

knocking The Cuckoos, Quire and Monet off the list. I'm almost tempted to switch around Cable and the Cuckoos... i'm just Not quite as familiar with his feats to do that.

Jean Grey is definitely the strongest, then probably Prof X

But I think Emma & Psylocke (depending on the writer of course) are the most creative, alongside Rachel

I feel like the Stepford Cuckoos are mini Emma Frost.

Cable, I am not so familiar with his feats

X-man though was fairly powerful, before "burning out"

this is a rating of Skill, Not Power.

@marvelfan1992: Nate obviously has that crazy powerful point of his character(sometimes) but Quire is exceptionally strong and exceptionally skilled. Nate is really nothing but power, and we've seen that he doesn't fair as well when that's taken away.

@devilsgrin81 - Yea i'm with you for the most part, Idk though if i've ever seen Cable use his telepathy, yet alone in a interesting way. Though seeing it on page, it does seem a little odd to have the Cuckoo's outright beat him and Nate. I think that may be a point worth discussing since they may actually be better telepaths.

Another thing is Stryfe is definetly above Cable, but i'm hesitant to choose him since he's got the Grey Conundrum, just like Jean, Rachel, and the others who blur the strength vs skill thing.

Also neither of us factored in Cassandra Nova....lol

@roddy010 Nate and cable should be separated IMO. They may be made up of the same genetics but they lived separate lives and thus their skills were developed differently from each other :) also I think you should include Exodus! He is a very big player in the psionics department :) but otherwise good job. thanks for this thread

1. Jean and Charles tied as the most skilled telepaths

2. Emma ever so slightly behind them

3. Exodus

4. Rachel

5. Psylocke/Nate

6. Cassandra

7. Quire

not sure about the rest

P.S.

Is there already a thread for the most powerful telepath? as in ranking them by who would win/best overall?

@devilsgrin81: Does Monet even have a lot of TP showings?

not a lot... but she's still a rateable telepath amongst the x-men. She's been tutored by Emma. She's no Cuckoo... but she could hold her own... and the woman has Willpower!!!

You raise an interesting point about the Cuckoos as superior telepaths. We sometimes forget, or lose sight of what it means, that they are - one and all - Emma's daughters/clones (both at the same time iirc). They may lack Emma's power, but they are truly skilled telepaths. Indeed, i might even want them ranked above those suffering the Grey Conundrum in terms of pure skill... and yes above Rachel aswell... not Jean tho.

Cable's telepathic displays are few and far between. he's had training - likely from Mother Askani (Rachel right?) and from Jean (definitely). But it's used so infrequently. He relies on his guns too much for us to determine his power levels, with the TO virus limiting them so much.

I added in a second post about the villains.

@devilsgrin81: Yea. I'll even argue that they are very close to Rachels level with her training from Xavier and age/experience putting her just over them. But there's nothing Rachel could teach them....and in truth with their hive minds power backing them they are probably far more effective then she is just due to its nature....I mean they've blocked Xavier, and frequently been shown to be able to read Emma's thoughts when she probably didn't want them too.

Yea, whatever training Cable's had is limited and I wouldn't think he could believably beat any of the other telepaths in a battle using powers that burnout more frequently then they are used. I think even Monet could give him a run for his money if we ignore his huge power....He just doesn't seem like he should be on any list involving skill.

@roddy010: thanks for the tag. Most of what I think has already been stated, so

this and this essentially are my thoughts.

As for the Cuckoos, it's interesting how powerful and skilled they are and how understimated they are as well. It's like Emma versus Xavier.

They've beaten Quentin three times(first one with enhancements and being 5, but w/o in the following ones), and Xavier Jr. had to put them down(not Jean) before assaulting the X-Men. And it was quite obvious reading Celeste's words that without using tricks(attacking/blitzing them while they were sleeping/distracted and invading/infecting the hive-mind.. lots of slashes here) they would have wrecked him.

They got their genes and their training by the best lol

well I think it is unnecessary to add Monet to the list since she is without a doubt going to be last place, while the rest are debatable :)

I don't think most telepathic skills or feats can be measured in the way you are requesting, though Jean, Charles and Emma generally display or are credited with the highest level of overall skill.

Can sue from ff count?

As you posted the images exactly in order, Xavier would be the #1 most powerful telepathic in X-Verse.

i don't think that's entirely fair to Monet. Sure she may rank last, but to ignore her is to disrespect a great and becoming greater character - she's graduated to first string X-Man recently, lets not be rude to Ms St Croix.

I think you're right about the Hive Mind. And about there being nothing Rachel could ever teach them. Emma's skill is comparable to Xavier's, and she's taught them everything they know - not everything she knows of course - They're actually kinda scary. The blocking Xavier thing, being Xavier Jr's first target, the sneaking into Emma's mind, shows we should rate them amongst the x-verse's most skilled telepaths individually, and The Cuckoo Hive Mind amongst it's most powerful.

@shebba: This is a list of the most skilled telepaths... Sue is a telekinetic to some degree...

@devilsgrin81: I really see nothing wrong with the OP forgetting or choosing not to include her. Her presence in this debate is negligible because she would rank last 100% of the time. I really don't see why you're making a deal out of Monet not being there when others who are much better than her such as Exodus, Apocalypse, Sinister are also not on the list. If ignoring a relatively featless and unskilled telepath such as Monet is a "disrespect" to her character, then imagine how much more of a disrespect it is to ignore those I've mentioned lol. I'm not saying she is weak, nor am I belittling her skills, but with this crowd there really is no need to bring her up :) peace out!

1) charles.. i think is no limit to what this man can do.. but i believe his code of conduct.. holds him back but.. we saw glimpse of him erasing magnetos mind.. playing out scenarios in that agents minds by making her think she blew his brains out.. and lets not forget onslaught..

2)Cassandra Nova this funny looking lady caused alot of damage from conscience plane.. murdering almost all of Genosha.. manipulating Emma, switching bodies with professor x

(Sure ur thinking the others have done that, but... she did this with jean and emma walking in the same building as her

3) Jean Grey sometimes i think she surpassed all over em.. but i think what is instilled in her holds her back on telepathy.. the Phoenix force amps her to unlimited power... but without it she still jean grey..

who was taught underneath Charles.. Onslaught wanted her... plus u see how she acts.. if u mess with her husband cough.. cough.. cough..

emma

4) Emma Frost the person who made telepathy cool for me.. she seemed so confident with the telepathy.. this woman allowed me to see how telepathy could be without the code of conduct.. reading secrets.. manipulation. .peeling peoples minds.. pyschic lightning. . Holding her own when jean smashed thru her memories.. lets not forget how she amped iceman abilities

5)my girl Psylocke i believe psylocke holds this position becuz she tangled with shadow king twice.. once when jean almost got tangled up with the shadow king.. and when she lost her ability. . But i do agree with everybody about who is writing her.. one minute shes a telepath power house the next.. my pyschic knife..

nate grey...

Rachel grey..

And

Quiten

Idk if they even should be ranked individually, since its hard to differentiate ones skills from anothers, but definitely deserves a ranking among the most powerful minds and their combined skill/effectiveness is battle tested.

What happen to Lilandra ? sole responsible person for Xavier getting Shiar Tech . her mind spanned across the universe .

this is a tuff one tho , Cable / Strife was able to screen themselves from Xavier . but then again i dont think they ever explained it if it was due to Strife's weird Chandelier helmet , but i'll go with Jean , The Phoenix Force a Cosmic entity pist off at the Universe for being confined into a Magic bird by Merlin found peace to link with jean grey ... dang u gotta be a pretty powerful telepath .

It's about "skill" specifically...not power. Otherwise Jean would easily sit on top.

Jean, we should not forget that she's Phoenix, so she's the Psionic Embodiment.

PS: Jean is NOT dead.

stop mentioning jean/phoenix as top because of her power guys, this is a skill ranking as has been said over and over lol

Quire tends to job and hold back against a lot of people.

true but he was trying to escape from his imprisonment as goo in a jar when the cuckoo's faced him, i think he'd put effort into that fight

Okay I decided to edit the OP and that final, no more additions.

As for the thread, the way I see it each telepath speacializes in a certain branch of telepathy, such as illusion casting and mind control. I honestly haven't seen anything any of the telepaths mentioned that has been duplicated in some fashion by the others. But to each's own I guess. For my list I seperated the men and women...

Male Telepaths

1. Charles Xavier-speacializes in: scanning/communication/combat

Charles has scaned the cosmos, Made contact with the X-men from lightyears away,communicated with billions of minds at subliminal speeds and has battle and conquered the likes of Selene, Exodus, Shadow King, The Phoenix 5.

2. Nate Grey-speacializes in: astral projection/combat/psionic tracking

Nate's astral projection allows him to take others from physical reality completely and into the astral plane as he did to Xavier. He can also shut other's powers completely off.

3. Stryfe-speacializes in:illusion casting/communication

Stryfe possess the same abilities as X-man but he tends to use tk more than tp. This, however, doesn't diminish is skill. He was still able to contend with both Cable and Nate. He can also shut powers off to the like of Jean Grey and can project himself across Latveria.

4. Quentin Quire- speacializes in: communication/insta-learning/astral projection

QQ utilizes his ability to gain and devise instead of combat. His mind can develop a billion thoughts in a second. He has potential to create create entire astral spaces and trap others there as he did Wolverine and others.

Cable-speacializes in: communication/psionic tracking/psionic utilization

Cable learned most of what he knows from Jean Grey and possibly Rachel. He has used his tp to utilize Storm weather abilities. He's also scanned the country of Germany via tp which was pretty impressive.

Honorable mentions-

Shadow King-speacializes in-combat/mind control

Shadow King has been a long enemy of Xavier. He not only possesses a vast amount of power but also skill. In their first encounter Amahl manipulated the astral plane 1000 times simutaneously nearly driving Xavier insane. Despite the psionic training each memeber received, Shadow King has been able to effect the minds of nearly all the X-men including Emma Frost.

Proteus-speacializes in: combat/psionic possession/psionic vampire

Proteus was considered a threat to Phoenix (albeit with blocks on her powers) he was still able to make Jean telepathically feel as if her flesh had rotted after a 100 years or so. Mind you this was after Phoenix's assualt.

Will do the females later.

Marvel will never let anyone top Professor X

i thought jean topped professor x before she died

Power wise I'm pretty sure Jean topped Xavier during New X-men with her Cassandra Nova plan...but i doubt she was as skilled as him since it seemed like she was a bit more focused on TK by the end there.

I got to thinking, what roles exactly do power and skill play when it comes to telepathy? What can a person with great telepathic power do as opposed to a person with great telepathic skill? What plays a bigger role in a TP battle or say, a telepathic blast? How much more skilled does person need to be to defeat someone who is more powerful, and vice versa? Any thoughts?

He had nothing left to teach Jean, which would suggest she has mastered telepathy as far as he can teach it. Her being more powerful allows her to do certain things he can't which would involve a certain amount of skill he will never attain because he doesn't have the power to accomplish certain feats. She was focused on tk during that run, because it just came back and for months before they focused on how powerful a telepath she was during Revolution.

True but i doubt he had anything to teach Emma either, but i wouldn't deny he has a few more tricks in his bag then she does. I think it was more the fact that Jean was good enough at this point that anything else he could teach her would be superfluous. She was basically a master, and anything else she could learn from him she'd figure out with experience. She had the potential to eclipse Xavier clearly, but he was still exceptionally powerful and experienced to the point that he was still her better at the time of her death.

Quire is king. Nuff said. Although I do think Rachel needs more credit. She's spectacular.

Cassandra Nova gave Emma and Xavier quite a run for their money and used her telepathy to construct herself a body, she's one of the few telepaths to externalize her power in an offensive way. But I think Jean could've kicked her ass.

Nova was more than a telepath, she was a parasitic astral entity that was able to unlock the full psionic spectrum in Xaviers Xgene. I was under the impression that she had some tk, and with her ability to read and copy DNA, her creating a body should have been rather easy.

Hmmmm.... as far as skill, I would say I guess Xavier, Jean, Emma and believe it or not Quire (as much as I hate him). As far as the villains go... Cassandra Nova (still not sure if shes alien or whatever), Exodus (I think he's a telepath and telekinetic), Maddie Pryor, Stryfe, Sinister.

Oh, ok. I thought she was more then some degree.

just a question about psylocke. Is Betsy in her current state the most powerful she's ever been in TP and TK or was she stronger in either one of those before?

@shebba I think what he meant by some degree was that, unlike the likes of Psylocke or Jean Grey, Invisible Woman moves thing via her force fields and not psychic energy. Jean move things directly with her mind while the Invisible Woman must use force fields as an extra step.