In comics, appearances matter. A drastic uniform change can cause sales to plummet in the comics industry, where artistic talent matters just as much as writing. Getting a character’s signature “look” right is an important task that artists have to take seriously. A lot of times, it means the difference between a new character’s instant popularity or immediate shelving.  In the world of the X-Men, writers are constantly adding new characters, which means there are always new character designs coming out. Beyond usually featuring the famous “X” logo in some capacity, these designs vary widely. Sometimes those designs represent the characters well, and, naturally, sometimes they don’t. Mutants come in all shapes and sizes, with each defined by a unique ability. The way a character looks frequently has something to do with their mutant ability, but sometimes the design isn’t entirely truthful.

Comic readers get a lot of information on characters visually, though sometimes that information doesn’t really match up to the writer’s true intention. We’re talking about characters that get designs that make them look considerably more powerful than they actually are. Because there are so many mutants in the Marvel Universe, this is bound to happen occasionally. It isn’t a bad thing, but it can be confusing for readers. It can also cause some really unneeded forum arguments about hypothetical character battles. Of course, having characters look more powerful than they actually are can be the basis of some interesting comic arcs and stories, so maybe artists and writers create them on purpose. Whatever the case, CBR is counting down 20 of these mutants who just don’t live up to our expectations.

20 SHATTERSTAR

Shatterstar is undoubtedly one of the strangest characters in Marvel comics. Whether you love him or hate him, you have to admit that his origin story, physical appearance, and power set all border on a little over the top. He’s the pinnacle of a bad ‘90s character, which means helooks incredibly powerful but actually isn’t.

As a Mojoverse gladiator, Shatterstar does have some pretty cool weapons, including a sword that has the ability to split into two. Although his gladiator gear is dated, it clearly shows a character who knows how to fight. You would assume he’d be a formidable foe, but in reality, he’s just a guy with a ton of poorly explained mutant powers and no clue how to use them.

19 SLIPSTREAM

Slipstream is one of those characters that almost no one remembers. He wasn’t in a lot of issues and the issues he was in were pretty bad. Him and his equally forgettable sister, Lifeguard, never had a large impact on the X-Men world, but they honestly looked pretty cool.

After developing his mutant ability to create teleportation portals, Slipstream got a redX-Treme X-Menuniform that was surprisingly slick. Unfortunately, Slipstream’s X-career was short-lived thanks to one fatal flaw in his powers. Yes, he could create portals to anyone on Earth, but he had tosurf through them. Not only does that sound like someone else we know, it’s also really unpractical.

18 MARROW

Marrow is one of the few X-Men characters to make a cameo inDeadpool. So, why did director Tim Miller decide to give this B-rated comic character a brief shot in his movie? Because Sarah Rushman, aka Marrow, grows bones outside of her body. It doesn’t matter whether she’s on page or on-screen, that mutant ability always looks insane. Even without knowing what her mutant ability is, most viewers and readers just assume she’s powerful. Naturally, the truth is the opposite.

In the comics, Marrow can forcibly remove the bones from her body and use them as weapons. While that sounds all fine and dandy, most fans forget about one little thing: pain. Although she has a healing factor, Marrow’s ability is excruciatingly painful.

17 PETE WISDOM

There are countless numbers of mutants who rarely make it to the pages ofUncanny, yet they do technically exist thanks to the imaginations of X-Men writers. A great example (if you can call it that) is Pete Wisdom, a mutant with the ability to collect ambient heat and release it in the form of tiny, sharp knives.

If you’re thinking that Pete sounds a lot like famous X-Men member Gambit, you’re right. His power is almost identical to the Cajun mutant. The only real difference between the two is appearance. Pete is an English spy with the sharp wardrobe and gadgets that one would expect from such a job. He’s got a much sleeker look than Gambit, but fundamentally, they’re both fairly weak mutants.

16 SPIRAL

Most comic readers aren’t entirely aware of Spiral’s mutant powers. They know she has six arms and bluish skin, but beyond that things get a little foggy. This might be because Spiral isn’t popular at the moment, even though she’s a surprisingly interesting and complex character. Her main mutant ability is her mystical powers, which allow her to cast spells using various dances. She can use her magic to teleport, paralyze others, or turn invisible.

Spiral is a powerful character with a ton of potential. The reason she’s on this list is because of the discrepancy between her looks and her powers. Appearance wise, Spiral is kind of scary -- she looks like a vengeful god. She’s got some cool powers, but she’s no god.

15 STRONG GUY

Ordinarily, mutants with dangerous abilities have built-in safeguards to protect them from their own abilities. Magma, for example, has a body that can withstand the heat that her powers generate. Of course, sometimes biology isn’t so kind to the mutant race, as in the case of Strong Guy.

Guido looks like your typical strong mutant, with huge muscles and an incredible seven foot height. While he is definitely strong, Guido’s ability to absorb kinetic energy and release it in the form of physical strength is constantly taking a toll on his body. He’s always in pain and his heart could give out at any second under the stress. He may look like a superpowered mutant, but Guido’s powers are seriously limited.

14 LADY MASTERMIND

We will never understand the apparent need to create female versions of famous villains, but whatever the reason is, we have them. Lady Mastermind is the daughter of the original Mastermind, and took up her father’s mantle soon after mastering her psychic mutant abilities. Like her father, Lady Mastermind can generate telepathic illusions in the minds of people around her. Unlike her father, Lady Mastermind does this while rocking a sleek, all black leather uniform.

Marvel creators liked Lady Mastermind’s outfit so much that they ended up giving a similar look to Emma Frost.  Lady Mastermind is powerful, but compared to other mutant psychics, her ability is narrow. However, her costume makes it seem as though she could take over the world if she wanted to.

13 WARPATH

A lot of the characters on our list have mutant abilities that relate to physical strength. While they’re obviously very strong and capable, they pale in comparison to mutants with mental abilities, such as telekinesis or telepathy. Undoubtedly a great warrior, X-Men member Warpath could never win a fight against someone with mental mutant capabilities.

Armed with “super” everything and a nifty healing factor, he makes a good foot soldier but he isn’t a heavy hitter, even though he certainly looks like one. Like all the strong arm mutants, Warpath is impressively muscular and carries with him a pair of vibranium knives. Add some face paint and a wicked uniform and you have a superhero who looks cooler than he actually is.

12 SURGE

Surge is one of the newer X-Men characters on the list, though her mutant ability isn’t especially unique. The Japanese immigrant absorbs electricity into her body and can release it in the form of lightning blasts. While we definitely believe Surge has the potential to be a powerful mutant, she hasn’t had too many opportunities to show off her skills. Shooting lighting is a cool trick, but without proper control, it can become a bad accident quickly.

At the moment, Surge still has to wear special gauntlets to control her powers. On-page, the blue-haired mutant is frequently drawn surrounded by lighting, wearing a fierce expression and wielding her robotic gloves. She looks like an Omega, but in reality, she’s not even close to Alpha level.

11 SABRETOOTH

We know what all you Wolverine fans are thinking: Sabretooth is just as powerful as he looks. Since this list is a matter of opinion, we beg to disagree, even though we’re well aware Wolverine fans aren’t going to change their minds any time soon. Yes, Victor is a powerful mutant. He goes toe-to-toe with everyone from Rogue to Jean Grey.

The thing is, his feral appearance puts him above what he’s actually capable of. The claws, sharp teeth, and beady, animalistic eyes make him way scarier appearance wise than Wolverine, which is a real accomplishment. But, when you really inspect his character, he isn’t all that great powers wise. He’s a slightly weaker Logan with, somehow, an even worse vocabulary.