12 Superheroes Ranked By Science (From Lame To Awesome)

4. Mystique

According to the University of Leicester, Mystique is the ultimate mutant. She'll surely be thrilled.

The reason for this is that, not only is she a mutant, but she continually mutates her genes in order to shapeshift at will.

The paper's authors put forward the assumption that Mystique's specific mutation has given her the ability to alter the expression of her genes at will. Switching different genes on and off would allow her to switch between eye colours, hair colours, skin tone and body shape easily.

The authors also attribute her ability to alter the appearance and texture of her skin to a type of nanocrystal in her skin known as a chromatophore. As sci-fi as this sounds, this ability is actually naturally occurring in certain species of cuttlefish.

This is a cautionary tale, however, as the authors note that Mystique's continuous tinkering with her genetic make up could expose her to the dangers of cancer, osteoporosis and sarcopenia

Read more:

Vol 5 (2016), JIST, Mystique: The Ultimate Mutant