Mystique (character)
| Mystique | |
|---|---|
| File:Mystique11.png Mystique Art by Mike Mayhew. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | (cameo) Ms. Marvel #16 (May 1978); (first full appearance) Ms. Marvel #17 (June 1978) |
| Created by | Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Raven Darkholme |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | X-Men Brotherhood of Mutants Freedom Force X-Factor X-Corps X-Corporation Xavier Institute student body Mossad DARPA Daily Bugle |
| Notable aliases | Raven Wagner, Leni Zauber, Valerie Cooper, Mallory Brickman, Holt Adler, Surge, Foxx. |
| Abilities | Shape-shifting, Regenerative Healing Factor, Immunity to diseases, Ageless, Superhuman agility, Skilled hand-to-hand combatant, Master strategist. |
Mystique (Raven Darkholme) is a Marvel Comics character associated with the X-Men franchise. Originally created by artist Dave Cockrum, writer Chris Claremont saw Cockrum's design, dubbed the character "Mystique," and, with Cockrum's permission, she first appeared in Ms. Marvel #17 (May 1978).
Mystique is a mutant shape-shifter whose natural appearance includes blue skin and yellow eyes. She is over 100 years old, stated in her solo series (issue #17): "I wasn't born last night, or even last century, for that matter..." Mystique is also the biological mother of Graydon Creed, Nightcrawler and foster mother of Rogue. She was forced to abandon Nightcrawler, but raised Rogue for a number of years and the two women have mixed feelings towards one another. She is one of the few bisexual characters in comics.
Throughout most of her history, Mystique has been a villain, leading the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and assassinating several important humans involved in mutant affairs. However, she recently worked on behalf of the X-Men's Professor X in a short-lived eponymous series, and was provisionally voted into the X-Men.
Fictional character biography
Destiny
Mystique's exact age remains unknown. However, her earliest meeting with her lover Destiny (Irene Adler) is stated to have occurred at "the dawn of the 20th century." The exact circumstances of their first meeting are unknown.
Veteran X-Men writer Chris Claremont has stated that he originally intended for Mystique and Destiny to be Nightcrawler's biological parents (Mystique having morphed into a man for the conception), but Marvel nixed the idea as too controversial. [1]
Early espionage activities and contacts
Their decades-long quest apparently required them to constantly travel. They encountered Shadowcat and Rachel Summers, who had time traveled from the future and sought to prevent a plot by Nazi agents Baron Wolfgang von Strucker and Geist, "Ghost", a member of Nazi intelligence and their ally Amahl Farouk, Shadow King. The three had conspired to question the rights of the British Monarch to the throne and then to replace him with Oswald Mosley of the British Fascist Party, a likely ally for Nazi Germany. Irene and Raven contacted an acquaintance of theirs, called Logan, Wolverine, to help the time travelers. Irene and Raven advised Shadowcat and Logan against proceeding in their contemplated assassination of Adolf Hitler and other prominent leaders and officials of the Nazi Party. Raven was laconic in only stating: "All of us have learned to kill, Logan. But more importantly, we have learned not to kill. And to know the difference."
At some point, Raven reportedly lost contact with Irene. She managed to locate her working as an archivist in the Alamogordo nuclear research facilities in New Mexico. Raven was uncertain of Irene's motivation, but apparently trusted her enough not to press for answers.
Sabretooth
Raven would meet Victor Creed, the man known as Sabretooth. At the time she used the identity of deceased German secret agent Leni Zauber. Both Leni and Victor had been assigned with the assassination of a scientist in East Berlin. Raven completed the mission in place of Leni. Then she and Victor had to hide in a safe location for a while. They became lovers, but she soon faked her death in order to leave him.
The result of this short-lived affair was reportedly the birth of Graydon Creed, her earliest known child. A number of stories have reported that soon after his birth, Raven gave him up for adoption. Others depict Mystique making arrangements for him from a distance. Graydon reportedly spent most of his childhood in a boarding school. Raven kept track of his activities until he reached adolescence. Graydon was the son of two mutants and as a result likely to be a mutant himself. However, he eventually proved to be a Homo sapien instead of a Homo Superior or mutant. Raven was disappointed and soon abandoned him. Graydon would grow to hate his parents and eventually extend his hatred towards all mutants. He later became leader to the mutant-hating organization Friends of Humanity and then a politician. Graydon, at the height of his political ascension was assassinated by an unknown shooter (X-Factor #130). The shooter was later revealed to be a time traveling version of Mystique, as part of a convoluted time paradox involving Jean Grey, Iceman, Toad, and Juggernaut.
Nightcrawler
For several years Mystique was also reported being the mother of Nightcrawler but the exact events were uncertain. Much later another writer, Chuck Austen, eventually ‘revealed’ that the father was a demonic-looking mutant from biblical times claiming to be the inspiration for Satan.
At the time, Raven was married to Baron Christian Wagner; older sources give his name as Count Eric Wagner, an affluent member of German nobility. He would prove to be a loving husband, but rather disappointing as a lover. His infertility added to their marital problems. Raven started using her shape-shifting powers in order to secretly have sexual encounters with others. She particularly seemed to seek men who somewhat resembled Victor Creed. She was apparently both seeking sexual satisfaction and attempting to conceive another child. She was eventually seduced by another fellow mutant, Azazel.
He stated he was ruler of "an island nation off the coast of Bermuda: La Isla des Demonas," The Island of Demons. He was apparently a fellow shape-shifter and also had the powers of teleportation. He was later revealed to also have the power of Immortality and to be the father of an ancient race of mutants known as the Neyaphem, active since at least 2000 BC. His natural form was that of a young man with black hair, yellow eyes, red skin, and a pointed tail. He later claimed to have been posing as a demon and to have used many aliases: "Because I am Semihazah, Duma, Keriel, Mastema, Beliar, Gadreel, and Beelzebub. And most commonly called Satan." Many of these aliases have also been claimed by several notable true demons of the Marvel Universe.
Raven soon became pregnant. Her husband became suspicious and his own father suggested a blood test to verify if the child was his. Mystique used a dagger to slay him and then buried him. She eventually gave birth to a young boy with black hair, yellow eyes, blue skin, and a pointed tail. The locals considered both the mother and the child to be demons, and attempted to slay them. Mystique managed to escape but abandoned her second known son. He was found and raised by Gypsy sorceress Margali Szardos and named Kurt Wagner.
Rogue and the Brotherhood
Mystique would later become adoptive mother to the girl Rogue, who had run away from her home in rural Caldecott County, Mississippi. The girl was living alone in a wooded area, brandishing a shotgun and trusting no one when Mystique found her. Destiny foresaw that Rogue would be important to them and Mystique sought her out, gained her trust, and took her in. She and Destiny would raise the girl over approximately a decade, and Mystique would grow to be very protective of her.
Mystique had concealed her superhuman powers and criminal intentions so well over the years that, as Raven Darkholme, she was able to rise rapidly through the United States Civil Service to the trusted position of Deputy Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the United States Department of Defense. This position gave her access to military secrets and to advanced weaponry, both of which she used for her own criminal and subversive purposes.
To help her in her criminal activities, Mystique organized her own incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, which originally consisted of herself, Avalanche, the Blob, Destiny, and Pyro. This incarnation of the Brotherhood first became notorious when it attempted to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly, a notoriously anti-mutant politician. The X-Men thwarted the assassination attempt, thereby averting a series of events which would have resulted in the death of most super-powered humans, and the subjugation of North America by the mutant-hunting robots, the Sentinels (as chronicled in the "Days of Future Past" storyline). The Brotherhood later clashed with the X-Men on other occasions.
Rogue was trained by Mystique and eventually joined the Brotherhood. Her mutant power was the ability to absorb the psyche, memories, personality, strengths, and any skills or powers of whomever she touched. Rogue proved to be a powerful member of the team. She went on many missions with the Brotherhood and, with her help, the team was almost able to defeat the Avengers.
On a mission with the Avengers, Rogue fought Carol Danvers, Ms. Marvel. Rogue tried stealing Carol's powers, but Carol fought too hard and Rogue ended up absorbing Carol's memories and powers permanently, while Carol was left an empty shell. Professor Xavier later restored Carol's memories, but not the emotions that went with them. Rogue, meanwhile, felt like she was losing her mind, grappling with Danvers' psyche and at times not knowing which memories were really hers. Feeling like she was in danger of losing control of herself, Rogue ran away from home and sought help from the X-Men, hoping that Professor X would be able to treat her. While the other X-Men initially were hesitant in accepting their former enemy, Xavier welcomed her and gave her a spot on the team.
Worried that Rogue had left because Xavier had brainwashed her, Mystique went to rescue her, leading an attack on the X-Men. Rogue stopped her, saying that she had left of her own free will. Mystique was doubtful and hurt, but Rogue ultimately convinced her by saying that Xavier was probably the only person who could help with her powers and give her a chance at a normal life, as she feared the absorbed personality of Carol Danvers would otherwise drive her insane. Mystique grudgingly agreed and let Rogue stay with the X-Men. Though she would remain close to Rogue, coming to help her at times, Mystique came to resent Xavier.
Freedom Force
Later, anti-mutant sentiment among normal humans becomes greatly increased and the federal government launches its own covert anti-mutant program, Project Wideawake. Believing that the times had become too dangerous for the Brotherhood to continue its criminal activities, Mystique went to Doctor Valerie Cooper, special assistant to the head of the National Security Council, and offered the Brotherhood's services to the government. Cooper agreed to convey the offer to the President on the condition that the Brotherhood pass a test she imposed: the capture of Magneto. The Brotherhood, now renamed Freedom Force, succeeded in bringing Magneto to the authorities though only because he voluntarily surrendered to them so he could go on trial for his crimes and soon afterwards officially enter the government's employ.
In return for entering government service as Freedom Force's leader, Mystique and her team received a presidential pardon for all criminal charges against them, but the pardon would be revoked if any member of Freedom Force were found committing a crime.
On one particularly disastrous mission, Freedom Force lost two of its members, Stonewall and Mystique's lover Destiny. The death of her lover left Mystique psychologically scarred and she never truly recovered.
X-Factor
Mystique resurfaced several months later, in a failed attempt to kill Legion for his murdering of Destiny. Mystique had an implant put in her skull by Forge in order for the government to be able to keep track of her. She was then forced to become a member of the government-sponsored team X-Factor after being arrested for trying to blow up a dam. In truth, Mystique was trying to save the dam, which the U.S. Government wanted to destroy so that they could blame it on mutants. She joined coincidentally to the departure of X-Factor member Wolfsbane. Her membership led to tension with her teammates when Sabretooth was added to the team months later as a sleeper agent, for the main purpose of killing Mystique before she could uncover the truth about the conspiracy she had discovered. She slowly developed a romantic relationship with team-leader Forge (though he later thought that she was just using him).
Part of the conspiracy involved Mystique's son Graydon Creed running for President, under an anti-mutant platform.
At the same time, both Graydon and Mystique learned that her lover Destiny had married and had children during one of the couple's separations. Irene's children were now adults with their own children, one of which was a mutant. Graydon had the mutant teen savagely beaten by members of the Friends of Humanity, as a warning towards his mother. Mystique was furious and wanted to kill her son, but stopped when she was given a message that Graydon's backers wanted her to kill him and turn her son into a martyr.
Mystique then sought to save her son from being betrayed by his backers, but failed miserably. Graydon died and his death ushered in a new wave of anti-mutant violence. Ultimately, Sabretooth acted on his orders to kill the members of X-Factor as "Operation Zero Tolerance" was activated. Even though she could have left her teammates to die, Mystique attacked Sabretooth, an act of intervention that distracted Sabretooth long enough to keep him from finishing off the already injured team. Mystique then fled the scene after arranging for the members of X-Factor to receive emergency medical treatment for the wounds Sabretooth inflicted onto them.
Mystique went into hiding, taking the identity of the senator's wife Mallory Brickman, using her husband's influence to set the FBI on Sabretooth. She prevented Rogue from giving up her mutant powers and she continued her investigation of the U.S. Government over her son's death, leading to her aiding the Toad and his most recent incarnation of the "Brotherhood of Mutants" on a mission to raid a government base. The mission failed thanks to Machine Man, who fought the Brotherhood and forced the team to flee. Mystique fled to Europe, at which point her life changed dramatically. While taking the form of a blonde haired woman during a trip to the beach, Mystique was confronted by a famous photographer who told the mutant that he wanted to make her the next big fashion model.
Amused, Mystique accepted and quickly became the fashion industry's newest top model. Using her money, Mystique moved back to New York and into an expensive penthouse apartment. At peace, Mystique bought a telescope and used it to take in her penthouse's view of New York. This proved to be a huge mistake, as a nearby building was being used by Skrulls loyal to Apocalypse to build the machinery needed for an upcoming scheme of the villains. When one of the Skrulls caught Mystique by her window with her telescope, they assumed the worst and framed Mystique for the murder of a Japanese diplomat. With help from Shadowcat and Rogue, Mystique was cleared and left town. However, before she left, Shadowcat found one of Destiny's diaries, left there by Destiny herself before she died.
Breakdown
Mystique then reached a breakthrough regarding her investigation of the U.S. conspiracy against mutantkind, but fate caused Mystique to suffer a massive blow. While gaining the critical intelligence on the identity of those who were involved in her son's death and the attempt to kill her via Sabretooth, Mystique suddenly lost her powers while pretending to be a man in a busy office workplace.
Arrested, Mystique's life was torn apart as the U.S. Government acted on their intelligence regarding Mystique and used it to destroy all of the alternate identities that Mystique had established over the years and arranging for Mystique to be unable to access any of the money she and Destiny had hidden away over the years. This caused Mystique to lose any self-control she might once have had, as the loss of her powers and the loss of her freedom caused her to lash out at everyone around her. Most notably, Rogue felt the brunt of her step-mother's wrath as Rogue had no sympathy for Mystique's plight. The relationship soured most notably when Rogue refused to tell Mystique that the X-Men were going to fight the High Evolutionary, who was responsible for depowering all of mutantkind, so as to restore everyone's powers. The X-Men defeated Evolutionary and restored everyone's powers, allowing Mystique to escape jail.
Mystique was later sent back in time by the original X-Factor's sentient ship. Raven found that she was destined to be part of a great time paradox, where she found herself with a time delay weapon, which she was about to program to kill Graydon. Mystique was confused, because she remembered that she set up the weapon, but never got around to program it. After some deliberation, she decides to activate the weapon to kill Graydon. Mystique's sanity was further damaged by the revelation that her lover and soul-mate Destiny was one of the founding members of the anti-mutant conspiracy Mystique had dedicated countless years fighting and had willfully withheld medical treatment to mutant children that would have resulted in them not growing up deformed due to their mutations.
This led to Raven once again going mad, at the futility of her mission to change the world for the better. Raven became nihilistically obsessed with death and genocide, as she reformed the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants for another assassination attempt on Senator Kelly as well as Mystique kidnapping Moira MacTaggert and impersonating her in order to access her research on the Legacy Virus. While not the gifted scientist that Moira was, Mystique's insanity and experience with bio-terrorism allowed her not only to use samples of Moira's Legacy Virus infected blood to create a biological weapon that would infect humans as opposed to mutants, but most importantly, allowed her to come up with a cure for the Legacy Virus after repeated readings of all of the doctor's research which, when filtered through Mystique's insane mind, resulted in her being able to pick up on insights that Moira had missed when researching.
The assassination attempt on Kelly ended in failure, when the mutant villain Pyro betrayed his teammates to save Kelly's life. Mystique blew up Moira MacTaggert’s research facility, fatally injuring the doctor. Mystique then shot Moira's foster daughter Wolfsbane with a prototype of Forge's neutralizer gun, depowering her.
Rogue arrived and confronted her mother. When Mystique revealed her plan to Rogue on using a modified form of the Legacy Virus on the humans, Rogue realized that she was ill and tried to help her. Mystique pretended to accept Rogue's help before stabbing her in the gut. If it weren’t for Rogue having absorbed Wolverine’s healing factor, she would have most likely died.
As Mystique confronted the other X-Men, Rogue's healing factor revived her. Sneaking behind Mystique, Rogue used the bone claws she had absorbed from Wolverine and stabbed her in the back.
Mystique was hospitalized, where she told the X-Men that Destiny had predicted a dark future for mutantkind and that the future Destiny foretold kept on unfolding despite all that Mystique had done to prevent it. She believed that the only way to save them was to get rid of the humans, for a planet of mutants might survive, while mutants divided against each other and with humanity shunning them as outcasts would be doomed.
Mystique was sent to prison, but quickly escaped. She then allied herself with Martinique Jason, the daughter of the original Mastermind, in an attempt to wrest control of the military organization known as the X-Corps from its founder, Banshee. Outfitted with a device that gave her the ability to generate an electrical charge, Mystique created the identity of a super-villain and joined the X-Corps. While Mastermind's daughter mind-controlled the other members of the organization, Mystique brought Banshee’s organization down and slit his throat, leaving him in critical condition.
Double agent
Charles Xavier was later forced to make Mystique his secret agent, as his previous one, Prudence Leighton, had died and Mystique was the only one suitable enough to complete the missions. Xavier posed as Magneto to rescue Mystique from the Department of Homeland Security and from execution at the hands of Johny Kitano, Special Magistrate for Homo Superior crimes against humanity, and a mutant himself.
At this time, Mystique claimed that there was an imposter out to frame her, taking control over the Brotherhood and sending them on their recent missions (the assassination of Moira and the infiltration of X-Corps). Whether she was speaking the truth remains to be seen. The two never truly trusted each other, but as long as Mystique completed the missions without killing anybody, Xavier would keep her safe from the authorities, who were out to execute her. Working with Xavier was Forge, whom Mystique had had a brief romance with while she was in X-Factor.
One of Xavier's enemies, the Quiet Man, who was actually Prudence Leighton inhabiting the body of her assassin, contacted Mystique and offered to give her an interference transmitter which would keep her safe from the authorities, the same type of device Xavier was using, if she killed Xavier. Creating a plan that would free her from both men, Mystique pretended to try killing Xavier while secretly working with the mutant thief Fantomex, after alerting Forge to stop her at the last moment. Her plan was to have the Quiet Man see this and believe that she really had attempted to kill Xavier and was still working for him. However, the other X-Men also believed that Mystique had tried killing Xavier and sought her out.
Rogue managed to track her down. She disowned her adoptive mother, saying she had tried to forgive Mystique for stabbing her, but that this was too much. She went on to say that Mystique wasn’t her mother, that she was a monster. Mystique tried apologizing to Rogue for how she had hurt her, but Rogue was distraught with rage and attacked her foster mother. Mystique managed to escape by blowing up the house and going through the window, changing her form to shield her fall.
Mystique went to the Quiet Man, who was planning on having her killed due to outliving her usefulness. After a battle, Mystique killed the Quiet Man, saved her former field-handler Shortpack, and discovered the Quiet Man's interference transmitter had been a fake all along. Later, Forge caught Mystique trying to steal his interference transmitter. After some angry words, he smashed it and told her he never wanted to see her again. The two shared a sad good-bye kiss and Mystique left. After Mystique was gone, Forge realized that she had already switched his transmitter for the fake one.
Joining the X-Men
Mystique later infiltrated the X-Men, posing as a young girl named Foxx. She attempted to seduce Rogue's boyfriend Gambit to break them up so she could set her daughter up with a young mutant named Augustus, a man she believed Rogue could be the happiest with.
Though severely tempted by "Foxx's" advances, Gambit resisted. Mystique ultimately revealed herself to him, telling him that she was trying to relieve the tension between him and Rogue (because of the two being unable to have sex due to her ability to absorb someone's essence upon skin-to-skin contact). Mystique then morphed into Rogue and told Gambit that he would not be cheating on Rogue if they had sex now.
When the telepath Emma Frost discovered who Foxx really was, the X-Men confronted Mystique. Mystique told them that she had been lonely and wanted to join the X-Men. Emma also discovered that Gambit had known who Foxx really was all along, and a furious Rogue believed the two had been having an affair. Mystique would not reveal if she and Gambit did anything, but told Rogue that if he truly loved her he would not have been tempted, and that she deserved better than him. Gambit denied anything had happened.
Later, the X-Men voted and decided to have Mystique join them on a probationary status (though Rogue was one of the ones who had voted against her joining). Meanwhile, Nightcrawler asked her to leave for a while regardless of the vote, saying that he needed more time adjusting to the idea of her being a member first. Mystique ultimately agreed and left. However, after Decimation, she has joined the X-Men and brought Augustus (Pulse) along with her. Both have been crucial in the latest downfall of Apocalypse. Rogue believes that Mystique's transformation is yet another act.
Marauders
Mystique was of great assistance in the battle against the Children of the Vault, killing Sangre by pumping thermite bullets into his aquatic body. However after the Hecatomb battle on Providence, the remaining X-Men (sans Cable) returned to Rogue's former childhood home in Caldecott County, Mississippi which Mystique owns for some much deserved downtime. Mystique consummated her flirtation with Iceman, and even alerted the X-Men, who came to treat Rogue's illness, that there were intruders in the area. Only after Lady Mastermind dropped her illusions did the X-Men realize that it was an all-out attack, and that both Lady Mastermind & Omega Sentinel (the latter being possessed by Malice) had defected sides. During the Marauders' initial ambush Mystique kept Scalphunter from taking a shot at Rogue instead doing it herself and, standing over her body, ordered the remaining Marauders to kill the X-Men, revealing herself as a traitor as well.
Powers and abilities
Mystique is a mutant, a shapeshifter able to alter the formation of her biological cells at will and thereby assume the form of other humans. Originally, it was clearly stated that Mystique's powers were limited to appearances only; she could not assume the powers of the people she morphed into or alter her body to adapt to different situations. In addition, she could not change her overall body mass in order to change into a person larger or smaller than she is. She has the ability to create the appearance of clothes out of her own body. Mystique was shown in at least one instance transforming a metallic part of her costume into a functioning blaster pistol. Whether this was a function of her powers or of the costume piece itself is unclear. As a side effect of this power, her natural aging process has been suppressed (if not completely halted), as she has retained her youthful figure despite being alive for over eighty years. (Some sources say she is over a century old.)
This changed in 2001's X-Men Forever mini-series, in which Mystique was exposed to dangerous levels of radiation in order to save the life of Toad. The process morphed Mystique's appearance to match her more reptilian physique from the 2000's film trilogy, and boosted her powers so that she could now morph her body into taking certain desired physical traits depending on her situation at the time. Examples of this new ability include: night vision, wings on her back, talons in her fingers, natural body armor, and can even compress nearly two-dimensional like a sheet of paper to glide on air currents, similar to Mister Fantastic, which she uses to survive an explosion. In addition, damage to her biological tissue is known to heal at a relatively fast rate and she can form a resistance to poisons upon contacting them. While she retained her advanced powers, she now appears in her natural form. It is uncertain whether she lost her other form, or she just shape-shifts back into her original form.
Her default form is that of a young woman with red hair, yellow eyes, and dark blue skin.
Other versions
Age of Apocalypse
In the Age of Apocalypse timeline, Mystique is the ferrywoman to Avalon. It is her task to meet the refugees and make sure they meet the guide to Avalon, Cain. Though she works against Apocalypse, she is not much of a hero. She charges a heavy tariff to ferry the refugees to Avalon, taking all of their valuables. This plagues her conscience and she is reluctant to go to Avalon, as she feels that she is not fit to enter. Ultimately, she gets past her guilt to guide her son, Nightcrawler to Avalon and find Destiny. She and her son form X-Calibre to defeat Apocalypse's agents, the Pale Riders and the Shadow King.
Cable's Future
In X-Men volume 2, issue 192, Mystique inquires "How does it judge the part we play here and now in protecting the remnants of mutantkind?" He says "History is short on specifics" and that it only remembers broad movements, not individuals. She hints at wanting to know how she is remembered, and he comments that her name did survive in a database of his time. Her name is synonymous with traitor, comparing her name to Judas Iscariot. However, he does add that the information from his time is part of his history, as it was 2,000 years old.
House of M
In the House of M, Mystique is an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a member of its elite unit, the Red Guard, alongside Jessica Drew and her children Rogue and Nightcrawler. She's also involved in an affair with Wolverine, the Red Guard's leader.
Marvel Zombies
Mystique appears as a zombie twice in the Marvel Zombies universe. She is first shown disguised as Scarlet Witch, in order to get close to and bite Quicksilver. She is also shown fighting alongside zombie versions of Avalanche, Blob, and Pyro.
Ultimate Mystique
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Mystique was the former lover of Charles Xavier. However, during their stay in the Savage Land with Magneto, the young Emma Frost came under the tutelage of Xavier, and shortly after he dumped Mystique for Frost. Ever since then, Mystique has held great resentment toward Xavier, which in turn makes her undyingly loyal to Magneto. She teamed up with Forge and helped Magneto escape the Triskelion by taking his place in the prison cell before she was replaced by Mastermind and Stacy X and given a new assignment. She is hinted to be one of the few who actually knows how Xavier's darker side operates, stating "We all bought into Xavier's dream until we got a look at the sick brain behind it." It would later be revealed that Emma Frost named Xavier's cat after Mystique, after the feline partially destroyed the decor of his office. She will be appearing in the upcoming Ultimates 3 alongside Magneto.
X-Men: Fairy Tales
Mystique appears briefly in the X-Men: Fairy Tales limited series, first issue. She is leading a group of thieves who attack the old monk/Professor X. They are scared away by Hitome/Cyclops. The other thieves were Avalanche and Pyro. In the fourth issue, she appears as Anna/Rogue's mother, a voodoo priestess.
Amalgam Comics
In Amalgam Comics, Mystique is combined with Ms. Tree to form Ms. Tique, and with Kanto to form Kantique.
Marvel Mangaverse
In X-Men Mangaverse, Mystique teams up with Nightcrawler and other Brotherhood members. Storm later kills her with a lightning bolt
Exiles
In this reality Mystique is apparently a man and goes by the name of Raphael-Raven Darkholmes. Much like the main Mystique he had a relationship with Destiny but due to his gender had a child with her (Claremont's original plan for Nightcrawler's origin). They were both killed in unknown circumstances and Raphael often went on their grave sites. On such an occasion, he was about to be attacked by soldiers when the Exiles' Sabertooth, who had been stranded on this Earth, saved his life. Saying he was in his debt, he joined the Exiles when they came to pick up their teammate.
In other media
Film
In the movies X-Men, X2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand, Mystique is played by Rebecca Romijn and, unlike her comic book incarnation, is a member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants. Her true form is serpentine, having scaly skin and reptilian eyes. She is also a nudist, although this is not purely to accommodate her powers, as she is capable of producing the illusion of being clothed but doesn't. Additionally, Mystique is not Rogue's foster mother; they meet each other for the first time when Magneto kidnaps Rogue. In the films, she has the ability to duplicate retinal patterns (as shown in the first film), and duplicates Deathstrike's handprint simply by shaking her hand in the second film. In the third film she was shown to seemingly alter her mass by taking the form of a child. There are speculations of a spin-off movie about Mystique being made.[citation needed]
- X-Men
In the first movie, Mystique impersonates Henry Gyrich, the aide to Senator Kelly, as part of a plan to kidnap Kelly and turn him into a mutant, thereby ending his support of the Mutant Registration Act. However, Magneto's mutation machine causes Senator Kelly to die, so she replaces Kelly instead and withdraws his support of the bill. At the beginning of X2, her ongoing impersonation of Kelly helps her learn where Magneto is being held, and she helps him escape.
In X-Men, Mystique has an extended fight with Wolverine. Although the man possesses great physical strength, Mystique ultimately outwits him in the battle, and slowly gets the better of him with superior speed and dexterity. She then leaves by climbing upside down up a pipe. She later reappears as Storm and approaches him, making a critical overestimation of her cunning. His acute sense of smell tells him who she really is and he stabs her with his claws, apparently killing her. She survives, however, and morphs into the form of a fallen police officer. As a result, she is able to slip past the police that descend on the building. At the end of the movie, she is seen on TV, impersonating Senator Robert Kelly.
- X2
- United
In X2, she learns from William Stryker that Magneto is in government possession while she is disguised as Senator Kelly. Mystique then gains entry into Stryker's office thanks to her impersonating Stryker's aide, Lady Deathstrike, and thus gaining details about Magneto's plastic prison (including the name of the guards) and also to several more of Stryker's plans (most important of which is the plans to "Dark Cerebro"). After helping Magneto escape from prison, she joins Magneto's brief alliance with the X-Men. While camped in an unknown forest area, Mystique attempts to seduce Wolverine in the guise of Jean Grey. She kisses him and shifts into different known female X-men. When he discovers the marks of his claws, she shifts back to her blue form, telling him "no one's left a scar quite like you." She later impersonates Wolverine in order to gain entry to the base Alkali Lake.
- X-Men 3
- The Last Stand
In X-Men: The Last Stand, Mystique was captured by the government. It is revealed that her name is Raven Darkholme. Magneto comes to save her, but a guard manages to fire a cure dart at Magneto. She takes the dart in his place, and her mutation is cancelled by Leech's DNA embedded within the cure. She immediately changes from her mutant form into her human form, naked since her clothing is a product of her mutation. Magneto abandons her, stating "you're not one of us anymore", adding wistfully, "Pity. She was so beautiful". Mystique is arrested, but retaliates for Magneto's actions by giving the government the location of his base. However, when they raid the camp, they find it populated entirely with duplicates of Multiple Man. The movie does not make it clear whether she was aware that the information she gave would only lead the government to a decoy camp or if Magneto anticipated her betrayal and left the camp with Multiple Man's duplicates to spite her. It is also unclear whether or not the cure wore off and Mystique's mutant powers returned, as Magneto's did at the end of the film.
Television
X-Men
In the original X-Men cartoon, Mystique was shown as the leader of the Brotherhood, a close ally of Apocalypse, and Rogue's foster mother (as well as Nightcrawler's biological mother). It is hinted that Apocalypse may have transformed her into the shape-shifter she is, as she tells Rogue that he made her what she is, and gave her purpose.
Season One
In the first season, Mystique aided Apocalypse in transforming several mutants into his Horsemen and later attempting to assassinate Senator Kelly (under orders of Apocalypse), a task for which she takes Gambit's form (she fails because of the real Gambit's interference).
Season Two
In the second season, Mystique appears and attempts to convince Rogue to return to the Brotherhood, though she fails in the end. It also revealed in the episode: "Nightcrawler" that she is the titled character's mother. Mystique then once again appears as an ally of Apocalypse in the "Beyond Good and Evil" storyline though when Magneto realizes how mad Apocalypse's intentions are, Mystique joins him in trying to stop Apocalypse.
Season Four
In her final appearance of the series, Mystique is kidnapped by Graydon Creed, a child she labored with Sabretooth. She is forced to send a letter to her other son Nightcrawler to lure him to a trap in exchange for her life. Creed attempts to kill all the mutants, but they escape. As Mystique flees, Nightcrawler gives chase because he wants to know why she abandoned him. Even though Mystique coldly tells him that she did not want him, Nightcrawler cannot bring himself to hate her and tells her that he will pray to God to allow him to forgive her. Touched that in spite of her cold treatment her son still cares for her, Mystique apparently sacrifices herself to save Nightcrawler when Creed attempts to shoot him. Though assumed dead by the X-Men, Mystique is shown to have survived and is last seen looking back at her two children with tears in her eyes. She was voiced by Rachel Carpenter.
X-Men: Evolution
In X-Men: Evolution, Mystique is portrayed as a ruthless and feared character, a master of hand-to-hand combat and an unscrupulous manipulator, but is also subject to temper tantrums when roused. Mystique wore her trademark white dress during season one but for the rest of the series wore a black combative outfit. After being exposed to the enhancing machine on Magneto's base, Mystique was briefly shown in her reptilian form, reflecting her appearance in the X-Men film, albeit in tattered clothes.
As in the comic books, Mystique holds dear the well-being of her two children, Rogue and Nightcrawler. Whereas the latter seems to return the love, Rogue deeply despises Mystique and even attempted to kill her at one point. In the end of the series, however, it is Nightcrawler who rebuffs Mystique when she tries to re-approach him and Rogue. The story of her separation from Nightcrawler was changed (she was attacked by wolves while on a bridge, causing her to drop him accidentally). It's also suggested that Nightcrawler was normal looking at first, as Mystique (and presumably Magneto) were shown in a laboratory with Mystique screaming, "What have you done to him!?", implying that Magneto has tested a chemical that enhances mutant abilities on the infant, resulting in the blue appearance.
Like her comic book counterpart, Mystique here possesses shape-shifting powers. After being exposed to Magneto's mutant-enhancer machine, Mystique's augmented powers enable her to change her body mass as well, which allowed her to take various animal forms, ravens being her favorite. An added side effect was that now Mystique was immune to telepathy, which was how she was able to spy on the X-Men (as Risty Wilde) without Xavier or Jean Grey being able to detect her. She could also fool Wolverine's heightened senses. Her powers are greatly enhanced by Apocalypse when she is forced to become one of his Horsemen. She gains the ability to transform into multiple beings at once (a swarm of scorpions), change into a liquid state, and regenerate limbs lost in combat (though this could simply be another application of her liquid state), but lost these powers when Apocalypse's plans were thwarted.
Season One
In the first season, she is disguised as the principal of Bayville High, under the alias "Raven Darkholme", and is second-in-command to an initially unseen Magneto. She also found Avalanche, Toad, Blob and Quicksilver to be her Brotherhood while Professor X was recruiting new X-Men. She was revealed to be Nightcrawler's mother too. In the season finale, Magneto set a challenge for his team and the X-Men. The Brotherhood, Mystique and Sabretooth were sent to battle one of the X-Men each and who wins would go to his Asteroid M. Mystique fought Storm and lost. She eventually made it to Asteroid M after she teamed up with some X-Men. Mystique was exposed to Magneto's mutation-enhancing machine and her powers become elevated, though she disappears for a period of time after this.
Season Two
Later Mystique assumes the alias "Risty Wilde" and befriends Rogue to infiltrate Xavier's mansion. She does not make many appearances in this season. Later, she kidnaps and impersonates Professor X and causes the mansion to self-destruct.
Season Three
After this she revealed herself after having been impersonating Professor X. She took command of several of the X-Men and her Brotherhood and led an attack on Area 51 where the Government was keeping their comrades. The team broke them free and made their escape but Cyclops left Mystique behind after she would not tell him where Professor X was. She was captured by the Government, but later broke free and brought the Scarlet Witch to the Brotherhood. She got her revenge on Cyclops later in the season by impersonating his brother Havok and telling Cyclops that he was lost in Mexico. Cyclops goes and Mystique attacks him and takes his visor and leaves him in the desert. After being attacked by wolves and Mexican citizens, he finds Mystique and the two battle until Jean Grey comes along and defeats Mystique. Towards the end of the third season Mystique was shown several times with her companion Destiny who foresaw the Rise of Apocalypse. Mesmero, who was a servant of Apocalypse, managed to get Mystique to take the control of Rogue and steal The X-Men's, The Brotherhood and The Acolytes powers so she could give them to Apocalypse. Mystique's powers were needed to open the third door to Apocalypse's tomb. She turned into a snake and slithered through a hole and placed her hand on stone. She was tricked and became stone herself. Apocalypse rose from his tomb.
Season Four
During the forth season her stone body was seen several time. It was at the X-Mansion where Professor X and Beast tried to get her back to normal but it was no use. They gave her stone body to the Brotherhood who used it for their own amusement. Then Nightcralwer showed up and took it back to the mansion. Rogue was not pleased. Nightcrawler got Agatha Harkness to see if she could do anything. She couldn't but she told Kurt that Rogue could. Rogue appeared and was going to use her powers to save Mystique. She quickly changed her mind and pushed the stone body over a cliff and it shattered. It appeared to be the end of Mystique but in the season finale she came back as a horseman of Apocalypse with her powers greatly advanced. After Apocalypse was defeated she turned back to normal and tried to apologize to Kurt and Rogue for everything she had done but the two walked off and ignored her. Mystique was left alone.
Video games
Mystique has appeared in several X-Men video games. Most recently she appeared in X-Men Legends and its sequel, X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, where she was voiced by Grey DeLisle. She is shown to be married to Sabretooth. She has special dialogue with Rogue, whom Mystique calls a traitor after she left the Brotherhood of Mutants.
In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, if the player saves Jean Grey from being dropped into the Infinity Vortex in Mephisto's Realm, Mystique will avenge Nightcrawler by infiltrating the X-Mansion at night to vent her frustration on Professor X where he will die in a coma and the X-Men will be forever disbanded.
In the X-Men arcade game, she also made an appearance as a boss.
As a tribute to her and Destiny, in the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories there are two lottery-winning prostitutes called Mystique and Destiny in the manual.
References
- Characters introduced in 1978
- Fictional assassins
- Fictional bisexuals
- Fictional centenarians
- Fictional characters with accelerated healing
- Fictional mercenaries
- Fictional nudists
- Fictional secret agents and spies
- Fictional shapeshifters
- Fictional terrorists
- LGBT characters in comics
- Marvel Comics mutants
- Marvel Comics superheroes
- Marvel Comics supervillains