Marvel clarifies their Mutant Classification system...

[icon_uk]

For years Marvel Mutants have been bandying classifications around, but it's a little confusing as to which end was the upper limit, was it Alpha, or Omega....

Newsarama has a handy field guide up...

ALPHA LEVEL

An Alpha level mutant is someone who looks no different from any other human being, and whose powers are pretty effective in combat. Likewise, they have no limitation placed on them as a result of their X-gene.

Examples - Colossus, Dazzler, Kitty Pryde

BETA LEVEL

Beta level mutants are just like Alphas, but with a catch. While at first glance they can pass for a human being, careful scrutiny reveals they have some strange trait that sets them apart, like an eye color that doesn't generally appear in humans. A Beta mutant can also be someone who passes for human but has some limitation imposed on them because of their power, such as not being able to make skin-to-skin contact (which describes Rogue's condition for many years).

Examples - Cyclops (eyes), Gambit (eyes), Wolverine (via his bone claws), Northstar/Aurora (pointy ears), pre-furry Beast (disproportionately large hands and feet) perhaps, Annalee of the Morlocks (looked human, but couldn't switch her broadcast empathic powers off)

GAMMA LEVEL

Like Alphas and Betas, Gamma level mutants are pretty handy in combat situations. But as a result of their X-gene, they cannot pass for human without the use of a disguise of some sort.

Examples - Nightcrawler, Blink, post-furry Beast.

DELTA LEVEL

Delta Level mutants are those who, like Alphas and Betas, can pass for human at first glance. But unlike Alphas or Betas, their power is not something that is obvious and automatically combative. Their abilities are more subtle, enough so that an outside observer can't actually see the power in use. Delta mutants may go for years not realizing that they are, in fact, mutants, due to the nature of their abilities.

Examples - Domino, Forge, Cypher

EPSILON LEVEL

Epsilon level mutants either have a non-combative power or no real powers at all, but are like Gamma level mutants in that they cannot hide what they are. Many examples of such mutants can be found among the Morlocks, a community that chose to live in the sewers rather than among humanity.

Examples - Artie Maddicks, Tar Baby

OMEGA LEVEL

These are the people who truly make normal human beings and government agencies afraid. These are mutants whose power levels are such that they are considered the most serious threats, capable of wide-scale destruction and proving very difficult to take down, contain or kill.

Examples - Magneto, Iceman (now)

So your thoughts? Where does your own favourite fit in? Would YOU put them there?

Reminds me a bit of the informal classifications used in the Wild Card books; The mutagenic, alien-originated Wild Card virus has differing effects on those wo caught it, and the names used were appropriate to the card motif.. 990/1000 died horribly (Drawing the Black Queen),  9/1000 survived by only gained deformities (Drawing the Joker) and 1/1000 ganied superpowers of some sort (Drawing the Ace... though many powers weren't actually that useful, and such people rather bitterly referred to themselves as having "drawn the Deuce")

For legality, Doug proves that just because you're a Delta level mutant, it doesn't mean you can't cause some SERIOUS damage in the right circumstances... As the future Sentinel MCP is about to find out.

Comments

[salinea]

wow, that's a classification ripe for political deconstruction.

[icon_uk]

Go for it!

Fly, my pretties FLY!

(Before anyone complains I'm comparing them to batwinged primates, remember that they got snazzy waistcoats, and in so doing I'm comparing myself to Margaret Hamilton in green make up... who I actually have been compared to some mornings)

[salinea]

Isn't it obvious? There's two parameters that affect those categories. One is how people pass in human society; which can clearly easily be problematic - and the other is level of threat / of use as a weapon - which is also extremely problematic. I'd expect any mutant who'd think twice about it to completely reject those categories as extremely oppressive. They're kind of made to be oppressive.

[spacebetween]

They took their sweet time coming up with the outline for the classifications.

Though, when has Magneto been classed as an Omega level mutant?

[kd_the_movie]

I think its a little too based around appearance of all things.

I always figured a mutant classification scale would relate to how much they're able to affect the world/reality/universe them.

[icon_uk]

Well, yes my own take on it is obvious to me, but I'm trying to engender a discussion here! :)

Given that most mutants we've met have more or less completely offensive powers, I can sort of see where degree-of-weaponisation would be one of the axes on the graph.

[icon_uk]

Agreed, ability to "pass" should not be THAT major a factor.

[spacebetween]

Give it time and I'm sure they will add to it with .1 .2 .3 etc. That actually deals with power. Well it does touch on power with Omega being the only real stand out. It's mostly about appearance which is is disappointing

[lakrids404]

Sounds right
We could make a rule, that we as community will not use this classification.
;)
And furthermore it's at least as problematic, to talk about a "mutant race", as most? mutants are born from two human sapient parents, and furthermore mutants and humans can have children together. So really mutants are humans. Subspecie is a far that I can go.

[freezer]

Yeah, but we've been using "Omega" for "shit-your-pants powerful" for years. Do we stop using that as well?

[spacebetween]

Unfortunately it never stopped Magneto, Cyclops and countless others in the Marvel universe thinking of mutants as a race.

They have even gone as far to give them a separate scientific label 'Homo Superior;. Which never made much sense to me as a majority of mutants have different powers. It would make more sense to me if they all had the same power or close to it. I suppose this is where is the Alpha to Omega levels fits in now.

[brooms]

These are the people who truly make normal human beings and government agencies afraid. These are mutants whose power levels are such that they are considered the most serious threats, capable of wide-scale destruction and proving very difficult to take down, contain or kill.

i could use more clarification on the omega level concept, tbh.

this and killcrops.

[spacebetween]

Omega Level hasn't been clearly defined. For the most part it has been stated that to possessing powers without foreseeable limits. Less then a dozen of mutants fit this category.

Vulcan and Franklin Richards have both be defined as beyond Omega Levels.

[hybrid2]

I always wanted a someone to point out,how dumb the whole diferent race thing is.
And how they dount understand evolution.

If only to give a diferent point of view.

The whole speach from cyclop about being near extinct always make me laugh or anoy me.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

...There's a mutant named "Tar Baby"? Fucking seriously?

[hybrid2]

Mistake I see in this list.

Alpha.Colosus? He's made of metal!Passing for "normal" go out the window.

Delta,Domino.I dont think she use makeup to look like a dalmatian.

[vspope]

What else could he possibly be?

The United Nations had protocols in place at one point SPECIFICALLY targeting Magneto and his powerset. He had his own asteroid base. He had his own COUNTRY. He once destroyed an entire city from thousands of miles away (machine-assisted, but a machine of his own design). He may be walking evidence for a unified field theory. He takes on whole teams of capable combat-trained superhumans at once and wins. If someone says he's not Omega-level, I'm sure a lot of governments and bruised heroes would argue the point strenuously.

[icon_uk]

The idea is that Colossus can switch his power off and revert to human appearance, just as Kitty Pryde looks "normal" until she activates her power and becomes intangible.

[kamino_neko]

Hmm. Actually a fairly well-defined system (although the differences between them are a bit subjective at the edges, that's to be expected), but, at first thought there should be 2 separate classification systems - one system classifying powers, one phenotypical variation from baseline.

On further thought, the 'how human' system has issues with potential discrimination...on the other hand, it does create an obvious metric for anti-discrimination laws to work with (once mutants are taken as a protected class).

As to powers, a single-axis system will always have problems. There should be at least 3 axes, IMO - power type, power level, power control. So, Cyke would be, say, 'Energy/Force, Level 5, Low Control', or Jean 'Psionic, Level 10, Perfect Control'. This also stops the issue of classifying them in a way that treats them as weapons.

[icon_uk]

Yup, he was one of the Morlock's self-imposed-outcast group, the Drain Dwellers, usually depicted as a black guy, and one who exuded a sticky black substance from all over his body.

A lot of the Morlocks might be said to have self-esteem/self-image issues, some of them voluntarily accepting physical deformity from Masque to "brand" themselves as not humans.

[icon_uk]

I like the idea of some dorky SHIELD agent finally admitting the or she got the idea for the classifications the last time they played GURPS.

[kamino_neko]

I'm pretty sure Mags has been one of the poster children for 'Omega' ever since they started that classification system.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Well, that's, uh, interesting... I didn't know any of that. (Not being as big a Marvel fan as DC.)

Still, they could've picked a slightly better name! Like, I dunno, Sticky Fingers or something that's not quite so associated with racist imagery? XP (Maybe I'm just overthinking it, IDK.)

[icon_uk]

No, I think you're right, even reading it as a much younger icon_uk I wasn't entirely sure it was appropriate.

[leikomgwtfbbq]

Yeah, calling your characters of color by fairly common racist terms is... very much not okay. X_X

I mean, it's kind of a cool, if useless, power, but COME ON! Call him Sticky Fingers or something!