Which mutant is the strongest telepath?

[ExodusCloak]

That is somewhat true and not true. She was already the most well-trained individual on Titan, surpassing even her teachers. It was how she conquered the Dragon of the Moon to begin with. That being said, it did give her somewhat of a permanent boost afterwards, so that is why I say you are not entirely wrong. Her next permanent boost will be from after her merging with her alternate self.

I don’t believe she kept the Beyonder power-up, since she died and it was attached to a ring she wore. She died by incineration and got a new body, so based on that, she would lose the power-up from Beyonder.

The Mind Gem was barely even an amp. Moondragon absolutely sucked when using the Mind Gem. She at best gained some minor tk and wide-scale telepathic scanning. There are some notable ones, but those are easily overshadowed by the many times Moondragon had slipped up with the Mind Gem, like when she came up against psi-shielding from multiple characters or when she straight up lost a battle against a lesser telepath while still having the Mind Gem. The power-up went away with the Mind Gem, seemingly, since she never replicates anything on the same level of any of her good Mind Gem feats.

So, yeah, Professor X level is way overrating her power levels, at least in my eyes.

She was free of the influence of the dragon of the moon and with no mind gem in the 1st Annihilation event. I don't think she was too impressive in that.

I think Oracle faced off with one of them in War of Kings I just can't remember if it was Moondragon or Cosmo & Mantis

Moondragon is intended to be powerful though I have no doubt if a writer was to write her in an Xmen book shed be on par with Xavier just because people tend to forget minute details and power boosts.

Much like Psylocke vs Shadow King in Remenders X-Force which is like the complete opposite of Psi War despite being homage to it

[PyroFN]

Different writers have different rules I guess. Brian Wood shows Madelyne beating Rachel. I can't imagine much thought went into the scene.

While Claremont is all about skill trumping power.

Whatever rules they build up they break, like Marvel magic or time travel or godhood and faith

Anyway I imagine a telepath with an annoying personality or with a great sense of humour could break even a high class telepaths comcentration. Imagine a hearing a loud shart mid telepathic battle

Or even someone sending unflattering mental images like Gambits psychic defense that involves a naked blob

From what I can tell, Maddie caught Rachel off-guard. It’s her best feat to-date, but it is not consistent with her portrayals….yet anyways. If they decide to do something with Maddie when they resurrect her, I may change my tune about her being mid-tier-ish.

Though there are some exceptions, most writers see that unless the telepath is skilled enough to defend themself and overpower the other, skill overrides power situations. The only exceptions would be either bad writing or if the character is meant to be an Uber god-tier. Even then, we see skill being the thing that turns the tide in most cases,

[ARkadelphia]

Most powerful telepath is Martha - FITE ME

Pound for pound I gotta agree

[PyroFN]

She was free of the influence of the dragon of the moon and with no mind gem in the 1st Annihilation event. I don't think she was too impressive in that.

I think Oracle faced off with one of them in War of Kings I just can't remember if it was Moondragon or Cosmo & Mantis

Moondragon is intended to be powerful though I have no doubt if a writer was to write her in an Xmen book shed be on par with Xavier just because people tend to forget minute details and power boosts.

Much like Psylocke vs Shadow King in Remenders X-Force which is like the complete opposite of Psi War despite being homage to it

Kinda. She was no longer having problems with it overtaking her. They more or less, retconned it into being around to corrupt her, but not enough to completely overtake her, sort of like a darker half, instead of an outside force.



The Mind Gem has been gone long before the first Annihilation Event. At the end of the Adam Warlock and the Infinity Watch series, in fact, which takes place before even the 2000’s era.

Oracle faced Cosmo and won, though to be fair to the puppo, he was dealing with an entire Imperial Guard (minus Gladiator) pressing against his Tk shield. Very underrated character. Oracle does block Mantis and a tired-Cosmo afterwards, with Moondragon busy being mind-controlled elsewhere.



On the plus side for Betsy, her Shadow King fights helps her consistently have feats against a high tier….even if they are the exact same one who fought her before.

[Starchilde]

Yeah Emma over Mini Skirt any day.

well, OP asked for strongest telepath not strongest fashion choices, Mini Skirt wins

[Mercury]

No if you read the interview Dauterman was given very little guidelines to draw the issue.

Dauterman notes, "Jonathan sent an outline that broke the issue down into sections – some of which were very detailed and others which were more open-ended." An outline usually includes how many pages are dedicated to each sequence or plot point. I imagine this would be the case even more so with a script outline that has no dialogue. In either case, I don't believe Dauterman was given the liberty to choose how many pages to dedicate to each character or plot beat.

When Jean uses her powers in the issue she has this signature just like Emma has blue around her head. The pink and blue hue is from the sky there.

In the issue, Jean's power extends beyond her head on a few occasions. Also, this doesn't look like the sky to me and is even colored the same fluorescent pink as Jean's signature:



In either case, I don't see anything on the pages we've both shared indicating that Emma saved Jean. In fact, after reviewing the pages again, I am not even sure if the psychic lighting was directed at them as much as at the tree, which was left bare afterward. The wide shot of the tree being hit by the lightning does not show Emma's signature, which is where it would be most prominent if she were in fact deflecting it from both herself and Jean.

[ARkadelphia]

Hmm I'mma say Emma has the edge on Jean I like her more than rain gloves. *shrugs*

The logic is sound

[ARkadelphia]

The problem I have with Moondragon's power is that she achieved her psi level from outside enhancements (4 to my knowledge) and not practices.

IIRC, she got her first enhancement from the Dragon of the Moon, then she got another power up from the Beyonder, then got another power up from the Mind Gem (which also increased her TK abilities) and now she gained the mental powers of her alternate self.

What's funny, even with all those power up she is still considered around Professor X's level by many.

Not sure why that matters. One can say “the problem I have with Jean’s power is that she’s a mutant.” What difference does it make how they got their respective powers?

[Mercury]

Since, at this point, we're debating personalities and costumes... Well, forgive my bias, but I will take the First Lady of the X-Men over someone who not only helped Mastermind psychically and, most likely, physically rape Jean's clone but also tried kidnapping a teenage Shadowcat; took over Storm's body and used it to be "intimate" with Shaw; projected lurid images into a teenage Jean's mind to anger her; mind-controlled and tried seducing a barely pubescent Cyclops; and killed a horse all because, you know, coolness.

I suppose I am supposed to forget all of that because of CoStUmEz, but no dice.

[Subliminally]

Since, at this point, we're debating personalities and costumes... Well, forgive my bias, but I will take the First Lady of the X-Men over someone who not only helped Mastermind psychically and, most likely, physically rape Jean's clone but also tried kidnapping a teenage Shadowcat; took over Storm's body and used it to be "intimate" with Shaw; projected lurid images into a teenage Jean's mind to anger her; mind-controlled and tried seducing a barely pubescent Cyclops; and killed a horse all because, you know, coolness.

I suppose I am supposed to forget all of that because of CoStUmEz, but no dice.

[Journey]

well, OP asked for strongest telepath not strongest fashion choices, Mini Skirt wins

[Journey]

Going from a 70’s miniskirt to a glorified diaper is hardly something to brag about

IDK what you talking bout fam.

[Mercury]

[LordAllMIghty]

Not sure why that matters. One can say “the problem I have with Jean’s power is that she’s a mutant.” What difference does it make how they got their respective powers?

Uh No. Jean being a mutant has nothing to do with her power upgrades. Jean's abilities are through her own skill and power, while Moondragon has received several power up from outside sources.

Unless you don't consider the Phoenix Force a cosmic force but instead Jean flexing her mental muscles (I know some Jean fans do...but that another conversation. )

[PyroFN]

As a Jean fan and an Emma fan, I am in agreement that Emma did in fact save Jean. The panel specifically centers on Emma’s face before the lightning strike, Jean’s energy signature is NOT present in the next image (Jean’s is a light pink. Not a dark pink, which the the background is), and the sky gradually does get pinker as you ascend higher.

To put the mail in the coffin, in an issue where the art is the centerpiece, if the artist wanted to convey that Jean was also helping Emma protect the two of them, they would have shown Jean noticing the lightning. Not just Emma.

On that note, enough with this back and forth. Jean is not perfect. She will miss things and be caught off-guard. Please, can both sides stop making excuses or pointing out that Jean could have gotten hurt. Jean making mistakes is not changing her placement or making Emma look any better.

The clear point of Dauterman’s choices were to highlight both woman’s strength. Jean is big bombastic displays to signify her being the Omega, whereas Emma is refined crown energy signature, displaying her precision. Neither are terrible in any area. They are the two of the most powerful telepath’s on the planet. That one panel changes nothing.