Calvin Rankin

Calvin Montgomery Rankin discovered he could mimic the powers and abilities of any mutant near him, a gift born from his father's experimental research. Calling himself the Mimic, he sought out the X-Men — becoming the first non-founding member to join the team.

Calvin Rankin has been a fascinating wild card in Marvel's mutant mythology ever since Stan Lee and Jay Gavin introduced him in The X-Men #19 back in 1966 — a Silver Age debut that planted him squarely in the earliest, most formative days of the X-Men's history. Over a remarkable 57-year publishing span, he's crossed paths with icons like Wolverine, Cyclops, and Hank McCoy, and his allegiances have swung dramatically enough to land him affiliations with both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants — a range that makes him one of Marvel's more genuinely unpredictable mutant figures. With 65 catalog appearances spread across The X-Men, Exiles, and Marvel Comics Presents, plus six collector-recognized key issues to his name, Rankin rewards the fan who digs deeper into the sprawling, morally complicated corners of mutant comics. If you love characters whose loyalties and legacy stretch across decades of Marvel history, Calvin Rankin is absolutely worth tracking down.