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Raven Darkhölme
Raven Darkhölme

Raven Darkhölme

481 appearances · Bronze Age · 1978–2026 · 14 key issues
Who is Raven Darkhölme?

Raven Darkhölme, better known as Mystique, is a mutant born with the power of total cellular metamorphosis — allowing her to flawlessly replicate the appearance and voice of virtually any humanoid. Centuries of shapeshifting and espionage honed her into one of Marvel's most dangerous and elusive operatives.

Few Marvel characters have proven as enduringly fascinating as Raven Darkhölme, who slipped onto the scene in the Bronze Age pages of Ms. Marvel #16 in 1978 — a Chris Claremont and Jim Mooney creation who has never stopped commanding attention. Nearly five decades and 441 catalog appearances later, she remains a fixture of the X-Men corner of the Marvel Universe, racking up 14 collector-significant key issues and headlining some of the most celebrated runs in Uncanny X-Men history alongside luminaries like Wolverine, Storm, and Cyclops. Her longevity is genuinely remarkable — from Bronze Age intrigue through to Immortal X-Men in the current era, she has outlasted trends, reboots, and generations of readers. If you're serious about Marvel's mutant mythology, Raven Darkhölme is essential reading.

Identity

Real name. Raven Darkhölme

Powers. Shapeshifting (cellular metamorphosis) to impersonate any humanoid's appearance and voice; greatly slowed aging; skilled martial artist, marksman, and spy.

Teams & affiliations
X-MenFreedom ForceBrotherhood of Evil MutantsX-Factor
★ First appearance
Ms. Marvel #16
Apr 1978

Trivia

  • Marvel history was quietly made when Mystique became one of the earliest major characters in the publisher's canon to be openly portrayed as queer, with later continuity cementing a long-term relationship and eventual marriage to Destiny.marvel.fandom.com
  • Few Marvel characters have so thoroughly eclipsed their own birth name the way Mystique has — Raven Darkhölme functions more as an alias in the minds of casual readers than as the name they actually remember.marvel.fandom.com
  • Chris Claremont has written more of Raven Darkhölme's comics than any other writer in our catalog — 46 issues.

Top series

Covers through the years — 1978–2023

Ms. Marvel #16 1978
Ms. Marvel #16
The Uncanny X-Men #183 1984
The Uncanny X-Men #183
The Uncanny X-Men #199 1985
The Uncanny X-Men #199
The Uncanny X-Men #255 1989
The Uncanny X-Men #255
Marvel Super-Heroes #11 1992
Marvel Super-Heroes #11
Magneto #1 1996
Magneto #1
X-Men #94 1999
X-Men #94
The Uncanny X-Men #404 2002
The Uncanny X-Men #404
X-Men #179 2006
X-Men #179
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man Fallout #[nn] 2011
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man Fallout #[nn]
Astonishing X-Men #63 2013
Astonishing X-Men #63
Wolverines #7 2016
Wolverines #7
X-Force #4 2020
X-Force #4
Immortal X-Men #8 2023
Immortal X-Men #8

Appearances (151–300 of 481, oldest first)

Giant Size Mini-Marvels: Starring Spidey (2002)
#1
The Uncanny X-Men (1981)
Mystique (2003)
Toyfare: The Toy Magazine (1997)
#71
Arma X (2003)
#6
Marvel Holiday Special 2004 (2004)
#1
Mad Movies Hors-série Spécial comics - L'odyssée des Super-héros (2005)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: The Women of Marvel 2005 (2005)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: X-Men 2005 (2005)
X-Men Unlimited (2004)
#6
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Teams 2005 (2005)
Essential X-Men (1996)
#6
Rogue: Forget-Me-Not (2005)
Marvel Méga (1997)
#24
New X-Men (2004)
New X-Men: Childhood's End (2006)
#1
Essential X-Factor (2005)
#2
Astonishing X-Men (2004)
X-Men Annual (2007)
#1
Cable & Deadpool (2006)
Hulk Visionaries: Peter David (2005)
#5
X-Men: Messiah Complex (2008)
Wolverine (2003)
X-Men: Odd Men Out (2008)
X-Men: Manifest Destiny (2008)
X-Men Noir (2009)
Essential Dazzler (2007)
#2
Ultimatum (2009)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z (2008)
#8
X-Men: Legacy (2008)
X-Men: Legacy - Salvage (2009)
Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem (2009)
#1
Avengers / X-Men: Utopia (2009)
#1
Ultimatum: Requiem (2010)
Dark X-Men (2010)
Ms. Marvel (2006)
X-Men Forever (2009)
X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler (2010)
#1
Women of Marvel: Celebrating Seven Decades Handbook (2010)
Origins of Marvel Comics: X-Men (2010)
#1
Daken: Dark Wolverine (2010)
#1
Super Hero Squad (2010)
#9
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man: Death of Spider-Man Fallout (2011)
X-Men Forever 2 (2010)
#15
Wolverine: Wolverine Goes to Hell (2011)
Mystique by Brian K. Vaughan Ultimate Collection (2011)
Mystique by Sean McKeever Ultimate Collection (2011)
Ultimate Fallout (2011)
#5
X-Men: Fatal Attractions (2012)
Marvel Série I (2012)
#8
Uncanny X-Force (2010)
Marvel Série II (2012)
#1
X-Force Omnibus (2013)
#1
Fearless Defenders (2013)
Wolverine & the X-Men (2011)
Wolverine & the X-Men by Jason Aaron (2012)
Wolverine by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection (2013)
#1
Avengers: The Enemy Within (2013)
X-Men: The Road to Onslaught (2014)
#1
X-Force (2014)
#2
All-New X-Men (2013)
#3
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Amazing X-Men (2014)
#1
Deadpool (2013)
#27
X-Men Extra (1997)
Marvel 75th Anniversary Celebration (2014)
#1
Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy (2015)
Wolverines (2015)
Axis: Revolutions (2015)
X-Men '92 (2015)
#4
X-Men: Age of Apocalypse - Dawn (2016)
Uncanny X-Men (2016)
#6
Wolverine: Old Man Logan (2015)
#2
Uncanny X-Men: Superior (2016)
#2
Wolverine: Weapon X Unbound (2017)
Captain Marvel: Ms. Marvel - A Hero Is Born Omnibus (2018)
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl (2015)
#27