Mystique in other media

Adaptations of Mystique in other media
Created by	Chris Claremont Dave Cockrum
Original source	Comics published by Marvel Comics
First appearance	Ms. Marvel #16 (May 1978)
Films and television
Film(s)	X-Men (2000) X2 (2003) X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) X-Men: First Class (2011)
Television show(s)	X-Men Animated Series (1992) X-Men: Evolution (2000) Wolverine and the X-Men (2008)
Games
Video game(s)	X-Men (1992) X-Men Legends (2004)

This is a list of all media appearances of the Marvel Comics character Mystique.

Television

X-Men

In the 1992 X-Men animated series, Mystique (voiced by Rachel Carpenter, and later by Jennifer Dale) is shown as the leader of the Brotherhood, a close ally of Apocalypse, and Rogue's foster mother (as well as Nightcrawler's biological mother).

In the first season, Mystique aids Apocalypse in transforming several mutants into his Horsemen and later attempts 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). In the second season, it is revealed that Mystique is Rogue's adoptive mother, who took her in after her real father threw her out. Mystique teaches Rogue to use her powers to harm people, until she goes too far and has Rogue permanently take Ms. Marvel's powers, leading Rogue to run away. It is revealed that Mystique only tried to brainwash Rogue to get her back. Mystique appears and attempts to convince Rogue to return to the Brotherhood, though she fails in the end. Mystique once again appears as an ally of Apocalypse in the "Beyond Good and Evil" storyline; however, when Magneto realizes how mad Apocalypse's intentions are, Mystique joins him in trying to stop Apocalypse. In her final appearance of the series, Mystique is kidnapped by Graydon Creed, her child by Sabretooth. She is forced to send a letter to her other son, Nightcrawler, to lure him to a trap in exchange for her life. When Rogue asks why she would endanger her own son, she tells them it was to save Rogue from Graydon Creed, since Rogue is her favorite of the three. 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.

X-Men: Evolution

In X-Men: Evolution, Mystique (voiced by Colleen Wheeler) is portrayed as a ruthless and feared character, a master of hand-to-hand combat, and an unscrupulous manipulator. Mystique wears her trademark white dress during season one but for the rest of the series wears a black combative outfit. Her shapeshifting ability in this series is far greater than it is in the comics, not only allowing her to assume any humanoid shape (including a humanoid alien at one point), but even animal forms of considerably less mass (house cats, ravens, etc.). After being exposed to the enhancing machine on Asteroid M, Mystique is briefly shown in her reptilian form, reflecting her appearance in the X-Men film, albeit in tattered clothes. With her enhanced powers, she gains the ability to mask her scent and is rendered immune to telepathy.

As in the comic books, Mystique holds dear the well-being of her two children, Rogue and Nightcrawler, though she is not averse to using them to serve her own ends. Whereas Nightcrawler genuinely cares for Mystique as his mother, Rogue, after repeatedly being used and betrayed by Mystique, deeply despises her, to the point where she tries to kill Mystique in a fit of rage.

During the first season, she is disguised as the principal of Bayville High, under the alias "Raven Darkhölme", and is second-in-command to an initially unseen Magneto. She recruits Avalanche, Toad, Blob, and Quicksilver into the Brotherhood, whilst Professor X was recruiting new X-Men. Rogue is briefly a member, as well, but is wary of Mystique and eventually leaves to join the X-Men. After the incident on Asteroid M in the first season finale, Mystique is not seen for several episodes. When she returns, she disguises herself as "Risty Wilde", a British girl around Rogue's age. She befriends Rogue to infiltrate Xavier's mansion, but is eventually discovered by Rogue when she accidentally touches her skin.

In the third season finale, Mystique is turned to stone as a result of opening the third door to Apocalypse's tomb. Nightcrawler makes every effort to help her, while Rogue is angered by her mere presence and demands that Kurt get rid of her. When Agatha Harkness tells Rogue that her powers can reverse Mystique's affliction, she comes close to helping, but remembers the torment Mystique put her through and changes her mind, instead pushing Mystique's stone body over a cliff and shattering it. In the series finale, Mystique is revived as a Horseman of Apocalypse, boosting her shapeshifting powers to the point where she can become virtually anything and transform into multiple objects (e.g. a puddle and a flock of bats), as well as regenerate any damage to her body. After Apocalypse is defeated, she is freed from his control. She tries to apologize to Kurt and Rogue for everything she had done, but is spurned by both of them.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Mystique first makes her debut in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "Greetings from Genosha", voiced by Tamara Bernier. As a resident of Genosha and one of Magneto's Acolytes, Magneto sends her to find out what the X-Men are up to, and to intercept Nightcrawler after he finds out about Magneto's underground cells in Genosha. She seems to have some past connection with Wolverine, which the latter cannot remember. In "Battle Lines," she disguises herself as Dr. Peterson and Colonel Moss when infiltrating an MRD base. She knocks out Kavita Rao only to learn that the box containing Tildie Soames is unbreakable. She contacts Scanner to report this to Magneto. Mystique later teams up with Wolverine to save Christie Nord from Weapon X. At the end of the episode, it is revealed that Mystique was Logan's lover, who had saved her from being injected with adamantium, and distracted Sabretooth in order to allow her to escape. She refuses to tell Wolverine about his full history, as he'll never again be the man she loved back then. She later impersonates Senator Robert Kelly (while the real one is held prisoner by Magneto) to make Sentinels attack Genosha on Magneto's orders.

The Super Hero Squad Show

Mystique appears in The Super Hero Squad Show episode "Deadly is the Black Widow's Bite" voiced by Lena Headey in a British accent.^[1] She poses as Black Widow in order to gain the Super Hero Squad's trust and claim the Infinity Fractals for Doctor Doom. When it came to the fight at the Vault, her identity is known and she turns into different heroes to confuse the Super Hero Squad. She is defeated in the end.

Film

Rebecca Romijn as Mystique.

In the film trilogy 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 but with combed-back dark red hair. She is also a nudist; while she can mimic the appearance of clothing using her powers, she chooses not to in her natural form. She can transform herself into humans, humanoids, and human-shaped objects. Most of the transformation sequences, particularly in the third film, are depicted beginning around her belly and moving out. Her transformation is shown as skin pigments overlapping a part of the body as a scaly domino-like effect takes over the body. Additionally, there is no indication that Mystique is Rogue's foster mother, nor Nightcrawler her son, as neither shows any recognition when they first meet. In the films, she has the ability to duplicate retinal patterns (as shown in the first film) and hand prints (as shown in the second). In the third film, she was shown to seemingly alter her mass by taking the form of a child. In addition to her mutant powers, Mystique is extremely nimble and flexible, able to slip out of restraints with ease and use her feet as dexterously as her hands.

In the first film, Mystique impersonates Henry Gyrich, 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. During the battle at the Statue of Liberty to stop Magneto from using the device on the UN Summit, she has an extended fight with Wolverine, proving to be too nimble for him to hit. Wolverine wins when she tries to impersonate Storm to distract him. As she cannot mask her scent, he sees through the ruse and stabs her (notably, she is depicted with yellow-green blood). 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 film, she is seen on television, impersonating Senator Robert Kelly in order to withdraw his support of the Mutant Registration Act.

In the second film, Mystique uses her impersonation of Kelly as a means to free Magneto from his plastic prison. She infiltrates William Stryker's office by impersonating Stryker's aide, Lady Deathstrike, gaining details about the prison as well as several of Stryker's plans (most important of which are the plans to "Dark Cerebro"). She frees Magneto by seducing a guard and injecting him with enough iron for Magneto to work with. 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, but the scar from their previous battle gives her away. She then shifts through several forms (Storm, Rogue, then Stryker), asking him what he really wants. Prior to this, she is approached by Nightcrawler, who asks her why she doesn't use her shapeshifting powers to blend in with normal people, to which Mystique replies, "Because we shouldn't have to." She later impersonates Wolverine in order to gain entry to the Alkali Lake base. The disguise doesn't fool Stryker, but gains her access to the control room. From there she aids in the rescue of several captured mutants and leads the group to Dark Cerebro. She then impersonates Stryker to aid in Magneto's plan to kill every human in the world, though it is ultimately foiled.

In the third film, Mystique is captured by the government. It is here that her name is revealed to be Raven Darkhölme. Magneto comes to save her, but during the attempt she is hit by a cure dart (manufactured using Leech's DNA) while protecting Magneto. As she lies on the ground naked in her normal human form, Magneto regretfully abandons her, stating "you're not one of us anymore." He adds wistfully, "It's such a shame. She was so beautiful." Bitter over his betrayal, Mystique goes to the government and gives the location of his base. However, when they raid the camp, they find it populated entirely with duplicates of Multiple Man. Though it is unknown if she already knew and did this to aid Magneto and distract the government; or if she really betrayed Magneto. It is unclear whether or not the cure wore off and Mystique's mutant powers returned, as it is suggested Magneto's did at the end of the film — as was revealed when he may have moved a metallic chess piece without touching it.

The young Mystique appeared in X-Men: First Class where she was portrayed by actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Morgan Lily while Rebecca Romijn made a cameo as the adult Mystique.^[2][3] It was revealed that she and Charles met in 1944 as children, while she was looking for food. Charles convinced his family to take Raven in, and they raised her as a foster sister. She followed Charles to Oxford, and was a member of the original X-Men team. She and McCoy expressed feelings for each other, and she gave him blood to aid his search for a serum that would normalize their appearance without removing their abilities. Her attitude changes after Erik Lensherr tells her she should be proud of her natural mutant form, which causes her to turn her affections toward him. She also labels him with the nickname Magneto. After studying her blood, McCoy tells her her aging process is slower than normal humans (explaining her youthful appearance in the first three films). She rejects McCoy's serum, which is based on her blood, but he uses it on himself, giving him his blue, furry appearance, after which he is named Beast. Mystique retains her affections for Xavier but joins with Magneto at the end of the film in his quest to form an isolated mutant society.

Video games

• In the X-Men arcade game, she appears, first disguised as Professor X between stages 5 and 6. She is the boss of stage 7, Asteroid M, where she takes the form of Magneto; she attacks players with punches and kicks curiously more quickly than the real Magneto.

• Mystique appears in the X-Men fighting game, X-Men: Mutant Academy, and its sequel, X-Men: Mutant Academy 2, as a playable character.

• Mystique is a playable character in X-Men: Next Dimension. In the game she does not utilize her shapeshifting abilities, relying instead on her martial arts skills and weaponry, such as the gun she carries.

• Mystique appeared in X-Men Legends voiced by Grey DeLisle. In the opening scene, she and Blob try to claim Alison Crestmere. On Asteroid M, she and Sabretooth aid Magneto in his fight with the X-Men. She is also the game's first boss.

• Grey DeLisle reprises her role of Mystique, who is a non-playable character in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse. She has special dialogue with Rogue (whom Mystique calls a traitor after she left the Brotherhood of Mutants) when in the jungles of the Savage Land, and later helps the team defeat Garokk to rescue Destiny.

• In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, it is revealed in the future part that if the player chooses to save 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 upon Professor X where he will die in a coma months later and the X-Men will disband forever.

• Mystique appears in 2009's movie tie-in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (both as Raven Darkhölme and later her notable blue form) voiced by Anna Graves. It is stated in the game that she is the mother of Wraith's baby, who would later turn out to be Nightcrawler. She masquerades as a CIA operative working with Major William Stryker's Team X.

• Mystique appears in the Nintendo DS version of the Marvel Super Hero Squad video game.

• Mystique appears as a villain character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.

References

1. ^ Comics Continuum
2. ^ Wells, Jeffrey (2010-10-24). "Lawrence on the Line". Hollywood elsewhere. http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2010/10/lawrence_on_the.php. Retrieved 2010-11-22. 
3. ^ Dorn, Alex (August 16, 2010). "Oliver Platt will be The Man In Black in 'X-Men: First Class'". HitFix.com. http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/oliver-platt-will-be-man-in-black-in-x-men-first-class. Retrieved August 17, 2010.