Mystique

For other uses of Mystique, see Mystique (disambiguation)

Mystique
Real Name	Raven Darkholme
Alias(es)	Grace Senator Kelly Henry Gyrich Colonel Sanders General Nhuan William Stryker
Species	Mutant
Gender	Female
Age	89
Date of Birth	1934
Status	Unknown (Original Timeline) Alive (Revised Timeline)
Appearances
Movie	X-Men X2: X-Men United X-Men: The Last Stand X-Men: First Class X-Men: Days of Future Past X-Men: Apocalypse
Game	X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Comic	X-Men: The Movie Prequel: Magneto X-Men: The Movie Prequel: Wolverine
Actors/Actresses
Portrayed by	Rebecca Romijn Jennifer Lawrence Morgan Lily (young)

"Beast remember, Mutant and proud."

―Mystique

Mystique (Raven Darkholme) is a mutant with the ability to shapeshift into anyone and also copy their voice.

Biography

Early Life

Little is known of Raven's life prior to her break-in into the Xavier Mansion. However, from what she revealed in X-Men and X-Men: The Last Stand, her early life was rather tragic. As a little child, her mutation was so abnormal to others that she feared going to school. Additionally, her parents, also fearful of her mutation, had at one point tried to kill her. Eventually, after years of abuse, Raven ran away.

X-Men: First Class

One night in 1944, Raven was caught by a young Charles Xavier while going through the cupboards searching for food, and was shape-shifted as his mother when he found her. When he caught her, they both started a friendship and adopted her. In 1962, Raven, along with Xavier, displayed their abilities to a group of CIA agents in order to convince them that mutants really existed, among them The Man in Black and Moira MacTaggert. It was Raven who convinced the government that mutants did exist by demonstrating her shapeshifting abilities.

During a failed attempt to capture Sebastian Shaw, Raven and Xavier met Erik Lehnsherr. Soon, Xavier and Lehnsherr went to find more mutants, who were then sent to Division X. The mutants included were Sean Cassidy, Alex Summers, Armando Muñoz, and Hank McCoy; they formed the original team of X-Men.

Instrumental in stopping the Cuban Missile Crisis and foiling the Hellfire Club's bid for world domination, the team eventually split when Lehnsherr (now known as Magneto) asserted that humans would never accept mutants and opted to assert rule over them instead of waiting to be interred and executed. Raven, who had become something of a protégé to Magneto, opted to join him and helped form the Brotherhood of Mutants with his new team from the Hellfire Club; Azazel, Riptide, Angel Salvadore and Emma Frost.

• Original Timeline
• Revised Timeline

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In 1973, following Magneto's imprisonment at the hands of the Pentagon after the murder of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Mystique was left on her own to carry out his agenda. She traveled to Vietnam, freeing Havok, Toad and several other mutant GIs from the care of Major William Stryker, returning them to America safely. Mystique then travelled back to America, infiltrating Trask's office where she discovers to her grief, files confirming his experimentation and murder of mutants, including Angel Salvadore and Azazel.

She then travels to Paris and poses as a North Vietnamese general, aiming to intercept a meeting with Trask at the Paris Peace Conference and kill him. Mystique reveals her true identity, dispatching the guards and shoots Trask dead. Major William Stryker recovers and tasers Mystique, bringing her in for experimentation, wherein the nature of her powers are distilled and used to enable the Sentinels to adapt to counter mutant abilities. Trask becomes a martyr for the anti-mutant movement.

X-Men

Years later, Raven (now known as Mystique) impersonated Henry Guyrich, (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 also causes the senator 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 defeated her when she tried to impersonate Storm to distract him. As she cannot mask her scent, he saw through the ruse and stabbed her. 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 Kelly in order to withdraw his support of the Mutant Registration Act.

X2: X-Men United

Mystique uses her impersonation of Senator Kelly as a means to free Magneto from his plastic prison. She infiltrates Colonel William Stryker's office by impersonating Stryker's aid, 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 him escape from prison, she joins his brief alliance with the X-Men. While camped in an unknown forest area, she attempts to seduce Wolverine while disguised as 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 she 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 this is ultimately foiled.

X-Men: The Last Stand

Sometime following the events of the previous film, Mystique is captured by the government. Magneto comes to save her, but during the attempt a guard shoots a cure dart at him, prompting Mystique to save him by taking the cure (manufactured using Leech's DNA). 

As she lies on the ground naked in her normal human form, Magneto regretfully abandons her, stating "you're not one of us anymore." 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.

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 — revealed when he appeared to have moved a metallic chess piece without touching it, and is later confirmed to get all his powers back.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In 2023, Mystique's whereabouts are unknown, having lost her abilities due to the mutant cure dispensed by Worthington Laboratories. It is assumed that she is captured in the camp of concentration or is killed by the Sentinels.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In 1973, following Magneto's imprisonment at the hands of the Pentagon after the murder of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Mystique was left on her own to carry out his agenda. She traveled to Vietnam, freeing Havok, Toad and several other mutant GIs from the care of Major William Stryker, returning them to America safely. Mystique then traveled back to America, infiltrating Trask's office where she discovers to her grief, files confirming his experimentation and murder of mutants, including Angel Salvadore and Azazel.

She then travels to Paris and poses as a South Vietnamese general, aiming to intercept a meeting with Trask at the Paris Peace Conference and kill him. Mystique reveals her true identity, dispatching the guards, but before she can shoot Trask, Charles, Erik, Hank and Logan arrive to stop her. Mystique is then forced on the run by Erik, who is convinced her death will safeguard the future of mutant-kind. Erik shoots Mystique in the leg with a bullet, which is enough to enable the Sentinels to possess her ability.

Mystique goes to the hospital in Paris to receive surgery for her wound, and leaves even more determined to kill Trask. Mystique heads to Washington D.C., where Trask and Nixon plan to unveil the Sentinels as the answer to the threat posed by mutants. Xavier tracks Mystique's movements with Cerebro, and plans to intercept her. In the ensuing chaos wrought by Magneto's actions, Mystique manages to disguise herself as a Secret Service agent, entering the President's bunker under the White House.

Mystique takes Stryker's plastic gun off him as Magneto pulls the bunker out of the White House, and before Magneto can kill Nixon, she shoots him in the neck. Before Mystique can kill Trask, Xavier pleads with her to make the right decision, ultimately leaving it up to her. Mystique sees the error of her ways and throws the gun down, limping away from the scene, having shown the world that a mutant saved the President. Her actions change the future with the Sentinel program now being cancelled and Trask being arrested for selling American military secrets.

She is then seen rescuing Wolverine from the Potomac River, disguised as William Stryker.

X-Men: Apocalypse

To Be Added...

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In the revised 2023, Mystique's whereabouts are still unknown, but due to the possibility that the mutant 'cure' affair has also been erased, it can be presumed that she never lost her abilities. It is also implied that she may not have joined the Brotherhood and followed Charles' advice.

Personality

In the original films, Mystique was a cold, ruthless and evil woman who would kill without a second thought. This was a result of her being cruelly experimented on.

In her childhood, Raven was very solitary, often hiding her true appearance for fear of judgement. When she first met Charles, she was happy that she found a place to live. In First Class, Mystique is shown to never once wavered to the dark side.

Mystique hates it when people try to dictate how she should live her life, as shown when grew bitter at Charles for insisting that she hide her appearance. For this reason, she felt very alone inside. When she met Hank, she at first thought that she had finally found someone who understood her, but when Hank had developed a serum to counter their abilities, she started seeing him as no different than anyone else. When Erik encouraged her to be proud of her abilities and not be afraid of judgement, she had finally found what she was looking for: acceptance. This drove her closer to Erik and further from Charles.

Mystique also appears to value her friendships dearly and appears to be devoted to helping other mutants. Before leaving with Magneto, she kissed Charles on the forehead, showing that she still cares for him. Though she felt guilty for abandoning her brother, she believed that this was the only way to help her fellow mutants.

In 1973, Mystique seems to have adopted an aggressive and violent streak in her personality as a result of her training under Magneto. Though she still had compassion and altruism, demonstrated when she saved Havok and other mutants from Stryker and later when she sheds a few tears after learning that many of her other friends were experimented on and killed. With this knowledge, she planned on killing Trask to avenge her friends.

Mystique also hates being betrayed, as shown when in X-Men Last Stand, she was angry that Magneto abandoned her after she was turned into a human. And in X-Men Days of Future Past, she developed a new hatred towards Magneto after he attempted to kill her, shown when she threatened him with a knife.

After her injuries, she started to feel torn between her love for her brother, and her hatred for Trask. When Charles insisted that she has to come home, she sees that he hasn't changed at all and as a result, ignores him completely. This, along with Magneto's betrayal, made Raven feel isolated again as she now felt that no one understood her anymore.

She finally reached a breaking point at the White House when she had a gun pointed at Trask. When Charles makes one last plea with her, she reasons that Erik's actions have already turned humanity against mutants. But when Charles states that she has a chance to show another way, she becomes hesitant. Charles then admits that him trying to control her is what brought them to this point and leaves the decision in her hands with complete faith in her. Mystique now knows that Charles finally understands what caused them to become estranged. With this knowledge, she ponders deeply on her next move, knowing that she must decide carefully. After a long silence, she finally realizes her mistake, and spares Trask. This not only saves all mutants, but it changes her for the better. Though still on her own, she no longer seems to possess malevolent intentions and seems to have forged a new path for herself.

Powers, Abilities, & Weaknesses

Powers

• Metamorph - Mystique can alter the formation of her biological cells at will. As a result she can cause herself to look and sound like an exact duplicate of any human of either sex, wearing virtually any kind of clothing. Her control is so exact that she can precisely duplicate another persons retina pattern in her own eyes, finger, palm and skin-pore patterns on her own hands and skin, and vocal cords to match voices to the point of corresponding voice-prints. She can also make herself look exactly like a person who is physically bigger than herself, though she will not weigh as much as the real person does.
  • Low-Level Advanced Regeneration - Mystique is able to heal herself but in slow pace. When Wolverine stabbed her with his claws in X-Men (film), she went unconscious but the open wounds were seen healing themselves. Depending on the severity of the wound, it may take longer to heal and even leave behind a scar. For example, in X2: X-Men United Wolverine was able to identify Mystique based on the scars that he caused on her. Another example is in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique had to seek medical care for serious wound caused by Magneto after he shot her and made the bullet travel along her leg.
    • Decelerated Aging Process - Her metamorphic powers & low-level healing factor have retarded the degenerative effects of her aging process.
  • Superhuman Agility - As a part of her mutation, Mystique possesses the extreme flexibility and agility. She was able to move her handcuffed arms from behind her back to her front, unlock clamps on her hands or strangle someone by using only her foot.

Abilities

• Multilingual - In X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique is shown to be fluent in both Vietnamese and French.
• Acrobatic Skill-Mystique has supernatural bodily awareness and control. This allows her to perform all kinds of leaps and spinning jumps/kicks with incredible precision. She can also slide over the floor at high speed and was even able to climb a pipe while being upside down with just her arms.
• Expert Infiltration- -Using her gift and planning Mystique can infiltrate anywhere. She has infiltrated the X-Men, The White House, military camps and much more.
• Expert Hand to Hand Combatant - Mystique is a highly skilled fighter. using her agility she is able to take out multiple guards. Her speed and body control allow her to move with acrobatic precision to avoid getting shot while quickly taking out multiple armed soldiers. While fighting Logan she used her agility to dodge all of his moves and knocked him down multiple times. Even at close range she was able to easily dodge his strikes and landing multiple strikes to his head, groin and stomach. The only reason she was not able to finish him was because of his healing ability and adamantium skeleton. Mystique is the most skilled fighter in the film series.

Weaknesses

• Appearance Limitation - Although she can maintain the form of a person in terms of height, weight, and build indefinitely, the longer that she maintains the form, the greater the strain she feels. If she stays in a particular form for a long time, her eyes briefly turn yellow, potentially revealing her identity. She also cannot copy other mutants' powers. For example, when she fought Wolverine in X-Men, she assumed his form and fought him claw to claw, only to have her claws hacked off (as they were made of flesh).
• Inability to Mimic Personalities and Memories: Mystique can not copy memories of the person she turns into. She can only partially imitate someone's personality and attitude, allowing perceptive enemies to see through her disguise.
• Inability to Change Body Scent: Although she can change her appearance, she can not change her body scent. During her fight against Wolverine in X-Men, Mystique attempted to fool him by sneaking up on him while disguised as his team mate Storm. However, Wolverine sniffed the air and recognized Mystique's scent. He then promptly stabbed and critically wounded her, catching her completely off guard.

Relationships

Friends and Family Nightcrawler - Son Beast - Teammate and Love Interest Sabretooth - Teammate Toad - Teammate Pyro - Teammate (Original Timeline) Havok - Teammate Professor X - Foster Brother Wolverine - Enemy turned Savior

Enemies William Stryker - Enemy Bolivar Trask - Enemy, First Victim (Original Timeline) Magneto - Former Teammate, Former Mentor, and Former Lover Sebastian Shaw - Enemy

Trivia

• Rebecca Romijn was actually naked when playing Mystique, with only layers of blue paint and a few very small costume pieces covering her up. When Jennifer Lawrence plays Mystique in X-Men: First Class, she developed a serious allergy caused by the body paint, and a specialist doctor had be to be called in, to the set, to tend to her after her skin broke out in rashes and boils. Fortunately for Lawrence, Mystique was wearing clothes often in First Class. Later in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique returned to her nudist appearance, like that in the first three films, but this time, Jennifer Lawrence was given a blue suit up to her shoulders to reduce the 7 hours makeup procedure.
• The movies don't suggest that she is Nightcrawler's mother, even though they had a brief conversation in X2: X-Men United.
• In the original ending for X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique was going to side with Charles after giving up her intentions to kill Trask as she returns back to Charles' mansion, where her gunshot wound is tended to by Hank, in addition to that she would appear in the altered future (with Rebecca Romijn considered to reprise her role) teaching a biology class with Hank and then in the past, it explains why Mystique knew of and rescued Logan (under the guise of Styrker). However, this was changed to Mystique escaping after giving up her intentions and then making her own agenda by shape-shifting into Stryker by retrieving a drowned Logan from the Potomac River after the producers felt that the ending was too unpredictable, thus her appearance in the altered future was not shot, but the ending was trimmed for pacing reasons.

External links

• Mystique on the Marvel Wiki
• Mystique on Wikipedia