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Vinny Valenti
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Posted: 13 November 2025 at 1:09pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply
A comment on a mock Superman versus the X-men using a composite of JB drawings got me thinking - it's established that Superman has no special protection against magic.....but what about telepathy (or at least Marvel's version of it)? Does Superman's alien brain afford him extra protection from Charles Xavier's powers?
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John Byrne
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Posted: 13 November 2025 at 1:49pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply
No.
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Scott Gray
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Posted: 13 November 2025 at 3:01pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply
Telepathy trumps every other superpower, so pretty much every X-Men story ended up being about telepathy in some way. It's one reason why my favourite X-Men run is still Uncanny #115-124, when Jean Grey and Xavier were taken out of the series and we just had the X-Men having adventures in different parts of the world.
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Peter Martin
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Posted: 13 November 2025 at 7:09pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply
 Scott Gray wrote:
Telepathy trumps every other superpower

There's a reason Juggernaut and Magneto have special helmets!


Edited by Peter Martin on 13 November 2025 at 7:09pm
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Peter Hicks
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Posted: 13 November 2025 at 11:24pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply
When I used to play Heroclix, one of the special abilities for characters like Xavier was Telepathy, which allowed a player to take control of one opposing character for a turn.  A fan of this ability once said “Your greatest strength is your opponent’s!”
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John Byrne
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Posted: 14 November 2025 at 12:06pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply
“Your greatest strength is your opponent’s!”

A line worthy of Stan Lee!

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Scott Gray
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Posted: 14 November 2025 at 1:00pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply
Peter Martin wrote: There's a reason Juggernaut and Magneto have special helmets!

+++++++

That first Juggernaut story is a perfect example: The combined powers of the X-Men and Human Torch can't stop the Juggernaut for two issues, but as soon as his helmet comes off, he's flat on his back in a couple of panels.
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Vinny Valenti
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Posted: 14 November 2025 at 4:05pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply
Comic book stories with telepaths run the risk of stretching disbelief if there's someone that can take out an entire squad without lifting a finger. Xavier took out the Vanisher at the end of #2 after giving the X-Men grief for an entire issue. Stan Lee wisely put him in a wheelchair to keep him out of the action to prevent that from happening, and made that pretty clear from the beginning.
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