Professor X's Mind Blasts?

[Loganalpha75]

So I have started to read Claremont's early X-Men run over for the third time. In X-Men 98 Professor X uses a mind blast to take out a Sentinel. I have never seen this before or after this issue. Does he have telekinesis or is this something else?

[Blackcyclops]

Short answer: Xavier has telekinesis but rarely rarely uses it.

Long answer: wayyyyyyyyy back in the old days Lee was alot more loose with powers and Xavier exhibited telekinesis a few times. That was usually ignored for decades but occasionally somebody would remember it and use it. Of course sometimes people would say a telepath could communicate or read a highly advanced machines mind too.

[Loganalpha75]

Short answer: Xavier has telekinesis but rarely rarely uses it.

Long answer: wayyyyyyyyy back in the old days Lee was alot more loose with powers and Xavier exhibited telekinesis a few times. That was usually ignored for decades but occasionally somebody would remember it and use it. Of course sometimes people would say a telepath could communicate or read a highly advanced machines mind too.

I looked at it as "psionic" powers which I believe is a generic term for telepathy and telekinesis use.

[Blackcyclops]

Short answer: Xavier has telekinesis but rarely rarely uses it.

Long answer: wayyyyyyyyy back in the old days Lee was alot more loose with powers and Xavier exhibited telekinesis a few times. That was usually ignored for decades but occasionally somebody would remember it and use it. Of course sometimes people would say a telepath could communicate or read a highly advanced machines mind too.

I looked at it as "psionic" powers which I believe is a generic term for telepathy and telekinesis use.

I mean that’s a generous reading of Lee’s intent. More accurately writers weren’t as precise or particular about powers then…neither were fans.

That’s why as his powers were refined people got more precise and made Xavier JUST a telepath. It wasn’t until wayyyy later that two writers gave him telekinesis at two different moments.

[Loganalpha75]

Short answer: Xavier has telekinesis but rarely rarely uses it.

Long answer: wayyyyyyyyy back in the old days Lee was alot more loose with powers and Xavier exhibited telekinesis a few times. That was usually ignored for decades but occasionally somebody would remember it and use it. Of course sometimes people would say a telepath could communicate or read a highly advanced machines mind too.

I looked at it as "psionic" powers which I believe is a generic term for telepathy and telekinesis use.

I mean that’s a generous reading of Lee’s intent. More accurately writers weren’t as precise or particular about powers then…neither were fans.

That’s why as his powers were refined people got more precise and made Xavier JUST a telepath. It wasn’t until wayyyy later that two writers gave him telekinesis at two different moments.

When else did he use telekinesis after this?

[Lavettye]

I just looked at the scene in question, it seems to be some ill-defined raw mental energy that fries the Sentinels systems. Almost electric, rather than telekinetic.
Not that it does Xavier much good... as soon as the Professor is distracted, the Sentinel has the means to compensate and alter his shields so that Xavier can no longer penetrate them, and then the professor is captured. It's not as rididculous as some of the 60ies stuff, but still, the way how telepathy usually works, the scene makes little sense. I'd just book it under the creative team wanting to showcase that "Xavier wouldn't give in without a fight" and shrug off the rest.

[Blackcyclops]

He used it during Inferno under Hickman.

[Loganalpha75]

He used it during Inferno under Hickman.

Got it. I have a lot of catch up reading to do before I get to Hickman's Inferno.

[Jesse James II]

It is also similar to Betsy's psyblaster

[Monolith]

There's a lot of early stuff regarding powers that doesn't make sense, or got ignored later on as sci-fi pseudo-science became more rigid. The original Human Torch flew to Saturn under his own power once, for instance. Then there's instances like Magneto's telepathy and Namor's fish powers (radar sense, sprinkler spray, puffer fish effect) which happened, but efforts were made to ignore or explain them away.

Psionic powers are a big one that seem to blend into each other when necessary, though. As mentioned, you have Betsy being a precog, and later a telepath, a psychoblaster, a telekinetic. Jean is an early example of a telekinetic also becoming telepathic. Both Emma and Xavier have accidentally been shown as telekinetic often enough that writers have given up and said, "Yeah, I guess that's true now."