Mystique mutant powers allows her to change her appearance to whatever she wants. This is one of the factors that makes very difficult to find out how old she really is, although possibly, she is the same age that Destiny, her ancient friend, for in some issue, a photo showed them both as young women.

She was the chief and founder of the second Evil Mutants Brotherhood, using her powers in her own profit, and after adopting and raising Rogue, she had her joining the brotherhood. She's the real mother of Nightcrawler, but abandoned her child to save her own life, willingly sacrificing him in a waterfall. She had also a relationship with Victor Creed (Sabretooth), giving birth to a son : Graydon Creed, one of the worst anti-mutant activist.

Mystique had an important place into the government, but was discovered and had to left it. As Raven, she became sort of friend of Val Cooper, having access to some state secrets. Later, the Evil Mutants Brotherhood turned into the Freedom Force, an organization working for the government in exchange for getting rid of their criminal past, but during the battle against the Shadow King in Muir Isle, Destiny died, victim of Legion, and Mystique began to lose her sanity, spending sometime with the X-Men and leaving later with Forge, until she disappeared in an attack against the Eagle Nest (Forge's attic) and was supposed to be dead.

She reappeared in time to let her son know his family ties and died again at the same waterfall where she abandoned him, but of course, she had been seen again in X-Factor