The Avengers and the X-Men are Marvel Comics‘ greatest teams, each of them facing off against the biggest threats and saving the universe many times. Over the years, the two teams have worked together against threats too big for one of them to handle but there’s also been a healthy rivalry between the two groups for almost as long as they have existed. The Avengers are usually allied with the government, which can be a problem for the X-Men whenever the powers that be decide that being a mutant is illegal. Avengers vs. X-Men is their most well-known clash, but the two groups have other battles against each other, ones where one member faced another.
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The clashes have come for a variety of reasons – and I’m going to admit right now to contriving one of these to make fit, even though neither person was on the Avengers at that point – and we’ve gotten some awesome fights out of them. These battles have seen hero test themself against hero, with these landing atop the heap of fights. These seven Avenger vs X-Man fights are the coolest in Marvel history, showing off lesser-known but no less climactic clashes.
7) Captain America vs. Cyclops
So, this one if getting in on a technicality, since even though it’s from Avengers vs. X-Men #2, it is the two of them battling against each other solo. This came after the rather tense exchange between the two about Cyclops’s plan for the oncoming Phoenix Force and the two of them were not happy with each other at all. The thing about this fight that worked so well was that it was the two of them doing whatever they could to get some kind of advantage over the other. Scott kept up the optic blasts, preventing Cap from using his shield as a weapon, showing that he understood how to use his powers to fight against the Sentinel of Liberty. It acted as the showcase for the entire second issue and it was a fight that a lot of fans wanted to see. It’s one of those fights that reminds you just how great in a fight the X-Men’s leader is. While neither of them got a win out of this one, it was one of the coolest fights in the entire book.
6) Beast vs. Wolverine
Beast has had quite a character arc lately, having become a genocidal villain willing to do anything to make sure that mutantkind won the evolutionary war. It began in earnest in X-Force (Vol. 6) and eventually led to Wolverine (Vol. 7) #31-35, with the story “Weapons of X” ending in a clash between the two former friends. Technically, neither of them were Avengers at the time, but both of them were still card-carrying members of the team. Their battle got extremely raw – Beast had killed Logan to have him resurrected as a mindless killing machine and Wolvie was not happy – and this battle is easily one of the coolest between the two of them (also check out their fight in Astonishing X-Men (Vol. 3) #3; this list is already heavily Wolverine, so I didn’t want to pack on yet another one). While Beast was able to escape death at the hands of the ol’Canucklehead, their war against each other was the best fight they had.
5) Wolverine vs. Cyclops
Wolverine and Cyclops have one of the longest held rivalries in the X-Men comics. They’ve been clashing in one way or another since the mid ’70s and all of that would come to a head in X-Men: Schism, with the end of issue #4 and the beginning of #5 having the two go all out on trying to kill each other as a massive Sentinels begins its attack on the mutants of Utopia. This is easily the best battle between the two of them, with two of the best X-Men artists ever – Alan Davis on #4 and Adam Kubert on #5 – giving readers a brawl they will never forget. It’s easy to forget that beyond the optic blasts, Scott is a really good fighter, able to go toe to toe with someone as well-trained as Logan. This battle led to the schism that broke the X-Men in two and sowed seeds that would grow into Avengers vs. X-Men.
4) Sabretooth vs. Psylocke
I think the most surprising thing about this fight isn’t that the two people in this battle make it count as an X-Man versus Avenger tussle, but which one is on what team. Uncanny X-Men #328 saw Sabretooth decide to finally drop all pretenses and try to escape from the X-Mansion, luring in Boom Boom so he could kill her and break free, after tricking her into turning off the Danger Room safeties and force field systems. Before Creed could strike, Psylocke jumped in to give the young mutant time to escape and call for help. Psylocke did her best against the much stronger ‘Tooth, who was finally able to overpower and gut her. He left her to die in Boom Boom’s arms. Years later, in AXIS, Sabretooth had his morality inverted and he ended up as a member of the Avengers Unity Squad. As for Psylocke, Kwannon joined the Avengers Unity Squad in this body, but Elizabeth Braddock was riding it around at this point.
3) Spider-Man vs Colossus and Magik
Spider-Man is Marvel’s most relatable hero, but I don’t think anyone would volunteer for what he did in Avengers vs. X-Men #9. In this issue, Spidey decided to hold the line for the Avengers as they tried to escape Magik’s Limbo prison with captured members of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He ended up battling against both Colossus and Magik, with mostly Piotr beating him into a bloody heap. However, he never stayed down, keeping the fight up while mocking the two X-Men and turning them against each other. They ended up fighting and both lost the power of the Phoenix, allowing Peter to escape. So, while the Wall-Crawler did fight both of the Rasputins, this one counts as a solo fight for the purposes of this list. Technically, the only one he actually fought was Colossus. This is one of those fights that proves just the kind of hero that Spider-Man is; he went up against two enemies much stronger than him, all to allow him compatriots to survive the day, took a beating, and still won the fight.
2) Rogue vs. Thor
Rogue is one of the greatest X-Men, her mutant powers making her one of the most formidable members of the team. It took her ages to learn to control her powers, but even before she gained total control, she was still a potent combatant. She was raised by Mystique and Destiny, who trained her to work with them in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and had her first test in Avengers Annual #10, where she ended up taking on all of the Avengers. She has excellent one on one fights against the various members of the team in the issue, but the best is her battle against Thor. Donald Blake get his cane, becomes Thor, catches Rogue… then she grabs his face and hand, draining his power before putting him down with one punch. This was the ultimate statement moment for a Rogue as a character; she was able to take out the most powerful Avenger with just one shot. It showed that she was no joke.
1) Wolverine vs. Captain America
Wolverine fights lots of other Marvel heroes and is usually the X-Man most likely to fight an Avenger (which is why he’s on this list so many times; the other reason is because of his popularity, he usually gets the best fights against numerous characters because they’re in solo books, giving them more page real estate and focus). His best fight against an Avenger came years before he joined Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Captain America Annual #8, which saw the two have a fight before a contentious team-up or as I like to call it “the Marvel Method of Superheroes Meeting” (DC does it too, but when I think of how nearly every crossover between superheroes starts with a fight the first time they meet, I always think of it happening in Marvel books). Cap was the winner of this fight – it was before the two had been established as friends in WWII, so they didn’t have the good natured relationship they have now – and he even told Logan that he would never allow him to join the Avengers. It’s a great fight and an interesting moment in Marvel history.
What’s your favorite X-Man vs. Avenger fight? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
