7 Times Heroes Fought Each Other (And One Was Actually Right)

Most of the time, comic books tell the stories of heroes saving the world from villains, but there are also stories where the heroes fight each other for one reason or another. This has been most evident in instances such as Marvel’s Civil War storyline, headlined by Captain America and Iron Man. However, that was a case where neither side was entirely in the right, depending on the reader’s personal beliefs. Even for readers who hated Iron Man in that series, in the end, the United States government considered him the hero, and Captain America ended up being arrested. That said, there are other cases where one of the heroes was clearly in the right.

From X-Men battling each other to Avengers fighting each other instead of villains, here are the times that two heroes fought each other, and one of them was clearly in the right.

7) Wolverine vs. Cyclops (Schism)

One of the darkest X-Men storylines in Marvel Comics history unfolded when the mutants on the team splintered and broke off into two separate factions with differing belief systems. The storyline was Schism, and it destroyed the X-Men. This came to a head when Cyclops gave a young teen mutant an order to kill the Hellfire Club soldiers while saving the humans and mutants in danger.

Wolverine had told her to run, and when Cyclops and Wolverine faced off, they fought with Wolverine correctly pointing out that Cyclops was turning these teenage mutants into soldiers instead of heroes. The two finally had to stop fighting during a Sentinel attack. In the end, Wolverine left the X-Men’s home in Utopia, and the X-Men fractured.

6) Superman vs. Batman (Injustice: Gods Among Us)

While set in a different universe, Injustice began when Joker tricked Superman into murdering his pregnant wife, Lois Lane. This caused Superman to snap and murder Joker in front of Batman before becoming a dictator and taking control of the world. Batman refused to follow his friend, and the two ended up in battle.

This was a case where Superman was clearly in the wrong, as he began to murder people who disagreed with him, and Batman had to find a way to stop the almost unbeatable alien superhero. The primary fight here was Batman vs. Superman. However, there were other pieces on the board, including Wonder Woman going full evil and Damian Wayne taking a dark turn after he accidentally killed Nightwing.

5) Moon Knight vs. The Avengers (Age of Khonshu)

Age of Khonshu was a storyline in the pages of The Avengers in 2020. The entire series started when Khonshu learned that Mephisto was planning an overwhelming scheme to take over the world, and he decided to take drastic action to stop him. This involved him sending Moon Knight out to fight the Avengers to steal their powers, making him powerful enough to stop Mephisto.

Moon Knight believed he was in the right in fighting his friends since he had to stop Mephisto. However, in this case, Moon Knight came around and decided the Avengers were in the right and helped them defeat Khonshu. The big twist in the end was that Khonshu was actually in the right because Iron Man realized too late that Mephisto was waging an interdimensional war behind the scenes.

4) Superman vs. Shazam (Kingdom Come)

Kingdom Come remains one of the best DC Comics storylines in comic book history. Another multiverse storyline, this 1996 storyline takes place on an Earth where the main DC heroes are older and retired, but they must come out of retirement to stop the new generation of heroes who don’t share their morals and sense of goodness.

It resulted in Armageddon, with the Justice League battling rogue metahumans and a brainwashed Shazam. This was the ultimate battle, with Shazam destroying Superman until the Man of Steel used Shazam’s name to revert him to Billy Batson, giving him a chance to end things the right way. Clearly, Superman was in the right here, but even he eventually realized the error of his ways that led to this moment.

3) Hulk vs. Everyone (World War Hulk)

If there was ever a time in Marvel Comics history when a hero needed to be stopped, it was World War Hulk. However, what is most interesting here is that Hulk was mostly in the right because he owed the Illuminati a beating. In the end, he wasn’t right about them killing his pregnant wife and child, but they did terrible things, and as it was proven later with the Incursions and Secret Invasion, the Illuminati were never in the right in anything they did. Hulk deserved to get his revenge, although he did take it a little too far in the end.

2) Superman vs. Batman (Dark Knight Returns)

It seems that when Superman and Batman fight, it is almost always Batman who is in the right. This was also the case in Dark Knight Returns. This story takes place in the future, where Batman has retired and Gotham City has fallen to rampant crime on the streets, run by mutant gangs.

Batman comes out of retirement to save his city. However, the U.S. government, now a more authoritarian form of the system, sends Superman to take down Batman, as heroes like him undermine their authority. Superman, working as an agent of a corrupt government, is clearly in the wrong here, but he does the right thing in the end when he allows Batman to fake his death and continue his battle from the underground.

1) Iron Man vs. Thor (Post Civil War)

The Civil War saw too many heroes fighting each other, and both sides believed they were in the right. However, after that event ended, Iron Man was deemed the hero by the U.S. government, despite being responsible for locking heroes away in the Negative Zone and allowing a cone of Thor to kill Bill Foster.

This led to Thor’s return from the dead, and when Iron Man came to demand that he sign the Registration Act, Thor just completely demolished Iron Man, delivering the worst beating the hero ever received. This was a case where Thor knew Iron Man used his DNA to murder one of their friends, and he didn’t hold back. It was the biggest fan-beloved hero vs. hero fight in comics, and Thor winning was perfect.

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