10 Battles That Show Why Marvel’s Avengers vs X-Men Is Peak

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The Avengers and the X-Men are known for being Marvel’s top superhero teams, yet they aren’t always fighting on the same side. In fact, these two teams famously faced off against each other in 2012’s Avengers vs. X-Men event. They may share a common goal for making the world a better place and vanquishing villains, but their means don’t always align as closely as the ends they pursue, culminating in their biggest dispute yet.

As part of this epic crossover event, many battles broke out between iconic Marvel heroes across both sides. From Gambit challenging Captain America to Spider-Man squaring up with the Juggernaut, there’s no shortage of thrilling match-ups from this era of comic history, and each fight continues to leave readers on the edge of their seats. These 10 fights between the Avengers and the X-Men demonstrate why this Marvel event is such a classic. Heroes disagreeing isn’t necessarily a good thing, but it’s hard to complain when the resulting fights are this entertaining.

10

Iron Man vs. Magneto

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #1 by Jason Aaron and Andy Kubert

Pitting Iron Man against Magneto just makes sense when coming up with ideas for fights between Avengers and X-Men. After all, Tony Stark’s suit appears to be made of metal, which Magneto can control – at least, that’s what Magneto thinks. As it turns out, Iron Man’s armor is made of carbon nanotubes that are immune to his opponent’s manipulation. Magneto opts to control their metal surroundings instead, crushing Iron Man beneath large structures.

When backed into a corner, Iron Man gets his lick back by harvesting Jupiter’s magnetic field to fuel an energy blast. The two are evenly matched, and the fight only concludes when Magneto leaves the scene upon sensing a planet’s disappearance. Iron Man takes this as a win, though that’s up for interpretation.

9

Spider-Man vs. Juggernaut-Colossus

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #2 by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca

Cain Marko usually holds the title of Juggernaut thanks to the strength he receives from the demon god Cyttorak, but the X-Men’s Colossus gets to access these abilities in Cain’s place during his Avengers vs. X-Men bouts. With the power of the Juggernaut on his side, Colossus is able to stand up to many formidable Avengers, including none other than Spider-Man.

Spider-Man starts his fight with Colossus by trying to web him up, dropping quip after quip as he does so with confidence that he will win. Then, Colossus channels his strength to unleash a mighty clap that launches Spider-Man away from him and gives him a window to set himself free. From there, Colossus’ Juggernaut throws Doombots at Spider-Man and toys with him until he’s forced to flee.

8

Scarlet Witch vs. Hope Summers

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #6 by Kieron Gillen and Jim Cheung

The Scarlet Witch is one of the most powerful – and, by extension, most dangerous – magic users within the Marvel Universe, so she’s no easy foe to take on alone. Hope Summers is up for the challenge here, though. If anyone deserves to land a few hits against Wanda Maximoff, it’s Hope, since she has a special connection to the M-Day incident the Scarlet Witch caused.

Hope was the first mutant born after Wanda declared that there would be “no more mutants”, and she makes sure the Scarlet Witch doesn’t forget that moment during their fight. She references it directly, then headbutts her as she taunts, “No more nose!” Even after the Avengers break up the fight, Hope gets one more satisfying punch in on her fellow mutants’ behalf.

7

The Thing vs. Namor the Sub-Mariner

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #1 by Kathryn Immonen and Stuart Immonen

The Fantastic Four don’t always see eye-to-eye with Namor, so it’s no surprise that one of them stepped up during this event to put the Sub-Mariner in his place. In this match, the Thing finds himself face-to-face with Namor, and the match is about as one-sided as it looks. Namor does have the home field advantage in the water, but that isn’t enough to help him defeat this powerhouse.

Namor knocks the Thing down and brings them both plummeting underwater, though it doesn’t take long for Ben to start throwing objects at his opponent with his brute strength until he’s buried. There aren’t many Marvel characters who can pose a threat to the Thing, and despite his best efforts, Namor has confirmed that he isn’t one of those few.

6

Iron Fist vs. Iceman

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #6 by Jason Aaron and Ramón Pérez

Iron Fist and Iceman aren’t the most popular heroes around, nor are they considered the strongest, but their fight is way more fun than it has any right to be – despite being a mere two pages long. Iron Fist looks like he’s about to win at the start, and Ice Man admits defeat as his opponent prepares to make his exit. Then, it starts to hail, and that’s when the tide turns for Bobby Drake.

What’s occurring isn’t an ordinary hailstorm, of course. Iceman has copied the Iron Fist Punch – Iron Fist’s signature technique – by unleashing a flurry of icy fists from above to overpower his enemy. Once Iron Fist is down for the count, Iceman names his winning move “Blizzard Fist” to rub extra salt into the wound.

5

Captain America vs Gambit

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #2 by Steve McNiven

One of the more obvious match-ups between an Avenger and X-Man would be Captain America and Cyclops, but Gambit’s fight with Steve Rogers proves that the least likely pairings can result in the most jaw-dropping battles. Gambit starts strong by grabbing Cap’s shield and imbuing it with an explosive charge before tossing it back. When Captain America dodges it, Gambit resorts to an even smarter tactic.

When Captain America points out that he “can’t charge organics”, Gambit catches him off guard by charging his costume instead. Steve gets thrown back in an explosion, but he stands up before Gambit can celebrate and knocks him out with a right hook. Captain America’s victory could have been predicted from the start, but Gambit puts up an impressive fight.

4

Red Hulk vs. Juggernaut-Colossus

Uncanny X-Men #11 by Kieron Gillen and Greg Land

The X-Men’s Colossus is dangerous enough with his usual set of powers, but with Cyttorak granting him the skill-set of the Juggernaut, there’s no limit to what Piotr Rasputin is capable of. He proves as much during his pulse-pounding battle with Red Hulk, which pits two of Marvel’s most physically powerful titans against each other.

They appear to be evenly matched for the majority of the fight as they trade blows, and the bout only comes to an end when Colossus holds back because he knows he could cause immense destruction if he goes all-out. The fight itself is full of hard hits as these powerhouses go head-to-head, and Red Hulk is long overdue for a rematch with Juggernaut to see who would truly win.

3

Hawkeye vs. Angel

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #5 by Matt Fraction and Leinil Francis Yu

Hawkeye isn’t often recognized for being a powerhouse on the battlefield, but in his battle against the X-Men’s Angel, he demonstrates that he’s much more than an archer. At first, Hawkeye keeps his distance from Warren and attempts to shoot him down with his arrows. Angel also fires his feathers as projectiles, though, so their use of identical strategies doesn’t get either of them very far.

Once Angel gets close to Clint and lets his guard down, Hawkeye surprises him by brandishing three arrows on each hand like claws and striking. With his makeshift claws, Clint brings Warren down to his level, then proceeds to beat him into submission. Hawkeye deserves to fight Wolverine next now that he’s stolen the X-Man’s moves.

2

Thor vs. Emma Frost

Avengers vs. X-Men: Versus #4 by Kaare Andrews

At a glance, one would assume that a mutant like Emma Frost – as powerful as she may be – wouldn’t stand a chance against a god like Thor. However, when imbued with the Phoenix Force, Emma Frost reaches an unprecedented level of power that even the God of Thunder can’t keep up with.

Thor makes a shocking move by shattering Emma to pieces, and he believes the fight to be over at this point. Of course, the Phoenix Force within Emma is more formidable than he’d anticipated, and she suddenly rains down on Thor in pieces before reassembling and beating him senseless. Emma Frost emerges victorious, declaring that she’d expected more from a god, whereas Thor shouldn’t have expected so little of the White Queen.

1

Spider-Man vs. Colossus and Magik

Avengers vs. X-Men #9 by Jason Aaron and Adam Kubert

Spider-Man’s bout with the Juggernaut-powered Colossus is a fun one, but this match is far more perilous, and it’s made even tougher as Magik joins the fray in a tag-team with her brother. Moreover, Colossus is even more deadly this time around, as he’s fueled by the Phoenix Force rather than Cyttorak. With two X-Men opposing him, the odds don’t look great for Spider-Man.

Just when the Web-Slinger seems on the verge of death at the hands of Colossus, Piotr and Illyana disagree about whether they should spare him or finish him off. Spider-Man uses this window to turn them against each other further. These X-Men siblings end up fighting physically, and Spider-Man becomes the last one standing, earning the Avengers an creative victory.

“}]] Avengers vs. X-Men fights are seriously cool.  Read More