Classic Avengers vs. X-Men

If you're a fan of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Avengers, or The Uncanny X-Men, you might be a fan of the Avengers vs. X-Men event which released in April of 2012. It heralded a confrontation between two extremely powerful groups from Marvel Comics with battles of world-breaking potential.

Picture: Things are about to get testy as the two groups face off.

And what if you're an even bigger fan? What if you're old school? What about The Avengers and X-Men dating back to their origins? Not surprisingly, these two teams have met as opposing foes more than once.

What you're about to be engaged in is a battle of the Classics. We're taking a look at the original Avengers and X-Men; these are the founding members at their beginnings. Straightforward, you'll have myth and machine versus mutant; this is the version of a challenge with the likes rarely seen. And you'll be able to vote; your opinion is counted.

From The Avengers, you'll have to go back to 1963, and Avengers #1; this is where a small group of heroes heeded a call and ultimately faced Loki, God of Mischief, in battle. The span of the original group extends all the way through Avengers #15 (1965) before Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and The Scarlet Witch joined. This gives us a roster of the following heroes:

Iron Man - Tony Stark at this time is a genius inventor, but also a disabled man with a failing heart. His incredible armor not only aids him in battle, but keeps him alive.

Captain America - Steve Rogers is the legendary hero from WWII who recently awoke from suspended animation to find a new technological work.

The Hulk - Dr. Bruce Banner is the unfortunate survivor of a gamma ray explosion that turns him into the incredible behemoth whenever he gets mad.

Thor, God of Thunder - Dr. Donald Blake is a crippled physician that found a mystical cane allowing him to turn in an Asgardian immortal who wields an enchanted war hammer.

Dr. Henry Pym - Biologist and scientist of renown, Dr. Pym can shrink or grow in size. He has adopted the titles of Astonishing Ant-Man and Giant-Man.

The Wasp - Janet Van Dyne is Dr. Pym's assistant, receiving some genetic experimentation that endows her with bioelectric blasts and insect wings.

The X-Men started at the same time as The Avengers with The Uncanny X-Men #1 (1963). Instead of being brought together by the threat of villainy, they were located and recruited by Professor Charles Xavier. Their tying characteristic is that each one of them is a mutant, having a special power gained at some point in their growth. If we follow this group to The Uncanny X-Men #15 (1965), we have the following members:

Professor X - Charles Xavier, at this time, is considered the world's greatest telepath. He is clearly the director of the team, capable of receiving, transmitting, and controlling, thoughts.

Cyclops - Scott Summers is a mutant with the power to discharge ruby beams from his eyes. The only drawback is that they are always on. To compensate, he must wear a ruby quartz visor.

The Beast - Hank McCoy is in his human form; this is before he turns into his fuzzy-blue caricature. Capable of astounding feats of agility, he is also extremely intellectual and a brilliant scientist.

Marvel Girl -Jean Grey, at this time, is a telekinetic, capable of moving objects with her mind. Her evolutionary potential has not been discovered at yet, however, this still gives her tremendous power.

The Angel - Warren Worthington, the III. Yes, that's right. He's wealthy. He's also the high-flying Angel, with bird-like wings. This is before he evolved into the ArcAngel, metal-winged killer.

Iceman - Bobby Drake is awesome Iceman, controller of things ice and frosty. He's also got a mouth that can get him into trouble. This is before he evolved into the form that can take tremendous amounts of damage and freeze your blood.

Picture: Thor is pretty powerful, but how strong is his mind?

Given the state of the teams at this time, you might be persuaded by two, very important factors in this scenario. What are they? Well....hmm. Let's just say one is green and the other has a hammer.

It's a hard sell to convince someone that a team with Hulk and Thor lack raw power, but what could be missing are the psychic elements. After all, the X-Men have Xavier and Marvel Girl, who can alter things in a metaphysical manner. Let's remember that this is before people were wearing telepathic resistant headpieces and before mutant power inhibitors and SPIN darts.

So, the counter-theory here is that while Hulk and Thor have physically unmatched power, Xavier could easily get into their heads and possibly redirect them. Still, this is a poll on power; what do you think?

Pictures (Above): The X-Men show off their training in X-Men #2 (1963). (Below): The Avengers often show individualistic tendencies.

Having Captain America on your team automatically gives your side a bonus to teamwork; that's just the way things are around the Shield-Slinger.

But now we have to take a look at the Avenger's other member: Hulk. That takes them down a few notches. Tony Stark is also a bit of a solo-individualist. In other words, The Avengers train frequently, but they have personality issues.

The X-Men also have some personal conflicts, however, it appears on its face that they have the training, guided by Professor X, to work is great unison. Not only do they have a team leader, but the leader has a director. Just the fact they live in a school where their minds and mutant power are trained suggest they work better as a team.

Given all this, what do you think? Can you see something that might be missed?

Picture: This panel from Avengers Classic #1 (2007), is a printing of what happened to the early team between Avengers #1 and Avengers #2.

When we talk about resources, we're not just referring to money. Sure, one team has a Tony Star, the millionaire (or billionaire) inventor, but they other has Warren Worthington III, who just happens to also be rich.

Now let's look at smarts: The Brains in the groups. Seems like The Avengers are top-heavy on this one; they have an inventor, a physician (Donald Blake), and some scientists (Bruce Banner, Hank Pym). All around, they are a pretty resourceful bunch.) Meanwhile, over at the Xavier School, there's Hank McCoy, already a brilliant scientist and Charles Xavier, who seems to be a man capable of vast resources in the psychic area. It seems like Beast and Professor X make psychic-tech together. (Cerebro, for example.)

Oh yes, and there's one other resource we almost forgot: Asgard. (Hey, if you're a Norse God, that's gotta count for something, right?)

Remember, as your voting, we're only looking at the members from the 1963-1965 issues #1-15 of The Avengers and Uncanny X-Men, so don't throw Phoenix, Wolverine, or The Sentry into this battle.

Who wins in this fight?

Ultimately, in the classic confrontation, who would win? Avengers or X-Men?

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