Warning! Spoilers for X-Men #12!TheAvengersand theX-Menhave a long shared history in Marvel lore, and while the two teams have come to a tentative truce, the Avengers are not the X-Men’s best allies, as that title belongs toAlpha Flight. The X-Men and the Avengers are Marvel’s biggest superhero teams, but the X-Men and Alpha Flight just displayed how their synergy makes for a superior dynamic.
InX-Men#12 by Jed MacKay and Netho Diaz, the Alaska X-Men face off against bounty hunters set on capturing Cyclops to use as leverage against the Phoenix, when the Canadian heroes, Alpha Flight, come in with a phenomenal assist. In the Aftermath, Cyclops tells Guardian that the X-Men can break them out of prison, showing thatCyclops is willing to risk getting on the bad side of another human government for his Canadian allies.
Considering the X-Men and the Avengers only recently shook on an alliance, it’s clear that the X-Men’s heroes are closer to Alpha Flight.
One Superhero Team Sacrificed Everything for the X-Men and Krakoa – And It Wasn’t the Avengers
X-Men#12 by Jed MacKay, Netho Diaz, Sean Parson, Livesay, Fer Sifuentes-Sujo, and Clayton Cowles
The Avengers andAlpha Flight have been both friend and foeto the X-Men, but unlike the Avengers, Alpha Flight made the ultimate sacrifice when Krakoa fell and the mutant population was under attack. In the throes ofThe Fall of X, Orchis banned all mutants, and Department H followed suit, sending sentinels to persecute mutants within Canadian borders. Since Alpha Flight was under Department H, secretlysiding with their mutant allies was considered treason, but they did so anyway, which, in turn, resulted in the main Alpha Flight members’ subsequent arrests.
The Avengers may be Earth’s mightiest heroes, but their stance on mutant rights is abysmal at best and exploitative at worst.
While the Avengers did fight alongside the X-Men on Krakoa, more often than not, the Avengers' connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. government has occasionally put them at odds with the X-Men. Not only have the Avengers notoriously taken a backseat in the fight for mutant acceptance, but the two hero teams have also instigated one of the biggest hero civil wars in Marvel history duringtheAvengers vs. X-Mencrossover event. The Avengers may be Earth’s mightiest heroes, but their stance on mutant rights is abysmal at best and exploitative at worst.
The Avengers and the X-Men Infamously Have a One-Sided Relationship
While Alpha Flight Continues to Show Up for Mutants and the X-Men
In the team’s current era under Captain Marvel, the Avengers are putting their best foot forward to make amends for past mistakes, though it doesn’t negate the tumultuous history the two superhero teams have shared. During the events ofAvengers vs. X-Men, Cyclops famously called out Captain America for howthe Avengers have never been there for mutantkind but will call upon the X-Men when they need help.Cyclops has been a major critic of the Avengers’inaction and approach to heroism, so it’s not hard to see why the X-Men’s leader would prefer Alpha Flight over the Avengers.
Avengers vs X-Men: Marvel’s Top Teams Are Separated By One Detail You Never Noticed
According to famed Marvel writer Chris Claremont, the X-Men aren’t special without this very specific detail. Otherwise, they have no identity.
Alpha Flight had close ties to Krakoa and was immediately willing to sacrifice their standing to help mutantkind while, in the past, the Avengers have notoriously tried to keep their hands clean of mutant issues. The X-Men and the Avengers are still part of many exciting team-ups, but, as Cyclops has shown, the X-Men and Alpha Flight’s relationship is on far more equal footing. Alpha Flight again aids the X-Men in their time of need, and Cyclops, showing his readiness to jailbreak their Canadian companions, solidifies that theAvengersare not theX-Men’smain allies - at least not when compared toAlpha Flight.
X-Men#12is available now from Marvel Comics!
X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
