Avengers vs. X-Men: A Personal Tote Board

Okay, here’s my pointlessly geeky comic book post of the week.

Marvel is putting together a big Avengers vs. X-Men cross-over event starting this April.  And since they’ve been so kind as to show off some of the potential pair-offs (it’s not clear yet if the conflict will be en masse or a bunch of duels, but the covers are all one-on-one action), it’s time for the comic book geek to give his odds for each battle.

Sure, I’m certain there will be a “story” around all of this, and, given the writing talent, I expect it to be pretty darned good — but these sorts of “contest of champions” are always about who should be able to defeat whom in combat.

(These are labeled as “Round One” … not sure if it’s going to be advancing brackets, or if they will pull out another set of X-Men and Avengers for the next found.)

One caveat here: these are all, of course, fictional characters, with long experience, in a melodramatic and imaginative setting. Which means that the authors of any given story can find a thousand plausible ways for either character to win. My judgment calls are generalized; my calls on what I think Marvel will do extend into meta issues of who Marvel is more likely to promote for various reasons.

The Thing vs. Colossus: Once upon a time this would be a simple match-up, with the Thing winning hands-down (though Colossus would fight bravely). But during the Fear Itself event, Colossus took on himself the power of the Juggernaut (hence that cute helmet). That gives him unstoppable magic mojo, plus the previous pluck that Peter already had. I expect something epic in this battle, but I think the result is pretty clear. 
Who should win: Colossus (2-1)
Who will Marvel have win: Colossus (3-2)

Spider-Woman vs. Gambit: Two characters that people love to dislike. She’s a highly-trained Hydra and SHIELD agent, can glide, and has ranged “venom blasts.” He’s probably got a higher Dex, is a highly-trained thief, uses a staff, and can make things explode with a touch (thus turning objects he throws into grenades).
Who should win: Spider-Woman (3:2)
Who will Marvel have win: Gambit (3:2)

Daredevil vs. Angel: Get it? It’s a Devil vs an Angel! Oh, Marvel, you clever kids! DD (who just became an Avenger) is more dextrous, has “radar vision,” and can throw a billy club. Plus he has mad ninja training. Angel (who keeps going through various changes and authorial mistreatment) can fly, can show paralyzing blades from his metallic wings, and was empowered by Apocalypse to be one of his Horsemen. A deciding factor here will be if DD can get things into a confined space, cutting down Angel’s speed and mobility.
Who should win: Daredevil (3:1)
Who will Marvel have win: Daredevil (2:1)

Captain America vs. Wolverine: Cap’s got the Super-Soldier Serum in him, has decades of combat experience, a nigh-unbreakable shield (which he can throw), chainmail, and unsurpassed tactical abilities. Wolverine has adamantium bones, claws, a crazy healing factor, hyper-senses, a century of combat experience, and a bad temper. Both are flagship characters; Wolverine is in more books, but Cap has a shiny new movie franchise. I don’t see how Cap can out-pummel Logan, though, or beat him short of kicking him into a high tension line.
Who should win: Wolverine (3:2)
Who will Marvel have win: Captain America (3:2)

(An interesting note on this one: Wolverine is both an X-Man and an Avenger. Also, the main cross-over poster shows Cyclops vs. Cap … but Cyke doesn’t appear to be in Round One.)

Black Widow vs. Psylocke: The Widow is “the greatest secret agent in the world,” and has her “widow’s bite” wrist guns for range. Psylocke is in the body of one of the greatest ninjas of all time (as I recall), is a telepath, and can channel her power into a psionic blade. Widow is a very popular Avengers character. Psylocke has her fans, but not so much.
Who should win: Psylocke (2:1)
Who will Marvel have win: Black Widow (3:1)

Iron Man vs. Magneto: Everyone gets a chuckle from this one, since on the face of it, Iron Man should be (literally) taken apart by the Master of Magnetism. But I have no doubt that Tony can whip up some sort of protection here (nanites, polymers, force field, whatever), esp. if forewarned. While Magneto can put up force fields against Iron Man’s blasts, and can hurl objects at Iron Man, I suspect the high-tech approach will win the day.
Who should win: Iron Man (2:1)
Who will Marvel have win: Iron Man (3:1)

Thor vs. Storm: So both can control and channel lightning. Both can whip up storms. Ororo is more flexible in her weather-making, but Thor can pretty much dish it out. Plus, y’know, he’s a god and carries a mystic hammer that he can throw. And he has a new film franchise. No way Storm walks away from this.
Who should win: Thor (4:1)
Who will Marvel have win: Thor (2:1)

Spider-Man vs. Ice Man: With Firestar and Ms. Lion cheering from the sidelines. So Spidey is strong, fast, has a warning detector, and can snare people (and move quickly) with webs. Ice Man can do pretty much anything he wants with ice, from travel to freezing people in blocks of it. He’s still a less flexible character, in my opinion, and less experienced than Spidey (though they were created within a year or two of each other).
Who should win: Spidey (2:1)
Who will Marvel have win: Spidey (3:1)

Ms. Marvel vs. Rogue: Now here’s a battle with some history to it, since Rogue (who always had power-absorbing powers) sucked Ms Marvel’s powers and her memories from her back when Rogue was with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. They’ve never gotten on well since. I’ve lost track of Rogue’s current power state — they keep screwing around with it — but Ms Marvel basically has Superman-style powers, plus the ability to absorb a certain amount of energy. She should probably be able to take on Rogue, but there are a lot of variables at work. That said, Ms Marvel doesn’t get a lot of love from Marvel these days, while Rogue is a perennial favorite.
Who should win: Ms Marvel (3:2)
Who will Marvel have win: Rogue (3:2)

Luke Cage vs. The Beast: An odd pairing, but … Luke is strong and extremely tough. Beast is (not quite as) strong, fast/dextrous, and very smart. Toe to toe, I’d probably give it to Luke, but I suspect the Beast would figure out a clever way to win.
Who should win: The Beast (2:1)
Who will Marvel have win: The Beast (3:2)

(Note: The Beast has been an Avenger. That might work in his favor — or might conflict him enough to cause him to lose.)

The Hulk vs. The White Queen: The white Queen is an incredibly powerful telepath. She can also, if endangered, assume a (non-telepathic) diamond form. One scenario has her simply sucker-punching the Hulk psionically. But that would make for a very short comic … and if it didn’t work, she’s in deep trouble, since I suspect both his raw rage and his ever-increasing strength would overcome both of her powers, unless she could talk/manipulate him into defeating himself.
Who should win: The Hulk (3:2)
Who will Marvel have win: The Hulk (4:1)

My personal tally, of the 11 contests, is 4 going to the X-Men, 7 to the Avengers; my guess about Mavel is the same (though not always the same characters). Obviously it won’t be that lopsided, which means some contests will be won through non-average means.

At any rate, I look forward to the fray.