While the X-Men have no shortage of incredibly powerful teams, one of Cyclops' most dangerous is miles above the rest – and they're even more powerful than most Avengers.
With ultimate heroes like Captain Marvel, Thor, and currently the Phoenix answering the call to assemble, it’s clear that the Avengers aren’t a team to be taken lightly. And on more than one occasion, they’ve proven themselves to have earned their station as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes But while the Avengers have saved the Earth on more than one occasion, it’s fair to say that the majority of their lineups fail to stack up against the X-Men’s fan-favorite Extinction Team.
Following the events of X-Men: Schism, Cyclops forms this Extinction Team of X-Men Uncanny X-Men #1 by Kieron Gillen and Carlos Pacheco. Brought together with the express purpose of changing the hearts and minds of a world that hates and fears them, Extinction Team is led by Cyclops and features the iconic Storm, Emma Frost, Namor, Magneto, Magik, Danger, a Juggernaut-powered Colossus, and Hope Summers. While Storm created her own X-Force strike team, they were nothing compared to the Extinction Team. Together, there are few foes that can measure against such an assemblage of mutants, something Cyclops all but spells out when he says, “In short, we’ve always been Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Extinction Team will prove it.” During their short-lived tenure, the Extinction Team handles all sorts of foes, even fighting side by side with the Avengers themselves and adding the psychic warrior Psylocke to their number. And while their time as the prime X-Men team is far too brief, it’s hard to deny the potentially world-changing power they bring to the table.
Under normal circumstances, any of these heroes could be considered incredibly strong in their own right, but bringing them all together produces one of the most efficient X-Men lineups fans have ever seen. After all, this is a lineup that features two Omega-level mutants, the Sorcerer Supreme of Limbo, the unstoppable Juggernaut, the King of Atlantis, the literal Mutant Messiah, and the sentient Danger Room. And when united under the leadership of Cyclops - one of Marvel’s greatest tacticians – it’s hard to imagine a fight they could lose. Even when compared against the most powerful Avengers, Defenders, or Guardians of the Galaxy, this is a gathering of heroes that could arguably be classified as overkill.
By stealing the Avengers’ famous tagline for his own purposes, Scott makes it abundantly clear where he stands on the power behind his new Extinction Team. And during the team’s short tenure, they prove his faith justified in taking down threats like a Celestial-powered city of Mister Sinister clones, a rouge Phalanx entity, and the Avengers themselves in Avengers vs. X-Men by Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, and others. They even managed to stare down a group of Celestials without blinking – something that could come in handy once again with the ongoing events of A.X.E.: Judgement Day by Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti.
The X-Men have always been some of Marvel’s most powerful heroes, but the Extinction Team are something else entirely. With a lineup that powerful, it’s no wonder that Scott considered them Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. And if not for the events of Avengers vs. X-Men splitting them up, it’s entirely possible that the Cyclops' Extinction Team of X-Men could have officially taken that title away from Marvel Comics’ Avengers.
