One of the most famous battles in Marvel Comics' history is undoubtedly X-Men; those two teams are the pinnacle of superhero excellence in the Marvel Universe, each with their own incredibly powerful and both sides fighting for what they believe is right. While the main spectacle was utterly epic in the 2012 miniseries, that wasn’t actually the first time the X-Men and the Avengers ever broke out into battle as their first fight happened decades before their most famous one.
In the twelve-part miniseries Avengers vs X-Men by Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction, and John Romita Jr., the Avengers are alerted to the fact that the Phoenix Force is on its way to Earth, and they have reason to believe it will inhabit the mutant Hope Summers. Hoping to avoid a potential disaster, Captain America confronts the X-Men and tries to convince Cyclops to allow Hope into Avengers custody. When Cyclops refuses, Captain America tells him that if he won’t give them Hope, the Avengers will take her by force. This interaction sparks the all-out war between the Avengers and the X-Men and marks the beginning of a truly iconic story.
In X-Men #9 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the X-Men and the Avengers find themselves in a similar situation in that they are on opposing sides, though not nearly as serious as their conflict in Avengers vs X-Men. In this issue, the X-Men are hunting a villain by the name of Lucifer in an effort to rescue Professor X after their teacher and mentor fell into the villain’s clutches. Simultaneously, the Avengers are chasing Lucifer but for their own reasons, at which point the Avengers come across the X-Men. Rather than working together on their shared mission, Thor announces that anyone who gets in the way of the Avengers’ mission will be swiftly handled, and with that threat of violence, the battle begins.
While the first battle between the two superhero teams isn’t as iconic as the 2012 miniseries, it is just as historic for a number of reasons. Not only is this the first time the Avengers and the X-Men fight each other, but it’s actually the first time the two teams meet each other. At that point in Marvel Comics continuity, the Avengers and the X-Men are incredibly new to the scene as the Marvel Universe itself had yet to fully reach its stride. While the X-Men have heard of the Avengers, the Avengers didn’t know who the X-Men were at all which is why they were inclined to dispatch them without hesitation. Looking back at the origins of the shared history between the Avengers and the X-Men is incredibly fun for any fan this far into the established world of Marvel Comics as it reminds one of how far they have come and how much history has been built between them.
The first time Cyclops saw Captain America, he was just a kid on a mission to save his mentor and he ended up in a battle against one of the greatest heroes in American history. Fast forward a few years and that same kid is blasting Captain America across a beach for even proposing the idea of taking away one of his mutant students. The lore is vast and the history of these characters runs deep, and there is no telling where their stories are going to take them next. While fans don’t know where they’re going, they do know where they’ve been—including the first time the Avengers ever fought the X-Men–a battle that happened decades before the iconic 2012 run.
