10 Reasons Why X-Men Are Actually Better Than The Avengers

10. They're A Powerful Allegory

Comics are all inherently political. Pick up your nearest Avengers book, and while you'll be guaranteed to be whisked away on a tale of super-heroics, villains and the rest, there's always going to be a message. It's intrinsic, imbued into the very fabric of the medium and something that distinguishes the superhero genre in particular as a unique force in literature.

But while the Avengers are able to confront a myriad of topics just like any other team, there's never been a guiding tenet present in their comics. The X-Men, on the other hand, have long been seen as a metaphor for social reform and liberation. Where exactly that metaphor actually came about is up for debate (Stan Lee maintains the OG X-Men comic was always intended to be an allegory for the Civil Rights Movement), but it's remained a guiding principle in most X-Men comics for decades.

It is also uniquely powerful. Like Spider-Man, who spoke to young, ostracised wallflowers in the sixties, the X-Men have resonated with marginalised groups for decades, whether that be BAME communities, LGBTQ readers and others who've had their existence questioned at every turn.

It can be diluted to apply to those who just generally don't feel like they belong, but it's present in every comic and has been used to confront hate time and again, even if the execution can be found wanting on occasion.