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

They might be called Earth's Mightiest Heroes, but Marvel's uncanny team has them beat.

by Ewan Paterson
Avengers X Men
Marvel Comics

With the release of Dark Phoenix bringing an unfortunate end to Fox's X-Men movies just months after Avengers: Endgame ravaged the box-office, it seems somewhat apt to look at how Marvel's two foremost teams have changed over the years.

If you'd have asked any fan what they thought about the Avengers ten years ago, at least in respect to Marvel's comics specifically, they'd probably have replied with a noncommittal shrug. Yes, the Avengers were a constant force who had starred in some of Marvel's greatest comics - that in itself is not up for debate - but they always seemed to be living in the X-Men's shadow, forever destined to play catch-up while the publisher's mutants starred in TV shows, video games and blockbuster films.

That has now all of course changed, but it's not just a question of notoriety either. For many, the X-Men have long presented a more compelling premise than their other NY-based counterparts. Wherever you believe the metaphorical qualities of the team were birthed, there is something timeless and enthralling about the X-Men's ability to represent those who've been 'othered' by society, to say nothing of the many times the team have confronted prejudice and hate head on.

It could just be a matter of salience, stature or even aesthetics, and even though the Avengers aren't not amazing in a great many ways, there's just always been something about the X-Men that has given them the edge.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.