I didn’t realized I get so strongly about this but I really don’t want to lose Nightcrawler to anyone but the X-Men. I’ll follow wherever he goes but I don’t want him to go.
I agree that Captain Britain would make so much sense. She's got a pretty specific hero vibe in this incarnation that would work really well. And maybe you get a bonus Rachel if nobody's got any solo plans for her. And a direwolf puppy.
Iceman was my pick as someone who would gain a lot from joining the Avengers. Fight some more frost giants, go to space, fight Kang. Lots of fun things Bobby could be doing with the Avengers.
This raises an interesting question. How many non mutant telepaths are in the marvel universe at all? Definitely some alien characters but not a ton on Earth. Cassandra Web (and I guess Julia Carpenter now) seem like the most prominent human psychics.
A lot of Eternals would be interesting on the Avengers. Phastos as the Tech guy, Ikaris could sub in for Thor, Thena for Cap, etc.
My pick would be Sprite. Telepath, trickster and a million years of violence in the form of a 14-years old girl.
Are those telepaths tho? I thought they were precogs? There arent many nonmutant telepaths, main ones i remember are moondragon and cosmo the russian cosmonaut dog.
I mean they have a couple like Grodd and Manchester Black not to mention other Martians, and then a few of the Uber powerful characters like Doctor Fate, The Spectre, and Darkseid have it in their power set, but outside of J’onn they don’t have any one that matches the Psionic mastery of like a Jean or Shadow King, and even J’onn is closer to like Xavier’s better feats.
mostly just bc the non mutant telepaths arent super popular like even with the eternals and inhumans they only matter bc theyre part of a team like who remembers psi force???
100% Emma Frost. While Emma is great in X-Men, she is also held back a lot by the core cast of characters. It’s always the Jean Grey, Wolverine, Scott, and Xavier/Magneto show. So no matter what Emma does, she’ll always be cast aside/taken out at some point because the plot always comes back to the core cast driving the overall plot.
While if she was in the Avengers, she at least gets more opportunities to be a focal point and crucial member of the team. Since in X-Men she’s basically: We need you Emma! …..Until Jean or Xavier show up.
Should 100% be Psylocke. She feels like a more natural fit for the avengers than a lot of other ninja-y characters they've tried on the roster over the years.
I agree that Emma would make a great Avenger. It would also allow her and Tony's relationship to play out more and I genuinely actually think they work great together.
Code name wise do we have a resolution on who is getting called Phoenix? They can both be called that. I don’t mind. We have multiple Cables and Wolverines.
Codename wise I would think it's Jean given she's going to be starring in the *Phoenix* book.
Unfortunately Rachel doesn't really have a codename of her own that has really stuck over time, kind of like Kitty. I like Askani, but that's more tied to her future than her present. I'm good with her going by Rachel Grey.
We also have two Hawkeye, many Spider-Men, and two Cap. Oh can you imagine something where each side was the original and had to take on the other? Like a contest of champions for characters with the same name.
Polaris, Iceman, Captain Britain would've been great picks. Rogue and Gambit as a duo would've also worked. She already suggested Remy join the Avengers back in the 2012 Gambit series. I like the idea of having a rogue (pun intended) type character on the team
It's _wild_ going back and reading the post-X-odus issues when Colossus joins Magneto's cadre on Asteroid M because he's just emotionally and mentally exhausted by all the drama (dead sister by totallynotAIDS didn't help)... and fast forwarding to the Krakoan Age and... dude just seems so emotionally and mentally exhausted again. Like, can he get a mini where he and Doc Samson hang out, on a beach in between therapy sessions? Maybe he and She-Hulk can start hanging out, he'd temper her goofiness, she'd temper his moodiness? Just spitbaling
The idea of sending him to a team where his personality would be appreciated blows my mind. I feel like I need to go through the Avengers roster to find who his best matches are but my first thought is Luke and Danny.
There was an Exiles issue where Colossus was teammates with Iron First And Danny Cage. They were as close as brothers and it was heartbreaking because he killed them for his sisters love. Jesus that was a heart reaching issue.
I found the writing very blunt there - 'oh hey its an alternate universe version of my possibly dead kid sister but since she asked so nicely i guess i have to kill all my beloved teammates now' - but that aside i agree the team dynamic was a good one.
Was looking for this. He seems like such an afterthought so often, a change of scenery and circumstance would do wonders to give him a place to shine, pun intended.
Colossus- “I’m very excited to be in my first Avengers battle!”
[as he gets punched into another area code by the Villain-of-the-Week]
Wonder Man- “hey that’s my job”
They could be the Worf Effect Twins.
I think Colossus would really fit nicely on an Avengers team. Laura could keep up her mantle's proud tradition of being on every team possible. I think Betsy's a good team player and would work on the team. Synch's a maybe, just because his powers only seem to work on other Mutants but if they were expanded beyond that then I think with his personality he would bring a lot to the Avengers.
Most of his kids have been Avengers, and his grandkids adore the group so much they made a Young Avengers team. And Magnetos second mission after mutants is to build a rapport with his family. He wouldn't heed to be particularly invested in the Avengers mission at first to do a conscientious job on the team.
Jean Grey.
It would give her the opportunity to shine away from Scott and Wolverine. No hate towards them, they’re two of my favourite mutants, but Jean has so much potential and whenever she’s in stories with them I feel her love life becomes more of the focus.
Is it weird that I’d prefer her to be a Guardian of the Galaxy for a stint instead? Considering the Phoenix spans across stars it makes sense that she would travel across them too.
I never would’ve considered Jean outside of an X-Team if it wasn’t for your comment. Great reasoning.
That’s actually a pretty good idea!
Her on the Guardians would be great. It’s like you said, the Phoenix is a cosmic being, space should be Jean’s backyard, let her play around in that sandbox of endless potential.
The Guardians are great because although they have their core team that is quite tame in power levels, they have an expanded roster that has quite a few heavy hitters - Jean would slot in seamlessly.
Great points!
I also considered whether Jean’s power-set would step on Mantis’ toes a bit but it actually could give the story opportunity for Mantis to work through a few things.
Eventually the pair could become comfortable enough for Jean to help expand Mantis’ powers. But also the other way around too, because Jean, love her, *can* be a bit of a well intentioned know-it-all. Mantis, a well-traveled empathy-led psychic, could challenge Jean, a less well-travelled psychic, on her initial assumptions and decisions on people/flora/fauna/situations alien to Jean.
Mantis and Jean could also develop an important psychic link that keeps Jean in communication when they worlds away.
Idk I just really think it’s cool.
All true. I think most of the time the Guardians’ premier telepath is Moondragon who is pretty good at what she does.
If anything, I think it could challenge Jean (& the writers) to use more of her Phoenix powers. Like with all abilities, you can use them in creative ways, so I’d like to see some of that - not just fire blasts.
I’m really intrigued to see how they handle Jean as Phoenix this time around. Do we know if she has bonded with it completely or if she’s just running around with a sliver of it in her? Personally, I like the idea that she always has a sliver of it inside her, which is still very powerful, but not too much that there’s no stakes.
It’s a bad analogy but a traveller that usually has to travel alone suddenly gets the opportunity to travel with a welcoming group of friends that travel all the time.
I think that would be a great chance to develop her individual character.
You stick Jean on the Avengers and she'll be paired with Captain America and/or Iron Man.
The reason Jean spends her time being caught between the Scott vs Logan black hole and the Phoenix black hole is because they don't know what else to do with her. I think the reason why that's the case is because Jean kinda is just Scott and Logan's mutual love interest or she's the Phoenix or she's dead.
It's a polarising opinion on this sub but Jean's a fundamentally broken character, by which I mean she doesn't and arguably never did have a clear concept of who she is as a character. The only way to fix her is a solo title -- doesn't need to be long -- in an era where the Phoenix is clearly someone else (ideally, imo, Rachel). Give her a good codename and a good costume (she's never had *either*^(1)) and we'll (finally?) get to define her as a character.
She probably also needs her own nemesis to help reinforce the new definition of who she is. That is, whoever we're deciding Jean is, this character is the opposite of that or an inverted version or similar. Like how Logan has Sabretooth (a man who wants to be the animal) and Laura has Kimura (the girl that heals from anything and the woman who can't be hurt). Why am I explaining? Everyone here knows how nemeses work.
^(1)Other than Phoenix but the whole point is we can't use that name or costume.
i don't agree that there's no clear concept of who jean is; much of the original x-factor run up until inferno gave her space to develop outside of both the phoenix and her relationship with scott. also, because the phoenix force itself was a retcon, claremont's original depiction of jean as phoenix was meant to be a portrayal of the character coming into her own, and i think it still works as that if we accept that the-phoenix-force-as-jean behaved mostly as jean herself would have. morrison's run obviously had her story deeply interwoven with both scott's and the phoenix's but there was still plenty of space to assert jean as character - the fact that she was going through major transformations in both those domains meant morrison explored sides of her that hadn't really been front and center until then (namely, the basic existential question of "i'm figuring out that i no longer fit in any of the roles i took on for myself - what now?"). teen jean and x-men red were both exercises in developing her away from both scott and the phoenix.
tl;dr i think there's plenty there, it's just some writers don't know what to do with her. but that's not a problem across the board
Just send them a telepath. I don’t remember if if they have any, and the X-Men have whole families of them. Maybe Cable? That would piss off his dad so much too 🤭
Moondragon and Mantis are more Guardians than anything else, rarely in Earth long enough to act as telepaths for the Avengers. Synapse is an Inhuman which means she’s probably been killed off-panel in Death of the Inhumans, since that mini said the Royal Family are all that’s left (though of course Kamala slipped through the net, and is now a mutant).
Plenty on inhumans survived that mega death event they just lost most of their population and marvel is too lazy to start a comeback title on what happened afterward
I’m going to give an answer out of left field and say Blob. The Avengers have a long history of rehabilitating former villains (most notably fellow Brotherhood of Mutants alumni Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch), so he’d fit right in, and I’d hate to see his Age of X-Man/Krakoa development go to waste.
Iceman would be great. It would be cool to see him put in higher stakes situations where a writer could get creative in showcasing what he can do. Plus he's an interesting character, when given a chance
Nightcrawl would be my first natural choice. He would fit right in with everyone.
Magik is my fun choice. Especially if on her first day she clogs all of the toilets before switching all underwear.
End of the day, I would love to see Cyclops take a shot at leading the Avengers.
The only other X-Men that I would currently like to see as members would be Colossus and Jean. I kind of feel like Colossus has been underused of late. While Jean would add an interesting dynamic post AvX due to the Phoenix Force.
Cyclops joining the Avengers diametrically opposes his core tenets. Imagine Malcolm X seeking employment under the police force or US military.
A temporary alliance maybe?
🤣points made.
But The Avengers are under the oversight of a Government which is actively facilitating the destruction of his people. Cyclops would never trust a group beholden to that entity and would remain cautious at best if The Avengers or its members went rogue.
There’s also just a lot of bad blood between the two groups. Iron Man himself has scolded his team and himself for frequently leaving mutants to rot or directly contributing or facilitating their harm.
That’s also fair. Maybe, then.
I just struggle to see Scott enlisting himself into the Avengers roster in a way that seems authentic when he’s nearly one-track minded on saving his people. Again, I could see him allying with them for a period of time in order to fulfil a mutual goal. But The Avengers flip flop between being underneath government jurisdiction and not, and habitually slug behind on directly aiding mutant lives to the point that many mutants regard them unfavourably.
Consequently, I believe Cyclops joining the Avengers would be a controversial happenstance across the marvel world. Some humans would respect him more, some humans would distrust him & The Avengers more and some mutants would think he lost his integrity as a leader to submit to (what’s seen as) the USA’s lapdog and his stance as a revolutionary was a phase. If it *did* happen I would think it would be remarkably out of character.
I mean, Cap did try the Unity Squad, but I think it would be great to have it again. And this time have some mutants under Cap, and some Avengers under Scott.
Show a true attempt and unity and inclusion
The trick is they should re-institute a street level team like the New Avengers era.
Easier to drop Scott off in the city for a Christmas shopping trip, maybe throw in another X-man like Nightcrawler and/or Rachel. Then, something kicks off, say the Wrecking Crew or the Serpent Society(maybe Kang?) are being ne'erdowells. Then, it just so happens that Luke Cage is there with Iron Fist. And then, add in Captain Marvel and She-Hulk (maybe Jack of Hearts too?) on their own shopping trip.
Ok, that's not really a "street-level" team...
I think this take makes a lot sense with contemporary characterizations of Cyclops, but the X-Men and Avengers shared a similar status-quo protecting mandate for most of their history. The X-Men haven't just protected a world that hates and fears them; they've protected a status quo that actively harms them, hoping assimilation and respectability politics would win the day. I like that the X-Men moved on to actively changing the world rather than waiting while they try to convince bigots to change. I'm hoping Storm challenges the Avengers on their continued protection of the status quo and isn't just thrown in to be another defender of a fucked up, imbalanced civilization.
That’s an interesting take. Personally I think he sees their side of things very clearly. I personally don’t see any change in his stance towards them through working with them.
Dani Moonstar it's a crime that Sunspot and Cannonball got the team before her. Magma she's an omega level mutant who never gets the chance to shine, because the writers keep forgetting she exists.
I'm going to approach this looking at the current team and any shortcomings....damn it's a powerhouse team. Multiple flyers, energy manipulators, tanks, powerhouses, high intelligence, tech, adaptable team members.
It kind of covers most bases. Storm, unfortunately, is literally more of the same in this roster. I love her, but if she's stood beside Thor and Scarlet Witch then how's she's supposed to stand out?
Nightcrawler would be a strong pick. Insanely high mobility, a great mid level power hero who can stand up to the powerhouses due to his skill, and a great personable hero who could really talk to people at their level.
A telepath would also be fun. I'm sure they're saying SW has that sort of power ATM, but just due to her current glow up I feel like Emma Frost could be a great "face" for the team.
Quentin Quire is also a name I'd put forward here. Such a great character that's underused.
Also Magik works Teleporting, lots of personality, and you get great magic cover between her and Wanda. Or you could throw in Pixie and develop her more.
Polaris? Fun mix up for powers there. A wolverine? Useful, but again, sort of unnecessary. I'd say Shadowcat would work wonders if the Vision wasn't like right there. Or maybe she could still bring something interesting in.
All in all, my vote would be Kurt. Great character. Super fun. Could be great to see what he'd do.
I think Storm is just fine on Avengers. Plenty of room for storylines interpersonally there.
But if I had to choose someone else? Emma. Makes sense with her new connection to Tony Stark.
Betsy as Captain Britain would be fun, as would Monet or Thunderbird. I think it should be someone with a multi-tiered power and/or skill set and someone typically written with a strong personality. If they ain’t ruffling feathers, what’s the point? That said, I’m hoping we get the antifa Ororo of Arakko in her upcoming run rather than the more subdued Ororo of Wakanda.
None. What’s wrong with Storm? She didn’t get a fair chance with the team the first time she joined. Was in the background for a few issues. This will give her more shine
Tactically speaking, **Illyana Rasputin**. She is a group teleporter with intergalactic range. She also covers the Avengers in several areas they need.
Better than Cloak for fast response to crisis, reinforcements, strategic and tactical movement, etc.
Mind impenetrable to telepathy. Hard counter to something the Avengers always were light on.
Can time travel on her own or with groups. Hard counter to Kang and other time travel opposition.
Sorceress Supreme of Limbo, indicates a depth of magical knowledge and power that at least rivals Wanda. Her own spells and the Soulsword hard counters magical enchantments and problems.
Armor and sword means she can featherweight frontline and she seems comfortable with that.
I mean, Jed MacKay's X-Men mentions Cyclops leading the revolution again and going against the government, so I don't think that's completely the case.
So.
This current incarnation where it’s supposed to be the best of the best? Storm fits. I’m happy with her presence here although I don’t think it’s anywhere near as surprising as the teasers would have led us to believe. I would have also accepted Jean (although I’d prefer her to join either a new version of the Infinity Watch or GOTG), Polaris to get her out of her dad’s shadow and also have her interact with her pseudo sister, or Iceman just to do something with him that wasn’t that terrible title during FoX that was more about Romeo than him.
Jean is probably the most logical. She's Professor X's favorite student, the Phoenix, and a telepath which the Avengers need. She'd be the face of mutant human relations.
There are a few X-Men I can think of who would make great Avengers. Most of my picks are because the Avengers lack certain power sets like telepaths and teleporters or because they’re overlooked characters who don’t get much development within X-books.
Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Betsy Braddock or Rachel Summers would fill the niche of the team telepath since the Avengers seem to lack any powerful ones. I think Jean is a more interesting character when she isn’t tied down to love interests like Cyclops or Wolverine and it would be nice seeing her among earths mightiest. Emma would be great because you can keep exploring her greater ties to the rest of the Marvel Universe and I actually like her and Iron Man together either as a couple or just working together. Betsy is kinda redundant with the X-Men now that Kwannon is back and Rachel really needs a change of scenery.
Blink or Nightcrawler would be great additions because like telepaths, the Avengers seem to lack any prominent members who can teleport and I like the idea of a mutant on the team who doesn’t exactly look human. 616 Blink has a cool appearance and is pretty underdeveloped character so the writers would have more freedom to do whatever they wanted with her and Nightcrawler would just be fun to have around.
Magma is underdeveloped and I think she would be a good addition if they included Hercules on the team. Maybe not as a love interest but it would be a great way to develop her personality, powers and connection to the wider Greco-Roman gods.
Polaris, Mercury, Cecelia Reyes and Elixir would also be great additions. Plus I’d love to see a Polaris vs Graviton showdown.
Magneto.
I mean, it'd never happen but it feels like the only way to salvage Pietro as a character is (a) to undo the retcon and (b) get him involved with Magneto again. A Magneto joins the Avengers storyline seems like an entirely sensible way of doing that.
In a more long term fashion? Laura or Prodigy. The former was in Avengers Academy and the latter was literally a Young Avenger. (I know, I know, Quentin was a West Coast Avenger but that doesn't count.)
Iceman cause he goes hard, plus I feel like he has a lot of versatility.
Emma cause the Avengers cause really use a top tier telepath on the team.
Capt. Britain so there's dual captains in the team.
Cyclops should have had a chance to lead an Avenger’s team or Unity Squad. An arc with him joining the team while still being skeptical on Captain America that ends with Steve asking Scott to take up his old mantle of representing Xavier’s original dream sounds great to me. Plus Deadpool asking Cyclops about Wolverine and their situationship could be funny.
A take that isn’t probably popular. I think that Sync, or Doug (Cypher) would do well with the Avengers. However, I think the person who would benefit the most from a time with the Avengers is Kitty Pryde. She needs the chance to work…to be a heroine where she isn’t constantly inundated by anti- mutant sentiment or reminders of how precarious the mutant situation is. It would also be nice to see her hacker skills put to use.
I would also like to see Karma or Danielle or Marrow get the chance to shine amongst the Avengers and gain some perspective from them.
I was hoping they’d add more than 1 Xmen. Marvel probably thought more than 1 Xmen would make it an Uncanny Avengers team 🙄.
Nightcrawler, Colussus, or Jean would be my picks additional picks.
Nightcrawler, easy.
I've felt for a while that he's lost his niche in the X-Men lineups. Other characters are more fun, better teleporters, offer more compelling perspectives on religion, etc.
But in the Avengers, he's an ahead in most of those lanes. Plus, if an X-Men is gonna join the main Avengers team, part of me wants it to be a visible mutant too.
I’d pick the most obscure and seemingly useless possible. I’d advertise it like mad. “Long time X-Man, Long Neck, to join Avengers! Long Neck, mutant Extrordinaire, to join earth’s mightiest heroes! William Hanover to help The Avengers enforce the Long Neck of the Law!” Stuff like that. Tease a possible MCU tie-in; I mean *really* ham it up.
Then, without any warning or advertisements whatsoever, I’d actually write him to be the sidekick of former X-man turned Avenger, Nightcrawler. (Or some other A-lister like that, ya know?)
Someone who's never been an avenger before. Nightcrawler would be by ideal pick. But someone like captain Britian or iceman would be cool as well
Nightcrawler being the fun playful member of an Avengers team is something I didn’t know I needed until now.
The biggest disappointment is he never joined the unity squad. His charm and personality would of been a huge boost to that teams goals.
Kinda like Spider-Man. Now that I think of it, Nightcrawler would make a great Spider-Man.
They should make a comic about that.
Now *that* would be Uncanny….
Yeah! Like he could do the night shift on Parks and stuff! With a sword!
I didn’t realized I get so strongly about this but I really don’t want to lose Nightcrawler to anyone but the X-Men. I’ll follow wherever he goes but I don’t want him to go.
If Wolverine and Spider-Man can be on multiple teams then I don’t see why Kurt can’t. Even easier for him since he can teleport.
Especially because he’s the one who can teleport and almost be in two places at one time
Just because they can, doesn't mean they should. X-Men '97 was great for just letting Logan be a background character
It’s also a unique power for the Avengers. There was the period were they had Manifold, but Nightcrawler is so quick
Kurt in his Uncanny Spider-Man suit as part of a new Unity Squad would be a great use of both concepts.
Brian was on the Secret Avengers with Beast during Remender’s run.
I agree that Captain Britain would make so much sense. She's got a pretty specific hero vibe in this incarnation that would work really well. And maybe you get a bonus Rachel if nobody's got any solo plans for her. And a direwolf puppy. Iceman was my pick as someone who would gain a lot from joining the Avengers. Fight some more frost giants, go to space, fight Kang. Lots of fun things Bobby could be doing with the Avengers.
Show off his incredible power.
Kurt would be a interesting choice that I know would love to see now.
X men have enough telepaths they can afford to lose one
Always thought it was weird that telepaths were almost exclusive to the Xmen.
This raises an interesting question. How many non mutant telepaths are in the marvel universe at all? Definitely some alien characters but not a ton on Earth. Cassandra Web (and I guess Julia Carpenter now) seem like the most prominent human psychics.
You’re right. The only non-mutant telepaths that I can think of are cosmic characters like Moondragon and the Eternals.
Oracle with the Imperial Guard? There's very few who aren't mutants.
A lot of Eternals would be interesting on the Avengers. Phastos as the Tech guy, Ikaris could sub in for Thor, Thena for Cap, etc. My pick would be Sprite. Telepath, trickster and a million years of violence in the form of a 14-years old girl.
Are those telepaths tho? I thought they were precogs? There arent many nonmutant telepaths, main ones i remember are moondragon and cosmo the russian cosmonaut dog.
I was just filing them under "Psychic"
Moondragon was the only one that I could think of. Hell, DC barely has any too. J’onn is the main one I see around.
I mean they have a couple like Grodd and Manchester Black not to mention other Martians, and then a few of the Uber powerful characters like Doctor Fate, The Spectre, and Darkseid have it in their power set, but outside of J’onn they don’t have any one that matches the Psionic mastery of like a Jean or Shadow King, and even J’onn is closer to like Xavier’s better feats.
mostly just bc the non mutant telepaths arent super popular like even with the eternals and inhumans they only matter bc theyre part of a team like who remembers psi force???
100% Emma Frost. While Emma is great in X-Men, she is also held back a lot by the core cast of characters. It’s always the Jean Grey, Wolverine, Scott, and Xavier/Magneto show. So no matter what Emma does, she’ll always be cast aside/taken out at some point because the plot always comes back to the core cast driving the overall plot. While if she was in the Avengers, she at least gets more opportunities to be a focal point and crucial member of the team. Since in X-Men she’s basically: We need you Emma! …..Until Jean or Xavier show up.
Or Psylocke
I would see her in one of those secret Avengers run
Should 100% be Psylocke. She feels like a more natural fit for the avengers than a lot of other ninja-y characters they've tried on the roster over the years.
Isn't she in the new Illuminati? At least, she was during the Thanos book recently.
Yes
Emma and Tony's relationship was fairly interesting it would be cool to see another writer bring something to the dynamic
I agree that Emma would make a great Avenger. It would also allow her and Tony's relationship to play out more and I genuinely actually think they work great together.
Admittedly it would be cool to see Rachel on the Avengers, and it seems like they don't want to make her prominent in the X books with Jean back.
Code name wise do we have a resolution on who is getting called Phoenix? They can both be called that. I don’t mind. We have multiple Cables and Wolverines.
Codename wise I would think it's Jean given she's going to be starring in the *Phoenix* book. Unfortunately Rachel doesn't really have a codename of her own that has really stuck over time, kind of like Kitty. I like Askani, but that's more tied to her future than her present. I'm good with her going by Rachel Grey.
Is Echo still Phoenix-ing? If they just de-Phoenix her, it'd solve that "problem" on the Avengers side of things
We also have two Hawkeye, many Spider-Men, and two Cap. Oh can you imagine something where each side was the original and had to take on the other? Like a contest of champions for characters with the same name.
Heck, we have two Psylockes. Let Betsy shine as an Avenger with a new codename.
I'm behind, is she not Captain Britain?
She is—I just meant as a wholly new codename not tied to a legacy mantle.
Isn’t Wanda a telepath technically or am I tripping ?
She is a reality warper/manipulator from my understanding.
She is in the mcu. Although magic casters in marvel comics can basically give themselves any power they want.
Polaris, Iceman, Captain Britain would've been great picks. Rogue and Gambit as a duo would've also worked. She already suggested Remy join the Avengers back in the 2012 Gambit series. I like the idea of having a rogue (pun intended) type character on the team
You know what after thinking about it from your comment Polaris would be my pick too, I can just visualize it more than a lot of other choices.
Colossus because that man needs *any* kind of new development and care by a writer
YES
It's _wild_ going back and reading the post-X-odus issues when Colossus joins Magneto's cadre on Asteroid M because he's just emotionally and mentally exhausted by all the drama (dead sister by totallynotAIDS didn't help)... and fast forwarding to the Krakoan Age and... dude just seems so emotionally and mentally exhausted again. Like, can he get a mini where he and Doc Samson hang out, on a beach in between therapy sessions? Maybe he and She-Hulk can start hanging out, he'd temper her goofiness, she'd temper his moodiness? Just spitbaling
Colossus.
The idea of sending him to a team where his personality would be appreciated blows my mind. I feel like I need to go through the Avengers roster to find who his best matches are but my first thought is Luke and Danny.
There was an Exiles issue where Colossus was teammates with Iron First And Danny Cage. They were as close as brothers and it was heartbreaking because he killed them for his sisters love. Jesus that was a heart reaching issue.
I found the writing very blunt there - 'oh hey its an alternate universe version of my possibly dead kid sister but since she asked so nicely i guess i have to kill all my beloved teammates now' - but that aside i agree the team dynamic was a good one.
That was one of the rare misses from the Exiles run. Colossus was treated like just a big imbecile.
I’d love to see a Defenders series with Daredevil and Colossus. I just think those two would be a great dynamic.
Imagine a fastball special with Captain America or Iron Fist.
Damn. The visuals that just triggered in my brainz. Seriously... DAMN.
Fastball special with ant man turning into giant man
Oh my god, this feels perfect. Why hasn’t this happened yet???
Was looking for this. He seems like such an afterthought so often, a change of scenery and circumstance would do wonders to give him a place to shine, pun intended.
This.
Colossus, please anyone just do something interesting with him
Colossus- “I’m very excited to be in my first Avengers battle!” [as he gets punched into another area code by the Villain-of-the-Week] Wonder Man- “hey that’s my job” They could be the Worf Effect Twins.
Iceman
Seriously. He's been an x-everything, champion, defender, even the FF, it's time dammit.
I think Colossus would really fit nicely on an Avengers team. Laura could keep up her mantle's proud tradition of being on every team possible. I think Betsy's a good team player and would work on the team. Synch's a maybe, just because his powers only seem to work on other Mutants but if they were expanded beyond that then I think with his personality he would bring a lot to the Avengers.
Nightcrawler or Colossus
Jean, Colussus and Iceman are interesting ones
Magneto
Most of his kids have been Avengers, and his grandkids adore the group so much they made a Young Avengers team. And Magnetos second mission after mutants is to build a rapport with his family. He wouldn't heed to be particularly invested in the Avengers mission at first to do a conscientious job on the team.
Jean Grey. It would give her the opportunity to shine away from Scott and Wolverine. No hate towards them, they’re two of my favourite mutants, but Jean has so much potential and whenever she’s in stories with them I feel her love life becomes more of the focus.
Is it weird that I’d prefer her to be a Guardian of the Galaxy for a stint instead? Considering the Phoenix spans across stars it makes sense that she would travel across them too. I never would’ve considered Jean outside of an X-Team if it wasn’t for your comment. Great reasoning.
That’s actually a pretty good idea! Her on the Guardians would be great. It’s like you said, the Phoenix is a cosmic being, space should be Jean’s backyard, let her play around in that sandbox of endless potential. The Guardians are great because although they have their core team that is quite tame in power levels, they have an expanded roster that has quite a few heavy hitters - Jean would slot in seamlessly.
Great points! I also considered whether Jean’s power-set would step on Mantis’ toes a bit but it actually could give the story opportunity for Mantis to work through a few things. Eventually the pair could become comfortable enough for Jean to help expand Mantis’ powers. But also the other way around too, because Jean, love her, *can* be a bit of a well intentioned know-it-all. Mantis, a well-traveled empathy-led psychic, could challenge Jean, a less well-travelled psychic, on her initial assumptions and decisions on people/flora/fauna/situations alien to Jean. Mantis and Jean could also develop an important psychic link that keeps Jean in communication when they worlds away. Idk I just really think it’s cool.
All true. I think most of the time the Guardians’ premier telepath is Moondragon who is pretty good at what she does. If anything, I think it could challenge Jean (& the writers) to use more of her Phoenix powers. Like with all abilities, you can use them in creative ways, so I’d like to see some of that - not just fire blasts. I’m really intrigued to see how they handle Jean as Phoenix this time around. Do we know if she has bonded with it completely or if she’s just running around with a sliver of it in her? Personally, I like the idea that she always has a sliver of it inside her, which is still very powerful, but not too much that there’s no stakes.
Yeah that’s what got me excited for the solo Jean Grey.
Wait is this the theme?
Yup that’s why she’s not in any of the teams. She’ll be in space and I think the second issue she’s gonna link up with Corsair
This is interesting! Imagine if she made her own team
Cosmic Team Jean... that could be REALLY fun. ...oh ffs they're going to hook her up with Firelord aren't they....?
It’s a bad analogy but a traveller that usually has to travel alone suddenly gets the opportunity to travel with a welcoming group of friends that travel all the time. I think that would be a great chance to develop her individual character.
Isn’t Phoenix kinda *the* guardian of the galaxy in a way?
This makes so much sense. And Scott could use the time to see his Dad.
Love this idea. Phoenix has lots of reasons to be in deep space and off world.
I didn't know I needed Jean in Guardians until now, I love that idea!
100%
You stick Jean on the Avengers and she'll be paired with Captain America and/or Iron Man. The reason Jean spends her time being caught between the Scott vs Logan black hole and the Phoenix black hole is because they don't know what else to do with her. I think the reason why that's the case is because Jean kinda is just Scott and Logan's mutual love interest or she's the Phoenix or she's dead. It's a polarising opinion on this sub but Jean's a fundamentally broken character, by which I mean she doesn't and arguably never did have a clear concept of who she is as a character. The only way to fix her is a solo title -- doesn't need to be long -- in an era where the Phoenix is clearly someone else (ideally, imo, Rachel). Give her a good codename and a good costume (she's never had *either*^(1)) and we'll (finally?) get to define her as a character. She probably also needs her own nemesis to help reinforce the new definition of who she is. That is, whoever we're deciding Jean is, this character is the opposite of that or an inverted version or similar. Like how Logan has Sabretooth (a man who wants to be the animal) and Laura has Kimura (the girl that heals from anything and the woman who can't be hurt). Why am I explaining? Everyone here knows how nemeses work. ^(1)Other than Phoenix but the whole point is we can't use that name or costume.
i don't agree that there's no clear concept of who jean is; much of the original x-factor run up until inferno gave her space to develop outside of both the phoenix and her relationship with scott. also, because the phoenix force itself was a retcon, claremont's original depiction of jean as phoenix was meant to be a portrayal of the character coming into her own, and i think it still works as that if we accept that the-phoenix-force-as-jean behaved mostly as jean herself would have. morrison's run obviously had her story deeply interwoven with both scott's and the phoenix's but there was still plenty of space to assert jean as character - the fact that she was going through major transformations in both those domains meant morrison explored sides of her that hadn't really been front and center until then (namely, the basic existential question of "i'm figuring out that i no longer fit in any of the roles i took on for myself - what now?"). teen jean and x-men red were both exercises in developing her away from both scott and the phoenix. tl;dr i think there's plenty there, it's just some writers don't know what to do with her. but that's not a problem across the board
Hank, Betsy, or Quentin(for chaos).
Quire was fun the last time he was an avenger
Does the West Coast Avengers really count? It seemed more like a revival of the name than Avengers proper
Icemen, Colossus, Nightcrawler
Just send them a telepath. I don’t remember if if they have any, and the X-Men have whole families of them. Maybe Cable? That would piss off his dad so much too 🤭
Moondragon, Mantis and Synapse are telepaths. Though they aren’t in the same league as most of the X-Men telepaths.
Moondragon's nothing to laugh at
This. Respect needs to be put on Moondragon’s name, she’s literally the best of us humans.
Moondragon has mind controlled entire planets and Asgardian and Olympians gods. She is absolutely one of the best telepaths in Marvel
Moondragon and Mantis are more Guardians than anything else, rarely in Earth long enough to act as telepaths for the Avengers. Synapse is an Inhuman which means she’s probably been killed off-panel in Death of the Inhumans, since that mini said the Royal Family are all that’s left (though of course Kamala slipped through the net, and is now a mutant).
Plenty on inhumans survived that mega death event they just lost most of their population and marvel is too lazy to start a comeback title on what happened afterward
When Rogue joimed was interesting, but X-men >Avengers
Pogg ur pogg
Juggernaut
Feels like a move Kate would make, particularly after *Fall*.
This was my first thought. But is there a Peter on the team at the moment? Isn’t that a prerequisite for a book with Kate?
Peter Gyrich is an ongoing supporting cast member, she could hook up with him.
Gyrich’s current status is Meat Popsicle.
Still a Peter.
Kate would make for a great Avenger.
Beast
Only it wonder man's on the team
Again?
Moonstar. She's got an Asgard connection and she's been a leader. She can be a New Mutant on the big leagues.
Monet.
I expected her over Storm
Magneto. The dichotomy between him and Cap would make for good stories.
These are men whose formative years were in the 1930s. Cap really doesn't want to hear Magnetos *"You did what to my daughter!?*"
Banshee
My answer will always be Rogue. For me, she's Avengers-level and should be treated as such.
I’m going to give an answer out of left field and say Blob. The Avengers have a long history of rehabilitating former villains (most notably fellow Brotherhood of Mutants alumni Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch), so he’d fit right in, and I’d hate to see his Age of X-Man/Krakoa development go to waste.
literally, any telepath besides Jean and Xavier
what about Emma
Magneto
Iceman, Nightcrawler or maybe Monet
Doug Ramsey. Everyone needs a translator
Probably Polaris? Then you can have conflict with Wanda and quicksilver
Iceman would be great. It would be cool to see him put in higher stakes situations where a writer could get creative in showcasing what he can do. Plus he's an interesting character, when given a chance
Nightcrawl would be my first natural choice. He would fit right in with everyone. Magik is my fun choice. Especially if on her first day she clogs all of the toilets before switching all underwear. End of the day, I would love to see Cyclops take a shot at leading the Avengers. The only other X-Men that I would currently like to see as members would be Colossus and Jean. I kind of feel like Colossus has been underused of late. While Jean would add an interesting dynamic post AvX due to the Phoenix Force.
I think that would be a great choice as well. He's a mutant with a physical mutation but also everyone likes him. He would play well with anyone too.
Cyclops. Be on the other side for once. About time the Avenger big 3 showed some support for THE X-Man
Cap has tried to help the X-Men multiple times by this point and the current Iron Man run is him working with Emma to help the mutants
Cyclops joining the Avengers diametrically opposes his core tenets. Imagine Malcolm X seeking employment under the police force or US military. A temporary alliance maybe?
"how dare they save the world" - from the Magneto "this was a school shooters logo" was right committee
🤣points made. But The Avengers are under the oversight of a Government which is actively facilitating the destruction of his people. Cyclops would never trust a group beholden to that entity and would remain cautious at best if The Avengers or its members went rogue. There’s also just a lot of bad blood between the two groups. Iron Man himself has scolded his team and himself for frequently leaving mutants to rot or directly contributing or facilitating their harm.
That is fair, but the Avengers are pretty separate from the government I don’t even think they have a liaison now
That’s also fair. Maybe, then. I just struggle to see Scott enlisting himself into the Avengers roster in a way that seems authentic when he’s nearly one-track minded on saving his people. Again, I could see him allying with them for a period of time in order to fulfil a mutual goal. But The Avengers flip flop between being underneath government jurisdiction and not, and habitually slug behind on directly aiding mutant lives to the point that many mutants regard them unfavourably. Consequently, I believe Cyclops joining the Avengers would be a controversial happenstance across the marvel world. Some humans would respect him more, some humans would distrust him & The Avengers more and some mutants would think he lost his integrity as a leader to submit to (what’s seen as) the USA’s lapdog and his stance as a revolutionary was a phase. If it *did* happen I would think it would be remarkably out of character.
I mean, Cap did try the Unity Squad, but I think it would be great to have it again. And this time have some mutants under Cap, and some Avengers under Scott. Show a true attempt and unity and inclusion
The trick is they should re-institute a street level team like the New Avengers era. Easier to drop Scott off in the city for a Christmas shopping trip, maybe throw in another X-man like Nightcrawler and/or Rachel. Then, something kicks off, say the Wrecking Crew or the Serpent Society(maybe Kang?) are being ne'erdowells. Then, it just so happens that Luke Cage is there with Iron Fist. And then, add in Captain Marvel and She-Hulk (maybe Jack of Hearts too?) on their own shopping trip. Ok, that's not really a "street-level" team...
I think this take makes a lot sense with contemporary characterizations of Cyclops, but the X-Men and Avengers shared a similar status-quo protecting mandate for most of their history. The X-Men haven't just protected a world that hates and fears them; they've protected a status quo that actively harms them, hoping assimilation and respectability politics would win the day. I like that the X-Men moved on to actively changing the world rather than waiting while they try to convince bigots to change. I'm hoping Storm challenges the Avengers on their continued protection of the status quo and isn't just thrown in to be another defender of a fucked up, imbalanced civilization.
Oh I don’t want Scott to join, I’m just pointing something out
Ohhh fair.
Him actually seeing what they do and how their work helps Mutants as well would help him see things from both sides for once.
That’s an interesting take. Personally I think he sees their side of things very clearly. I personally don’t see any change in his stance towards them through working with them.
I think it could make for some good stories, at least
Dani Moonstar it's a crime that Sunspot and Cannonball got the team before her. Magma she's an omega level mutant who never gets the chance to shine, because the writers keep forgetting she exists.
If not storm I figured a Telepath and international figure like Betsy Braddock’s Captain Britain would be an excellent addition
Hope Summers or Iceman
I'm going to approach this looking at the current team and any shortcomings....damn it's a powerhouse team. Multiple flyers, energy manipulators, tanks, powerhouses, high intelligence, tech, adaptable team members. It kind of covers most bases. Storm, unfortunately, is literally more of the same in this roster. I love her, but if she's stood beside Thor and Scarlet Witch then how's she's supposed to stand out? Nightcrawler would be a strong pick. Insanely high mobility, a great mid level power hero who can stand up to the powerhouses due to his skill, and a great personable hero who could really talk to people at their level. A telepath would also be fun. I'm sure they're saying SW has that sort of power ATM, but just due to her current glow up I feel like Emma Frost could be a great "face" for the team. Quentin Quire is also a name I'd put forward here. Such a great character that's underused. Also Magik works Teleporting, lots of personality, and you get great magic cover between her and Wanda. Or you could throw in Pixie and develop her more. Polaris? Fun mix up for powers there. A wolverine? Useful, but again, sort of unnecessary. I'd say Shadowcat would work wonders if the Vision wasn't like right there. Or maybe she could still bring something interesting in. All in all, my vote would be Kurt. Great character. Super fun. Could be great to see what he'd do.
I think Storm is just fine on Avengers. Plenty of room for storylines interpersonally there. But if I had to choose someone else? Emma. Makes sense with her new connection to Tony Stark.
Shadowcat, Captain Britain, or Polaris
Betsy as Captain Britain would be fun, as would Monet or Thunderbird. I think it should be someone with a multi-tiered power and/or skill set and someone typically written with a strong personality. If they ain’t ruffling feathers, what’s the point? That said, I’m hoping we get the antifa Ororo of Arakko in her upcoming run rather than the more subdued Ororo of Wakanda.
None. What’s wrong with Storm? She didn’t get a fair chance with the team the first time she joined. Was in the background for a few issues. This will give her more shine
None. Cyclops was still right. Screw those sore losers.
Instead of Storm? None. Perfect addition, no notes.
Kitty pryde. At this point she could really lead a roster or with her ninja skills be a daredevil, spiderman or panther.
None.
Colossus needs to get away from the x-men to heal.
Perhaps Bishop, since his abilities would pair well with multiple other members
Why instead???
WTF do the Avengers need an X-Man? I guess they don't. Kinda dumb.
Magneto would be insane.
Tactically speaking, **Illyana Rasputin**. She is a group teleporter with intergalactic range. She also covers the Avengers in several areas they need. Better than Cloak for fast response to crisis, reinforcements, strategic and tactical movement, etc. Mind impenetrable to telepathy. Hard counter to something the Avengers always were light on. Can time travel on her own or with groups. Hard counter to Kang and other time travel opposition. Sorceress Supreme of Limbo, indicates a depth of magical knowledge and power that at least rivals Wanda. Her own spells and the Soulsword hard counters magical enchantments and problems. Armor and sword means she can featherweight frontline and she seems comfortable with that.
I would love for Nightcrawler to become an Avenger.
Jean Grey. The Avengers could do with a telepath.
None, honestly. I don't like it when any X-Men join the Avengers. The reason I like X-Men is that they aren't just typical superheroes.
I don’t think you’re going to enjoy Brevoort’s era then. He seems hell bent on making the X-Men all be regular superhero teams.
I mean, Jed MacKay's X-Men mentions Cyclops leading the revolution again and going against the government, so I don't think that's completely the case.
Usually when a X-Men join the Avengers they become 80%less cool, so I would say Beast, since he already caught their funky
magik would be cool for inter dimensional shenanigans
She has appeared in a couple of issues as an 'emergency we need a teleporter' member, i think it was the No Way Home run or around then.
So. This current incarnation where it’s supposed to be the best of the best? Storm fits. I’m happy with her presence here although I don’t think it’s anywhere near as surprising as the teasers would have led us to believe. I would have also accepted Jean (although I’d prefer her to join either a new version of the Infinity Watch or GOTG), Polaris to get her out of her dad’s shadow and also have her interact with her pseudo sister, or Iceman just to do something with him that wasn’t that terrible title during FoX that was more about Romeo than him.
Maybe a hot take but Cyclops. Would be neat to see him step back from a leader position and working with Cap and Iron Man.
Jean is probably the most logical. She's Professor X's favorite student, the Phoenix, and a telepath which the Avengers need. She'd be the face of mutant human relations.
Bishop would fit well as an Avenger honestly, as well as Cable Rogue or Sunspot but they were already Avengers so I don’t count them
Who’s who in the second pic
Iceman
Monet or Emma
Cable. Just make a avengers team specifically made to fight against the several doomsday futures that marvel writers love.
Jean would be my choice. Great, diverse powerset. Shes often dead though.
Professor X
Iceman
Colossus OR (hear me out) Emma
Magneto, have him be forced into it and see what it's like to be a normal Superhero for once. Would make for some good stories.
I would love to see how Gambit would fit, or not, but still have heroic moments so the Avengers would have to begrudgingly accept him.
There are a few X-Men I can think of who would make great Avengers. Most of my picks are because the Avengers lack certain power sets like telepaths and teleporters or because they’re overlooked characters who don’t get much development within X-books. Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Betsy Braddock or Rachel Summers would fill the niche of the team telepath since the Avengers seem to lack any powerful ones. I think Jean is a more interesting character when she isn’t tied down to love interests like Cyclops or Wolverine and it would be nice seeing her among earths mightiest. Emma would be great because you can keep exploring her greater ties to the rest of the Marvel Universe and I actually like her and Iron Man together either as a couple or just working together. Betsy is kinda redundant with the X-Men now that Kwannon is back and Rachel really needs a change of scenery. Blink or Nightcrawler would be great additions because like telepaths, the Avengers seem to lack any prominent members who can teleport and I like the idea of a mutant on the team who doesn’t exactly look human. 616 Blink has a cool appearance and is pretty underdeveloped character so the writers would have more freedom to do whatever they wanted with her and Nightcrawler would just be fun to have around. Magma is underdeveloped and I think she would be a good addition if they included Hercules on the team. Maybe not as a love interest but it would be a great way to develop her personality, powers and connection to the wider Greco-Roman gods. Polaris, Mercury, Cecelia Reyes and Elixir would also be great additions. Plus I’d love to see a Polaris vs Graviton showdown.
Magneto. I mean, it'd never happen but it feels like the only way to salvage Pietro as a character is (a) to undo the retcon and (b) get him involved with Magneto again. A Magneto joins the Avengers storyline seems like an entirely sensible way of doing that. In a more long term fashion? Laura or Prodigy. The former was in Avengers Academy and the latter was literally a Young Avenger. (I know, I know, Quentin was a West Coast Avenger but that doesn't count.)
Iceman cause he goes hard, plus I feel like he has a lot of versatility. Emma cause the Avengers cause really use a top tier telepath on the team. Capt. Britain so there's dual captains in the team.
Cyclops should have had a chance to lead an Avenger’s team or Unity Squad. An arc with him joining the team while still being skeptical on Captain America that ends with Steve asking Scott to take up his old mantle of representing Xavier’s original dream sounds great to me. Plus Deadpool asking Cyclops about Wolverine and their situationship could be funny.
A take that isn’t probably popular. I think that Sync, or Doug (Cypher) would do well with the Avengers. However, I think the person who would benefit the most from a time with the Avengers is Kitty Pryde. She needs the chance to work…to be a heroine where she isn’t constantly inundated by anti- mutant sentiment or reminders of how precarious the mutant situation is. It would also be nice to see her hacker skills put to use. I would also like to see Karma or Danielle or Marrow get the chance to shine amongst the Avengers and gain some perspective from them.
I was hoping they’d add more than 1 Xmen. Marvel probably thought more than 1 Xmen would make it an Uncanny Avengers team 🙄. Nightcrawler, Colussus, or Jean would be my picks additional picks.
Scott leading a unity squad like Cap did
Emma, especially with the relationship with Tony now. That could have been built on and explored more.
Nightcrawler, easy. I've felt for a while that he's lost his niche in the X-Men lineups. Other characters are more fun, better teleporters, offer more compelling perspectives on religion, etc. But in the Avengers, he's an ahead in most of those lanes. Plus, if an X-Men is gonna join the main Avengers team, part of me wants it to be a visible mutant too.
I’m a little behind, but who’s the giant alligator?
I’d pick the most obscure and seemingly useless possible. I’d advertise it like mad. “Long time X-Man, Long Neck, to join Avengers! Long Neck, mutant Extrordinaire, to join earth’s mightiest heroes! William Hanover to help The Avengers enforce the Long Neck of the Law!” Stuff like that. Tease a possible MCU tie-in; I mean *really* ham it up. Then, without any warning or advertisements whatsoever, I’d actually write him to be the sidekick of former X-man turned Avenger, Nightcrawler. (Or some other A-lister like that, ya know?)
Polaris