Brian Michael Bendis' Guardians of the Galaxy or Christopher Yost's X-Force? The community had all week to think about this brawl and now only one side is left standing. One team kept a moderate lead the entire time, but the poll did fluctuate to some degree and there was never too large of a gap between the two sides. Well, after five days of discussion and voting, the winner is clear: the Comic Vine community sides with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
The combination of skill, firepower and powers gave the Guardians of the Galaxy a decent lead over Wolverine's team. The group of aliens earned 54% and X-Force took 40% of the votes. 6% believe this one is too close to call.
The Viner arguments and Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder's post are crazy long this week, but they're also extremely entertaining. The first post is incredibly confident the Guardians will dominate the battle and the other two explain how they think the fight would play out in out in a very, very fun way. So, let's just go right ahead and jump into these detailed posts.
Viner Argument of the Week for the Guardians of the Galaxy is by Oy_the_Billy_Bumbler
"Here's why The Guardians absolutely destroy X-Force. This is a no contest in my honest opinion. Several of the Guardians could solo all of X-Force without even breaking a sweat.
X-Force is full of a bunch of Street Level characters to just above Street Level. Sure, they pack a little extra in healing factors and probability manipulation. They can stomp most of Earth based street level teams with ease. They aren't taking on Earth based heroes in this though. The Guardians are characters that were busy saving the universe every day while the Earth based heroes were in the middle of a "Civil War" over a law that was, in the grand scheme of things, very insignificant.
Take Tony Stark for example. Tony Stark joined the Guardians, because he wanted to see what more was out there. Tony Stark has arguably the best tech on Earth. Tony Stark has admitted that he is at least a generation behind what the rest of the universe has to offer in tech. The Guardians have some of the best tech in their weaponry, which puts them even further ahead of even the Iron Man Armors. Rocket Raccoon repeatedly embarrassed Tony and made fun of how primitive the Iron Man armor was in comparison to even the simplest of what Rocket could do with his weaponry, which brings me to Rocket Raccoon.
Rocket Raccoon could blow the entire team away with one shot. There is no debating that. Going back to DnA's great run that established the Guardians, they spent a lot of time trying to keep the Cancerverse from overtaking the 616 universe. In one such occasion, they were battling the Universal Church of Truth. The UCT was trying to bring the Cancerverse into the universe to help resurrect their savior (Thanos). Anyways, they brought a massive Cancerverse creature through the portal. Adam Warlock and Phyla-Vel tried to push the creature back through the portal. Their combined powers were too weak to perform the task. That's why the Guardians have a genius strategist/weapons specialist in Rocket Raccoon. Rocket's grenade packed enough punch to hurt the creature and push it back through the portal. His grenade packed more punch then the combined power of Adam Warlock and Phyla-Vel, who are high tier cosmic level beings.
Staying on Rocket, he is also a master strategist. He was engineered on halfworld to have a genius intelligence for strategy and tactics by the humans who left him to protect the loonies. He also trained to become the sole protector of the loonies on halfworld, which is why he is so dangerous today. Starlord has traveled the entire universe. He has encountered people like Captain America, Tony Stark, Reed Richards, and even Thanos. Starlord has claimed that Rocket Raccoon has the best tactical mind out of everyone he has ever met in the entire universe.
Rocket was the brains behind dropping the babel spire when Ultron and the Phalanx conquered Hala, the homeworld of the Kree. Rocket came up with a plan to have Groot and Mantis take out all of the forces within the babel spire. This is a good time to talk about how easily Groot could destroy X-Force with ease by explaining his powers.
To topple the Babel spire, Groot rooted himself in the structure of the tower. Groot grew so he was as large as the Babel Spire. That's how big he can get when he wants too. That's the Empire State Building size, if not bigger. Groot also gained the ability from Mantis through her pyrokinesis to let Groot manipulate his sap at a molecular level so he can become flammable at will. In case you didn't know, Groot is fireproof, which is one of the first powers he demonstrated way back when he was a villain and has demonstrated recently in his mini-series with Rocket Raccoon. Anyways, Groot burnt down the entire babel spire, and regrew himself from a sprig. This was the decisive move that toppled Ultron.
Groot's size manipulation through growth give him an excellent healing factor. I would argue it is much faster then both Wolverine and X-23's. It is getting better by the day too. If you have been a long time Guardians fan like myself, then you would know that Groot used to be able to talk normally. Now he is only able to say, "I am Groot!". That's not because of him being dumb like most people think. It's because his species wood grows more and more durable as they age. Groot is actually a genius at Reed Richard levels. Maximus explained this to the Guardians, and this was later proven when Rocket traveled to Planet X. Anyways, Groot has become so durable that he has tanked shots from Thanos on two separate occasions and has been left without any damage. Even if Groot is damaged, he can instantly regrow his damaged limbs.
Groot's age has also given him immense strength. I would put his strength quite a bit above a base line savage Hulk. There is plenty of proof to back this up too. Groot has hit Thanos with enough force to make his body fold in half from pain. Groot, more recently was the member picked between both the Avengers and Guardians to put the beat down on Thanos. This roster included the Hulk. Groot puts a pretty impressive beating on the Mad Titan that Hulk has never been able to do to the same effect. Another of Groot's strength feats is killing the Monster of Badoon. The Monster of Badoon has fought the Thing, and beat Grimm in their fight. Groot, however not only beats the Monster of Badoon, he hits him so hard it knocks his head clean off. The Thing is well above a 100 tonner, and Groot hit with strength much higher then the Thing ever could.
Groot could also use his Dendrokinesis for a very easy win. Groot has the power to absorb, and control anything made of wood. He has the power to build a net of trees that is strong enough to carry a village through space, without killing the people in the village from the effects of space, and all the way to his home planet on Planet X. Groot can turn any piece of wood on the battlefield into a living weapon. Groot can also drop sheds of himself, that are basically small dupes of himself. He can create an army of mini-Groots to fight for him. This is one of the reasons why Groot is arguably immortal also. In Groot's current age, he has the power to instantly change his size at will. He can grow from a sprig, to a ten story giant in the matter of seconds. If Groot is destroyed, one of his sheds can grow and get back in the fight.
Another member of the Guardians with a healing factor that is even better then Wolverine and X-23's when combined with her natural durability is Gamora. Gamora has survived the burning of the sun and healed from it. She has intentionally submerged herself in burning lava and acid so she could kill her opponent by dragging him with her. She came out of the lava and acid with absolutely zero damage to her body.
Gamora is more then just a healer though. She was trained by Thanos to master more martial arts styles then even Batman. Batman may have mastered every fighting style on Earth, but he is limited to Earth based fighting styles (unless I'm mistaken and Batman knows some Alien styles too). Gamora has earned her title as the deadliest women in the galaxy. She has fought Ronan the Accuser to a stalemate. Ronan the Accuser has stopped characters as strong as Black Bolt in his tracks and has absorbed Black Bolts power with no damage, but he still had trouble with Gamora. Gamora could easily destroy all of X-factor on her own with her enhanced physicals, healing factor, and far superior skills (sorry Wolverine).
The other mean and green member of the Guardians is Drax. While he is not quite what he used to be as a cosmic level threat, he still is more then enough to dominate X-Force level characters. Drax is easily a 50 tonner, and is said to have a healing factor. To be honest, I don't know if he has a healing factor, because he has never taken any damage. Drax has gone up against an entire army of Annihilus forces when he was abandoned on a planet overrun with the opposing army. Drax was able to fight his way through an entire horde of the Annihilation Wave before making his way to Annihilus ship, where he kills Thanos.
Last but not least on the Guardians is Starlord. Starlord, while not without his own share of impressive feats, is not always the one dealing the huge blows like the rest of his team can. Starlord instead uses his expert leadership to put his team in the right place to win. Included in Starlord's victories by leadership and/or strategy include, the Annihilation Wave, the Phalanx Conquest, and Thanos outwitted on three separate occasions. Starlord always looks like he is flying by the seat of his pants, but he excels at this. He also always has a hidden agenda unknown to anyone but himself. He keeps himself three steps ahead of even the genius that is Thanos at all times. He's proven this time and time again. Batman better watch out, because Starlord is moving in on the title of Prep-Master. If three wins over Thanos because of prep doesn't earn him that title, it definitely puts him as a pretty close contender.
So one of the best leaders in the universe is taking a squad of characters that tackle cosmic level Universe ending threats on a monthly basis to take on a team of Earth based characters that are just above street level at best? Ya, I'll take the Guardians in a 10/10 no contest win here."
Viner Argument of the Week for X-Force is by AustinCY
"Two of my all-time favourite Marvel teams. This is honestly the closest battle I can possibly imagine. Having read Yost's & Remender's X-Force and both Abnett's & Bendis' Guardians of the Galaxy, I'm going to break down what each character contributes to this all out battle:
X-Force: Wolverine is the charismatic and experienced leader who has led many X-Men teams and knows how to fully utilize his team mate's strengths. The X-Force is comprised of cold-hearted killers who are maneuverable and stealthy, which gives them an advantage in this given scenario. Note that, since Wolverine and X-23 having healing factors, they will last longer throughout the battle, in addition to Warpath being extremely resistant to injury. Domino is a wild card because of her probability manipulation which will be troublesome for her to die. Archangel has his metallic feathers that are laced with poisonous chemicals that will paralyze his opponents. Wolverine & X-23 are exceptional hand-to-hand combatants, especially with their adamantium. Warpath is a powerhouse tank that relies on his brute strength and speed. Domino is the clever marksman that will try to pick off the enemies. Archangel will be used to isolate one of Guardians via flight & grab, and will fight one on one somewhere else (as shown in the Dark X-Men series against Bullseye).
Guardians of the Galaxy: Star-Lord is a knowledgeable and crafty leader who is the most familiar with his team mates and what they are capable of doing. However, his leadership skills are not demonstrated as skillfully compared to Wolverine. The Guardians are best shown when fighting individually as opposed to as a team. This will be their greatest downfall. Gamora is the deadliest woman in the universe equipped with a healing factor. Drax the Destroyer is also a powerhouse tank who relies on his brute strength and speed. Both Gamora and Drax are superb killing machines. Rocket Raccoon is the most resourceful with his array of weaponry, explosives and jet pack. Groot is a mighty creature capable of regenerating and expanding his size. The Guardians of the Galaxy are mainly used to fighting lots of alien armies and solving catastrophic galactic problems. Battling the X-Force will offer them a unique challenge.
The Battle:
The fight would begin with the X-Force splitting off into the darkness in which Wolverine has assigned which of his team members would battle who based on the Guardians appearances, weaponry, size, and his limited knowledge on the Guardians. Star-Lord will start making quirky remarks on how mutants are usually friendly and then Rocket Raccoon would join in the chattering. Joking aside, his leadership will not be taken seriously from Drax and Gamora, and would therefore split off from the team to hunt the X-Force down by themselves. Both are very proud warriors who are confident in their fighting skills. Groot follows orders tentatively and stays with Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon. However, out of nowhere, Archangel shoots his metallic feathers towards the three, forcing them to separate in which Archangel would swiftly swoop and take Rocket Raccoon out of the battle. Star-Lord would try to use his element gun to stop Archangel but it is shot out of his hand by Domino and luckily shatters into pieces due to a weakpoint in the gun. Meanwhile, Warpath would challenge Drax and test each other's might. Both wielding knives in each hand. However, Warpath's knives are bowie knives that are composed of Vibranium which gives him the advantage in this dual. Spectacular battle of knives and muscle but Warpath would end up besting Drax through multiple stabbings. X-23 would sneak attack Gamora from within the shadows but Gamora would deflect that attack. Both combatants are extremely and heavily trained fighters both with a healing factor. Bloodiest dual ever. In the end, Gamora will claim victory and stays true to being the deadliest woman in the galaxy. Wolverine will naturally test Star-Lord's wits and engage in battle but Groot would unexpectedly swipe his woody arm against Wolverine's small stature and send him flying, hitting a nearby building. Without the element gun, Star-Lord is vulnerable and takes cover so that he can think of a strategy to get his team out of this situation. Domino is assigned to taking out Star-Lord and exits the building in which she was sniping from.
Meanwhile, Archangel drops Rocket Raccoon, only to notice that the clever creature strapped his jetpack to Archangel before getting dropped. The jetpack is then detonated as the furry raccoon drops midair. The explosion badly damages Archangel as he spirals to the ground, forcing him to take cover while shooting his feathers. Similarly, Rocket Raccoon will be taking cover, shooting, and talking smack about how he was chosen to get isolated from the team. In the end, Rocket Raccoon will outsmart the Apocalypse Horseman strategically through means of various blasts of weaponry accurately aimed where Archangel cannot protect himself. However, Rocket Raccoon would have to return back to the battle without any transportation. Wolverine fights Groot head-on and manages to take apart Groot piece by piece. Wolverine is a swift samurai who can outspeed Groot's predictable attacks. In the end, all there would be left of Groot would be a splinter of wood. Domino would eventually hunt down Star-Lord but to her surprise, Star-Lord manages to catch her off guard and disarms her weapon. Star-Lord would begin to flirt his way out and mention that his element gun was his favourite weapon. Although Domino would be flattered, she would agree to fight him hand-to-hand combat seeing that she destroyed his element gun and wouldn't mind to fight fairly. A very interesting fight would occur. In the end, Wolverine would show up and slash Star-Lord from behind, terribly wounding him from continuing to fight. Wolverine would say something about how he lacks the respect from his team and the leadership to execute the battle. Star-Lord would smile and say something about how he was wrong about mutants being friendly. To make things short, Wolverine, Warpath and Domino would take on Gamora. X-23 would unexpectedly attack her and Gamora would be defeated by all four. Afterwards, they would hunt down the lone Rocket Raccoon. He will use up all of his ammunition and explosives to defend himself to the best of his ability, but his weapons would eventually deplete and would be taken out by the X-Force.
Ultimately, X-Force would win under Wolverine's cunning strategic leadership, stealth, and bloodthirsty mentality."
Corey 'Undeadpool' Schroeder, Comic Vine Writer
"I still don't see how it's any of our business what a bunch of earthbound mutants get into..." Gamora scoffed, circling at the back of the group, her rifle raised, but contempt obvious in her voice.
"Listen...an extraterrestrial parasite infects some of the deadliest mutants on the planet...and heroic ones, no less...we get involved." Quill muttered, his eyes darting back and forth, his breaths coming in quick, measured moments.
"The tree and the rodent being here ain't helping our incognito status, evacuation or not..." Drax pointed out, emerging from one of the many desolated structures.
"What'd you call me?! WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Rocket broke formation and strode up to the man three times his height, lowering the massive launcher on his shoulder.
"I AM GROOT!" intoned the massive wood man.
"That's right! And...wait, what?" Rocket spun from Drax, looking up, "Oh damnation!" he readied his weapon and fired at the shape. The rocket exploded nearby, sending him crashing to the ground next to Groot. He righted himself, his metallic wings firing bladed feathers in a cloud, embedding themselves in the tree's hide. He underestimated how fast the not-ent would be, though, finding his neck clutched in unyielding hands that squeezed with incredible force.
"Eyes open! They're likely to-" Gamorra was cut off by a the sound of glass breaking, followed by a strange smell and finally small figure leaping from a rooftop and tumbling through a doorway with her just as it began to rain. The strange thing was, the bottle hadn't come from outside her group... Drax readied himself as, predictably, another shape leapt from the shadows on him, massive knives clashing against his own as he rolled back, righting himself and readying as an animalistic shape leapt on Raccoon, but the smaller Guardian evaded him, leaving an unexpected gift stuck to his back in the form of a silver disk.
"What?!" the disc exploded, driving thousands of needles downward, sending Wolverine to one knee, twitching and growling.
"It's called a nanoplague! Picked it up a galaxy and a half away. Should override your healing factor AND kill whatever's got your brain in such a tiz-" Raccoon had either underestimated Wolverine's healing factor or the plague was a little too slow-acting as Wolverine rose up and stabbed him through the stomach, "Oh, you little upstart..." he coughed and slumped forward just as Logan lost consciousness.
While this was happening, Gamora and X-23 had separated in the sewer, both circling one another. "Listen, little wolf, you might be the deadliest woman on this planet, but I'm the deadliest woman in the gal-" Laura screamed and leapt forward, popping her four hand claws and slashing Gamora across the stomach and arm. Her armor prevented the wound from going too deep, but she shoved X off, snarling herself and taking quick stock of her situation. When Laura pounced again, she found both her arms paralyzed as Gamora struck her vital nerve clusters. "Enough! Enough of this! Is anything of you still left?!" she needn't have asked as she saw the red, vacant look behind Laura's eyes and she lunged, both of her arms useless. Gamora expected a kick, but not the blades that extended, embedding themselves in her side and neck. They stuck in her skeleton, however, and X-23 had no idea of Gamora's healing factor as she grabbed the smaller fighter, forcing her head into a recently formed puddled, choking off her breath as she inhaled a breath of water and lost consciousness, Gamora staggering back, pulling her from the water before slumping over.
Drax and Warpath fought without verve nor finesse. Two warriors merely fighting in its purest form, knives sinking into flesh, fists striking bone, knees and boots cracking against bodies and voices growling in determination. A mutual headbutt ensured neither would be getting up for an our nor seeing straight for a week. Back where it all started, Archangel's wings sliced Groot's arm off, but the tree man was unfazed, grabbing the flier's ankle and slamming him into the ground. He turned, sending another flurry of metallic feathers.
"Enough! Enough of THIS!" still another flurry reduced Groot to kindling, but Archangel sensed there was still life in the fragments. Before he could formulate a solution for the problem, Quill had already fired several rounds of his rifle into the back of the dark angel's head. He began to adjust the gun to properly kill him when he heard a noise behind him. Four had been dealt with, but wasn't there a fifth? He turned in time for a vicious roundhouse to the side of his head, knocking him off balance and sending him staggering back. He fired wildly, but the shot went wide and Domino advanced nonchalantly, punching him in the stomach. He chuckled, pulling a pistol from his waist and firing. Domino fell to one knee, gritting her teeth and trying to right herself on numbed legs. The gun had been set to incapacitate, so he made a slight adjustment to ensure a kill and grinned down at his target. His grin reversed when he pulled the trigger and the gun exploded in his hand, sending him staggering back, clutching the burnt limb. He fell to his knees in confusion as Domino shook her head, holding a strange device to his head. "Now THAT'S unlucky...for you, I mean." She pulled the trigger and an ear-shattering noise filled Quill's head as he collapsed, a strange, silver worm crawling out of his ear.
Domino sighed and tsked loudly before training her weapon on the slithering being and bombarding it with sonic waves until it burst, "Next time, Quill," she said as he passed out, "skip the detour to Seti-Alpha 6."
Here's a teaser for next week's battle. Is that Squirrel Girl vs. Stilt-Man? Or could it be Armless Tiger Man vs. Condiment King? Have fun guessing below and check the homepage on Monday to see who the combatants are!
Previous 'Comic Vine Battle of the Week' results
- Daredevil vs. Nightwing (Winner: Daredevil)
- Ultimate Captain America vs. Deathstroke (Winner: Deathstroke)
- Arkillo vs. Hulk (Winner: Hulk)
- Snake Eyes vs. X-23 (Winner: X-23)
- Moon Knight vs. Red Hood (Winner: Moon Knight)
- Catman/Deadshot vs. Bullseye/Punisher (Winner: Bullseye/Punisher)
- Aquaman vs. Thing (Winner: Aquaman)
- Deadpool vs. TMNT (Winner: Too close to call)
- Movie Black Widow vs. TV Green Arrow (Winner: TV Green Arrow)
- Movie Batman vs. Movie Dredd (Winner: Movie Dredd)
- Predator vs. Boba Fett (Winner: Predator)
- Luke Cage/Iron Fist vs. Scarlet Spider/Venom (Winner: Scarlet Spider/Venom)
- Cardiac vs. Hobgoblin (Winner: Hobgoblin)
- Gambit vs. Nightcrawler (Winner: Nightcrawler)
- Sinestro vs. Wonder Woman (Winner: Wonder Woman)
- Zombie Apocalypse Scenario (Winner: Deathstroke)
- Superior Spider-Man/Hobgoblin vs. Wolverine/Omega Red (Winner:Wolverine/Omega Red)
- Marvel vs. DC Dodgeball Scenario (Winner: Marvel)
- Bloodshot vs. Daredevil (Winner: Bloodshot)
- Movie Faora vs. Movie Thor (Winner: Thor)
- Elektra vs. Shredder (Winner: Shredder)
- Marvel vs. DC Paintball Scenario (Winner: Marvel)
- Animated Versions: Batman/Katana vs. TMNT (Winner: TMNT)
- Luther Strode vs. Sabretooth (Winner: Luther Strode)
Want to suggest a Battle of the Week? Feel free to comment below or send it to Gregg via Twitter. Keep in mind, it doesn't have to be Marvel or DC only, but it must be comic related!