Comic Vine Battle of the Week: Guardians of the Galaxy vs. X-Force

Lol. Anytime.

@super_soldierxii: Thanks man!!! xoxo

@nimstradamus:

Also, Wolverine has been put on his behind or K.O'd by street level fighters in the past, so why can't Star-Lord do the same?

Just wanted to point out how terribly weak sauce that line of reasoning is on oh so many levels - horrific use of ABC logic to boot.

This is an awesome match up and can easily go either way. While not at first obvious the combatants really pair off pretty evenly.

While arguments have been made for one side stomping the other, we need to look at the versions being depicted for this battle. This is Yost's X-Force and he is awesome at writing characters to the fullest. This isn't dumb blind rage Wolverine, it is the hardened veteran with years of experience and skill. The X-Force team were these characters written to the full potential.

And while some people are pointing out that Drax did in fact take out Thanos, this actually puts him at a bit of a disadvantage for this scenario because he was created specifically to do that. Once it was done he was pretty much directionless and without motivation to drive him.

However the pairings are awesome and this is how I would see it breaking down: X23 vs Gamora, Warpath vs Drax are the close combatants (I'll get to Wolverine and Groot), Rocket vs Domino are the shooters, and Archangel vs Starlord are the flyers. Each of these pairings pretty much are going to take each other forever to gain an upper hand, whoever you think is better. Gamora and X23 can hack on each other all day, Gamora has the experience but X23 can dish out quite a bit more damage with the adamantium, while healing quicker. Warpath and Drax are both proficient knife fighters. Warpath at this time had vibranium blades but Drax has the experience and probably a bit more durable than this version of Warpath. Rocket is going to have better guns being space tech, while Domino has the luck on her side. Quill and Archangel again it comes down to who can land that debilitating shot. Quill has the shields and tech but trying to avoid Archangel outpouring his razor feathers can be like trying to dodge raindrops in a storm. Archangel can take some heavy damage and heal and I'll admit I'm not as up to date on the new Peter Quill. But reading his profile says he also heals now (because everybody can now days). So again they are going to be flying around to try and out maneuver each other.

So this fight really comes down to setting. The rules of the engagement are a downtown city at night. XForce has the advantage here. The team is made for this sort of situation ducking in and out of alleyways using the dark and shadow for cover. The GotG are a space traveling force used to battling it out in the stars in galactic battles. They take fights head on as opposed the guerrilla tactics of XForce.

This brings us to Wolverine vs Groot. It's an odd pairing as neither can really do a whole lot to each other. Groot certainly has the strength to KO Wolverine IF he could land the hit. While Wolverine can hack away at Groot and probably just piss him off. It's going to take him forever to gain an upper hand. But remember this is special ops assassin level Wolverine. They even finally let him wear a costume that made sense for his character. His battlefield tactics far outweigh Groots here. Wolverine is also the leader of the team so it will take him to all of two minutes to realize he is wasting his time with Groot, take charge and press the advantage. He is going to ditch Groot and duck away into the dark, where he is going to aid one of his people in their stalemate. Even if you think Gamora and Drax can take X23 and Warpath individually, it is close enough to argue Gamora or Drax will lose to X23 and Warpath aided by Wolverine, truly at his best. If Domino's luck hasn't given her the win at this point over Rocket the newly acquired teammates will. This than frees up Wolverine, Warpath, X23 and Domino to dog pile on Groot. Together the can out pour the necessary damage to eliminate him.

Now it is down to Starlord/Archangel. I'll give Starlord the win because he has the tech and is leader of the team. Those shields can probably withstand quite a bit and while he may not be able to out-fly Archangel his guns are more than capable of dealing the damage to at least knock Warren out. But now he is left by himself to deal with the rest of the team, on the ground. A team of stealth assassins ducking in and out of the dark. I'm going to assume Starlord has some great space tech radar for finding lifeforms, but this team knows how to avoid such things. Warpath and X23 can press the hit and hide attacks, weakening his shields, keeping him distracted while Domino snipes that radar and shield tech of his effectively blinding him. This allows Wolverine to jump in to do what he does best and gain the win.

This fight could easily go in the GOTG favor under different circumstances. However the general battlefield scenario chosen plays to THIS incarnation of XForce's favor. Its like asking Batman vs Daredevil, except the fight takes place in the batcave and Daredevil is blindfo...has earplugs.

@k4tzm4n:

He isn't exactly in the best shape when he gets punched by Thanos. He's left shaken, but he gets right back up in both scenarios.

I didn't put anything but the pages of him getting hit, but Groot is seen as completely fine afterwards.

He's also eats blaster-fire in his current incarnation.

Gallery

He has plenty of durability that make me think that the only thing that can cut him is Wolverine and X-23. I just don't think their claws are long enough to do any real damage. They would also have to get within Groot's reach, which is not a great place to be.

But, who knows? I guess Wolverine has taken on Setnitnels with nothing but his claws, and they are giants too. I have a hard time leaving my Rocket Raccoon and Groot bias at home too. lol.

Either way, I love that the Guardians are being featured in a Battle of the Week! This has been a fun week to post here!

If my memory serves me right, he took one then got dropped by the second. So, he can take a shot from Thanos :P Regardless, I think it's safe to say we all know no one here has the blunt force required to harm Groot -- the real threat is from cutting damage.

@k4tzm4n said:

I actually think Groot has gotten a lot stronger since his two classic appearances in Tales to Astonish and The Hulk one I posted above. Groot can take shots from Thanos when he is at his largest size, which he has done in his current incarnation.

To be fair though, Hulk has also gotten a lot stronger too. I can't see tree roots that are not even a part of Groot's body holding Hulk on the ground anymore. lol.

EDIT: Also, to be fair, the Guardians currently haven't faced very many significant threats under Bendis's writing, so the Guardians haven't really been threatened enough to showcase their power. I don't think any of them have gotten weaker, especially Groot who continues to get stronger as he ages, I just think that the writing has been pretty slow and not giving the Guardians any actual challenges.Maybe it's just my bias for the old Guardians under DnA, but I don't see them as being weaker, just not utilized like they should be. They're spending all their time dealing with Earth problems, when they should be out facing Cosmic level threats.

@oy_the_billy_bumbler: Fun fact: Constrictor made his debut as someone who could threaten Hulk :D (For the love of all that is holy, don't take this statement seriously. Obviously Groot's been consistently at a higher level while Constrictor hasn't!)

That said, you may want to keep in mind this is using the LATEST INCARNATION of the GotG. Clearly, they haven't been as powerful as their previous showings (nor is their gear as vast), therefore (hopefully) making the match far more balanced.

I think a lot of people are severely underestimating Groot here. Groot was not designed to be a street level threat. He was created to duke it out with characters like the Hulk.

Groot has gotten so much stronger since the time he could talk too. I'm not sure how Groot could be damaged in the slightest here. The small amount of damage done to him he could regrow instantly. The only time Groot was not the strongest member of the team, was when Warlock was on the team. Even then, Groot still showed that he could be a bigger threat then even Warlock depending on the enemies involved. For one thing, Warlock could be hurt and even killed.

errr... I maybe flamed by the X fans but I just cannot see how X-Force will stand a chance against GotG. I mean Drax and Gamora is already gonna be enough to take on the X-Force not to mention Starlord's advanced cybernetic implants along with his advanced arsenal.

One of my problems in this is the way everyone keeps saying GotG are not an efficient team and that Starlord is not respected by his team, let's be 100% clear here, that entire team would follow Starlord to the ends of the galaxy and back, and they know each other not like a team, but like a family. So stop using the excuse that X-Force know and trust each other better and that Wolverine is a better leader, just because GotG operates unorthodoxly does not mean they don't operate efficiently.

As for my vote, I vote GotG but that's because I think they have a lot more potential to go the extra mile. However I believe it would be one hell of a fight that could easily almost be a tie.

Isn't Angela part of the team? or is she a come and go character? If she is included, i would be inclined to go with the GoTG. But if she isn't, then i'm not to sure who wins....

This is going to be a close one, but I give it to the Guardians by a hair. Based on the rules of the fight, starting at a 20 foot distance, already gives the Guardians an advantage for two reasons: 1) They have more members on their team who can dish out long range attacks as soon as the fight begins (Rocket, Star-Lord, & Gamora - if she has the gun she's been using in Bendis' run). 2) Groot, with his long limbs and very powerful arm strikes, can potentially swat all, if not most, of the opposing X-Force team at a good distance to where their long range attackers can then simultaneously deal some damage.

I believe Gamora could be the deciding factor in this battle for her sheer ferocity and pure fighting prowess. This is the same woman who smacked around Ronan the Accuser like a child in their encounter, as well as perform well in physical combat against Thanos. Throughout her battle history, she has successfully defeated and killed multiple enemies coming at her at once. And honestly, in her recent battle with Angela, she had a decent showing. I'm not saying she would have won in the end, but she certainly put up a great fight before the rest of the Guardians got involved. Gamora can certainly can K.O. Wolverine and X-23 with her nerve-strikes or pressure point blows.

Gamora, Groot, and possibly Drax have what it takes to take on 2 - 3 members of the X-Force alone and perform well. I believe that this is enough of a reason to give the Guardians an edge. I do not see any member of the X-Force, besides Archangel, posing a threat to multiplemembers of the Guardians.

Also, Wolverine has been put on his behind or K.O'd by street level fighters in the past, so why can't Star-Lord do the same?

At the end of the day, the GotG are used to battling intergalactic threats on a daily basis. It has almost become second nature for them to deal with overpowered beings, creatures, aliens, space warriors, or whatever, and in the end come out on top.

Based on feats as a team, strategical skills, long range attacks, diversity of powers, and experience working together, I give it to GotG after a decent scrap.

@doombert: Archangel at that time isn't as strong as Apocalypse he didn't become powered up until Remenders run when Apocalypse was killed.

I'd give it to GotG because of Groot who's a powerhouse especially if he takes the fight into a park (big city gotta be a park) and use the trees to help him grow or fight for him.

Guardians.

Guardians of the Galaxy. With Groot and Rocket Raccoon, it's impossible to defeat the team.

Groot can regenerate even if you sliced him into tiny pieces and Rocket is an expert when it comes to using guns.

X-Force has 3 powerhouses. Wolverine, Domino, & Archangel. Those would be the deciding factors in this battle. Drax would be wise to take down Warpath. Rocket Raccoon use his demolition & tactical expertise to take out Domino. Groot should take on Archangel after WP is taken down. Wolverine, X-23, & Archangel would be a pain in the a$$ to take down so whoever is let the GoTG would have to fight their a$$es off to take them down. X-Force wins

Gotg will win. Groot can go skyscraper size in one second. He's a genuis and so is rocket. The fight would be closer if gotg weren't so tactically sound.

Blam murdered you.

Depends on who's writhing. But Guardians have my vote.

@laflux said:

@wolverine08 said:

@doombert:

He spar'd with Iron Fist. He didnt fight him. No real winner was determined.

I do not particularly understand the group that says that match isn't legit because it was a sparring match. Nobody tries to purposely lose a sparring match. Iron Fist lost there. Plain and simple.

Daken humiliated Wolverine earlier in his career. It's not that they had Wolverine get so much better, they dumbed down Daken

This is a bunch of hogwash. Daken was never better than his pappy. He was able to beat Wolverine the first time due to his father's mixed feelings about fighting him. James essentially lost that fight before it even started due to mentality. Wolverine came back a second time after a refresher course from Silver Samurai and handily beat Daken and ripped his claws out all while holding back. The third and final time they went at it, Wolverine had been pushed to the end of his rope by Daken and came at him bloodlusted and ended up curbstomping and drowining him. Daken even got scared by the demeanor of his father. Daken was never dumbed down, he simply never was in his dad's league.

Winter Soldier. Bucky had him beat until he regressed, went feral, bit the shit out of him and used is above human strength to break his handcuffs. Skill had nothing to do with his victory here.

He beat Bucky silly while handcuffed. Of course there was skill involved.

Mister X. Again, James didnt defeat Mister X by skill, he defeated him by going feral. Mister X couldn't read his mind and was set at a disadvantage. When Mister X prepared for another fight with Wolverine by fighting feral animals Logan refused to fight him.

Oh boy, Wolverine can still use skill when in a feral state. He did so to Ogun and outskilled him. Wolverine went feral so X couldn't even read his mind, and when the battle came down to a pure skill contest, James wrecked X.

I wasn't even trying to prove that James was more skilled than Gamora by noting feats. I was just noting how he has used the skill against skilled fighters. But if I need to, I can note his wins over fighters like Silver Samurai, Deadpool, curbstomps of Sabretooth, etc. What's Gamora got?

Wolverine beats her in marital knowledge, technical knowledge, and in skill feats.

Just to point out a few things, the Sparring match between Fist and Wolverine is legit, but I think it holds alot less merit than an out and out fight because

1. Wolverine fighting without claws still leaves him Superhuman stats, and exceptional resistance to Blunt Tramua thanks to healing and the Adamantuim

2. Iron Fist using no Fist, essentially removes his ability to take down Logan. So even if he was using Chi to amp his speed and agility, he still falls short.

I think given the parameters of the fight, it would lowballing for Logan to lose.

3. Wasn't it Shang-Chi who gave Wolverine the refresher course to defeat Daken when he cut out the M-Blades from Daken?

But Agreed about everything else, espicially Logans combat skills while going Feral.....

Keep in mind, Wolverine won the sparring match via submission. That was pure skill. He didn't win via striking - wherein adamantium laced fists & superior stats would have definitely played a roll if he had. Nor did he win due to a battle attrition wherein his healing factor obviously saved him and kept him in the game.

Given the context of the sparring session, neither Wolverine's stats nor his durability really played a solid role in seeing him actually submit Rand.

@doombert

I don't mean offense, I'm basing this comment off your posts thus far herein, but I'd have to say your listing of Wolverine's showings seem full of deliberate cherry picking goodness. Your knowledge of the character seemingly limited to the dozen or so lower end showings circulating the Vine. That, or your acting deliberately ingenuous.

A few showings in the past 5 years or so alone come to mind; dropping a Strontian with his index finger, dismantling Rock of the Buddha by pinpointing then striking his weak spot, taking down Murderous Lion despite having a percentage of his skill robbed him after the tampering of Dr. Rot, utterly destroying Sabretooth in 6 of their last 6 outings (Cornell's healing factorless, psychologically ruined version of Logan's ongoing notwithstanding) ...

You bring up Daken where it's often obvious Wolverine was holding back on his son ... even in X-Force, when Logan finally comes to terms with having to put Daken down, he ends up (injured as he was) effortlessly drowning him in a puddle no less. That said, I believe they've both jobbed to one another over the years, suffering from plot driven inconsistencies and bad writing in their tussles aplenty. Allowing this as so for one (as you do for Daken), yet not for the other is, again, somewhat disingenuous of you.

A few more fights then off the top of my head; he's kicked the crap out of Junzo, a bloke who had just finished tossing Iron Fist aside like a plaything, and having just KO'd Luke Cage in two blows. Kicked the crap out of Nick Fury, despite him bringing gear and having prepped for him. Nick even acknowledges Wolverine is holding back while Logan takes him down. Effortlessly toys with and torments Matsuo, taking his hand and his eye, a bloke who's likewise tormented and even defeated Psylocke hand to hand. Effortlessly slaps a full nelson on DD. Absolutely owns Blade in a fight (after having fought Omega Red to boot). Beats Typhoid Mary after having been set on fire with his throat slit, and does it blinded to boot. And as to your take on the Winter Soldier fight, Bucky had prepped, got the drop on Logan, and still got taken out regardless your thoughts on the matter.

Here's another tid bit I have to say about it;

KO's him. Just that easy.

Damn. Based on your comments, I'm sure there's probably a bunch of names on that list you can't even identify let alone are aware of the showings in question. The list really goes on and on ...

Billy Gunn is awesome, Thanks.

@laflux: Lol, Sabe was always getting owned. I'm just waiting for the day Marvel lets someone like X-23 curb him.

And the new avatar is spiffy mate :)

@hushofthewind: @doombert: To go more on Gamora, its isnt a fight scene but her resolve and healing is pretty good. Here is her purposely running into a Dyson sphere (artificial planet around a sun core) which was instantly destroying buildings

Gallery

she heals from this intense heat in a couple of issues cuz the damage is immense

@wolverine08: Oh I do think Logan and Fist are even skil wise. As for he peak human arguement, I suppose that's sound, altough Sabretooth didn't get consistently good feats until Claremont started writing him. There was time where he was defeated because Peter put webbing on his eyes, Sabes tore it off, and injured himself so much that he was taken to Hospital............

I'm going with X-Force on this one. 3 of 5 members of that team have a healing factor plus Domino's luck equal a win in my opinion. That and the fact that every member of X-Force is a trained killer.

@laflux: I don't think that the superhuman stats James had during the sparring match were much of a factor considering that Iron Fist been able to beat up Sabretooth, some who is consistently portrayed as being physically superior to Wolverine himself, and like all comic book "peak humans" he has feats that are superhuman. I also think Danny had ways to put Wolverine down like a submission hold, or just simply do what James did, kick him on his back. I do ultimately agree that it hold less merit than a real fight. Heck, both James and Danny both noted that they weren't going all out right before James got beat up by Squirrel Girl (Loz). I just think it is legit and shows that James is in Danny's parameter skill wise.

And unless my memory is shot, I am pretty sure it was Silver Samurai who gave Wolverine a refresher course with how to use a sword before he went and stomped Daken.

Just to point out a few things, the Sparring match between Fist and Wolverine is legit, but I think it holds alot less merit than an out and out fight because

1. Wolverine fighting without claws still leaves him Superhuman stats, and exceptional resistance to Blunt Tramua thanks to healing and the Adamantuim

2. Iron Fist using no Fist, essentially removes his ability to take down Logan. So even if he was using Chi to amp his speed and agility, he still falls short.

I think given the parameters of the fight, it would lowballing for Logan to lose.

3. Wasn't it Shang-Chi who gave Wolverine the refresher course to defeat Daken when he cut out the M-Blades from Daken?

But Agreed about everything else, espicially Logans combat skills while going Feral.....

@dondave: Psych is epic, I appreciate the fist bump of awesome.

@granitesoldier: I may have to start a GoTG respect thread, lol

Dondave exists to stamp out out-of-context and untrue character statements, he is the devil's advocate!

@boschepg: GotG

@dondave: so are you voting for GotG or X Force?

@boschepg: X- Force was designed to take on the most dangerous threats to mutant kind and have fought: Seline, Apocalypse, various Super-Skrulls, Nimrod Sentinels from the future, Stryfe, The Thunderbolts and The Brotherhood: Thier not easy prey even for the gotg

@boschepg said:

@thelaughingfish said:

Here's a valid argument.

:D

I think Guardians have this locked down alright.

Thank you.

When I was reading this I thought to myself, "Didnt Drax fist his way through Thanos' chest?"

I think GoTG stomp this fight.

Archangel lost to Hawkeye in AvX. The only problem I see with a match up is Domino. Quill has the computer implants. Gamora is an intergalactic kungfu fighter and though it wouldnt be used here, Groot is on genius level per the Inhuman Royal family.

Just being near Thanos made Drax more powerful, it not something he can replicate against anyone.

drax and groot arre two brutes, but xforce are just savge... xforce

@micah: you do know GoTG are designed to put up a fight against Thanos? They have taken on Magus, the Shiar Imperial Guard and Inhuman Royal Family (minus Blackbolt) at the same time. The GoTG fought against the Badoon that gave Kang trouble and whipped up on the entire Celestial Race.

Gallery

I dont think the Celestial tech card is going to work much against the GoTG

@thelaughingfish said:

Here's a valid argument.

:D

I think Guardians have this locked down alright.

Thank you.

When I was reading this I thought to myself, "Didnt Drax fist his way through Thanos' chest?"

I think GoTG stomp this fight.

Archangel lost to Hawkeye in AvX. The only problem I see with a match up is Domino. Quill has the computer implants. Gamora is an intergalactic kungfu fighter and though it wouldnt be used here, Groot is on genius level per the Inhuman Royal family.

Here's a valid argument.

:D

I think Guardians have this locked down alright.

This battle is not even close. Rocket Raccoon solos with ease. Groot solos even easier. He's a tree that can trade blows with Thanos. lol.

Going with x-force every member is a monstrous efficient stealth character, wolverine could probably take Drax. Wolverine stated he knew the pressure point physiology of almost every alien being which would be effective against Drax. Angel has Celestial Tech in his armor and wings which is no joke and Warpaths strength and durability could take groot and I think x-23 could hang in their with Gamora, at least until the other are done and domino can snipe peter and rocket

this is going to be good can't wait to see who takes this

@godtriggerhulk: that's true, bring that up in more arguments

You accuse me of using my own interpretations but I will just swing it back at you. It's my interpretation of the fight that he got stabbed through the chest to win. I don't see how you interpret that differently.

You interpret Logan defeating Bucky by biting him and kicking him once. Never mind he was pinned with a dagger to his throat right before hand. Never mind that Logan used is strength to break his handcuffs...and nothing else happened. Bucky was clearly defeated by a bite and a kick. A very skillful bite and kick. Never mind all that.

Never mind the fact that going feral means going animalistic. Never mind the fact that it means he is thinking on a very primitive level. Never mind the fact that when he does he always uses his durability to get in close and hack and slash away. Never mind all that. It's his skill that wins. The beast won out over the man. Ask Ogun. Wolverine even knows the "man" didn't defeat him. This is truly you interpreting things in your own way.

Never mind the fact that Daken's fighting ability went to shit around Franken-Castle time. Never mind the fact that he just mysteriously stopped using his vanish trick. Never mind that during his Uncanny X-Force fight that Daken would have had that fight won if it wasn't for Logans healing factor. It was his skill that did it. Forget the fact half his face was carved off. It was his skill.

Never mind the fact that during the sparring match both combatants said they weren't going full at each other with full effort. This is obviously the same thing that would happen in a real fight, both not going full blown.

Fun! I'm going to have to think about this. I'm not sure what some of their current power levels are, esp. Archangel.

Then why did you say that she is better than her when you are working with general, little information? Most of Wolverine's skill feats are not "plot driven". That's just you putting your own interpretations around things to lowball. Wolverine blatantly said that the sword fight between him and Harada had gotten to a stalemate right before dismembered him. Is that not skill? And that isn't even the only time James has dropped Harada. He beat him up in Uncanny X-Men #173. Wolverine is definitely more skilled than Gamora and I haven't even touched on his mastery of martial arts and technical knowledge which blow Gamora's out.