Despite being two of the flagship teams at Marvel, there has been very little membership crossover between the X-Men and the Avengers. In fact, it’s being hailed as a big deal that Storm will join the Avengers later this year as part of the new X-Men revival. Should be fun!

Only a couple of X-Men have joined the Avengers over the decades. Beast is the most famous, and then Wolverine joined when they reworked the Avengers out of the most popular characters in the 2000s. Cannonball and Sunspot joined Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers because he loves those characters. And the Uncanny Avengers have been a thing a couple of times. But this list is all about the main Avengers roster, the premiere superhero team in the Marvel Universe. The roster tends to always be in flux these days, and I think it could use some new mutant blood.

So join me after the jump for six X-Men characters who, I think, could make it as Avengers. Or at least they’d be an interesting addition to the team. And feel free to share your own ideas in the comments below!

6. Iceman

Iceman has a longstanding history of joining other teams. He was a founding member of the Champions, has official member status with the Fantastic Four, and is one of three characters within Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Bobby Drake is friendly, likable and funny. He’s a good team player with an awesome superpower. He’s obviously great with the X-Men, but I could easily see him slotted into an Avengers lineup somewhere down the line.

5. Emma Frost

I know there’s this whole Emma Frost and Tony Stark romance going on these days, but I actually rather enjoyed all the teases Emma had with Captain America for a brief period of time. That is to say, I think she’d be a fun addition to the Avengers. She’s such a good and heroic person, then presents herself as being on the edge of villainy. That would be a fun dynamic to bring to an eclectic Avengers lineup. She could have a full-on superhero period! And team up with Captain America!

4. Juggernaut

Juggernaut has been on a heroic journey for a long enough time now that his efforts need to be rewarded with a promotion. He’s going to be on the main X-Men team in the upcoming From the Ashes relaunch, so that’s nice. But he could be the strong man on a new Avengers lineup with ease! There’s also a new Juggernaut who is going to be joining the Avengers Academy, so we could have a real mentor/mentee thing going…though I think they’re enemies? I haven’t read the new Juggernaut’s comics. But then there’s also J2 from the MC2 universe, who was an Avenger! So there is plenty of precedent.

3. Thunderbird

John Proudstar was recently brought back from the dead after some 50 years, having died shortly after his introduction way back in the days of Giant-Size X-Men #1. He was given a new, awesome costume and has had a few adventures in some of Marvel’s digital comics, but Thunderbird never really had a chance to shine in any of the major X-Men comics. And he’s nowhere to be seen in From the Ashes. So why not level him grow even beyond the X-Men and join the Avengers? He’s tough, he’s strong, he could be a great character; let’s put this guy to some good use since they went through the trouble of bringing him back from the dead.

2. Polaris

Personally, I never liked the retcon that Polaris was Magneto’s daughter, but everybody seems to be pretty cool with it, so let’s use it. His other children, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, are more Avengers than they are X-characters, if they’re X-characters at all. So why not let Polaris spend some time on the Avengers? She’s got that great look, with the green hair, and she’s got some awesome powers.

1. Colossus

Speaking of strong guys who could easily slot into a team like the Avengers, we’ve got Colossus. The dude has been crushing superheroics for decades and never gets the attention and recognition he deserves. He may not be Hulk strong, but he’s tough, he’s loyal, he’s heroic and he has faced too much bad news over the decades. Dude deserves a win, and an Avengers membership could be super fun for him.

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