Meet the Uncanny Avengers, a Team That Unites the X-Men and Earth's Mightiest Heroes

The Avengers and the X-Men have saved the world countless times, but the two iconic teams haven’t always seen eye-to-eye. In an effort to change that, the Avengers Unity Division brought together heroes from both teams. Since then, these UNCANNY AVENGERS have attempted to bridge the gap between mutants and the rest of Marvel’s heroes.  

Now, we’re taking a look back at the Uncanny Avengers and how some of Marvel’s most iconic Avengers and X-Men joined forces to save the Marvel Universe as the Avengers Unity Division. Before UNCANNY AVENGERS (2023) reassembles these heroes, we’ll also break down how Captain America and Rogue set the stage for the team’s return in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2023: AVENGERS/X-MEN #1 in a story by Gerry Duggan, Javier Garrón, Morry Hollowell, and VC’s Travis Lanham.

UNCANNY AVENGERS

After AVENGERS VS. X-MEN (2012) pitted mutants against the rest of the world's heroes, Captain America created the Avengers Unity Division to bring Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and mutants closer together in UNCANNY AVENGERS (2012) #1 by Rick Remender and John Cassaday. The initial team united Avengers mainstays like Captain America, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Wasp, and Wonder Man with veteran X-Men, including Sunfire, Wolverine, Rogue, and Havok, who served as the team’s leader. This initial incarnation of the team faced off against a new clone of the Red Skull, who stole the late Charles Xavier’s brain to give himself immense telepathic power, and his powerful S-Men.

The Avengers Unity Division also battled the Apocalypse Twins, Uriel and Eimin, the children of a corrupted Archangel. After they were manipulated by Kang the Conqueror, the Twins used Jarnbjorn, Thor’s axe, to kill a Celestial. Although this created a new timeline where Earth was destroyed by the Celestials and mutants migrated to another planet, Havok and the surviving members of the Uncanny Avengers ultimately reset reality and defeated the Twins. 

After Captain America and Wolverine stepped away from the team due to their malfunctioning powers, Magneto attacked the Red Skull, which inadvertently turned him into the powerful Red Onslaught. Then, Scarlet Witch and Doctor Doom made a mistake while trying to stop Red Onslaught from telepathically inflaming hate around the world. As a result, the moralities of numerous heroes and villains were inverted in AVENGERS & X-MEN: AXIS (2014). Although that spell was largely undone and Red Onslaught was defeated, a still-inverted Havok ultimately left the Unity Division.

UNCANNY AVENGERS VS. THE HIGH EVOLUTIONARY

Following AXIS, Rogue took over as the leader of the Avengers Unity Division, where she was joined by Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, Doctor Voodoo, Sam Wilson’s Captain America, and a heroic, still-inverted Sabretooth in UNCANNY AVENGERS (2015) #1 by Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña. During this time, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff were captured and taken to Counter-Earth, the domain of the High Evolutionary and his genetic creations.

While the team was scattered around Counter-Earth, the High Evolutionary captured Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch. While holding them captive, he told the siblings that he took them from their parents as children and gave them powers through experimentation—seemingly confirming they had no biological relation to their mentor Magneto—in UNCANNY AVENGERS (2015) #4 by Remender and Acuña. After defeating the High Evolutionary, this short-lived incarnation of the team returned to Earth and disbanded.

STEVE ROGERS’ UNCANNY AVENGERS

To stop an attack by Thanos in INFINITY (2013), the Inhumans’ leader Black Bolt set off a massive Terrigen Bomb. This caused the Terrigen Mist—which activates the Inhumans’ innate powers—to spread all over the world. When it became clear the Terrigen Mist also threatened the health of the world’s remaining mutants, the Avengers Unity Division reformed to bring Inhumans and mutants together with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in UNCANNY AVENGERS (2015) #1 by Gerry Duggan and Ryan Stegman. Under the command of an aged Steve Rogers, Rogue led a group that included Quicksilver, Doctor Voodoo, Deadpool, Human Torch, Wasp, the telepathic Inhuman Synapse, and eventually, Cable.

After taking on the Super-Adaptoid, this Avengers team fought the plant-controlling Shredded Man and Ultron, who had merged with Hank Pym. After Rogers was replaced by an alternate reality imposter, he officially disbanded the Avengers Unity Division during CIVIL WAR II (2016) in UNCANNY AVENGERS (2015) #14 by Duggan and Stegman. 

However, Rogue and the rest of the team decided to stay together, and the group traveled to Japan to stop the Hand from resurrecting the Hulk and placing him under their control. When the Red Skull tried to get his revenge on the team, the Unity Squad defeated him and destroyed the remains of Xavier’s brain to ensure it couldn't fall into the wrong hands again. 

Shortly after Beast and Wonder Man started working with this team, most of its members were trapped in the Darkforce Dimension during SECRET EMPIRE (2017), when the imposter Rogers briefly took over the United States. However, this team disbanded for good after helping other Avengers squads deal with the cosmic threats of the Grandmaster and the Challenger during AVENGERS: NO SURRENDER in AVENGERS (2016) #690 by Mark Waid, Al Ewing, Jim Zub, and Pepe Larraz.

UNCANNY AVENGERS NOW 

Since the Avengers Unity Division disbanded, the establishment of the mutant nation Krakoa has redefined the role of mutants in the Marvel Universe. With Krakoa centralizing mutantkind’s political and economic power, the anti-mutant forces of the world have come together to form Orchis, an organization dedicated to the extinction of mutants. 

In FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2023: AVENGERS/X-MEN #1, Orchis launched its latest attack on mutants by stealing the X-Men’s Captain Krakoa powersuit. While an unknown Orchis ally intimidated government officials with the Captain Krakoa suit, several other Orchis agents attacked Captain America, who was only saved thanks to a quick intervention by Rogue. 

Now, Captain America and Rogue will assemble Deadpool, Quicksilver, Psylocke, and Penance as a new Avengers Unity Division to face Orchis and the mysterious Captain Krakoa in a new UNCANNY AVENGERS series by Gerry Duggan and Javier Garrón.

Don't miss the Uncanny Avengers' reunion in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2023: AVENGERS/X-MEN #1, available now, and pick up their first new adventure in UNCANNY AVENGERS #1 on August 16!

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