Wolverine vs Cyclops: Which X-Men leader is stronger?

They may be the de facto leaders of the X-Men, but Cyclops and Wolverine have come to blow multiple times. So who is the stronger of the two? 

Cyclops and Wolverine have been the face of the X-Men for decades now, but they’ve often been at odds. The two may share ideals, but they often have very different methods for completing their goals. 

Though the Krakoa era has seen a newfound brotherhood between the two, it comes after years of being at each other’s throats. They spent much of the past decade fighting their own battles, with Wolverine leading the X-Men’s school and Cyclops being a revolutionary. 

Both died and were resurrected, offering something of a soft reset to their lives. But if the two were to come to blows again, the winner of that fight might not be who you expect. 

Wolverine can take more damage in a fight

On a practical level, Wolverine’s powers let him get the edge on Cyclops. He’s just able to last longer in a fight than Cyclops would.

Skill-wise, they’re about evenly matched. Wolverine has far more experience, but Cyclops’ lifetime of training to be an X-Man has given him the edge to go toe-to-toe. We see this in fights like their duel in X-Men: Schism, where Wolverine takes more of a beating from Cyclops than he does the giant Sentinel threatening their base. 

While Cyclops’ fighting prowess is impressive, Wolverine’s healing factor means he can be in the fight for far longer than Cyclops. In a prolonged engagement, his ability to take the hit and keep rolling through the pain means he can win through attrition, at the very least.

Cyclops can easily kill Wolverine

Of course, Cyclops can just keep the fight from going long enough for Wolverine to gain the advantage. Cyclops’ optic blasts are powerful enough to peel the flesh off Wolverine’s bones, meaning he could potentially shut the fight down before it escalates. 

While we do see some examples of this in their fight in Schism, the best example may be their encounter in the (literally) dark alternate universe tale Dark Ages. Here, a Cyclops captured by Mister Sinister and Apocalypse unleashed his full power on Wolverine, blasting away all the muscle until he was nothing but an adamantium skeleton. 

We’ve seen Wolverine die in a fashion similar to his Dark Ages fate several times, most notably in the all-time classic tale Days of Future Past. While it may be harder to land such a decisive blow on Wolverine in his prime, Cyclops clearly has the power to win the fight if he truly wants to. 

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