Marvel Is Settling the Score: Who Wins Juggernaut vs Iron Man?

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Avengers #21! There has been no shortage of iconic “VS” matches in Marvel Comics, but two characters who have never faced-off one-on-one before are Iron Man and Juggernaut. At least, until now, as the latest Avengers vs X-Men crossover comic finally pits the two against each other. One is a tech genius in a suit that grants him the power of a god, the other is a magically-powered behemoth who quite literally cannot be stopped. So, who wins in the match-up of Iron Man vs Juggernaut? Marvel Comics finally gives fans the answer (well, sort of).

In Avengers #21 by Jed MacKay and Valerio Schiti, the Avengers travel to the X-Men’s headquarters in Alaska, as they have a score to settle with the mutant heroes. While the Avengers travel all that way to face the mutants on their home turf, the X-Men don’t shy away from the challenge. Captain Marvel, the leader of the Avengers, calls out to Cyclops, challenging the X-Men leader right there in front of everyone, with both the Avengers and the X-Men standing at the ready. Indeed, things quickly get intense – just as one would expect right before a baseball game.

Yep, this ‘Avengers vs X-Men’ crossover comic is a baseball game, which came as a hilarious twist after the intense build-up in the first few pages. Once the fake-out posturing was out of the way, the Avengers and the X-Men were ready to play ball. However, things don’t really start heating up until Iron Man walks up to the plate, and the Juggernaut takes the pitcher’s mound. Can Iron Man’s suit target and accurately strike a fastball thrown by the Juggernaut? It’s a true battle of the titans, and in the end, Marvel declares a winner: Juggernaut.

Juggernaut Officially Beats Iron Man… at Baseball

The Juggernaut’s “Supersonic Speedball” is Too Much for Iron Man to Handle

This issue marks the first time Iron Man faced off against the Juggernaut one-on-one, and sadly for the founding Avenger, he wasn’t up to the challenge, as Juggernaut’s fastball was too much for Iron Man to handle. While that may seem trivial, and perhaps a bit disappointing for fans who wanted to watch these two fight, Iron Man’s baseball loss to Juggernaut actually says more than meets the eye.

Iron Man was wearing his mysterium armor, which is currently his strongest and most advanced suit. That means Iron Man should have been able to target and hit the baseball no matter how hard or fast it was thrown. However, the Juggernaut threw the ball so hard and fast that Iron Man’s suit couldn’t even track it, let alone allow him to hit it. The suit merely warned Iron Man that something dangerous was headed towards him, but couldn’t react fast enough to meet the Juggernaut’s pitch, meaning the Juggernaut’s strength is greater than Iron Man’s ability to counter it.

But Seriously… Who Would Win Between Juggernaut & Iron Man?

Marvel Still Owes Fans a Legitimate Juggernaut vs Iron Man Battle

While the Juggernaut did come out on top in his first “VS” match against Iron Man, it was still just a baseball game – and a single pitch, at that – which is a far cry from an actual fight. So, who would win between the Juggernaut and Iron Man? Iron Man is no stranger to facing enemies with cosmic-level strength (indeed, he has entire suits of armor dedicated to only fighting the Hulk), and the Juggernaut has certainly battled his fair-share of Avengers (including and especially the likes of Thor and Doctor Strange).

Honestly, calling a winner based purely on how they’ve each fared against similar foes is impossible, as an argument could be made for either challenger when the battle is purely hypothetical. However, what isn’t up for debate is what is shown in this ‘Avengers vs X-Men’ comic, where the Juggernaut officially beats Iron Man in Marvel Comics (at baseball).

Avengers #21 by Marvel Comics is available now.