When they first debuted, the X-Men were a team of teenagers learning to use their mutant powers. Later, when the next generation of X-Men debuted, most of them would be older than the first class, leaving behind a crucial part of X-Men mythos. In the early '80s, however, a new group of teenage mutants would be introduced: the New Mutants.
The team would chug along for a while and be the place for young mutants learning to use their powers until the team broke away and became X-Force. However, young mutants would still need training and that's where the Massachusetts Academy came in- run by Banshee and Emma Frost, this Xavier affiliated school would be home to a new group of young mutants- Generation X. Of these two groups of young mutants, which team was the best- the New Mutants or Generation X?
10 New Mutants: From The Horse's Mouth
The New Mutants were stationed at the Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters and received training from the likes of Professor X, Magneto, and the members of the X-Men themselves. This gave them access to some of the most powerful and knowledgeable mutants around, as well as amazing technology and medical facilities when they needed it.
This gave the team a lot of advantages- their training was better, they had a lot of back-up in case they needed it, and access to the greatest resources a team of young mutants could ask for.
9 Generation X: Actual Supervision
Most of the New Mutants' mentors were surprisingly hands-off when it came right down to it. While they were at the school, their training was taken care of by their experienced teachers and such but out in the field, they were pretty much on their own, even when Magneto took over responsibility for the team.
Generation X was very different. Banshee and Emma Frost were much more hands-on with their team, accompanying them on missions, teaching them in the field as much as they did at the school. With these two experienced mutants on their side, Generation X was able to survive situations that would have been impossible given their experience level.
8 New Mutants: More Independent
While there were times when the New Mutants definitely could have used some back-up from their teachers in the field, the fact that they mostly had to depend on their own powers and their teammates made them a much more independent team, one that learned they could handle anything on their own.
Generation X could usually depend on their teachers to step in when they screwed up. The New Mutants had to learn to do so on their own and this made them a much better team. Self-reliance is always the best solution and while it was costly on occasion, it was better for the team in the long run.
7 Generation X: Better Costumes
This might seem like a minor thing but Generation X's costumes were much better than the New Mutants' own. When the team first debuted, they wore the generic yellow and blue Xavier School costumes, which were alright, but nothing special. The team would later get more personalized costumes, but they were still inferior to Generation X's.
The Generation X costumes were nice dark jumpsuits that looked great. Members like Jubilee, Chamber, and Mondo's were slightly different from the rest but they still had the same color scheme and gave the team a uniform look that was nice and intimidating.
6 New Mutants: Magik
Eventually, Illyana Rasputin would join the New Mutants and she was a game-changer. Trapped in Limbo for years, she reappeared with as a teenager, her mutant teleporting abilities fully developed, but with some extras- she was a master of magic, the ruler of Limbo, and she had a Soulsword that allowed her to easily defeat magical threats.
Magik was the most powerful member of the team and that's not even counting her Darkchylde form, which made her more formidable at the cost of her inhibitions. With Magik on their side, there were few foes who could stand up to the New Mutants.
5 Generation X: M
The most powerful member of Generation X was M. Monet St. Croix was the perfect mutant- super-strong, invulnerable, telepathic, and able to fly, as well as rich and stunningly beautiful. Now, this being a '90s X-Men comic, there were some very convoluted things going on with her, but she was the muscle of Generation X and was able to keep the team going in some hard situations.
M was arrogant but she had the skill and power to back up her boasts. While her attitude didn't make a lot of friends on the team, every member appreciated that she was there... especially when her brother Emplate attacked.
4 New Mutants: More Powerful In General
Besides Magik, the New Mutants were just a more powerful team than Generation X. Generation X had some powerful members- the aforementioned M, Chamber, and Penance- but for the most part, the team just didn't have the sheer power that the New Mutants did. From Cannonball to Sunspot, Boom Boom to Warlock, Karma to Mirage, the New Mutants packed a lot of punch into their team.
This team of powerhouses served them well, as it allowed them to take on all comers. The team only got better as time went on, as their powers and skills developed.
3 Generation X: Less Is More
Generation X had to work a bit harder for victories and that made a lot of difference. The New Mutants could easily power past most opponents, even in their early days. Generation X couldn't; they had to learn to use their powers efficiently and work together. Their most experienced member, Jubilee, may not have been very powerful but she was often instrumental in getting the team to work together and get the win.
Generation X became a well-oiled machine as time went on, allowing them to persevere over some foes that should have been able to defeat them easily.
2 New Mutants: Cable's Soldiers
Cable would be introduced to the team and immediately saw potential in them. The grizzled soldier from the future was looking for the perfect group of mutants to help him in his war and the New Mutants were that group. He would forge the team into X-Force, the deadliest mutant team of their day.
Cable had a lot of experience and knew what he was looking for. The fact that he could look at the New Mutants and think they were perfect for his plans says a lot about just how good the team was at this point and how good they would become as members of X-Force.
1 Generation X: More X-Men Graduates
As great as the New Mutants were, only one of them would graduate to the main team- Cannonball- and that was only after years of leading both the New Mutants and X-Force. Four members of Generation X- Chamber, Husk, M, and Jubilee- would all go on to join the main team at one time or another, most of them back in the days before M-Day when basically every good mutant left would be considered X-Men.
This high graduation rate says a lot about Generation X- while they may not have been as powerful and had their hands held more, their training better prepared them to become X-Men.