Two of this year's most gargantuan hits, DC's Batman v Superman and Marvel's Captain America: Civil War, saw iconic heroes ostensibly on the same side going to war with each other.

With next year's release of Justice League the battle extends to franchise v franchise, as DC go head to head with their Marvel rivals. An epic ensemble smash-em-up it sees Ben Affleck's Batman recruit the likes of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) to defeat the bad guys.

With Justice League’s cinematic debut on 17th November 2017, there’s only one question in the minds of cinephiles and comic-book lovers everywhere: can their members defeat the Avengers? Let's find out.

Round one: Cyborg v Iron Man

One’s a man in a robotic suit; the other is a robotic man. But both are egotistical geniuses who are armed to the teeth with the latest gadgets and weapons. Each is pretty evenly matched in terms of both brain and technology so they’d need to be cunning in their strategies.

Iron Man would, however, have a slight advantage when airborne. In the air, he’s fast and agile and can hit his target with pinpoint accuracy. Cyborg’s only chance would be to find a way to keep him grounded. That way, Iron Man would be slow enough for Cyborg to have a better chance of landing a blow on him. Iron Man would be a sitting duck if his suit got damaged – a problem Cyborg wouldn't encounter.

Round two: Wonder Woman v Thor

Both Wonder Woman and Thor are gods and therefore essentially immortal, which makes this round tough to call. Thor has his mighty hammer that will do some serious damage as well as launch him through the air like a human hammer-toss when he needs to make a quick escape. Wonder Woman on the other hand has her trusty lasso at her side and her invisible plane on standby if Thor tries to make a run for it.

If Thor could get close enough to land a knock-out hit with his hammer, it’d be game over fast for Wonder Woman. However, if she could keep her distance from him and use her lasso to, let’s say, get his hammer away from him, then he’d be tied up in knots (literally!).

Round Three: Flash v Hulk

There’s no doubting that The Flash can run, but can he hide from The Hulk when he gets angry? Flash has got the advantage of speed on his side, there’s no questioning that, but he’s going to need a lot more than speed to take down the huge green rage monster. 

We’ve seen what Hulk did to Loki and we don’t think that The Flash would be able to take a pounding like that. But before Hulk even gets a chance to smash The Flash, he’s got to catch him first. The Hulk might not be built for speed but he’s got the strength and endurance to wear The Flash down. When it comes down to it, this round is more about a battle of wills and endurance rather than speed and strength.

Round Four: Aquaman v Hawkeye

Hawkeye is one of the best marksmen in the world. He’s able to take down his target without them even knowing that he was there – and he never misses. Aquaman is the son of Poseidon and has amazing telekinetic abilities that allow him to talk to fish. Unless Aquaman can lure Hawkeye to the ocean to unleash a shiver of sharks on him (that’s the collective term for a group of sharks – we did check), it’ll be just like shooting fish in a barrel for Hawkeye.

Round Five: Batman v Captain America

This is it. The greatest showdown of them all: The Dark Knight up against the all-American hero.

In the black corner, we have the millionaire vigilante who is held as the world’s greatest detective. In the red, white, and blue corner we have the patriotic super-soldier with a shield as unbreakable as his spirit. Both heroes have strict no-killing policies and are as stubborn as each other. Neither will give up until the other has surrendered – and we don’t see either of them doing that.

You’d think that being a super-soldier would give Cap an advantage against the superhero without any superpowers, but let’s not forget that Bats took on Superman and lived to tell the tale. After Superman, taking on Captain America would feel like taking down common street thugs for Batman. There’s really no telling with this one. Your guess is as good as ours.

And the winner is...

We still have no idea who’d come out on top. Both sides appear to be physically, mentally, and wilfully matched. Let us know who you think would win and keep your eyes peeled to the blog for everything Justice League-related in the months leading up to November 2017.

Andy Murray is a writer who blogs for Cineworld as part of our news team.