With Disney's purchase of Fox completed months ago, it's time for me to revisit how I think the MCU will adapt the X-Men. Unlike the Fantastic Four, whose prior films (Fox/Roger Corman) have been poor (therefore leaving no content out of bounds), Marvel has to contend with the Fox legacy. As a baseline for the MCU's approach our only hint is confirmation from Kevin Feige of my assumption that it will be very different from what's come before. Comments by Anthony Russo about wanting a Wolverine-film can be seen as suggestive, but not definitive (although the guy with three straight billion dollar films can, I think, write his own ticket).
My Background With the X-Men
My own history with the X-Men (my favourite comic) goes back to the 1980s, when I was introduced to them via the RPG Advanced Marvel Superheroes in 1987. I started buying the comic soon after (the first a much battered copy of #223) and continued to do so until late-1992 (leaving because of a decline in writing, my dislike of Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld's art style, and rising costs). At the time Marvel was fragmenting the popular group into innumerable comics, while also attempting to imitate Wolverine's success by creating characters just like him (or making older characters more like him). Prior to leaving I read the earlier Claremont run and while I was familiar with the Fox cartoon, I didn't care for it. Claremont's characters are my favourites, but his earlier stories are better than his endless mutant catastrophes towards the end. Wolverine and Rogue were my favourite characters.
The Fox Background
It's important to understand just how vital the X-Men were and are to Marvel comics--prior to the MCU they mattered much more than all the other IP besides Spider-Man (and I'd argue they were much bigger than he was in comic-terms). While Fox was never able to fully capitalize on this success (despite booming MCU business), that potential remains and Fox's accomplishments hint at the depths available. Here's what Fox did in twenty years of films (I've compared their performance to contemporary comicbook films of the time; I've also listed the executive in charge):
- X-Men (2000, Tom Rothman) 296.3 - Blade (1998) 131.2 (+155.1)
- X2: X-Men United (2003, Tom Rothman) 407.7 - Spider-Man (2002) 821.0 (-413.3)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006, Tom Rothman) 459.4 - Batman Begins (2005) 375.2 (+84.2)
- X-Men Origins: The Wolverine (2009, Tom Rothman) 373.1 - Iron Man (2008) 585.2 (-212.1)
- X-Men: First Class (2011, Tom Rothman) 353.6 - Thor (2011) 449.3 (-95.7)
- The Wolverine (2013, Jim Gianopulos) 414.8 - Iron Man 3 (2013) 1.215 (-800.2)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014, Jim Gianopulos) 747.9 - Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) 773.3 (-25.4)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, Jim Gianopulos) 543.9 - Captain America: Civil War (2016) 1.153 (-609.1)
- Logan (2017, Jim Gianopulos) 619.0 - Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) 880.2 (-216.2)
- Dark Phoenix (2019, Jim Gianopulos) 252.4 - Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) 1.124 (-871.6)
On the executive side, even though Gianopulos replaced the fired Rothman (now at Sony, replacing the fired Amy Pascal, who is now at Universal), they were partners beforehand and thus the hand on the tiller didn't meaningfully change (Gianopulos, also fired, is now head of Paramount--executives rarely suffer due to failure). The one thing that changed after Rothman was there was less direct interference with the films, which is probably why those made after his departure are more varied (Rothman is the one who notoriously had Ryan Reynold's mouth sewn shut in Wolverine, as well as prevented his Deadpool from being made).
Character Screen Time (excluding Dark Phoenix)
One of the important things about both the comic and the cartoon versions of the X-Men is that they are an ensemble--it's not just one or two lead characters with a supporting cast, but a fully fleshed out group. This approach is something Fox never followed, deciding to focus on leads--largely Wolverine in the early films, then a trifecta of sorts subsequently. To illustrate the point I've listed the screen time for various characters below--there are a lot of names, so to make them stand out I've colour-coded the top-five characters of each era to make it clearer visually and for their transition between one phase and another to stand out (splitting the original trilogy from what came later). This is important as I believe it will factor into how the MCU approaches the property going forward (I've included a comparison of the second iteration to the first three team-up films from the MCU, The Avengers, Age of Ultron, and Civil War).
First Iteration (2000-06; Singer, Singer, Ratner)
Wolverine 81:15
Jean Grey 38:00
Magneto 37:45
Professor X 34:45
Rogue 29:15
Storm 28:45
Mystique 20:15
Cyclops 20:00
Iceman 16:45Nightcrawler 9:30
Beast 7:45
Kitty Pryde 5:45Colossus 3:00
Angel 2:45
Multiple Man 0:45
Psylocke 0:45
Second Iteration (2011-17; Vaughan, Singer, Singer)
Professor X 85:30 - Iron Man 96:45
Magneto 73:15 - Captain America 88:15
Mystique 51:45 - Black Widow 54:45Beast 38:15 - Hulk 45:15
Wolverine 30:30 - Hawkeye 32:00
Havok 15:45 - Thor 31:15
Quicksilver 15:00 - Scarlet Witch 22:45
Jean Grey 15:00 - Bucky 22:00
Cyclops 12:45 - Loki 21:30
Cyclops 12:45 - Loki 21:30
Storm 9:45 - Nick Fury 21:15
Nightcrawler 8:00 - Black Panther 11:30
Banshee 8:15 - Vision 13:30
Psylocke 6:00 - Falcon 11:00
Angel 6:00 - War Machine 9:45
Kitty Pryde 4:45 - Spider-Man 8:30
Iceman 3:00 - Ant-Man 5:30Colossus 1:30
Sunspot 1:30
Combined (minimum 10 minutes)
Professor X 115:15
Wolverine 111:45
Magneto 111:00
Mystique 72:00
Jean Grey 53:00
Beast 46:00
Storm 38:30
Cyclops 32:45
Rogue 29:15
Nightcrawler 17:30
Havok 15:45
Quicksilver 15:00
Kitty Pryde 10:30
This doesn't include 190:15 of screen time for Wolverine in his solo films (the third of which adds significantly to Professor X), the Deadpool-franchise (which always seemed very separate, but adds to a very different Colossus), or the screen time from Dark Phoenix (whose numbers I don't have yet, but would add much more to Jean Grey). The focus above is clear and despite six films most of the X-characters are left with little to no development. Even a character like Rogue, who was prominent early, is more of a composite including elements of Kitty Pryde and Jubilee.
This radical departure from the source material is something I think the MCU will avoid (as mentioned above, Feige has confirmed his version will be very different). It's also apparent, putting aside that most of the MCU characters were in other films prior to the team-ups, how much more effort was spent giving screen time to the supporting actors to let them breath (Ant-Man has a cameo in Civil War, but he carries with him the weight of his own movie, giving it depth--it also informs the events of his sequel). With that said, what does 'very different' mean? To discern that, let's look at what Fox gave us in terms of stories.
The Fox Stories
I take Feige's comments to mean we either won't see the stories used below or, if we do, they will be done very differently. Let's go through them chronologically:
- X-Men (David Hayter/Tom DeSanto/Bryan Singer) - largely an original story, although it borrows elements from the comics (including Stan Lee's original)--in a way it's the most distinctive Fox film ever made, but it's also the most easily ignored by the MCU (it serves primarily as a Fox origin for Wolverine, one they largely abandoned with his solo films--the Fox continuity being an unmitigated disaster)
- X2 (David Hayter/Zak Penn/Bryan Singer/Michael Dougherty/Dan Harris) - based on both God Loves, Man Kills (Claremont) and Return to Weapon X (Mark Millar's Ultimate X-Men run); the Claremont book was a non-canonical one-shot for two decades before its popularity convinced Marvel to integrate it into the canon--as such, it's pretty easy to ignore; Millar's Ultimate run isn't highly regarded and, as such, likely not fodder for the MCU despite Feige's general use of the Ulimates (eg Spider-Man)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (Simon Kinberg/Zak Penn) - based on both The Dark Phoenix Saga (Claremont) and Gifted (Whedon), the film is a sorry mess and didn't sully the legacy of either story--Whedon's idea isn't dependent on his comic run, so I don't think it (a mutant cure) is necessarily excluded because of the film, but it would be a scenario for much, much later
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (David Benioff/Skip Woods/David Ayer [uncredited]) - Benioff was influenced by the 1982 Wolverine (Claremont) limited series, the laughable Weapon X (Windsor-Smith), and equally ridiculous Origins (Jemas, Quesada, and Jenkins)--hopefully the use of the latter two means we're safe from both regarding Wolverine (Marvel produced far too many explanations for his past, rather than sticking with Claremont's much more straightforward, but still mysterious, beginnings)
- X-Men: First Class (Ashley Edward Miller/Zack Stentz/Jane Goldman/Matthew Vaughn/Sheldon Turner/Bryan Singer) - loosely based on First Class (Parker); I'd like to think the adaptation ensures we'll never see the original X-Men as that team in the MCU or an origin set in the past
- The Wolverine (Mark Bomback/Scott Frank) - based on the 1982 Wolverine (Claremont) limited series (again!), this may eliminate the Mariko love story (or, at least, it coming about this way); I always thought Wolverine worked best out of a relationship (as a father figure to Kitty Pryde or wannabe lover of Jean Grey)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (Simon Kinberg/Jane Goldman/Matthew Vaughn) - loosely based on Days of Future Past (Claremont/Byrne), but it may mean the MCU will avoid doing it (or, at least, in this way)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (Simon Kinberg/Bryan Singer/Michael Dougherty/Dan Harris) - loosely based on the Marvel crossover event Age of Apocalypse (nine writers), but enough so that I think we're mercifully saved from seeing this in the MCU
- Logan (Scott Frank/James Mangold/Michael Green) - inspired by Old Man Logan (Millar/McNiven); I don't think the MCU will ever get to this point--if it was ever used it would be What If? fodder
- Dark Phoenix (Simon Kinberg) - based loosely on The Dark Phoenix Saga (Claremont); despite the fact that both Dark Phoenix adaptations borrow very little from the source material, I think it removes it from the MCU for the conceivable future
Incidentally, there are some familiar names among the Fox writers to note: Zak Penn wrote the lamentable The Incredible Hulk as well as the script Joss Whedon threw away for The Avengers; Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz were writers on Thor; and David Hayter is notable simply because his 2004 Black Widow script was mistakenly taken as the current Black Widow script by a number of scoopers (Charles Murphy, Jeremy Conrad, and many others).
Choosing the Team
Lee/Kirby original (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel)
The MCU has largely turned away from original iterations of characters beyond their aesthetic--they make homages to them, but that's about it (Guardians and Captain Marvel are the most obvious examples of this). Feige has always leaned on modern interpretations, while hearkening back to the older aesthetic. Added to these tendencies is that the original version of the X-Men were never particularly popular, requiring a reboot in the 70s to achieve the reverence they have now. For these reasons, and the fact that I think First Class and the whole Phoenix Saga is off the board, there's no chance we ever see this particular composition (unless there's an X-Factor film or show down the line). Beyond that, it should be pointed out that Beast, Iceman, and Angel weren't part of the X-Men team for most of their iconic stories--they are disconnected from the character development of key characters outside of Cyclops and Jean Grey. It should also be pointed out that the Phoenix Saga isn't dependent on the pair being original X-Men--the story would work just as well if they arrived to the group later.
I strongly believe what we will get is some version of Chris Claremont's characters (see below). Most of the most iconic X-Men stories and character development occurred during Claremont's run (also below) and those served as stepping stones to all later stories (as well being the basis of the popular cartoon). Given that, I think it's important to go through his various iterations of the team and consider them. For this process I'll ignore instances of characters who briefly join or leave, instead focusing on who the core members were. Beyond that I've taken a look at the cartoon and a few other teams that might hint at what's to come (Jonathan Hickman's current reboot isn't settled enough for me to include it).
Claremont's Original (1975-80; Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee)
Jumping off from Wein's introduction, this is the team that pushed the X-Men to the forefront of Marvel. While Banshee has remained a peripheral character since, all the others are iconic and continue to have relevance today. All of have appeared in the Fox productions, but the latter four received limited to negligible focus.
Second Iteration (1980-86; Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Kitty Pryde; Rogue added in '83, Rachel Summers in '84)
The first version of Claremont's team that fully shed their Lee/Kirby holdovers (Jean Grey was dead for a time with both moving over to Bob Layton's X-Factor in 1986). With the possible exception of Rachel Summers (derived from Days of Future Past), the new additions are also iconic characters and received limited attention from Fox.
Third Iteration (1986; Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Psylocke, Dazzler, Longshot)
It's at this time that Claremont was preparing for his spinoff series Excalibur (1988), a comic that would borrow Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, and Rachel Summers from the X-Men. While both Dazzler and (to a lesser extent) Longshot have their fans (the former has already been dumped into the animated hell of the Jeph Loeb ghetto), only Psylocke became iconic, but that was after the later's transformation (Jim Lee turned her into scantily clad Wolverine-clone in 1989). The explosive popularity of the X-Men meant continued splintering of characters and during that time I think there's only one other important Claremont addition: Gambit (1990), yet another Wolverine-clone who nevertheless would develop a fan-important romance with Rogue (as well as appearing in the cartoon, see below).
The notable comic development in the 90s was the evolution of Emma Frost from villain to (sort of) hero (an arc fully explored by Whedon later); I don't think the MCU will ever touch her because of her outfit and sexual nature (Fox's two bungled attempts with her notwithstanding); beyond that was the appearance of the animated cartoon (1992-97), whose team was comprised of: Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Jean Grey, Storm, Beast, Gambit, and Jubilee (introduced by Claremont in '89 as a Kitty Pryde replacement--I never thought much of her and she doesn't register very highly in fan favourite lists). The team was based on the 'Blue Team' of the early 90s (as in, the 1991 launched X-Men started by Claremont--after he left the dialogue was taken over by Byrne/Lobdell). The cartoon did a lot to popularize Gambit.
After a long decline in the 90s, lauded talents Grant Morrison (2001-04), Joss Whedon (2004-08), and Warren Ellis (2008-10) worked on the comic prior to Marvel Entertainment owner Ike Perlmutter ordering the team to be de-emphasized (furious that Fox was making money from the IP). The run is notable as much for the consistency of its roster as its substance: Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Beast, Kitty Pryde, Colossus, and Armor (Ellis would trim it down and add Storm). I go more into the resonance of the stories below--none of the characters invented since Claremont seem to have impacted the public much--they don't appear on popularity lists.
While there's a lot of character variation above, much of the core team stays the same and I believe from it we can look at those most likely to form our MCU-team. I have put a star (*) next to those featured in the animated series; those in green I feel sure will appear, those in red will not.
Wolverine*
We know he has a spot at the table (and not just because of the Russo's comments above), albeit with a new actor in the role (50-year old Hugh Jackman is done). Despite his heavy use by Fox, he's far too popular and important to ignore (and leads to things like X-23). Because of how he was used by Fox, I think we can expect him to have a lighter tone (early Claremont being the template) and steer clear of the origin stories Fox used--we can hope for the comic-accurate Alpha Flight origin. It's not clear if the MCU would begin with a solo film before he joins the X-Men (I'd favour a gradual build-up to the team-up). He has more than enough substance for an arc that begins with the Weapon X program, transitions to Alpha Flight, his encounter with the Hulk, and then becoming a (somewhat reluctant) X-Men. While Fox featured the Weapon X stuff, they used later material and for the MCU that can simply be background (indeed, I think showing it too much would be a mistake). He could debut in someone else's film as an antagonist (ala Winter Soldier), have his own origin film featuring Alpha Flight, and then join an X-Men film--I'd love that, but don't believe it will happen.
Storm*
The most iconic black female character in Marvel comics, who was both a leader of the X-Men and later develops an important relationship with Black Panther, she's an automatic inclusion--easily introduced in Black Panther 2 (if Ryan Coogler wants to go there). It's helpful that Fox never did anything with her (both Halle Barry and Alexandra Shipp's versions are forgettable). My guess is we'll see the more mature version of her (mid-Claremont) rather than her playful beginnings (by doing so she could easily replace Cyclops as the initial team leader, see below). The X-franchise has no shortage of female characters, but it is light on persons of colour (despite Marvel's furious efforts over the last 15-years), so Storm helps round that out. If they decide to hold back on the T'Challa romance (I would to start) then they might play into her relationship with Forge.
Cyclops* & Jean Grey*
I think they come as a pair so they'll be considered together. On the positive side of the equation both are iconic (they and their relationship), and they play key roles in one of the most beloved X-Men storylines (the now twice-ruined Dark Phoenix Saga). However, because of the Fox failures and that Feige doesn't like repeating what's come before, I don't expect to see it. Without that saga they lose their value for the team, so I believe the two will be put on hold or filtered off to X-Factor (if I'm wrong and they are included, both will be on the team).
Colossus
He's a key part of Claremont's best run on the franchise, a beloved character, has an important relationship with Kitty Pryde, and his sister Magik is an important mutant. Why am I excluding him? He's part of the Deadpool franchise and if that remains intact, it's far too confusing to have a different Colossus be part of the MCU (even if the Deadpool supporting cast is jettisoned, I think Feige would prefer to wait on the character). It doesn't help that his sister is being used in the derided New Mutants film, which Disney is still set on releasing. One way to slow burn the character is introduce him with the (new) Black Widow (ie, Black Widow 2).
Nightcrawler
Another important player in Claremont's better stories who was later flipped over to Excalibur, Fox left a lot of his material untouched. With that said, he doesn't specifically tick any boxes for Marvel (despite a fun power and distinct personality--if used I think they would emphasize his swashbuckling side in contrast to Fox's more morose, religious approach). He's not guaranteed a spot at the table, but as an easy race swap, remains a possibility.
Banshee
One of the early departures in Claremont's run; he has an interesting relationship with Moira MacTaggert (whom Hickman is giving prominence), along with a criminal past. Fox didn't do much with him, but even more so than Nightcrawler, he doesn't fit any particular niche and is thus easily left out. He would make for decent supporting fodder in a Disney+ show, however.
Kitty Pryde
One of the secondary characters who remained popular despite being shunted off to Excalibur for a decade; she remains an important member on the modern X-Men, with a key relationship with Wolverine as well as a romance with Colossus (both elements ignored by Fox). She's a virtual guarantee to appear, although I doubt she'll be as young as she was in Claremont (13). Of the various X-Men she's the most difficult to drop into someone else's IP as an intro, as her origins are very much tied into Xavier's mission.
Rogue*
Claremont took her villainous beginnings and turned her into an interesting character who remains popular today; she has an important relationships with Gambit and Mystique, as well as a key history with Carol Danvers (should they choose to use it--if they do she could appear in the Captain Marvel sequel). Fox did nothing with her background elements, so I think the odds of her appearing are very high. In the comics she originally comes to the X-Men for help (essentially suffering from PTSD) and I can imagine that element being retained. To open with her villainous past would help push the idea of the Mutant Menace (if the MCU wants to go that way), especially if Wolverine is also beginning that way.
Rachel Summers (Prestige/Phoenix)
Unless her origin is changed she requires Jean Grey to exist and as such she's almost certain to be ignored (it's too bad as I quite like the character). The only alternative would be to skip that origin, give her the Prestige identity, and move forward--I just wonder if Feige would be concerned with fan confusion over someone who looks like Jean Grey and has her power set. I like the character (struggling with her past and fitting into a new world and reality), but she seems likes an unfortunate casualty of circumstance.
Psylocke
There are a lot of interesting things you can do with the character: she's Captain Britain's sister, has a connection to the Mandarin, and is the most popular pseudo-Asian mutant character available (I suspect Marvel will keep her Asian despite the comics changing her back recently--they could maintain her sibling relationship if she's a half-sister). I find the transformed version of her incredibly dull (yet another Wolverine-clone), but that doesn't mean she couldn't be spruced up; there's a decent chance she'll appear to help diversity on the team (because of when Shang-Chi was written--before the Fox sale was complete--she won't appear there). Her ephemeral appearance in Apocalypse won't hurt her chances (the old Jim Lee custom was never going to appear under Feige regardless--it's quite similar to the old Ms. Marvel costume he was dismissive of). In my world we'd get the original Betsy Braddock, but I've long come to terms with that never happening.
Gambit*
I've never cared for the character (yet another bad boy who struggles to work with others), but he is part of an iconic romance with Rogue. Other than that romance he's not ticking many boxes, so I think his appearance depends a lot on Rogue and what they want to do with her, meaning it's very unlikely he appears early in the franchise (I don't believe the aborted Channing Tatum project, or the character's appearance in Wolverine, will impact what Feige does with him).
Jubilee*
A poorly made Kitty Pryde-clone when she debuted, I'm not sure how much of that has changed over time (she doesn't register very highly in fan surveys I've seen); while she ticks the box for representation, as a character she's not particularly interesting; I think her appearance is unlikely unless there's no Kitty Pryde or it's an older version of that character. She could appear in a Disney+ show.
Emma Frost
As I mentioned above I don't think Feige is willing to use a character who embraces her sexuality like she does--everything needs to be family friendly--so she might be jettisoned to the Jeph Loeb ghetto. The only element in her favour is she's popular and LGBT, so we could get a PG-version of her, but I'm not sure how well that would work.
Beast*
An entertaining character, but outside of the cartoon he's not involved in the iconic X-stories (he wound up at X-Factor, the home of the Kirby/Lee X-Men in the 80s, having spent time on a number of different non-mutant teams beforehand); he was given a lot of focus by Fox, making him even less likely to appear.
Bishop
Invented by Byrne in 1991, he appeared briefly in Days of Future Past, but he's never been a core X-Men character. Other than the diversity angle he doesn't seem like a fit. I found him pretty generic, but he does have an interesting look.
Armor
A Whedon character that offers some Asian representation; I'm unfamiliar with her and she doesn't show up on favourites lists, making it unlikely (but not impossible) that she appears.
Others
Characters like Husk, Pixie, Warpath, M, and others are all possibilities, having appeared in the newer incarnations of the team, but none push the popular needle and would be more a matter of a director/writer wanting their inclusion than appealing to a general audience. They seem more like Disney+ fodder than holding up the films. I didn't include Sunfire or Thunderbird above, as neither were X-Men for very long, but they would hit the representation mark (I like both characters).
I think the normal race swaps from the MCU are unlikely here, because the established versions of the iconic characters are deeply embedded with merchandising (lesser known or secondary characters remain fair game). Given how many prominent female characters there are, we likely won't have gender swaps either.
The Team
In my original speculation article (link above) the MCU team was Storm (leader), Wolverine, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, plus one diverse character with Professor X as the mentor (assuming it would be a team of six, given that the MCU seems to like that number initially--The Eternals' bloated cast is an exception I believe). I'm uncertain about Nightcrawler's inclusion now, although his personality would be a good ingredient given the other members.
I don't think we'll have five female members to start with, but four is possible. An Asian Psylocke is the most likely female addition if there is one (representation as well as popular). As for male characters, Iceman is LGBT and was used marginally on Fox, making him a possibility (however dull I find him). Forge is also a possibility (even though I don't think his power set is particularly interesting, nor is he popular). I'd like to see either Sunfire or Thunderbird on the team (preferring the latter), but Fox used him in The Gifted, making him unlikely.
To sum up, my current expectation is: Storm (leader), Wolverine, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Psylocke (Asian-version), and Iceman with Professor X as the mentor. This provides two characters of colour as well as LGBT representation. Given how heavily we saw Xavier in the Fox films there may be a push to pick a different mentor (a family-friendly Emma Frost, or Moira MacTaggert, etc), but at this stage I'll stick with the obvious choice.
As for my ideal team, it's hard to cut it down to just six, but it starts off the same core: Storm (leader), Wolverine, Rogue, and Kitty Pryde; from there I'd add Thunderbird, old school Psylocke, and have Emma Frost in the Professor X role. There's some overlap in the kind of people Wolverine and Thunderbird are, but I think there's a lot they could explore with the latter and Native Americans are an ignored minority. The original Betsy Braddock differs considerably from her transformed version and would add an interesting slant to the group (in some ways she's like the Civil War version of Scarlet Witch, but without the anger). The first four are on both lists and are, I think, locks for any team we see. My list also hits the same diversity marks (Frost fills out the LGBT quotient), although that's simply serendipity.
While I believe the team will be young (as they were in the comics), I doubt they'll make them teenagers as they (mostly) were in the comics. The youth decision would provide a visual contrast to the much older Avengers characters.
MCU Introductions
There are three possible ways to start the IP:
- An X-Men film
- Introductions in other IP leading to a film
- A series of solo/duo films leading to an X-Men film (like the lead-in to the Avengers--I see this as highly unlikely).
We can be reasonably sure none of the X-Men will appear in Black Widow, The Eternals, and Shang-Chi, because all were written prior to the completion of the sale to Disney. Given that, it seems like Black Panther 2 is the most likely first time for any of them to appear (we may get the mutant origins in Doctor Strange 2 or The Eternals, but I'm speaking in terms of actual character appearances). I think we'll get Storm in that film--what version of her, how prominently, and whether they make her Wakandan instead of Kenyan I don't know (it would be nice to not have all African characters be from one place). Rogue could show up in Captain Marvel 2 (echoing her comicbook origin--that could play into an X-Men vs Avengers idea if Feige wants to go there). In addition, we could have a Wolverine film (possibly including Kitty Pryde), but for the other characters they seemingly would be introduced in the X-Men film proper.
The First X-Men Storyline - Background
What story might they use (the Chuck Austen inclusion above is a joke, as he's considered the worst writer the team ever had)? One place to find ideas is to look at the top-rated stories. I grabbed five lists (Newsarama, Polygon, Screenrant, CBR, and IGN) as a baseline, along with a site that has fan votes (here) to establish a rough hierarchy to mitigate my own bias. Here's the list in order of how often a storyline was included (those adapted on film are in bold; to make the writers a bit clearer I've colour-coded some of them: Claremont is in green, Morrison in red, Whedon in blue, Millar in yellow, and Pak in purple; I also included the year/s they came out):
- "Days of Future Past" (1981; Claremont) x6
- "Dark Phoenix Saga" (1980; Claremont) x5
- "God Loves, Man Kills" (1982; Claremont) x4
- "Age of Apocalypse" (1995-96; Various) x4
- "E is for Extinction" (2001; Morrison) x4
- "Mutant Genesis" (2002; Claremont) x3
- "Mutant Massacre" (1986; Claremont) x3
- "All New, All Different X-Men" (1975; Wein) x3
- "X-Men: Season One" (2011; Hopeless) x3
- "Fatal Attractions" (1993; Various) x3
- "Lifedeath I & II" (1984/1985; Claremont) x2
- "X-Men: First Class" (2006-07; Parker) x2
- "House of M/Decimation" (2005; Bendis) x2
- "Astonishing X-Men" (2004-07; Whedon) x2
- "Gifted" (2004; Whedon) x2
- "Wounded Wolf" (1986; Claremont)
- "Inferno" (1988-89; Claremont)
- "X-Tinction Agenda" (1990-91; Claremont)
- "Muir Island Saga" (1991; Claremont)
- "Fall of the Mutants" (1988; Claremont)
- "Divided He Stands" (2008; Various)
- "Wolverine's Wedding" (1983; Claremont)
- "Broodfall" (1988; Claremont)
- "The Asgardian Wars" (1985-86; Claremont)
- "Wolverine vs the Reavers" (1989-90; Claremont)
- "The Phoenix Saga" (1976-77; Claremont)
- "Rogue Joins the X-Men" (1983; Various, but including Claremont)
- "Return of the King" (2003; Millar)
- "The Tomorrow People" (2001; Millar)
- "Phoenix: Endsong" (2005; Pak)
- "Magento: Testament" (2009; Pak)
- "Days of Future Yet to Come" (1993; Davis)
- "Magneto" (2014; Bunn etc)
- "Deadly Genesis" (2005-06; Brubaker)
- "Onslaught" (1996; Various)
- "Operation: Zero Tolerance" (1997; Various)
- "Messiah Complex/Second Coming" (2007-2008/2010; Various)
- "X-Cutioner's Song" (1992-93; Various)
- "Phalanx Covenant" (1994; Various)
None of the original Lee/Kirby stories make these lists and, outside of crossover events, neither do the 90s authors (despite an abundance of X-books at that time). Surprisingly, none of Warren Ellis' (or Matt Fraction's) work appears either (despite a wide sampling--the oldest list goes back to 2011, just after Ellis stopped writing the series).
The MCU Story
Moving beyond analyzing, Wein is the only one who provides a true team introduction. Wein's plot has Xavier assembling a new team to rescue the old, which while technically doable is not where I expect the MCU to go. Wein's plot leads into one of two options I think we'll see.
Option One
An event or incident prompts Xavier (or Frost or Storm or even Moira MacTaggert--there are many mentor options, with only Magneto out of bounds due to his heavy use by Fox) to gather the X-Men. It's less important what that threat is (a tangible danger, the threat of mutant registration, etc), than its purpose to bring the team together. My guess is this would follow one of two branches: an antagonist (or group of antagonists) must be defeated, or the team has to prove itself (either innocent or to the world)--I'd lean towards the first of these options. What I'm not clear on is how heavily the MCU will play into Xavier's school--it's a staple of the Fox films, meaning we might get a very different version of it in Marvel. Here the team gathering would occur just over the early parts of the film (ala the first Avengers).
Option Two
The slow burn approach very similar to Fox's First Class, with the film focusing on the process of needing and then recruiting the team rather than the antagonist at the end. Because this was used by Fox it's less likely in MCU, but the general idea isn't completely out of the question and could be done with enough changes that the parallel's aren't as obvious. What's out of the question, I believe, is a pre-existing school ala both X-Men: Apocalypse (where the young X-characters are introduced) and the original X-Men. This isn't to say we won't have a School for Gifted Youngsters, but I don't believe it will already have a substantial set of mutants running around within it.
My conclusion? I think we'll get an inciting incident that requires some (or all) the team to be recruited (by who is up in the air--in a way it doesn't matter). If the goal is to lead-up to an Avengers vs X-Men film, then this incident would either be about the X-Men overcoming an antagonist (a core X-villain, perhaps), which might be connected to calming down concerns over the mutant menace. The classic Claremont result would be for them to be denied the credit for succeeding. That's what I'm expecting from the MCU (which wasn't something Fox played into)--they'll do heroic deeds, but get none of the glory and often the blame. It's a great way to play up the mutant anxiety within the Marvel universe--providing motivation for those who decide getting along with humanity just isn't worth it.
Epilogue - Spinoffs/Other Mutant-IP
Original X-Factor: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, Angel
Peter David's X-Factor: Havok, Polaris, Multiple Man, Strong Guy, Wolfsbane, Quicksilver
There are two versions of X-Factor to consider. The first is the original group, which were the Lee/Kirby X-Men in their own book. This was never very popular (essentially a less-interesting version than the actual X-Men) and after a few years the team's characters were sent off to various X-Men books. The other is a short run by Peter David which I'm very fond of--David took peripheral mutants and created an immensely entertaining group with them. Neither of these teams is necessarily film-worthy (although I'd love to see the latter depicted), but would make for interesting Disney+ shows.
New Mutants: Cannonball, Karma, Mirage, Sunspot, Wolfsbane, Magik, Cypher, Warlock, Magma
The oldest X-Men spinoff, the Fox film dead letters the IP from the near future for the MCU. This would come well down the line and almost certainly as a Disney+ show.
Excalibur: Captain Britain, Meggan, Phoenix (aka Prestige), Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler
Originally a Claremont book based in England which ran for a very long time. Quirky, it's very distinct both from the X-Men and other X-books. Because of how weird it is, it's unlikely to be film-fodder, but could find life as a Disney+ show.
X-Force: Cable, Domino, Shatterstar, Boom Boom, Cannonball, Feral, Warpath, Siryn
Rob Liefeld transformed the New Mutants into X-Force (the terrible art above is his). The book was popular in the early 90s, but has never found sustained success since. Given that Deadpool 2 has used key characters from it already I think it's unlikely to see the light of day. Like the above properties, however, if it does appear it's less likely to be on film (so Disney+).
Alpha Flight: Guardian, Vindicator, Northstar, Aurora, Marrina, Puck, Talisman, Snowbird, Sasquatch
As a Canadian team I think there's no hope whatsoever they would get either a film or a show. Marvel has never been able to make the team achieve even the limited success it had in the 80s--given that, why include them? Two reasons: they play an important role in Wolverine's origins and they have a modern connection to Captain Marvel. I quite like the eclectic team and would love to see it, but I'm dubious that it will happen.
There have been other iterations of heroic X-groups, but none with the historical anchor these do nor, as far as I can tell, the same level of popularity.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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