Marvel Studios has the opportunity to fix some of the biggest mistakes in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise now mutants are coming to the MCU. Fox’s X-Men franchise kicked off with 2000’s eponymous X-Men and spanned two decades, coming to an end with 2020’s disappointing The New Mutants. Over 13 feature films, Fox weaved confusing continuities packed full of lackluster interpretations of Marvel Comics characters and storylines, but there is now hope that Marvel Studios will take mutants and the X-Men and treat them with much more care.
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Whether it be wasting important X-Men characters from Marvel Comics, diluting and altering pivotal backstories, butchering iconic and formidable X-Men villains or failing to explore some of the X-Men’s weirder stories, 20th Century Fox made many mistakes in the X-Men franchise. Of course, it wasn’t all bad, as movies including X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool and Logan saw huge success. Following Disney’s acquisition of Fox and the development of the MCU’s own X-Men reboot, however, Marvel Studios is perfectly primed to resolve some of Fox’s major X-Men issues.
10 Marvel Needs To Focus More On Fox’s Underused X-Men
Many X-Men Members Were Wasted In Fox’s Franchise
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One of the biggest crimes of Fox’s X-Men franchise was that some of Marvel Comics’ most notable, powerful and important X-Men members were completely fumbled. Some of the most central X-Men were given little to do, while others, including Professor X and Wolverine, arguably got far more attention than they needed. Cyclops was relegated to a whiny jock, Storm never showed off the full potential of her god-like powers, Rogue was completely wrong, Gambit was ignored entirely, and many others were rendered jokes or irrelevant bit-parts.
|
X-Men Movie |
Release Date |
Box Office |
|---|---|---|
|
X-Men |
July 14, 2000 |
$296.3 million |
|
X2: X-Men United |
May 2, 2003 |
$407.7 million |
|
X-Men: The Last Stand |
May 26, 2006 |
$460.4 million |
|
X-Men Origins: Wolverine |
May 1, 2009 |
$373 million |
|
X-Men: First Class |
June 3, 2011 |
$353 million |
|
The Wolverine |
July 26, 2013 |
$414.8 million |
|
X-Men: Days of Future Past |
May 23, 2014 |
$746 million |
|
Deadpool |
February 12, 2016 |
$782 million |
|
X-Men: Apocalypse |
May 27, 2016 |
$543.9 million |
|
Logan |
March 3, 2017 |
$619.2 million |
|
Deadpool 2 |
May 18, 2018 |
$785 million |
|
Dark Phoenix |
June 7, 2019 |
$252.4 million |
|
The New Mutants |
August 28, 2020 |
$49.2 million |
|
Deadpool & Wolverine (MCU) |
July 26, 2024 |
$1.338 billion |
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Marvel Animation recently proved that every member of the X-Men can be developed equally in 2024’s X-Men ’97 revival series. Marvel Studios should use this as a blueprint for the MCU’s X-Men team, giving Cyclops, Storm, Iceman, Gambit, Rogue, Beast and Jubilee much more action and more substantive storylines in live-action. The X-Men work best when their family dynamic is explored, and Fox’s X-Men franchise never managed to tap into this concept, but there are hopes the MCU will do better.
9 The Hellfire Club Deserves More Attention
Fox Barely Explored The Hellfire Club In X-Men: First Class
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2011’s X-Men: First Class introduced the Hellfire Club to live-action, led by Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw. This group was a precursor to the Brotherhood of Mutants, who would eventually fall under Magneto’s control, but had just a fraction of the impact as they should have done in the X-Men franchise. The five-person group paled in comparison to Marvel Comics’ Hellfire Club, which has been causing problems and influencing events behind the scenes since its debut in 1980, and has, at times, been almost 20 strong, comprising powerful mutant villains.
X-Men: First Class’
Hellfire Club comprised Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw, January Jones’ Emma Frost, Jason Flemyng’s Azazel, Álex González’s Riptide and Zoë Kravitz’s Angel.
It would be fantastic to see an accurate depiction of the Hellfire Club brought into live-action in the MCU. The society shouldn’t be a one-and-done villain, either, but should be a prominent background threat to the X-Men, sowing the seeds of discord in several upcoming MCU projects. Introducing the Hellfire Club properly creates the opportunity for previously-unseen characters, such as Harry Leland, Jason Wyngarde, Selene, Madelyne Pryor and Trevor Fitzroy, among others, to make their live-action debuts, which could massively expand the world of mutants in the MCU.
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8 Emma Frost Was Forgettable In Fox’s X-Men Franchise
Emma Frost Has Never Been Adapted Faithfully In Live-Action
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One prominent member of the Hellfire Club who never got the development she deserved in Fox’s X-Men franchise is Emma Frost. She has been described as one of Marvel’s most notable and powerful female characters, but has been fumbled time and again in live-action, first by Tahyna MacManus in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and later by January Jones in X-Men: First Class. In the year since her debut in 1980, Emma Frost has evolved from a formidable supervillain into a bona fide hero, and has even become the leader of the X-Men team, none of which has been seen on-screen.
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Adapting Emma Frost properly for the MCU is a necessity, as she is one of the most important X-Men characters in Marvel Comics, but has never been done justice in live-action. The likes of Margot Robbie, Léa Seydoux and Blake Lively have been popular fan-casts for the role of Emma Frost, any of whom would be able to deliver powerful performances that leave a lasting impression. Frost should not be a secondary character in the MCU. The prospect of seeing her develop over several years and see huge transformations in the MCU is very exciting.
7 It’s Not All About The X-Men
There Are Many Other Mutant Groups In Marvel Comics
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Fox’s X-Men franchise seldom veered away from focusing on its titular mutant team, and subsequently completely ignored other heroic mutant groups, of which there are a plethora in Marvel Comics. Deadpool 2 briefly introduced a version of X-Force, and the New Mutants made their debut in the franchise’s final movie, but there are many more that were never seen. Marvel Studios’ first mutant-centric movie is an X-Men reboot, but, following that, it would be great to see more mutant superhero and villain teams developed.
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This could include the likes of X-Factor, the Marauders, the Morlocks, Alpha Flight and the Acolytes. Introducing these groups, some of which many of the most notable X-Men members have prior connections to, would be a great opportunity to explore more characters’ backstories in the MCU. Gambit’s history with the Marauders, Magneto and the Acolytes, and the original X-Men team’s evolution into X-Factor can all be explored. Introducing these groups, and many more, is a great world-building opportunity that Fox never took advantage of, but Marvel Studios should.
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6 Space Exploration Is A Huge Part Of The X-Men’s Marvel Comics Story
Fox’s X-Men Only Went To Space Once
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In two decades, Fox’s X-Men team only traveled into space once, and that was only to venture into Earth’s orbit to save a stranded astronaut team in 2019’s Dark Phoenix. This was a huge departure from the X-Men’s space-faring stories in Marvel Comics. The X-Men have traveled into space many times, whether as a complete team or as singular members, and have even partnered with cosmic heroes a number of times, such as the Starjammers and Captain Marvel. Since Marvel Studios has explored space in more detail, the X-Men can be a much more cosmic team in the MCU.
The X-Men’s space adventure in
Dark Phoenix
provided a more comic-accurate depiction of Jean Grey’s evolution into the Phoenix than
X-Men: The Last Stand
, but still fumbled the delivery of this iconic Marvel Comics storyline.
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This has already been teased to be the case, as the post-credits scene of 2023’s The Marvels introduced Binary as a member of the X-Men team in an alternate reality. Binary is an enhanced iteration of Captain Marvel in Marvel Comics, who accesses the power of a cosmic phenomenon called a white hole after her original powers are stolen by Rogue. The fact that the X-Men have already been teased as being connected to space in the MCU is a good sign; the Shi’ar, the Phoenix Force, the Brood and more alien concepts could finally be adapted properly into live-action.
5 Apocalypse Was Fumbled In Fox’s X-Men Franchise
Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse Was Disappointing & Forgettable
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While many X-Men heroes need to seek redemption and get more attention in the MCU, so do many of Fox’s supervillains. Magneto got the most attention out of any villain in Fox’s X-Men franchise, while the Dark Phoenix, Sebastian Shaw, the Silver Samurai, Bolivar Trask and more weren’t done justice. Perhaps the biggest villain mistake, however, was Fox’s interpretation of Apocalypse, who was played by Oscar Isaac in 2016’s eponymous X-Men: Apocalypse. Isaac’s villain was as far from comic-accurate as possible, and harbored a fraction of the power and intensity of his Marvel Comics counterpart.
Apocalypse has been seen to be one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe since his debut in 1986. As one of the first mutants, Apocalypse’s elongated lifespan and access to Celestial technology has seen him amass immense power and influence, but Fox failed to capture the captivating essence of this formidable villain. Marvel Studios needs to adapt Apocalypse more faithfully, and has thankfully set up many elements of the villain’s Ancient Egyptian backstory already, so a reinvented Apocalypse could be one of the MCU’s first X-Men villains.
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4 Genosha Needs To Be Far More Important To Mutantkind
Fox’s X-Men Movies Wasted Genosha
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Where the animated X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97 excelled at showing the transformation and growth of the mutant island of Genosha over the years, Fox’s live-action X-Men franchise all but ignored this important location from Marvel Comics. Genosha appeared briefly in X-Men and X-Men: The Last Stand, but was never named, and then was seen again in Dark Phoenix, but, again, wasn’t given enough focus. Genosha is a pivotal setting for mutants and the X-Men in Marvel Comics, and this deserves to be depicted on-screen.
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Genosha first served as an allegory for slavery and apartheid, as mutants were subjugated and put to work on Genosha before the island nation was transformed into a safe haven for the mutants of the world. 2001’s E is for Extinction story arc saw Cassandra Nova employ a Wild Sentinel to commit genocide on Genosha, which was emotionally told in X-Men ’97 episode 5, “Remember It.” It would be incredible to see the island nation be developed in this way in the MCU over several years, doing it justice after years of being wasted in Fox’s X-Men franchise.
3 Wolverine’s Backstory Can Be Done Right In The MCU
Fox Missed Out A Lot Of Wolverine’s Marvel Comics Backstory
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Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was perhaps the character who saw the most action in Fox’s X-Men franchise, even leading his own solo trilogy of movies – one of only two characters to do so, with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool being the other after 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Despite being featured in the X-Men franchise so regularly, Fox never managed to flesh out Wolverine’s backstory properly. X-Men Origins: Wolverine tried to detail his backstory, but ended with him forgetting the events of the movie and leaving his next steps unclear, while X-Men: Apocalypse simply reinvented his time in the Weapon X facility.
|
Wolverine’s Movie Appearance |
Year |
Actor |
|---|---|---|
|
X-Men |
2000 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
X2: X-Men United |
2003 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
X-Men: The Last Stand |
2006 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
X-Men Origins: Wolverine |
2009 |
Hugh Jackman & Troye Sivan |
|
X-Men: First Class |
2011 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
The Wolverine |
2013 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
X-Men: Days of Future Past |
2014 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
X-Men: Apocalypse |
2016 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
Logan |
2017 |
Hugh Jackman |
|
Deadpool & Wolverine |
2024 |
Hugh Jackman & Henry Cavill |
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Marvel Studios could show Wolverine’s history with Nathaniel Essex, his time living among the Blackfoot people, his actions in the Canadian military in World War I, his time fighting alongside Captain America in World War II and his experiences in Madripoor, Japan and as a part of Department H. Fox barely scratched the surface of Wolverine’s rich and lengthy history. The only reason Wolverine should get a solo movie in the MCU would be to explore this forgotten history for the clawed mutant, perhaps revealing he’d been in the MCU all along, given his elongated lifespan and regenerative healing ability.
2 Mister Sinister Should Finally Debut
Fox Teased Mister Sinister For Years
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Exploring Wolverine’s backstory creates the perfect opportunity for Nathaniel Essex’s Mister Sinister to finally make his live-action debut. Mister Sinister has been one of the X-Men’s most powerful and prevailing adversaries since his debut in 1987, and though Fox teased him relentlessly for years in the X-Men franchise, he was never actually seen in person. Jon Hamm was originally expected to be cast as Mister Sinister in a sequel to The New Mutants that never came to fruition, but this casting could be revived for the MCU.
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2024’s X-Men ’97 teased just how incredible Mister Sinister could be in the MCU, and following Fox’s years of teasing the villain, it’s high time he makes his live-action debut. X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, Logan, Deadpool 2 and The New Mutants teased Mister Sinister’s debut, so Marvel Studios should introduce him to the MCU early in its exploration of the X-Men. Mister Sinister is the perfect character to be a long-running and ever-present threat to the X-Men, particularly given his long life, so it would be brilliant to finally see this iconic supervillain get some attention.
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1 The X-Men’s Connection To Other Heroes Can Be Shown In The MCU
The X-Men Can Meet The Avengers In The MCU
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Marvel Comics’ X-Men are always bumping into the other heroes of the Marvel Universe, but this is something that 20th Century Fox never had the chance to pull off. A crossover between the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises was planned at Fox, but was never actually produced, so the X-Men always stayed in their own corner of the world. This was a dire shame, and is something that Marvel Studios is already changing, as several mutant characters have already embarked on adventures with non-mutant heroes in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.
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There has been a huge amount of speculation that the introduction of the X-Men to the MCU will begin to set up an adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Avengers vs. X-Men event from 2012. The Avengers have always been at the core of the MCU, and after X-Men ’97 brought together the X-Men, Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil and Spider-Man, it seems more likely that this crossover will actually happen. Connecting the X-Men to a wider range of other MCU characters will better establish mutants in the MCU, which will help to solve some of Fox’s biggest X-Men franchise mistakes.
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X-Men
The X-Men franchise, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, centers on mutants with extraordinary abilities. Led by the powerful telepath Professor Charles Xavier, they battle discrimination and villainous mutants threatening humanity. The series explores themes of diversity and acceptance through a blend of action, drama, and complex characters, spanning comics, animated series, and blockbuster films.
Movie(s) X-Men (2000) , X2 , X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) , X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) , X-Men: First Class (2011) , The Wolverine (2013) , X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) , Deadpool (2016) , X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) , Logan (2017) , Deadpool 2 (2018) , Dark Phoenix (2019) , The New Mutants , Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) TV Show(s) X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men , X-Men (1992) , X-Men: Evolution (2000) , Wolverine and the X-Men (2008) , Marvel Anime: Wolverine , Marvel Anime: X-Men , Legion (2017) , The Gifted (2017) , X-Men ’97 (2024) Expand
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Captain America: Brave New World
Release Date February 14, 2025
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Thunderbolts*
Release Date May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Release Date July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Spider-Man Homecoming 4
Release Date July 24, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
Release Date May 7, 2027
