Five Ways The X-Men Could Improve The MCU
Image Source: Britannica
Ever since Disney announced its plan to acquire 21st Century Fox in 2017, it was clear that the X-Men (and also the Fantastic Four) would sooner or later join the MCU.
Although a variant of Professor Charles Xavier appeared in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness as the head of the Illuminati on Earth 838, Hugh Jackman will reprise his role as Wolverine in Deadpool 3 and the Beast (played by Kelsey Grammer) returned for the mid-credit scene of The Marvels, it will take some time until the famous group of mutants will be fully integrated into the MCU.
But is it wise to add the X-Men and their storylines to a universe already convoluted with characters and plot strands whose bigger purpose is unclear right now?
Here are five reasons why the MCU could benefit from the inclusion of the X-Men.
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5. Battle Of The Heroes
Image Source: CBR
No matter if Kang the Conqueror will still be the big bad in Avengers 5 and 6 after the firing of Jonathan Majors, Avengers: Secret Wars shapes up to be a massive battle across the Multiverse. An Incursion will likely lead to the collision of the main MCU Universe (with Earth 616) and that of the X-Men (which may be that with Earth 838 or, more likely, a completely new universe - we will get to this later). This Incursion would lead to a battle between the Avengers and the X-Men, with each group desperately trying to save their respective universe from complete destruction.
How about Phoenix Force against Thor's hammer or Storm's lightning against Doctor Strange's magic? If you are a fan of the airport battle in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers vs. X-Men will be similar to this, just on steroids.
And, of course, the Avengers could surely use some of the X-Men's superpowers, when it comes to defeating their common enemy in the end, no matter if this is Kang or some other supervillain.
4. More Bickering (And Flirtation)
Image Source: CBR
Although the MCU films are primarily story-driven, they include some powerful characters. And so do the X-Men movies.
And now imagine the interactions that could happen if these characters meet up as friends or foes: how would Wolverine react if Thor gave him the order to attack, how would Bruce Banner discuss the consequences of time travel with Henry McCoy, would Doctor Strange be impressed by Rogue's ability to absorb the superpowers of others and how would Storm react if Peter Parker tried to flirt with her?
Between the heavy action scenes, the quieter moments with the bantering between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, or the more or less subtle flirtation between Hulk and Black Widow have always released the tension in the Avengers movies and created some fun moments. Adding the X-Men characters would surely allow for many more of these character moments.
3. An Established Group (With A Built-In Fanbase)
Image Source: Digital Spy
The MCU has been most successful when it relies on an established group of core characters, like the Avengers or the Guardians of the Galaxy. The X-Men are such a group too, with the first movie dating back to 2000, years before the first MCU film. The name of the group itself, as well as those of Wolverine, Storm, Doctor X, or Magneto, have become household names even to non-comic or superhero fans, just like Iron Man, Hulk, or Thor.
And though the last X-Men movie was released several years ago (if you don't count Deadpool and The New Mutants), the franchise still has an established fanbase, which Marvel can rely on.
2. The Calm After The Reboot
Image Source: The Direct
Marvel hasn't announced any plans beyond phase six of the MCU, but there will likely be a reboot after Secret Wars. No matter if the Multiverse will be rebuilt like in the 2015 comic series, on which Secret Wars will be based, or if there will be only one universe, the X-Men will be a part of it, and this will probably be the time when they are fully integrated into the MCU. Not unlike the comics, the MCU could be split into various branches: one with the (new) Avengers, one with the X-Men, one with the more space-based groups like the Eternals and the new Guardians of the Galaxy, one with more supernatural characters and creatures like werewolves or vampires and one with earth-bound characters, like Echo, Daredevil, and Kingpin. Such a separation could reduce the complexity and convolution of the current MCU. These branches could come together in more epic crossover stories at the end of each phase.
Such a reboot would also go hand in hand with a generational change. Marvel is already working on establishing the new Avengers with Kamalah Khan, Kate Bishop, Cassie Lang, Riri Willams/Ironheart, and probably some other younger characters who will gradually replace the current Avengers.
The same will probably (have to) happen to the established X-Men characters.
Patrick Stewart is 83, Ian McKellen is 85, and even Hugh Jackman is 55, and none of them will play their respective role for much longer. So, Secret Wars, or, more likely, the first X-Men movie under the MCU banner, could include the handing over of the baton to a new generation of mutants.
1. A (Partly) Unified Universe
Image Source: Khaleej Times
With the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney and the de-canonization of the former Expanded Universe, every new piece of Star Wars content, film, television, books, and comics is considered the same level of continuity. Kevin Feige and Marvel never took this path with the MCU, instead picking stories and characters from the comics but always keeping them separate from the films and TV shows.
But there are hints that the X-Men could, for the first time, integrate the animated Marvel universe into the MCU. Sometimes in early 2024, Disney+ will premiere X-Men '97, an animated show that is partly a revival and partly a continuation of the cartoon series that ran from 1992 to 1997. It will be the first X-Men project under the Disney banner.
What makes this show special is the fact that all current MCU appearances of an X-Men character visually resemble this character from the X-Men animated shows: Professor X's yellow hoverchair, the yellow suit that Hugh Jackman wore in the set photos from the shoot of Deadpool 3 as well as the look of Beast in The Marvels mid-credit scene. So it could be that the universe that Monica Rambeau finds herself in at the end of the Marvels is the same one where X-Men '97 and also Deadpool 3 take place, which would add a nice additional layer of integration to the MCU.
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