The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to get access to the one franchise that every Marvel fan wants to see: the X-Men. They were once Marvel’s most popular property, selling millions of comics, starring in animated series, and helming big-budget movies that grabbed fans’ imaginations and showed what Marvel could be on the big screen. There are hundreds of great heroes and villains on the X-Men side of the Marvel Universe, and many of Marvel’s best stories have had the name “X-Men” on the cover. The X-Men have all the potential in the world in the MCU, and the franchise could bring the team back to the top of the superhero charts.
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Obviously the MCU doesn’t straight-up adapt comic stories, but instead uses them for inspiration. The X-Men have over 60 years of amazing stories that can inspire modern MCU content, and supply fans with what that they want from Marvel Studios.
These five X-Men stories would make the best MCU movies, showing off the flavor of the X-Men comics to a wider audience.
X-Men (1963) #1
One of the biggest questions about the X-Men is how the MCU is going to approach the team. Will they start out with more popular characters like Wolverine and Storm, like Fox did, or will they start at the beginning? An argument can made that they should start at the beginning, and that means taking inspiration from the team’s first appearance, X-Men #1 from 1963, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
This story introduced the world to Charles Xavier and his X-Men, and started the saga of Magneto. It sees the X-Men trying to stop Magneto’s attack on Cape Citadel, and is the perfect way to introduce the heroes and villains of the series. Magneto’s disposition in the MCU is another big question, and using this story first would answer that question, giving the MCU time to develop Magneto in whatever way they want. It’s a great starting place that can be easily modernized and serve as a perfect re-introduction to the X-Men.
X-Men (1991) #1-3
X-Men (1991) #1 is the bestselling comic of all time, and kicks off a three-issue story, by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee, that resets the relationship between Magneto and the X-Men for an entirely new generation of fans. A group of mutants is chased to Magneto’s Asteroid M by S.H.I.E.L.D., which draws Magneto back into the conflict between mutants and heroes. The X-Men spring into action, with the group’s Blue Team battling Magneto’s Acolytes and Magneto himself, leading to an X-Men versus X-Men battle and a surprising end for Magneto.
This is another story that does an amazing job of setting out the relationship between Magneto and the X-Men, and is full of amazing action-packed scenes. If the MCU wants to start with the X-Men already extant, this is the perfect tale to begin with. On top of that, the X-Men Blue Team has some of the most popular mutants of all time — Wolverine, Cyclops, Rogue, and Gambit — giving moviegoers a fan-favorite team to root for in the battle against Magneto. It’s a win-win.
God Loves, Man Kills
God Loves, Man Kills, by Chris Claremont and Brent Anderson, is one of the most important comic stories of all time. It introduces readers to Reverend Stryker and the Purifiers, a group of religious bigots who start killing young mutants. This spurs the X-Men into the action, where they are joined by an unforeseen ally — Magneto. It’s a monumental story, using the underlying themes of the X-Men to take a look at bigotry in society and the problems with organized religion.
The MCU isn’t exactly known for its depth. The franchise’s superheroes are quippy and sarcastic and the stories are light, breezy action-comedies. This has been a major stumbling block for the MCU and God Loves, Man Kills is the way to change that. Superheroes like the X-Men are perfect for social commentary and the MCU needs to go in this deeper direction. God Loves, Man Kills, if done right, could change the way everyone looks at the MCU forever and use the X-Men in the exact way they should be used.
“The Brood Saga”
“The Brood Saga”, by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, is a classic X-Men story that showed just how versatile the team could be. The X-Men are called for help by their allies in the Shi’Ar Empire for help against a new alien threat — the Brood. Based on the xenomorphs from the Alien franchise (years before Marvel’s parent company Disney bought it), the X-Men are tested to their limits by this savage race, and one member in particular has to dig deep to save the day.
“The Brood Saga” is another example of a story that would take the MCU out of its comfort zone, which is exactly why it should get adapted. Superhero horror is an important part of comic history, and “The Brood Saga” is one of the best examples of it from Marvel. The MCU needs to broaden its horizons, and “The Brood Saga” is exactly the kind of story that could do so. While the MCU may not be able to pull off the more serious X-Men stories, it can easily pull off “The Brood Saga”.
“E is for Extinction”
“E is for Extinction” stands tall among the best X-Men stories of all time. The story relaunched X-Men as New X-Men, courtesy of the revolutionary creative team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. The story sets up a new, more mutant-centric direction for the team, with the X-Men eschewing traditional superhero activities to become mutant teachers and rescue workers. However, a new threat rears its ugly head, Cassandra Nova, who wants to destroy everything her brother Professor X loves.
“E is for Extinction” is a great place to start with the X-Men. Sure, it doesn’t have the traditional superhero costumes, but it serves to set up everything else about the team. Cassandra Nova is already known to MCU fans, which is a good thing; the story features Wolverine, which is another feather in its cap – and it’s just a casually brilliant story. Going in this direction would allow the MCU to set up the school status quo, and have a great roster of X-Men, including Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Beast while also introducing Emma Frost to the team. And, hey, if Marvel wants the X-Men in their more traditional costumes for the movie, that’s an easy tweak. New X-Men is the best reboot of a Marvel franchise in the last twenty-five years and would make for an excellent MCU reboot movie.
X-Men films and MCU films are streaming on Disney+.
