5 Biggest Questions From X-Men: Apocalypse

After a seemingly long wait, X-Men: Apocalypse has finally been released in theaters. Yeah, it’s been met with some critical opposition, but fans have been reacting pretty positively. However you feel about the film, I’m sure you left the theater with plenty of questions; I know I did.

While Apocalypse was meant to complete an existing trilogy, it seemed to leave us more open ends than answered questions. Multiple times throughout the film, I wondered where something had come from, or where someone was going. Pieces of the story were open ended on purpose, but there were a lot of things that were just never answered. A lot of them were probably intentional, and just meaning to be more of an Easter Egg than anything else. Some of these, however, have remained burning questions in our brains long after the film has ended.

If you felt confused by some things, or had questions of your own, you weren’t alone. There were plenty of things that even the most die hard comic fans weren’t sure of. There’s plenty of these questions out there, but let’s take a look at five of the most prominent. There will be MAJOR SPOILERS throughout this article, so be careful if you haven’t see the film.

What Other Mutants Did We See?

If there’s one thing we do know, it’s that we saw a ton of mutants in this movie. Most of the films have kept the mutant population contained, but this one showed mutants around the globe, as well as in Xavier’s school. Which ones did we see for sure? Were there any that we saw, but didn’t realize who they actually were?

We know we got a look at the Blob, that’s for certain. When we got our first glance at Angel in that mutant fighting ring, he had just knocked out Blob. A few minutes later, we saw the character being carried out by on a stretcher by a group of large men. Will we see Blob emerge as a villain in a future X-Men film? Nightcrawler would surely recognize him if he resurfaced.

We got a good look at a lot of the young mutants at the academy, but none of their powers were mentioned. We know Jubilee was one of them, but she got very limited screen time. One of the children we saw a couple of times has some white streaks in their hair, could this be a hint at Rogue? If they’re moving forward with the classic X-Men, it seems logical that Rogue would eventually turn up. There was also a girl with some kind of scarring or striping on her face, and a girl that Charles mentioned by name one night. Neither her name, nor the other girl’s scars ring a bell, these could have easily been hints at smaller mutants from the comics.

There are also a couple of mutants we saw use their powers throughout the film, but we don’t know if they were any correlation to characters from the comics. The original horsemen that surrounded En Sabah Nur in ancient Egypt were extremely powerful, though they got minimal exposure. On IMDb, they’re listed as Pestilence, Death, Famine, and War. I’m sure those were the names given to them by their master, Apocalypse, but their powers could have been hints toward mutants we’ve seen in the comics. The other mutant whose powers were put on display was Erik’s daughter, Nina. When it was revealed Magneto had fathered another child, I think we were all hoping it would be some iteration of Scarlet Witch. It’s been made clear that Quicksilver is his son, but we haven’t had a good look at Wanda in the Fox universe. We saw Quicksilver with a younger sister in Days of Future Past, and that could have very well been Scarlet. Either way, it was very clear that Nina’s powers did not align with Wanda’s. She had the ability to communicate telepathically with animals, something we haven’t seen in the films. Could she have been the character Chat, from the comics? That’s the only guess I’ve got for an existing mutant she could have been, but it’s entirely likely she was just a new character for the film.

What Has Moira Mactaggart Been Up To?

When we last saw Moira, she had returned to the CIA after helping the X-Men defeat Sebastian Shaw. Charles had erased her memories so she could live a normal life, and she fell off the radar for about twenty years. It’s hard to believe that much time had passed since the events of First Class, and she doesn’t look like she’s aged a day.

When she reappears in Apocalypse, she has somehow become a total bad-ass. Instead of doing intel work around our country, she was infiltrating a mutant-worshipping cult in Cairo. Showing us a mastery of stealth and hand-to-hand combat, Moira proved she has been keeping busy since we left her story. It looked like she had taken a page out of Indiana Jones’ book and was digging around ancient civilizations for clues to the mutant race. I doubt this kind of training and mission is common for every CIA operative, so what has Moira been doing that has set her apart?

Has she been working on a mutant counter-intelligence operation this whole time? It almost seems as though the Agency has given her free reign to travel the world in search of answers. She knows more about the mutants than any other human being, and that tells us she has been on some wild adventures.

Moira’s story from First Class to Apocalypse is one I would love to know more about. Like I mentioned before, her adventures seemed very Indiana Jones-like. Since the world seems ready for more films in that style, and since Fox is trying to build an extended universe, why not give Moira her own movie? Give us an adventure through the cult undergrounds of Africa, and let us know how awesome Moira really is! Just like Marvel did with Agent Carter, Fox could give a wonderful female-centric story that would also serve as a mold-breaking period piece we would all line up to see. The Mummy and Indiana reboots will be cool, I’m sure, but I’d take Moira’s adventures over those any day.

Where Does The World Stand With Mutants?

One thing that was touched on throughout the film, and all the films, was the world’s reaction toward mutants. The government and news channels talked about their danger, but Scott’s teacher seemed to be talking about them like they were just a part of us. So, where does the world stand on the mutant population?

It was obvious that many were scared of mutants, especially after the events in Days of Future Past. The disdain the cops showed toward Erik before arresting him was evident, and they made clear they wouldn’t let him walk. Even though he used his powers to save a man’s life, his fellow workers at the plant still ratted him out. No one has been coming after Charles, or his school, and many in the world seem to be okay with mutants. Moira has dedicated her life to finding answers, and the CIA doesn’t seem to be bothered by that. We got so many mixed feelings throughout the story, but that was before the final act.

Magneto tore multiple cities apart, and laid all of Cairo to waste. On the same hand, everyone on the planet heard Charles’ warning to them, and took him for a hero at the end of the day. We didn’t witness any uproar from people following the destruction, but I’m sure it was there. To make it even more confusing, Erik just walked back into the world at the end of the movie like nothing ever happened. People have got to be upset about all this, but do they see mutants as the problem, or the solution? In the original X-Men trilogy, set in modern day, people hated mutants. Will the results of Apocalypse give birth to that hatred once again?

Where Did Logan Go?

One of the best scenes in the entire film saw Logan escape from the Weapon X Program and aid the young X-Men. Before running off, he shared a beautiful moment with his future love, Jean Grey. She told Cyclops she gave Logan a couple of his memories back, as he ran off into the snow. The big question remains, where did he go?

We know from the first X-Men film Logan wasn’t too keen on working with a team, but he didn’t even bother to ask any questions of Jean or Scott. He just took off without a word. X-Men takes place in the year 2000, and the upcoming Wolverine film is set in the future, so he’s got a lot of time to kill before we know what he’s up to. There’s about twenty years between his appearances, and there’s no lead in the films as to where he could be going. This also makes us wonder what memories Jean gave him. They must have been important as he seemed to be in a massive hurry. Could he have been going to find others like him? Is this possibly a tie to his son, Daken? With the vast amount of Wolverine story-lines in the comics, he could have been headed to any number of places.

This question also ties into the post-credits scene. We know the Essex Corp belongs to Mr. Sinister, and that it will be featured in the final Wolverine solo film. The evil corporation was responsible for the creation of many mutants throughout the comics, so there’s no telling what that hint could mean. The biggest eyebrow raiser in the scene, was the case full of vials into which Wolverine’s DNA was placed. The parallels between the vials let us know that they were setting up other mutants, but do they have any ties to Wolverine? Logan’s entire story going forward is a mystery, hopefully his final film will clear things up.

What’s Next?

The biggest question on every fan’s mind is, what’s next? The film wrapped up the stories of Erik, Raven, and Charles (kind of), but what does it mean for the entirety of the X-Men? There are so many things to look into and wonder about.

First, we’ve got the young mutants becoming X-Men. Featuring the likes of Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Nightcrawler, and Quicksilver, this new generation is ready to take on the world. It’s a great line-up, but what will they do next? We know that Psylocke is still out on the prowl, but is she a big enough villain to take on all of the X-men? We’re also left wondering how their relationships and schooling will play out. The last time we saw these mutants, they were adults, and teaching at the school. A lot will need to happen between now and then. We know the next film will take place in the 90’s, so they’ll have some time to grow into their powers. We’ve also got to think about what new mutants they will bring in to train. Jubilee is already at the school, but surely they will bring in others. Could Rogue be on her way?

The teasing of Mr. Sinister also begs a lot of questions about the future of the franchise. With strong ties to Cyclops and Jean Grey, his tease could have been more about them than his relationship to Wolverine. Could that have been a set-up for the next big X-Men villain? It certainly makes us wonder if he’s keeping tabs on all of the young mutants.

What about that Dark Phoenix reference in the final battle? We knew from her interactions with Charles that Jean Grey had been having trouble staying positive about her powers. We also know that she is now the most powerful mutant in the world, and that’s a dangerous position to be int. When taking apart Apocalypse, two things happened with her. First, Sabah Nur planted a dark seed in her mind by telling her that it all comes full circle in the end, giving her more fear in the enormity of her powers. Second, after she defeats the villain, an image of a phoenix erupts around her. Both of these things were definitely a tease to her dark future, but how long until that comes around? Will we see the full Dark Phoenix Saga come to life on the big screen?

We’re also left to wonder what’s next for the older mutants. We know this was meant to be the end of their story, but they all look to play a part of the growth of the new X-Men. Charles is finally bald and running the academy, while Hank and Raven are training the team. Erik has gone off to do who knows what, but it looked as though we hadn’t seen the last of him. If something big happens with this young team, it stands to reason that the veterans would be there to help out. Are they going to be perennial cameos for the rest of the franchise? I guess we’ll have to wait and find out.

What questions did you have after watching X-Men: Apocalypse? Let us know in the comments below!