After more than a decade, it feels like it’s finally time for the MCU to move on to its next big thing, which seems like it will be mutants. Marvel Studios can now use the X-Men, and the franchise is already setting the stage for their arrival. Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink, made her MCU debut in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Wolverine from another universe got introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine, and many of the original cast members from Fox’s X-Men movies are part of Avengers: Doomsday. When you add in the confirmation that Ms. Marvel is a mutant, this new era of the MCU is shaping up nicely. The franchise has also started announcing casting choices for its eventual X-Men film, with Samara Weaving being confirmed as Emma Frost, and rumors of Cailee Spaeny as Rogue, Kit Connor as Cyclops, and Charles Melton as Beast swirling around.
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The only two confirmed members of this upcoming X-Men team are indeed Jean Grey and Emma Frost. That’s an interesting duo to start with because they actually share a lot in common, from their abilities to their romantic interest in Scott Summers. They could also help establish all mutants and their powers in the MCU.
The First Two X-Men Characters In The MCU Are Both Psychics
Although Emma Frost hasn’t been seen in the MCU just yet, she has a similar set of abilities to Jean Grey, as she is a powerful telepath. Jean Grey and her incredible psychic skills were a huge part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In fact, Jean’s main showcase of her powers involved her taking over the minds of various people and hopping from body to body. That’s an interesting decision because it’s something more associated with Emma Frost, who famously did so during a stretch as a villain. She even took over the bodies of Iceman and Storm at different points.
You’d expect the MCU to try and introduce several mutant abilities at once, to show off how varied the X-Men can be. Even in the Fox prequels, Emma Frost and Charles Xavier were there from the start, and Jean only showed up a few movies later. It can’t be a coincidence that the MCU is starting with two psychics, especially since one of them isn’t Professor X. One interesting thing to consider is that this could lead to the X-Men meeting. There’s a chance that Jean’s display of her powers triggers something in Emma.
If Emma is out there somewhere in the MCU, seeing someone with a similar ability could draw her in. Throughout the X-Men’s history, both in the comics and on the big screen, Professor X has shown that he can reach out to other mutants with his skills. Emma could reach out to Jean, or their powers could draw them to each other. This would be an unexpected and different way to get the X-Men together. On the other hand, it could draw them out as rivals, since Emma has been a villain in the past.
Physics Could Be The Baseline Mutant Power In The MCU
Another reason why Jean Grey and Emma Frost could have been chosen as the start of the MCU’s X-Men is that their psychic abilities could be something of a baseline power for mutants in the franchise. There’s a chance that telepathy is the first power displayed to the world by mutants, as it’s not one of the weirder mutant abilities out there. It’s a relatively easy thing to explain to the masses, and the MCU might not want to introduce any of the odder powers until later on.
With the MCU as a whole, the more outlandish and weird heroes, like Guardians of the Galaxy, Korg, and Vision, didn’t show up until a few years in. Doing the same for the X-Men could be wise, as it gives fans a chance to get used to mutant powers before they see someone like Zeigeist or Forge. It’s also believed by some that Stan Lee wanted all mutants to have some degree of psychic powers, evidenced by an early issue showing Magneto and Professor X having an astral conversation. That could’ve just been a hidden Magneto power, but it’s still possible.
One more intriguing theory about Emma and Jean being the first X-Men in the MCU is that this could be part of why the world ultimately views mutants as dangerous villains. The first true display of mutant powers in the MCU was Jean Grey controlling people, going into their heads, and taking away their bodily autonomy. If a second psychic shows up, that could add to the fear that humans have. They could get viewed as villains until someone like Charles Xavier arrives to put together the X-Men and change the world’s view of mutants.
The MCU needs to be sure that their take on the X-Men feels different from what we’ve seen in the past. Starting with Jean and Emma and focusing on psychic powers would be an interesting way to pull that off.
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Forum Conversation: New Magneto Backstory in the MCU?
Go to ForumI agree, but the excuse for the age has to be good too (Secret Wars would do fine). The longer time passes, the harder it is to adapt Magneto and still respect his origins. He would have to be at least 90 years old in the MCU, and then we have the question: why hasn’t he done anything for mutantkind yet?
We could use other events by drastically changing Magneto’s origins. A Black Magneto could have lived through Uganda’s ethic cleansing, or maybe Magneto is Palestinian and saw people getting slaughtered in the name of Israel’s senseless colonial expansion. There has been the ethnic cleansing of Armenians, the Rwandan Civil War…. Actually, I think there are some options for Magneto. Also, looking at all that, Magneto is right, humanity is trash.
That’s what makes this difficult. I’m not sure there is a more recent event you could substitute without fundamentally changing Magneto. His experience during the Holocaust isn’t just a tragic backstory. It’s a huge part of why he believes the persecution of mutants could eventually lead to extermination.
I’d rather Marvel find a way to explain his age. In a universe full of mutants, time travel, magic, and multiverses, making Magneto age more slowly seems like a pretty minor hurdle compared to rewriting his entire history.
According to the latest X-Men rumors, Magneto will be 30-35 years old in the MCU reboot. Fans are concerned they’re going to scrub the character’s Holocaust backstory.
What do you make of this? And how would you handle this if you were Kevin Feige?