Who should make up the first team of MCU X-men?

[TheFallen]

"The O5 are the most boring iteration of the X-Men."

Tell that to the numerous successful runs. They were boring in their first run because of boring writers. Since X-Factor, they've been a hit.

They became X-Factor to be relevant. The X-Men popularity bloomed in spite of them not because of them. If there wasn't the whole supporting universe of X-Men around them the 05 would still be boring.

[Harpsikord]

They became X-Factor to be relevant. The X-Men popularity bloomed in spite of them not because of them. If there wasn't the whole supporting universe of X-Men around them the 05 would still be boring.

You can say the same about literally every other team that was created before All New All Different X-Men or New Teen Titans.

In fact it's funny, Teen Titans and X-Men have a lot of similarities from an out of universe perspective in that they were both teams who ended up canceled in their original runs, and revived in a new run with a mostly new team, saved both Marvel and DC in the 80's, continued to be a pop culture phenomenon... and currently both have very successful books (at least sales wise) featuring their original casts.

[Cyke]

"The O5 are the most boring iteration of the X-Men."

Tell that to the numerous successful runs. They were boring in their first run because of boring writers. Since X-Factor, they've been a hit.

I love them to death, but truth be told, their greatest success was always when there was some sort of schtick that separated them from the main X-Men. X-Factor had them being the anti-X-Men (for a greater purpose, of course). The time-displaced X-Men were, um, time-displaced who never replaced the adults, nor were they ever intended to. Even during Civil War, the 04 (minus Jean) were up against dissension in the ranks from their successors.

I mean, there's a very specific reason why they were replaced by the 70s recruits, and that replacement paid off in gold. And even when the O5 were absorbed back into the X-Men, they were divided between the Blue and Gold teams. The five of them rarely served together after that unless there was a major comic book event.

As for the question at hand, I'd like it if they simply used the Claremont/Lee 1991 X-Men, but maybe with a little more diverse lineup.

[TheFallen]

You can say the same about literally every other team that was created before All New All Different X-Men or New Teen Titans.

In fact it's funny, Teen Titans and X-Men have a lot of similarities from an out of universe perspective in that they were both teams who ended up canceled in their original runs, and revived in a new run with a mostly new team, saved both Marvel and DC in the 80's, continued to be a pop culture phenomenon... and currently both have very successful books (at least sales wise) featuring their original casts.

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the 05 for what they started but if anyone tried to sell me on the X-Men just being Xavier, Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Jean Grey then I ain't buying and there is no way the general audience would either. They want Wolverine.

[BishopsJuice91]

The movies that we have now didn't use the main O5 and got the timing and all messed up because of it, just reboot the series for the MCU and start with the O5, then introduce the others later on and spinoff other movies and such...

I think this is the way to go. Yes the O5 are boring but that doesn’t mean a movie featuring them can’t be good. Plus there will be a supporting cast, if I were writing it would include Xavier and Magneto with their whole thing plus maybe Moira as well. Plus an early integration of the brotherhood would add something and diversity can be used with them.
Not to mention I think we will see certain Mutants pop up in the MCU before we get the actual X-Men film. Don’t be shocked if we see Storm have a cameo in the next Black Panther movie or the Wolverine attack the Hulk in an upcoming Avengers movie. How crazy would that be especially if it can be kept under raps until it releases in theaters. Beast can can show up in the FF reboot as a student being mentored by the genius Reed Richards. Basically have certain mutants show up in places it makes sense, then have them come on in the X-Men movies.

[AdamFTF]

Well, I gave my team roster in the "pitch an MCU movie" thread, but I suppose it seemed kind of like an odd mix of the X-Men:TAS and X-Men: Evolution rosters plus one left field choice. It basically boiled down to:

Cyclops
Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)
Wolverine
Storm
Nightcrawler
Jubilee
Thunderbird

I was thinking more of individual characters. Cyclops, Jean, Storm and Wolverine because they're generally considered staples of the team. Nightcrawler because I wanted a character who was funny and couldn't pass as a normal human. Jubilee because she's a personal favorite and it seemed a shame to not use Marvel's least stereotypical Asian-American character. And Thunderbird so we could develop him beyond "angry native guy" and have his sacrifice be against someone less random than Count Nefaria. I also wanted them to all be teenagers (yes, even Wolverine. As the smoking-under-the bleachers loner delinquent type). I figured rather than having a team of grown-up X-Men and a million background students waiting to be killed or captured, I'd just condense it all. Plus, I have a weak spot for the "teen mutant team" thing.

So, yeah, I kind of came at it from a million different directions.

You know, I'm kind of surprised no one's picked a roster closer to the Claremont/Byrne one. Maybe like Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Colossus and Kitty Pryde.

[I_Am_Groot]

The original five. Fox passed on using them for their first lineup, let's hope Marvel Studios doesn't make the same mistake.

IMO, a great start for the MCU X-Men would be a story inspired by 1975's Giant Sized X-Men No. 1. Four of the original X-Men were defeated and captured, leaving Cyclops and Xavier to recruit new members Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus.

[Goddess]

The original five. Fox passed on using them for their first lineup, let's hope Marvel Studios doesn't make the same mistake.

IMO, a great start for the MCU X-Men would be a story inspired by 1975's Giant Sized X-Men No. 1. Four of the original X-Men were defeated and captured, leaving Cyclops and Xavier to recruit new members Storm, Nightcrawler, Wolverine and Colossus.

I could not watch a movie revolving around the bOre5 aka the characters that got the original comic canceled. Mix it up like the TAS and Evolution series: Firstly, we can get back story later; we need an already established team of ADULTS. Rogue, Storm and Wolverine should def be included with Scott, Jean and Beast. There ya have the core film characters. Eventually Gambit, Bishop and British-raised asian Psylocke (convoluted body-swap back story unnecessary) should join.

[Sundowhn]

A relaunch and Marvel trying to ramp interest in the franchise isn't the time to go for little known characters, but it is a good time for mix and match.

Professor X is a must. His house, his idea, so on.

Cyclops -- The popularity of Cyclops is high in the comic community, but he's been dull in the movies. I'd say use him and give him a story other than Jean's boyfriend. He's always been best as the average guy trying to do what's right, but not always succeeding
Jean -- Let her be something other than a martyr. She could be adapted as a solid POV character, imo.
Storm -- give her some substance. The casting with Halle Berry was way off, so hopefully, they'll do better with that. She's as iconic as they come, as far as the X-Men.
Wolverine -- in some form, but don't revolve the movie around him. He sells, but make sure he isn't the centerpiece. He works best as the maverick, not a leader. Play him off the others on the team.
Nightcrawler -- CGI. The character would work far better on the big screen in CGI form, rather than someone in a costume. It's important to have at least one person on the team that could never choose to blend in with humanity and Nightcrawler (God Loves, Man Kills) gets it over Beast, because Beast did it to himself, whereas Kurt was born that way. Comic relief and heart.
Kitty or Jubilee either one could work as POV characters, though Jubes would have to be redesigned, because she's very dated. They've both historically been used in that role within the books, but the movie versions haven't been much to enjoy.
Colossus -- again, CGI, like in Deadpool. That was by far the best version of Colossus I've seen, both in design and in personality depiction. The idealistic dreamer and gentle giant.
Rogue -- revamped completely from the first movie version. Make her story closer to the comics, where she is the one coming from a dark path and trying to redeem herself, partly for what she can't control about herself. Someone who hates their abilities is, I think, is as important to the mutant story as a whole as someone who can't hide what they are.

Pull a lesser known in, like Dani, Karma, or Rictor (for example) as supporting and develop them. A young Iceman could work for this one, too.

Other supporting: Put Cecelia Reyes in a (comic) Moira like role, integral to the school. Bring in Gambit as a ne'er do well story catalyst.

Mix up a villain group -- Mags and Mystique are borderline. Mix and match some others. Give Betsy a darker tone, maybe. Bring in a believable version of Emma.

I think another important aspect is the story itself. X-Men, at its height, worked with the news of the time -- bigotry and acceptance. It's as relevant today. Instead of some big cosmic foe, make it about what has made the team stand out.

[CGAR]

Xmen Blue and Xmen Gold from the 90s. They shouldn't make us wait for all our favorites again.

And they should make it known that there is more than one team.

I hope they don't have another origin xmen story

Maybe switch out Jubilee and Bishop for Nightcrawler and Banshee.

And I hope they have mentions of The New Mutants and Generation X

[DDM]

A variation on ANAD probably. The All-White O5 would be an immediate no go, the franchise never got anywhere until they were moved aside.

[lurkerforyears]

I think Storm, Kurt and Colossus should be there, and they all should have foreign non American accents.

[Mutant God]

My first choice would be the First 5 (Cyclops, Angel, Marvel Girl, Beast, Iceman) with Xavier and battling the Juggernaut.

But if I had to reimagine them I say Cyclops (Boy scout), Havok (hot head), Storm (Foreigner), Siryn (Daughter of a mutant/daughter of Xavier's friend), Iceman (Jokester) and Cecilia Reyes (Pacifist/wants to be a doctor)

[redrunner97]

The first film should straight-up be Giant Size X-Men #1.

The First Class get trapped on Krakoa:
Cyclops
Jean Grey
Iceman
Angel
Beast

Prof. X and Cyclops travel the world recruiting new X-Men members to save the First Class, revealing their origin via flashback and exposition along the way (until the final flashback reveals that Cyclops is actually a plant, luring them back to the living island so it can feed on them too).

The New Recruits
Wolverine
Storm
Colossus
Nightcrawler
Sunfire
Banshee
Thunderbird

Krakoa is the main villain here. This leaves room for fleshing out the large roster of heroes better. It could introduce Magneto as one of the mutants Prof. X approaches to join the team, citing their history perhaps, but he basically tells Xavier to f*ck off before he forms his own team for his own agenda (The Brotherhood).

[GarDian]

The O5. let's align it more closely with source material.

I agree. But the o5 will probably be a hard sell in today's "must have diversity" landscape. Including Xavier, you have 5 males to 1 female. You have 1 controversially gay character. Also, they are all white. I personally would also want the o5 but doesn't seem very likely unless they want to change some character ethnicity, which would open another can of worms.