Solo X-Men films in the MCU, what would you like to see?

[yogaflame]

give me a bigger story for ororo.

First I would cameo 18-20 year old Ororo in a BP movie, just for a hot second, to bring in the audience. Okoye is informing T'Challa of a monstrous storm developing just across the border in Kenya. They both go to investigate.

As for her solo, I would give Ororo the Aquaman treatment. Full origin with action/adventure/fantasy elements, even a touch of horror. I'm not going to do a full treatment, but basically tell her origins, starting with the story of her mother's line as protectors of humanity from the Shadow King, being orphaned in Cairo, becoming a thief with Achmed, picking Xavier's pocket which leads inadvertently to SK being sealed away in the Astral Plane again. About 10 minutes.

Then her growing up to about 11 and leaving Cairo, almost getting raped, killing the would be rapist(who is being controlled by SK) and swearing never to kill again, and then her powers manifesting when she almost dies of dehydration in the Sahara. She flies the rest of the way to the Great Rift Valley and meets her grandmother, who somehow knew she was coming and is standing on a cliff or whatever. She is taught the history of her people and how to control her powers. She brings rain to the people in the region, and protects whom she can. Some of the people even worship her as a goddess. Another 5 minutes.

Flash forward to her at 18-20 years old, present day.

She's in the jungle, flying around, smelling flowers and eating fruit from the tree tops, playing with birds and monkeys and butterflies. Total nature goddess moment. She hears a drum calling her back to the village. She meets with her grandmother and some of the other women of the village to plan her day. She is to do so and so, but Ororo is preoccupied and her mind wanders. She is chastised by her grandmother, who is Queen, but if Ororo is to take the crown one day, she must so and so.

Basically short of the long, use Shadow King as a background motivator(he can still influence people from the Astral Plane in their dreams and such) of Deluge, who in classic MCU formula, has a similar power to the main hero and is mean from a bad childhood, and Ororo must override his continental-sized storm, with some SK-controlled slavers as the b-level villains. BP and Okoye guest star when the huge storm threatens Wakanda and all of the continent, and they fight some of the slavers and help free hostages while Ororo confronts Deluge. Eventually she overpowers him and saves all of Africa. BP and Okoye are impressed and they talk to her a bit after the fight, offering her a place in Wakanda. Young Ororo might even flirt with the older man, but she is too free-spirited to settle down just over the border.

Mid credit scene has Xavier in New York. Cerebro has been following Ororo and her recent huge display of power. Scott busts through the door saying the X-Men are gone. Xavier says power up the jet.

Final credit scene is Ororo helping some villagers clean up after the megastorm from Deluge. Just as they are finishing, the Blackbird lands, Xavier rolls out and says her great power is needed all across the world. Ororo looks up with a smile on her face and says 'let us go then'.

[Ricochet Rita]

Sounds great.

IMHO, though, putting the rapist as a character mindcontrolled by SK would take all the interest of the scene away. I don't like at all that every act is fruit of supervillain's will: the real important idea is that **** happens and it can't always be excused by a conspiracy.

[yogaflame]

Thanks!

It is a valid point to want negative emotions just be a normal part of humanity, but I do like the idea of Shadow King being this malevolent thought form being that actually inspires all that. It makes him into a monumental threat(and one that can never be truly defeated).

If the Phoenix can be the concentration/source of all psionic energy in the universe, past, present, and future, I like the idea of Shadow King being the concentration/source of all negative emotions. It's like Heru and Set in Kemetic philosophy(in this way, SK is like the shadow-self psychologically).

I would go even further and use SK as the reason why people hate and fear mutants, unlike the other metahumans(like the Avengers, FF, and Spidey). He would be the penultimate villain for the MCU X-Men(with Apocalypse saved for the big boss, but the two of them have history stretching back to ancient Egypt, where Nur was corrupted, and then found the Celestial Ship to upgrade his threat level to the galactic scale).

[DevilBat66]

Sunfire.

Japan's Greatest Superhero.

Martial arts action plus giant monsters and anime girls and one of the coolest costumes in comics.

That's the only solo mutant flick I want.

[Ricochet Rita]

Thanks!

It is a valid point to want negative emotions just be a normal part of humanity, but I do like the idea of Shadow King being this malevolent thought form being that actually inspires all that. It makes him into a monumental threat(and one that can never be truly defeated).

If the Phoenix can be the concentration/source of all psionic energy in the universe, past, present, and future, I like the idea of Shadow King being the concentration/source of all negative emotions. It's like Heru and Set in Kemetic philosophy(in this way, SK is like the shadow-self psychologically).

I would go even further and use SK as the reason why people hate and fear mutants, unlike the other metahumans(like the Avengers, FF, and Spidey). He would be the penultimate villain for the MCU X-Men(with Apocalypse saved for the big boss, but the two of them have history stretching back to ancient Egypt, where Nur was corrupted, and then found the Celestial Ship to upgrade his threat level to the galactic scale).

That would really make a big epic story, with its own mythology.

Again, though, I think it would invalidate the essential notion of a group of persons irresponsibly hating another group just because they're different, which is X-Men's premise.

[Ultimate Rogue]

Sunfire could work, does his own thing, not tied to others so much, has an international market appeal.

I could see (with various levels of personal appeal and being objective) having solos;

Storm
Dazzler
Rogue
Banshee (dark tone)
Archangel (darker tone)
Nightcrawler (dark and light tone)
X-23
Rachel (within the dofp timeline)
Psylocke (but I'm not feeling any past storyline for her, maybe a totally original tale)
Cable
Omega Sentinel
Armor

[yogaflame]

That would really make a big epic story, with its own mythology.

Again, though, I think it would invalidate the essential notion of a group of persons irresponsibly hating another group just because they're different, which is X-Men's premise.

I appreciate your openness while maintaining your point of view.

The X-Men's premise is 'protecting a world that fears and hates them'. Making Shadow King the living embodiment of that hate and fear might seem like an oversimplification, but it is actually a distillation of their whole concept.

Why do people hate and fear mutants? Is it not a reasonable reaction to beings with great power that can and do cause death and suffering? I mean, that truth basically undercuts the entire parallel of mutants with real world minorities/'others' because even ignoring actual mutant supervillains for a moment, you do have mutant kids waking up one day and just everyone dies around them(granted that was in the Ultimate universe, but I digress). You have mutant kids like Rogue and Cyclops who are clear and present dangers for the people around them. Humans are absolutely justified to fear such beings, even if those beings don't intend to cause harm. This is something that X-fans have occasionally discussed here, but in-story and in-fandom is often ignored.

I think using Shadow King to be a stand in for the darkness within every human consciousness would be a dramatization of the real psychology at work in the fiction and real life. Emphasizing Professor X as a psychologist and psychiatrist (something the Fox films never did, and the comics rarely do) could reframe the superheroics in a deeply intellectual and philosophical slant, elevating the material. While Shadow King can take on the various bodies(Farouk, that FBI guy, etc, etc), and occasionally be the sharp-toothed scary disembodied boogeyman, he is really just a thought. The dark thoughts at the edge of all our minds.

[Ricochet Rita]

This. At a symbolic level, it sounds much better

[616MarvelYear is LeapYear]

With the speculation of the Black Widow movie being set in the past, it could be pretty neat if Logan had a cameo, but I doubt it.

Fingers crossed Ursa Major another member of the mutant race has a cameo instead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPO1g_xY3tc

[Nyssane]

Northstar.

He could bring a lot new to the table other than being THE gay and Canadian superhero. Explore his days as an Olympic athlete and his controversial use of his mutant abilities to excel in the sport. Or focus on his time as a terrorist in Quebec and how he breaks free from that part of his life. Or just have him fight Pink Pearl in a male strip club. It all works.

[Zelena]

I appreciate your openness while maintaining your point of view.

The X-Men's premise is 'protecting a world that fears and hates them'. Making Shadow King the living embodiment of that hate and fear might seem like an oversimplification, but it is actually a distillation of their whole concept.

Why do people hate and fear mutants? Is it not a reasonable reaction to beings with great power that can and do cause death and suffering? I mean, that truth basically undercuts the entire parallel of mutants with real world minorities/'others' because even ignoring actual mutant supervillains for a moment, you do have mutant kids waking up one day and just everyone dies around them(granted that was in the Ultimate universe, but I digress). You have mutant kids like Rogue and Cyclops who are clear and present dangers for the people around them. Humans are absolutely justified to fear such beings, even if those beings don't intend to cause harm. This is something that X-fans have occasionally discussed here, but in-story and in-fandom is often ignored.

I think using Shadow King to be a stand in for the darkness within every human consciousness would be a dramatization of the real psychology at work in the fiction and real life. Emphasizing Professor X as a psychologist and psychiatrist (something the Fox films never did, and the comics rarely do) could reframe the superheroics in a deeply intellectual and philosophical slant, elevating the material. While Shadow King can take on the various bodies(Farouk, that FBI guy, etc, etc), and occasionally be the sharp-toothed scary disembodied boogeyman, he is really just a thought. The dark thoughts at the edge of all our minds.

The Shadow King is a monster… not the psychological aspect of humanity.

I think that Matthew Malloy is a better subject. (It didn't happen in the Ultimate universe and there was this young man killed by Logan at the end of an issue, who killed all the inhabitants of a quarter when he woke up as a mutant…). There's no real reason to fear people that have blue skin or who can fly… except the fear of the unknown: I once went in a post office and there was this women in red with high heels and horns… a moment of doubt and I remember it was Halloween. So it can start with prejudice.

But a real frightening mutant that can destroy everything and who looks all innocent… maybe a child, that produces a shift, and beliefs need to be reevaluated…

The tragedy in X-men stories is that there's no ideal solution.

[Jackraow21]

I'd like to see X-Force be a very Cable focused movie. Delve more into his character via flashbacks (and flash forwards, I suppose, to his time in the future). In fact, they could use the UXF Volume 1 story set up but have it be Cable who is hunting for Apocalypse instead of Archangel and bankrolling Deadpool's hunt for his followers in the beginning. Cable has been shown to be rich and have lots of safehouses due to his ability to make sound investments in the past with his knowledge of the future.

So I'd probably use the UXF Vol. 1 set up (combined with Cable: Blood & Metal where he was actively hunting for En Sabah Nur and finding various relics with hints as to his whereabouts) and have it be a small team like that: Cable, Deadpool, Domino plus one or two others. Maybe X-23, who would be very mysterious and all we'd know about her is that Nathan rescued her from The Facility. Psylocke? Warpath? I would use Archangel, but it's too early for him. He first needs to appear as Angel and ultimately become the Angel of Death.

Regardless, Cable would be the focal point so it would almost be a solo film. And along the way the team encounters Clan Akkaba, the Dark Riders, the MLF and their mysterious leader Stryfe. They never actually find Apocalypse in this one. Save that for the sequel. :wink:

But we do find out that Apocalypse is responsible for the horrible future that Nathan hails from in this one, as we are discovering more about him and what he's been doing in this era since he came back (and why). Could be very, very cool if done right.

[CRaymond]

It would be really cool if the MCU X-Men films built up to a Sublime reveal the way the Avengers films built toward Thanos.

As for a solo film...

I don't know. I want TONE CHANGES. Like a screwball comedy film noir. An urban western in mutant town. Epic quest. I don't necessarily want to go to space, but I'm open to the notion.

[Rev9]

It would be really cool if the MCU X-Men films built up to a Sublime reveal the way the Avengers films built toward Thanos.

As for a solo film...

I don't know. I want TONE CHANGES. Like a screwball comedy film noir. An urban western in mutant town. Epic quest. I don't necessarily want to go to space, but I'm open to the notion.

Sublime is a good idea actually. He's the type of villain that never wants to get his hands dirty but is everywhere. I personally would love the Story of 'Lost Legions' where 6 personalities escaped from Legion and he has to hunt them down with perhaps an X force crew or just his own tracker personalities.That would be awesome.

[CRaymond]

I thiiiiink you’re the guy that posted a LONG breakdown of what Legion should or could be. I wanted to respond in greater depth, because he’s a character I’d been reimagining lately too. I’ll find some time, but I can tell you this: yes! Legion would have a minimum of six personas... and they’d be named Morph, Proteus, Juggernaut, Firefist, Polaris, and Malice :-)