Introduce the X-Men to the MCU

[Rev9]

Exactly. All this O5 talk I keep hearing online mystifies me. Do we really want the X-Men who got cancelled in the 60s? Or a very homogeneous team preaching diversity? Honestly, we live in a world where Miles Morales is popular, and characters like Ms. Marvel and Ms. America are joining the MCU. X-Men should get the same treatment and popularize their lesswr known heroes. Why retread old ground for the X-Men, when they have a massive roster of heroes and teams, and decades of different stories?

This has me wondering why didn't Stan Lee and Jack Kirby do a multi-racial team from the beginning all those years ago? Like it's fiction ,would it really be that controversial to get any hassle for trailblazing?

[Omega Alpha]

This has me wondering why didn't Stan Lee and Jack Kirby do a multi-racial team from the beginning all those years ago? Like it's fiction ,would it really be that controversial to get any hassle for trailblazing?

It would. When the X-men started in 1963, segregation was still legal in many states, and it's likely they wouldn't even be able to sell the comics in the South, particularly since Marvel was dependent on DC for distribution until the late 60's.

[davetvs]

I'm going to venture a guess here which I'm pretty sure is accurate. I think it has a lot less to do with what would be the best team to depict and more to do with continuity.

It seems to me that many X-Men fans tend to be hyper-aware of continuity and team history and which lineup happens when. Whereas with a lot of other long-running super-teams it can get kind of fuzzy toward the middle. And to them, that's exactly how X-Men has to go down. I've seen them on these very boards laying out their vision for how the franchise would have to go and it's always like "The first movie starts with the original five. Then at the end we introduce Havok and Polaris. Then in the sequel we do the original Krakoa story and introduce the Giant Size team. Naturally, Sunfire leaves and Thunderbird dies during the course of the movie. Then in the third movie we start by introducing Kitty Pryde. They fight the Brotherhood and Rogue joins by the end of the film . . ." And it's puzzling and kind of amazing. The idea that they can somehow encapsulate all of X-Men history in a movie series and the confidence that this will somehow just naturally be popular enough that they'll be able to get through like, seven roster changes before the film series is run into the ground. Usually with movies it's more like "You get one shot. If that shot is successful, you get a sequel."

It's funny because it's true. With that said though, X-fans have suffered through decades of a poorly plotted film franchise that played incredibly loose with "X-Men" continuity in ways that didn't feel fresh, but nonsensical at best and racist at worst. I understand wanting a stricter version for their big shot at being done "right" in live action, but the MCU has generally been pretty successful adapting what it wants to and ignoring what it doesn't while still feeling respectful to the vision of the characters. FOX didn't get that part. I have faith in Kevin Feige, at this point he can almost do no wrong and it's based on track record instead of simple nerd culture deification.

[Factor]

Exactly. This is the big thin. X-Men is popular not because of the O5, and the lack of diversity in a comic about fighting oppression is a hard sell in 2022. Especially with the Avengers being diversified in the MCU

I agree with everything you said, except the Avengers part. They weren’t diversified at all. They just switched the one original female member (Wasp) with Black Widow and added two other white guys instead of Pym (Cap and Hawkeye).
The second female member was only introduced in Age of Ultron and the first non-white character was BP years later.

All this to say that I really hope they make a better job at making the X-men diverse from the start.

[Gnostic]

There have been plot leaks for an upcoming MCU project that is very relevant to this topic.

spoilers:

It is rumored that Patrick Stewart’s Professor X has a significant role in Multiverse of Madness. His role apparently parallels the character’s role at the start of House of M where he tries to help Wanda and apparently “dies”. The movie ends with Wanda creating a universe/multiverse-wide hex. The leakers wasn’t exactly sure what happened. Now there has been post-reshoot leaks that clarifies the ending. Apparently they go fill House of M and create new reality with mutants have been a part of MCU history and Deadpool is the only one that remembers the previous X-Men universe (similar to Wolverine in House of M).

end of spoilers

[Omega Alpha]

I would take these "leaks" with a big grain of salt, because there's fake non-sense all the time.

[davetvs]

I agree with everything you said, except the Avengers part. They weren’t diversified at all. They just switched the one original female member (Wasp) with Black Widow and added two other white guys instead of Pym (Cap and Hawkeye).
The second female member was only introduced in Age of Ultron and the first non-white character was BP years later.

All this to say that I really hope they make a better job at making the X-men diverse from the start.

MCU Falcon and War Machine predated BP by a bit bit I guess AOU was ambiguous as to whether or not Rhodey counted as an Avenger.

[Gnostic]

I would take these "leaks" with a big grain of salt, because there's fake non-sense all the time.

Oh, I know. Just sharing.

[andreikes]

I hope Kevin doesn't do anything to mutants from Wanda or Stark

[Ambaryerno]

I hope Kevin doesn't do anything to mutants from Wanda or Stark

Oh please, it's the MCU. I'm surprised they haven't revealed the spider that bit Peter was Stark tech.

[Gnostic]

Wanda already gave Monica powers. So seeds have already been planted.

[The Kid]

I don't buy that leak. Feels like a stretch to introduce mutants now. In fact I take all mutant related 'leaks' with a grain of salt. I think Professor X will be like the rest of the Illuminati and not have any special role. If anything I think Reed's variant will be more relevant since there is a FF movie coming very soon so it'd make more sense for a post credit scene

[Jackraow21]

There have been plot leaks for an upcoming MCU project that is very relevant to this topic.

spoilers:

It is rumored that Patrick Stewart’s Professor X has a significant role in Multiverse of Madness. His role apparently parallels the character’s role at the start of House of M where he tries to help Wanda and apparently “dies”. The movie ends with Wanda creating a universe/multiverse-wide hex. The leakers wasn’t exactly sure what happened. Now there has been post-reshoot leaks that clarifies the ending. Apparently they go fill House of M and create new reality with mutants have been a part of MCU history and Deadpool is the only one that remembers the previous X-Men universe (similar to Wolverine in House of M).

end of spoilers

That would be awesome, but I'm betting not true. Sadly.

[Ambaryerno]

That would be awesome, but I'm betting not true. Sadly.

It's one of the more plausible theories we've seen, and certainly addresses the obvious problem for how to introduce characters like Magneto without requiring a massive change to his backstory.

[Jackraow21]

And I'm sure you love it, because if the X-men are integrated in this way they don't have to be introduced in multi-year phases and can just hit the ground running. So the core X-men can be older, and their MCU history can be explored via Disney+ series and things like that. Which means that Logan can be more of a known commodity who has been around, so if they wanted to they could introduce Laura early on and have her be the Wolverine in the X-men in the MCU while Logan does other things.