X-Mania is sweeping the nation. X-Men '97 recently concluded a highly successful run on Disney+, and tickets for Deadpool & Wolverine are on sale. They are projecting a high opening weekend for what has so far been a stilted summer box office. Combine that with X-Men: Days of Future Past celebrating its ten-year anniversary, and it feels like Marvel's merry band of mutants is at a level of popularity they have not seen since the 1990s.
Marvel is striking while the iron is hot. On May 21, 2024, they confirmed that The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes co-screenwriter Michael Lesslie will pen the script for an MCU X-Men film.
Obviously, the film is in its earliest stage of development, as no director has been attached and no actors have been cast. We don't even know the X-Men film roster, although we've got some suggestions.
Due to the X-Men being one of Marvel's most popular titles, the franchise is certainly not short on great comic books to adapt. The previous films have already adapted "The Dark Phoenix Saga" (twice), "God Loves, Man Kills," "Gifted," and "Days of Future Past," while X-Men '97 already adapted "Inferno," "E is for Extinction," and "Operation Zero Tolerance," to name a few.
Despite all that, there are plenty of great storylines that Lesslie and Marvel could pull from when adapting the X-Men into the MCU. Here are ten storylines that would make for great foundations for the X-Men's first MCU movie.
10 All New X-Men
In 2013, Brain Michael Bendis looked to revitalize the X-Men with a new concept: what happens if you bring the young teenage versions of the First Class of X-Men students (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel, Iceman) into the present day to see what they have become and also how far the X-Men franchise would go beyond its initial concept.
Not only did All New X-Men allow the younger versions of established characters chances to embrace new aspects of themselves, like Iceman coming out as gay, the scientifically minded Beast getting into the mystic arts, or Jean Grey stepping into a leadership role, but it also gave the older established X-Men a chance to see younger versions of their close friends.
Multiverse Shenanigans
Right now, it is unknown when the X-Men will join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, whether it will be during the Multiverse Saga or after the anticipated soft reboot of Avengers: Secret Wars. Yet using the idea of multiverses and time travel to bring a young team of mutants from the 1960s, or even an alternate version of the team with characters from the 20th Century Fox X-Men films, would make for some great juxtaposition.
Even if the creative team just wanted to use the comic characterizations for the original core five, X-Men could be a refreshing new spin on the popular First Class comic series that the previous film only adapted in name only.
9 The Collective
This is not an X-Men storyline, but, in fact, an Avengers storyline that really builds off of X-Men ideas. Published between February and June 2006 in New Avengers #16-20, the story sees a massive wave of mutant powers left over following Scarlet Witch's depowering of the mutant population in House of M, hitting an average Alaskan mail carrier named Michael Pointer.
Now called The Collective, the raw power is difficult to maintain, and he ends up killing the superhero team Alpha Flight and millions of others. The Avengers were left to face off against this powerful embodiment of raw mutant abilities. The Marvel Cinematic Universe could adapt this storyline but make it the X-Men's job to stop this mutant-level threat.
This Looks Like a Job for the X-Men
The Collective, as a threat to the X-Men, allows the filmmakers to combine a lot of disparate elements from the X-Men franchise. It gives them a disaster-level threat to deal with, but also one tied in with the mutant cause, which could shape humans' perception of mutants. The fire cosmic being has echoes of the Phoenix, but this way, Marvel Studios does not need to try another go at the Phoenix Saga storyline.
Finally, the various mutant powers that form the collective could be left over multiverse energy following the Multiverse Saga, possibly from the X-Men in the 20th Century Fox universe. That means the MCU X-Men need to fight the embodiment of the 20th Century Fox X-Men characters.
8 Rogue and Gambit
Sometimes, a good starting point for a new X-Men is finding a central character to zero in on. The previous films put so much emphasis on Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique they rarely had time to develop other characters. The X-Men have plenty of great romances to draw from, and there might be none better than Rogue and Gambit.
Rogue and Gambit have plenty of storylines to pull from the comics, including a series following their marriage. The film would feature plenty of other X-Men, but by building the story around Gambit and Rogue, the movie could pull from particular storylines like the Mutant Massacre (tying Gambit to Mister Sinister) or Rogue's relationship with her adopted mother Mystique and adopted brother Nightcrawler to inform which characters make up the story.
Repurpose an Old X-Men Idea
Gambit is one of the most beloved X-Men characters, but the previous films failed to utilize it properly, despite their best attempts to get a solo Gambit movie starring Channing Tatum into theaters.
Making an X-Men movie but putting the romantic relationship between thief Gambit and former villain turned hero Rogue not only makes for great drama but also an idea that the X-Men are very much a team about redemption. Gambit and Rogue are two great X-Men that deserve their moment in the spotlight.
7 The Tomorrow People
In the 2000s, Marvel Comics launched the Ultimate Universe. This was a series of comics that reimagined the popular Marvel heroes that would be accessible to new readers and looked to cash in on the boom of Marvel movies. The first title was Ultimate Spider-Man, which launched in September 2000, followed shortly by Ultimate X-Men in February 2001.
Ultimate X-Men drew heavily from the 2000 X-Men film, featuring the team in black leather outfits, but also worked as a new take on the classic X-Men setup. The first six-issue storyline, "The Tomorrow People," saw Professor X's X-Men face off against both Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutants and the U.S. government's new response to this rising mutant threat: The Sentinels.
Classic Format Might Be Just What the MCU Needs
While the X-Men films have done the X-Men vs the Brotherhood storyline many times, the Sentinels only factored into X-Men: Days of Future Past with them at their deadliest form.
Putting the X-Men in the position to battle both Magneto's Brotherhood while also facing off against the human threat of the Sentinels, not only pulls them in many directions and enforces the "protect the people that hate and fear you" theme of the comic, it also is a classic format for the team that allows the filmmakers to focus more on developing the characters and relationships which is the key dynamic to the X-Men team.
X-Men '97 put a lot of emphasis on the human threat with Sentinels, and within the established world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, their terrifying might and scale could be shown like never before in live-action.
6 Second Genesis (Giant-Size X-Men)
While The X-Men were created in 1963, the team was never one of Marvel's most popular. The team would not become popular until the launch of Giant Size X-Men #1 in 1975, which looked to diversify the team and introduced many now iconic members to the team like Storm, Nightcrawler, and Colossus while also bringing the already established Wolverine into the team.
The book titled "Second Genesis" finds Professor X recruits a new team of X-Men to go save the previous team, who has gone missing, only to discover they are being held by the giant mutant island Krakoa.
The Foundation of the X-Men
Despite being the comic that created the modern notion of the X-Men team, it is odd how no film or television series has adapted this storyline. It is a simple basic story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe that allows them to focus on developing characters, including a chance to establish two unique X-Men teams (calling back to the Gold and Blue teams introduced in 1991's Chris Claremont/Jim Lee X-Men comic).
Having an already established X-Men team being saved by a new X-Men team both allows the filmmakers to give the team a sense of history while also providing a new entry point for the franchise that goes with the "putting the team together" format that worked so well with The Avengers.
Plus, introducing Krakoa early on could lay the groundwork for future sequels to adapt the iconic Jonathan Hickman Dawn of X run, where the mutants set up an island nation of Krakoa.
5 New Worlds/Assault on Weapon Plus
Grant Morrison's run on New X-Men redefined the characters for the 21st century, drawing heavily from the popular X-Men film and pushing the characters into bold new story directions. The impact of this run can certainly be felt in 2024 as the launch arc "E is for Extinction" was adapted into X-Men '97's groundbreaking fifth episode "Remember It," and the main villain of the story, Cassandra Nova, will be the main villain in Deadpool & Wolverine.
It certainly wouldn't be out of place for them to draw more from this run, and one could have major ties to the MCU: "New Worlds" (New X-Men #127-133) and "Assault on Weapon Plus" (New X-Men #142-145) which dive into the Weapon X program that created Wolverine, and it's tied to the super soldier serum that created Captain America.
Tying the X-Men into the Wider Marvel Universe
"New Worlds introduced the mystery surrounding the Weapon X program, one that was picked up in "Assault on Weapon Plus" which revealed that the X in Wolverine's Weapon X program actually was the Roman numeral for ten and that it was the latest attempt to replicate the super soldier serum from World War II that gave rise to Captain America.
Obviously, Captain America is a presence that looms large in the MCU, and the attempt to replicate super soldiers has resulted in the creation of characters like The Hulk, Abomination, and the Winter Soldier, while The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showed the terrible truth behind it with the character of Issah Bradley.
While Wolverine might be a character who has been overexposed, it certainly makes sense from a creative standpoint to tie in the most famous X-Men with the already-established history of the MCU.
4 Rise of Apocalypse/Age of Apocalypse/X of Swords
Apocalypse is one of the biggest villains in the X-Men franchise, but he was sadly underutilized in X-Men: Apocalypse. X-Men '97 seems to be setting up Apocalypse as the big bad for season two and will adapt two popular comics, 1995's "Age of Apocalypse", which showed an alternate timeline where Apocalypse conquered the planet, and 1996's four-issue limited series Rise of Apocalypse, detailing his origins.
These two storylines, along with revelations about him that were revealed during the X of Swords event from 2020, could make for a strong Apocalypse-centric film in the MCU that would test this new X-Men team by making them go face-to-face with one of their greatest enemies.
Apocalypse Has Major Ties to the MCU
Like tying The Weapon X program into the wider MCU for a strong sense of continuity and shared history, Apocalypse might be the ideal first X-Men villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to give the franchise massive ties to the MCU foundation.
Not only is he listed as the first mutant, but his origins in Ancient Egypt tie in with the Kang the Conqueror variant Rama-Tut, who was seen in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and also teased in Moon Knight. Apocalypse also has major ties to the Celestials, the giant cosmic being from the Eternals. With two major MCU connections, Apocalypse could be the collective tissue that audiences have felt was missing from recent MCU entries.
3 X-Men: The Messiah Complex
Following 2005's House of M, the mutants had a rough go of it in the Marvel Universe as 98% of their population was depowered. The road to recovery started in 2007's X-Men: Messiah Complex, which saw various factions, including the X-Men, The Mauraders, Acolytes, Reavers, and more, looking to find the first new child born with the mutant X-gene following the Decimation of the species. It is the first installment in an epic trilogy that includes 2009's Messiah War and 2010's Second Coming.
Trilogy Plan
Some elements would need to be changed, but X-Men: The Messiah Complex serves a strong foundation to build an X-Men film franchise within the MCU. As mutants are a relatively new species in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, using Messiah Complex allows the filmmakers to introduce various factions looking for a new mutant birth, which is a great way to establish a lot of characters and various dynamics.
The main mutant in the book, Hope Summers, could also be the key to mutants becoming a major part of the MCU. If done right, they have two more follow-up stories to serve as the basis for future X-Men films and television series.
2 Peach Momoko's Ultimate X-Men
Marvel discontinued the Ultimate Universe in 2015 following the conclusion of Secret Wars, but Jonathan Hickman helped Marvel relaunch the initiative with Ultimate Invasion, which resulted in a new Ultimate Universe. One of the major highlights of the series by writer and artist Peach Momoko's bold new take on Ultimate X-Men.
The still ongoing focus on the character Hisako Ichiki/Armor is an exciting spin on the X-Men franchise, exploring the nature of mutants as a scientific concept and mystical mythology. This is a new way to reimagine the X-Men concept and one that Marvel Studios should really consider looking at to distinguish their upcoming film from prior adaptations.
A Fresh New Start
The X-Men franchise typically adopts the formula of a young mutant being brought into the world of the X-Men and having it explained to them (and therefore the audience), like Jubilee in X-Men: The Animated Series, Rogue in X-Men, or Sunspot in X-Men '97.
Using this origin for Armor as a starting base is a great new way to reimagine the X-Men and how this character from a culturally distinct background like Japan would see the world of mutants.
Armor herself is a visually dynamic character that would give the MCU a new hero to put front and center to distinguish themselves from prior adaptations. It also gives the chance to put an emphasis on the international dynamic of the team, which is what made Giant Size X-Men so popular.
Featuring a Japanese character like Armor being recruited by a German mutant like Nightcrawler and an African mutant like Storm, or discovering that Canadian mutant Wolverine can actually understand her due to his time in Japan is a great way to let the X-Men stand out from the other MCU teams.
1 Krokoa Era (Dawn of X)
Easily, the biggest and most important moment in the X-Men's history during the 21st century is what is known as the Krokan era, which kicked off with the House of X/Powers of X in 2019 and led to the Dawn of X initiative.
The storyline saw various mutants from across the Marvel Universe, heroes and villains unite, to follow Professor X in finding a mutant nation known as Krakoa. It had major ramifications for the Marvel Universe and re-established the X-Men as a force to be reckoned with, leading to bold new titles across the X-Men line that explored various cultures and organizations in the mutant nation.
This run includes plenty of great smaller storylines like "The Hellfire Gala," "X of Swords," and "Inferno." This line, which ran from 2019 and is about to conclude at the end of May 2024, opens up so many exciting possibilities for the films.
The X-Men Need Something Bold
After 13 feature films (14 with Deadpool & Wolverine coming) and various television shows, everyone knows the X-Men formula. Marvel Studios will want their version of the iconic team to stand out, and similar to how they adapted Spider-Man, they might reimagine the team like never before.
Instead of the classic setup, everyone knows of a school for gifted youngsters, where the X-Men and various mutants are now in their own island nation. It would reshape the entire MCU and could have repercussions across various film and television series.
It would also make for a grand meta-statement: the MCU was going along as normal until one day, the citizens of the world went to sleep and woke up to discover the mutants were making their presence known and demanding a seat at the table. This is the version of the X-Men that could support the MCU for many years and let audiences know this will be different than what came before.
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