XCU

I am not hipstering it up. Not trying to be a fan boy or anything like that but I gotta give the Xmen kudos for the huge impact they had on my life. NO not the deeper meaning of racism and segregation that Stan Lee had in mind but the fact they led to so much or smoothed the way for so much in my life. Let me start at the start. My babysitter in elementary oldest son had a comic collection. I would say I was 7 / 8 so about 88/89 when he introduced me to the Xmen. He had stacks of Classic Xmen so I got to learn the old stories. It was awesome! Or so I thought and it opened me up to comics. Sure I looked at some DC and the Avengers, Spidey, all the big titles but the X family was my fave. I was a nerd, and I grew up being that nerd. Then (IF you read my older blogs) I met Evil. I was 15 ish he was in his early 20s in 96 and we hit it off. He liked comics but told me to try some new ones, it didn't have to be heroes and villains. Or at least super powered ones, he introduced me to Preacher. Damn son, this was amazing shit. (I hate the TV show. Well I don't hate it but it couldn't hook me like the comics did and I am 2 seasons behind) So a love of comics started by the Xmen made me a friend. One I have known for years. One who has had a big impact on my choice in music as a minor thing but was there for me for years when I need people. So literally a common bond over comics kinda introduced me to a person who was there for me when I needed someone. But enough passed mushy stuff, my first real job in a warehouse again comics became a bonding thing. The guys I really hit it off with like Pop Culture and Cook were into comics. I ended up living with Pop Culture and Cook is still a very good friend. I have to say it. This was all before the MCU. Before everyone became a comic collector. Either way that is how the Xmen have influenced my life for 30 years now. So just imagine how happy I was in 2000 when I heard the X family was hitting the silver screen. I am going to break it down for you now. Why they failed, what was good and what was bad. How they could have made an XCU to rival the MCU....

Lets start at the start Xmen the original movie. For its time, it is the bomb. Had it been planned out, it could have been MCus Iron Man. It was a good introduction to some of the main characters. I sometimes wonder if they just looked for some big names to fill the cast. For the most part though they had the right person for the roll. My biggest beef is with Sabretooth. WTF was that? Yes watching it now it looks cheesy but back then it was good. It got my hopes up for a franchise. The plot was basic but followable. Like for an introduction movie I would say it nailed everything it needed. Good story, good cast, open end to carry on a franchise. SO how did they go so wrong?

X2 Xmen united, well that’s where things start to go wrong. For sure in my bottom 3 X movies. Because it had so much potential but seems to fail. It sets up so much that could go on. Besides showing Kitty Pryde, Artie, Jubilee, Siryn, Cypher, Moonstar, and Colossus. There was film of Beast, Gambit, Psylocke, Marrow and the Multiple Man. The weapon X program, Stryker, the movie does lead to the Phoenix but that was even worse. They introduce Deathstrike but kill her off. That’s almost as bad as Sabretooth from the first movie. Really even the Brotherhood of mutants is formed here. The cameos show a whole wide world of mutants they could have played on but none of it comes to fruition. This movie is the single biggest misstep in the XCU. Sure kill of Jean, that doesn’t mean Phoenix is next. They could have went anywhere from this movie, a million possible stories but they followed directly up with (the first) Dark Phoenix. My issue isn’t really even with the movie itself so much but with the fact this was the jump. This was the chance to branch out and it was totally missed. The movie I guess wasn’t terrible, however it wasn’t great.

X3 The Last Stand killed the series. Dead. A mutant cure? If you’re going to do the Phoenix Saga, just do that don’t start throwing more into it. The fact is this movie didn’t need the brotherhood or Magneto. Like a good villain he could have been gone for a movie and no one would have forgot who he was. Also never bring up this Juggernaut. The one in  Deadpool was a thousand times better. Magneto leaving Mystique makes 0 sense. Even if he is a bad guy, he has always had honor and it doesn’t make sense he leaves his most loyal follower. Oh and lets talk about Jean killing Scott. Really?! Then on top of that she kills Charles. WTF were they thinking. If they wanted a franchise this was not the way to do it. Continuing on the silly we see the golden gate bridge moved. It never stops! Finally Logan kills Jean, that part was decent but it could not save the movie. But then lets end the movie with a twist Charles is in a coma patient and even though he was “cured” Magneto seems to be getting back his powers… Just stop. Worst X movie ever.

So we get the reboot. Truth is, it might be the best X movie out there. I will start with what I don’t like. The Hellfire club, done all wrong. Shaw also the wrong guy for this movie. Mr. Sinister right off the bat pops in as the perfect villain for this story line over Shaw. And I mean the Hellfire in Vegas is perfect on a sub, not so much. That is about it though, other than using the wrong villains for the story its great. The actors portrayal of the villains is well done but Hellfire in that setting is so meh…. Also another fail to create the XCU to rival the MCU is getting rid of the Hellfire. They could easily have been what Hydra was to the MCU, I think the club should have been kept around. The back story with Erik, showing a young Charles. These things really bring some meat to the story. I love the fact they didn’t go with big name characters for the Xmen or the Brotherhood. I love the casting of both Charles and Erik. The Cuban battle scene awesome. I honestly think Fassbender is a better Magneto than Sir Ian. Sorry, he just nails how I have always thought of Erik.

SO we get to Days of Future Past. This is an iconic story and you know what? The movie in my eyes did as good as they could with it. To me it could have been a couple movies. Lets talk about the bad in the movie. NOT MUCH! I have a big beef but it isn’t the actual movie… I will get to it. What did I like? The time travel makes sense. Endgame has the most confusing time travel of any movie. It is funny they even make a point of saying that by naming all the time travel movies. This one the time travel makes sense and its effects on the future. The fact that some big names are dead, that makes me sad. The files mystique sees and the dead is shitty considering what they could have been used for. Oh I got it! My beef, why was the Rogue cut not the actual movie? It was better. Also Rachel Summers would have been amazing to see. Anyways more of what I liked it introduced a slew of new people. It opened up the possibility of alternate worlds. Which is a big thing for the X universe. It was overall well written and delivered. More like this and the franchise would still be going, I honestly can’t find many flaws. Quicksilvers scene was awesome and everyone knows which one I mean. This is an example of what comic movies should be. Also the after credit scene made me lose my mind! I have waited forever to see Apocalypse.

My beef isn’t valid if the goal wasn’t to make the XCU. BUT from this one they could have went anywhere, they did not need to go to Apocalypse. He could have /  should have been a big bad. Tease him, hint at him but put him in the back for a few movies. His horsemen could have shown up. He could have been using pawns, point is they needed to diversify. The MCU is a success cause it wasn’t Iron man 1 to Iron Man 20 then Infinity War and Endgame. It developed everything and the XCU should have. With the reboot we hadn’t seen Cyclops, Jean, Ice Man or Angel. They could easily have been the next movie, the next class. We don’t need the same people OVER and OVER. There is enough mutant heroes and villains for years of movies! From there you could make another movie with the next class. Colossus, Storm, Nightcrawler and Wolverine. Like two fresh new teams. Sure your going to need Charles but after that, they could have went anywhere. The fact is the MCU was good because it changed. The XCU could have done that but chose to just keep the same few people. Do a couple stand alones. Magneto could have an insane stand alone movie. Wolvie is always gonna be popular, he could have had his own. Let me clarify a new Wolvie. Hugh was pretty well done with the franchise. He did make stand alones, they were so so but they can be taken as a different universe. They should have introduced a new Wolverine, once they did days of future past. Sorry but I said it and it is the truth. Gambit??? Why not have him alone and break him into the X men. Right there 5 movies and you could use 1 or 2 or 3, hell all 5 to slowly build up the big bad. You don’t need to see the same people and make it repetitive and if it was me that is what I would have done….

Apocalypse, or the end as I like to call it. Not well done. First Archangel was awful. It should have been done over a couple movies. Should have had a nice Warren, then made him Death. This angel was AWFUL. The other horsemen well yes they were cool. Except I was not a fan of Magneto being a horseman. Bringing back Moira cool! The wolvie cameo was cool and it was also lame. Ya we see weapon X kick some ass! Boo it is the last Hugh, if anything it should have been used to introduce the new actor. Hugh knew he was done so why was there not a new person introduced?? In fact the whole Stryker side story seems like filler…? Could they not have made things more to do with the main story? The whole switching into Charles body WTF?? Even Quicksilver not talking to Magneto seems like a fail. So much more seems like it could have / should have been done. I give you the mind battle between Charles and Apocalypse was awesome and Jean showing up made it BOOM! But then the Phoenix force?? Was that what that was supposed to be? And what did his last words even mean? All is revealed? Really this just is kind of a jumbled mess. Hell they should have “killed” Jean if the Phoenix was the plan. Also the bonus scene hints at Mr. Sinister should he not have been before his creator? Like should he have not been an earlier villain? Better yet why did they never get back to that???

And again the Phoenix killed the series. I don’t understand why, well I kind of do it is supposed to be a saga maybe there is more content than just a single movie. Right from the beginning this is doomed. An X phone right to the president?? Getting pretty cheesy. I can say yes the way Jean gets the Phoenix is actually not terrible. But the aliens? Who are they? I mean maybe they are new but they did not exist in the original saga did they? Killing Raven big mistake. She might not have been written to be the centre of the X universe but she kinda became it. Her, Charles and Erik pretty much make the series. Then you take out Quicksilver?? Another fan fav. Beast being willing to kill, that isn't beast in my eyes. I am wondering about all these calls. Had they have been trying to keep it going they needed to give Mags some better helpers. Then train action scene wasn’t actually that bad. IN the end Charles leaves?? How does this make sense? Oh and Jean is flying around in the background. The only way that works is if a part two is coming. It isn’t, so really let her be dead or something. Oh and the government drops mutants and then hops right back to them??? This is just a hot mess of a movie. Probably my favorite storyline and twice now it has been ruined…..

I am not going to break down the other movies. Deadpool was good, probably hard to put it in the main XCU if they were making one, since it isn’t really a family movie but it was good. Deadpool 2 was perfect for an XCU, maybe if it was toned down some. It does bring in Cable something the XCU would needed to have done. It didn’t pan out but it was nice to see him. Wolverine again was good. Had they been building an XCU that would have been a great movie to stick in. It introduced so many characters. I cannot complain much about it. Yes WORST DEADPOOL EVER!! But other than that scene it would have helped build an XCU and it could have been worked into the main story. The second Wolverine, lets gloss over that…. Logan was great. Maybe not for XCU but overall it was a dark and gritty movie. Very enjoyable even if it wouldn’t really work in a bigger picture.

So that’s it. XCU could have been built. The X family has enough base material heroes, villains, story lines that they could have rivaled the Avengers. Instead over and over it was let get stale. I think there should have been various classes. A big bad villain. While Kudos on bringing in background characters I think more time should have been spent with some of the main ones. I really think after Days of Future Past they missed out. Now that they are a Disney product I hope that it will be done right, like the MCU was. HOWEVER I think by the time it happens the world will be so done with superhero movies it won’t matter. I fear my beloved X-men may never be made the way they should have….