How Digging Into X-Men History Can Save The MCU

The X-Men are on their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, promising a total overhaul of the long-running superhero franchise. Five years after Disney bought 20th Century Fox, including the film rights to any and all mutants from Marvel Comics, the MCU is finally ready to begin introducing the X-Men, beginning with the upcoming Phase 5 film Deadpool & Wolverine, which hits theaters on July 26. Fans are ecstatic to see iconic characters like Professor X, Wolverine, Magneto, and more finally join Marvel’s biggest franchise–and their arrival couldn’t come at a better time.

The X-Men may save the MCU after a recent downturn in quality and reception over the last few years. Since the beginning of the Multiverse Saga, the MCU has struggled to replicate the heights of the Infinity Saga, with varied results. Although fans have enjoyed certain projects, others have been largely panned, particularly films like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels. Audiences have begun questioning whether the drawn-out storyline will pay off in Avengers 5 and Avengers: Secret Wars, especially with the recent firing of Kang the Conqueror actor Jonathan Majors. However, even though the franchise is in a difficult period, introducing the X-Men is a perfect way to refresh the MCU and catapult it into a new golden age.

The X-Men Have A Diversity Of Stories

One of the best things about Marvel’s X-Men comics is how diverse the stories can be. Storylines may adhere to various genres and tones, giving audiences a fresh adventure each time. Some stories are closer to the sci-fi genre, including “Dark Phoenix,” “Days of Future Past,” “War of Kings,” and “The Brood Saga,” giving audiences fun excursions through space and time. Others are heavier-hitting dramas, as the X-Men struggle to fit into regular society when humanity at large hates them for who they are. Stories like “God Loves, Man Kills” underscore just how difficult it is to be a mutant and the trials that one goes through living in a toxic society that doesn’t trust anything it doesn’t understand.

The X-Men are responsible for some of the best Marvel Comics ever. Marvel constantly reinvented the X-Men, exploring different genres, formats, teams, and more, never letting the franchise rest on its laurels. Readers knew that each time they picked up an X-Men comic book, they would get something different from the month before. They never knew exactly what to expect, and while some creative decisions were met with distaste, X-Men at least never got boring. Moreover, with a variety of different books to choose from, readers could almost always find at least one ongoing story that appealed to them, even if they didn’t love each X-Men title equally. The X-Men became a franchise in and by themselves, connected to but still distinct from the rest of the Marvel Universe.

How The MCU Can Use The Comics As A Template

When the X-Men finally arrive in the MCU, the franchise must look to the comics to create the perfect adaptation. The MCU could take the same strategy as Fox’s film franchise, adapting a singular X-Men team with a core cast of main characters. This wouldn’t do justice to the comics, nor would it do much to help the waning cinematic universe. Fans were often upset with Fox’s X-Men films for ignoring other mutants in favor of the same main characters, mainly Wolverine, Professor X, Mystique, and Jean Grey. Likewise, the MCU doesn’t need one more superhero team with little to distinguish it from the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thunderbolts, or Young Avengers. If the MCU wants to get the X-Men right and save itself in the process, they need to adapt the comics full-scale.

The X-Men must defy superhero movie tropes by delving into the vast array of different stories the comics offer. From sci-fi, drama, and even action-comedy, the X-Men can be adapted into multiple different genres, perhaps even with multiple different mutant teams to do so. The MCU doesn’t need to limit itself to the by-the-books mainline X-Men team but instead should go to the strangest and most unique corners of the comics to give audiences something they’ve truly never seen before. Professor X’s main X-Men team can and should still be a part of the MCU, but there is so much more to explore, from one-off stories featuring unusual mutants like Glob Herman and Dazzler to longer-running sagas.

The X-Men Will Revolutionize The MCU

The MCU needs a revolutionary story to save it from its slow demise–and the X-Men can provide exactly this. Whether the mutants completely overtake the typical heroes as the new main characters of the franchise or merely act as their own corner of the MCU, the X-Men bring with them no shortage of great stories and characters. The X-Men should be more than just another team joining the MCU; it should signify a new age of varied storytelling that defies what a superhero movie can be. Deadpool & Wolverine marks the beginning of this new age, showcasing the full extent of what the X-Men in the MCU can be as Ryan Reynolds’s and Hugh Jackman’s heroes jump into the long-running superhero franchise alongside several other recognizable mutants.

While the MCU has declined recently, the X-Men may be the franchise’s salvation. However, to get the most out of this team and the many mutants of the Marvel Universe, the MCU must appreciate the wide breadth that the X-Men have to offer.