{"id":210,"date":"2021-03-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/?p=210"},"modified":"2021-01-04T11:47:11","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T11:47:11","slug":"mutant-and-proud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/03\/05\/mutant-and-proud\/","title":{"rendered":"Mutant and Proud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WARNING:<\/span> <\/strong>This Review May Contain Spoilers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is where my love for Marvel films began, long before the MCU truly began. I won\u2019t say that I prefer the X-Men to the Avengers but they are definitely up there. Now, I know this became a very confusing franchise in terms of the timeline and there are four other prequels between X-Men: First Class <\/em>and X-Men, <\/em>however, I wanted to look at where it truly began for Xavier\u2019s School for Gifted Youngsters. Disclaimer: I will not be commenting on the films connections to the comic books because I\u2019ll be completely honest \u2013 I wouldn\u2019t have a clue what I\u2019m talking about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Encounters<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                For me, it is pretty apt that the first of the prequel films is called First Class <\/em>because it is actually the beginning of possibly the most important relationship in the X-men <\/em>franchise. Let me elaborate \u2013 it is the first introduction that Charles Xavier has to both Mystique and Magneto. In a strange way he actually saves them both, Mystique from a life of homelessness and starvation when they are children and he literally saves Magneto from drowning. Friendship blossoms between the three of them but nothing lasts forever, unfortunately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friend to Foe<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Maybe foe is a little bit of a strong word, because throughout the following films Magneto and Xavier have a mutual respect for each other. They are even still playing chess together while Magneto is in prison \u2013 like they did before the first time they fight side-by-side. So at least they\u2019re friendship is still cordial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                His friendship with Mystique however, does not seem to resolve itself so well. Obviously this is all an assumption made from the new information that is given to us as an audience from X-men: First Class <\/em>as there is no real interaction between them at all in X-men <\/em>(especially as Mystique barely speaks) but for her there seems to be no turning back when Xavier no longer accepts her natural appearance, and it is this that ultimately pushes her closer to Magneto in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Magneto<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                X-Men: First Class <\/em>is the first time we get a real insight into Magneto\u2019s past. Of course, we know from X-Men <\/em>that he has a number tattooed on his arm that is clearly from a concentration camp but it is in X-men: First Class <\/em>that we see beyond those gates. The same ones that are bent by a younger Erik Lehnsherr (psst, that\u2019s Magneto\u2019s real name) when he is separated from his parents. We also discover that as young boy, his powers are merely fuelled by his anger but as he grows older, and with a little help from Charles, he learns to control it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connections to Latter Films<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Obviously with a canon of films like the X-Men<\/em>, a prequel will not only be connected to the first film. Firstly, there is Moira McTaggart who only has a cameo in X-Men: Last Stand. <\/em>It is in X-Men: First Class, <\/em>which is set in the 60s,that she meets Charles Xavier for the first time (isn\u2019t it funny how everything seems to revolve around him?) Then there\u2019s Agent Stryker \u2013 someone with a strong connection to Wolverine\u2019s backstory. Who would have thought a CIA agent would turn so evil? There is also a not so polite cameo from the adamantium-clawed man himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Now for two slightly tenuous links. Firstly, for anyone who has watched the other X-men <\/em>films \u2013 the name Summers will already be known to you but this time I\u2019m not talking about Scott. In X-men: First Class <\/em>we are introduced to his older brother Alex \u2013 aka Havoc. So this does make me question an important plot point \u2013 Scott joining the X-men. Is it due to Alex\u2019s association with Xavier or is it due to him being rescued from Stryker (see X-men Origins: Wolverine for more details) <\/em>Now for my more tenuous connection but there may be some truth behind my theory \u2013 I just haven\u2019t looked into it yet. I want to talk about Azazel and the possibility of him being Nightcrawler\u2019s father (a pretty awesome character from X2 <\/em>I might add). Yes, Azazel is red and Nightcrawler is blue but the power is what\u2019s key, I think. They do say that the mutation is found in the genes \u2013 so what are the odds of two mutants that can teleport not being related?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Xavier and the Chair<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Of course, the image that I am sure springs to mind at the mention of Charles Xavier is a bald man in a wheelchair \u2013 and it is in X-men: First Class <\/em>that we learn how he ends up there. After the final battle, when the humans turn on the mutants for the first time, Moira McTaggart is shooting at Magneto to make him stop and release the missiles from his control. Unfortunately, Magneto deflects one of her bullets into Charles\u2019 spine \u2013 rendering him unable to walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Story Discrepancies<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Now I\u2019m not sure if what I\u2019m going to talk about was caused by the change in director between the two films or if there is genuinely massive conflicting parts of the story in the comics but again this might be something you all know about more than me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Let\u2019s begin with Magneto\u2019s helmet, you know the one that stops anyone reading his mind. It is shown in X-Men: First Class <\/em>that Magneto acquires it during the mutants\u2019 final showdown with Sebastian Shaw (that would be the bad guy \u2013 in case it wasn\u2019t obvious). However, when discussing Magneto with Wolverine in X-Men, <\/em>Xavier states that he does not know why he cannot read Magneto\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Then there\u2019s Cerebro \u2013 the device that Xavier uses to find other mutants throughout the franchise. In X-Men: First Class, <\/em>it is the property of the CIA and an invention of Dr Hank McCoy \u2013 or Beast to his friends. Xavier is only a guinea pig to make sure it works, however in X-men <\/em>he claims that he and Magneto built it together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Conclusion<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Of course, as the films continue, the timeline gets a little messy and maybe the events of the original three films either don\u2019t happen, or happen in another universe to the prequels. What I will say though, is that X-men: First Class <\/em>is actually the perfect introduction to the franchise for anyone just getting started with the X-men films, let alone with Marvel as a whole. Also, I have to admit the choices of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as young Xavier and Magneto respectively were great when you look who played them originally.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WARNING: This Review May Contain Spoilers Here is where my love for Marvel films began, long before the MCU truly began. I won\u2019t say that I prefer the X-Men to the Avengers but they are definitely up there. Now, I know this became a very confusing franchise in terms of the timeline and there are … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-once-more-unto-the-breach-sequels","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210\/revisions\/211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leoloves.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}