10 Iconic X-Men Comic Series the MCU Can Adapt, Ranked

After the Disney and Fox merger in 2019 and the announcement Kevin Feige made about bringing Mutants into the Marvel Cinematic Universe that same year, fans of the MCU have spent years theorizing how the X-Men will be incorporated into the franchise of highly successful films and television. Now, with the massive success of X-Men ’97, even more fuel has been added to the fires of speculation. However, in the mainline MCU, many nods to the arrival of Mutants have been made in various projects like The Marvels and Deadpool & Wolverine.

With the number of X-Men films released by Fox in the last twenty years, many fans have wondered whether the MCU X-Men will be a hard reboot, or if the origin stories will be skipped over like with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. There are several iconic and popular X-Men comic storylines and runs the MCU could use when bringing the team of Mutants into their expanded universe, many of which have yet to see on-screen adaptations.

10 Dark Phoenix Saga Has Yet to Be Adapted Accurately

Fox Attempted to Adapt the Story Twice

The Dark Phoenix storyline is possibly one of the most iconic and popular X-Men story arcs in the comics. Fox first adapted the story arc with X-Men: The Last Stand, but many fans found this attempt disappointing as it was rushed and told alongside the Mutant cure arc. Fox tried again with 2019’s Dark Phoenix film, and while it was a good idea to dedicate an entire film to the arc, fans found the adaptation weak and convoluted.

If the MCU were to adapt the Dark Phoenix storyline, it would be best to tell the story over multiple films, including important aspects of the story that previous adaptations excluded, such as the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost and the Shi’ar Empire. It would be essential to emphasize the scope of the story, as Jean Grey, in her Dark Phoenix form, kills an entire planet of people.

The Hidden Years Served as a Bridge Between the Original Run and the Relaunch

A lesser-known X-Men comic run, The Hidden Years was released in 1999, taking place in between the original 1960s comic run and the relaunch with Giant Size X-Men. The story was meant to fill in the gaps between the two comic runs, setting up the storylines and arcs explored in the Uncanny X-Men run of the 1970s. The short-lived run featured the original X-Men team, as well as characters like Havok and Polaris.

Many fans hope that the MCU will start their X-Men with the original team (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Angel and Iceman), but there are very few interesting storylines featured in the original comic run from the 1960s. The Hidden Years would be a perfect way to bring the original team to screen and adapt more cinematic storylines.The Hidden Years also features cameos from iconic characters like Storm, as well as The Fantastic Four and fans would love to see the MCU’s X-Men interact with the upcoming MCU Fantastic Four.

8 Fans Would Love to See the OriginalX-Men in the MCU

The Original Lineup Has Yet to be Seen Together On-Screen

As the MCU prides itself on comic-accurate representations, many fans expect the MCU’s X-Men to start off with the original lineup. These characters were introduced with the first issue of the X-Men comics in the 1960s, alongside iconic characters like Professor X and Magneto. The original run introduced many concepts and figures that would remain relevant in X-Men lore for decades, such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, the Sentinel Program, and the Juggernaut.

Fans would love to see the original lineup,in the iconic black and yellow suits, which Fox’s adaptations never got fully right, although they made attempts with X-Men: First Class and Dark Phoenix. If the MCU were to adapt this run, they would have to flesh out the characters and events, as most well-known X-Men events came from later decades, The original run featured cameos from Namor the Sub-Mariner, as well as the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver as major characters.

7 X-FactorWould Be an Interesting New Direction

The Original Lineup Formed Their Own Team

Another way for the MCU to feature the original lineup but skip the tedious origins fans have seen before would be to adapt the X-Factor comic run. X-Factor featured the original lineup of theX-Men, now older and wiser,forming their own team after Professor X named Magneto as the leader of the X-Men.This would be a great nod to the highly popular X-Men ’97 and would give characters like Cyclops a sense of agency and rebellion that wasn’t present in the FOX films.

The X-Factor run would be a very different take on the original team, but as fans have already seen these characters throughout the twenty years of FOX films,it would be refreshing to see them in a new team,separate from the X-Men as Mutants for hire. Fans seemed to respond positively to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man skipping over the origin story, as it had already been seen on-screen twice before. X-Factor would be a risky, yet interesting direction for the MCU.

6 The Krakoa Era is a Bizarre Yet Intriguing Era of Modern X-Men

The MCU Could Take a Risk by Adapting the Krakoa Era

Many fans have wondered if the MCU brings mutants into the universe; where exactly have they been all this time? The X-Men’s identity as mutants, and the persecution they face is integral to their story, and shouldn’t be ignored by the MCU. It would be a clever idea for the MCU to introduce the X-Men into their universe as living on the island nation of Krakoa, choosing to stay out of the Avengers’ battles, having been rejected from the world for being mutants.

The Krakoa era of the comics, a more recent addition to Marvel Comics lore, would certainly be a risky choice for adaptation, as the Krakoa era is a lot more strange, with the characters existing and acting in a way that may seem bizarre to casual fans. However, the idea that these mutants have existed this entire time, living off in their own society would be an interesting take on the characters. If the MCU wants to incorporate Fox’s X-Men into the MCU, it would be cool to see Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and his X-Men cast mates having moved to Krakoa sometime after their series ended.

5 The New X-Men was a Highly Popular Run

The Fox films took inspiration from Grant Morrison’s Run

A popular X-Men era that has yet to see an on-screen adaptation is Grant Morrison’s New X-Men. While the Fox films took inspiration from the early 2000s comic run, the story arcs and team lineup have yet to be brought to the screen, such as the addition of former villain Emma Frost to the team. New X-Men featured some well-written and popular story arcs, such as the “E for Extinction” arc, where The Sentinels destroy Genosha under the command of Cassandra Nova.

Given Cassandra Nova’s upcoming on-screen debut with Deadpool & Wolverine, it would be great to see this depiction of the character return as a villain of the MCU version of the team. The New X-Men also explored the love triangle between Cyclops, Jean Grey and Emma, which has yet to be seen on-screen. Fans might find it a refreshing take on the characters, as the FOX films focused more on the Wolverine, Jean and Cyclops love triangle.

4 Giant Size X-MenWas an Iconic Relaunch

Fans Would Love to See the Giant Size Lineup in the MCU

Giant Size X-Men is arguably one of the most iconic and popular relaunches of the X-Men comics. After the gradual decline of the original comic run, Giant Size X-Men relaunched the title with a new lineup of mutants. This lineup included several iconic characters, such as Wolverine, Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler.

Fans would love to see the Giant Size X-Men adapted into the MCU. It would be an interesting way to introduce the team to the universe, with the original X-Men members missing in action, and Professor X recruiting a new team to save them. This would allow the MCU to include the characters of the original lineup but also incorporate the iconic, and arguably more popular, members of the team who would remain as series regulars for decades of X-Men comics.

3 Astonishing X-Men is a Great Take on the X-Men

The Astonishing X-Men Would be an Interesting Direction for the MCU

If the MCU wanted to incorporate the history of the Fox X-Men films into their adaptation,a good place to start their story would be an adaptation of Astonishing X-Men.The series followed the remaining members of the team following the deaths of Professor X and Jean Grey. Some iconic story arcs from this run included “Gifted” which dealt with the Mutant cure as seen on-screen, with X-Men: The Last Stand, and “Dangerous,” involving the X-Mansion’s Danger Room becoming sentient.

This run is a beloved comic amongst X-Men fans, particularly for its characterization of Cyclops and Kitty Pryde, a character who has been underappreciated on screen for too long. The series further explores Emma Frost’s place on the team and features cameos from popular Marvel characters like Nick Fury, who could easily be incorporated with Samuel L. Jackson in the MCU.

2 House of M Was a Controversial Story

This Story Could Serve as a Way to Bring Mutants into the MCU

Given the popularity of Wanda Maximoff following her portrayals in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it would be interesting to see Wanda in the MCU incorporated with the X-Men. The House of M comic arc is rather controversial among fans, as it makes Wanda more of a plot device than a well-written character. However, the MCU could twist the storyline and have Wanda, a constantly misrepresented character, bring more mutants into the MCU, and explore her character further.

While the MCU’s Wanda is not a mutant, it would be interesting to see her meet mutants like Ms Marvel, and somehow use her magic to make mutantkind a more common phenomenon. This would allow for Wanda to bring more mutants into the MCU, rather than wiping them out as seen with the iconic “No more Mutants” line from the comic. This could also serve as a sequel to WandaVision, which fans have been wanting to see for years.

1 Avengers vs. X-Men Would be an Amazing Event

Fans Would Love to See the MCU X-Men Meet the Avengers

One of the biggest draws to bringing the X-Men into the MCU would be seeing them interact with the Avengers. The 2012 crossover event in the Marvel Comics pitted the X-Men and the Avengers against each other, and it would be very cool for fans to see a similar story on-screen, similar to Captain America: Civil War. This storyline would likely work best if the MCU used the Fox version of the characters, as that would give a built-in twenty years worth of backstory for the X-Men.

While the comic’s run had a mixed reception, it had some interesting ideas. It would be cool to see the Phoenix Five on screen; with the Phoenix Force bonding with Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus, and Magik, all of whom have already been portrayed in live-action. The story could also include Deadpool’s Cable, as well as the introduction of Hope Summers, who has yet to be portrayed on-screen.