20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies are an important milestone in the evolution of superhero adaptations. For the first time, it showed that a major Marvel property could compete with the likes of Superman and Batman. The franchise also made a star out of Hugh Jackman — whose performance as Wolverine may be definitive at this point — and paved the way for both the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and, eventually, the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Despite that, it retains several built-in disadvantages that it never could shake. With so many figures to choose from — and with only a limited amount of screen time to show them all — far too many memorable characters end up as little more than moving scenery. Below are ten of the most egregious cases: mutants who needed far more time than the X-Men movie franchise was able to give them.
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10 Storm
It may sound surprising, considering how many times she’s appeared in the saga, but the X-Men movies have never been quite sure what to do with Ororo. That starts early on with the original X-Men movie, as Halle Berry has to compete for attention with the Logan-Jean-Scott love triangle. She has her moments here and there, notably her bond with Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United and her assumption of leadership in X-Men: The Last Stand. But they tend to get lost amid the films’ busy plotlines.
A younger version of the character appears in X-Men: Apocalypse, this time played by Alexandra Shipp. Despite a promising look at her early days as a Cairo street urchin, she ends up relegated to supporting status as a Horseman. It fails to measure up against other X-Men characters of her standing.
9 Iceman
For all his long history with the X-Men, Bobby Drake remains very much a work in progress. Perhaps the most important development in his background — coming out as gay — didn’t even occur until 2015, well after his appearances in the first handful of X-Men movies. That alone merits further exploration, which may need to wait until the MCU takes its crack at the character.
Even without such consideration, Iceman’s appearances in the franchise are strictly support. Indeed, his most famous moment comes with his family’s barely disguised phobia in X2 rather than anything he himself did. His comparative lack of character development is one of the strongest reasons yet to start an MCU reboot with Xavier’s first five students.
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8 Cyclops
Cyclops is a lot like Storm in some ways: a staple of the franchise with multiple appearances and prominent parts to play. But while James Marsden is always great to see, the films gloss over his character to a shocking degree. That includes his strategic mind and loyalty to his teammates, which have always been his bedrock in the comics. Even his early days at Xavier’s are less than exhilarating, with X-Men: Apocalypse in particular, wasting a golden opportunity to explore who he is.
Instead, he’s left to play straight man, envious of Wolverine’s connection with Jean and little more than a dutiful soldier to Professor X. He’s infamously put out of his misery in the benighted The Last Stand, though he’s been rebooted at least a couple of times since. Marsden spins a lot of stew out of that oyster — and it’s tough to compete with Jackman on the ascent — but for all his screen time, Scott Summers has little to show for it.
7 Shadowcat
Kitty Pryde flirts around the first two X-Men movies, teasing fans with her presence before finally arriving in The Last Stand. Therein lies the rub. While Elliott Page more than delivers on the character, the script simply never goes anywhere with Kitty. She’s reduced to plot expediency in X-Men: Days of Future Past: sending Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine back in time.
Page makes the most of it — his charm shines through even amid the hackneyed dialogue — but director Brett Ratner’s reported on-set abuse is far too steep a price to pay. Even with better material, neither actor nor character gets their just desserts, leaving one of the best-loved figures in Marvel mutant history a perennial also-ran.
The leader of the Exiles is a comparatively new addition to the ranks of Marvel’s mutants. Her complex backstory ties into the Age of Apocalypse, necessitating exposition that the movies rarely have time for. It earns her an appearance in Days of Future Past — played by Fan Bingbing — where she allows the mutant underground to teleport in and out of strike locations safely.
Unfortunately, without any time to develop her character, she becomes little more than a gimmick. And while Days of Future Past provides her with an effective showcase, she’s unable to progress beyond the needs of that particular storyline. A more elaborate engine like the MCU may be able to give her more room for growth, particularly a TV series.
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5 Angel
The mishandling of Angel in The Last Stand may be the worst of its copious failings, with Ben Foster delivering a beautifully haunted Warren Worthington III with nowhere to go. Apocalypse reboots the character without explanation – a distressing habit that helps turn the franchise’s timeline into a hash – only to render the fabled Archangel storyline a hastily assembled mess. It ill-befits one of the team’s OGs, with a long history full of interesting twists.
As usual, the culprit lies in a lack of screen time. Angel’s legacy ironically gives him particularly short shrift, as producers feel compelled to include him but are unable to do much with him. Of all the five original X-Men, he stands the most to get with a proper reboot in the MCU.
4 Psylocke
One of the recurring problems with the X-Men movies is reducing brilliant characters to the status of gimmicky minions. Rebecca Romijn’s shapeshifting Mystique rises above it through sheer force of will, but most others are an embarrassment of waste. Everyone from the Juggernaut to Sabretooth has suffered the indignity: limited to being a one-note henchmen in exchange for a few brief moments onscreen.
Nowhere is this more true than Betsy Braddock, one of the most storied members of the X-Men team with a lot of big-screen potential. After a barely-there cameo as one of Magneto’s minions in X-Men: The Last Stand, she finally lands a speaking role in X-Men: Apocalypse. Sadly, while Olivia Munn certainly looks the part, the script gives her nothing to do beyond joining Apocalypse’s Horsemen, a gimmick that reduces her to just another opponent in just another fight scene. Her escape promises more to come, but for now, that possibility looks extremely unlikely.
3 Bishop
The problem with Bishop from a big-screen perspective is that he comes attached to a colossal plot arc that requires a good deal of set-up. Arriving in the present from one of myriad dark futures, he’s become utterly essential over the last 30 years of comic-book stories. But his dystopic background can’t simply be taken as a given, and unless the movie as a whole is dedicated to the notion, one of the X-Men’s greatest members is out of luck. (The character does better on television, where multiple animated series have the structure to handle his narrative baggage.)
Hence, Bishop shows up only once onscreen: aptly in Days of Future Past as the Sentinels close in on the last remaining mutants. Actor Omar Sy conveys volumes on presence alone, but with the principal cast dominating the screen, he’s limited in what he can do. The character might just be meant for television, limiting his movie appearances to this one.
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2 Darwin
2011’s X-Men: First Class remains one of the best films in the entire franchise – bar none – and yet it still contains the utterly baffling case of Darwin. Born with an ability to evolve on the fly (and potentially survive anything), he’s killed when Sebastian Shaw sends absorbed energy down his throat. Fans have argued – with cause – that his abilities, as defined by the film, would protect him. As it stands, his death feels pointless rather than tragic and exemplifies the “minority dies first” trope sadly common to horror movies.
Lost amid that is a strong performance from Edi Gathegi, who — like so many actors in the franchise — has to make a big impression in a short amount of time. He lets the audience feel every inch of his passing: yet another example of a potentially great character unable to keep up. A reboot of the character for the MCU would be a good way to atone.
1 Jubilee
Jubilation Lee actually makes appearances in a surprising number of X-Men movies: X-Men, X-2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, and X-Men: Apocalypse. It can be hard to tell sometimes. She comes and goes so quickly — with so little substance to do despite such an impressive haul — that her presence barely registers at all.
It’s doubly difficult in light of her strong presence on television, most notably in the beloved X-Men: The Animated Series. She also played the lead in the short-lived Generation X TV pilot, and while that effort is hardly worth mentioning, it does show Jubilee’s potential as a live-action protagonist. Sadly, the various X-Men movies never saw fit to give her the spotlight she deserves.
The X-Men movies helped push Marvel into the mainstream, but with so many heroes to choose from, some characters have been unfairly overlooked. Read More