The X-Men Movies Lied: 10 Things the Films Failed to Bring to Life

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The X-Men films are a huge culprit in ignoring original comic book continuity. Movie adaptations tend to lose certain story elements or omit unnecessary character details. However, some movie versions of comic books take a lot of liberties with the source material, adding elements that were never part of the comics while not giving any sort of attention to important story beats or character backgrounds.

With entire Reddit threads devoted to the lies the X-Men movies told fans about the comics, it’s interesting to actually look at the comic book versions of events. From minor omissions to help reduce the number of complex plots or character interactions to film changes done for the sake of being easier for the budget and special effects situations, the X-Men movies left some room for improvement for those that wished for a more faithful adaptation of Marvel’s beloved X-Men comics.

10

Magneto’s Paternity Issues

The Character Debuted in 1963

In the X-Men movies, not much information is given about Magneto’s children. There is a sly joke about him being the father of Quicksilver in one of the films, but it is never said explicitly. In the comics, while Magneto’s paternity is discussed more, there have been so many changes and retcons that, even in the source material, it is hard to nail down for sure who Magneto’s actual children are.

Regardless, the films do not really show any of these details or questions. In the comics, it has been written that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are Magneto’s children, as is Polaris, who also has magnetic powers. The movies have never shown Magneto not having kids, though, with his daughter in X-Men: Apocalypse meant to be based on the comics version of his first child, Anya Eisenhardt.

9

Beast’s Days of Future Past’s Serum Is Not in the Comics

The Character Debuted in 1963

In the X-Men movies, Beast is thought of as a purely good-natured and helpful asset to the X-Men team. Likewise, he is the most scientifically adept of his teammates. Consequently, he has created some impressive serums in both the comics and films. The comic version of Beast created a serum that enhanced his already present mutant abilities, which became a prototype of sorts for the Mutant Growth Hormone.

The movies show Beast making and then taking a serum, but it is different from the comic version in some critical ways. The movie version of Beast’s serum that he creates in Days of Future Past creates symptoms similar to the Hulk, allowing Beast to only change into his visibly-mutated form that everyone recognizes as Beast when he gets emotional – and specifically angry.This choice was likely to save time and resources that would have been required for constant prosthetics for Beast.

8

Charles Xavier Is Not British

The Character Debuted in 1963

Sir Patrick Stewart starred in the original X-Men film adaptations as Professor Charles Xavier, playing the character exceptionally, in line with the great actor he is. As a result, many who had their first exposure to X-Men through the Fox movies seem to visualize the character as Patrick Stewart, complete with a British accent.

This was continued when James McAvoy took over the character for the Days of Futures Past timeline, portraying a young Charles Xavier with a British accent rather than his native Scottish accent so he could more closely resemble Stewart’s accent. Interestingly enough, Xavier is actually not British in the comics, but rather an American, and specifically a New Yorker. He does go to England, however, when he attended Oxford University, which is where he met Moira MacTaggert.

7

Cyclops’ Portrayal

The Character Debuted in 1963

In the X-Men movies, especially the original trilogy, Cyclops’ portrayal is a crime against his comics version. In the movies, he is barely around, and when he is, he is a massive jerk to Wolverine, who is basically just mad that he is in a love triangle with him and Jean Grey. This is a major contrast to the comic version of Cyclops, who is an extremely important member of the X-Men as a major tactician for the team.

He actually ends up being the leader of the X-Men for a time, showing his immense contribution to the team. In the movies, it makes it seem like Wolverine is actually in the leadership role that Cyclops inhabits in the comics. Cyclops actually dies in X-Men: The Last Stand – an anticlimatic death at that, making matters worse.

6

The Rogue-Mystique Connection

Rogue Debuted in 1981

The movies never really make it known that Rogue and Mystique have any sort of connection outside of being adversaries. However, in the comics, the pair were not always on opposite sides. When Rogue was still just Anne Marie, her mother died when she was a child and, after being put into the care of her strict aunt while her father was not involved, she ran away from home.

All alone, Rogue was noticed by Mystique, who saw a fellow outcast and invited Rogue to live with her and her partner Destiny. It was not all altruistic, however, with Mystique knowing that Rogue had mutant powers and was planning on using her as a mutant terrorist. Both a mother figure and evil mentor in the ways of supervilliany, Mystique taught Rogue a lot but also introduced her to a life of crime.

5

Magneto Has Control Over Electromagnetic Fields

The Character Debuted in 1963

In the films, Magneto is presented as hugely formidable. His power of controlling metal is captured very well on film and has resulted in some incredibly cool movie scenes. However, as awesome as the movies make Magneto’s powers, it is actually selling his powers short based on the comics. In the comics, Magneto has control over electromagnetic fields as well as all metals.

An amazing example of the full scope of his powers is when Magento singlehandedly held together the form of a celestial. As cool as it would be to see an electromagnetic field being manipulated by the one and only Magneto, one could see how it could possibly be a bit difficult to translate to the screen. In contrast, manipulating metal is easier to show even without the use of CGI.

4

William Stryker Is Actually a Reverend, Not a Scientist

The Character Debuted in 1982

The creator of the anti-mutant group the Purifiers, William Stryker is a mutant-hating man who thinks it is his personal mission to decimate all mutants. Starting in the military, he became a sergeant before eventually switching to a career of televangelism and becoming a highly controversial preacher who claimed that mutants were sent to bring evil to the Earth after he killed his newborn son, who was a mutant.

In the films, William Stryker is a scientist, with no reference to his proclaimed religious conviction about mutants. Many think that Stryker’s position as a reverend actually makes him scarier because it would be more unexpected to have such a mutant-hating disposition than that of a scientist. While Stryker was a member of Weapon X, it was only after he became a cyborg after a major character change.

3

Mystique Is Nightcrawler’s Mother

Mystique Debuted in 1978; Nightcrawler Debuted in 1975

The most common story is that Mystique conceived Kurt with the German nobleman Baron Christian Wagner. Due to mutant persecution, Mystique had to escape when Kurt was born with blue skin and the town’s people found out. There is also another, more recent take on this situation: Mystique used Azrael’s sperm and his physical form to create Kurt with her partner Destiny while Mystique was married to the Baron, making Destiny Nightcrawler’s biological mother and Mystique his biological father while still having traits of both Azrael and Baron Wagner.

That might seem super confusing, and that’s because it is. Regardless, neither of these storylines are introduced in the X-Men movies, and it is also not used in any part of Nightcrawler’s backstory. Rather, in the films, Nightcrawler lives with his foster family, which is led by his mother, Margali Szardos, and participates in their circus act.

2

Rogue Stole Carol Danvers’ Powers

Carol Danvers Debuted in 1967

As Rogue can absorb the powers of anyone she touches, a brawl with Ms. Marvel Carol Danvers resulted in disaster for both characters. When Rogue was still in cahoots with Mystique and considered a villain, she was in the process of figuring out her powers after the traumatic incident of putting a boy she kissed into a coma. Rogue saw how Ms. Marvel was enemy number one to Mystique, her mother figure, so she secretly gave herself the mission of bringing Ms. Marvel down.

During the fight, Rogue absorbed the Kree powers and memories of Carol Danvers, which severely disturbed her. The absorption of Carol’s memories was so upsetting that she ran away from Mystique and sought help from Charles Xavier, her previous enemy. This would have been an amazing storyline in an X-Men movie, but viewers never got it, with not even a single scene between the two characters ever occurring.

1

Storm and Wolverine Were Not Original Members of the X-Men Team

Storm Debuted in 1975; Wolverine Debuted in 1974

It is implied, especially in the first three X-Men movies that were released in the early 2000s, that Storm and Wolverine were basically X-Men members from the start. Likewise, it is heavily implied by those same movies that Cyclops came to the team around the same time as Storm and Wolverine. None of those implications are true in the comics.

Wolveirne was actually quite a late addition to the team, especially compared to those that were there from the beginning. The original members include Professor Charles Xavier, Beast, Iceman, Angel, Marvel Girl, and Cyclops. As a result, Cyclops was a member of the X-Men way before Wolverine joined. Moreover, Storm was another late addition who was recruited by Charles Xavier when his original X-Men team were abducted.

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