This turned out to be much longer than I thought so I’ve split it into two parts for easier digestion.
We’ve had a few pages up recently on this topic, and on the excellently written “What’s next for the X-Men” by our lovable Irish cowboy I openly opted for a reboot of the franchise, but was I too hasty? This got me thinking and my thoughts were far too much for a simple comment on another page, so I turned to my newly started fansite.
REBOOT vs. CONTINUATION
X-MEN 4
Why not just carry on? The franchise has well and truly been written into a corner. We can’t just keep crawling deeper into this corner. But to carry on with the series only one issue really needs addressing. There is a way back, but the question is “will it be credible?”, “will people accept it?”. Well lets talk it through and maybe we’ll find out.
Scott died. Or did he? There are two ways I can think of getting him back. But first lets ask ourselves, do we need him back? For me that is a no-brainer. He is an annoying pompous twat and I can’t stand him! But we need him because he is the leader of the X-Men. I don’t care who may be more popular, it is Cyclops that keeps a level head on his shoulders. Without him, Wolverine can’t go nuts, Gambit can’t take time out to sweet talk Rogue. He allows the others to be who they are and without him it won’t work. So, getting him back…
Option 1 - We never actually saw him die. Jean said she killed him but her thoughts are all over the place. Maybe she believed it so much and convinced herself she had done it that even the professor thought she had. Scott could simply be found wondering in a daze. Personally, I don’t like this option, but it’s a way to get him back.
Option 2 - Time travel. We could easily have an Apocalypse story involving Bishop coming from the future. The X-Men could find themselves unable to function as a team so Bishop travels back in time to bring back Cyclops, the one man who can organise the group on the battle field. I quite like the sound of this. I think it’s because you find out someone who never seemed important is actually vital, and that’s a good message to put out.
There are other issues I will glance over;
Jean is dead. This can stay. Why not bring her back like Scott? The argument is that she is too dangerous and Bishop won’t risk it, they may need to kill her again and may not be able to it a second time. It’s good to have a character die and stay dead every so often. It adds a touch of realism to the universe created and humanises the superheroes. Jean can mean more in death than she ever did when living.
Xavier is dead. Well no, his mind transferred into the other body. So he can easily turn up again. Lets just hope it was his twin brothers body and someone knobbles him early doors so we can have the wheelie egg head back! We can always ask about time travel again. But maybe Bishop knows that too much hung on Xavier’s death and if he changed it, it will alter the time line too drastically.
Magneto and Rogue have no powers. I don’t care what you say THAT CHESS PIECE MOVED!!!! There is no knowledge into how the “antidote” works long term. Their powers could slowly return.
So, yes. I was too quick to call for a reboot. I can see there is a way back from X3. If handled properly, I would be happy to see a continuation of the established series.
REBOOT
So, I’ve found a way to continue the series that is in my opinion “credible”. So why even contemplate joining the hordes of dreaded reboots, remakes and re-imaginings that seem to be littering our screens lately. Well, if you don’t like my ideas raised for X4 and can’t think of anything else, this may be for you. But even if you are set on a continuation there is still a valid argument for starting afresh.
The first argument is quite simply the cast. How long can these guys keep the franchise running? The biggest problem does not fall on Patrick Stewart or Ian Mckellen, it is Hugh Jackman that will be the bane of a continuation. Yes, I said it. Xavier and Magneto can be seen aging from movie to movie with no problems but Wolverine cannot. Personally I believe Hugh is straddling the fence in terms of how old he looks for the character and doesn’t have enough convincing Logan portrayals left in him if any. Yes, he has played the part well and his passion has been great to see, but his passion hasn’t been enough to hold the last two movies. It is time to pat him on the back and say good job.
Another argument for a reboot is, how good is this X-Men universe Fox created? The problems in X3 did not start there. Right from X1 the were issues that pointed us down a path that could only stray further and further from the source material. Mutants were introduced in the wrong order and in some cases, the wrong age bracket. Individually this doesn’t matter too much, but the X-Men universe is one of the largest comic worlds I can think of and is very intricately balanced. Take these kind of liberties with one or two characters and you will have a domino effect on your hands that can only get worse. If a reboot was to happen then Fox needs a long-term plan for this franchise, they can’t take it one movie at a time. They need to map out which characters love each other, hate each other, grow up together, when they meet, how they meet and how and when they part. There are so many elements to consider that they need to treat the X-Men franchise like the Avengers. Marvel are putting their plans in motion for that and rightfully taking their time to bring the characters together convincingly.
OK, I’ve outlined a few issues I can see with both these options and thrown in a few solutions to the problems. I’m sure you can think of many more problems and solutions than I have. My personal choice of these two options is still the reboot. But I’m not as convinced as I was before writing this. My main reason for wanting a reboot has changed, let me explain. I believe comic book movies can be split into three “ages“ of the genre;
1 - We had X1, Spiderman 1 and Daredevil. These where the first of this generations adaptations. These showed the public (non comic fans) that this genre can be fun.
2 - We had X2 and Spiderman 2. These films raised the bar and showed the public that not only can this movie genre be fun, they can be seen as serious movies able to hold their own against other genres.
3 - Batman Begins, Iron Man and Dark Knight. These films showed everyone, not just the public but the people behind the movies pulling the purse strings that this genre has what it takes to not only compete against others but surpass them in everyway.
When I see a new movie from our beloved comic pages, I believe that if they aren’t in touching distance of the “third age” they have failed to meet their potential. If a continuation of the X-Men franchise goes on then I can’t see them achieving this. There are too many issues and compromises to make trying to rectify them that we can only hope for a “second age” movie. That’s not good enough for me.
So which would you prefer to see?
Coming up X-MEN: OPTIONS PART 2.…ORIGINS vs. FIRST CLASS.