We’ve been patient for years now, but Marvel Studios is finally starting to deliver on the X-Men front. Because they were so busy with the characters they already had access to, it’s taken a long time for the House of Ideas to start integrating mutantkind into the MCU following Disney’s Fox merger, but we’re at last starting to get the goods. Patrick Stewart recently returned as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the Ms. Marvel finale just made another huge stride.
It feels like the X-Men themselves will be suiting up in the MCU pretty soon, then, even if we have no idea what the team lineup will look like just yet. And before the roster is revealed, we have a few notes for Marvel. While a Wolverine recasting, not to mention a new Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, feels inevitable, there are certain other characters we’d be much more interested to see grab the spotlight first. Mostly because Fox totally wasted them.
After managing to go through 20 years of the Fox franchise without getting their dues, here are 10 X-Men desperately in need of some better treatment in the MCU.
Cyclops
Sure, Cyclops appeared in six of Fox’s X-Men movies, but did he really do anything of import? With no offense intended to either James Marsden and Tye Sheridan, the franchise consistently failed to convince us that Scott Summers was the capable leader of the mutant team, with his limelight frequently stolen by Wolverine (in the first films) and Mystique (in the prequels). The MCU needs to dive deeper into Cyke’s psyche.
Storm
Much like Scott, Storm was one of the most frequently featured characters in Fox’s movies and yet neither Halle Berry or Alexandra Shipp’s versions felt like a fully fledged character, just vessels for her super-cool power-set. Fans have often wondered if Storm could be folded into the Black Panther mythos in the MCU, which would be a neat way of helping her stand out from the rest of the X-Men.
Dazzler
Dazzler had one measly cameo in Dark Phoenix (as played by Halston Sage) in the whole Fox franchise, which was a total waste of the fan-favorite. What sets Alison Blaire apart from the rest of the X-Men is that she has a cover career as a singer (she started in disco in the ’70s but has moved with the times across the decades). There has to be a clever way to update Dazzler again to make her relevant for the 2020s.
Rogue
Fans have long felt that Anna Paquin’s Rogue in the Fox universe was the character in name only as the comic book original is much different from Paquin’s under-powered shrinking violet. In fact, on the page, Rogue possesses a copy of Carol Danvers’ skill-set, with Captain Marvel being instrumental in her switch from evil to good. It would be fascinating to see this arc play out in, say, The Marvels.
Gambit
And if a new Rogue is introduced, her frequent love interest Remy LeBeau shouldn’t be far behind. Taylor Kitsch was decent in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Fox otherwise failed to capitalize on Gambit’s popularity — although Channing Tatum gave a solo movie his best shot, bless him. The character might’ve peaked in the ’90s, but the MCU could help return him to the franchise’s frontlines.
Angel
Considering he’s one of the original founding members of the X-Men, Fox did Angel dirty. Ben Foster’s version was an afterthought in the overstuffed The Last Stand and Ben Hardy’s Arcangel looked cool in Apocalypse but…wait, did he even say anything? Fans would love it if the OG X-Men line-up was recreated in the MCU, so hopefully Marvel can give us a worthy Warren Worthington III.
Jubilee
It was something of a cruel running joke in the Fox franchise that Jubilee — or at least an unnamed Asian girl in a yellow coat — would turn up for a cameo without doing anything. Apocalypse even found the perfect casting in Lana Condor and completely wasted her. If Patrick Stewart can appear in Doctor Strange 2, then here’s hoping Condor gets invited back as the MCU’s Jubilation Lee.
Kitty Pryde
Much like Jubilee, Kitty Pryde is another character who’s beloved because she’s often the audience’s entry-point into the X-Men world. Elliot Page was great value as the heroine sometimes known as Shadowcat in both The Last Stand and Days of Future Past, but we’d love to see a version of Kitty who’s the heart and soul of the team. Hailee Steinfeld would’ve been a terrific choice, if she weren’t already embodying Kate Bishop.
Polaris
Lorna Dane would make for a perfect addition to the MCU because she could be integral to the next big twist in Scarlet Witch’s storyline. Mistress of Magnetism Polaris is the other daughter of Magneto, and therefore is traditionally depicted as Wanda Maximoff’s half-sister. Lorna never appeared in Fox’s movies, but Emma Dumont gave a breakout performance as her in Fox’s short-lived The Gifted TV show.
Emma Frost
The number one mutant who deserves to be redeemed in the MCU, though, has to be the White Queen herself, Emma Frost. January Jones was wholly forgettable in First Class, in which the character was an offensively cardboard (well, diamond) femme fatale. In the comics, Emma’s sass and complex morality — she’s gone from villain to heroine to Cyclops’ wife to villain again, rinse and repeat — have made her one of the X-Men’s most interesting members. We need to see Emma emerge victorious in live-action.