Who’s going to be in the MCU’s X-Men team? That’s one of those questions that preys on Marvel’s minds daily, along with “who’s going to star in Fantastic Four?” and, for a certain subset, “how can I complain about Brie Larson today?” There are just so many different directions in which the MCU could take the Children of the Atom that it’s difficult to predict the lineup Kevin Feige’s eventually going to assemble.
One thing we can be certain of, however, is that Marvel Studios will be very keen to offer something different from what 20th Century Fox did across its historic 20-year franchise. Sure, Deadpool 3 is about to celebrate the Fox franchise, by bringing back Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and probably many more nostalgic cameos besides, but when it comes to introducing the X-Men into the Earth-616 continuity proper, the likelihood is that Marvel will approach it similar to Spider-Man — think how different Tom Holland’s webslinger and his world is from Tobey Maguire’s and Andrew Garfield’s.
What seems highly plausible is that, in order to make sure it doesn’t step on Fox’s toes, Marvel will draw from contemporary X-Men comics, which weren’t even around when the old franchise was running. If this is the plan then Marvel’s latest reboot of the brand may just be our ticket to guessing what’s in store in the MCU.
Armor is poised to be a major character in the X-Men’s future
As Marvel continues expanding its new Ultimate universe, which allows the company to restart everything from scratch, this spring delivers Ultimate X-Men #1, introducing us to a brand-new X-Men team. And the two characters the roster will be built around may came as a surprise to fans. They’re two teen heroes that have yet to feature in the movies, which might just make them perfect to lead the MCU’s own take on the team.
In a preview for the comic (via CBR), from writer/artist Peach Momoko, we learn that Armor (Hisako Ichiki) and Maystorm will be the focal characters. Taking place after the events of Jonathan Hickman’s Ultimate Invasion, Ultimate X-Men #1 follows Japanese schoolgirl Hisako as she struggles to maintain a normal life despite the discovery of her powers — she can generate a psionic suit of armor around herself. Her best friend, meanwhile, is the weather-controlling Maystorm, who seems to be poised to become Ororo Munroe’s protege.
It’s easy to see the benefits to Marvel even loosely adapting Ultimate X-Men‘s starting point when it comes to bringing the X-Men back to life. With a fresh set of heroes and an international flavor, this would truly make the MCU’s X-Men unique and current and just as appealing to the next generation of fans as Holland’s Spidey was in 2016. I’m just saying, don’t be surprised if a movie called Ultimate X-Men is part of Marvel’s next big Comic-Con announcement.