Marvel is finally bringing mutants to the big screen, and honestly, that’s totally exciting. We know the “X-Men” reboot is on the way, but before they become our favorite heroes, maybe we should think about how some of these MCU X Men start as villains. Kevin Feige recently shared some big news with us at D23. He told us about the actors who will be joining the team. Sadie Sink will once again play Jean Grey. Her story will unfold very differently from what we saw in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”. It’s going to be amazing.
In that movie, Jean was actually kind of a villain. She attacked the Department of Damage Control and even Spider-Man because she was looking for her sister. Eventually, she realized she was in the wrong, but that got me thinking. It would be cool if other famous mutants also started out as villains. It would be much more fun if they eventually switched sides. That would make their character development feel more authentic.
WOLVERINE’S PAST WITH “WEAPONS X” MAKES HIM THE PERFECT VILLAIN
Wolverine is undoubtedly the most famous X-Man. He’s been fighting on the side of the good guys for a long time. But he has a very violent past. He has animalistic instincts and has gone through many traumatic experiences. It would be easy for Marvel to develop a version of him who is a villain from the start—especially since we need someone to take over the role from Hugh Jackman.
He has those claws and heals super fast. Before he became a hero, he fought in wars and was part of a secret unit called Team X. The experiments performed on him could be a great way to introduce him as a villain. If they cast someone like Taron Egerton or Daniel Radcliffe, they could show us sides of Wolverine we’ve never seen before. A rougher, darker origin story would make the new X-Men team seem completely different and unique.
CHANGELING BECAME MORPH IN THE MARVEL ANIMATED SERIES
Then there’s this guy named Kevin Sydney. He started out in 1967 as a villain named Changeling. He was the right-hand man of a villain named Mutant Master. They wanted to start World War III. That’s pretty intense. But eventually, Changeling switched sides and helped the X-Men. He even tried to turn over a new leaf when the villains turned against him. But then he learned that he was seriously ill and didn’t have much time left.
Professor X set out on a secret mission. He asked Changeling to disguise himself as him and lead the team while he was away. Unfortunately, Changeling died in battle. He was the first X-Man to die in the line of duty. That was incredibly sad. Later, however, the character became known in the animated series as Morph. There, he was a much greater hero. Voice actors like Ron Rubin and J.P. Karliak made him famous.
The animated series showed that Morph is actually a truly great hero. It would be great to see him in the live-action movies. Since he started out as a villain and sometimes acts a bit like both, that gives Marvel plenty of room to tell a cool, complex story.
MAGIK’S TIME IN LIMBO MAKES HER MUCH DARKER
Illyana Rasputina is known as Magik. She hangs out with the X-Men and the New Mutants, but she has a very dark side. In the comics, she was just a child at first, but was then kidnapped by a demon named Belasco. He took her to a place called Limbo. He wanted to use her soul to free himself.
She was there for years. Eventually, she forged a weapon called the “Soulsword” and took control of Limbo herself. She drove the demon away, but when she returned to Earth, she possessed these terrifying demonic powers. Her dark side is called Darkchylde. She is the opposite of her good side. Sometimes that’s a real problem. She uses underhanded tactics and summons demons to protect mutants.
Basically, she’s an anti-heroine. That would be a refreshing new approach for the X-Men movies. Anya Taylor-Joy played her in The New Mutants, but she might already be too old for this new version. Marvel could choose a new actress and show us these darker, more terrifying sides of her life. It could even be like a horror movie.
GAMBIT’S LIFE IN THE THIEVES’ GUILD HAS BARELY BEEN EXPLORED SO FAR
Everyone’s talking about Gambit. People are dying to see him in the MCU. We saw Taylor Kitsch play him in that Wolverine movie, and it didn’t really work. Channing Tatum appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine, but he didn’t have much time to show us his true personality. He needs a fresh start. Remy LeBeau could become one of the best characters if handled right.
He was born in New Orleans and grew up in the Thieves’ Guild. They called him the “White Devil” because his eyes were red and black. He was a master thief. Later, he worked for a villain named Mister Sinister. He even watched as Wolverine escaped during an experiment. After being driven out of New Orleans, he worked for the villains for a while before finally realizing that was wrong and joining the X-Men.
Since Adam Driver is playing Mister Sinister, this is the perfect time for a villainous Gambit. Fans have been speculating about who should play him—perhaps Austin Butler or Jacob Elordi. Whoever it may be—we need to see this story play out.
ROGUE IS THE CLASSIC “FROM VILLAIN TO HEROINE” CHARACTER
So we have a new Rogue. Her name is Inde Navarette. She’s taking over the role from Anna Paquin. Honestly, she has a huge opportunity here. She can show us the entire journey from villain to hero—something we’ve never really gotten to witness before. In the original comics from 1981, Rogue was definitely not a heroine. She didn’t even have a conscience.
She ran away from her sister because she was far too mean. Then a shape-shifter named Mystique found her and raised her like a daughter. Mystique taught her how to use her powers. Rogue could absorb other people’s powers just by touching them. Together, they committed many crimes. That was terrible. Eventually, she got into a fight with Carol Danvers and actually stole her powers and memories. That was a big deal.
After a while, she realized she needed help. She turned to Professor X. He let her join the X-Men so she could learn to control her powers. From then on, she evolved into the heroine we all know. We’ve never seen that in a movie before. I’d love to finally see that happen. Inde Navarette was fantastic in “Obsession”, so I’m betting she can handle this kind of heavy, emotional story.
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