When Disney finalized its Fox acquisition in 2019 theX-Menand Deadpool were among the prized assets acquired, and now after a couple of years of intrigue the company’s plans for Professor X’s students are finally taking form. However, asEternalsis providing rare stumble for Marvel Studios, producers would do well to take some notes of how to handle its mutant agenda.
The fact that theX-Men’sfirst foray into the MCUwill manifest itself as a continuation of the 90s animated series might as well be recognition of how careful Disney is playing its cards.X-Men,Spider-Man, and the firstBatmancartoon are still considered some of the best comic book adaptations these superheroes have gotten over the years, and by tapping on nostalgia, producers are further avoiding the lack of recognition the Eternals had for most viewers.
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Back in the early 2000s when the MCU still wasn’t a thing, the Marvel crown diamonds,X-MenandSpider-Manwere off doing their own thing under different ownership; and yet, unlike Sam Raimi’s Spidey trilogy, theX-Menlonger film saga made by Fox is morehit or miss. Because of this reason, by choosing to relate theX-Mento a widely beloved show, Marvel Studios has pulled off perhaps its first masterstroke, one thatEternalscould have never relied on.
HowEternalsAndX-MenRelate To Each Other
Funnily enough, theX-Menhave some small canonical ties to theEternalsthat could have been used to tease future appearances in the MCU. In comic book lore, the Celestials and Eternals have somewhat different backstories, with one of the most notable differences being that the almighty Celestials actually interacted with humans leaving behind the recessives X-gene that later found itself in the DNA of Marvel’s mutants. Admittedly, it’s a small a small reference that the MCU opted to leave out and the reason is quite obvious.Eternalsalready had a ton of work to doto introduce its 10-person lineupwithout having to contend with ties to franchises that are new to the wider MCU, especially in a film that -for the most part- tries to do its own thing.
That problem is one theX-Menmight run into as well because one of the main criticisms in the saga is how spread out unbalanced character progression story arcs tend to be. Of course, this was not the MCU or even Sony,X-Men’s 2000 debut was for all intents and purposesthe first Marvel superhero blockbuster, and though it was far from perfect, at the time there was no competition untilSpider-Mancame along. Nevertheless, even if Marvel Studios doesn’t know yet what kind ofX-Menmovies it wants to make, contrary to Fox’s case, writers will definitely have a long-term plan to for mutants to slot in the MCU, whether it’s subtly or as multiversal event that sees some of the stories from the Fox movies partly recognized as canon.
Do The X-Men Assemble Like Avengers Or Eternals?
Part of the reason why the firstAvengersmovie was such a massive success when it came out was the steady buildup that preceded it, as Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America came together only after being likable independent characters on their own right. It’s easy to pick a favorite and care for these heroes, which is very much not the case for the Eternals as some more casual fans would have a hard time naming the entire lineup.Judging from Eternals' struggles with criticsand its underwhelming box office numbers, throwing theX-Meninto the fray in a single movie could be both a financial and artistic mistake. Luckily the Disney has plenty of tools to remedy this, potentially using its post-credits scenes or movies likeDeadpool 3to start pouring a steady supply of mutants in the MCU.
Regardless of Marvel Studios not yet specifying how animated shows likeWhat If…? andall the new Disney Plus announcements intertwine with the MCU,X-Men 97could very much commandthe need to highlight their importance. Whatever route is taken, the animated series will come packed with a big legacy, a backlog that’s readily available on Disney Plus, and the possibility of using animation to lay the ground for theX-Men. There are countless ways to tackle this problem, but the one thing Marvel should seek to avoid is giving the X-Men theEternalstreatment. Wolverine, Professor X, Jean, andMagnetoall deserve so much better, and though it might prove impossible for all the mutants to get extensive intros, when they join forces with the rest of the Marvel’s finest that moment certainly warrants being up on there as one of the best in MCU history. That can only happen if some of the X-Men are given a chance to shine like Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Peter Parker all did.
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