One of the main reasons Marvel fans have wanted a Disney- Fox merger is so that X-Men can join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. How epic would a Wolverine/ Hulk showdown be? Or Shuri teaching classes at Xavier’s Academy for Gifted Youngsters? Or Deadpool and Spider-Man meeting for the first time? Or seeing a big screen adaption of Avengers vs. X-Men comic book series?
But there are many logistical issues with combining the MCU and Fox Universe. In the MCU, there are only a few superheroes. In the X-Men Universe, you have millions, and there is a different culture regarding those with abilities. James McAvoy, who plays the younger version of Professor X, has expressed his doubts about the MCU and Fox Universe combining. In an interview with Yahoo!, McAvoy has given the following statement:
“I don’t know if the X-Men could go into the Marvel universe, I’m not sure. Maybe they could? But I think what’s different about the Avengers universe anyway is you’ve only got a couple of superheroes in the world. There’s a good amount, but there’s like a couple of football teams’ worth, you know what I mean? Whereas in the X-Men world you’re potentially saying there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of [superheroes] and the social implication of that is different.”
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James McAvoy has a very valid point. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, finding a person of extraordinary abilities is well, extraordinary. Partially because they are a rarity, and partially because they use their powers for good, these heroes are generally celebrated. No one ever tries to stop the Avengers from using their powers (the only thing close was with Civil War, and even then, that was only government regulation.)
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The X-Men universe treats extraordinary people much differently. There are many, many mutants. So many that their mere existence is a huge topic of debate, as mutants are subject to discrimination, hate, and violence. While the MCU has the theme of “with great power comes great responsibility,” X-Men handles the complicated issue that anyone labeled as different may face: ignoring part of yourself and blending in or expressing that part of yourself and putting yourself at risk. There are extremist mutants who are angry at the world they live in and resort to violent methods. There are ones who may ignore what they are or even take a cure to rid themselves of their powers. There are also the idealists (those would be the X-Men) who use their powers to do good, yet still suffer the same discrimination as all mutants.
That doesn’t mean that X-Men and Avengers do not interact. A whole comic book series, Avengers vs. X-Men, pitted these two forces against each other. There are also multiple characters that are both Avengers and X-Men, like Wolverine, Deadpool, Scarlett Witch, and Quicksilver.
I’m not sure how, or if X-Men could integrate into the MCU. X-Men always grappled with minority status, while MCU films seem to ask “what do we owe the world?” As a minority myself, I got to see mutants struggle of being different from everyone else. I felt anger when I was treated differently, like Mystique and Magneto, but the X-Men reminded me that being different is okay. That theme may get lost if the X-Men were to join the MCU. Still, MCU has done an excellent job with the Marvel characters so far and if they were to include X-Men in the MCU, I think they would try to stay true to the X-Men’s legacy.
Photo Via We Got This Covered.
