Marvel’s new Avengers series tackled the X-Men and their antagonists in a way that proved controversial for the franchise, further highlighting why the MCU should avoid doing the same. Fortunately, the release also shows how Avengers: Apocalypse can avoid following the same lines.
Deadpool and Wolverine has proven that there’s plenty of interest in seeing Fox’s X-Men characters back on the big screen – which is promising, since several familiar faces are expected to return in Avengers: Apocalypse. However, doomsday and its follow-ups must avoid falling into a trap that is not uncommon for the Marvel series to repeat when it comes to the X-Men and the characters related to them.
Marvel’s new Avengers series repeats a complaint against X-Men that has also been raised in some comics
It is not surprising that Lego Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails focuses on the Avengers, with its story largely revolving around Hawkeye and his adventures alongside his fellow heroes. However, this focus means that the outing repeats a sort of narrative crime that fans have had issues with when it happened in the comics before.
In order to show the Avengers and Hawkeye as heavy hitters capable of holding their own in a fight – and thus make it seem like they have a chance to win later in the film when the odds are stacked against them – Lego Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails begins with the Avengers handling a condensed version of the group of X-Men villains known as the Brotherhood of Mutants.
With this team roster including Juggernaut, Sabretooth, Pyro and Magneto, this is a list of some of the X-Men’s most powerful adversaries. However, as the story aims to show Hawkeye at his best, Clint Barton is able to take them all out at once, making them appear much weaker than they arguably should be..
This isn’t a new approach, as X-Men characters – whether the team itself or their adversaries – have often been portrayed as noticeably stronger or weaker depending on whether the version they appeared in focused on them or other groups like the Avengers. This is a common comic complaint, but one that’s especially powerful when it comes to these characters, given how powerful the powers of characters like Magneto are.
Avengers: Doomsday balancing the powers of its X-Men characters is more important than ever
The way in which Lego Marvel Avengers: Strange Tails arguably makes certain X-Men enemies appear weaker in order to bolster how his lead appears. It’s all the more interesting to note with the return of many major figures from the X-Men film on the horizon for the next MCU Avengers film, especially since it’s likely many more will be revealed later as part of Avengers: ApocalypseThe list of actors.
Avengers: Apocalypse has big tasks ahead in terms of reestablishing the titular team years after their last on-screen appearance, but it’s vital that this doesn’t come at the cost of not doing justice to the X-Men, or making them less powerful simply for the sake of keeping up the appearances of the Avengers themselves.
This is doubly true given Avengers: Apocalypse will effectively span decades of Fox
Hopefully, whatever the story of Avengers: Apocalypse And Avengers: Secret Wars holds, the films will be able to do some good for each comic book faction within them – and especially the X-Men, both because of their previous legacy and given that it seems like the next era for the MCU may be about to bring a new version of the beloved Marvel mutants into the spotlight, which totally guarantees we’ll see their full potential ahead of time.
