Fixing the Franchise: X-Men

So I had a nice Christmas surprise this morning when I found out that Bryan Singer has announced that he will NOT direct X-Men: First Class, the upcoming X-Men revamp film. Since I don't think he should be allowed anywhere near a superhero film, I'm glad to hear he is leaving my favorites alone. Lord knows, I have talked a lot about the past X-Men movies in the previous posts including my suggestion for an X-Men TV show and, more recently, in a character by character breakdown of previous failures, but rather than harp on failures, I thought I would just address what an X-Men movie needs to win me over.

Bright, not dark

A constant reminder that the world is unfair is knowing that somewhere in LA there is a boy born into privilege who wears a nice suit, goes into work, gets into a board meeting, and says, "This movie should be darker. Dark sells well and kids like dark." This moron will probably make more in a year than I do in twenty and he feels completely justified for his brilliance.

Don't patronize your fucking audience, asshole. Just because you are a moron doesn't mean everyone else is. Superheroes in general are not about darkness. Most of them are about the light... that's why they dress up in awesome clothes, take on cool names, and get into fights in broad daylight.

The X-Men especially are about being bright and being seen. Every time they leave the mansion in costume, it is to show mutant pride. The whole point of the X-Men is that they want acceptance! That means going out and being seen in broad daylight.

The previous X-Men movies were almost entirely set at night and/or indoors, the exception being X3... which is probably why I enjoyed it despite its flaws. Also, black leather is out... and if its not, it should be. You can still keep the jackets, but throw in some color for fuck's sake! How about a red background on the X's? It's a minor thing, but just a little splash of color would make them sooo much less dreary.

Small School

One reason the X-Men movies didn't work is because the school was packed full of mutants. In the comics, Xavier's school didn't become filled with students until... well, right after the first movie came out. Before this, it was a small, quiet, and exclusive private school.

The problem with the new approach is that it made all of the X-Men teachers... and they aren't. Sure, a few of them could be, but that isn't what's interesting about the X-Men. Really, it just gets in the way. By making this the first class, I will assume that there will be no more than ten students plus Xavier. This is how it should be; not an institution, but a family.

Center on Scott and Jean, not Wolverine

The X-Men, at its core, is about four people: Xavier, Magneto, Scott, and Jean. It is not about Wolverine any more than Star Wars is about Han Solo. As much as people love him, Wolverine's character is tangential to the overall X-Men story. When writers put him front and center (in movies or comics), it might help sales, but it makes for a shitty story.

The first X-Men story especially should be a love story between Scott and Jean. They are star-crossed lovers in a superhero context. Scott is a self-repressed young man afraid of himself more than anyone. He pushes others away for their safety and is stressed by his own relentless self-control. Jean is a capable young women who is developing probably the most powerful psychic mind on Earth. She is powerful, but uncertain of herself. That is the hook. They have to overcome themselves to find one another.

Xavier is their mentor and he nudges them in the right direction. He makes Scott the leader of the X-Men because he knows Scott is a perfectionist, but he needs to learn to work with others. Jean he protects and educates like a daughter, seeing as their powers are so similar. Angel is the third-part of the love triangle who is everything Scott isn't. He is confident, beautiful, rich, and influential.

If I had my way, Wolverine wouldn't be in this movie at all. At best, he might make a cameo appearance at the end. If Hugh Jackman hits on a 16-year old Jean Grey, it will just be all kinds of sleazy and it will just get in the way of the main story. Show a little patience and wait for the inevitable sequel.

Danger Room

I cannot tell you how many X-Men comics open with a Danger Room scene, but I can tell you why. There is no better way to introduce a character than with a demonstration of what makes them unique. In the Danger Room, spinning blades, nets, flame throwers, and all sorts of dangers test specific aspects of the X-Men's mutant abilities forcing them to push themselves to the limit. This is like extreme gym class. It is an obstacle course. More fun than a video game, but you actually learn valuable skills.

The Danger Room is just fucking awesome! Don't use the "holo-deck" style realistic illusions. Just keep to the mechanical obstacle course that made the X-Men the best trained superhero group in comics.

The villain is discrimination and bigotry

I'd like to dispel a major fallacy in Hollywood: you do not need to personify the enemy. You need something to hit, sure, but you do not need someone to explode, be decapitated, split in half, melted, tossed through a wood chipper, or any of the overkill endings common to action films.

There is a truism from Greek theater that says all stories are either Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, or Man vs Himself. The X-Men has all three. There are the individual fights that might be ideological or personal in nature (Man v. Man), the eternal struggle of acceptance (Man v. Nature), and the struggle of self-acceptance (Man v. Self). The best X-Men stories weave the three of these together.

My advice for the creators here would be to look at any of the big films focusing on bigotry of all kinds, particularly in America: Mississippi Burning, Boys Don't Cry, Milk... In a normal superhero film, half of the pleasure is in feeling the vicarious thrill of having powers, but in the world of the X-Men, this is counter-balanced by the horror of the power itself (i.e. Cyclops, Rogue, Nightcrawler) and/or by the fear and hatred of others. A good deal of time should be spent with mutants hiding their powers from others or losing control of them (man v. self).

The villain of this movie should be bigotry. That's what makes the X-Men interesting. Just about every comic opens with the words "protecting a world that hates and fears them." The X-Men are a minority that often protects the majority, many of whom want nothing more than to see them dead. The story should focus on anti-mutant groups like the Friends of Humanity, the Humanity NOW! Coalition, or the Purifers. That puts the overarcing theme in the "man v. nature" camp.

For specific things to hit (man v. man), build up the Sentinel program for your big third-act fight scene and Bolivar Trask as the human face of the project. Include other notable public figures like Sen. Robert Kelly, FoH leader Graydon Creed, and Security Advisor Henry Peter Gyrich pushing the project a lot. Be sure to show different motivations for racist behaviors. Although some (like Creed) should be unrepentant bigots, others like Kelly and Trask should be somewhat redeemed by the closing credits.

Introduce Magneto as an ally

We have seen enough of Magneto as villain. The previous film sold us on that. Let's see Magneto as hero. Too often in movies when the villain seduces a hero, the audience is rolling their eyes because the villain is not compelling. This was the reaction I had when Magneto seduced Pyro to the dark side in X2... not that it was much of a leap.

In this film, Magneto should come to the mansion for sanctuary. The story could revolve around Xavier's Cerebro technology being stolen and mutants hunted with it (leading up to the Sentinels). Magneto could have been captured by the government and experimented on (i.e. Weapon-X) forcing the X-Men to rescue him or maybe he just shows up at the front door when things get rough.

If the Avengers films haven't licensed them already, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch could come with him. While Xavier would preach patience and acceptance, Magneto would argue the opposite... that the world is their to inherit and they should not wait for the humans to destroy it. Like any idealist with power, he wants to remake the world in his image... and I imagine many of the X-Men would see that as a good thing... and so should the audience.

If the audience doesn't want Magneto to win, at least a little bit, you didn't do Magneto right.

Setup sequels

If I haven't made the case clear by now, all of these actions are meant to focus the plot in part one of what will doubtless be at least three parts in a new trilogy. By excluding certain elements and focusing on others, it creates a better foundation for future films. Developing Scott and Jean's relationship in the first movie will make it so much more interesting when Wolverine comes between them in the sequel. Similarly, making the audience love Magneto in the first movie will help them to hate him later on.

So maybe the second movie would introduce the Brotherhood of Mutants. You could adapt the Mutant Massacre with the Weapon-X story. Begin with the X-Men discovering the Morlocks after the Weapon-X program sent in their killers to wipe them out The killers are lead by Wolverine who is captured by the X-Men and rehabilitated by Xavier and Jean. The X-Men are then divided between searching for Weapon-X headquarters and providing care to the Morlocks. As Magneto tends to the Morlocks, they and a few sympathetic X-Men form the Brotherhood of Mutants.

And start planning for the third movie. If you are going to do the Phoenix Saga again, maybe you should think about making Apocalypse the villain in the third so that you have a worthy villain. If you do that, you might want to lay some groundwork with Mr. Sinister and/or the Hellfire Club. Maybe an entire movie based on Days of Future Past. The point is: think ahead and plan on doing something different in the future.