Retrospective Review – X-Men: First Class

Retrospective Review – X-Men: First Class

Us turning on each other, it’s what they want. I tried to warn you, Charles. I want you by my side. We’re brothers, you and I. All of us, together, protecting each other… we want the same thing.” – Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto

X-Men: First Class (“First Class”) is definitely my favorite X-Men movie. It came to the big screen in 2011 with very little fanfare. I did not even know it was a movie until it was released and the critics raved about it. I remember being completely blown away by the film when I first saw it. After the subpar X-Men: The Last Stand directed by Brett Ratner, it makes complete sense for the series to go with a prequel. More importantly, the film brings back the director of the first two films, Bryan Singer, as the producer. It also brings in the talented Matthew Vaughn as the director. He did amazing work with Kick-Ass on a low budget. Accordingly, it is no surprise that he does a great job with a much larger budget. There are many things in this film I love. First, I really enjoy historical fiction. The film merges the X-Men mythology with the events of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. It is exactly what I want to see. In addition, Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto are cast brilliantly. Similar to their older counterparts, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are perfect as the younger versions of the characters. Anytime they are on the screen together, it is magic. The contrast and friendship between the two characters are one of the defining elements in the X-Men franchise. They are the stars and the best part of the movie. I also like the inclusion of Raven Darkholme / Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) in the film. In many ways, her use in the film is brilliant. The greatest influence of X-Men in popular culture is its theme against discrimination. Instead of using skin color, it gives one group of people special, mutant powers to differentiate them from normal human beings. In reality, people without special abilities should have a legitimate fear of mutants who have incredible powers. Not every mutant is going to have good intentions. Accordingly, that power in the wrong hands can be a catastrophe. However, fans feel that discriminating and persecuting those individuals are wrong because we think those powers are amazing. Consequently, X-Men is able to show us that discrimination and prejudice is wrong. Mystique is essential in playing out this theme in First Class. Her mutant abilities allow her to hide the fact that she is a mutant. However, why should she need to hide who she truly is? This story arc is developed brilliantly during the movie and demonstrates the immorality of discrimination as well the need to rise up over rather cower in fear because of it. Her relationship with both Charles and Erik also helps to delineate the differences between the two men and their views on the co-existence or lack of between humans and mutants.

While it is a great movie, there are also aspects that I do not like about it. I feel that it should have been a complete reboot of the series. The original first class in the comic books is Scott Summers/ Cyclops, Jean Grey, Bobby Drake/ Iceman, Hank McCoy/ Beast, and Warren Worthington III/ Angel. However, four of those characters have already been used in the first trilogy which is set in modern times. Accordingly, First Class needs to replace them with second class characters to go with Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Mystique: Alex Summers/ Havok (Lucas Till), Sean Cassidy/ Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Darwin (Edi Gathegi), and Angel Salvadore (Zoe Kravitz). These secondary characters are ok and their powers are great in the action scenes. However, they are not as well known and loved as the actual first class of the X-Men. On the other hand, I would like to reserve judgment depending on how well X-Men: Days of the Future Past turns out. If it is great, they would have needed the story lines from the original films to be in tact to merge with First Class to set up the sequel to both of them. The villain of the movie is Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). His plot is devious: start a nuclear war that will wipe out all of the humans. I really like how it is developed and executed in the film. While I like the selection of Shaw as the villain, Kevin Bacon is the wrong person to play Shaw even though he is an accomplished actor. For one thing, Shaw is supposed to be taller and bulkier than Bacon’s scrawny frame. Next, the film makes Shaw a former Nazi scientist. There are only a few things more American than Kevin Bacon so I do not buy him as a German. Despite these aspects I do not like, X-Men: First Class is great. In my opinion, it is the best X-Men film and definitely among the best comic book movies of all time.

As I noted above, this film is driven by the franchise’s two most iconic figures, Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto. It does an excellent job showing their origins. Charles is a student at Oxford who is about to graduate and become a professor. Naturally, he is also an expert in mutation and writes his thesis on it. It is good seeing a younger, hip version of Charles compared to his stern, serious counterpart in the original trilogy. He is a smooth sweet talker that also uses his telepathy to find out trivial information about women that allows him to hit on them more efficiently. In the film, he uses his powers at a bar to guess what a woman, with the name of Amy, wants to drink. Even though his powers help him get her attention, he still needs his intelligence and charm to reel her in. He points out that she has one blue eye and one green eye. For this reason, she has a form of mutation. While she initially perceives the comment as an insult that she is deformed, Charles is able to turn it into a compliment by saying “It’s a very groovy mutation. I’ve got news for you, Amy. You are a mutant.” He also coins the phrase “mutant and proud”. Young Charles also likes to have a good time as he gets drunk after his graduation. As such, the film does an excellent job showing that even Professor Xavier was a “groovy”, young man chasing after women and trying to enjoy himself in his younger years. James McAvoy is brilliant in playing this younger version of the character.

He gets thrust into fighting Sebastian Shaw and his Hellfire Club by Moira MacTaggert. While she is a brilliant scientist and a close friend and lover to Charles in other versions, she is a C.I.A. operative in First Class. Rose Byrne is a beautiful woman and does a fabulous job portraying Moira as a strong, independent woman who is trying to make her mark in the male dominated C.I.A. She is investigating Shaw and his organization. She discovers that Shaw is playing both sides and influencing key military leaders in the United State and Soviet Union. If that discovery is not horrifying enough, she learns that Shaw and his Hellfire Club are mutants. Shaw has the ability to absorb and redirect kinetic energy. His group includes Emma Frost (January Jones), Azazel (Jason Flemyng), and Janos Quested/ Riptide (Alex Gonzalez). Frost is a very powerful telepath who also has the ability to turn into solid diamond. Azazel has the power to teleport while Riptide can create whirlwinds. Naturally, Moira is seen as a joke when she reports this startling revelation to her superiors. Accordingly, she engages Charles to help her convince the C.I.A. of the existence of mutants. It takes the demonstration of Charles’s telepathic powers as well as Raven’s shape shifting abilities but the C.I.A. finally comes around to accepting that mutants exist and it will need the help of mutants to stop Shaw.

The foil to Xavier has always been Erik Lehnsherr/ Magneto. While the two men share a great friendship, they are adversaries with two very different visions for the world. Magneto is one of my most favorite characters. While he believes in mutants waging and winning a war against humans to ensure mutant supremacy, you can understand his need to act since he is a Holocaust survivor. From my perspective, he is a very intriguing anti-hero and is not a true villain. Of course, his views contrast with Xavier’s dream of a peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans. The two men have also lived two very different lives. Xavier grew up in a life of privilege in a wealthy family. He did not have to deal with a lot of hardship growing up. On the other hand, Erik has lived a very tragic life. He experienced the worst in human beings during his time spent in a Nazi concentration camp. The film does an excellent job in expanding on the horrors he endured in the camp. After he flashes his ability to manipulate metal, he attracts the attention of Dr. Klaus Schmidt, who is later known as Sebastian Shaw. Schmidt wants to develop Erik’s power. Schmidt knows the next level of human evolution is mutants and believes that the Nazi’s vision of a perfect human being , which is having blond hair and blue eyes, as pathetic. When Erik is unable to move a metal coin with his powers, Schmidt has his soldiers bring in Erik’s mother. Schmidt gives Erik till the count of three to use his powers before he shoots his mother. Unfortunately, Erik is not able to move the coin and Schmidt shoots his mother dead. The rage caused by the trauma of witnessing his mother’s death triggers Erik’s mutant power. He crushes the helmets of the soldiers which kills them and causes all the metal in the room to fly all over the place. Consequently, both Schmidt and Erik realize that “anger and pain” is the key to his power.

Naturally, Erik hates Schmidt for murdering his mother. He becomes a Nazi hunter dedicated to finding and killing Schmidt and his co-conspirators. Michael Fassbender does an amazing job portraying the tortured Erik. He is bad ass and definitely has the best background music whenever he is on the screen to match his persona. You definitely know when Erik is one the screen and about to do something awesome. One of my favorite scenes at the beginning of the movie is when Erik tracks a couple of Schmidt’s men to a bar in Argentina. He enjoys a beer and laughs with them before he slowly reveals that he is a Holocaust survivor and knows those men are Nazis who are responsible for murdering his family and people. As they slowly drink their beer, those men know they have a problem on their hands and will need to kill Erik before he kills them. While they pull out a knife and a gun, they are useless against Erik’s mastery of magnetism. He uses his powers to force one man to shoot his friend then throws the knife to kill the shooter. He is down to one man who is pleading for his life and justifying his actions by stating that he was only following orders. After Erik gets information about Schmidt and declares that he is “Frankenstein’s monster… and I’m looking for my creator [Schmidt]”, he shoots the final man dead. The scene immediately proves Erik is not someone to be trifled with or a person you want to get in his way.

While Charles and Erik are great characters individually, they are ten times as compelling when they interact with each other. Their paths cross when they both pursue Shaw. Charles is trying to help the C.I.A. orchestrate a covert operation against Shaw while Erik is on a one man mission trying to exact revenge for his mother. Of course, Shaw’s Hellfire Club is too well seasoned and battle tested for either of them. Emma Frost blocks Charles’s telepathic abilities which leave the C.I.A. operatives at the mercy of Riptide’s whirlwinds. Erik fares slightly better as he gets in front of Shaw to attempt an assassination. However, he is no match for the full Hellfire Club as Emma easily stops Erik’s attempt to kill Shaw with a knife and kicks Erik off Shaw’s boat. Nevertheless, Erik is able to use his powers to destroy Shaw’s boat with the anchor. While Erik almost drowns trying to pull Shaw’s getaway submarine back with his powers, Charles steps in and calms Erik. It is the beginning of their friendship borne out of necessity as they need each other to stop Shaw. Although Erik is independent and reluctant to accept help, Charles is able to reason with Erik by pointing out the obvious: “Shaw’s got friends. You could do with some.” Every conversation between the two characters is flawless in the movie.

Both men realize that they will not be able to defeat Shaw by themselves and know they will need to assemble a team of mutants. I really like that the film introduces Cerebro as an idea created by the C.I.A. but its full power is only realized with Charles at the helm. It is also very entertaining watching Charles and Erik bond over tracking down the members of the first class of X-Men. In one of the best cameos in the Marvel films, they find Wolverine at a bar. Before they can explain themselves, they are met with a cold response from Wolverine who tells the two to “Go fuck yourself”. Hysterically, Charles and Erik immediately leave the bar. While their recruits have extraordinary powers, they are young and immature. Accordingly, Charles and Erik continue to pursue Shaw on their own. However, Shaw becomes aware of the team and has his Hellfire Club attack the C.I.A. complex. Before the attack, I like that Shaw unveils his special helmet designed by the Russians to block telepathic powers. As we know, it is Magneto’s future helmet. I really like the interesting back story the film gives for the helmet. As Charles and Erik are not present during the attack, Shaw and his men are easily able to kill all the C.I.A. operatives, recruit one of the mutants for their cause, and kill another one of the recruits. While Charles wants to give up the fight as it is too dangerous for his young recruits, Erik knows that they need them but also need to train them in the use of their abilities. With the C.I.A. base compromised, they move to Charles’s mansion in Westchester.

I really like the training scenes since they show that mutant powers are abilities that need to be honed. They are like muscles that need to be exercised and trained. It is very interesting watching Havok focus his energy attacks, Beast embrace his animal instincts in order to use his full abilities, and Banshee learn how to fly using his supersonic screams. Of course, the best part of the scenes is when Charles interacts with Erik and helps him enhance his control of magnetism. Since Shaw’s cruel tutelage, Erik has tapped into his power through “anger and pain”. While it has worked, Charles believes that Erik has more power and that “true focus lies somewhere between rage and serenity.” Accordingly, Charles uses his power to access a dormant, pleasant memory between Erik and his mother. It is a very touching moment as tears of joy are shed by Charles and Erik. I also agree with the idea of “rage and serenity”. There are times in life where rage will motivate us. While it can be useful, you risk becoming out of control if you only rely on it as your only emotion. Due to Erik’s quest for revenge, he has abandoned and forgotten other parts of himself. It has limited his abilities. Charles knows there is more to his friend: “There is so much more to you than you know. Not just pain and anger. There is good, too. I felt it. When you can access all of that, you will possess a power no one can match. Not even me.”  Once Charles helps Erik remember, he is able to move a satellite with his power. More importantly, Charles perfectly describes the complexity of Erik in the X-Men franchise. While his being and actions are dominated by his dark past, there is still a trace of good that you know is always there even though it becomes more difficult to access as he becomes more and more of a villain.

Another great character in the movie is Raven Darkholme / Mystique. It is Jennifer Lawrence’s first mainstream role that garnered mass attention before she exploded with her role as Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games. She did a very good job as Mystique in First Class but I did not love her as an actress until she plays Katniss. Nevertheless, I have retrospectively gone back and convinced myself she is great as Mystique too. In my opinion, the use of Mystique in this film is brilliant. As children, Charles finds Raven in the kitchen of his mansion looking for food. From that point, they become the closest of friends. They have a brother and sister relationship. However, there is a part of her that is naggy and in need of Charles’s attention. There are times that she acts like an annoying little sister that hampers Charles’s ability to be smooth. As a result, I find this part of her personality irritating in the film. During the scene when Charles is trying to pick up Amy at the bar, Raven disrupts the conversation by flashing her natural yellow eyes. Of course, it upsets Charles and they bicker about it. It is an example of how the two fight during the movie. Then again, it is definitely a part of a real brother and sister relationship so I appreciate Lawrence’s ability to be lovable and annoying with the same character. Raven is also naïve and immature in this film in sharp contrast with the cold hearted, serious character she grows up to be. A point of discourse between the two characters is her mutation. While Charles obviously accepts Raven as his friend, he is uncomfortable with her in her natural, blue form in public. While he is rightfully fearful about society’s reaction to her, he also prefers her in a shape shifted human form in private. She feels that Charles is different but he does not have to hide who he is like she needs to in her daily life. Her view is not without merit. It shows that his view on mutants is not as evolved as it will be when he becomes older and wiser.

On the other hand, Raven’s relationship with Erik grows stronger and stronger as the movie progresses. Erik not only accepts Raven as 100% of who she is, he encourages it: “If I looked like you, I wouldn’t change a thing”. It is an aspect that Erik has a better view on than Charles. During the training at Charles’s mansion, Raven is bench pressing when Erik takes control of the weights with his power and drops it on her quickly which causes her to revert back to her blue form because she needs all her concentration to catch the bar and weights. With the stunt, Erik proves to her that “If you’re using half your concentration to look normal, then you’re only half paying attention to whatever else you’re doing. Just pointing out something that could save your life. You want society to accept you, but you can’t even accept yourself.” Erik’s views grow on Raven as the movie develops and for good reason. It is a much more positive and motivating perspective on her mutation. Similar to Charles’s advice to Erik about rage and serenity and embracing every part of himself to become stronger, Charles should have listened to himself when applying it to Raven and her appearance. Erik completely understands Raven from this perspective and tells her “You are an exquisite creature, Raven. All your life the world has tried to tame you. It’s time for you to be free.”

Another key relationship for Raven in the movie is her romance with Hank McCoy. Similar to Raven’s initial view, he yearns for a solution that stabilizes his normal, human appearance while maintaining his powers. Accordingly, he takes a sample of Raven’s blood as he believes it is the key to synthesizing a serum. Ironically, he creates a serum that accelerates his mutation rather than stabilizing it thus causing him to immediately turn into his trademark furry, blue appearance as Beast. Similar to Charles, Hank represents Raven’s obsolete view on herself where she needs to be ashamed of who she truly is. It is a sad but realistic part of the film when Hank has difficulty accepting who Raven and he are. In real life, people have trouble accepting being different. It is nothing crazy that Hank is fearful of people seeing Raven and he as freaks. Regardless, it is despairing for her to hear Hank tell her that her natural blue form will never be accepted and deemed beautiful compared to her artificial blond, human form. However, I like that they learn to be “mutant and proud” together  by the end of the film.

The villain of the film is Sebastian Shaw. I really like the twist of him being a Nazi scientist that torments and creates the monster part of Erik’s being. He shapes a lot of things in Erik’s life which includes being a mutant supremacist who believes it is the destiny and right for mutants to dominate and rule over regular, inferior human beings. I also like that Shaw has a commanding presence within the Hellfire Club. Even though they are a group of the most powerful mutants, he is in complete control and his team is fully dedicated to him. For example, there is a scene when they are in the Arctic Circle with his submarine. When he asks the very powerful and beautiful Emma Frost to fetch him some ice from outside, she does it without question. While I really like the use of the character, I did not feel that Kevin Bacon is the best choice to play Shaw. However, Bacon still delivers an acceptable performance. Shaw and his Hellfire Club’s plans are diabolical. I enjoy how their scheme is integrated with the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They use their influence to manipulate the United States military and leadership into putting nuclear missiles in Turkey which are an alarming situation for the Russians since it puts the missiles close enough to avoid the Soviet Union’s early detection system. When they are unable to convince a key opponent to the plan, in Colonel Hendry, with their influence; they resort to intimidation by demonstrating their mutant powers to him. They use a similar strategy with the Soviet Union in goading them to place nuclear missiles in Cuba thus causing the Cuban Missile Crisis. With President Kennedy ordering a blockade of Cuba, Shaw and his Hellfire Club simply need to cause a military skirmish in Cuba to spark a nuclear war which will eliminate human beings since mutants should  be able to adapt to a radioactive world. I am a big fan of historical fiction and I really enjoy how well done the story is woven into the events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. On the other hand, it will not really be a war. In the words of Emma Frost, “I wouldn’t call it a war exactly. That would suggest both sides stand an equal chance of winning.” The Americans and Soviet Union have been completely manipulated by Shaw and will be utterly outmatched by Shaw without the help of the exceptional team of mutants lead by Charles and Erik.

My most favorite scene in the movie is between Charles and Erik in the mansion before they embark on the mission to Cuba to stop Shaw. Similar to their more senior counterparts in the original trilogy, they are playing a game of chess. They have a discussion that foreshadows and shapes their futures as friends but adversaries who have very different views on the direction they want for the world. First, Charles brings up the need to stop Shaw. However, Erik’s ulterior motive is to kill Shaw to avenge his mother. While killing is not a virtuous motive, Shaw tormented Erik and heartlessly murdered his mother in front of him as a young boy. It is an unforgiveable sin that Erik cannot allow to go unpunished and I do not blame him. Although Charles tries to reason with Erik point out that killing Shaw will not bring him peace, Erik simply responds “Peace was never an option” acknowledging that he has a tortured soul whose wounds will never heal. Next, they discuss the relationship between humans and mutants. Charles is an optimist and believes that there can be a peace if mutants act valiantly first and lead by example to show that they are “the better man”. Erik strongly disagrees and notes that “We already are! We are the next stage of human evolution”. He also wisely points out “Are you really so naïve as to think that they won’t battle their own extinction? Or is it arrogance?” While Erik believes Charles is “blinded because you [he] believe they are all like Moira”, Charles knows that Erik is haunted by the notion that “they are all like Shaw”.  The conversation is flawless in outlining the differences between the philosophies of the two men in brilliantly written and delivered dialogue. Charles has lived a privileged life and also seen the better side of people in the world. Accordingly, he has the ability to look at the future optimistically with hope. On the other hand, Erik has endured the worst acts of horror that human beings can enact on other human beings by surviving the scars of the Holocaust. He cannot afford to relax and hope that the best will happen. He can no longer stand back and wait for men to kill his people. As a result, he must take action and believes in striking first. They have lived very different lives and have very different visions but both believe they are doing what he believes is correct and just. Of course, the answer lies in between. There are good people that want to create a better world as well as villains who want to destroy or enslave it. It is not black and white in terms of an entire group or even at the individual level as embodied by the anti-hero persona Erik represents. These differences are why their stories and struggles have intrigued us over the life of the X-Men franchise and withstood the test of time.

The final battle in the movie is very satisfying. Just like in real life, the American and Soviet fleets stand face to face on the brink of total war. Shaw’s men are trying to create a spark to start the fighting while Charles and Erik lead their team to prevent a nuclear holocaust. It is a spectacular battle where both groups of mutants use their powers. Erik realizes his full potential by lifting Shaw’s submarine out of the ocean and throwing it on a nearby beach. As such, he finally finds the proper balance between “rage and serenity”. While the action scenes are very good, the end of the movie is all about Erik in my opinion. Eventually, he finds and confronts Shaw at the heart of the submarine. While Shaw initially has the upper hand, Erik is able to take control of Shaw’s helmet. Consequently, Charles freezes Shaw in his tracks while Erik is protected from Charles with the helmet. At this point, Erik has a decision to make that will decide his path in life. He can either kill Shaw to avenge his mother or be the better man and let him live. Of course, we already know the path Erik will take. In a confession to Shaw, Erik admits that everything Shaw has done has made Erik stronger and the weapon he is. Moreover, he agrees with everything Shaw has said in regards to mutants being the future. Unfortunately, Shaw killed Erik’s mother and he cannot allow it to go unpunished. Erik pulls out the coin that Shaw wanted him to move as a young boy before killing his mother. In a parallel to the beginning of the film, Erik counts to three and forces the coin through Shaw’s head thus killing him. It is a terrible moment for Charles. Since he is connected to Shaw at the time, he literally and physically experiences the pain of losing his friend to his demons as Erik chooses to be the villain he believes he needs to be to preserve the mutant race.

During the battle, the American and Soviet fleets witness the fighting on the island. Both leaderships order the fleets to open fire on the island. Accordingly, Erik’s fears and warnings about homo sapiens have been realized. His perspective has been vindicated. Of course, the missiles, rockets, and shells are metal. As such, Erik is able to stop the assault and reverse the weapons in the direction of the fleet. Charles is horrified at Erik’s intentions. Even though Erik has crossed the line by killing Shaw to become a villain, Charles maintains hope that he can convince Erik to be the better man and allow the troops to live: “Erik, you said yourself we’re the better men. This is the time to prove it. There are thousands of men on those ships. Good, honest, innocent men! They’re just following orders.” It is Charles’s last chance to bring Erik back from the brink of becoming a villain. Of course, they are not good words to say to Erik who has survived the Holocaust. In response, Erik says “I’ve been at the mercy of men just following orders. Never again.” While Erik could have lead by example and been a better man, his reaction is only human. It is an evil act but he does not do it out of evil intentions. From his perspective, he is a freedom fighter that is waging a war to prevent the persecution and genocide against mutants. With the American and Soviet fleets uniting to fire at the mutants on the beach, the thought is not without merit. These considerations are the reason Erik/ Magneto is such an intriguing character in the Marvel universe.

In order to stop Erik, Moira shoots at him. While he is able to deflect the bullets, one bullet ricochets into Charles’s spine and paralyzes him. Accordingly, the battle culminates with Charles and Erik definitively established in their paths and they are going in completely different directions. Charles believes in a peaceful coexistence while Erik believes in a preemptive war with homo sapiens. In addition, Erik’s anger and hate has led him into crippling his close friend. It is a tragic turn of events and Charles pays for the consequences of his friend’s sins. To no avail, Erik pleads with Charles to join his side: “Us turning on each other, it’s what they want. I tried to warn you, Charles. I want you by my side. We’re brothers, you and I. All of us, together, protecting each other… we want the same thing.” Nevertheless, Charles knows they want very different things and are destined to be rivals. Moreover, he knows that Raven believes in and wants to join Erik’s cause. Consequently, he wants Raven to go with Erik. Naturally, the mutant on the beach divides into Erik’s Brotherhood which absorbs Shaw’s Hellfire Club and Charles’s team which will become the X-Men. It connects us to the conflict that will ensue in the future between Erik and Charles. Afterwards Charles and Moira have a conversation about the events. During the discussion, Moira thoughtfully tells Charles that he is no longer G-Men [working for the C.I.A] but are X-Men. It is a smart way to subtly sneak in how Xavier’s X-Men are named. Of course, he also has to erase Moira’s memories of his whereabouts for the protection of his school. This ending does an excellent job in setting up the future of the franchise.

X-Men: First Class is a brilliant movie that portrays the origins of Charles Xavier, Erik Lehnsherr, and the X-Men. Charles and Erik are very compelling characters who are played flawlessly by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. The different views of the two characters are outlined perfectly throughout the plot of the film. The use of Mystique in the film is also a different but very smart way to highlight the disparity between the two iconic X-Men characters. It is a lot of fun and sets up the franchise for a great future.

 

For X-Men: Days of the Future Past, please go to: /2016/04/19/retrospective-review-x-men-days-of-the-future-past/

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