Week of Review - X-Men: Evolution's X-23

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It’s day 3 of X-Men week here on the Lido Shuffle and time to address the BEST X-Men show ever made: X-Men: Evolution.  Premiering 4 months after the smash hit that was 2000’s X-Men, X-Men: Evolution was meant to continue the adventures of everyone’s favorite mutants though with a bit of a twist.  The series borrows elements of its aesthetic from the films such as the look of Xavier’s Institute and the more uniform costumes but for the most part feels like a throwback to the ‘70s X-Men stuff rebranded for the modern era, or at least a modern late ‘90s. 

The show focused on the X-Men and Brotherhood as teenagers in high school struggling to balance their lives even as the threats they face grow greater and greater.  It’s one of the most character-driven superheroes shows there is and embodies adolescence shockingly well, comparable to Daria levels of well.  Seriously, I’d be here forever praising it so instead I’ve decided to focus specifically on the show’s most enduring creation: X-23. 

Filmland - Future of the X-Men Series

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Something odd is happening with the X-Men franchise recently.  Ever since X2: X-Men United the X-Men franchise has been defined by obligation more than anything else.  Sure, there have been good films amid that set-up like First Class or well-liked films like Days of Future Past, but none of these movies seem to exist out of genuine excitement and push for the material from anyone at the studio level.  That’s all sort of changed now with a triple barrel punch from Deadpool, Logan, and Legion, a trilogy of X-Men adaptations that are easily the most creator-driven projects we’ve seen since First Class. 

If there is a sense of obligation to these adaptations it’s hiding itself very well and, as one might suspect, audiences are strongly responding to the newfound sense of enthusiasm and vigor.  Deadpool and Logan have become near instant beloved classics and pop culture staples in stark contrast to the underperforming and mostly forgotten X-Men: Apocalypse.  With the success of these projects and the main X-Men films stalling at the box office and losing their primary director it raises the question: what’s next for the X-Men?

Panel Vision - 7 Possibilities For Wolverine 4

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So, Logan is now officially a major hit.  The third Wolverine film has been the second cheap and dirty, R-rated X-Men blockbuster to dominate the early months of a year following in the footsteps of 2016’s Deadpool and, much like Deadpool, Fox is almost certainly already plotting for a sequel deep within their corporate headquarters.  

Even though Logan featured a decidedly final conclusion, spoilers to follow, it left a lot of elements open for a sequel, mostly centering around the film’s new character X-23, a little girl with Wolverine’s healing powers and claws.  Given that the X-Men is still one of the largest single franchises in comic book history and the world of Logan was an interesting one worth delving into a little deeper I’ve cooked up 7 possible villains who might emerge from out of the woodwork to menace X-23 and her band of mutant rebels in the inevitable Wolverine 4. 

Comics Rainbow - Weapon X

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The time has finally come to dig into one of the most labyrinthine elements of mainstream comics- Weapon X.  In reality it’s actually just a smaller component of the much larger and even more complex labyrinth that is X-Men continuity, but I’m not ready to take on that behemoth yet.  While the codename o Weapon X is somewhat hard to pin down, the concept of Weapon X as a secret program to enhance mutant ability first entered Marvel continuity in 1991.  

Despite how recent that is, Weapon X has forever been the subject of countless revisions, retcons, and reboots during the near 30 years of origin exploring Wolverine’s gotten up to.  In that time, the program has changed name, expanded, contracted, and added a slew of other characters as part of its vast roster and today I’m giving the full list of Weapon X’s various members. 

Logan News Update

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With about a month left till the premiere of Logan AKA Wolverine 3, now is probably a good time to look over everything we’ve learned about the latest entry in the X-Men franchise.  I’ve made no secret of the fact I don’t really care for Fox’s X-Men film series.  

I was never as into the X-Men and X-Men United as much as others in my age bracket, and I flat out hated Days of Future Past, and while Deadpool and First Class were good, they feel like exceptions rather than rules. 

However, all of my hesitation has gone right out the damn window in the lead up to Logan, which promises the most dark, grounded, and patently human entry in the entire X-Men film canon, possibly the whole canon overall if we're honest.  

It looks like a small, dirty, complicated R-rated flick that’s drawing the best elements from across the franchise’s history to create something entirely new and exciting while also paving the way for future possibilities. 

Logan Trailer Analysis

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I’ve made no secret of the fact I don’t like the X-Men films.  What’s more, I’ve also made it pretty clear that even though I enjoy the original Chris Claremont, John Byrne, Dave Cockrum, Louise Simonson, and Jackson Guice comics I’ve had a lot of problems with the core metaphor and overall quality of the X-Men comic mythos.  In the midst of all that bile I haven’t really address the big angry elephant in the room that is Wolverine.  I’m hard pressed to think of a character that looms larger in the realms of Marvel history than Wolverine. 

He’s been on nearly every superhero team, had countless solo comics, and spawned a media merchandising empire that, for a time, was a rival of the Batman’s.  Personally, I’ve never actually seen the allure.  Don't get me wrong, I like Wolverine as part of the X-Team dynamic, but his solo series have never seemed as interesting or mature as they’re often meant to be, and his movies always come off as squandered potential…until Logan, because this film looks amazing. 

Wolverine 3 News Update

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s the Internet has pointed out on several occasions, it’s something of a minor miracle that Hugh Jackman remains the only live action Wolverine.  Part of that obviously has to do with technology- before the advent of CGI, it wouldn’t have been practical to do Wolverine’s claws, so the idea of adapting him was out of the question for about three decades after his inception.  

Even then, the fact that Hugh Jackman has consistently returned to the role for 16 years appearing in every X-Men film except for Deadpool.  He’s seen the franchise through its initial success, it’s tragic lows, its shocking return, and it’s current situation of running in place while waiting for Marvel to make Fox a shared custody deal.  However, after 16 years Jackman looks to finally be pulling the plug on his role as Wolverine with this next and final outing in 2017’s Logan.

Panel Vision - 10 X-Men Mutants Who Should Appear Next

Edited by Robert Beach

As I write this, the world is still sort of in the midsts of X-Men fever.  I say "sort of" because of this: despite the success of X-Men: Apocalypse, it’s not really dominating the popular conversations or the pop atmosphere the same way Jurassic World did last year or even Batman v. Superman did early this year. That’s not terribly surprising given the nature of the X-Men films. Add on that this entry was of middling value, it also lacked the stand-out characters that tend to act as focal points for online interest like The Force Awakens quartet of breakout characters or Black Panther and Spider-Man in Civil War.  

Regardless, people are still buzzing about X-Men: Apocalypse and what comes next for the franchise, so I’m keen to join in. Over the next 4 years, we’re expecting to see another Deadpool film, another X-Men movie, a New Mutants film, a Gambit movie, and an X-Force movie. That’s in addition to the two live-action X-Men TV shows coming next year. With all that in mind, I’ve combed the depths of the X-franchise to compile my list of 10 mutants who should appear in the X-Men quasi-universe and are not already confirmed. Let’s list them. 

X-Men: Apocalypse Post-Credits Scene Explained

Edited by Robert Beach 

X-Men: Apocalypse has topped the box office for Memorial Day weekend as our third big superhero team movie of the year and 4th comic book movie overall. Ideally, I’ll have a more in-depth review of the film later on, but as we wait on that, we can talk about is the post-credits scene.  Post-credits scenes (stingers) have become the staple of superhero movies nowadays. To the point audiences have been so trained to expect stingers, it’d be weird if a superhero film didn’t have one (that was a Batman v. Superman slam.) 

The entire idea of post-credits superhero teasers originates in the X-Men franchise, first popping up with X3: The Last Stand’s ending clip of Professor Xavier mind-warping into a comatose patient to escape death. Since then, we’ve had big reveals like Nick Fury in Iron Man, funny shoutouts like Howard the Duck in Guardians of the Galaxy, and direct sequel set-up like the Apocalypse teaser in Days of Future Past. What type of scene does X-Men: Apocalypse sport? And what does it mean for the X-Men films going forward?  Let’s find out. Spoilers ahead.