20th Century Fox Film via Everett Collection
While 2002’s Spider-Man gets the lion’s share of the credit, Bryan Singer’s X-Men, released two years earlier, was the film that really revived the comic book film genre after its near-death at the hands of George Clooney and his Bat-nipples. Through the franchise’s 14 years of sequels, spin-offs, soft reboots, and now, timeline colliding mashups, loads of mutants have sprung to life on film. And while some have endured through the franchises ups and downs like Hugh Jackman’s ever-present Wolverine, others have slipped through the cracks after only appearing in one film. In tribute to our lost mutant brothers, we’ve decided to comb through the list of our favorite one and done mutants and determine which ones deserve a second chance in the film series.
Deathstrike
Real Name: Yuriko Oyama
Team Affiliation: One of Stryker’s henchman
Last Seen: X2: X-Men United
Best Moment: Her fight with Wolverine
Should She Return?: Yes. Her face off with Wolverine during the tail end of X2 was thrilling. Having a dark foil of Wolverine with similar abilities would be grea asset for the series going forward.
Juggernaut
Real Name: Cain Marko
Team Affiliation: The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
Last Seen: X-Men: The Last Stand
Best Moment: “I’m the Juggernaut, b**ch!”
Should He Return? Yes. The Juggernaut is a fan-favorite mutant, and the character’s inclusion in X-Men 3 was one of that film’s few highlights. The character crashing through walls with reckless abandon, and especially his fight with Kitty Pride was a ton of fun.
Nightcrawler
Real Name: Kurt Wagner
Team Affiliation: X-Men
Last Seen: X2: X-Men United
Best Moment: Nightcrawler vs. the White House
Should He Return?: Hell yes, Nightcrawler’s dizzying fight scene at the start of X-2 is still the franchise’s best moment, even ten years later. Alan Cumming brought a real, earnest humanity to Kurt Wagner, and it’s a pity that the franchise hasn’t found room for the mutant in subsequent films. Sure, we got some teleporting action via Azazel in First Class, but that brooding bad guy doesn’t have an ounce of the charm as Nightcrawler.
Banshee
Real Name: Sean Cassidy
Team Affiliation: X-Men
Last Seen: X-Men: First Class
Best Moment: Banshee taking flight for the first time
Should He Return?: No. Banshee was perfectly likeable in X-Men: First Class, but the series rightfully jettisoned the character since things were getting too crowded on the mutant front, especially with Days of Future Past‘s multiple timelines.
Angel
Real Name: Warren Worthington III
Team Affiliation: N/A
Last Seen: X-Men: The Last Stand
Best Moment: A young Warren trying to file down his wings as a child
Should He Return?: Yes. There’s something really majestic about Angel. Sure, a ton of other mutants can fly, but who else does so with giant, feathery wings.
Blob
Real Name: Frederick J. Dukes
Team Affiliation: Team X
Last Seen: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Best Moment: His boxing match with Wolverine
Should He Return?: It’s a shame that this blubbery villain’s only adventure was in the worst film of the franchise, but there are much cooler mutants that deserve more screen time.
Deadpool/WeaponXI
Real Name: Wade Wilson
Team Affiliation: Team X
Last Seen: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Best Moment: Pre-Weapon XI Wade Wilson cutting down bad guys with swords and verbal jabs
Should He Return?: No. Perhaps the biggest sin made by the entire franchise was the handling of Deadpool. It still baffles us how the powers that be at 20th Century Fox thought the best way to handle “the merc with a mouth” was to sew said mouth shut and use him like a cheap, final act pinata for Wolverine and Sabertooth to claw down to size. Fool me once…
Kestrel
Real Name: John Wraith
Team Affiliation: Team X
Last Seen: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Best Moment: Sabertooth grabbing the teleporting mutant’s spine was nightmarishly cool.
Should He Return?: No. Will.i.am is better off as far away from the X-Men franchise as possible, and if the series were to introduce any teleporting mutant back into the fray, it damn well better be Nightcrawler.
