What to Know From Disney Plus’s Countdown to Doomsday

An epic trailer for Avengers Doomsday was released at D23. Shortly after, the "Countdown to Avengers Doomsday" collection appeared on Disney Plus. I did a few prep lists of my own (including twenty-five movies and five television series). Disney's list is a bit more concise and is very doable between now and Doomsday, but in case you don't have time to binge fifteen movies/series, I've broken down the basics of what I think you need to know from each:

X-Men

This movie established Fox's X-Men series with a number of core characters set to appear in Doomsday: Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and Cyclops. It began the "mutant threat" facing humanity. While the politicians debated the issue, Magneto set out to turn them into mutants (not knowing that the process would kill them). Other than establishing our X-Men, I'm curious how this movie will play into Doomsday. Is it just to introduce us to the mutants or is the "mutant threat" going to create a rift between the X-Men and the Avengers?

X2

It was in my "extra credit" section for the introduction of Nightcrawler, but the plot continued the saga of the X-Men and the mutant threat, as Strucker used mind control serum (harvested from his son) to frame Nightcrawler for an assassination attempt and to attempt to destroy the mutants. It also gave us glimpses into Wolverine's lost memories (later explored in X-Men Origins). However, I'm not sure how this continued mutant threat will contribute to Doomsday, except to introduce Nightcrawler.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Okay so we're prepping for an Avengers movie. Captain America is the first Avenger. Pretty straight forward "why" for this movie. Steve Rogers went from being a scrawny young man to having a body and powers that men would envy for generations. After losing his best friend (for now) and thwarting Red Skull, Cap sacrificed himself to save countless people, leaving him frozen in ice until the 21st Century. 

Avengers

We had the "first Avenger" and now we have the first Avengers movie. Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Hulk teamed up to fight Loki and his army. They became the core team of the Avengers. Though they'd only team up every few years, this was the jumping off point for all Marvel superhero crossovers.

Avengers: Infinity War 

After all their phase two and phase three shenanigans, Infinity War brought our heroes together again. By this point, the roster included names such as Vision, Falcon, War Machine, Black Panther, and Spider-Man, and more. All our heroes fought Thanos to keep him from using the six Infinity Stones and lost. Thanos decimated half the population of the universe and sent many of our remaining heroes spiraling.

Avengers: Endgame

Five years after the events of Infinity War, the remaining Avengers teamed up to jump across time streams to retrieve the six Infinity Stones and revive the missing half of the universe's population. It took the sacrifice of Black Widow to complete the set of stones, but they succeeded in the end. The epic movie culminated in a massive head-on fight against Thanos's forces. Despite the Avengers best efforts, it took Tony Stark sacrificing himself to use the Infinity Stones to win the battle. And in the aftermath of the fight, Captain America returned the six Infinity Stones to their time streams, taking his sweet time in a parallel Earth, until he came back as an old man. With the Avengers left with three members missing, we headed into Phase Four and beyond.

Loki

Because of the time travel antics of Endgame, a variant of Loki escaped captivity... for a moment before the Time Variance Authority apprehended him. Through his manipulation of the TVA, Loki eventually ended up at the end of time with a female Loki variant (Sylvie). She killed a Kang variant, releasing the shackles on the multiverse. But as reality started crumbling, it took our Loki variant from Endgame to hold all the strands of the multiverse together. Perhaps it's something to do with this Loki's new role in the multiverse that causes the rumored incursions of Doomsday.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

The biggest thing this movie brings for Doomsday (as far as we know) is the reluctant hero Shang Chi. After defeating his father and a soul-devouring demon, our new hero was recruited by the Avengers. The mystical Ten Rings that he won off his father gave off some sort of energy that the Avengers noted. Perhaps this unknown energy is interwoven with the multiverse and that's why Disney included Shang Chi in their Doomsday countdown.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

Our first multiversal movie! Spidey hasn't been confirmed for Doomsday, but even if he doesn't appear we still learned a lot about the multiverse in this movie. After the events of Far From Home, Peter didn't want people to remember his secret identity anymore. Using Doctor Strange's powers, he tried to make them forget, but instead a number of villains came from other universes after Peter botched the spell. By teaming up with two others Spideys, the villains were defeated and/or redeemed. To save the multiverse from caving in on them, Doctor Strange made everyone forget Peter Parker (which led into Brand New Day).

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 

After the death of her brother T'Challa, Shuri and her mother were left leading Wakanda without a king. As they encountered Namor, things got more complicated. Especially after the death of Shuri's mother. The Wakandan princess ended up leading the nation of Wakanda against the Namor's forces. By the miracle of science, she was able to synthesize the herb that turned her into the Black Panther. She was able to broker peace with Namor's people. And since Shuri and Namor are both supposed to appear in Doomsday, it's obvious why this is on the list.

Captain America: Brave New World

The passing of the torch (shield) from Steve to Sam happened in Endgame and was further explored in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This solo adventure (which could have been a Hulk movie) was his first cinematic adventure as the new Cap. Sam chased a mystery across the globe to thwart the mind games of Samuel Sterns and to clear the name of Isaiah Bradley. The new Cap also had to face off against Red Hulk. Any sane person would have been scared out of their mind to face any Hulk, but Sam managed it somehow.

Deadpool & Wolverine 

This movie finally bridged the gap of the MCU and the Fox's Marvel movies (not just X-Men). Even if you don't watch R-rated movies, the movie taught us many things about the multiverse. Deadpool got dragged into the TVA where we learned about anchor beings. Instead of sitting quietly, Wade ended up multiverse hopping through X-Men universes to find a new Wolverine for his world. The two fought and defeated Cassandra Nova and Paradox to save the multiverse. With Fox's X-Men coming into Doomsday, at the very least this movie establishes those Fox movies as part of the MCU multiverse. Also, we have Channing Tatum's Gambit returning (or maybe a variant).

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 

It's right there in the title: Multiverse of Madness. Universe hopping Doctor Strange was working to save America Chavez and save Wanda Maximoff from herself. Like with Deadpool 3, we learned a lot about the multiverse here. We learned more about variants, incursions, and dreamwalking. Stephen Strange had to dreamwalk into his variant's corpse to save America from the Scarlet Witch. In the end, Wanda sacrificed herself to redeem herself, but not before Doctor Strange read from the Darkhold. During the credit scene, a woman named Clea came to Doctor Strange to address incursions he caused. Supposedly incursions will play a big part in Doomsday, though Doctor Strange hasn't been confirmed for the movie yet.

Thunderbolts*

Our New Avengers will be major players in the movie. We can tell that much from the trailer. This movie put together a Suicide Squad of Marvel pseudo-heroes. After Valentina sent the group to kill each other and clean up her mess, the band of misfits ended up on the run. When Bob became Sentry, his alterego Void was unleashed. The new team had to enter into Bob's nightmares to talk him down and bring him back to reality. It's a beautiful scene relevant to anyone's mental health and I love it. I just hope Bob is okay during Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

An essential part of Doomsday is Fantastic Four. Though Doctor Doom doesn't appear until the credit scene, he's always be tied to these heroes. The movie began with the Fantastic Four already established as Earth's heroes (on a parallel Earth with retro 60's vibes). With Galactus on the way and Sue pregnant, the Fantastic Four headed into space to intercept the Devourer of Worlds before he could reach Earth. In exchange for Earth, Galactus wanted the newborn baby. The Fantastic Four worked tirelessly prevent the Earth's destruction. When Galactus finally arrived, the heroes were able to send him to the far reaches of the universe. The baby was safe. However, the credits rolled, Doctor Doom appeared with obvious interest in the child.

If you don't have time to rewatch all fifteen (or to watch the ones you've missed) hopefully these breakdowns give you a decent understanding of where we're at in the MCU going into Doomsday. Or maybe it has wet your pallet and made you want to watch them (not sure I'm that good of a writer, but I can dream). As of this post, you could watch one item per week and finish in time for Avengers.

Avengers assemble!

More Content You Might Like:

• "Thunderbolts: What About Bob?" by Spencer
• "Mr. Fantastic Knows Nothing… Welcome to Parenting" by Spencer
• "Deadpool & Wolverine - What You're Missing" by Joe

Spencer's Doomsday Prep Lists:

• "5 Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday"
  
• X-Men
• Iron Man
• Captain America: Winter Soldier
• Avengers: Infinity War
• Avengers: Endgame
• "5 Marvel Shows to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday"
• WandaVision
• The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 
• Loki
• Hawkeye
• What If...?
• "5 More Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday"
• Spider-Man
• Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
• Thor: Love and Thunder
• Thunderbolts*
• Fantastic Four: First Steps

5 Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday

I started doing my MCU “Binge List” posts after Infinity War and Endgame, when everyone was trying to watch the entirety of the MCU library before that culminating battle against Thanos. It’s served me well to prepare myself and review the story so far. However, with Doomsday coming to theaters next year, even just the known cast list provides a challenge, with over thirty movies and shows potentially playing a part in the upcoming multiversal event.

Sure, I could share the list of the forty-ish Marvel projects that will lead into this crossover… but that’s a bit much even for me. Instead, I’m going to highlight a few movies to rewatch (plus a few extra credit movies) to establish characters and story development. Later this year and next, leading up to the movie, I’ll add a few more movies and shows to the list.

X-Men

We know we have returning cast members from the original X-Men movies, including Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and more. Since the third Deadpool movie established the Fox X-Men saga in the multiverse, it’s possible we’ll have those variants in Doomsday. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll portray the same variants from Fox or if they’ll be new variants (maybe from the universe where Monica ended up in The Marvels). Regardless, the original X-Men movie produced by Fox will give you a sense of the main characters appearing from X-Men, regardless of where they come from in the multiverse. 

Extra Credit - X2

The sequel to X-Men, so we have the continuation of Professor X and Magneto’s story. Also, this is when we meet Nightcrawler, who’s set to return in Doomsday. 

Iron Man

Since Tony Stark is gone, this movie might be a strange choice for rewatch before Doomsday. But this is where the formal MCU began (before retconning in Spider-Man, X-Men, Blade, etc.). It’s worth revisiting where this epic story began and how far we’ve come since Tony became Iron Man. And with RDJ portraying Doctor Doom, it’ll be interesting to see how they had the likeness between Doom and Tony. If they don’t address the issue of the doppelgänger, bringing RDJ back would be a waste of time. 

Extra Credit - The Avengers

We’ve come a long way since the Battle of New York, but this is when the Avengers first became a team. From the original roster, only Thor is confirmed to appear. But it’s worth remembering where the team began. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Bucky may have been originally introduced in The First Avenger, but his brainwashing at the hands of Hydra still impacts his story. Plus this movie marks the first appearance of Sam Wilson (the current Captain America) and it was a turning point in the story, as SHIELD fell. Plus since it’s still one of the most popular MCU movies, it could be the considered the pinnacle of MCU movie potential. 

Extra Credit - Captain America: Civil War

Just as The Winter Soldier changed the MCU with the fall of SHIELD, this movie was a turning point for the Avengers. Infinity War would’ve played out 100% differently if the Avengers hadn’t broken up. Plus, this movie introduced Wakanda and Spider-Man and it pushed Bucky’s story along powerfully. 

Avengers: Infinity War

After the fallout of Civil War and Ragnarok, things got chaotic really fast when the Avengers were pushed together on multiple fronts. This movie changed the MCU forever, not just because of Thanos’s snap, but also because of how the Avengers grew to include new intergalactic colleagues. We don’t have the Guardians of the Galaxy confirmed for Doomsday, but you never know (they did say Star Lord would return after their third movie).

Extra Credit - Ant-Man and the Wasp

I know plenty of people didn’t care for this Ant-Man sequel, but I enjoyed it. Bridging the gap between Civil War and Endgame, this movie progressed Scott Lang’s story. Plus, traveling into the Quantum Realm pushed us forward toward the multiverse, even if we didn’t know it yet. 

Avengers: Endgame

This movie is the basis for where the MCU left us in recent years. The Avengers reformed and traversed the multiverse to bring back everyone they lost in the Snap. This is also where half our original Avengers roster said goodbye. No more Tony, Natasha, or Steve. As far as the team is concerned, this is where we left the Avengers and Doomsday is an Avengers movie. It’s gotta be done. 

Extra Credit - Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

This is arguably one of the most popular movies from the post-Endgame era of the MCU. It’s certainly my favorite Marvel movie of recent years. And, along with Far From Home, this movie did a great job establishing the post-Blip world. 

I’ll be back in a few months with more Marvel projects to revisit. I expect we might have more cast announcements by that point. Avengers assemble!

Deadpool & Wolverine - What You're Missing

This is a funny film to review on Latter-Day Saint Geeks, considering it's not only rated R but REALLY rated R, but as the morally flexible heathen I am I was happy to go see Deadpool & Wolverine and can't wait to tell y'all what you may've missed. 

Spoilers. 

Quick Recap

So for those not following the Deadpool movies here's a summary: Deadpool is what happens when you give Bugs Bunny a whole ton of guns and tell him to go nuts. The irreverent Merc with a Mouth is a mutant, same as the X-Men, except he was given his powers through a shady experiment by bad guys who wanted to make an army of mutants they could control. He went through the procedure to cure his extremely aggressive cancer, which his newfound healing powers did, but it left him incredibly disfigured. 

First movie he spends his time trying to find the guy that did this to him so he could be with his girlfriend Vanessa since he thinks she wouldn't love him if he was ugly. Turns out there is no cure and that Vanessa loves him for who he is. 

Second movie Vanessa is killed as a result of his vigilante/mercenary work. In his grief Deadpool tries to find ways to negate his powers so he can finally die and be with her. He meets up with Cable, a time travelling soldier of fortune and they have their own shenanigans before Deadpool takes his time travel device and saves Vanessa. 

Still following? Okay let's get into movie three. 

Multiverse of Hilarious

In Deadpool & Wolverine, Deadpool has hung  up the suit and is a car salesman, trying to make an honest life after his time indiscriminately killing people caused his longtime girlfriend Vanessa to break up with him. Despite his depression he is grateful for the group of weirdos he's adopted along the way that make up his family. He's celebrating this when he gets abducted by the TVA, the same guys Loki was messing with in his show on Disney+. They want to put Deadpool into the MCU, which would give him a chance to be an Avenger and prove to Vanessa that he isn't just a serial killer with a sense of humor. However, the TVA manager he's working with, Paradox, tells him that he's being pulled out because his universe is degrading. Despite this being a process that can take thousands of years, Paradox has decided that he wants to prune the timeline in memory of the former TVA who patrolled the Sacred Timeline (Watch Loki for how this nonsense works). Deadpool is told that his adopted family can't come with him so he goes on his own quest to save his timeline. 

Come to find out, to my great annoyance, that the timeline is dying because its anchor being (Read "Most profitable character") is dead, which happens to be everyone's favorite sentient piece of toxic masculinity Wolverine. Deadpool hops multiverses looking for a new Wolverine to replace his, finds one that he likes, and then is dumped to the wasteland at the bottom of the multiverse where everything the TVA deems either too dangerous or too unimportant to be in the mainstream goes to die. 

Eventually the duo get out, save the world, and the girl is saved. 

Oh but wait, Spider-Fans, there's more!

Wasteland of Misfit Fox Movies

One of several running gags in the film is that Deadpool is leaving Fox and moving to Disney, along with the X-Men. We could go into the behind-the-scenes stuff on this but suffice it to say that before we had the MCU we had a whole ton of questionably connected superhero movies which internet nerds like me argue about the quality and significance of until the MGM lion chokes. When Deadpool and Wolverine reach the wasteland they get to meet a handful of former Marvel heroes in more celebrity cameos than a Muppet movie. The film then becomes a tribute to all the Marvel movies that helped pave the way for the MCU to exist at all, and a thank you for the fans who showed up to see their favorites get live-action adaptations. Even my black, jaded little heart squeed at the appearance of Wesley Snipes Blade and Tyler Mane's Sabretooth, but none warmed my heart than Channing Tatum's Gambit. 

The Gambit movie was in preproduction years ago, with hype around Tatum learning card tricks and taking accent lessons to play the Ragin' Cajuan before the movie was canned, much to my disappointment. Gambit is my favorite X-Man and after his portrayal in X-Men Origins: Wolverine I was excited for a GOOD live-action version of Gambit only to get.... Nothing. Tatum feeds my fanboy in Deadpool & Wolverine by giving us the GAMBIT WE NEED, even if just for a little bit. 

Oh and a handful of Avengers show up throughout but who cares. 

What Does This Mean for the MCU? 

Well... Honestly we don't know. At the end of the movie status quo is restored as Deadpool's universe is once again safe and still separate from the main MCU. This opens the potential for the X-Men and the Avengers to come together down the line if there's yet more multiverse shenanigans, but with the Kang the Conqueror currently being reworked it's unsure what Marvel/Disney is going to do with the mutants now. We're sadly just going to have to wait and see. 

-JOE

P.S. Notice that this post is shorter than my usual rants. You try writing about a Deadpool movie and keep it PG! 

Wolverine Binge List

There’s a distinct chance that because of it’s R-rated, many of our readers aren’t planning on seeing Deadpool & Wolverine. Before seeing its trailers involving Hugh Jackman, TVA, Ant-Man, etc. I was one of them. Still not 100% sure if I’ll see it (I find Deadpool annoying, but I’m told he’s that way on purpose) but I decided I would do a Wolverine movie re-watch just in case. Of course there’s no guarantee or indication from the trailers that the Wolverine in the new movie will be the same Wolverine from the X-Men movies. Could be another Wolverine variant played by Hugh Jackman (like Patrick Stewart's Professor X variant in Multiverse of Madness). Honestly, I'm still not a fan of the X-Men movies becoming canon with the MCU, with their convoluted time travel and continuity errors. All the same, I'm here for the ride, so here's your journey through Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

It was the fourth X-Men movie to be released by Fox, but the first chronologically for Wolverine. This film gave us a much deeper look into the flashes of memories that Logan experienced in X2. While not popular among many fans, I enjoyed X-Men Origins. Maybe it's because I had zero expectations regarding Deadpool. Maybe it's because I love a good flashback. But I still enjoy this movie... until I start analyzing continuity errors, but that has more to do with later movies than this one.

X-Men

Completely amnesiac after the events of Origins, by the time of this movie Wolverine had started calling himself Logan. After picking up Rogue as a stowaway, one thing led to another and the duo ended up at Xavier's School. This is the movie that began it all (we wouldn't be having a third Deadpool movie without the success of this one). So you can't miss this one.

X2

Sequel to the first of course and this movie gave us glimpses into the backstory later explored in Origins, with Stryker and Canada. While Logan had his issues in the last movie, this film started Wolverine into the mix of trauma and heartbreak that would would follow him for multiple sequels and spin-offs.

X-Men: The Last Stand

As if Logan doesn't already have enough going on grieving Jean, her miraculous return, the inevitable betrayal, and the "mutant cure", this movie had to put a nice big nail in the coffin that is Logan's psyche, when forced to kill Jean. It's also the first of several Dark Phoenix adaptations that X-Men fans love to complain about.

The Wolverine

Including my preparations for this blog post, I think I've seen this movie a total of two times. So obviously it didn't leave much of an impression with me. So while Wolverine is already grieving Jean and his choice to kill her, he's not faced with the dilemma of his mortality (or lack thereof, depending on the part of the movie). Honestly, I mostly see this movie as a bridge between the original trilogy and Days of Future Past. Hadn't even seen this movie before seeing that one, so it kind of feels inconsequential. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Simultaneously a continuation of the X-Men trilogy/The Wolverine and a sequel to First Class, this movie remains one of my favorite X-Men movies. Kind of wish they'd have stopped here instead of continuing with the soft reboot (that started the majority of the continuity errors, in my opinion). We got the return of many beloved mutants and the introduction of Quicksilver (whose variant would be killed a year later in Age of Ultron). And with this movie's ending, we had the conclusion to the original Wolverine.

Logan

It's unclear which timeline this version of Wolverine belongs to. Is he from the sentinel's future (before they changed history) or is he from the new timeline (who was seen as Weapon X)? Or maybe a third unrelated timeline? Regardless, this R-rated film is highly praised by fans--though I was underwhelmed by it. If the Wolverine appearing in Deadpool 3 is the same Logan from previous movies, it won't be this one (just based on his age). But all the same, this movie is popular and could still be one of those multiverse branches that the TVA has dealt with. We'll probably never know for sure.

If these movies aren't enough to get you into a Wolverine mood, you can also revisit his cameo from First Class and his appearance in Apocalypse. Also relevant, in addition to Deadpool, from what we can tell in the trailers might be Loki. Especially season one. Or since Wade Wilson is going in blind to it all anyway, you could skip straight to the chaos that'll be Deadpool & Wolverine this summer.

The Emotional Roller Coaster Called X-Men '97

*Trigger Warning: Death, grief, child death, disability*

Well, that's one way to start an article about a super hero cartoon. 

Optic Blast From The Past

X-Men '97 is a continuation of the hit X-Men cartoon from the 90's, in case the title wasn't obvious enough. We pick up with the X-Men one year later after the show ended. Xavier is in outer space with bird aliens while the world thinks he's dead, Morph and Bishop are full members of the team with all our familiar faces, Jean is pregnant with Scott's baby, and Storm has P!nk's haircut. 

I won't bother recapping the story from the OG X-Men cartoon, since it's been out long enough that most people know the basic stories and characters (Phoenix Saga, Cyclops/Jean/Wolverine love triangle, Gambit and Rogue's whole thing, Jubilee is annoying, time travel, Mr. Sinister being a problem etc.) but needless to say it's all canon. Out of the hands of Fox and away from children's prime time, the new series manages to tell more engaging, deeper stories with incredibly emotional results. 

Spoilers ahead. 

You ARE The Mother

First major shocker: Turns out the gal at the X-Mansion pregnant with Cyclops's kid is NOT Jean Grey-it's Madelyn Pryor her clone. After she has the baby it's revealed that the OG Jean has been kept in a coma by Mr. Sinister who sent in his clone puppet to... Make a baby with a couple that were already going to do that? Let's be honest, Mr. Sinister isn't the smartest mutant in the game. This leads to Madelyn having a Sailor Moon style transformation scene and taking little baby Nathan to Sinister, who then injects him with a techno/organic virus for... Reasons... but they interrupt the process and for other reasons the X-Men have to send the baby to the future to meet Forge and get him cured. 

Okay the convoluted drama aside what this adds up to is Madelyn and Scott mourning the loss of their baby, which is a tough concept rarely tackled in serious dramas much less a show where everyone's principle outfit is made of yellow spandex. They don't get over it in a single episode. Scott takes out his anger on a reporter who tries to probe him for information on his now complex relationship with Jean and Madalyn and the baby, and Madalyn takes off from the X-Mansion to start a new life without him. 

Longtime X-Men fans of course know that the baby they sent to the future is none other than Cable, everyone's favorite midlife crisis mutant, who comes back in time to make the relationships even more complicated. He has issues about not being raised by his parents and his parents have issues about not getting to raise him, which is a legitimate family dynamic in real life. 

Storm Cycle

Elsewhere in the show we have Storm, the OP Omega level mutant who is shot trying to protect Magneto (Let's not get into it) with a beam that takes away her powers. While losing powers in other superhero media is seen sometimes as a temporary problem (Like with red sun radiation on Superman) or can be used for comedic effect (Flash trying to restore the speed force in The Flash, if anyone saw it) here it's used as an analogy to becoming disabled. Storm's powers helped define who she was, they were part of her like a limb, and without them she finds herself lost and vulnerable. Even the treatments to restore her powers resemble medical tests that many newly disabled people have to endure when trying to see if they can restore their former abilities. Storm eventually does with the help of Forge (Again let's not get into it) which is a mixed bag, since while good for Storm to become Storm again the analogy falls apart for those not fortunate enough to regain their former capabilities. 

Remember It

The turning point of the entire series comes with the massacre of Genosha. The island has become a haven for mutants and invites Magneto, Rogue and Gambit to come on over and celebrate while they try to court Magneto into being their king. Turns out Xavier left the X-Men to him when he went to space and he's trying to behave (Which is this whole other story I don't have time to get into) and he agrees to be king under condition that he gets his old flame--Rogue--to be his queen. We find out that in the spirit of Age of Apocalypse Magneto can touch Rogue because of his magnetic field or something. She has the "let's just be friends" talk with Gambit explaining that no matter how much they love each other they can never be together without her killing him. 

Then a giant Dark Souls villain with a Sentinel skin attacks. 

During the fight we get a fake out kill from Magneto as he's kidnapped by the real boss, but we get a real death when Gambit, while skewered like a marshmallow, charges the entire giant Sentinel with power and blows it up. 

The results are Rogue holding him in her arms crying that she can't feel him. 

The heartbreak of Gambit's death resonates with Rogue through the rest of the season, as she challenges anyone preventing her getting justice for her beloved swamp rat. Rogue tears into Captain America, the US army and later the big bad of the season Bastion on her quest, and even joins Magneto after his sudden but inevitable betrayal.

A Study of Grief and Trauma

The original X-Men series was able to demonstrate raw grief at times when Jean turned into Phoenix and Cyclops was dealing with his business, but now we can deal with grief on multiple levels. Loss of a child, loss of a loved one, loss of a lifestyle, even loss of a dream with Genosha's destruction. The show, like many of us, has grown up. And hopefully, like many of us, has become even better than the original. 

First Impressions of X-Men '97

(Guest post by Miguel)

The 80s and 90s were a time when Saturday morning cartoons reigned supreme. Even now as adults with children of our own, many of us still remember the theme songs from our favorite shows. Out of all of these opening themes however, one of the most iconic was the opening for X-Men the Animated Series. While there are many popular Marvel IPs nowadays, it was not always so. The 90s was a dark time for Marvel. The once successful company found itself in nearly 610 million dollars of debt by 1996, and filed for bankruptcy. By 1997, the last and final season of X-Men the Animated Series aired and left a hole in the hearts of all mutant lovers. Fast forward to Disney+ Day 2021 when all of that changed.

When X-Men '97 was announced, there were so many questions. Would it be a remake? If not, what would the storyline be? What changes would be made? Would Disney destroy yet another show with unnecessary plot line changes to make it more sensitive to modern demographics? We would have to wait till 2024 to find out. March 20th, 2024 was that fateful day, and if you haven’t watched the first episodes of X-Men '97 yet, you are missing out.

While the show was created with the intention of not only bringing back old fans, but also gaining new ones, a rewatch of the original series is not required. However, in my opinion, it would not hurt to watch one of those YouTube recaps before starting the show since it begins right after the original series ends. In episode one of X-Men '97, we are reintroduced to characters and names that fans of the original show will immediately recognize. Bolivar Trask, Master Mold, and the Friends of Humanity are all still meddling in the lives of our beloved mutants, Jean Gray is pregnant, and Professor Charles Xavier is no longer on earth. While technically off planet, Professor X is talked about as if he is dead. In fact, the first episode ends with Magneto showing up with Charles’ last will and testament gifting all that he once had to Magneto, including the X-Men. Would the X-Men be able to trust their greatest nemesis?

Each of the episodes was 33 minutes long, which is a 50% increase from the original series’ episode run time of roughly 21 minutes. After opening my Disney+ app, I was relieved to hear my beloved theme song in HD. Not only that, but they reimagined the opening with updated animation, character intros, and scenes. The nostalgia was almost too much to handle. The show felt new, yet familiar. Not only that, but Disney managed to bring back some of the same voice actors from the original show. Fans will be happy to know that Beast, Rogue, Wolverine and Storm are all voiced by the same actors as the original series. Let’s be real, who else could voice the mistress of elements but Alison Sealy-Smith? And who else could deliver the back-handed southern quips beside Lenore Zann? The animation style draws its inspiration from the original series’ style, but comes across as fresh, colorful and interesting. Disney and Marvel have done a terrific job with the show’s revival. 

The hour invested in the first two episodes of X-Men '97 flew by in the blink of an eye. I wanted more, but knew I would have to wait a week for the next episode. Another thing that X-Men '97 does similar to the original series is the fantastic use of cliff hangers. The original show had different plot arcs, often coupled with multiple episodes dedicated to them throughout the show. The second episode ends with one heck of a cliff-hanger! It is obvious that the creators of the show are drawing upon the comics for their inspiration of the storyline. Just in these two episodes we see Storm lose her powers (which is a significant plot for her in the comics) and Jean giving birth, only for another Jean to show up at the front door. We know that Mr. Sinister cloned Jean in the comics, but the question remains, is our Jean the real Jean, or the one the showed up at the door? We know how the comics play out, but will X-Men '97 follow suit? 

Whether you are a newcomer or an old fan, the first two episodes of X-Men '97 are a must watch. The only bad thing about the show is that it is slated to be 10 episodes long. I need more! This is the first time in a while where I have been so excited for a new episode of a show to air. X-Men '97 is a perfect mix of nostalgia and innovation. I am ready to see Cyclops use his optic beam to land from a falling ship again, are you?

What Deadpool and Wolverine means for the MCU

We've talked about why they shouldn't show up in the MCU. 

We've talked about why they should show up in the MCU. 

Now it's official: They're coming. 

The X-Men are coming to the MCU. 

And we can thank Deadpool. 

Why Deadpool?

The X-Men movie franchise has had its ups and downs over the last 24 years, with the movies ranging from meme fodder abominations (X-Men: Apocalypse) to arguably the best super hero movie of all time (Wolverine). The consistent parts in the movies have been A: We love Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, B: We love Ryan Reynolds Deadpool and C: No matter how bad they are we will turn up for the next one. 

Lately the MCU has hit a bit of a slump compared to its heyday, and the future is starting to look cloudy with Kang the Conqueror being recast and his story arc being retooled due to behind the scenes stuff we don't need to get into here, the MCU needs a win. So they're going to pull the tried and true gambit: Take something that has proven to be successful and do it again only with a ridiculous amount of money behind it. And thus the funny/ultraviolent superhero is going to bring the X-Men into the MCU. 

Why the X-Men?

The fact is though that every time even a remote hint of the X-Men is dropped into the MCU the fans speculate until the Brood come home about "What does this mean for the MCU and the X-Men?". I remember following the copyright ruling regarding Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch back before X-Men: First Class and Avengers: Age of Ultron came out and wondering if the X-Men were coming in. 

The fact is: No matter how much I don't like the X-Men mixed in with the rest of the Marvel Universe (Inconsistencies in world-building since why do we praise the guy who is on literally mega-steroids as a hero while call for the death of a little girl with fish gills etc etc) even I felt that rush of giddiness when they told Kamala that her powers are the result of a mutation and the X-Men cartoon music riffed in the background. The X-Men are a fundamental part of the Marvel canon and we have been aching to see them given the same treatment as the Avengers in the MCU. 

Fanboy Gripes

Okay now is time for me to complain about all the things I don't want to see Marvel/Disney do now that they're dragging my beloved mutants into their giant franchise so if you don't want to hear complaining skip down to the end where I put some cute animals dressed as X-Men. 

1: Do not take a multilayered complex story like The Phoenix Saga or Age of Apocalypse and try to rush it through a single movie or episode of something. Looking at you Captain America: Civil War. 

2: Do not shy away from the soap opera levels of messy relationships, false marriages, doppleganger relationships and fake out deaths that make the X-Men so fun to read. These characters are beloved but as relationship partners they are hot messes and we like them that way. 

3: DON'T DUMP ALL YOUR STORY IDEAS AND PLOTS ONTO WOLVERINE AGAIN!

-JOE

D&D Class Breakdown: Sorcerer

 For new players, it can be hard to choose your first class. For veteran players, it can be hard to choose a class and not fall into stereotypes everyone's seen a thousand times. So now I'm going to deconstruct the 5E Player's Handbook classes (Sorry Artificer, you'll come later) and talk about what works, what doesn't, and some interesting ways to play the classes. 

I won't be going into game mechanics as much as I'll be going into roleplay. 

Let's talk about Sorcerers! 

What Is a Sorcerer? 

Now we get into the arcane magic users, AKA sorcerers, wizards and warlocks, we have to ask: What's the difference? In most fictions the the three words are used interchangeably but in Dungeons and Dragons each is a distinct class and mislabeling one for another is a faux paus you do not want to make at the table. I usually don't get into the game stuff so early but with the magic users I have to just so we know what we're talking about. 

In game, sorcerers gain their access to magic through their bloodline, meaning someone in their family once upon a time was a dragon, demon, angel, eldrich abomination etc. and now they've been blessed with the magic gene (Don't think about the logistics on how this happened. It'll just ruin your day).

Historically sorcerers are like the demigods in Greek and Roman myth, children of a god or other mythical creature and a human and are therefore blessed with powers (We also won't get into how that happened). Celtic myths talk about people who have fairy blood in them, dating back to some weird ancestor that disappeared down a rabbit hole or was replaced with a doppelganger while still an infant, and now they are good at growing plants. To this day we still contribute ability with genetics, as anyone who's done their family history and found anyone of historical significance on the family tree will remind you every time you come in contact with them. We expect the children and grandchildren of great people to themselves be great, even if Albert Einstein's great-grand nephew just wants to play Fortnite. 

In the Game

Sorcerers in Dungeons and Dragons are usually the outsiders in the group. Their power manifests in youth and most of the time they're left to figure out magic on their own. Take the backstory of any of the X-Men and find and replace the word "Mutant" with the word "Sorcerer" and you'll have most of the common backstories. While the sorcerer doesn't have to do much to acquire their magic besides being born, they are limited on the number of spells they know. Since Dungeons and Dragons tends to have a lot of combat, this means that the sorcerer usually knows spells that are of a "do damage to as many people as possible as fast as possible" variety. Sorcerers can also cast the most frequently in a day without needing to recharge their mana batteries so they're usually used as the damage dealer in the group. 

Most players who pick up the sorcerer tend to go the mutant route, making the sorcerer the outcast of society because they were born different, or because they remind their families about how weird great grandpa Albert dated that succubus back in the day. It doesn't help that one of the subclasses for sorcerer is the wild magic sorcerer, which has to roll on a random magic effect table every time they do something cool to see what wacky/detrimental effect befalls the entire party. 

Breaking the Trope

Roleplaying as your favorite X-Men character but with magic can be fun, but the diversity of the class means that they're can be so many more interesting options to try out. Here are a few ideas.

Controller: Instead of focusing on damage spells, focus on spells that effect the enemies in different ways. Cast Grease and knock an enemy squad prone, or use Enlarge/Reduce to disorient the enemy and give your party members a better advantage. 

Illusionist: Things aren't always what they seem, and when you're a sorcerer illusionist things never are as they seem. Turn any situation to your advantage by confusing and tricking your opponents with illusions. A good illusionist can win a battle without ever dealing damage. A great illusionist can avoid the battle altogether. 

Showman: Bards don't have to be the only class who like to put on a show. Be a magician but with real magic, always willing to leave your audiences stunned and amazed and your enemies enthralled until you hit them with that perfect fireball. 

Famous Sorcerers

Elsa and Rapunzel (Disney) I'm just going to list them both together. Both gained their powers from something in their lineage, Elsa from her mom's honoring the spirits and Rapunzel from her mom drinking tea made from the magic sunflower. 

Benders (Avatar The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra) In the series people of different nations are born with the ability to manipulate different elements. As demonstrated in Korra when people move from those areas their children still have the predisposition to have the bending abilities of their native homes, as demonstrated with Mako and Bolin, brothers whose parents were Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom and who each became a bender from one of their respective parent nations. 

X-Men (Marvel) Okay I've danced around it long enough: Mutants from the X-Men franchise are basically sorcerers due to their powers coming almost strictly from their genetics. 

-JOE

Why the X-Men SHOULD Be In The MCU

 Okay so full disclosure: 

I was planning on writing this back in February when I wrote the companion piece, but life happened and I didn't get around to it. I'm glad I didn't though, because we've had some developments in the MCU that is relevant and need to be discussed.

The thing is, I'm still on the side that the X-Men is better outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but I'm open to them joining. Here's why...

Completing the Story

Since the conception of the X-Men, they've existed in the Marvel Universe along with the Avengers. The Maximoff twins are the children of Magneto, and their joining the Avengers is reflective of them rejecting their father but still not agreeing with Xavier. Rogue gained her flying abilities and super strength from "killing" Captain Marvel (Turns out she wasn't really dead, secret base retcon yada yada). Wolverine and Captain America used to bust Nazi heads back in the day. 

The MCU has always had to skirt around the missing mutants in their storylines, creating a bit of a hole in the universe that OG Marvel fans can't help but notice. Throughout the life of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fans have been looking for easter eggs and hints about where the X-Men might be, only to be disappointed at bluffs and false flags. 

Until...

...And Then Xavier

Fast forward to Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Dr. Strange is confronted by the alternate Earth's Illuminati. Right before the interrogation begins, in comes professor Charles Xavier, played by space dad Patrick Stewart, in the iconic yellow hovering chair. A small piece from the X-Men cartoon plays and our hearts all stop. 

Mutants have just entered the MCU and it was glorious. 

We only saw one X-Man, but that's all we needed. The universe felt complete. 

With all my complaining about narrative issues, problems with hypocrisy in the comics, continuity issues, and my love of the X-Men stand-alone movies, I lost my mind when Xavier entered the room. 

Do It Justice

Narrative sense and other pretentious arguments aside, there's no denying that Disney and the MCU will do the X-Men right. No matter what issues arise with continuity and cluttered narrative, I have all faith that the MCU will make it work, which is what we really need for the X-Men. The stand alone movies, while awesome in their own right, do have plenty of issues, including trashing some of the best characters (Looking at you, Gambit.) With the X-Men in the MCU we're sure to get some amazing films doing justice to our favorite groups of outcasts as they take their place alongside the Avengers. 

To me, my X-Men.

-JOE