I love mutant freaks! I am geeking out big-time because Fox will be bringing more of my favorite genetically superior freedom fighters to the big screen. At next weekend’s Comic-Con in San Diego, Fox is announcing they will be expanding the X-Men Movie Universe to include other awesome characters starting with X-Force. Oooooh yeah, baby! Here is the 5 X-Men Movies That Need To Be Made By Fox!

Prince Namor, the Sub- Mariner

The leader of the undersea Atlantean empire, Namor is one of the most bad@$$ heroes of all time. He first appeared waaaaaay back in 1939’s Marvel Comics #1, making him the first mutant and first antihero in comics. The dude is a total dick, and I love him for it. He is a warrior who fights for the rights of the Atlantean people- which often puts him at odds with the surface-dwellers who exploit and destroy the life in the earth’s oceans.

Over the past few years, he has been a prominent member of the X-Men. He is the Kanye West of the mutants- stating the opinion many have but don’t have the balls to state. It is rumored he may be in line for a movie from Marvel studios, but I hope he ends up in the X-Men franchise. He is the original misunderstood mutant freedom fighter and he would be an excellent addition to the X-Men movie universe.

(editor’s note: rights seem to be with Marvel Studios on this one, but he could always come to Fox.  “Money rules all” and which every other proverbs apply)

The New Mutants

Puberty is tough enough for normal teens- imagine being a teenager who has sentinels trying to hunt you down while you try and figure out how to use your freakish powers.  The New Mutants movie would tell the story of a group of young heroes that attend Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. It would focus on the interpersonal relationships of the youth as they learn to accept themselves as a persecuted minority while dealing with sexuality, anxiety, peer pressure, and other teenager-ey stuff. A comedy/drama/action amalgamation, it would be the Glee/Dawson’s Creek/Boy Meets World of the X-Men universe, drawing in a new younger demographic of fans.

The New Mutant movie would help add diversity to the franchise as the team features many strong female leads and characters from Vietnamese, Brazilian, Cheyenne, Scottish, and Kentuckian backgrounds. In the comics, the team later became X-Force, so it could be used as a prequel to the X-Force movie.  Fox has many other options for teenage mutant teams including the much loved Generation X and New X-Men: Academy X.

Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine and the X-Men

I would love to see Fox splinter the team in two directions based on alternative  ideologies. The franchise could have a resurrected Cyclops continue his evolution into the more militant character he is in comics today. He would beef with Wolverine in a Schism like event, leading to both going their separate ways to form their own schools. Movie fans could then choose between Cyclops’ militant isolationist mutant-power themed Uncanny X-Men, and Wolverine’s integrationist team.

Magneto

Magneto is one of the deepest heroes/villains in comics, and the master of magnetism deserves his own movie. Upsettingly, we never saw the X-Men Origins: Magneto movie that was being planned years ago. Instead we received X-Men: First Class, which did a great job portraying Magneto as the flawed antihero molded by racism. Having seen his fellow Jews massacred during the Holocaust, he swears he will never again allow his people to be persecuted and murdered. He dedicates his life to protecting his mutant brothers and sisters- by any means necessary.

This movie would be monumental, portraying Magneto as a caring man who does many horrible things in the name of love. It would be as much historical drama as it would be action/adventure movie.  I would love to see it focus on his time helping Holocaust survivors in Israel, his relationship with Magda and his children Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, forming his first class of the Brotherhood, and his decent further into extremism.

Storm

The movie industry needs a strong female superhero to save the day that is on par with the Supermen, Batmen and Spider-Men of the world. DC dropped the ball by not making a Wonder Woman flick, giving Fox the opportunity to hit the jackpot by giving Storm a feature film.

Storm is a born leader who is strong, beautiful, and honorable. Storm was a homeless orphan thief, who became a goddess, a queen and the leader of the X-Men.  One of the most well developed and iconic female characters in comics, her popularity transcends race, yet her character is symbolic for the struggles black woman and many people around the world face. Professor Adilifu Nama, author of Super Black, states “Storm is a third-world woman of color (she is of Kenyan ancestry) and did not have a privileged upbringing (she was an orphan that had to fend for herself on the streets), yet she played a significant role as the leader of a white-male-dominated superhero organization.”

Storm’s character was created when Marvel was attempting to market the X-Men to new demographics around the world, and her movie has the potential to do the same. A Storm movie would make her the biggest female comic character on the entire planet!

Honorable mentions:
– The franchise could spotlight any of the X-Men’s strong female characters such as Emma Frost and Psylocke.  They are not your stereotypical damsels in distress; they are the X-Men’s @$$kicking imperfect superwomen.
– The original X-Men could go undercover as “mutant hunters for hire” that secretly save new mutants as X-Factor.
– The franchise could also go all futuristic on ya and show the X-Men of the year 2070 with Bishop and the XSE.
– With all the interest in crime dramas, Fox could produce District X, a movie about Bishop policing the mutant ghetto, AKA Mutant Town.
– Fans are yearning to see new versions of the merc with a mouth Deadpool and everyone’s favorite smooth talking Cajun Gambit!

There ya go Fox, I just gave you the blueprint for success! All I ask for is a small credit in the title sequences.

What mutants would you love to see hit the silver screen?

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Jay Deitcher, LMSW(@mrdeitcher) is an educator on comic history and runs successful Free Comic Book Day events yearly.  You can see a listing of his incredible articles at JayDeitcher.com.