Am I The Only One Who Loves QUICKSILVER in DAYS OF FUTURE PAST?

Everyone hates Fox’s X-Men. At least, it seems that way. Ask any fanboy how he feels about that mutant centric franchise, and they’ll probably spout a few hours of vitriol.

“F*** Wolverine, Cyclops should be the lead!!!”

“Why don’t they have their classic costumes!!”

“The continuity is awful!”

And while I’d happily agree with a few of these complaints, the X-Men movies or SO much more compelling than any other vigilante fare. Compared to Marvel Studios’ low brow offerings or Warner Bros’ shallow attempt at a dark, deep, pathos laden Batman trilogy, the X-Men are the premier superhero franchise. Ignoring X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, of course.

Director Bryan Singer carefully crafted every fabric of the first two X-Men flicks, X-Men: First Class (where he was a heavy handed producer), and the upcoming Days of Future Past. Nothing was flippantly added. Magneto’s regal attire (which we could quickly dismiss as goofy comic book costume 101) in the first X-Men movie reflected his notion of superiority and his European heritage. Wolverine didn’t join the X-Men to fight the common evil (as he’s so often done in the comic), but instead to uncover the keys to his forgotten past. Their costumes weren’t a random hodgepodge of cool looking threads, but instead stealth suits so that they could slip in and out of hot zones without.

So why all the hate for Quicksilver in Days of Future Past? In the comics, he’s a silver haired, tight shirt clad superhero. His aesthetics are based on “wow, this looks cool and different”, instead of form follows function. Now, every fanboy with a scraggly beard and a two-bit opinion is up in arms about Quicksilver’s looks in Days of Future Past. And all I can think is… “Bryan Singer’s brilliant!”

We see a young Quicksilver in Days of Future Past. One who’s father (Magneto) has been imprisoned for years. Transforming him into a rebellious youth in tattered clothes, disco style googles, and a punk silver dye job is BRILLIANT! Singer’s provided the perfect context for a superhero who’s otherwise a generic dude. He’s Marvel’s Flash, but in Days of Future Past, he’s a dude with pathos.

Oh, and this wink and nod at Scarlet Witch is just as brilliant. Everyone went all “F*** this Fox sh*t!!!” when it was first released, but this is absolutely money. The pink princess gear Scarlet Witch wears in the comics is absolutely ridiculous, but again, Singer’s taken something from the comics and given it context.