When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige was a genius when crafting the entire Thanos saga from beginning to end. Granted, Phases Four and Five feel misguided and scattershot, but generally speaking, Kevin Feige has done a great job in bringing these comic book heroes to life. So after the failure of Dark Phoenix, there was excitement when Disney finally got the rights to their X-Men characters.
It’ll be a while before we see the new generation of X-Men since they’re a big component of Deadpool III. Plus, there are rumors that some of the old X-Men will appear in Secret Wars. At this time, there’s no script for the upcoming MCU film, nor is there any director or writer attached to the film. However, Kevin Feige is the man who will spearhead the story regarding the new generation of X-Men. Recent buzz has given fans an idea of what the next generation of X-Men could be. The key thing here is that these rumors have not been confirmed by Feige or anyone at Marvel Studios, so this is all taken with a grain of salt. Still, it’s alarming that the gossip on what the next set of X-Men could be is an all-female-focused film.
X-Men Has Incredible Female Characters
The history and lore of the X-Men property is rich with tremendous female characters. Whether it’s Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, or Mystique; the roster of strong female characters is plenty because the comics have done an excellent job of giving these names such incredible depth and dimension. However, the X-Men isn’t a feminist property. Could you realistically make a female central-focused film? Yes! In fact, if someone like Storm was the leader of the new generation that would be a cool deviate from the Fox films.
Kevin Feige should do everything in his power to separate his X-Men from the Fox movies; which means that the focus on Magneto should be minimal, Wolverine shouldn’t completely dominate most of the franchise, and most of the side characters like Cyclops shouldn’t simply be pushed to the side. I’m all for having balance when it comes to switching up the dynamic of the X-Men, but having it female-focused is a huge mistake.
The X-Men Isn’t About Either Men or Women
The focus of the X-Men was never about the genders. Sure, there’s a female comic here and there that focuses on some political issues regarding sex and gender, but the core of the series has been about the team overall. That’s the biggest issue with the Fox’s version of X-Men. It was mainly about Wolverine, Magneto, and Charles Xavier. Too many characters were put to the side and treated as a non-important entity. There has to be a protagonist leading the charge, so it’s expected that the supporting characters won’t get as much development as the leader.
But the chosen leader shouldn’t be based on gender. It should be about whether it fits the overall story that Kevin Feige is trying to tell long-term. As I previously stated, most of the X-Men female characters can be compelling leaders, but shutting out the males in favor of an all-female-led cast eliminates interesting dynamics and it feels more like a political agenda. The stories should feel organic, not Marvel’s continued aim at specifically catering to a female audience.
The Whole M-SHE-U Is A Big Reason That Marvel Is Struggling Right Now
Let’s be honest, Marvel’s pivot to focusing on female characters is a huge reason that they’re struggling right now. It’s not that characters like Captain Marvel or She-Hulk can’t be compelling figures, it’s the political agenda that’s dominating these properties. For some strange reason, Marvel decided that attacking their male fanbase was the best route when telling a good portion of their stories. Not every female-led show or film does this, but a good majority do.
Given how politically driven Marvel has been over the past couple of years, one has to be concerned that this is the overall purpose if Kevin Feige is truly going in this direction. Of course, it doesn’t help that a good portion of Phases Four and Five have ranged from average to downright awful, but their approach to messaging has been off-putting because it’s so in your face. The new X-Men should be a team dynamic that has both genders within it.
There’s no reason that it needs to be an all-female-focused generation because some of the men in the franchise have the best and most iconic stories of the series. Kevin Feige and Marvel are making a huge mistake if they’re trying to win brownie points for a demographic that doesn’t generally pay attention to superhero features. The reason that Black Widow and Scarlett Witch are so beloved has nothing to do with them being a woman. It’s because they’re genuinely compelling characters that were nicely developed in the live-action MCU. Focus on the characters first. Hopefully, Kevin Feige and Marvel come to their senses and not repeat the same mistakes that are currently killing their brand.
Follow Us
