Top 10 Important X-Men Details That Everyone Forgets

“X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016)
At the end of “First Class”, Xavier decides to open a school and safe haven for mutants. To keep it secret, he erases the memories of CIA officer Moira MacTaggert. But he’d later regret this decision. When the two reunite many years later, it’s revealed that Moira married someone else and had a son. The moment is played for laughs as Charles shows mild jealousy, but diehard fans know the true significance of this scene. In the comics, Moira’s son, Kevin, is a mutant known as Proteus. He can warp reality with his psionics and even possess human bodies. Maybe he could appear as a villain or ally down the line.

“Logan” (2017)
Throughout the X-Men films, Wolverine tries to learn about his forgotten past. His search for answers finally leads him to William Stryker, the man who gave him amnesia and adamantium bones. But Logan decides to stop dwelling on his complicated history and instead focus on the future. But 2017’s “Logan” implies that his search may not have ended. As a limo driver, his license bears his birth name “James Howlett”. This suggests that he eventually got the answers he was looking for. The fan favorite X-Man may have met his end, but at least he got some closure about his identity.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
The 2009 spinoff boasts a plethora of mutant cameos. Many of which can be seen imprisoned within Stryker’s facility. In the final act, two prisoners resemble Emma Frost and Toad. The rest are a bit harder to pin down and have led many fans to speculate their identities. The vibrating boy with white hair is possibly Quicksilver. The masked teen with red hair could either be Banshee or Chamber. And the young man spinning like a tornado is likely Whirlwind or Riptide. We may never truly know who they are, as most fans would prefer to forget the events of this film.

“Deadpool 2” (2018)
Nathan Summers’ backstory might be too complicated for the average filmgoer. So, for his first cinematic appearance, the filmmakers opted for a simpler approach: a cybernetic soldier from the future trying to save his family. While much of his comic book lore was left out, one major aspect was kept: Cable’s daughter, Hope. Fans of the comics will recall that Cable is the adoptive father of Hope Summers, the first mutant born after the “House of M” event. She’d play a crucial role in many stories as an X-Man and potential mutant messiah. None of this is mentioned in the film, but her introduction leaves the door open for future exploration.

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014)
With mutants being hunted to extinction, Wolverine travels back in time to try and fix the world. By the end of the film, significant changes are made to the future: the institute is up and running, Rogue and Iceman have rekindled their romance, and Cyclops and Jean Grey are alive and together again. A more subtle change, however, is that Kitty Pryde has become a teacher alongside Colossus. In the comics, Kitty is not only a faculty member at the X-Mansion but also in a relationship with Piotr Rasputin. Their romance is only briefly hinted at in the final sequence, but it’s a sight that’s pleased many fans.

“Logan” (2017)
While the death of the main character wasn’t completely surprising, it was still an impactful moment that left us in tears. After Logan is mortally wounded by X-24, he passes away holding Laura’s hand. Viewers might remember in the previous film, “The Wolverine”, the mutant Yukio saw how Logan would eventually die. At the time it seemed like he changed his fate, but it turns out that he meets his end just as Yukio predicted, with him holding his heart in his hand. It’s just not the heart he ever saw coming. If the ending of “Logan” wasn’t sad enough, this detail makes it even more heartbreaking.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
There is a lot to unpack when it comes to Logan’s origin. After Wolverine gains his adamantium skeleton, he encounters a kind, elderly couple Heather and Travis Hudson. With the convoluted plot and all the mutant cameos, you might not have realized how important these characters are. These two are based on James and Heather Hudson, the Marvel superheroes Guardian and Vindicator. It’s no coincidence that they appear in the film as they are members of the superhero team Alpha Flight. Based in Canada, they’ve come across Wolverine several times throughout their careers. Though it seems that this movie didn’t have time to explore that idea.

“X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014)
The films clearly establish Quicksilver as Magneto’s son, but there’s another member of their family you might have overlooked. During Magneto’s pro-mutant speech at the White House, Peter is seen watching the broadcast while holding his little sister. This could be the X-Men’s version of Wanda Maximoff, AKA the Scarlet Witch. However, she appears much younger than Peter, even though they are usually depicted as twins in the comics. This age difference could mean she was born later in this universe, or she might be an adaptation of Polaris, their half-sister in the comics. The “Rogue Cut” of the film even confirms that Peter has two sisters. Although it only lasts a few seconds, this brief appearance raises many questions about the Maximoff family tree.

“X2” (2003)
This franchise loves to drop major hints about the larger Marvel universe, and this instance is a perfect example. When Mystique opens Stryker’s computer, you can see an extensive list of names and files, all of which can be recognized by comic readers. The obscure mutants that are referenced include Cypher, Strong Guy, Feral, Wolfsbane, Karma and even Franklin Richards, the son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. There are also files on mutant groups such as Alpha Flight and the Morlocks. And you can see that Stryker had some involvement in the villainous Project Wide Awake and Operation Zero Tolerance. It’s clear that he had a lot of evil plans that never came to fruition.

“X-Men Apocalypse” (2016), “Logan” (2017), “Deadpool 2” (2018) & “The New Mutants” (2020)
Hints at future villains and storylines are common in these movies. One significant tease comes from the post-credits scene in “Apocalypse”, where scientists store Wolverine’s blood in a case labeled “Essex Corp”. In “Logan”, a subsidiary of that company, Transigen, successfully clones Wolverine in the form of X-23 and X-24. In “Deadpool 2,” Essex Corp is shown running a cruel mutant orphanage. And in “The New Mutants,” the young heroes realize they’re being trained to be assassins for the same company. So what is the significance of this name? Well in the comics, Nathaniel Essex is Mister Sinister, an evil geneticist who clashes with the X-Men. Hopefully we’ll get to actually see him on the big screen in the future.

Which detail did this list remind you of? Let us know in the comments.