Michael Suarez
It’s been 25 years since the first X-Men film came out in theaters. It was a box office hit, and as a result, it was certainly a catalyst for both the comic book and superhero film industry. Do we get the Sam Raimi Spider-Man we got two years later if X-Men wasn’t a good movie and didn’t make much money? I’m sure we would’ve gotten the film, but I’m not sure it would’ve been the same. X-Men seemed to give permission to tell what could be seen as silly stories about heroes and villains. In that sense, it’s an important film.
In another sense, X-Men, like the comics on which it was based, is deeper than the typical summer popcorn movie. It’s ultimately about a group of individuals (mutants) who struggle in a world that is antagonistic towards them. This means the mutants (both “good” and “bad”) can be representative of any minority group in a society, which is why the comics – and I’m arguing the film – is unfortunately timeless. There will always be a group of people who simply want to exist and are attacked for that.
X-Men tells several stories, but the film opens with a bit of villain Magneto’s backstory. After a snazzy CGI opening featuring a voiceover from Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, we find ourselves in Poland in 1944. We’re in the midst of the Holocaust, and even for a PG-13 Hollywood film circa 2000, it’s a bit harrowing. It’s also an interesting opening for a superhero movie, mostly because it shows the audience history to later correlate with how mutants are treated, as well as how someone like Magneto (Sir Ian McKellan) knows what’s possible when hateful people come to power.
Though there are no mutant camps in X-Men, an early scene takes place in Congress where the Mutant Registration Act is being discussed. The Act would require mutants to register with the government, which doesn’t sit right with any mutant, but especially with Magneto, who is present. The quick scene involving an exchange between him and Xavier has always been a favorite, and though we won’t be told that the boy from the opening scene is Magneto until later, we can already start to connect the dots. After all, Jewish people were forced to register with Nazi occupiers before concentration camps came along.
To be clear: mutants are humans who have evolved. Some have powers, while others superficially look different than “normal” humans, and still others have both. Like humans, though, some are capable of good and others of bad. The question arises: does it become necessary to condemn an entire group for the actions of a few? Is that even what’s occurring with the Act? People like U.S. Senator Robert Kelly (Bruce Davison) don’t appear to be afraid, and yet their actions most likely resonate with voters who are. What is the solution?
Magneto sees a war coming between humans and mutants, while Xavier sees it as his responsibility to ensure no harm comes to anyone, human or mutant. As such, we have our leaders. One is designated the hero, the one who wants peace and for no harm, and another who desires war and an outcome where mutants take their rightful place above humankind. On the surface, it’s clear Xavier is in the right, but it would be silly to suggest Magneto doesn’t have good points:
MAGNETO: I’ve heard these arguments before.
XAVIER: That was a long time ago. Mankind has evolved since then.
MAGNETO: Yes. Into us.
Fair enough. Magneto believes that mutants are the next stage in evolution, which is true. Why then should mutants have to be equal to humans, let alone take their place beneath them? Xavier believes it’s possible for humans and mutants to live together, but is that possible? Magneto survived the Holocaust. He recognizes that even groups of non-mutants can’t live together. The other point Magneto has is that the Mutant Registration Act puts a bullseye on mutants, which isn’t fair. Not every mutant wants to be exposed. Some want quiet lives to simply be themselves.
Again, mutants can serve as a metaphor for any minority. This is why the comics are still relevant, despite the X-Men having celebrated their 60th anniversary two years ago. It sucks, but the reality of life is that there will also be minorities, specially persecuted minorities. It also makes sense that as the comics have gone on over the years, more and more minorities have been present. The original team, in addition to Professor Xavier, consisted of three white men and one white woman. Now, there are characters of various races, ethnicities, cultures, nationalities, genders, and sexualities. If there were any comics to expect this from, it’s X-Men.
As for the first X-Men film, it’s a slight improvement from the original comics in terms of representation, given that Storm (Halle Berry) is present, and this would continue with subsequent sequels and prequels. It’s not the biggest criticism I can give the film. After all, even though the majority of the X-Men, as well as the villains, are white, they’re all mutants, making them minorities. See the moment where Cyclops (James Marsden) offers a curious child a smile, and his mother pulls him away as a result, clearly wanting her child not to be near a mutant. Or, let’s look at Wolverine’s introduction.
Hugh Jackson as Wolverine is one of the great castings in Hollywood history. There’s a reason he’s still playing the character. He’s excellent and has only gotten better. While we cheer Robert Downey Jr. as great casting as Tony Stark, we can’t ignore how great Jackman was, especially since he was a relative unknown at the time. He steals the show, which, as a comics reader, isn’t too big a surprise since Wolverine tends to steal the show in the comics as well. Still, it’s an impressive performance, and he works so well with Anna Paquin’s Rogue.
Wolverine’s relationship with Rogue allows for some vulnerable moments between the two, from the brief drive after he gives Rogue his passenger seat to the scene on the train and finally the end when he offers her his dog tags, telling her he’ll be back for them once he finds whatever it is he’s been searching for. When they first meet, Rogue has seemingly run away from home following an incident in which her powers manifested during a kiss with a boy. Rogue has the ability to take another mutant’s power through touch.
She hitchhikes to Canada, where she walks into a bar where a man called The Wolverine will fight anyone and basically always win. This is because, as we come to find out, he has both a healing ability and an adamantium skeleton (the strongest metal in existence). After a particular win, the sore loser picks a fight with Wolverine, whispering in his ear, “I know what you are.” Here, we have an instance where someone detests mutants because they seemingly have an unfair advantage. Oh, if that man knew which of the two of them had the real advantage in a world that hates and fears mutants.
When I was growing up, it seemed clear to me that the mutant struggle in the comics represented racism, but as I’ve packed on the years, I’ve come to understand that it’s more than just that. It’s the way women are treated, people from other countries, or members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Minorities might not look like Hugh Jackman, but he’s a surrogate for the behavior they can and do encounter. One can understand where Magneto is coming from.
The final scene of the final, an excellent exchange of words between Magneto and Xavier as they play a game of chess, sees Magneto struggle with why Xavier bothers to not only hope for Magneto to reject his beliefs but also why Xavier sees helping humankind as the better option. As he tells Xavier:
MAGNETO: The war is still coming, Charles, and I intend to fight it. By any means necessary.
Those words are not a coincidence, in that Magneto is referencing Malcolm X (or perhaps the filmmakers are, but either way, the effect is the same). Not everyone agrees with the peaceful approach to civil rights. Plenty of individuals demand change and go out and fight for it. Granted, Magneto is taking things to the extreme, but the idea is still there.
By the end of the film, like the comics, both leaders of their respective groups and sides have valid arguments, but X-Men clearly wants us to side with the eponymous team. As I touched on earlier, isn’t it better to save and help others rather than hurt or kill them? Perhaps that’s too binary a question, and the situation deserves a more nuanced approach. Unfortunately, the film flies by pretty quickly, never really allowing such ideas time to breathe. As much as I love certain scenes between characters, not enough time is given. It isn’t until the sequel that things do slow down, where we are given plenty of opportunities for arguments, and if the first X-Men film works for you and you haven’t seen the sequel, do yourself a favor and check that out as soon as possible.
X-Men turns 25 this year, and yes, plenty gives it away as a film from the turn of the century. However, the ideas presented are timeless, as unfortunate as that may be. For all its CGI and at times clunky dialogue (see the moment Xavier introduces Wolverine to the team), X-Men remains a good movie. Though not great, it’s important, both to the industry and thematically. I love revisiting it.
What the mutants in the film go through still applies to minorities of all kinds today, and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change much. However, I remain hopeful. Perhaps there really is something to the idea of humans and mutants living in peace. The thing is that peace is not really something I ever see happening. What then? Do humans and mutants fight one another? No. There must be a middle ground. For a 25-year-old superhero movie to inspire such thoughts, I consider that quite the achievement.
