After Marvel found success withBladein 1998, they decided to scale up their next comic book movie endeavor. 25 years ago, the firstX-Menmovie was released, and fans were excited to see one of their favorite Marvel teams come to life on the big screen.X-Menproved to be successful and was warmly received by critics and audiences alike,but one aspect of the film that was frustrating 25 years ago and remains frustrating 25 years later was that, for a movie about a team of mutant superheroes and their adversaries, it had a singular focus. The team took a backseat toHugh Jackman’s Wolverine, arguably the most popular of the X-Men. However, for a movie that should’ve emphasized the group more clearly, Wolverine overshadowed most of the film, a problem that persisted in the next couple of films.
Directed by Bryan Singer from a screenplay by David Hayter and a story by Singer and Tom DeSanto,X-Menis based on the superhero team of the same name featured in the pages of Marvel Comics. From characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the film exists in a universe established in the comics, where the world is populated by mutants who possess superhuman powers, which puts them at odds with some humans who fear them.
At the heart of this conflict are two different approaches to how to handle it, with Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his team of X-Men wanting to work on being one with humans. In contrast, Magneto (Ian McKellen) and his Brotherhood of Mutants wish to destroy all humans because of their bigotry and believe mutants are the superior race. Entering intothis war are Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a mutant with no memory of his mysterious past, and Rogue, a teenage mutant whose ability prevents her from making human contact without draining their life force. The film features a stacked ensemble cast that includes Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Ray Park, Tyler Mane, and Bruce Davison.
Wolverine Takes Center Stage in a Film Called ‘X-Men’
Despite the film featuring a stacked ensemble cast,the choice was made to focus this relatively short 104-minute film on Jackman’s Wolverine and Paquin’s Rogue. Keep in mind that when the first X-Men comic book was released in 1963, neither character was on the team, with the lineup consisting of Cyclops, Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Beast, Angel, and Iceman. The film doesn’t fully adapt the original team,with only Scott Summers/Cyclops (Marsden)and Jean Grey (Janssen) making the cut of original team members to make the movie led by Charles Xavier.
However, even if the film wanted to switch out members of the team for the film adaptation,the film’s focus still should’ve been squarely on the X-Men, which also included Storm (Berry) for the film adaptation. Instead, the central character focus, mixed in with the main plot of the film, is Logan/Wolverine. The same argument can be made about Rogue, but even her character’s trajectory is tied to Wolverine’s arc in the film, with her being used as a reason for him to reluctantly trust the X-Men when she becomes the target of Magneto for his plan to power a machine that will turn normal humans into mutants and make them the very thing they hate.
It’s not hard to realize why the film chose to focus on Wolverine, but it remains a detriment to the movie, as it served to sideline several other characters who were X-Men before his arrival.The character is exceptionally popular and probably the most well-known of the bunch, particularly to mainstream audiences who possess minimal knowledge of theX-Menlore. As a character, he also has an easy-to-relate-to arc due to his mysterious past, which makes him intriguing, and his outsider personality makes him relatable to audience members who may feel the same way.
There’s no denying the character’s appeal, thanks to his no-nonsense persona. He tends to reject authority, and he does so with signature quips and an attitude that makes it fun to be adapted on the big screen, should the right person portray him. Casting Jackman was a stroke of luck, as he embodied the character perfectly. No one would object that Wolverine is effectively brought to life on the big screen, but the same thing could’ve been done with him as a supporting character.
TheX-Mencomic books date back to 1963, and Wolverine wasn’t even introduced until the last panel ofThe Incredible Hulk #180before making a full appearance in the next issue in 1974. He didn’t join the X-Men until the team was revamped forGiant-Size X-Men #1in 1975, oddly enough, alongside Storm. Arguments can be made that the film didn’t adapt the original source material, as it was created in 1963 and altered other aspects of the characters as well.
Mystique (Romijn) wasn’t part of the original run, and her canonical ties to Rogue are ignored in the film. Meanwhile,Wolverine’s most well-known adversary, Sabretooth (Mane), is reduced to a mere henchman of Magneto. A fan who loves X-Men is aware that many things have to be altered for a film adaptation because some of the stuff from the comics may not translate well, but what longtime fans wanted from anX-Menfilm is a focus on the X-Men as a team.
Members of the X-Men Are Sidelined in Favor of Wolverine
Because the focus rests squarely on Wolverine, the X-Men as a whole are sidelined. Cyclops and Storm get some cool moments to show off their powers in the film, but they don’t have significant character arcs and remain background characters for the most part.Jean Grey fares slightly better, but she still isn’t given much to do beyond being placed at the center of a love triangle between Cyclops and Wolverine, a dynamic well-known in X-Men canon. The problem with this love triangle is that Wolverine is clearly the strongest presence here, and Cyclops, who is the leader of the X-Men in the comics and this film, mind you, doesn’t stand a chance because the film doesn’t bother to make him a fully formed character.
Other conflicts in the film are given some attention, but they are ultimately competing for attention with Wolverine’s story. The push and pull between Xavier and Magneto is well done, most notably because Stewart and McKellen are powerhouse actors who bring class and gravitas to their scenes. This should’ve been the central conflict of the movie, but it’s fighting for attention as Wolverine’s arc takes center stage. It was likely hard to adapt theX-Men for the big screen because there are many characters and not all of them are going to get equal attention, but some attempt to spread the wealth would’ve gone a long way for thosewanting to see the X-Menin a way they hadn’t seen them before.
This was a problem that carried on throughout some of the films.X2, arguably one of the best comic book movies of all time, does a better job of spreading the wealth a bit, particularly to Jean Grey, but the focus always comes back to Wolverine. The third film,X-Men: The Last Stand, which should’ve been a showcase for Jean, given the haphazard adaptation ofThe Dark Phoenix Saga, still managed to bring it back to Wolverine.That’s why it felt pretty silly when he received his own standalone film, because it felt like he had three already.
Even asthe films transitioned withX-Men: First Class, he was either given cameos or thrown into the mix more substantially again inX-Men: Days of Future Past. Perhaps some of the other returning X-Men beingfeatured inAvengers: Doomsdaywill get an opportunity to shine after Wolverine consistently remained number one on the call sheet.
This isn’t a full-on diss of the firstX-Menmovie. It still holds up as a solid start for the X-Men film adaptations and served its purpose as a proper upgrade of whatBladestarted in 1998, before it fully blew up with Sam Raimi’sSpider-Manin 2002. It’s a very entertaining movie, and it’s cool to see some of your favorite X-Men characters come to life, but one wishes that it realized that it was a film calledX-Menand not Wolverine.X-Menis available to stream onDisney+.
