DISCLAIMER. While I am going to go down the “What If” well of thoughts, this is still based on the events of ‘Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness‘. If you haven’t seen the movie, or you don’t mind being spoiled, then proceed. Otherwise, get outta here. Avert your eyes. Scram.
Ok. Still here? Alright, let’s do this.
In Marvel’s latest flick, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the MCU went even further into the ongoing topic of the multiverse. Something that we had been hoping they would head into, eventually. Now, thanks to the events from ‘WandaVision’, ‘Loki’, and ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, the doors have been thrust open. Ok, sure, we can add ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home, but Quentin was lying when he mentioned the multiverse, but sure. Nearly anything is possible, and I’m sure Kevin Feige has been brainstorming on just want he and his crew and do in the ongoing MCU phase 4.
As part of an ongoing series that I’ll be working on, I’ll be diving into topics based on the multiverse and what could possibly happen in the MCU. So this is how this will work. I’ll be debating against myself, presenting both a Yes and No on each topic. The goal isn’t to say which is the best answer, but instead, which is the answer you like best. And in this first part, I want to talk about a topic that has been on everyone’s minds ever since we found out that Charles Xavier was going to be featured in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness; mutants. You know, the X-MEN, the Brotherhood of Evil, X-Factor, Mauraders, X-Force, you get the idea.
Do mutants exist in the MCU?
Come on, I know you’ve asked that question. You’re probably thinking about it right now, even before you read this piece. So, do they?
YES
With Charles Xavier being featured in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, we already know that at least one mutant is alive (or was) in the MCU. With Charles being around, there were certainly other mutants who were also around, fighting the good fight, being dastardly, or just living their lives. Just like with any other Superhero film, just because a certain set of characters are the focus of the movie, doesn’t mean that others aren’t around.
Take the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, for example. How many times have you wished that Spider-Man would make a cameo in those older FF films or had hoped that Johnny Storm would name drop his best buddy’s name? Sure, it never happened due to licensing, but they exist in the same universe, and if licensing wasn’t a thing, it could have been possible. That same concept can easily be applied to mutant-kind in the MCU. Just cause we haven’t seen them doesn’t mean that they aren’t around.
As for when we’ll see more of them, well, that’s anyone’s guess. I know I’m not the only want who wanted to see more than just baldy in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. I’m sure Kevin Feige has a plan that involves mutants, or more specifically, the X-MEN.
NO
As it stands right now, they don’t. There’s a reason why two of the more complicated origin characters were picked and placed into ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and called “Enhanced”. Both Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) and Wanda Maximoff (Scarlet Witch), twin siblings, have complicated origins. Sure, they started off as mutants. But down the road, their origins have been retconned. Originally, both were the children of that baddies turned goodie turned anti-hero Max Eisenhardt (Magneto). For a while, that was their place in the Marvel world. Part of daddy’s band of bad guys, the Brotherhood of Evil.
But then, Marvel started messing around with the origins in the comics and changed things up. Eventually, both were no longer considered mutants but were the products of genetic experimentation by the High Revolutionary. This guy had a habit of taking things and experimenting with them. Mostly humans, and animals, to draw out their maximum potential for version reasons. There’s a lot to take in with that, so let’s skip over that for now.
Since 2015, neither Wanda nor Pietro has been considered mutants. Instead, they were raised by Django and Marya Maximoff and come from a line of witches. While we know the name of the mother, Natalya Maximoff, it was never mentioned who the father was. While the High Revolutionary had kidnapped the twins and began experimenting on them, in reality, he only succeeded in drawing out their enhanced abilities. Enhanced, there’s that word again. Anyway, their mother died trying to save them. And while Marvel has focused mainly on Wanda throughout the years, whatever they deem to do with Wanda in terms of origins, also applies to Pietro. Ok, we got off track a bit.
As for the MCU, Wanda’s not a mutant. Quicksilver wasn’t a mutant. Sure, we have the multiverse, but if you count that, Charles is dead and Namor, another mutant who also was part of the Illuminati, never made an appearance. So, that answers that question… no, there are no current mutants in the MCU. Sure, we have Inhumans (not Blackbolt, he’s also dead) with the upcoming Ms. Marvel mini-series, a bunch of super-powered beings, a mutate (Spider-Man and Captain Marvel), but no mutants. At least, not for now.
While it’s been discussed, there still hasn’t been anything concrete that states when we’ll see them. But Disney didn’t pay $71 billion of FOX Entertainment for nothing. That chunk of change included several properties, including the Fantastic Four, and X-MEN (and its universe), and you can bet we’ll see them on the big screen eventually. I’m sure that somewhere, in a dark and isolated room, are the plans on how Kevin Feige plans on bringing mutant-kind into the MCU. Someone needs to stage a Rogue One and get them!
I hope you enjoyed this piece, as I’ve been thinking about doing something like this for a while. Let me know what you think about this in the comments, and maybe drop some topics that you want for me or us to visit.
