Highlights
- The Disney-Fox merger grants Marvel Studios the rights to The Fantastic Four and X-Men, allowing for new storytelling possibilities within the MCU.
- The inclusion of mutants in the MCU opens the door for exploring smaller teams and characters beyond the X-Men, such as Alpha Flight and Excaliber.
- The acquisition of all Marvel characters by Disney presents opportunities for iconic rivalries and team-ups like Hulk vs. Wolverine and Avengers vs. X-Men in live-action adaptations.
In 2018, it was announced that Disney had successfully purchased 20th Century Fox, providing the MCU with a larger roster. While this merger gave Disney plenty of new material for its streaming service, Disney Plus, there was an additional benefit for superhero fans. The rights to The Fantastic Four and X-Men were finally going back to Marvel Studios. As a result, these characters and anything relating to these properties could now be used within the MCU.
There have already been a few hints in the MCU towards these properties, but there is so much more potential for X-Men now than ever before. There’s a lot that Disney can do with the mutants in their corner, it’s just that not a lot of fans have thought of everything.
6 The Onslaught Saga
A Big Mutant Fight Worthy Of An MCU Team-Up
In fairness, Onslaught is a character that could have been brought to life when the X-Men were owned by Fox. That is because this evil manifestation is brought about by merging the consciousness of both Professor X and Magneto. However, the Fox X-Men franchise seemed to circle the same stories from the comics. The studio did the Phoenix Force story twice and even provided two different versions of the Weapon X program.
Now that there are new creative forces in control, there is a chance to introduce new X-Men stories into the MCU. Plus, Onslaught is a villain who could easily pose a threat to more superheroes than just the mutants.
5 Focusing On Smaller Teams And Characters
Explore Mutants Outside The X-Men
It is natural for fans to want to see a team of X-Men assemble in the MCU. However, the mutants in the comics have a much further reach than just this team based in New York. Canada has its own mutant team known as Alpha Flight, and Great Britain has a team called Excaliber. Also, some mutants are interesting enough to be featured in their own solo projects.
Before, there wasn’t enough time or resources to expand the mutant franchise to explore these stories. Now that the mutants are with Disney, there is a good chance that the studio can place some of the smaller stories in content for Disney+. Just the name of the MCU alone is enough to draw attention from casual fans toward the likes of Moon Knight and She-Hulk, so why not Gambit or X-Force?
4 The Illuminati
A Secret Organization Features on Earth-838
The Illuminati is a team from Marvel Comics that brings together some of the smartest, or most important, minds from across the superhero universe to make decisions that affect all of humanity. This is a great idea for the franchise to explore, but they have only had access to some of the characters from this team so far. While Marvel could have used Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther as part of this team in the past, they were unable to include Namor, Mister Fantastic, and Professor X.
A small version of this team was used in an alternate reality in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but their impact on the franchise was largely inconsequential. Introducing The Illuminati into the main timeline of the MCU would be huge, and it opens up a world of new story-telling possibilities.
3 Spider-Man and Ice-Man
Superhero Friends Make An Exciting Duo
As one of the youngest members of The Avengers, Spider-Man has often been seen having strong relationships with other young members of superhero teams in the comics. One of the more notable friendships has formed between Spider-Man and The Human Torch from The Fantastic Four, and the other is with Ice-Man from the X-Men.
The two first shared the screen in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, but comics writers knew that there were great storytelling opportunities to be had by having some of the youngest superheroes in the Marvel universe hang out together. Spider-Man and Ice-Man is just one example of how these character relationships can be explored, but there are many more duos to be reunited now Marvel owns all of their own characters again.
2 Hulk vs. Wolverine
An Iconic Rivalry For Live-Action
Wolverine may be one of the more popular X-Men, but the character had another role in the comics long before this. The character that everyone knows as Wolverine initially debuted in an issue of The Incredible Hulk as a new villain for the monster. Although things have changed a lot for Logan since then, the pair have maintained a little rivalry in the years that followed. The two heroes regularly clash, and their conflict has even been used as the story for an animated movie.
This fight is so interesting because The Hulk’s strength makes him unstoppable, and Wolverine’s healing factor prevents him from being taken down so easily. Now that they are both owned by the same company, fans can finally see this epic conflict explode on screen.
1 Avengers vs. X-Men
Answering One Of The Most Important Questions In Comics
Whenever there are two popular forces in comic books, fans can’t help but wonder which one would emerge victorious if they both fought. It is true of individual characters, but most fans are more concerned with teams battling it out. The X-Men and The Avengers are no different, and this idea was even explored in a comic run in 2012.
This means that the MCU could adapt this story for a big movie event, or fabricate their own reason for the mutants to clash with Earth’s mightiest heroes. All that matters now is that this event is a possibility while Disney owns both franchises, so let’s hope they do something with this epic concept.
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