3 Mysteries About X-Men: Days of Future Past That Fans Still Can’t Explain

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2014 marked a time when the Marvel Cinematic Universe was brimming with ambition, while Fox was grappling with steering its X-Men franchise in the right direction. A reboot titled X-Men: First Class had been released just a few years prior, but a hint at the end of The Wolverine signaled that the original cast still had a role to play. The master plan was to merge both groups of characters in X-Men: Days of Future Past and bring to life one of the most significant X-Men tales ever told in Marvel Comics on the big screen, essentially serving as a farewell tribute to the original trilogy.

Mostly focusing on the powerful emotional ties among mutants and the extremes taken for love, “Days of Future Past” generally delivers. Yet, being a film about time travel, it leaves some logical inconsistencies by the closing credits.

What Does Mystique Want With Wolverine?

In the comic book version of “Days of Future Past,” Mystique plays a substantial part by assembling a new Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the present time, intending to eliminate key figures and thereby accelerate the acceptance of Sentinels worldwide. The movie’s plot follows a similar path, with Mystique killing Bolivar Trask in the ’80s, thereby heightening the perception of mutants as a threat. However, an essential distinction lies in the fact that Mystique is apprehended following Trask’s assassination, and her powers are utilized to strengthen the Sentinels. In the future depicted, mutants struggle to counter their adversary, and gradually, many of them fall.

As a devoted admirer, I’d rephrase that intriguing narrative like this: In a desperate bid to alter the course of history, time-traveling mutants from the future task Wolverine with a crucial mission – to seek out Professor X, Magneto, and thwart Mystique before she can assassinate Trask. It’s a challenging undertaking, but they manage to pull it off, averting a catastrophic future. Regrettably, my alter ego, Wolverine, suffers severe damage in his encounter with Magneto, ending up unconscious at the river’s bottom. William Stryker locates me and seemingly enhances one of his projects, but it turns out to be none other than Mystique in disguise. This deception seems to set the stage for a new chapter in my life, one where I might not acquire adamantium claws. However, when Wolverine reappears in X-Men: Apocalypse, he’s mysteriously found in Stryker’s facility, with no clear explanation as to how or why Mystique meddled with my destiny.

How Did Kitty Pryde Get Her New Powers?

Kitty Pryde is a significant member of the original X-Men team in Fox’s trilogy, although she undergoes multiple actors portraying her role, eventually becoming Iceman’s love interest in “X-Men: The Last Stand.” Utilizing her power of phasing, she assists in defeating Magneto’s evil troops who aim to eliminate a young mutant with the potential for a cure. For a fleeting moment, she even overpowers Juggernaut. This victory paves the way for an optimistic future for the X-Men; however, “Days of Future Past” reveals that tranquility doesn’t last forever. The Sentinels launch attacks, forcing mutants worldwide into hiding. Kitty unites a small band of allies consisting of Iceman and Sunspot and teams up with Professor X to enhance her recently acquired time-travel skills.

Beyond passing through walls, Kitty now possesses the ability to transport people’s consciousness back in time, giving them the power to govern their past selves. Although the film attempts to rationalize this development with some dialogue, it ultimately leaves viewers more puzzled than enlightened. Granted, Days of Future Past has numerous plotlines to manage, but it could have spent more time clarifying how Kitty’s mutation underwent such a dramatic transformation.

How Does Trask Have Two Major Roles in the Franchise?

The Fox-produced X-Men series has a history of actor switches, with characters like Kitty Pryde and Moira MacTaggert being portrayed by multiple actors. Trask is one such character, as Bill Duke’s Secretary of Homeland Security in “The Last Stand” seems to be intended to be Bolivar, although this isn’t explicitly stated. The video game associated with “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” suggests that Trask collaborated with Stryker on a project involving the Sentinels. However, “Days of Future Past” disregards all prior portrayals and depicts Peter Dinklage’s Trask as a tech genius who creates the Sentinels instead.

In essence, the reinterpretation of Trask in the film doesn’t significantly impact it negatively. However, it highlights a persistent problem with Fox movies: inconsistency. The occurrences in one movie often have little bearing on the next, leading to a muddled narrative that necessitates a reset like “Days of Future Past” for the entire franchise. If the creators had been more mindful when handling characters such as Trask, they could have avoided finding themselves in this predicament.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is streaming on Disney+.

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2025-05-17 00:16