I’m Sick of Fox’s X-Men Getting Send-Offs (& You Should Be Too)

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As a huge Marvel fan, I’m bracing myself for what could be a really emotional ride with Avengers: Doomsday. It feels like we might be saying goodbye to some of our favorite heroes. Steve Rogers is back after passing the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson, and I’m sure he’ll have a big part to play when Doctor Doom attacks. And honestly, the latest trailer made it sound like Thor’s time as a superhero might be coming to an end. There’s even talk that Robert Downey Jr.’s version of Doom might only appear in this one movie, with Marvel potentially wanting to introduce a new villain down the line. It’s going to be tough if these characters really are leaving the MCU!

Characters like Professor X, Magneto, and Cyclops, along with the other mutants appearing in Doomsday, feel unnecessary. They’ve already had multiple farewells recently, and their roles in this film will likely be minor. Frankly, it’s getting tiresome to act like the Fox franchise is still something to get excited about in the 2020s, and I suspect many fans agree.

Fox’s X-Men Franchise Continues to Get Second and Third Chances

The first two X-Men movies were important because they proved superhero films could be serious and exciting, not just silly. However, the quality dipped with X-Men: The Last Stand, and didn’t recover until the series was rebooted with X-Men: First Class. The newer films then aimed to honor the originals, leading to X-Men: Days of Future Past, which effectively closed the loop on the story, fixing the mistakes made in The Last Stand – including bringing back characters like Jean Grey and Charles Xavier who had been killed off. But the story wasn’t quite finished, as it all gets revisited again in Logan.

James Mangold’s Logan was respectful in showing the deaths of most of the X-Men off-screen, avoiding repeating painful scenes. However, the new film Deadpool & Wolverine revisits familiar themes of older heroes passing the torch to a new generation. The ending of Logan featured a touching scene where Laura replaced the cross on Logan’s grave with an ‘X’, symbolizing the end of an era, but the story wasn’t truly finished. Now, Wade Wilson visits Logan’s grave in the new movie, and while he doesn’t resurrect that version of Logan, he finds another one, again played by Hugh Jackman. To complicate things further, many of Jackman’s former co-stars are also set to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

We Just Want the MCU’s Version of the X-Men Already

The MCU is generally forgiven for bringing Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine because he’s so strongly associated with the character. While Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, and James Marsden are all talented actors, they’ve already finished their runs as their respective characters and seen others take over. There’s little justification for them to reprise those roles unless Marvel Studios is admitting it’s relying on nostalgia to revive the franchise. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case, as the upcoming Doomsday event is a great chance for the MCU to establish its own version of the X-Men, who are likely to be a major focus for the next few years.

Even small efforts, like featuring a few familiar faces from the past, would show that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is looking forward, not just relying on nostalgia. Perhaps Patrick Stewart and others could truly elevate the stakes. They might even be the highlights of the film. However, no matter how impressive the action or character dynamics, it wouldn’t matter if the older X-Men overshadow the new team, which desperately needs a chance to shine.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.

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2026-01-04 19:10