Fixing the one thing I really didn’t like about “X-Men: First Class.” Since it’s a spoiler, it’s below the cut line.
Okay, so I hated the notion that Darwin died because his whole thing is that he evolves so that he can’t die.
So here’s what happens: In the next film it’s revealed that Darwin managed to pull himself back together, but his memory is fractured. He creates a new identity for himself and winds up becoming a devoted advocate for the rights of the downtrodden. But he remembers just enough of his former life to come up with a name that evokes his origins: Malcolm X.
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I think just to push the point home, he wakes up under Plymouth rock….
I guess, having read DEADLY GENESIS and X-FACTOR, I assumed Darwin would show up in the sequel and explain that it took him some time to digest Havok’s energy. It didn’t seem like he was REALLY dead, just resting.
or pining for the fjords. (sorry couldnt resist)
Given the quote of, “We don’t have a body to bury.” or words to the effect left me with the impression that Darwin is going to show up in the next movie but eloved from his attack from Shaw.
there are so many mutants for them to choose from that I doubt that Darwin will reappear. I read an interview where Singer and co who wanted to do a X-Men: 2nd Class and feature some of the seventies characters. One thing they mentioned and I was kind of excited about was having Thunderbird as part of the team as his costume would totally fit within the 1970s era. I could also see Dazzler as part of the team.
I was wondering if you were mad of what they did with Darwin in the end just as I was.
I was sorry that Darwin was removed from the film as little more than a target for Shaw to murder. The average filmgoer probably felt annoyance, but as a comic book fan, I knew full well that Darwin has survived a lot worse, so it didn’t bother me much. Most filmgoers probably aren’t comic book fans, though…
Darwin was a part of the one major problem I had with the film (which I was genuinely surprised & impressed by) – the way it treated race & minority characters.
But yeah, as a geek… Darwin is what, one of the hardest people to kill, ever? Swallowing one of Gambit’s cards (basically what Shaw seemed to be doing) just wouldn’t cut it.
I was waiting to see a post-credits scene concerning Darwin, but I honestly don’t believe he’s actually dead. We’ve already seen him take on an energy form to survive in the comics.
So if you could pick a single X-Factor cast member to appear in the next film, who would you pick?
(Me, I think I might pick Rahne since she’s made cameos in every X-animated series to date.)
Of course he’s dead. Even supposing there’s a sequel, and they intended for there to be a sequel when they were making this film, why would they kill off such a minor character with the intention of making his resurrection a plot point for a whole other movie?
Layla. It would be fun to see her get on everybody’s nerves as she so excels at.
If I had my pick of any X-type character, though, it would be Sage. She’s not as flashy as the others, but one of the few people out there who could easily match Beast in the brains department.
I was really annoyed that they killed off the one black X-Man on the team. I thought movie SF had moved beyond that. Apparently not.
Not this stupid tripe.
Not everything is about race….
You’re correct that not everything is about race, but X-Men is and always has been. The fact that it was set in the 60s, of all eras, and acted oblivious to the real life racial issues of the day was a significant oversight.
X Men: First Class was criticized for its depiction of Black characters and ignoring the Civil Rights Movement of the time (60s). By the end of the movie the X-Men are all white while Magneto’s team is more diverse. Of the two black characters — both minor — one dies and one turns evil.
The question is: was this the result of carelessness? Or is it a deliberate attempt to create a prelude for a sequel in which the issues of race and civil rights movement will coincide with the development of Magneto and Xavier’s opposing POVs? If so, it is possible the X-Men will have more diverse members joining them in the next movie and/or that Darwin will somehow return to life (which is completely consistent with his power).
I doubt Darwin would be brought back, because the X-movies tend to have so many characters most are “just” their powers, and that seemed to happen with Darwin. It’s doubly disappointing, because you’d think that as a black man in the 1960s he’d have more to say about the treatment of minorities that mutants will face.
I also wonder (outside the movie): What are the limits of Darwin’s powers? If Juggernaut ripped him in half, would his nervous system become like an earthworm so he could survive? If Molecule Man disintegrated him, would he become pure energy or thought? If he were launched into space, would he become living metal or steel, no longer requiring oxygen or heat? Does he heal like Deadpool, where brain damage and decapitation have no effect? Does he suffer any ill-effects from aging? (Actually, no one in the Marvel Universe seems to suffer from aging.) How would his power react if he were near Leech, or got touched by Rogue? In short, is he functionally immortal?
In the case of Leech or Rogue, I imagine nothing at all would happen. Leech cancels out mutant powers, and Rogue absorbs powers; neither of those conditions would necessarily threaten Darwin’s life.
As to being functionally immortal, that would depend on what you consider as “survival.” The argument could be made that higher-level organisms only exist because thus far they are the best mechanism to insure that their genes survive. It depends on how a writer chooses to interpret his power; is it protecting him, or his genetic material?
Does that mean Darwin will lose his powers after he successfully reproduces?
Finally watched the movie tonight, loved it. I want another prequel about Erik/Magneto hunting nazis in the 50s. And for all the visual impact of Neal Adma’s portrayal of Havok’s powers, I think for the first time I really got how they were dangerous and unpredictable.
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Regarding Darwin’s dead I also found it unnecesary and too much of a shock move. But worst of all, it was badly written; if Darwin can mutate to be whatever he needs to be to survive, he just needed to be like Shaw, to absorb and re-use energy.
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Thats another poit that bûggërëd me. The comic book Shaw was impressive enough as it is. Inmune to damage and confident in his ability to overcome whatever anyone can throw at him. There was something very elegant about an articulate oligarch who receives all kind of flashy deadly stuff hurled at him and responds by simple, brutal, naked hand violence, like he didnt need anything else. In film it might look less spectacular but you just need the right coreography and you have a villian for the ages.
Um, you do know “bûggërëd” has a somewhat archaic, very sexual meaning that I doubt you planned on using to describe your reaction to the movie…
Actually, that archaic meaning (I think present day brits still use it often if one can trust Garth Ennis or Guy Ritchie) is what originates the expression, isnt it? Funny how a word for sodomy ends up meaning anything from “annoying” to “mildy inconvenient”. Funnier even, in spaniard’s spanish you can very well say “me da por culo” in the same way, as in “It f***s my *ss that they changed Superman’s costume like that”.
Yeah, didn’t care for that either. Practically brought the film to a screeching halt right there. Shaw is supposed to be more than just a 2D comic book villain which is pretty much what they’ve turned him into here. I took him seriously in the comic, but here I couldn’t wait until somebody [hopefully] killed him off. Not impressed.
I hope there’s a crack / diss about this in an upcoming issue of X-Factor. Or maybe just flat out do the exact same thing but he shrugs it off like, “Whatever.”
I was upset about that as well, the friend I went with had no idea who Darwin was so I had to explain. Her exact words were. “But if he died then doesn’t that mean his power doesn’t work?” I just said no that meant the screenwriters didn’t understand how his power worked.