Hey, I was wondering a little earlier what movie I've seen recently when all I've really done in the past few weeks even remotely worth mentioning is reading. I'm at least 3/4 of the way through my first pile of books and I went and borrowed another one about half that size. If I take it a bit slower, it oughtta tide me over until September when I start reading homework books, but I probably won't take it slower.
But!
I promised you guys I'd say what I gotta say about the other 2/3 of Triple M (...Need the definition? Look back to my post on DareDevil and Elektra.), so here goes nothing!
X-Men (1) has a lot to do with Logan/Wolverine. He's got issues with his brain and when the X-Men come and save him and Rogue and bring them back to Professor X's school for gifted (mutant) children, he eventually asks Xavier what his past was like. Xavier can't help him much, but he can tell him some basics about what his very recent past was like. Throughout the story, the audience can see through memory snatches by Xavier and Jean, as well as dreams, a vague image of Logan's past... and it was not, by any stretch of the word, pretty.
Meanwhile, Magneto has built a machine designed to mutate everyone within the rays it puts out in hopes of turning regular people into mutants. He tries it out on a senator whom Mystique kidnapped to see that it works, but it takes a lot of energy out of Magneto to work it. The senator now has the structure of a jellyfish, and easily slid through his cell door down to the ocean. He survived the fall and made his way to Professor Xavier's school to see if they could help him. They can't. Magneto, oblivious to the senator's death, kidnaps Rogue to use her power of power borrowing to work his machine in order to mutate a lot more people. Important people. People the world can't afford to have dead.
*****SPOILER WARNING FOR X-MEN*****Magneto is captured and put in a special prison cell with no metal within a certain radius (that is his power after all, magnetic fields that can move any kind of metal), and Xavier visits once in awhile to play chess. They
are friends after all, dontcha know?
X-Men 2: X-Men United is the direct sequel to
X-Men.Magneto is still in his plastic prison and getting really tired of it. He is now receiving shots to make him obey the man questioning him about Xavier's school. Mystique finds out where he is and um... gives the guard that feeds him a shot of iron. Just enough to be of use while not being noticed by the metal detector.
In the meantime, the man who found out where Xavier's school is decided to pay them a visit. He mostly wants to get into Cerebrum, in order to copy the design and work his plan, but he also kidnaps any mutant children who don't vanish into thin air, walk through walls, or just use the secret tunnels to get out. Wolverine is, of course, awake, alive, and very angry. He takes down guard after guard until he gets to that guy (whose name escapes me). He is recognized, but he doesn't remember the man, so he tries to listen to him for a minute to see if any of his past will be unlocked. Unfortunately, the memories don't revive themselves in time and Bobby/Iceman puts up a wall of ice between Wolverine and the man so Wolverine can help him, Rogue, and the rest of the kids escape.
The man made it to Cerebrum.
*****SPOILER WARNING FOR X-MEN 2: X-MEN UNITED*****
X3: The Last Stand is yet another direct sequel. It takes place... I think a year after Jean died, and Scott/Cyclops is still very depressed and not himself. Wolverine isn't exactly happy either, but he's moved on a little. One day, Scott goes for a ride on his motorcycle to the lake where Jean died. He hears her whispering and can't take it anymore. He pulls his sunglasses off and blasts the lake. Shortly thereafter, Jean comes up, but she isn't herself. She asks him to take his shades off again, she wants to see his eyes. He reminds her of his fear that he'll hurt her, as he can't control the blast. She assures him that she can handle it, it'll be fine. So he takes his glasses off, and she quickly tunes that power he was so scared of hurting her with down, down, down, until you can see his firey red eyes, and then... blue ones. Normal blue eyes. He doesn't come back to the school.
Later on, Wolverine and Storm head for the lake, (I don't remember, but I'm guessing) to find Scott and bring him back before he jumps off any bridges or anything. They arrive to a place that is covered in a thick fog. They go off in different directions and Wolverine notices a few things out of place before asking Storm to clear things up a bit. So she does, and they see a lot of stones, leaves, and other things you'd find near a lake floating up in the air. ...Another thing that is found is Scott's sunglasses. And Jean. A Jean who seems to be incredibly interested in Wolverine. Not the Jean he knew and chased after.
They bring her back to the school where they soon learn that her subconscious is waking up and taking over the Jean that they once knew. Xavier describes this other half of her personality as the Phoenix, which is actually pretty accurate considering the mythology behind the name. The Phoenix is a person who can't control emotion. She lives on anger, hatred, love, lust, and all other extreme emotions. Also, her ability to move stuff with her mind is heightened. No limits, everything can be moved with ease. So basically... You really don't wanna make her mad.
She leaves the school and is later met by Xavier and Magneto. In a moment of intense rage, she chooses to follow Magneto.
A cure for being a mutant has been found in a mutant. Mutations disappear when given a shot of certain chemicals found in the boy (I'm guessing here again, the needles didn't look like they were filled with his blood) or temporarily by going into the same room with him, so Magneto wants to get rid of the boy. There may even be some revenge in it for him, considering what happens to Mystique.
X-Men Origins: WolverineThe title kinda says it all, it tells the background story behind Wolverine. His childhood, how he grew up, his brother, how they stuck together for several years (over a century), why that family relationship fell apart, how he got his adamantium claws and what he had in the first place, that sort of thing. His wife, his original life, his original name, everything. Everything that he forgot is told in that movie, from when he was a small boy up until the day he lost his memory. And with it, he forgot absolutely everything. His love, his brother, the experiments on him, everything.
***SPOILER WARNING FOR X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE***
If that movie wasn't already a prequel with three movies following it, the terrible cliffhanger it left would probably leave a lot of people throwing popcorn at the screen. As is, it was just really sad. To forget everything is bad enough. Terrible, but you can live with it. To be forgotten though... by your husband whom you truly loved, on your deathbed, no less, would be absolutely horrible. I hate the idea of being forgotten by someone so important. I can expect to be forgotten by random people I see on the street, or the clerk at a grocery store, but by a husband? ...That was probably the saddest part for me. The fact that he lost everything, and when asked, said he didn't recognize the woman lying on the floor mostly dead, she wasn't important to him. I know he has a perfectly good reason, but the idea of it still hurts.
It's getting late, so I guess I have to leave you on that rather depressing note.
Later!
-Kj
