by Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)
Apparently, 20th Century Fox is confident that X-Men: Days of Future Past will be a hit, and hot off the twitter feed of director Bryan Singer is a hint that another movie will happen in 2016! Fans can mark May 27, 2016 for when X-Men: Apocalypse will hit theatres.
But for people who are unfamiliar with who this ancient mutant is, he’s a character introduced back in the mid 80’s in the comic X-Factor. His goal is to remake the world in his own image, and his adage was simply that of survival of the fittest. This grey skinned human was born nearly 5000 years ago in the nation of Akkaba and although he was shunned, he managed to learn how to survive through the ages either by being a progeny of death or by forcing civilizations to worship him. His ability to transform his body into any kind of matter or shape makes him very dangerous!
But in time, he would discover advanced alien technology that would cyberform him and further enhance his mutant ability. He took a page from the Bible and created the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. In the comics that introduced him, he was out to kidnap certain mutants who could aptly represent the Horseman.
In X-Factor, he turned Angel, who lost his wings, into Archangel. Instead of downy feathers, this evil mutant gave Angel, new metallic ones under the promise that he would serve him. Some comic-book readers may have been introduced to this character this way.
Although his origin has not deviated much from more recent comic book releases and in animated form, to see how this character will translate to film will be exciting to follow. As for how much of his origin will get explained, if it does, and how it will follow from the Days of Future Past will depend on which Marvel Universe continuity Singer will choose from.
Apocalypse is a very popular villain. He was ranked as IGN’s #3 most popular X-men villain in 2008. As for where he stands in a broader poll, he’s at #24.
Some movie goers may well wonder what The Wolverine would have looked like if it received a rating of R than a PG-13 by the MPAA. More bloodshed, seeing Wolvy go berserk, perhaps a bit of gore or how about a splash of nudity? A mix of any of them from the list would have given this flick some added kick about Marvel Comic’s most brutal mutant.
Comic book films are very often a tough sell in a mass market that’s picky about what they like seeing. While Hollywood sees the medium as a readymade—a product that comic book readers are familiar with—to attract new converts requires a product that has to be easily accessible, if not understandable.