This is a pretty large casting (twelve storylines and multiple characters) and will be presenting the X-Men Universe as basically and non convoluted as possible, treating everything as if done for the big screen for the first time and previous movie undertakings had not been done. I've had the majority of these castings in my head for the longest time with a few of them being posted on a few other comic related fan sites prior to this , but this is the first time that I will be posting my entire casting idea choices and plots for the X-Men. Of course some of the actors/actresses chosen for characters will probably have been seen before in other X-Fan Castings that have been posted .... but not necessarily as the characters they have been previously posted as before. And since this is a “What If” style casting there will be a few curves thrown in such as other Marvel Universe characters /entities/locations appearing or being referenced. This is a comic book movie after all.
Although I pretty much had in mind my casting choices for the majority of the characters, it took quite a bit of time putting all of this together and it doesn't help when you have pesky things like a job and a home-life demanding your attention or buddies blowing up the phone or doorbell wanting to either hang-out or go do something. Plus I did something I normally don't do when I post casting choices because it's so time consuming: I did photo manipulation on a number of the castings just for the hell of it and for the practice. So apologies ahead of time if some come off a little funky. I'm not trying to stuff everything into one gigantic post, so I'll break these castings down into four parts consisting of three movies each. Starting with :
X-Movie One : X-Men : Children of the Atom.
Storyline : This is not an origin movie but a basic introduction to the “Mutant Corner” of the Marvel Universe movie. Simple and to the point : Professor Charles Xavier, the world's foremost expert in the field of human genetic mutation and also secretly himself the most powerful mutant telepath in the world, has brought together a group of young mutants at his “Xavier Institute for the Gifted” and trained them in the use and control of their mutant abilities so that those abilities can be used to protect mankind from threats both mutant and non-mutant alike. Xavier's goal with this group of “X-Men” is to show the world that not all mutants should be fear or hated and looked upon as threats to humanity. But of course that view point is challenged by an old friend of Xavier's, Eric Maximoff, a powerful mutant himself who has gone on to make his mark under the identity of the world renowned mutant terrorist and would be world conqueror, Magneto. Like Xavier, Magneto has gather together a “Brotherhood of Mutants” all in the effort to establish his mutant viewpoint : Mutants are the next wave of human evolution and they due to their superior “X”-tra abilities should be the masters of the world. Xavier and his X-Men must confront Magneto and his Brotherhood and put an end to Magneto's latest attempt to establish himself and mutants as Earth's rulers.
The X-Men:
Peter Woodward = Professor Charles Xavier. I went with someone who had the right mature look but not necessarily look “old” next to the young X-Men. Plus Woodard has solid acting skills and came strike the proper stern taskmaster vibe that Xavier had back during the original X-Men days.
“Twenty demerits Mr. Drake for being too slow in dodging those flamethrowers during the Danger Room training session . Ten demerits each for the rest of you for not providing proper backup to cover Mr. Drake for his sluggish performance. If this had been a real combat situation instead of a training exercise Mr. Drake would now be dead! ”
Kelly Blatz = Scott Summers/Cyclops. I went with a somewhat unknown for the part of young Scott Summers. Blatz stars in the Disney XD Channel show “Aaron Stone” as the title character and has the right balance of straight lace, but tough attitude to pull off the X-Men's young field leader.
Galadriel Stineman = Jean Grey/Marvel Girl. Another somewhat unknown. Stineman's most notable work to date has been in the live action version takes of the Cartoon Network series “Ben 10” as the teen-aged version of Gwen Tennyson, cousin of the lead character Ben. I chose Stineman because both looks and personality wise, she come across as “the girl next door type” rather than the “hot/sexy” girl and Jean Grey has always for me at least come across as the girl next door type.
William Moseley = Warren Worthington III/Angel. Young Warren has always seemed to half cocky and half sensitive : trying to be the typical overconfident rich kid, but at the same time trying to come across as an average guy more than likely due to his mutation. Adopting an American accent, Moseley has the proper acting abilities as well as looks to pull off a teen Angel.
Nick Zano = Hank McCoy/Beast. It was kind of hard casting a young Hank McCoy since their aren't too many young actor s who fit match up well with the imposing physical build for this character, so kinda when with a little bit older actor who still looks like he could pass for being younger. Plus Hank being a brainiac and all he would come at times sounding more adult than the other X-Men. Zano is one of those older actors with the looks to play characters younger than his age and he has the proper looks for a younger Hank McCoy.
Max Thierot = Bobby Drake/Iceman. Bobby Drake as the youngest of the X-Men at times came across as a bratty little jerk, but still likable. In a couple of his roles Max Thierot came across this way so I thought he'd be just right for the young Iceman.
Alex Ludwig and AnnaSophia Robb = Alex Summers/Havok and Lorna Dane/Polaris. As I said at the beginning it's not an origin movie, so we will have the two unofficial original X-Men as part of the team, but still be treat as unofficial members. In this movie take both are just newly arrived at the Xavier Institute in order to learn how to better control their very unique and dangerous abilities. Went with Ludwig and Robb for these two characters because they're both pretty decent actors and pretty much look how I picture a young Havok and Polaris in my head.
Brotherhood of Evil Mutants: They will refer to themselves as just “the Brotherhood of Mutants”, but it will be the world media that collectively adds “Evil” to their name.
Sean Bean = Eric Maximoff/Magneto. For movie purposes would be keeping his background simple and basic and so will not use any of the complicated aspects of his comic history, hence my going with the civilian name of “Eric Maximoff”. As I said not an origin movie so Magneto will be played as an establish major threat in my movie universe already having had past encounters with other costumed adventurers besides the X-Men such as the Fantastic Four , Iron Man and S.H.I.E.LD. When this tale is told. Magneto, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch will all be aware of their family connection and this will play more effectively in my opinion to the drama and tension aspect of the Maximoff Twins being uncomfortable with their father's philosophy and methods. They only want to be a family and have their father be in their lives and if putting up with his radical life is the way to achieve this, than so be it. For the time being anyway that is. As with the Xavier casting, I wanted someone with a mature vibe, not too old and Sean Bean is more than capable of pulling off the role of Magneto in my opinion.
Doug Hutchison = Mortimer Tolynbee/Toad. My take will combine the best aspects both looks and personality wise from both the classic lackey version with the more self assured, aggressive version currently used. Doug Hutchison has the acting talent needed to make you both feel sorry for and hate the Toad, when the scenes would call for it.
Tom Felton = Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver. He's been posted before as a possible choice for this character by others here on the site so nothing more to say than “I Agree With This Choice”.
Allison Miller = Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch. A certain individual here on the site ...Tank Girl... has made it very known that this actress is her choice as the Scarlet Witch and I'm of the same mind for that choice, but only as the younger version of Wanda Maximoff rather than present day incarnation. She be great as Scarlet Witch for this take of the early days of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants as well as the early days of Wanda and Pietro joining the Avengers.
Robert Knepper = Mastermind. Sneaky , shifty and slimy. That's my take on Mastermind. Kneeper's take on the character of “T-Bag” Bagwell from the TV series Prison Break is pretty close to what I have in mind for Mastermind, so add a cheesy mustache and he's in.
Arbraham Benrubi = Fred J. Dukes/Blob. My take on the Blob is as a likeable jerk. You shouldn't like him because he is a total scumbag but as soon as this guy says or does something, you're like “This guy is a trip!! I should hate him, but he keeps me entertained with what he says and does!! I can't get enough!!” Benrubi is the man to pull off this take of the Blob.
Dwayne “ the Rock” Johnson = Gunther Bains/Unus the Untouchable. If the Blob is the likeable jerk, then Unus is the total embodiment of the guy you love to hate. Totally arrogant and self centered all due to his ability to make himself “untouchable” to anyone or anything when he chooses. Johnson pretty much just needs to resurrect his former wrestling persona and “Unus Lives”.
X-Movie Two : X-Men : Second Genesis.
Storyline : We fast forward several years after the events of Children of the Atom and we find the now adult students of the Xavier Institute, (with the exception of Scott Summers and Jean Grey ) all prepared to go about living somewhat normal lives and give up their active roles as the X-Men, with Hank McCoy now eighteen months already inactive as an X-Man and successfully holding a position as a bio-chemist with the Brand Corporation. With the aid of Cerebro, his mutant detecting computer, Charles Xavier is now actively searching for a new group of young mutants to bring to the Xavier Institute in order to train them and continue with the heroic endeavors that have been achieved with his first group of X-Men with both Scott and Jean agreeing to stay on at the Institute to assist Xavier as instructors to the new class of students once they have been assembled. During the search for potential new students, Cerebro detects an unusually high and concentrated mutant power reading emanating from somewhere within the South Pacific. Xavier asks the remaining X-Men to undertake one final official mission as a team and investigate the source of the power readings. Traveling in their custom Blackbird transport jet and using a mini-portable version of Cerebro to track the readings, the X-Men arrive at a small, remote and uncharted island where they soon discover that the power readings are part of a trap set by two individuals : an anti-mutant scientist, Dr. Bolivar Trask and a renegade S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist named Dr. Stephen Lang. The two scientist fabricated the power readings in order to lure the X-Men to the island so they can test the capabilities of their jointly developed mutant hunting Sentinel robots against well trained real mutants. A fierce battle ensues with the X-Men quickly becoming out matched by the Sentinels and being captured, all except Cyclops, who becomes buried under a mini rock slide during the battle and is presumed dead. Trask, Lang and the Sentinels take the captured X-Men and depart the island for parts unknown and Cyclops having freed himself from the rock slide after their attackers departure returns to Xavier's mansion and reports what has happened to his teammates. Using Cerebro to home in and pinpoint onto the combined unique energy signatures of the captured X-Men to determine if they are still alive as well as their location, Xavier is both releaved and stunned to discover that the X-Men are still alive for now but that their energy signatures are not located anywhere on Earth but rather from hundreds of miles above it. Realizing that this will not be a situation that will be easily resolved, Xavier accesses the stored mutant databank file he has assembled over the years and pulls up a list of names and information about mutants that are experienced in controlling and using their mutant abilities that he can possibly assemble into a makeshift rescue team to bring back the X-Men and neutralize the seaming threat posed byTrask, Lang and the Sentinels: Storm, Wolverine, Banshee, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Sunfire and Thunderbird. With the aid of Cyclops, Xavier as quickly as possible gathers and assembles together this team of mutants he hopes will be able to achieve the task needed. Using a modified orbital version of the Blackbird, (designed and commissioned by Xavier back when he first started to here rumblings of Magneto putting together an orbital base that eventually became Asteroid M. ) Cyclops and newly assembled (and untried) team head into space and discover Trask and Lang have taken the X-Men to a decommissioned orbiting S.H.I.E.L.D. observation platform/station. Once Cyclops and his team have found somewhere to dock the orbital Blackbird and enter the station they quickly find the captured X-Men as well as learn the motivation for Trask and Lang's creation of the Sentinels : Both Trask and Lang view mutants as a threat to humanity and will use the Sentinels as instruments for the capture and enslavement of all mutants and the destruction of any mutant deemed as too powerful and potential threats to the normal human population to be kept alive. The X-Men's objective now becomes to destroy the Sentinels and attempt to apprehend Trask and Lang to face justice. During the insuring battle that occurs , Thunderbird is killed by the Sentinels and Banshee suffers what seems like a power negating injury while disabling the Sentinel Master Mold production system. Lang is also killed during the battle as he seeks to escape from the platform station, but Trask is successfully apprehended. As the X-Men escape from the platform station which is about to self destruct due to Lang's final actions prior to his death, the Blackbird is bombarded by debris from the exploding platform , causing damage to it's protective shielding mechanism and steering /guidance controls. And to make matters worse a solar flare storm is underway over the Earth as the Blackbird is preparing to re-enter Earth's orbit. Due to her telekinetic abilities which she believes can be used to shield her from the majority of cosmic ray radiation that they must go through, Jean volunteers to manually pilot the Blackbird to Earth, while everyone else packs themselves into special re-enforced shielded compartments built into the rear of the orbital Blackbird, much to the adamant protest of Scott. Flying through the cosmic ray storm the orbital Blackbird re-enters Earth's atmosphere and crash lands into New York's Hudson River. All of the X-Men and Trask emerge from the crashed Blackbird with the exception of Jean, who several minutes later makes a spectacular exit from the depths of the Hudson River as the newly transformed Phoenix. Once the proper authorities have been notified and Bolivar Trask is transferred to their custody, the X-Men return to the Xavier Mansion to access all that has just occurred. The end results of this undertaking : The original X-Men team is officially retired. With the exception of the deceased Thunderbird and Sunfire, who only agreed to help Xavier for this outing only, the newly assembled group of mutants once they have trained to work properly together as a cohesive unit will now officially become the new active team of X-Men.
The Original X-Men -Older Versions :
Colm Feore = Professor Charles Xavier . The same criteria for casting the younger Xavier applies here, I wanted some one who had a mature vibe but wasn't quite as old as Patrick Stewart that could work for multiple sequels. Feore is a strong actor and fits the part of an older Xavier perfectly.
Jamie Bamber = Scott Summers/Cyclops . As Captain America is considered “The Avenger” of the Avengers, Cyclops for me has always been “The X-Man” of the X-Men. His whole life since Xavier find him and brought him to the Institute as the first of the original X-Men, has been all about helping to bring about Xavier's vision of mutant and human co-existence and battling various threats with the X-Men when needed. Bamber's take as Lee Adama in the first couple of seasons of the revamped Battlestar Galactica series came across as straight laced , dedicated and duty oriented, pretty much how Cyclops would be.
*And since this has been brought up numerous times, let's address the height issue that always comes up with various “tall” characters. One of the oldest , easiest and most used tricks of “the Hollywood Movie Making Game” : making actors look taller than they actually are. Whether done on set or through some type of post production scence editing , it not an issue to make a five foot , nine inch tall actor look as if he's six feet or taller . The only time height should become an issue is if the filmmakers involved in a comic related movie choose to disregard a character's height in favor of defaulting to the actor's natural height. In other words Cyclops is played as Jamie Bamber rather than Jamie Bamber plays as Cyclops. *
Sarah Wayne Callies = Jean Grey/Marvel Woman/Phoenix. Still playing Jean Grey as “the girl next door type”. Jean now is more confident thanks to the mastery and skill she has over her abilities and a little bit on the sophisicated side. I went with Callies as my choice for Jean because she has that right mix of wholesomeness and sexy for an older Jean.
Jason Lewis = Warren Worthington III/Angel. Jason Lewis is one of those guys that pops up as various characters in various fan castings all the time. I'm one of the many people who have him as my choice as an older Warren Worthington III. My take on Warren here is he's ready to take more of an active part in Worthington Industries and he's leaving the X-Men to move out west to do just that.
Seen in a very brief cameo sequence: Aaron Douglas = Dr. Hank McCoy. This will be Hank McCoy a few weeks from ingesting the mutagenic formula that will transform him into his furry blue form. I could have went with an unknown for this cameo appearance, but wanted to go for a “Hey, It's that guy....” feel.
Jared Leto = Bobby Drake/Iceman. I went with Leto as Iceman because I'm playing Bobby more are less as somewhat of a non conformist. He actually likes playing “super-hero” but he wants to do it solo. He's going along with Warren out to the west coast with plans to take a “day job” as an accountant with Worthington Industries and to go out at night righting wrongs and make a name for himself as Iceman and become a celebrity hero. “ It's Iceman. The West Coast's Coolest Superhero. I can see it now …..Comics, Girls,T-Shirts, Girls,Toys, Girls, Video Games, Girls, a Reality TV Series, Girls and Movies. Oh, did I mention the girls??” That's his plan at least. Whether or not that actually happens.....
Mike Vogel = Alex Summers/Havok. Alex is now more easy going and somewhat laid back since he has gained more mastery of his mutant powers. Never really wanting to be an active X-man, but only remaining at the Institute to master his abilities as well as be near is brother and Lorna Dane. Alex along with Lorna, has finally decide to go into the world and make an attempt at a normal life. Vogel has the right amount of skills needed to pull of this take of Havok.
Emilie Ullerup = Lorna Dane/Polaris. Along the same lines as Alex in motivation for staying at the Institute as long as she has as well as leaving, but although she wants no part of battling various threats to mankind as an active X-man, she does enjoy using her abilities since gaining more control over them. Ullerup comes across as a decent actress and she has the right looks and personality for Lorna.
The New X-Men:
Nona Gaye = Ororo Munroe/Storm. Back in the late 90's when talk first start about a possible X-Men movie being made I was one of the many people who thought Angela Bassett would make a pretty good Storm, but might be considered a bit old for the role. It was after seeing Nona Gaye in Ali that I thought here's a somewhat younger version of Angela Bassett. She has a pretty similar appearance and build as well as puts across the same confident and regal bearing. Perfect for Storm.
Scott Caan = Logan/Wolverine. The one character casting that probably will catch the most heat. As I said at the beginning I'm treating everything as stripped down and back to basics with these movie takes and with Wolverine that's especially true. No “James Howlett”, No Weapon X/Plus or other such secret weapons programs, No memory implants, No bone claws, or any of the tons of other over hyped bull s**t piled upon the character all in an attempt to make him as “bad-assed” and “cool” as possible for as select segment of comic fandom. (That last part is just my opinion of course.) Here's the deal on my movie take for the character: Wolverine knows who he is and always has. The only thing he has blank spots in his memory about is when he went through the procedure that gave him his “adamantium skeleton” and claws. And that's all due to the trauma he endues from a near fatal and crippling mission related incident that leads to his having to undergo the procedure in the first place. His past is a mystery only to the X-Men (and the movie audience) by his choice. Wolverine is a loner , someone who has spent the majority of his adult life as a military/government special operative or covert agent thanks to his mutant abilities. “Everything about me and my past is on a need to know basis, bub. So if I don't voluntarily tell you anything about myself, it's because I don't think you need to know.” We get important bits and pieces of information every once and awhile, but never a whole entire story on him or his past. His healing factor will be along the more believable level that it was in the early days when Wolverine first appeared in the X-Men comics rather than the hyper level that it slowly came be. (Wounds will take several minutes rather than seconds to heal. Seriously extensive wounds will take hours and maybe sometimes days if on a near fatal level. ) Wolverine's motivation for leaving Canada's Department H will be due to his beserker rages, rages that he never suffer from prior to the acquisition of his adamantium skeleton and claws. Xavier has promised to aid him in finding the reason for the rages and if possible curing him of them or at the least learning how to manage and control them if no cure. (There is a reason why he has the beserker rages and it will be revealed in a later movie.)
These changes were done with the intent to insure this X-Men movie take won't become WOLVERINE ….... oh …... and the X-Men. I chose Caan as my take for Wolverine because he is a solid actor and comes across as very low key. This works well in my pinion with the whole loner/covert aspect of Wolverine. And for those who think Caan's not “angry” or “dark” enough for Wolverine check him out in a film that he starred in as well as wrote and directed called Dallas 362. He'd be able to pull off the angry and vicious parts pretty well.
*Final quick height issue touch up. Now on the “short “ end. I had not problems with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. He did a decent enough take on the character. My issue with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine as mentioned in the Cyclops portion is that the filmmakers involved with the X-Franchise decided to make Wolverine into Hugh Jackman rather than letting Hugh Jackman become Wolverine by ignoring Wolverine's height. If steps where taken to make Jackman appear to be short in stature for the role, then no issue. When filmmakers decide that something that makes up a crucial element of what makes a character what they are is not important to incorporate into film, it a pretty good bet that they probably don't really get the character and may be some trouble ahead one way or another. *
Douglas Henshall = Sean Cassidy/Banshee. Staying true to how Banshee was originally conceived by casting a slightly older actor for the role. Henshall is a solid actor best known to some from his stint on the British sci-fi series Primeval , perfectly fits the character both looks and personality wise.
Aidan Turner = Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler. Playing up the dashing swashbuckler side of Nightcrawler 's personality. Despite his unusual appearance, Nightcrawler will be very comfortable with who he is. That said I went with an actor who can play Nightcrawler as kind of fun, but also give the character an edgy side when it's needed. Turner best known to some of us stateside geeks from the BBC America horror/drama Being Human, has the proper looks and talent for the X-Men's resident “fuzzy elf”.
Brendan Fehr = Piotr “Peter” Rasputin /Colossus. My take on Colossus will be not as young nor naive as he first appeared in the comics. He'll still be the nice down to earth Russian farm boy but he'll just be not as worldly in his experiences as the rest of his fellow X-Men. Fehr has the proper look and demeanor to play the part if he can pull off a Russian sounding accent.
Brian Tee = Shiro Yoshida/Sunfire. I went with someone that could come across as somewhat arrogant and condescending for Sunfire and remembered Tee from one of the Fast and Furious movies where his character in that was pretty much just that.
Adam Beach = John Proudstar/Thunderbird. Along the same lines as Doug Henshall as Banshee. I want a solid actor to “man with a big chip on his shoulders” John Proudstar since his stint as an X-Man is very brief. Plus it would be nice to see Beach play a not so nice character for a change of pace.
The Bad Guys:
Ralph Fiennes = Bolivar Trask. He'll be the more reasonable of the two bad guys, Trask will be the logical sounding voice for mutant subjugation. Fiennes has the acting skills needed to make Trask menacing but reasonable at the same time.
Michael Biehn = Stephen Lang. Lang is pure unadulterated hatred when it comes to the subject of mutants. He has used his S.H.I.E.L.D. status and connections all in the pursuit of bring about the destruction of mutant kind. I went with Biehn as Lang because he'd be able to bring to life the characters raw fanaticism and hatred.
CGI Sentinels.
X-Movie Three : X-Men : Mutant X. (This would be a modified retelling of the Mutant X/Proteus storyline that was published in Uncanny X-Men issues 125-128.)
Storyline : The movie begins several weeks after the events of the Second Genesis Movie and we find both Jean Grey and Sean Cassidy in Scotland at the Muir Island Mutant Research Facility which is run by one of Charles Xavier's fellow colleagues in genetic mutation, Dr. Moira MacTaggert. Both Jean and Sean have been undergoing test to determine the extent of each of their unique set of circumstances : Jean's transformation into Phoenix and Sean's seeming lost of his sonic abilities. Moira and her research assistant, Jaime Madrox, himself a mutant, have been able to determine in Banshee's case that his power loss is a temporary event, but cannot give him a definite time frame in which his powers will return. Jean however is a different matter. It seems that the solar flare has done to Jean what cosmic rays have done to the members of the group known as the Fantastic Four, but since she already possessed superhuman abilities, instead of bestowing abilities upon her , they have augmented the abilities she already had. Mira's test also reveal that Jean's abilities seem to be growing at a steady level with no seeming limit, a fact that worries both Moira and Jean. Also during this time Sean and Moira have develop a mutual attraction to each other. Xavier is also there along with Alex Summers and Lorna Dane. As well as overseeing to the wellfare of Jean and Sean, Xavier has come to Muir Island to see and possibly recruit as a student into the Xavier Institute Moira MacTaggert's young mutant ward, Rahne Sinclair . Alex and Lorna as ex-students of Xavier's are there to help persuade Rahne on the benefits to be gained by going to the Institute.
We now jump over to the States and the Xavier Mansion where we find Cyclops has been putting the new X-Men through extensive combat training sessions in the Danger Room, gauging the strengths and weakness of each X-Man and putting together strategies and tactics that will help to develop their teamwork skills and become an effective team. We see that he and Wolverine are butting heads because of the training. Wolverine due to both his loner attitude and military/government training feels he does not need to train or work with the others. He's been going through the teamwork sessions strictly to keep himself sharp and treating the other X-Men as if they are his backup. “Summers I've been through tons of highly dangerous scraps all on my own before you were even wearing diapers. Hell, I've went toe to toe with both the Hulk and some supposedly mystical man-eating Yeti creature at the same time. All you need to do is point me in the direction of whoever ass it is that needs to be kicked and watch me go to work, bub.” Cyclops of course is having no part of Wolverine's one man army crusade. “ You are no longer a solo operative Wolverine. You are part of a team now, mister. Get use to that fact and get with the program like the rest of your teammates. It was that same “I don't need anyone” attitude that got Thunderbird killed and I'll be damned if I let you or any other X-Man be killed again because someone wants to be a lone wolf !!
Night time in Scotland and all is quiet at the Muir Island Research Facility, or so it seems. Observing the goings on at the facility over the pass few days, local mutant hating resident Angus MacWhirter has docked on the island and uses the night to take the opportunity to vandalize and cause as much damage to the facility as he possibly can in a show of hatred for the aid the facility provides to help mutants. Having carefully mapped out the location of the complex's security alarms on previous covert exertions ,MacWhirter patiently and skillfully disarms the security systems and proceeds to wreck havoc upon all kinds of equipment and machinery both outside and inside the complex as part of his rampage. Unknown to anyone except for Moira, the true purpose of the Muir Island Research Facility is for the containment and temporary neutralizing of Moira's own mutant son, Kevin MacTaggert. The teenaged MacTaggert's mutation has transformed him into a being of pure psionic energy with the ability to restructure and manipulate reality to his whim. Being composed of energy he is burning up his physical form and once it is destroyed he will need a new physical form to inhabit. His energy form is vulnerable to metal due to its ability to disrupt his form and destroy his consciousness. His mutant ability allows him to possess the form of others, but as with his own original form his energy essence will eventually burn up this new body and killing the person and he is forced to repeat the whole body possession process. Moira has been able to keep him in a special containment cell marked as which puts out a special isoteric energy field that sustains his energy form as well as neutralizes the further burning out of his body while she attempts to find a way to make his condition no longer a problem for himself and those around him. MacWhirter has unwittingly destroyed the mechanisms that contained and maintained Kevin MacTaggert within his cell and becomes the first person that Kevin posses once his own body has been used up by his energies. Moira is alerted to trouble at the facility due to a back up alert system design specifically to alert her of problems with Kevin's cell. Moira is in a state of panic as she rushes to Kevin's containment cell and is horrified to find it unsecured with her son's mummified remains within . Xavier , picking up the strong panic in her surface thoughts confronts her about what is the cause of these impressions and she tells him and everyone present about the what and why of the Muir Island Facility, but not actually revealing the identity of the mysterious “Mutant X” that was in the containment cell. Jean , Alex , Lorna and Jamie using his cloning ability all quickly begin to search the facility for the missing Mutant X. Jean is the first to encounter Mutant X, who senses Jean's power level and decides she will make a more suitable host than MacWhirter. An intense and brief battle occurs between Jean and Mutant X which soon draws the attention of the other mutants that are searching the island. The pure intensity of Jean's telepathic abilities prevents MacTaggert from taking possession of Jean even after he has exposed her to a full onslaught from his reality altering abilities , which have stunned and temporarily disoriented her . Jean's attack however has weakened him and has caused him to quickly burn up MacWhirter's body. He makes the decision to attempt to take possession of either Alex or Lorna as they come upon the scene of the battle, but is forced to settle for Jamie Madrox instead (or rather one of his clones) as Alex and Lorna's combination defense against him further causes him to use up energy in his weakened state. He is able to cause enough of a distraction for himself to escape in the clone Madrox body.
Xavier quickly contacts the X-Men after the encounter and they speed to Muir Island in the Blackbird. Once in Scotland and with Xavier and Madrox remaining at the research facility as their home base to relay incoming information over the police band, the X-Men along with Moira quickly divide into teams to search for MacTaggert on the mainland after hearing police reports of the discovery MacWhirter's boat with the mummified remains of the Madrox clone aboard in the port town of Stornoway. Due to the distinctive scent given off by the bodies possessed by Mutant X Wolverine , accompanied by Nightcrawler and conducting their search by jeep is able to track down Mutant X's current location and he and Nightcrawler soon encounter MacTaggert now in the body of a policeman out in the middle of a country road. Wolverine being who he is jumps out of the jeep once his target has been acquired and prepares to do what he does best. With this current body rapidly starting to burn out and as he had with Phoenix, MacTaggert senses that Wolverine's form is superior to the form he possesses and attempts to possess him, but due to the adamantium in Wolverine's body he his forced to abandon the attempt. With Nightcrawler rushing to a strickened Wolverine's aid and not having a normal appearance to allow Mutant X to take his body and move about undetected, out of frustration MacTaggert unleashes an unbridled reality warping assault upon the two mutants. Now declaring himself Proteus, Mutant Master of Reality, MacTaggert uses the full extent of his abilities to test their limits with Wolverine and Nightcrawler as his guinea pigs. The assault is a horrific experience for both X-Men, but doubly so for Wolverine who is use to relying upon his heightened senses and now finds that they completely are of no uses at all in the totally altered physical reality created by Proteus. Proteus' attack ends with a lightning strike from Storm who arrives to their location, destroying the police car Proteus was using to travel in. Prior to his going to aid Wolverine, Nightcrawler contacts the rest of the search teams and informs them of their situation and their current location. Proteus now sensing Storm's power and determine that she will be his new host now focuses his attack upon her and quickly robs her of her airborne advantage by causing the ground and air to invert leading her to crash into the ground and suffer a sprained shoulder. Unable to fly without knowing the extent of her injury Storm alerts Wolverine and Nightcrawler to anchor themselves down as she unleashes the full force of a hurricane upon Proteus to incapacitate him. But Proteus strides through the gale force winds as though they are a light spring breeze. Before he can reach Storm a bullet strikes the ground barely missing Proteus. Moira has also arrived to their location armed with a rifle with a special target scope designed to lock onto Proteus' unique energy even if he is warping reality. Her son has already taken three lives and doesn't seem to have any problems continuing to do so, so she has decided to end his before he can do further harm. She has him locked within her sights but before she can deliver the fatal shot she is stopped by Cyclops whom she was partnered with for the search. He's shocked and demands to know why she is attempting to kill “Mutant X” since the plan they discussed was only for capture. As Cyclops attempts to disarm Moira she confesses to him that “Mutant X” is he son. The confession distracts Scott for a fraction of a second but is enough to allow Moira to gain an advantage and she uses the butt of the rifle on his solar plexus and as he keels over from the impact he hits his head upon a rock and is rendered unconscious. During the brief struggle between his mother and Cyclops Proteus beats a hasty retreat from the area in Wolverine and Nightcrawler's jeep fearing that he may be stuck and killed by a bullet from “the unknown shooter.” After insuring Cyclops is not seriously injured Moira quickly returns to her jeep having deduced her son's probable final destination and hopes to try to intercept him before he reaches it.
Within a fifteen minute time frame the rest of the search parties arrive at the location of the Mutant X encounter and a now conscious Cyclops relays what has happened and what he has learned. The X-Men must now try to locate both Moira and Proteus and figure out where they both are heading. As they plan their next move Cyclops observes the three X-Men who encountered Proteus. Both Storm and Nightcrawler seem no worse for wear after the encounter but Wolverine seems to be totally shaken and not ready to go into a conflict situation if needed. Cyclops makes a tactical decision to attempt to snap Wolverine back into readiness as well as insure that both Nightcrawler and Storm are also combat ready. Telepathically letting Jean in on to his plan so that she can stop any of the other X-Men from getting involved, Scott goads Wolverine into a fight and as he tactically outmaneuvers Wolverine he strategically brings Storm and Nightcrawler in to the brawl to test them as well. Satisfied they are both physically and mentally sound for battle, Cyclops quickly calls a truce to halt the battle and explains his reasoning for his starting it to begin with. “What I just did was no different from a quick session in the Danger Room.” Considering what he has already been through in his first encounter with Proteus and the knowledge he must face him again, Wolverine grudgingly admits that maybe being part of a team and not always being a lone wolf has some advantages to it after all. Meanwhile after hours of driving we see Moira arriving in the city of Edinburgh and the home of her estranged husband , Joseph Mac Taggert an ambitious member of the Scottish Parliament with his eye on becoming Prime Minister. Moira left him prior to learning she was pregnant with Kevin due to his overly controlling and abusive nature. He is who Moira believes is the person Kevin is intent upon reaching , seeking to pay his father back for the pain he caused his mother and denying him of a normal family life. Moira tells MacTaggert of her reason for coming to see him after so many years, but because of his egotistical nature all he can see is how Moira has wrong him by walking out on him and denying him his right to his son and heir. Disgusted and feeling as if she has failed herself and her son Moira returns to her jeep and cries not knowing that Proteus possessing yet another body is observing everything from across the street . Scene change : We now find the X-Men several miles outside the city of Edinburgh. Due to some advice from Xavier Jean has put her augmented telepathic abilities to good use and has been able to track Proteus' unique mental energies and roughly pinpoint where he is he heading , especially after he abandoned the body of the police officer in favor of the current body he is in possession of. Now knowing he is somewhere within the city of Edinburgh Jean attempts to pinpoint his exact location before he kills again by way of possession. Suddenly Jean crys out in pain and shock as she is hit by a psychic “scream”. She now knows exactly where Proteus is and he has killed again. As if by instinct Jean telekenetically envelops all of the non flying members of the X-Men with her power and carries them into the air and heads off into the direction of Proteus' location with Storm and Polaris quickly following behind in her wake. The X-Men are on the move. In Edinburgh at the exact same moment Jean “hears” the psychic scream, Moira still parked in the front of her former home with Joe MacTaggert witnesses the front of the house literally simultaneously explodes and melts and Joe MacTaggert emerging from the inside of the house. But it is not Joe MacTaggert. It is Kevin MacTaggert now in possession of Joe's body and due to both their identical genetic make-up and similar personality traits it could be the most complete possession by Proteus thus far. With a combination of the love for his mother and the raw possessive passion his father has for Moira, Proteus proclaims Moira as his to do with as he pleases. The X-Men quickly arrive on the scene as Proteus in a prideful display of power is wreaking havoc with the reality of everyone and everything within his immediate vicinity. With Colossus' ability to transform into organic metal, Cyclops tells Peter to lead off their attack on Proteus since he has the best chance of causing in harm to Proteus. Released from Phoenix's telekinetic bubble and transforming into his metallic form Colossus dive bombs down to the ground catching Proteus by surprise and quickly is on his feet charging at the evil mutant. But Proteus' surprise is brief and he unleashes his power and twists the gravity ninety degrees in the surrounding the area sending Colossus and everything and everyone literary falling head long down the street. The rest of the X-Men land moments after Proteus restores reality around him and quickly warns them away from himself and Moira or else he will kill her. He then proceeds to unleash his full power upon the civilian populace causing chaos and confusion to allow him to escape with Moira. The X-Men are caught up within the madness trying to prevent casualties among the civilians until Proteus is far enough away that his power is no longer in effect and reality is restored.
Cyclops quickly comes up with a strategy that will hopefully get Moira away from her son and lead to his defeat. The X-Men will attack Proteus and attempt to force him away from Moira and at the same time burn up his father's body forcing him to make an attempt for one of their bodies. Cyclops hopes to have Colossus in normal human form in position when Proteus attempts to take another body and Peter can transform and whether directly or indirectly stop Proteus. We see the various full on attacks by the X-Men upon Proteus and his counter attacks against them. The battle between the X-Men and Proteus rages through the streets of Edinburgh finally leading up to Edinburgh's landmark Castle Rock and onto the em battlement walls of Edinburgh Castle. After Jean launches a savage psionic attack upon Mutant X which he survives and is able to counter with some effort, Wolverine is able to sneak up on Proteus delivering his own vicious attack with his claws upon Proteus and is able to get Moira away to safety. Cyclops' strategy is working as Proteus has thoroughly burned up Joe MacTaggert's body and must now find a new form are risk his energy form becoming dis-incorporated. Colossus now moves in and grabs Proteus as he attempts to recover from Wolverine's attack and tosses him causing him to fly the length of one of the em battlement walls and striking one of the stone walls of the castle effectively shattering Joe MacTaggert's body and exposing Proteus' true energy form. Before Proteus can have a chance to strike at him Peter transforms into is steel form and once again charges Proteus, but Proteus attempts to stop him by attacking him both with a physical as well as a psychic assault. He transforms the air around Colossus into a living firestorm and calls forth Peter's childhood memories of how his older Mikhail, a Russian Cosmonaut, died in a launch fire in an attempt to torture and humiliate Peter in order to force him back to his human form so he can attempt to possess him. But instead of humiliating Colossus Proteus' attack instead angers and motivates him, seeing Proteus as a truly evil mutant and allowing Peter to strike into the core of Proteus' energy form. The sky for miles around is lit within a brilliant pyrotechnic light show as Colossus' metallic fist virtually short circuits and disrupts Proteus' energy form and scatters his consciousness to the four winds.
Epilogue : The Muir Island Research Facility. It has been several hours since the defeat of Proteus and the X-Men have recovered and attended to the members who thankfully received minor injuries during the battle. As they prepare to return to the United States Banshee informs Xavier and the rest of his team mates that he will be remain on Muir Island. His reasons for staying are two fold : until his powers return he is of no use to the team and he wishes to help Moira through her grief of losing both her son and estranged husband, with the possibility of maybe building a relationship with her due to their mutual attraction. Sean promises that when his abilities return and when the X-Men need him he will be there to aid them. Moira also informs Xavier that when he has finally gathered together his new class for the Institute that Rahne will be part of this new class of young mutants.
Lena Headey = Dr. Moira MacTaggert. An attractive and talented actress with the acting chops to pull off both the strong and gentle sides of Moira.
Tahmoh Penkett = JaimeMadrox/Multiple Man. Penkett is a solid and versatile actor who has become a main stay in many Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre films and TV series. I think he'd be a good fit for the Madrox character.
Russell Crowe = Joseph “Joe” MacTaggert . Academy Award winning actor who became somewhat infamous several years ago due to a certain heated hotel incident. Exactly the kind of raw passion and anger needed to bring to life the character of Joe MacTaggert, especially after he has been possessed by his own son.
CGI Proteus/Mutant X. When not in possession of a host body of course.
Coming Soon : Part Two featuring X-Movies Four, Five and Six.
Feedback of course is welcome and I will respond to comments, but it may not be right away with the work/home life/friends and all.