#183 – X-Men: The Last Stand — Mutant Cure, Phoenix Fury

Hello, Maniacs, and welcome back to Marvel Maniac and MCU After Show. This is your host, Eric Cicada, aka Mr. Honest. And today we're closing out the original X Men trilogy with X Men the Last Stand. I'm coming in from a place of nostalgia and just a little bit of curiosity here because this one's messy, sure, but it's also swinging for the fences. It's the movie where the stakes are the highest they've ever been and maybe the most personal. Quick heads up. I'm not here to reenact the whole movie for you, as I may have done in earlier episodes of Marvel Maniac. You've seen it or you wouldn't be here. I'm guessing this is your spoiler alarm and I'm diving straight in. So, first reaction. This is an all in poker move. Chapter the Mutant Cure, the Phoenix Magneto's War. It's all boiling at once. A big melting pot of mutant stew. Some moments land like a gut punch, and others maybe not so much. But when they hit, they really hit. This isn't just about mutant powers. It's about the right to exist, the fear of losing yourself, and the hard choice between peace and freedom. The complexity in this movie is present and there's a lot of different perspectives. You can look at the events of this movie in and everyone kind of has it right, but also nobody has the full picture and hence the big fight at the end. I'd say maybe one of the best fights of these movies. Very powerful. This movie did come out in 2006. This was the only one of the trilogy that I was able to catch in theaters. I don't remember any specific reason for not watching the other ones and probably being young and my parents were picking the movies for me at that point. So did it hit or did it feel like too much was packed into one movie? You know what, I'll just say it off the riff here that Professor X's death really threw me. I hadn't seen the other ones in theaters, but I definitely seen them at least on TV or at some point, because the way that Professor Xavier dies is kind of traumatic. And for me, like, as a. As a younger man, a kid, I was thinking, how are they gonna kill the leader of the X Men? Why would they do that as an adult now? Also knowing there's a multiverse X Men of the X Men, just literally in all these series. And I think there's a total of three, including this times that Charles, the Charles dies on screen, not trying to spoil it for you. But like we've even seen it in Multiverse of Madness. There's so. There's so many moments we got to go through and mourn this guy and he's even going to be coming back for secret or secret wars and doomsday, I'm assuming. So. The premise of this movie lies on a so called cure for mutation. And it divides the mutant world and a lot of the real world. While Jean Gray returns as the Phoenix, her power is unchecked, her loyalty is in question. And the X Men must face Magneto's army, the government and their own teammates. Destructive potential. There's a lot going on here and it can be overwhelming. I'm assuming Wolverine was probably the most overwhelmed in this movie than he ever was. But the cool thing is to see how he can maintain that anger and attitude because he's fighting for love and fight in this one. And he's also kind of had a full circle journey in this trilogy and he's become a lot more selfless because of Charles Xavier. So we start with Worthington Labs announcing the cure for mutation. And instantly we feel the, the fracture lines. You know, Rogue sees hope, Magneto sees war, which he's not wrong about. Magneto says they're going to weaponize it before you know it. And then literally a scene or two later, the cure was in a gun. I think the most tragic moment. Well, there's been some big character deaths in the movie, but I think the way Mystique had to lose her powers in this movie broke my heart because of her loyalty to Magneto and the way he just leaves her there. This movie really lets Magneto play the villain card. And from watching X Men 97 and the X Men original animated series, Magneto, he's a very complex character. And off the top of my head too, I just want to say the relationship he has with Xavier is just so unique. I think Professor X could have been a little more honest and maybe just a little more descriptive of how he wants to help Gene in the movie, because what he told Logan was, wasn't really unreasonable. She has an uncontrollable monster in her that refers to itself as the Phoenix. He knows this. So he put safeguards in her head so she can only be Gen and she doesn't lose control. Well, that's just the whole argument there and everything kind of falls apart on that. That's a loss of trust from Jean and Magneto's ammunition to get him to get her on his side. And yeah, Magneto sees this War coming and then Xavier feels that danger. That's what I have. So the CURA idea, the storyline for that in 2006, when I saw it, it felt real. There wasn't a lot of other superhero franchises to depend on back then, except for maybe Spider man, if I'm correct. I think Spider Man 3 came out the year before this anyway. I think it felt too final for me in theaters. I didn't want it to end, but I mean, that's the sign of a decent movie as well. Like at the same time. So Jean's resurrection kind of like horror movie energy. We lose a lot of great characters in this. And I mean, I know this movie is highly criticized and I don't want to even go into wire look up super much. I can kind of. I mean, I could see Cyclops's death at Alkali Lake. Completely cheap rug pull for the shock and value. I think Cyclops should have had more of a role in the movie. That's just my instinct because he didn't really have to die. He could have seen Gene for what she is. He could have seen her murder somebody. He could have seen her do anything and he would have realized it's not really her. Instead, we get to watch cyclops mourn for 20 minutes and then have his dreams come true. And Jean returning and she totally betrays and kills him. Ouch. That's horrible. And if you want to refer to it like split personalities, like Xavier says, that's one thing, but it's just another side of Jean that she couldn't hold herself back from killing the man she loved. And that's one of the last things Professor Xavier says. You're not yourself. You go, you killed the man you love. Breaks your heart. And that kiss, that soul draining kiss, it's just awful. And we know Professor Xavier feels it because he sends Storm and Wolverine out to the scene. Wolverine and Storm, by the way, Storm taking a leadership role in this movie. I haven't talked enough about her over the last few weeks. I think her powers are portrayed amazing on screen and I really like the leadership role she takes in this movie. It honestly really, it really honors Professor X because he gives her a little, hey, maybe you could take over after me earlier in the movie. And then when he dies, they're all talking about shutting down the mansion and the fact that she wants to jump in and take over. It's just so heartfelt and I appreciate that detail this and the future movie. We will talk about Dark Phoenix, completely different. Which one captured the danger and tragedy better, would you think? Marvelmaniacpod gmail com did you enjoy this movie, Last Stand or Dark Phoenix? More similar stories, very different cast coming from similar places, but trying to separate themselves as well. From what I've heard, the fan census is this story has never really been done right on screen. And I don't think Dark Phoenix OR X Men 3 Last Stand delivers to those deep comic book fans. As a moviegoer, Dark Phoenix doesn't stand out to me as for what I remember as much as the other three, especially Days of Future Past, which is very special. But there's like a continuity thing with these, with this series that I can only rationalize with the multiverse. There's a lot of different universes of X Men at play here. And I think in each series, let's say the First Class series, it's a multiverse. It's not the same exact timeline because things don't line up if it's the same timeline and then we got to add retcons. And the multiverse is a beautiful reason for, for the timeline shenanigans. Like Deadpool saying that in his first movie. So many timelines, it's so confusing. That's kind of like what it is. So my rationale for these movies is it's there's a lot of X Men in the multiverse. There's a lot of Wolverine variants, there's a lot of Professor X variants. The Fox X Men universe takes on the main form of all, mostly all the X Men from the comics and gone into the screen. And there's not many more universes where there's not these exact variants of these characters. That's my assuming that's my multiversal take. I think Gene could ever been saved. I think she made her sacrifice and that part of her died. There's small moments where she comes back to life just to say save me or kill me or. It's just traumatic. Honestly, the fact that she killed Cyclops, it does a really good job of you as the audience not trusting her whatsoever and worrying about the character she's interacting with earlier in the movie. Lets talk about Magneto though, his recruiting. He is totally at the top of his game in this movie in manipulation and evil. I don't think we've ever seen him so evil. From the church scene to the forest camp, Magneto pulls in every delusion mutant he can, including some with powers that just look cool on screen. Which new mutant stood up to me the most was probably the Flame Guy. Even though I don't know his name. I know he shows back up in Deadpool and Wolverine. And I kind of like how he leaves the group to join Magneto at the end of X2. And we do get a follow up and see him pretty much being Magneto's right hand man, you see a lot of conflict in him. But he is pretty loyal to the cause that Magneto is fighting for and putting out there to the mutants. He can get on his side. I think I really would have liked a more. See, I can't say comic accurate. I would like to see Gambit. You know, I don't know why they didn't pick up the Gambit was such a powerful addition to the cast of the Animated Series by this point. These movies kind of took the characters they wanted and made their own version of the, you know, X Men universe, which is completely fair. And I think movies, at least back in 2006, maybe all the way up to 2010, they would take material from a certain book or movie and make it their own. With the exception of, like the Harry Potter series. Hey, go listen to Magic Muggle, a Harry Potter after show. That's my new Harry Potter podcast. We're just finishing the first book. You're never late. So the Xavier, Magneto Phoenix showdown at Gene's childhood home. It's where we open the movie and it's where the climax, well, at least for Professor Xavier, ends. There's tension. You can cut with Adamantium. That's. That's what you need. Or Vibranium. Is there vibranium in this universe? I don't know. Magneto tries to sway her and Xavier tries to calm her. And then one of the most shocking moments in the franchise. Yeah, Xavier dies. This scene does hold emotional weight for me. Even though we know in hindsight, with everything we know about future movies like Logan and Days of Future Past, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. The cast list for Doomsday, Avengers, Doomsday. We know that we don't have to really mourn Professor Xavier that much in this movie. I think the biggest confusing thing for me is when they do Days of Future patch. And it's hard to not like the movie because it brings back all of these characters. But at the same time, you're thinking, how the hell does Magneto have powers? And Xavier, how is he alive? Multiverse. It's an easy answer. And it makes sense. This is the Multiverse saga. And if we're bringing these movies in retroactively, it makes sense to just not draw assumptions, but to make sense of Certain things, character changes, Deadpool include Deadpool's Colossus versus the movie's Colossus. Juggernaut's Deadpool versus the Juggernaut. I'm Juggernaut. That's. That was over the top, but also kind of hilarious, and the actor leaned in on it. You know, the one from Deadpool is much scarier. He's totally a bigger batter boss. So we can always use the multiverse as honestly, the truest reason. As fans, I can't say I'm the one making the canon, but for all of it to make sense, to make it make sense, that's what I got going on in my mind. Oh, my gosh. The thing is about Xavier's death, though, is he's trying to help and Magneto instigates it. And the complex cis, like, the complex situation is that Magneto doesn't want Xavier to die. Later in the movie, he says, charles Xavier. It's a shame that he had to die to see my dream fulfilled. You know, he did kind of start this and bring Xavier to the point of death by recruiting Jean and, you know, trying to throw doubt in her mind when he's trying to calm her down. They could have come on a unified front, but Magneto just wants her power. It's so clear that Magneto uses people and uses people and uses people. Here dies and Storm loses her mentor, gains the weight of that leadership and the shift of her dynamic with the rest of the team, it changes. She's more of an active role at this point, and I really like that. Magneto's worry in that moment also shows that Xavier and his bond is rooted in deep respect, even as enemies, something that they do dig into a little bit further. In the First Class series, there's a lot of similarities. There's just actor differences and timeline mistakes, you can call them. But it's very hard to make a cohesive story when you're not even sure, like, from these movies perspectives, if there's ever going to be another sequel. The final battle at Alcatraz. Wow. The cure is in the guns. And they even learn to make them plastic so Magneto can't stop them from being shot out of grenades and many guns. The bridge sequence is one of the most iconic scenes in all of these X Men movies, in my opinion, where Magneto moves the literal bridge. I'm. I'm. I cannot believe how he moves that whole bridge to the island. It is so powerful. It showcases Magneto is not using all of his power to do generic super villain Stuff. He is so powerful, and he's trying to use it for what in his mind says is good. And Sir Ian McKellen is insanely amazing at portraying Magneto, and I don't blame them for bringing him back at every chance they can get. He's fantastic. I think the fight scene at the end was fat, was really good, and still holds up. There's a lot of action in this movie, maybe more so than the other ones, completely. Logan versus Phoenix. This is personal. Buildings are disintegrating, mutants are falling. I mean, the Phoenix is like this disintegrating. People like Charles Xavier, she's, like, killing so many people. And the real climax is just Logan and Gene there. Really. His healing factor lets him get close enough to do the unthinkable. This choice, it hurts and it feels earned with their history. Maybe a little rush, because, you know, in a longer series, maybe we'd get a little more backstory to this love. But if you've been watching the trilogy, the love stands there. Logan's love for Jean Grey, and it's so complicated because he does love her, but she's with Scott, and it's very strong of Logan to remember Scott's memory instead of just making out with her. And that's why he probably didn't die if he. You know, I just think that it's really big of Wolverine. It's a big moment for him to ask where Scott is instead of kissing the love of his life. So in this movie, we got Logan slash Wolverine. Finally, the emotional core of the team. Not just a lone wolf gene slash. Phoenix, a tragic force of nature. Powerful, unpredictable, heartbreaking. Magneto, charismatic until the moment he's powerless. That is a big moment, and I didn't expect it and I didn't remember at this time. And thinking about that last scene of the movie, it's Magneto sitting at a chess table. Charles Xavier's present presence is dearly noted and missed. And a subtle, very subtle final shot of the movie. Magneto puts his hand out towards the chest piece. The chest piece. And it moves just the slightest, indicating to me at least, that the cure is something that isn't going to hang on. And the mutants will most likely return. Yeah, Even the ones that were wanting to be cured. So interesting. I don't think they follow that up, though, which is okay, I think moving into a prequel with Michael Fassbender. And, oh, man, I can't think of the guy who plays Xavier. He's a great actor. That's just slipped my mind, you know, I think they might have done The Spider Man 3 thing where they put a lot of character arcs in a lot into one movie because they knew, at least in this one that was the last one. However, it doesn't bother me. I mean, I think the character with the wings, like he has his own story. It could be argued he could have been more involved, but it's just kind of this overall story of him becoming a mutant as a kid, then his dad creating the here, and him still being proud of who he is. He's literally spreading his wings. And the payoff is his dad is about to get killed. And at the. At the end of the movie, he saves his dad flying through the sky. So that is kind of a cool arc for that character. And the fact that he returns to the X Mansion probably becoming an X Men, he seems like he'd be a very valuable asset. Rogue, the cure debate in one person. Her absence from the final fight. It divides fans. However, I don't think this Rogue was super great depicted super. I think she was all right. I've seen her in every movie and I don't mean to be mean. I think she's just more of like a one note character in this. Compared to the X men animated series/97 where Rogue is a leader of the X Men. She's not the leader, but she has her southern twang personality and she's a. She's a lot more confident and she can fly. I would personally like to see that Rogue come to life in the MCU at some point. Beast is a Steen scene stealer. Can't say it. Try it five times. Every line and every leap works. And Kelsey Grammer, I believe he's coming back and we get to see him in a post credit scene of one of the Marvel movies we've already covered. But I won't spoil it, just in case you haven't seen it. Okay, skip ahead 10 seconds. The marvels. So that's the through line. Monica Rambeau entering that X Men universe. The hospital room she's in after watching these movies makes it look a lot like the X Mansion. So that's kind of exciting on its own in its own way. And finally, Storm is more than just weather control. She's been the emotional glue in the background. Charles trusting her to lead the X Men after his death shows the depth of her role. I want more Storm. I want to know more about her. I hope she has a more forward part in the next X Men that they're creating for post Secret Wars. There's a long time between then and now. So we'll get some X Men 97. Probably another season of it or two before that movie comes around. We're in the long end game now for this saga, and I'm kind of happy here as a viewer because we get to resonate. We get to look back, we get to piece the multiverse together on our own. All before doomsday. Close to a year and a half from now. Crazy to think, but the time will fly. Favorite moments. Magneto moving that bridge. I gotta say, just pure comic panel spectacle. Beasts quoting Churchill mid battle. He says, you get the rest. Mystique's cure scene is just a brutal betrayal and it's disguised as a tragedy. It bothers me because of how on the line she puts herself for Magneto and how he just throws her aside like she's nothing after she literally took a bullet for him. They did a good job at making Magneto evil and complex at the same time. Logan's final walk to Gene. No helmet, no claws at first, just heart. And that Magneto chest piece moment, that's kind of peak cherry on top. So Xavier walking, walking in the opening flashback versus his injury in first class. That bothers me. But again, multiversal split soft reboot. I wouldn't want to call it a continuity slip at this point. It makes the movies better if you just say it's in another multiverse. Similar. It really does fix the problem. And it's not like that. Out of reach because they've already been shown to be a part of the multiverse. I. I feel like I'm standing too much on the defense of this. But, you know, it's never been officially said. It's just. You can. You can put that together for yourself if you want. I do have a feeling, though, that I am correct on that. A cliffhanger. I mean, cliffhanger. And a post of credit scene in this movie that I never noticed or ever knew about. Where a man wakes up in the hospital. We're not quite sure who it is, but the nurse's name, Moira. Forgive me for forgetting that significance in the future. It might be one of the characters from Days of Future Past or something. But Moira was said with Charles Xavier's voice. So we can't tell if this is Xavier in another body or something or just an carbon copy clone. I don't know. It's a very, very intriguing post credits scene that I'm actually not sure if they follow up on. While Last Stand is not canon to the MCU yet the Last Stand is really a touchstone for how far Marvel handles the Phoenix and the Cure debate and Magneto's complexity. If any of this gets retooled for the mcu, I hope they keep the moral weight, but maybe let it breathe a little more. We'll see and get a little bit more explanation of how the multi verse is working for the X Men in the following Doomsday and whatever. Maybe secret projects may be ahead in the next year and a half leading up to Doomsday. Very intrigued and I kind of like that. It seems very connected and we get to see Beast and all of that coming together is going to be very interesting. So I want to hear from you when you think what do you think of the last 10? Honestly, do you think it was about the Cure, the Phoenix, the Bridge? Was there something you would have dropped? Drop your take in the comments or DM me marvelmaniacpod gmail.com and hey, if you're into supporting the show, there's a patreon.com marvelmaniac we put many sodes up every Saturday 10am Central and there's a tip jar in our description per episode. No pressure. Your listen just means the world. All right Maniacs. That has been my coverage of X Men Last Stand. I didn't think the episode would go so long for how action packed it was, but it really, it really hit me. This trilogy was really fun to watch. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm going to tell you now that the X Men ride is not ending. We are going to go through every X Men movie before we move on and if I made a plan out loud to tell you I was covering X Men 97, I'm shifting that into another show and I have a big reason and news about that. It's going to be a lot of fun. There's going to be a change in the podcast of a good one and we'll talk about that on a further date. But just giving you a little bit of a heads up, we'll probably hold off on watching X Men 97 until around when the next season gets released. As for that, we have wrapped the original trilogy and I'm already just eyeing what's next. I think it might be X Men Origins Wolverine, but we're going to watch them in the order they were released, including the Deadpool movies, the ones I watched many times but didn't watch for my review. So I'm gonna watch Deadpool's Talk About Deadpool in the order of the continuity and we're all going to lead this to a third watch on this podcast of X Men. Not X Men, Deadpool, Wolverine. Because how could we not talk about that after watching every X Men movie? Thanks for sticking with me on this one. Our main supporter, Michael Finney, he is in our Patreon. You know, he is keeping the fandom alive if you ask me. He he expressed a kind note on this shorter episodes, so I do try to keep him shorter, but if there's a lot of content, I don't want to miss anything. I might have riffed a little bit much in this one, but hey, I enjoyed talking about it. I hope you enjoyed it too. Thanks for hanging out with me. And until next time, Avengers disassemble.