Saw X MEN FIRST CLASS and while it is the usual Hollywood summer fare filled with big special effects and almost non-stop action and is entertaining I guess, it changes one plot detail that for me damages the comic book continuity of the X Men history as well as totally destroying Magneto’s motivation for being a supervillain in the first place which is his misguided mission to protect mutants.
Sebastian Shaw, leader of the Hellfire Club, the lead villain in FIRST CLASS, and a prominent X Men foe in the comics as well is himself a mutant. Magneto’s parents in the comic book were killed by the Nazis. The movie decides to link the two and make Shaw, in league with the Nazis in the film, the murderer of Magneto’s mother(which never happened in the comic book). This makes absolutely no sense as Magneto’s whole identity was forged on the fact that human beings killed his family and he won’t let that happen to mutants ever again. With a mutant now the killer of his family, it ruins the character’s motivation, his special distrust and hate for humankind.
Comic books are hardly the model of consistency what with retconning ,or changing a characters’ origin or a set of event that have happened after the fact, exploding as a plot device in the last ten years but comic books usually at least get motivation right.
The other thing that always comes to mind when an X men film comes along is the hope that soon Hollywood will discover Apocalypse, the X-Men’s most interesting and most powerful enemy.
En Sabah Nur the world’s oldest, most powerful mutant was tailor-made for the big screen. With his powers and his stature, his megalomania to beat all megalomania and his sidekick Mr . Sinister (himself a great villain) as well as his servants the Four Horsemen, he wouldn’t need much if any alteration for film.
Look forward one day to an X Men vs. Apocalypse film ….A few years ago I wrote about my top 10 comic book villains I should have included Apocalypse (as I noted at the time). http://rgdinmalaysia.xanga.com/663770219/my-list-of-top-10-comic-book-villains/
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