Deadpool said it best: superhero movies can come in the form of solo movies, or more lucrative team ensembles. As one of the oldest superhero franchises in existence, the X-Men series has introduced an army of characters over the last two decades. Some of these characters – like Wolverine or the aforementioned Merc with the Mouth – are well suited to the solo treatment. However, some characters should never, ever get a solo movie of all to themselves.
We’ve gone through the long history of the X-Men mythos and pulled out seven characters that should remain in the team environment. Sure, they might be fun characters to watch on screen, but we have a hard time believing that they could support a film on their own merit. Now let’s get this list off to a quick start with one of the X-Men universe’s most popular new characters…
Quicksilver
Although he has clearly become the standout favorite among the new ensemble of X-Men, Evan Peters’ Quicksilver might not be the best-suited character to lead his own solo movie. Don’t get me wrong; we adore his character, his abilities, and the action sequences inherent to those abilities. However, over the course of the last two films, it has become abundantly clear that Quicksilver works best when he has a team of straight-laced X-Men mutants to play off of. Without someone like Wolverine, Mystique, or Professor X there to play straight man to Peter Maximoff’s funnyman, we’re not sure if this speedster would have the same degree of charm we have come to expect from him.
Mystique
Mystique has come a long way since the early days of the X-Men franchise. Although she was once equal parts henchwoman and eye candy, she has since gone on to become a central part of the current cinematic X-Men mythos – and that presents something of a problem. Mystique has lost much of her… well, mystique throughout the course of Jennifer Lawrence’s tenure as the shape-shifting mutant. While we appreciate the added depth of character that the new X-Men continuity has provided her, she’s already held center stage during the last three films, and we don’t think that a solo movie could really take her that much further. That being said, considering Jennifer Lawrence's meteoric rise to fame, it will still probably end up happening.
Jubilee
Anyone who grew up with the X-Men cartoon of the 1990s will instantly be able to tell you that Jubilee has one of the most iconic looks in the entire X-Men mythos. That being said, the character was seriously short changed in X-Men: Apocalypse, when her role turned out to be little more than an extended cameo. The character fully deserves a chance to shine in a future X-Men movie – particularly if the next X-Men film takes place in the 1990s – but Jubilee by herself isn’t all that interesting. Boiled down to her most basic elements, the character’s mutant abilities allow her to shoot vibrantly colored fireworks from the tips of her fingers. Even for Hollywood’s greatest pitchmen, that would be a tough solo movie to sell.
Cyclops
If we had to pick a single character that the X-Men universe has yet to properly flesh out, we would have to pick Scott Summers a.k.a Cyclops. James Marsden’s take on the character never had a moment to shine from beneath Wolverine’s shadow, and Tye Sheridan's iteration of the character has only begun to finally show how great Cyclops can be. Here’s the reason Scott Summers shouldn’t get his own movie: he’s the leader of the X-Men. He isn’t a lone wolf; he firmly belongs front and center of the proper X-Men continuity as the commander of Charles Xavier’s team of heroic mutants. That’s where he belongs, and it’s time he got his due.
Dazzler
Those of you who only keep up with the X-Men universe through the films might currently be scratching your head. Dazzler is a character who has yet to properly premiere in 20th Century Fox’s movie franchise, but her debut has long been rumored. Her abilities are not terribly far off from Jubilee’s in the sense that they offer more visual spectacle than genuine combat advantages. Essentially, Dazzler has the ability to convert sound vibrations into various forms of "dazzling" lights. Rumors swirled for some time that pop star Taylor Swift could potentially join the X-Men universe as Dazzler at some point in the future, and while those rumors have since been quashed, we want to take this moment to plead with the creative forces behind the X-Men universe to never turn that not-so-great idea into a Dazzler solo movie.
Blob
Fred Dukes has become a punch line in the silver screen X-Men continuity. Played for physical comedy in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the character remained dormant until we saw him quietly beaten by Angel in an X-Men: Apocalypse cameo. As his name would suggest, Blob is a blob of a man whose mutant physiology makes him incredibly fat, incredibly strong, and practically immovable. At this point in time it would be incredibly difficult to imagine a truly enjoyable solo film centered around a mutant with this array of abilities who has already been so disservice by the X-Men franchise overall. Maybe 20th Century Fox could redeem him in an ensemble movie, but we don’t think a solo adventure is in the cards anytime soon.
Magneto
This one hurts to write. A few years ago Magneto would not have had a spot on this list, but the newly rebooted X-Men continuity has taken the character just about as far as he can go. After Ian McKellan’s original take on the character as a seasoned super villan, and Michael Fassbender’s more anti-hero approach to Erik Lehnsherr’s younger self, it simply might be time for 20th Century Fox to seriously ease off of its use of Magneto. Don’t get me wrong, we love Magneto and we want him to continue popping up in the X-Men mythos, but after so many solid character arcs over the course of the last 16 years, it would simply be hard to justify giving him an entire movie to himself.
