Marvel has finally started talking about mutants in the MCU, and we expect Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) to show up in the MCU soon enough. But Marvel hasn’t announced any live-action X-Men projects or revealed when the Avengers and the mutants will meet up.
However, the X-Men’s arrival is inevitable. Even if it takes several years for the first MCU X-Men movies to drop, there’s no question that they’re coming. And given the state of the MCU, the X-Men’s imminent arrival might spoil a major Avengers development.
It’s not going to be great news for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Mind you, MCU Phase 4 spoilers will follow below. You’ll want to be up to date on current events in the MCU before you read any more about this massive Avengers spoiler.
The Multiverse Saga will end with Avengers: Secret Wars, which should include a few mutants. Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) is one of them. Deadpool is another. There are also mutants from an alternate reality that could show up in the movie. Finally, we have the X-Men in the Avengers’ primary reality, but they have yet to reveal themselves.
Marvel needs to tell us where the X-Men have been
Mutants have not appeared in any Avengers movies so far because Marvel didn’t have the film rights to the characters. Disney solved that problem by acquiring 20th Century Fox, but that doesn’t make Marvel’s job any easier. Marvel will still have to come up with an excellent explanation for the absence of mutants in the MCU.
To that end, it’ll be interesting to see how Deadpool makes his way to the MCU. We expect Deadpool 3 to hit theaters before Avengers 5 and 6 so he can be a part of the future team.
Separately, Marvel might also have a logistical issue. Existing Fox contracts might prevent the studio from using some of the beloved X-Men in Avengers adventures before those actor deals expire. And that should happen in 2025.
This gives Marvel time to fix its X-Men-related Avengers problem. And that’s the spoiler hiding in plain sight that I was alluding to.
Aside from introducing new superheroes and their backstories, the MCU Phase 4 also insisted on an Avengers detail that you can’t ignore. The Avengers are hugely popular with regular mortals. And that will have to change before the X-Men arrive.
The Avengers are too popular
People want to take pictures with Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in Endgame. And Wong (Benedict Wong) is a huge superhero that people recognize in Shang-Chi.
In Hawkeye, they make musicals dedicated to the Avengers, focusing on Steve Rogers. And The Falcon and the Winter Soldier shows us an actual tribute to the former Captain America that proves the world is supporting its superheroes.
Meanwhile, people are cosplaying in the streets and holding Avengers conventions in Ms. Marvel. Not only that, but regular humans know a lot of details about the Avengers and their big fight against Thanos (Josh Brolin). It’s not just Ms. Marvel that conveys that message.
Even the Eternals have a deep admiration for the Avengers.
Finally, superheroes like Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) appear on podcasts to discuss being Avengers. Again, Ms. Marvel makes that very clear.
Even the first She-Hulk episode tells us how popular the Avengers are. And that glorious She-Hulk credits scene is a great testament to that.
How will the X-Men become a problem for the Avengers? Well, the world will have to start hating mutants at some point in the future. That’s a huge X-Men theme and something Marvel will want to use in its own mutants adventures.
The proliferation of super-powered individuals will lead to inevitable problems. And She-Hulk will probably explore some of that. As more and more people develop powers, public opinion might change.
The big X-Men spoiler: The downfall of the Avengers
Approval ratings might drop as more people will look unkindly at some X-Men. At that point, those who hate superheroes will not care that they’re called Avengers, Thunderbolts, or X-Men. They’ll hate all of them indiscriminately.
With that in mind, it’ll take some sort of huge event for a large number of people to start questioning the need for superheroes. Or their legality.
That’s the big X-Men-related spoiler for upcoming Avengers movies. Something terrible must happen in the MCU so the world can blame the Avengers. Against that backdrop, Marvel can tell familiar X-Men stories with Magneto facing off against Professor X.
Some MCU fans might point out that not everyone loves the Avengers. We’ve seen the seeds for that in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Even Far From Home and No Way Home showed us that there are people who do not necessarily condone everything superheroes do.
But overall, the MCU Phase 4’s message has been that the Avengers are immensely popular. That sentiment can’t persist for Marvel to develop X-Men stories.
Also, let’s not forget that Marvel still has to deal with the Sokovia Accords at some point in the future. After all, No Way Home and Ms. Marvel told us that the world’s governments are looking to police super-powered individuals. It’s only a matter of time until regular humans will have to revisit the accords.
You can catch up to all the events in the MCU, except for MCU Spider-Man movies on Disney Plus. And Thor: Love and Thunder starts streaming in a couple of weeks.
More Marvel coverage: For more MCU news, visit our Marvel guide.
