Avengers: Doomsday is introducing several Fox X-Men characters to the MCU, and it’s a perfect opportunity to redeem two mutants in the same style as ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. The cast for Doomsday features plenty of familiar faces, such as Sebastian Stan, Chris Hemsworth, and Paul Rudd. However, it also includes plenty of surprises, especially from the Fox X-Men universe. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden are all returning to Marvel, presumably ᴀssuming the roles of their respective X-Men characters.

This isn’t the first time Fox characters have appeared in the MCU. Stewart returned as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine brought back several Fox characters, including Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Dafne Keen’s X-23, and Chris Evans’ Human Torch. While ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine‘s returning heroes could have been cheap fanfare, the film managed to give them great arcs, redeeming how their stories previously ended. Avengers: Doomsday can do the same thing with two X-Men characters who deserve closure and better endings.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Was All About Redemption And Closure

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 3 redeemed several characters from the Fox universe.

Redemption and legacy are two of the main themes in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool wants to prove himself as a hero by saving the world, leading to his interview with Happy Hogan to become an Avenger. However, he finds his purpose when he has to save the Fox universe from the TVA. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is still ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, but the film introduces a new variant of Wolverine who made a mistake in his world that led to the X-Men’s death. He doesn’t believe he’s a hero, but is worthy of the Wolverine name through his heroic actions in the film’s climax.

The same themes are present in Blade, Elektra, and Channing Tatum’s Gambit. Snipes’ final appearance as Blade in Blade: Trinity was a huge miss, and Garner’s Elektra was killed in 2003’s Daredevil and starred in an underperforming solo film. Tatum’s Gambit never happened after his solo movie was scrapped, making ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine his cinematic debut. All three of these characters had moments to shine in a fight against Cᴀssandra Nova’s henchmen and restored their legacies after their unsatisfying or non-existent endings.

James Marsden’s Cyclops & Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique Deserve Better Endings Than X-Men: The Last Stand

Marsden and Romijn didn’t get the closure that their characters deserve.

X-Men: The Last Stand wasn’t the best ending to the original X-Men trilogy. It made many misguided decisions with certain characters, including killing several mutants, including Cyclops, Professor X, and Jean Grey, and was later retconned by X-Men: Days of Future Past, restoring the timeline so The Last Stand never happened. However, The Last Stand still exists and was the final appearance of several mutants, not including their cameos in Days of Future Past. Jean Grey killed Marsden’s Cyclops offscreen, and Romijn’s Mystique betrayed Magneto after her powers were removed.

While Marsden’s Cyclops was often sidelined in favor of Wolverine and Professor X, Cyclops was still the X-Men’s leader. He didn’t deserve to get unceremoniously killed off by Jean, especially offscreen. Meanwhile, Mystique was an awesome shapeshifter, and taking away her powers was an underwhelming way of completing her arc. While McKellen’s Magneto does ditch her once she becomes human, it was out of character for her to betray Magneto and the other mutants by revealing the location of their base. Hopefully, Avengers: Doomsday can do for them what ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine did for Blade, Elektra, and Gambit.

I Hope Marvel Is Bringing Back More Of Fox’s X-Men For Avengers: Doomsday Or Secret Wars

Several X-Men characters are missing from the cast.

The Fox X-Men characters returning for Avengers: Doomsday are Professor X, Magneto, Beast, Nightcrawler, Mystique, and Cyclops. However, several notable X-Men cast members are missing, including Halle Berry’s Storm, Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey, Anna Paquin’s Rogue, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Wolverine did return recently in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, but could end up being saved for Secret Wars. Still, other Fox X-Men deserve to return in Doomsday, and I hope Marvel plans to bring the full team back.

Berry’s Storm returned in Days of Future Past, but Rogue and Jean Grey only had small cameos in that film, meaning their final significant roles were in The Last Stand. Like Cyclops and Mystique, Rogue and Jean don’t have the best endings. Rogue voluntarily gives up her powers, arguably sabotaging her character arc, and Wolverine kills Jean after she loses control of the Dark Phoenix. If Avengers: Doomsday is bringing back Fox’s X-Men, it should fully commit and bring back everyone, delivering the ultimate X-Men sequence that audiences want to see.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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  July 31, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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