What If...the X-Men were introduced into the MCU? (Colin Caccamise)

This has been one of the most arduous What If's we've ever come up with here at Castwave Studios. This is one that's also very near and dear to my heart, you see the X-Men are my favorite comic book property, hands-down. Every film outing they've ever done, I've been there and consistently disappointed. As I say in the episode recorded live at BoroughCon 2017 that this article accompanies, FOX has a very irritating trait to make a Wolverine film and brand it an X-Men film.

They also attempt to shoehorn in the Phoenix without properly identifying Jean Grey's connection to the cosmic entity. This plays into one of the major issues with starting the X-Men in films, there is too much to establish to fit into a 90 minute film. In most cases, Fox condenses it down to its most basic level (just introducing your main characters essentially) and having it heavily rely on Logan to carry it through to the end. It's a broken formula that has been repeated too many times and it needs to stop.

Enter Kevin Feige, the producer of many of the MCU's films. He has stated in interviews that he would like to see the X-Men introduced as part of the MCU, if possible. With this in mind, Castwave Studios is proud to present...

What If...

Setting:

​The season 1 outline would be Professor Xavier attempting to train the original class of X-Men in the MCU timeline (pre-Avengers). The team would consist of Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast and Angel. Professor Xavier is attempting to create a society in which humans co-exist with mutants. Each member of the team in their own way come around to the concept of the team, but not before handling the own personal problems and the new idea of species-ism. Magneto would be the villain behind the scenes, building his own team after his initial defeat at the hands of the X-Men.

The season 1 timeline falls between just after the events of Iron Man (2008), Incredible Hulk (2008) and Iron Man 2 (2010).

Casting:

This is a list of actors that I feel fit the roles, both physically and in terms of acting ability as well. We also tried our best to make sure that there was no cross over between any existing MCU property.

Professor Charles Xavier

Played by Kevin Spacey
This seems like a no-brainer, the man has the acting range to play any role EVER. We've seen that he can adapt to a role in a comic book universe (being one of the only positives from Superman Returns) and being one in a select cast of actors who can rock the bald look. He also has a good working relationship with Netflix (see House of Cards) which will help come casting time. He would be my first and only pick for the world's greatest telepath.

Magneto (Erik Lehnsherr)

Played by Peter Capaldi
This might seem like a misstep, but hear me out. Peter Calpaldi's run as the Doctor has shown the drastic change from happy, goofy Matt Smith to his grim, stoic-faced realist which coincidentally mirrors Magneto's personality when it comes to the relationship between humanity and mutants. Capaldi's almost haggard-like visage is reminiscent of Magneto eyes in the first issue of Uncanny X-Men #1.

The only question is, could he lose the thick Scottish brogue we've all become accustomed to?

The X-Men

Played by Alex Pettyfer (Cyclops), Chad Michael Jamian (Iceman), Liam Hemsworth (Angel), Nicholas Hoult (Beast) and Rose Leslie (Marvel Girl)
Each of these actors were chosen based on their performances and strengths they would bring to the table to better suit the characters in question. Alex Pettyfer's performance in I Am Number Four proves that he can play Cyclops, the X-Men's tactical leader, Chad Jamian's awkward comedic style is a perfect fit for Bobby Drake's personality, Liam Hemsworth has got the looks and acting chops to pull off the high-flying playboy Warren Worthington the Third. Nicholas Hoult has proven that he is Henry McCoy in the First Class series, except now he'll be able to expand upon the character prior to his blue period. Rose Leslie showed her tough side in Game of Thrones, which will add a much needed dimension to Jean Grey's Marvel Girl.

The Brotherhood

Played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Mastermind), Jorge Garcia (The Blob) and Jack Gleeson (Toad)
These choices were more based on their looks, but to be fair all of these actors would be able to bring a better performance to these roles than any previous iterations. Meyers has the definite creep factor as portrayed in Dracula and The Tudors. Garcia's portyal of Hurley on Lost may have started as a comic relief, but became more serious as the series drew to a close. Jack Gleeson's time as Joffrey on Game of Thrones made him into a character everyone loved to hate. Even though he's not acting full-time anymore, I feel he'd be the actor to give Toad the depth he's been sorely lacking.

Cameos

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Logan Paul as Alex Summers  Tom Hardy as Cain Marko/Juggernaut, Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer and Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson
By introducing these characters, we need to include other members of the MCU in order to get the X-Men adjusted into the timeline properly. Since the original X-Men series had Xavier liaising with the FBI, swap out organization and have the X-Men as a squad of deputized SHIELD agents directly working with Nick Fury, Agent Coulson can act as their liaison if we can't get Sam Jackson for more than one or two cameos. Tony Stark being the foremost expert on robotics would be our assist character when the Sentinels start to appear. Tom Hardy would a perfect fit for the embodiment of rage known as Cain Marko (see Bronson). Justin Hammer obviously is still looking for some form of tech to get a leg up over Stark, which he thinks he might have found in the Sentinels.

Series Outline:

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 1:
2008: Jean Grey arrives at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and is introduced to Professor Charles Xavier and his current class of students, Scott Summers, Robert Drake, Henry McCoy and Warren Worthington III. Xavier explains to Jean that while the school is legitimate private school, it serves a dual purpose. Xavier's goal in life is to create a society in which mutants and humans can live together harmoniously. Xavier tells Jean that as a student of the school, she would not only receive an education, but also combat and survival training, so that she and the others can help society and prove that mutants are not a threat, but a benefit to society.

Jean is shown around the school by Xavier and Scott, who is seemingly interested in her. Xavier has her watch then later, join a training session in the Danger Room and she is impressed by the team's cohesion, and they are impressed by her use of telekinesis. After, she tells Scott that she is unsure if she can make the cut. Scott attempts to advise her that it is an opportunity for them all to do good in whatever way possible and she'll know when the time is right. Xavier beckons them telling them that Magneto has been spotted in the city. Jean asks who Magneto is, they explain that Magneto is a mutant terrorist whose sole purpose is to enslave mankind and make mutants the rulers of the planet. Cyclops, Angel, Beast and Iceman suit up and leave to fight Magneto.

Magneto is attempting to steal munitions from an Army base and the armed forces are finding themselves outmatched due to his magnetic powers. The X-Men arrive and tell the Army leadership to pull their men out and give them a chance to take down Magneto. The army gives them 30 minutes to do it or they will bombard the base to prevent Magneto getting what he wants. The team storms the base and starts fighting the villain. Magneto, due to the availability of metal on base, quickly gains an upper hand against them.

Jean asks the Professor if she can go to help them, he tells her no, as she has had no training whatsoever and would only end up getting hurt. Jean leaves and goes down to the team's quarters and sees a uniform made for her with a note from the others, welcoming her to the team. Jean suits up and steals Scott's motorcycle and drives off, Xavier simply grumbles "Teenagers."

Meanwhile, the team is able to regroup and starts throwing Magneto off by coming up with their strategies of the fly. The Army getting impatient, decides to shell the base prematurely. The shells stop short of Magneto, who gathers them all together to throw back at the Army, when out of nowhere, a motorcycle smashes into Magneto causing the shells to drop and explode. Jean floats down using her telekinesis and asks "Got room for one more?" The X-Men hear the sound of rubble starting to move and turn to face their enemy as a team. <Credits>

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 2:
We open the episode where Episode 1 left off. Magneto emerges from the rubble agitated, but relatively unharmed. He then takes control of the missiles stored within the compound and through sheer will targets them at the team. Slowly, but surely they are able to destroy them one by one. Bobby disables four of them by freezing the nosecones, which deactivate the warheads' computers. The fifth missile locks onto Angel who eludes it with aerial maneuvering until Beast catches it and Marvel Girl deflects it into the ocean.

Angel finds Magneto who waylays him with a steel pylon, the others soon arrive and begin dodging through a hail of metal again. Magneto escapes during this and disable a fuel truck and hurls it at the team. Iceman instinctively throws up a ice wall which is destroyed by the exploding fuel truck. Magneto seeing nothing but the remnants of the ice wall, gloats that he's destroyed them. Cyclops blasts out the ground from underneath them and Magneto is knocked off his feet.

Magneto pulls a bunch of metal together to form a rudimentary shield and levitates away, screaming that he'll find them and make them pay for this. The team celebrates this victory and returns to the commanding officer of the base advising their base has been cleared. The commanding officer orders them arrested for destruction of U.S. Government property, they protest saying that they would've been killed if not for them. The officer orders his men to move in and arrest them. Marvel Girl levitates them all and drops them back onto the base. In the ensuing fracas, they are able to escape.

When they return to the mansion, Xavier berates them for being so careless when it came to Magneto. He tells them they must treat every battle like life and death, as they enemies aren't looking for prisoners. Jean apologizes and tells the Professor that she will leave as she directly disobeyed him. Scott steps forward and says that if Jean leaves than he will as well, to the surprise of everyone. Scott says even though they had all trained and drilled for months, it was Jean's intervention that saved them. Xavier relents and says that his heated comments was due to his concern, he states that Jean was correct in her actions, if a little rash. Xavier asks Jean to stay on at the school to continue with them. She agrees.

We then cut to Magneto, who is in hiding after his defeat. He starts recording a video to send to world governments everywhere, his message is one of fear. He says that he will destroy the world of man and lead a brand new age of mutants to peace. He closes saying the children who defeated him have stopped nothing and that they wont be so lucky next time. <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
Professor Xavier is watching the message that Magneto recorded, looking very seriously at it. Someone clear their throat, they step out from behind the corner. It is Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) who asks Professor Xavier what he knows about Magneto, Xavier tells him that Magneto is dangerous to every person on the planet, man or mutant. Fury states that he has a proposition for him, Xavier tells him he isn't interested in the Avengers Initiative. He instead offers him an alternative which he calls "The X-Men", a deputized squad of mutants to police mutants, sanctioned by S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 3:
Xavier and Fury tells the group that S.H.I.E.L.D has agreed to their terms and will deputize them as a squad of agents under the government's purview. Fury also tells them that he has smoothed over the issue of their arrest at the army base. He tells them that they must maintain anonymity as S.H.I.E.L.D will disavow all knowledge of their operations, if they are caught or captured. Fury tells them that the existence of mutants must be kept under wraps for the short term as the general population are not ready to learn the humanity is evolving beyond their current status (due to the Hulk incident).

The students ask if they can recruit any mutants they come across who might share their ideals. Fury agrees, but tells them to use their best judgement. Xavier grants them a day off and urges them to enjoy themselves. Scott suggests they go in town check out a movie, the others agree. They arrive in town to see a TV show being filmed, daring people to see if they can beat The Blob. After watching a few of the townsfolk fail, Hank thinks he might have what it takes. Hank does much better than the others, but still fails to beat the Blob. Scott notices a few things about the Blob while he fights and thinks he might be a mutant. The Blob ends his show and is berated for not drawing a larger crowd by the director, claiming that he is becoming a fading novelty.

Later in the evening, Scott has found the hotel where the Blob is staying and tells him that he knows what the Blob is. The Blob gets defensive and attacks him, Scott knocks him back with an optic blast. The Blob realizes he isn't there to out him and asks what he wants. Scott tells him of the school where he would be welcomed as an equal. He goes to the school and Xavier explains their mission, Blob sees Hank and laughs. Saying if that's the caliber of teammate to expect, he's not interested. Xavier beckons the X-Men to stop him. Bobby quickly encases his leg in a block of ice, when the Blob smashes easily. Hank lunges at him, only to be caught and flung at Xavier. Jean catches him with her telekinesis in mid-air and the Blob is able to escape.

Scott seems despondent at the fact that the first mutant they meet is uninterested in joining them. He laments if all future attempts will go this way. Xavier tells Scott that he tried his best, and that no one is perfect. It's how he'll learn from this and move on that's important. Hank runs into the room and tells Scott and Xavier that the Blob has taken his director and crew hostage and threatens to kill them, if his demands are not met. The team mobilizes and enters the building from the roof while Xavier is out front of the building and Blob offers a hostage in exchange to speak with him alone. Xavier telepathically convinces the agent in command to allow this.

The X-Men break into the room where the Blob is, they see Xavier in the room and are unsure why he put himself in harm's way. The Blob informs Xavier that he's decided to tell the world what he is and how he is better than anyone else. Xavier tells him he can't allow that as humanity isn't ready for that revelation yet. Blob says there's nothing Xavier can do to stop him, Xavier then mind-wipes Blob and the film crew of the last 24 hours. Xavier then implants the idea of a gas leak in the building into the minds of the response teams outside, they grab all the camera equipment and dispose any evidence of the kidnapping.

Back at the school, Fury tells them that this is exactly what he was talking about, that they should only reveal the true existence of the school and the team's mission, only if the person in question is deemed trustworthy enough. He also suggests a good way to gauge that is to have more pupils come to the school and test them accordingly. Xavier agrees and says he has just the way to do it. He leads the X-Men to a room and when the lights come up, they see a lit-up console with a helmet (Cerebro). <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
The Blob is unpacking his things in motel, presumably in another town, his director is telling him about his next show when we see the room start to shake. The wall rips out and Magneto glides in with another person, the director starts to yell, but the other figure's eyes glow and he commands him to sleep. Blob demands to know who they are and what they want, Magneto introduces himself and his cohort Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind), as for why they are there, he says "to show you the truth". Wyngarde's eyes light up again as does Blob's, along with brief glimpses of what had just happened in the episode. Blob, visibly angry, asks Magneto what he wants of him. Magneto smiles and says "to take your place at the top of the mountain".

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 4:
Scott is tossing and turning at night, we see he is having a nightmare. He is in a plane with his mother, father and brother, the plane is on fire and Scott's mother is placing the only parachute around him and his brother. We then see their mother kiss them goodbye and push them out of the plane. Scott wakes up screaming, realizing he was dreaming, he goes downstairs for a drink. Jean and Warren are downstairs as well ask if he's OK. He says he is, Warren accepts this, but Jean seems unconvinced.

She goes to the Professor later asking him about Scott, he tells her the story of how he found him. He was an orphan and picked on, until one day his mutant ability manifested. Xavier adopted him and took him in, making him the first student of the institute. Scott overhears this and tries to remember certain things about his past, but is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Bobby, Warren and Hank are in town, when they see a teenage boy getting picked on for being different. They fight the crowd off and berate them for acting in such a way, one of them cheap-shots Hank. Hank picks him up off of the ground and almost punches him. Warren and Bobby have to pry him down and the gang runs away. The kid thanks them and runs off, Bobby and Warren ask if Hank is OK, he grumbles he is and storms off.

Back at the mansion, Jean is asking Scott about his past. Scott says he can only remember so much, mostly from his time at the orphanage onward. He says that he's been having this reoccurring nightmare, but can't figure out why. Jean asks to try something, she puts her hands over either side of his head and tells him to concentrate on the nightmare. Jean is able to find the memory in its entirety, Scott was flying with his family until their plane was fired upon. Scott's mother threw him and his brother out of the plane, so they could survive. She tells Scott to look after his brother and protect him. On their decent, when they were 50-60 feet off of the ground, the parachute, weakened by fire caused them to veer sharply into the trees. Scott's head struck a few limbs and knocked him unconscious. This causes Jean to break her psychic link with Scott, Scott was unaware that Jean also had the ability to read minds. She says that the Professor saw she had that ability and had been teaching her how to develop it. Scott thanks her and goes to the Professor and asks him if he knows where his brother is.

Later, Hank is at a bar and the assailants from earlier arrive and start to harass him. Hank turns and says they aren't worth his time and walks away. He steps outside and is smacked in the head with a beer bottle and is drug into an alley. They tell him that the kid they were chasing was a freak of nature and they were trying to make things right in the world. They tell him that only true friends of humanity have the right to pass judgement. The start to beat on Hank, until Warren and Bobby show up in their uniforms, minus the X-logos. Warren picks two of the thugs up and drops them in a dumpster. Bobby turns to an icy form before the others' eyes and threatens to do the same to them, they run off. Hank catches the leader and tell him that any friend of humanity wouldn't discriminate those who are different. He then throws him up into the air where Warren catches him and drops him in the same dumpster as the others. Bobby then freezes it shut and they all walk off together laughing.

They arrive back at the X-Mansion, and Xavier questions them due to Hank's injuries, they explain and Xavier is not pleased, but understands their actions. He tells Hank that he is proud of not using his powers to fight back, but only to defend himself and others. Hank said it had been close and that if Warren and Bobby hadn't stop he wasn't sure what he might have done. Xavier tells him that if he remembers that going forward, he'll know what to do in future.

Scott is in his bedroom reading the file that Xavier gave him, there are pictures of Alex, as a child and as an adult. He flips through and sees he's currently in college in Virginia. Jean clears her throat, and says that Virginia isn't that far of a drive and jingles a set of keys. Scott smiles and closes the folder. <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
Magneto is sitting in his hideout with Mastermind and taking a look at some CC footage, in the video they see a young man resembling Alex Summers being taken against his will, along with a young girl. He grins and tells Mastermind to prepare their accommodations for their guests. Mastermind flips on the lights to show a table with shackles and various torture implements.

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 5:
The team are all driving down to Virginia to accompany Scott to see his brother. Xavier is coming along to explain the situation to Alex's adoptive parents. They arrive to find that Alex and his adoptive sister Haley have both been kidnapped in the night. The parents are watching a tape that was left in Alex's bedroom. It is Magneto, who says he has captured Alex as he will mold him into a savior for the mutant race. He says he has also taken Haley as an insurance policy to ensure Alex's compliance. Xavier mind-wipes the parents and tells the X-Men that they'll have to find them before it's too late. Scott asks how they'll be able to find them without getting the police involved. Xavier says he has a plan.

Meanwhile, Magneto has Alex strapped to a table and tells him that he has taken him to unlock his potential. Alex says he doesn't know what he's talking about. Magneto tells him he is a mutant and he will help lead them to a new future in which their existence doesn't have to remain hidden. Alex asks Magneto to let his sister go, Magneto starts to bend the metal of the table to stretch and pierce Alex's skin. He tells him that if he does not join them, he will kill the girl. Magneto gives him 24 hours to think it over.

Xavier has brought a portable version of Cerebro with him, but advises that it's range is limited to within a few hundred miles. He tells Scott to open his mind and concentrate on Alex. Xavier finds him, but is unable to see who is holding him, due to Magneto's helmet and Mastermind's psionic powers. Xavier leads them to the hideout and attempts to reach into the minds of whose holding Alex.

Mastermind senses Xavier's presence and alerts Magneto. Magneto, relishing another encounter with them, tells Mastermind to continue working Alex until he breaks. Magneto comes up through the building and tells the X-Men to stand down as they cannot stop him from his quest. The X-Men spring into action and hold Magneto at bay. Mastermind decides to go another route in torturing Alex. He lets Alex out of his restraints and then allows him to wander the complex, he then sees his sister in the hallway. Suddenly, Cyclops appears of nowhere and cuts her down with an optic blast. Alex runs to her and cradles her dying body, suddenly his body starts to flair up with energy and he blasts at Cyclops who disintegrates into nothing. He looks up in the floor that Magneto left behind and blasts his way up.

Alex blasts up through the ground and Scott calls out to him by his name, Alex then throws a beam at him, which Scott is able to match with one of his optic blasts. This knocks them both down, Magneto begins to laugh, asking them if they are ready for the end. Alex gets back to his feet and we see him start to radiate pure energy, he sees Scott and the others and Alex starts screaming at them. Magneto, surveying from above, looks on and says "Cry havok and let slip the dogs of war..." <Credits>

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 6:
We open to the battle between Alex Summers and the X-Men, with Alex throwing multiple energy bolts at Scott. Scott picks them as best he can, meanwhile Angel, Beast and Iceman engage Magneto. Marvel Girl is using her telekinesis, deflecting any attacks hurled towards the Professor. Professor Xavier uses his mental powers to locate Haley, he sends Jean after her to rescue her.

Professor Xavier reaches into Alex's mind and attempts to calm him, Alex yells at him to get out of his head and unleashes a energy blast which cause the earth to shake. Professor X is caught off guard and break the link to Alex, sensing an opportunity, Alex unleashes another blast at the Professor. Scott jumps in front of it to protect his mentor. He is knocked back and part of his uniform is burnt away. Xavier then shows Alex that Scott is his brother, Alex stops his rampage, confused at what has happened.

Meanwhile Jean is using her newfound psychic powers to locate Haley in the underground complex. Mastermind sees her and decides to toy with her psyche. He creates an illusion of late 1800's France, where Jean is the Madame de Pompadour and he the King of France. This scenario plays out for a few moments until Jean sees the Professor sitting in the crowd. Mastermind turns to see what she's looking at and Jean drops some debris on him, knocking him unconscious.

Alex attempts to revive Scott realizing he might have seriously hurt him, he asks Xavier why Scott would kill his sister. Xavier tells him that was an illusion created by Magneto's cohorts and that his sister is still alive and well. The other X-Men who have been keeping Magneto at bay are broken through by the villain. Alex begins to power up, but Xavier stops him. Xavier then calls to Magneto telling him to stop this madness. Magneto comes down and tells Charles that this isn't like the old days, that the time for diplomacy has long passed. Xavier tells him he's sorry about the past and its not too late and that together, they can bring about a difference. The X-Men are confused as they were unaware Xavier and Magneto knew each other.

Jean finds Haley in one of the underground cells, scared, but unharmed. She tells Haley that she's her to set her and her brother free. Haley asks her if she knows her brother. She she knows him through his brother, Haley accepts this and decides to go with her.

Magneto says that he appreciates the offer, but he cannot stop the tide he has created and tells Xavier not to get in his way anymore. He then rockets Xavier back into his students. Alex strikes him with an energy beam and berates him for trying to kill an innocent. Magneto said he would kill a thousand humans to save one mutant life. Magneto gathers debris to throw at Alex, saying if he is unwilling to assist Magneto, that he has become expendable. Scott blasts Magneto with a blast from his visor, this knocks Magneto back to the ground. Scott and Alex use their powers to weaken Magneto.

As Magneto's power starts to wane, Jean brings Haley above ground. Alex sees them and is momentarily distracted, Magneto send a girder flying their way and Jean stops it and throws it aside. Alex and Scott turn to renew their combined attack, but Magneto has escaped. As Xavier attempts to locate the others, Mastermind uses his powers to help their escape. Haley and Alex are re-united, Scott walks up and asks Alex if he's OK. Alex hugs him and tells him he's never been better.

They return Alex to his family's home and Xavier tells Alex that he can wipe Haley's mind of the incident same as his foster parents. Haley says she doesn't want to forget that her brother is a hero, Alex says its fine as long as Haley can keep it a secret. Xavier asks Alex if he'd like to join the X-Men, handing him a card. Alex declines, but says if he's changes his mind, its nice knowing he has a place to go. Alex and Scott embrace once again. Scott tells Alex not to be a stranger.

The team is driving back to New York, but are somber. Xavier says he knows they want to ask him something, so they should just ask. Scott asks him what his relationship is to Magneto, Xavier says he was the closest thing he had to a brother. The X-Men ask for more, he says its a long story. <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
Magneto is nursing his wounds after this last encounter, Mastermind is sitting in the corner and whispering to himself, we only faintly hear the words "my Red Queen...". Magneto walks over to a trunk, which he opens and it is filled with personal effects. One item is an ornate picture frame, which he picks up and looks at. It is a picture of him, Xavier and a woman with a child, Magneto takes his finger and strokes the picture where the woman and child are, you see a single tear drip on to the picture. The frame then bends and cracks and Magneto embeds it into the wall.

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 7:
The X-Men have returned to the institute late at night, when they enter the building, there are two figures waiting for them. Scott and Hank step forward and the figures advise that they are SHIELD agents and for them to stand down. Xavier asks them if something is wrong and the figures state that Director Fury has asked them to bring them in under protective custody. Xavier attempts to scan their minds, but finds nothing. Xavier states that this is a ruse.

The figures attack and tase Scott and Hank, Bobby throws an iceball at one and the figure appears to short-circuit. The other figure tases Bobby and Jean picks up the disabled figure and throws him into the other. They asks Xavier what they are while Jean looks over them, only to have one pop-up only to have it head blown off by an arriving Nick Fury. Fury tells them that these are failed decoys SHIELD had created to help in situation where assassinations were a possibility. The X-Men ask how these were failures when they looked so lifelike, he said they could perform tasks easily enough, but failed the Voight-Kampff test. It seems someone is re-purposing these droids to a new purpose, searching out and destroying mutants.

Fury tells Xavier that they have found a few mutants and were compiling a list so that Xavier could reach out to them. He gives Xavier the list and tells him to help them and to find the rogue re-purposing these machines. They ask if Magneto could have anything to do with this, Xavier says it's doubtful. They take the short-circuited figure and start to disassemble him, Fury says he has a specialist that can come in and take a look to help out, Tony Stark.

Stark arrives and says while the facial reconstruction tech that SHIELD uses is great, the robots being used are not true AI. They have too simplistic a sub-routine to improvise. The X-Men tell him the story that the droids made up earlier, he says then someone must have been running it on manual at that point. Tony says to give him a few minutes to run diagnostics and he'll be able to find the person responsible.

Stark says that its coming back to Bolivar Trask, former anthropologist and SHIELD robotics engineer. He was on the LMD project, so he would have access to re-purpose them. Stark says he's published a number of articles in the past about how some evolution in the human race could be cause for concern. He also mentions a debate that Xavier and Trask had, Xavier senses that Stark is aware of mutants' existence and is looking to hold this over Fury for leverage at a later time. Stark says he appreciates them coming to them and excuses himself. Xavier mind-wipes Tony of the existence of mutants, the Institute and his team. He tells Fury not to worry as Stark wont remember them, only that he assisted SHIELD in the matter.

Xavier tells the team to prepare for the upcoming battle by looking at the robot's construction and blueprints. He also tells them that this is a far different battle than anything they've faced up to this point. <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
We cut to a factory where two men are walking down a construction line and discussing the future of the Sentinel program. We see Bolivar Trask, thanking Justin Hammer for his assistance in furnishing weaponry to assist with his re-purposed LMD's. Hammer tells him he's more than happy to help as long as Trask continues to come to him for any of his munitions needs. They arrive at a lever which Trask moves, lighting up the rest of the factory. We see hundreds of Sentinels being built and Hammer excitably giggling at this prospect.

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 8:
We open to an average home and see Bolivar Trask reading the paper, while his son plays in the background. Trask's wife appears and asks where their daughter is. Trask tells her she is out front grabbing the mail, his wife says she already grabbed it and will call her back in. We see the child in the living room start to say no and attempt to grab his mother's attention. When Trask goes in to see what's wrong, the boy tells him to save his mother quickly. Then, an explosion rips through the living room window and knocks both father and son out. He gets up quickly and sees his wife under rubble, he attempts to revive her and she awakens to say "Tanya..." before dying. He looks out to see no sign of his daughter.

He returns to see his son crying in the living room, he asks him how he knew something was wrong. The son replies he did not know how he knew. Trask gets upset and picks him up and start shaking him and screaming for him to tell him how he knew. We cut to the future and see Trask in his factory creating more of the robots which he has dubbed Sentinels. The only other human we see in the factory is a teenager, checking the machinery for any malfunctions. Trask calls out to him, it is his son, Larry. He tells him to shut down the line for the day. Larry goes up to the mainframe which lists as Mastermold and shuts down the line.

We cut to the X-Men, who have gathered with Xavier as he discusses what information he got from the damaged Sentinel models. Apparently, Trask has set these robots on one course, to seek and destroy mutants. They were able to find their point of origin by breaking down the Sentinel's list of subroutines. They decide the best course of action would be to go to the factory and disable Trask's ability produce the Sentinels, then place him under arrest.

They arrive at the factory and see the amount of Sentinels that have been created already, they attempt to sneak around to find the mainframe, but set off a trip alarm and the Sentinels activate and start an attempt to capture the X-Men. The X-Men are on much more even footing since they have the ability to improvise and make due with destroying most of the created Sentinels. Trask and his son arrive onto the scene to find most of the Sentinels destroyed. Trask runs in to save what he can while his son yells at him to come back as a premonition comes over him, telling him his father will be killed.

Trask makes a run for the control mainframe and is able to make a copy of a Mastermold system before a damaged Sentinel crashes through the window and attempts to kill him, mistaking him for a mutant. Trask is able to escape, but sees that his son is being targeted by another Sentinel. He bashes the Sentinel with a piece of broken equipment only for the Sentinel to punch into some other broken machinery and wound him fatally. The sentinel returns to Larry and is set upon by Beast, who makes quick work of him. Trask weakly calls his son over and tells him he was sorry and that he was wrong. He gives him the flash drive with the Mastermold system and tells him to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands, Trask then dies.

The X-Men are able to dispatch the remaining Sentinels, but are unable to find Larry after they find Trask's body. They contact Nick Fury and tell him that the Sentinels won't be a problem anymore. They leave, with Larry watching on from the bushes, swearing revenge for his father's death. <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
We see Larry sitting in the family home, similar to the beginning of the episode. He is having a vision of the future and sees new Sentinels, though much larger are wreaking havoc all over the planet. He sees mutants are still around and fighting them desperately. He sees a person being cut down by an assassin's bullet, but cannot see who is killed or who is responsible.

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 9:
We start the episode with the X-Men sitting around the X-Mansion, attempting to relax and mulling over everything that's happened thus far. Xavier tells them that they have done a great deal, Bobby retorts that it doesn't seem like it, based on that they feel lousy. Xavier says that they have done the best they could given the circumstances, also things could have ended up quite worse had they not intervened. Scott says the Professor is right and they can hope for the better in the future, the others are buoyed by this a little. Scott asks the Professor if they could have some time off to recharge their batteries. The Professor agrees and suggests a visit to New York City for sightseeing.

The team leaves and Xavier decides to have a relaxing evening at home. A few hours later, he is awoken from a nap by the proximity alerts going off in the mansion, Xavier enables the defenses to protect himself. The defenses go offline, one after the other until all that is left is the steel shield doors. Xavier hits the panic button to tell the X-Men of the issue, this sets off alerts on their watches and they all head back to the mansion from their different locations.

They arrive back to see the front of the mansion smashed in and the upper levels smashed in, Xavier telepathically contacts them and tells them that an intruder is smashing up the mansion in an effort to capture him. He tells them to take the secret passage down to the lower levels, they do and find the Professor holed up in the control room for the Danger Room. He lets them in and explains that the figure broke in and smashed the upper levels in an effort to attack him.

Just then the mysterious figure smashes into the Danger Room and yells for Charles to stop being a coward and face him. Xavier realizes who this figure is and says that it is his half-brother Cain Marko. He gets on the intercom and tells Cain to stop this as he has done nothing to deserve this treatment. Cain yells that he is not Cain Marko, but a Juggernaut, he proceeds to start smashing the Danger Room up, Scott starts a simulation up as a way to keep him off balance and tells the X-Men to head in there to face him. <Credits>

After-Credit Sequence:
We see that Mastermind and Magneto are seeing this series of events as Mastermind is still in Jean's head. Magneto decides that he will accelerate his plans and tells Mastermind to keep an eye on the situation. Mastermind just continues to mumble "Red Queen... Red Queen."

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 10:
We start this episode at a funeral, we see a young Charles Xavier and his mother mourning the loss of his father. Kurt Marko, his father's co-worker and collaborative partner comforts his mother. Xavier looks unconvinced by Marko's behavior. We skip forward a few years and Xavier's mother is getting Charles ready to meet his new stepbrother, Cain. Charles is nonplussed at the idea of a stepbrother, but his mother asks him to try and accept him for her. Charles hears her thoughts, she believes that Kurt has lost interest in her and has married her strictly for her wealth. Cain arrives and almost instantly treats Charles with disdain, Charles keeps his composure and attempts to be civil. We move ahead again to Charles hearing a stifled argument, he leans in close to the door and hears Cain and Kurt arguing about Cain's behavior.

Kurt tells Cain that he need to be nicer to Charles in the future if he wants to stay around, Cain says he is uninterested in staying and wants his father to pay him a bribe to keep him quiet. Kurt refuses and tells him to earn his keep the old-fashioned way, Cain refutes this by bluntly telling him the only reason he's rich is that he chose not to save Charles' father in order to keep himself safe and in a position to curry his wife's fortune. Kurt flies off the handle and strikes Cain. Cain stumbles back and crashes through the door, showing that Charles was listening in to their conversation. Kurt attempts to calm Charles down, but he runs off and Kurt begins striking Cain again.

We cut back to the present where the X-Men are entering the Danger Room in order to stop Cain Marko. Scott tells the others to stay wary and on their toes for the Danger Room's traps. As he says this, a large pneumatic arm is thrown at them, Beast catches it and sees Marko running at them. He jabs Marko and them clubs him with it, sending Marko back about 40 feet, but still standing. Beast runs at him again with the same arm, Marko catches it and flings him up in the air like a rag-doll, Warren catches him and drops him atop a platform. Marko throws the arm and hit Warren, knocking him unconscious. Jean prevents him from slamming into the ground and puts him out of the way.

Xavier then switches the simulation to one of an jungle undergrowth, in the distance a temple can be seen. Juggernaut yells if Charles feels guilty, Xavier then flashes back to them as twenty-somethings exploring the undergrowth to a similar jungle landscape. They find the temple and start exploring, they find a room with artifacts, one which catches Cain's eye. A large red ruby with some inscriptions on it. Charles tells Cain that they should be careful and not move anything without checking for traps first. Cain says Charles is a coward and to live his life with more flair, Cain picks up the ruby and starts reading the inscription. It begins glowing a bright red and the floor underneath Cain gives way. Charles reaches out and grabs Cain, Cain strains Charles' grip trying to catch the ruby and falls.

We cut back to Marko thrashing the X-Men, Jean tries to use her telepathy to no effect, it seems like the helmet is blocking her ability. She tells the others that maybe if they are able to remove his helmet, they can stop him, Xavier tells them to try this and he will stop Marko. Iceman freezes the floor to put him off balance, Jean and Hank use bits of the Danger Room and knock him off his feet. Scott focuses his concussive blasts on the Juggernaut's eyes which temporarily stop him, he banks another off of a panel and knocks his helmet loose, which Angel swipes. Xavier then takes control of Cain's mind.

Xavier sees how Cain survived the fall, the ruby re-animated him and turned him mad. He blamed Charles for allowing his death to occur and dedicated his life to taking him out. After a few injuries seem to heal instantly, Cain researched the stone and found it to be the Amulet of Cyttorak, granting him strength, speed and invulnerability. The legend also spoke of a suit of armor, which along with the amulet would make the bearer the living embodiment of Cyttorak. Cain stole the armor from a museum and combined them to become the Juggernaut.

Xavier tells the X-Men to stand down and he will take care of Marko, he contacts SHIELD agents to have the armor and amulet placed under lock and key and Marko to be placed in a high-security prison. As the SHIELD team leaves, one of them hands a disk from Director Fury to Xavier and tells him its an urgent situation. They watch the disk and its a video transmission from Magneto. Magneto has taken over the island republic of Santo Marco and plans to cleanse the island to create his own mutant society. He tells them that if the governments of the world attempt to stop him, he will kill millions by changing the magnetic fields of the planet. Xavier tells the team to rest easy for the evening, but tomorrow they will go to stop Magneto.  <Credits>

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 11:
The X-Men are preparing for the trip to Santo Marco to stop Magneto's plot. Warren says he's worried if they're going to come back from this one. Jean is confident they will, she adds that it would really suck to die on her birthday. They all wish her a happy birthday and embrace as friends. The Professor tells them that he will allow them to proceed to Santo Marco without him as he is confident that they can handle themselves. They proceed out to Santo Marco in SHIELD-provided hovercraft.

When arrived, Mastermind alerts Magneto to their presence. Magneto knew they were coming and actually wanted it to happen. He created this scenario to rid himself of Xavier's pupils as they would always thwart his plans. He tells his assembled cohorts Blob, Mastermind and Toad that they are stop the X-Men at any cost. Mastermind attempts to trick them with a mental illusion that streets have literally caught fire. Xavier is able to reach Jean and tells her to break the illusion, Jean and Mastermind engage in a telepathic battle which sees Jean emerge as the victor. 

They next encounter the Blob, who angered at the loss of his memories at the hands of the X-Men, tells them that he will not rest until they are all dead. Toad then joins the fray and is quite adept at keeping them off guard. Beast and Cyclops then fight the Blob, while Warren, Jean and Bobby attempt to fight Toad. Blob and Beast fight while Cyclops analyzes the Blob's weaknesses and uses his optic blasts to hit The Blob directly in the head which with Beast's blows eventually knock him out.

Toad is giving the others a run for their money and eventually is brought down by Bobby's quick thinking and icing the area where Toad would land and Beast waylaying him. They pick up the villains and bring them to the Palace which Magneto has usurped for his own purposes. They tell Magneto that they want to know where the inhabitants of Santo Marco are, he tells them there were relocated to other islands. He tells them that his only purpose was to draw them out to finish them off once and for all.

Magneto flips a switch, activating a shield and closes off the complex. He raises his arms and which dislodges the palace and part of the island. He raises it into space and brings it into an orbit around Earth. Magneto turns to the X-Men and welcomes them to the new world, his world. <Credits>

The Uncanny X-Men Season 1, Ep. 12:
The episode opens with the X-Men looking out at the planet as the piece of Santo Marco ripped from the Earth now floats in space, guided by Magneto's powers. The X-Men try breaking through the shield, but to no avail. Magneto tells them that they have been a thorn in his side for too long and must be removed from the equation in order to continue his plans. Beast tells him that this asteroid will cause massive damage to Earth's ecosystem due to the change in coastal tides. Magneto tells them that was an added bonus, but his goal is to get rid of them first.

Magneto tells them that his plan is to simply let the oxygen run out for them and have them asphyxiate, then he'll return to Earth and start enacting his plans without any concern of being defeated. Cyclops tells him that if they die, Magneto dies as well. He blasts at the ground underneath the shield and sees a pod of oxygen tanks, which he disables expelling the gas everywhere. Magneto, furious at being foiled again, decides to try killing them in another fashion. Magneto weakens his control on the island and sends it in on a course of re-entry, telling them that he will survive, but they won't.

Jean uses her powers to deflect any major debris and any breaks in the compartment, the rock then flies into the sea. Instead of impacting, Magneto skips it across the ocean for a few miles and has it come to a rest. Thoroughly exhausted, both Jean and Magneto pass out. Scott activates a tracer for SHIELD agents can collect them. They come and grab Magneto, Blob, Toad and Mastermind to incarcerate. The SHIELD agents give them another hovercraft to return home, then leave. The X-Men board the ship and fly towards home, Beast mentions how far off they are from Santo Marco and that the only island around for miles is an uninhabited island called Krakoa. The hovership is then struck by what looks like a fireball, Hank keeps the engines steady and is able to make a crash landing on the island. Scott emerges dazed from the wreckage and pulls the others out, then reactivates his tracer before collapsing. We see plant roots grow and wraparound the others and begin to drag them away.  <Credits>

1st After-Credit Sequence:
Fury is at the Xavier mansion, he tells Xavier that they found Cyclops, but no one else. Xavier blames himself for letting them off on their own and not being there. Fury tells him he couldn't have prevented that and tells him he'll help him out however he can. Xavier turns and asks him if he still has that list handy.

2nd After-Credit Sequence:
We cut to the Canadian Rockies, an unspoiled snowy landscape. Suddenly the peace and tranquility is broken by a body impacting into a snow drift. The person stands up and starts dusting themselves off, it is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). He pulls pieces of debris from his body and immediately heals. In the distance, we hear a familiar scream of the Hulk. Logan pulls his ripped-up mask back over his face and pops his claws. As he brings them up, in the reflection you see the Hulk running at him like a freight train. Wolverine yells and then lunges. <Cut to black>.

Imagine this with Hugh Jackman and Mark Ruffalo's Hulk. Tell me you wouldn't come back for Season Two.

Interested in seeing this? Go to the Twitter-scape and bombard the accounts of Marvel, Fox, Netflix and Kevin Feige and tell them you want this scenario to play out. Get some of the actors listed here on board! #XMenInTheMCU