Fox studio’s X-Men Apocalypse hit theaters last week. It brought everyone’s favorite mutants back to school. This franchise has been around for 16 years. For almost 2 decades we’ve been given consistent X-men flicks whether we wanted them or not. With that many films under Fox studio’s belt you’d think they be masters of the comic-book movie formula. Right? Well, they aren’t. As a matter of fact, most X-men movies are far from perfect. Its been a long time since we’ve gotten a near perfect X-men flick (X-2 came out 2003) but after X-Men Apocalypse we’re closer than ever. Here’s what Fox needs to do in order to get the X-Men franchise where it should belong.

Get with the times

X-Men:First Class introduced a new age of X-men living in the swinging 60’s. It was a fresh take to the genre, we’ve never gotten to see our favorite mutants in any other decade that wasn’t the not too distant future (whenever that is). It worked so well they used the same gimmick again in X-Men Days of Future Past. This time set in the 70’s with the Vietnam war and Nixon’s presidency providing a powerful backdrop to the drama and tone of the film. The time jump helps to ground the films in real life historical events while adding that X-Men flair to them. Who doesn’t remember where they were that afternoon Nixon was attacked by mutants and giant robots? Its used again by setting X-Men Apocalypse in the 80’s. The 80’s is the decade where the X-Men should feel most at home. Clothes are bright, hair-dos are ridiculousness and the future exists in a Sony Walkman. Plus, it’s when comic-book writer Chris Claremont transformed the X-men into the incarnations we know and love. Lets see the X-men hang out in the 80’s for a bit longer. It’ll justify team sporting the colorful costumes that are just so radical.

Let the Bromance die

Throughout the past three X-Men films, we’ve seen the complex relationship between Proff. X and Magneto develop and blossom. The actors McAvoy and Fassbender bring much needed energy and emotion to these films. They’ve been able to imbue the spirit of of both characters delivering a truly comic book accurate portrayal. This relationship between the two has reached its end. The two end X-Men Apocalypse respectfully going their separate ways. At this point it just feels like a retread on familiar territory. Give Xavier some new material instead of trying to cheer up grumpy Magneto every movie. Leave Magneto be, he always ends up being a jerk when he’s around other mutants so just let him walk peacefully into the sunset. These two guys need their space. Speaking of space….

Make room for the ladies

With such a young and new cast it’s a shame they weren’t given too much room to run around in X-Men Apocalypse. Young Jean Gray (Sophie Turner) is a success. Most people who have never cared for Jean Grey, walk out of the movie thinking ‘Wow, that Jean Grey was awesome!’ Fox should use this momentum and Turner’s fame from that little show HBO puts out Game of Thrones to spend the next film truly giving Jean the spotlight she deserves.

So long Jennifer Lawrence, it’s been cool and all but we’ve found someone else and she has friends! Alexandria Shipp is finally the Storm X-Men fans have been waiting for. Or at least we think she is, Shipp didn’t get too much time to do anything. The hope being that come the next X-flick we’ll see both of these ladies leading just about every scene they’re in. The public is clamoring for strong female leads in these mostly male driven movies. Give the public what it wants.

Just an Average Joe

At this point in the franchise the X-men have fought just about everyone. They’ve fought angry mutant terrorist Magneato about six times, government agent William Stryker, evil robots from the past/future, and now an extremely old blue dude. In any logical chain of events the only clear option is to pit the X-men against aliens (seriously, there are talks). One thing the X-men haven’t fought head on is hatred. It’s time to see the X-men up against their biggest and consistent threat, us. Mankind has always been losly mentioned in this franchise but seldom seen through the lens of fear. Well lets actually explore the world the X-men movies exist in. Audience haven’t witnessed the discrimination that mutants deal with on a daily basis. Just sad stories about it told from a cozy upstate New York mansion. What would we all do if that kid down your street starting to shoot laser beams out of his hands? Fear would take over.The comics have always done a fantastic job at building the sphere of bigotry that the Mutants dwell in. The films could get into that as well with a villain that exhibits zero mutant powers but hits closer to home than any have in the past. Maybe get a villain that incites mobs with hateful rhetoric and violence. The end result could be an intimate story of what its like to protect those that only wish you harm while attempting to understand their fear. It could be a great chance to dive deep and invest emotions in this new X-men roster. Space can wait a movie or two.

Family Matters

Ask any true hardcore X-men fan that worth their Giant-Size X-Men #1 what’s the most important aspect to any X-men member and they’ll say family. These runaways and rejects come to Xavier’s school not just to learn how to kick ass but for a sense of belonging. Whats more shocking is that they find it there in full. Not only has the X-Mansion always been an open door shelter to mutants in need but its also a living and breathing family that loves and cries together. Such a fundamental aspect of the X-men identity has been missing every sense X-Men was released back in 2000. That extra emotion is what differences them from the Avengers and the Justice League. At the end of the day they’ve still got a place in each other’s hearts.

Verdict

The X-men franchise wrote the book on comic-book movies and we’ve seen Marvel Studios perfect it over the past few years. It’s time for the king to reclaim his crown. The X-men flicks finally have that young cast packed with potential as well as a decade that could benefit all stories to come. Old story arcs have ended nicely enough to move on to greener pastures. Instead of looking to the stars maybe the creative heads should look to the streets for what can be done better. In the end, we’er all just fans of the world and want to see them on screen like we’ve seen them on the pages that spoke to us so much as children. Fox is in a great place right now where a lot of good calls need to be made and the right people need to be put in charge of the right things. Bryan Singer wants different things than the X-Men universe and that’s just fine, its actually a blessing in disguise because now is the time to evolve.

Oh, one more thing just please, please, please give us the colorful costumes. We’ve waited long enough.