Days of Future Past Who is the "key historical figure"?

[jignat]

One aspect of the film I havent seen much discussion about is WHO will be the intended victim of 1973 Mystique's assassination plot?

My guesses:

President Nixon
Bolivar Trask
William Stryker
Senator Kelly (I dont know his age or if he was a Senator in this time in the film universe. Bruce Davison was 27 or so.)


Someone on imdb postulated Henry Kissinger.

The crowd at 1:28 and 1:40 in the trailer wave the flags of North Vietnam and South Vietnam and the police officers in the same scene wear French uniforms. Clearly we're at the Paris Peace Talks which led to the Paris Peace Accords between the US and the two Vietnams that ended the Vietnam War for the US. Also Magneto is aiming a gun at someone at 1:03 while standing in front of Eugène Delacroix painting "Liberty Leading the People" (although the painting is mirrored it is definitely "Liberty Leading the People") which hangs in the Louvre. The head of the US delegation at the peace talks was Henry Kissinger - so an educated guess would be that he is the person Mystique supposedly killed in 1973.

Thoughts?

 

[JDonaldD]

Based on what we've seen in the teaser, I'd guess it's a plot to kill Nixon.

 

[GuestStar2004]

so for it to work mystique would have to of killed nixon originally

 

[Mars123]

Certainly make scope bigger using Nixon as the catalyst

 

[Schlosser85]

Isn't that Nixon we get a glimpse of in the trailer?

 

[kasjan]

As Stryker said in X2, Kelly sucked mom's tit at this moment.

For me it's Nixon.

 

[Loki882]

The key historical figure is obviously Richard Nixon. We even see him briefly in the trailer and there are multiple shots of the White House.

 

[psylockolussus]

My guess is Nixon. It would be a miss opportunity if they didn't go with him especially he's in this movie

 

[DigificWriter]

It should be pretty obvious that Singer and Co. have replaced Senator Kelly with Richard Nixon, which, to be honest, is a pretty brilliant move.

 

[marvelrobbins]

It should be pretty obvious that Singer and Co. have replaced Senator Kelly with Richard Nixon, which, to be honest, is a pretty brilliant move.

I agree.Plus viral campagin which as bryan Singer has confirmed with future
date hinted at trask being alive in 1976 seems to be accurate.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Woah. What if killing Nixon is what stops Trask's plans?

So Nixon is anti-mutant and wouldve signed for the sentinel program.

The original Xavier stops Magneto from killing him anyway because thats what he wouldve done.

Sentinels end up causing the dystopian future.

Wolverine goes back to convince Xavier to let Nixon die. "I DON'T WANT YOUR FUTURE."

*gasp* what a trip that would be.

Spoiler

 

[GuestStar2004]

i can see some sentinels being body guards for the president, esp if they have had a mutant attempting to kill him

 

[kasjan]

It's for Trask Industries site only. We saw this Sentinel2 in many periods of time at this site. IMO we won't see him in 1973 guarding someone.

 

[GuestStar2004]

oh i wouldn't be surprised if a sentinel or some sentinels are used for big events in 1973

if someone tried to kill the president and trask offered a robot that has several mutant defences i think it would be very hard to turn down

obviously not saying that picture is part of it

 

[X-Maniac]

Weird to think about the world's reaction to Nixon's death, given that he is now not very favourably regarded.

Also, we already saw an attempt to kill the president in X2. Do you think we will get that again?

 

[Bim]

I'll vote for Nixon, but i get the feeling we could be getting misled to think it's him, but it will be someone else

 

[GuestStar2004]

if Nixon is anti-mutant then it could be him that mystique wants to kill as almost a sign to the world, she is mutant and proud after all

while wasn't nightcrawler in X2 brain washed into doing it?

i think there will be about 3 small villains plotting stuff in the past, trask,stryker and mystique all up to there own plans

 

[kasjan]

I change my mind.
If Sentinel program is released and Sentinels destroys everything in future, does that mean Mystique killed someone in 1973?
Or someone stopped her? Maybe it's not Nixon, he didn't die in 1973 in reality.

If someone stopped her in old timeline, now Magneto stops Mystique, does that mean it's just a loop, nothing gonna change in future? I think she killed someone, so it can't be Nixon.
Past has to be changed to create new timeline, if now Mystique is stopped, then in old timeline she killed this mystery character.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Nixon seems to make sense. The assassination of a President by a mutant would be a big enough event to make the world fear mutants enough to get behind the Sentinel program being green-lit. And once that happens, everything goes to **** as the Sentinels become self aware enough to take control.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

Nixon not dying in reality doesn't mean he can't die in the movie.

 

[kasjan]

Yeah but we have again assasination in DOFP, so this still leads to releasing Sentinels in future.

 

[Nell2ThaIzzay]

Nixon not dying in reality doesn't mean he can't die in the movie.

Its not going to be good to disregard history in such a blatant fashion in a film universe that's attempted to establish itself within that real world and real history.

If they wanted to assassinate a president, they could have used a fictitious one.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

But wouldn't the ultimate mission for time traveling Wolverine be to get young Prof X and Magneto to help him prevent Nixon from being assassinated, so that history will go the way we know it happened?

 

[kasjan]

Will go, but didn't in old timeline if she killed him.

 

[DJ Kornphlake]

Who says that's the old timeline? Xavier died/transferred his consciousness into another body, yet there he is, still in the same old wheelchair bound body in the future.