World X-MEN: Safe Haven for Those Who Demand More

[x-mutantwings-x]

www.the-new-institute.piczo.com

 

[Zaphod]

Okay, input needed here, guys:

At the beginning of my Uncanny X-Men movie concept, I've got the scene where Xavier is in Egypt twenty years before the present time story. Xavier has his wallet stolen by a very young Ororo and chases her into a cafe where he meets the crime boss she works for-- Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King. After they both acknowledge that they're both mutant psychics, they do battle on the Astral Plane. The visual representation of this is a physical battle in a surreal, hallucinogenic atmosphere with armor and melee weapons.
Xavier, a relative amateur in psychic battle, somehow defeats the Shadow King on the Astral Plane and leaves him in a catatonic state.
Now, my current idea for this is that it takes place before the opening credit/title sequence of the film. It's a long teaser, basically.

Should I shorten this so that instead of actually going to the Astral Plane, Farouk and Xavier simply sit across from each other and basically act out a psychic "quickdraw duel"? Think back to 'Star Wars: A New Hope' where the bounty hunter Greedo is sitting across from Han Solo with a gun on him. Solo is holding a gun under the table and shoots first (in the real version, anyway). The point is, they're sitting down and basically have a duel. The combatants in my scene would also shoot energy blasts, but they would emmanate from their heads, be larger in size and would take the form of continuous beams, not single blasts. This would be faster and less disorienting than an Astral battle, but it wouldn't capture what really happened between these two in the comics. What do you guys think?

Alternate suggestions are welcome, too.

I think stick with the Astral Plane idea, and alternate between scenes of Farouk and Xavier doing battle in this psionic-world of there's, to them simply sitting accross from each other in intense silence and concentration in the cafe. For the Astral Plane itself, I'd have it resemble something similar to the "training programmes" used in The Matrix, when Morpheous takes Neo onto the "white-landscape", and then has it match any design or location he so wishes. Remember when Morpheous took Neo into the world as it really was (Morpheous was sitting in a red chair at the time)? Well thats how I imagined the location of this battle being.

Actually, when I imagined the battle between Farouk and Xavier in my head, I imagined each opponent using their own psionic powers to alternate the structure of the plane at certain moments, to get the advantage over the other. I dont know how far this is exactly deviating from how the Astral Plane was presented in the early X-Men comics, but I thought it was a neat idea and I think theres enough room 'creative-exploration' so to speak in this case.

Thoughts?

 

[Herr Logan]

www.the-new-institute.piczo.com

You gotta pay to place advertisements in here, bub!

First pay, then plug; that's how it works, God dammit.

 

[Herr Logan]

I think stick with the Astral Plane idea, and alternate between scenes of Farouk and Xavier doing battle in this psionic-world of there's, to them simply sitting accross from each other in intense silence and concentration in the cafe. For the Astral Plane itself, I'd have it resemble something similar to the "training programmes" used in The Matrix, when Morpheous takes Neo onto the "white-landscape", and then has it match any design or location he so wishes. Remember when Morpheous took Neo into the world as it really was (Morpheous was sitting in a red chair at the time)? Well thats how I imagined the location of this battle being.

Actually, when I imagined the battle between Farouk and Xavier in my head, I imagined each opponent using their own psionic powers to alternate the structure of the plane at certain moments, to get the advantage over the other. I dont know how far this is exactly deviating from how the Astral Plane was presented in the early X-Men comics, but I thought it was a neat idea and I think theres enough room 'creative-exploration' so to speak in this case.

Thoughts?

Thanks much for responding, Zaphod.

I guess if I'm going to keep the Astral Plane fight and put it at the beginning, I should put the opening intro (theme song, comic art, etc.) before it, instead of making the Cairo scene into a long teaser.

It's not deviating all that much, actually, to have them alter the landscape to suit them during battle. I believe they've done that in the comics, probably with Phoenix, if not the Shadow King. If I kept the Astral battle, I'd definitely keep this.
The Astral Plain would be much more psychedelic and creepy than what we saw in 'The Matrix,' but certain special effects could be shared.

The main point is to establish what a badass and natural talent Xavier is as a mutant psychic, and show why he takes the path he does. Since I don't intend to go into how he got crippled in this movie, or his failed romance with Moira Kinross, or into detail about his time served in the military and the apparent loss of his @sshole step-brother, or his failed romance with Amerlia Voght (all of this should go in his own solo movie or miniseries... in a perfect world, a miniseries would air on basic cable or broadcast networks either prior to or simultaneously with the release of 'The Uncanny X-Men') I'm not sure if there's a place here to show what he's sacrificed for his mission. Even so, I'd like to show that he was willing to risk his psyche and his life the first time he faced an "evil mutant."
I haven't figured out an ending (or even most of a second half, really), but I think I'll bring Xavier in to help. Xavier > Mastermind's shenanigans, and considering how powerful that rat-bastard is on top of Magneto's physics-based powers, the X-Men are going to need some serious help.

I'm also pretty sure I want to have Xavier meet with Magneto on the Astral Plain, but just to talk, not fight. Magneto somehow has the ability to project his astral form and enter the Astral Plain (he had this in the comics), but I'd have it stated that Xavier can't track him back to his location mentally because Magneto has well-developed defenses against psychic invasion and manipulation (and this doesn't come from any helmet shielding, this comes from a combination of his mutant nature, his indomitable will, and practice). Magneto also has a fairly effective ability to block or distort Cerebro's scanning capabilities. It's not because he helped Xavier build it (because that's not the case at all... if anything, Moira McTaggert would have helped him build it), but because he takes such precautions automatically. A supervillain without a righteous dose of paranoia is only half a supervillain.

I've been re-reading some of the early X-Men issues, and there's at least two aspects I want to confirm for this movie:

• Charles Xavier has a relationship with the government that goes beyond Fred Duncan. Duncan will be the government's liason with Xavier, and he will still be assigned to a task force that investigates human-mutation activity within the populace. Xavier is given the freedom and confidentiality to take in mutants, train them to use their powers safely and/or constructively and generally keeping them from becoming antisocial and dangerous. Xavier has a reasonably high, special security clearance with government institutions, for reasons known only to a few select people in the government; those same people are the only ones who know that it's Xavier behind this and where their headquarters are, and help preserve his secret.

• There will be a civilian staff at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. This will include a cook, janitorial workers, landscapists, etc. Wizard magazine once did a feature on how much work, energy and money it takes to maintain the Xavier Estate (it was freakin' insane!). An early issue of the comics has Xavier thanking Jean Grey for making dinner while the cook was away. I never saw a cook in the issues I've read (#1-24, and then many, many issues after the "Mutant Genesis" team came along). Now there's a real explanation for how anything gets done around that place. It makes sense, doesn't it? Before anyone argues that it's a security risk-- at least as far as information being leaked by the staff-- Xavier is a telepath. He knows which people he can trust and whether they're acting appropriately. I'll be happy to hear other arguments against this, though, since it is somewhat of a new concept.

• I'm thinking of including civilian teachers to provide the prep school education these students are promised. Regular professors (of a high caliber, of course) will take care of the math, undergraduate-level sciences, literary, sociology, etc. material; Professor X will provide the tactical training, specialized insight into how to control and develop mutant powers, and he'll be providing a good chunk of Hank McCoy's graduate-level education in genetics and bio-physics, etc.

I realize it may seem excessive for there to be a college-level faculty for a school of five students, but there has to be some explanation for how they receive a "normal" education. There are other options, though. One is Xavier psychically inputting his own academic knowledge into his students' minds (like he taught all the X-Men who needed it to speak English before the Krakoa mission). Another one (which isn't mutually exclusive with the former, since Xavier doesn't know everything a student may want to know before earning a degree) is to have computer programs do the teaching, including artificial intelligence to answer questions and interact as fully as a student would with a human professor. Hmm... I'm actually liking this idea a lot, now. The computer programs would be part of Cerebro, which is the computer operating system for the school, with the psychic-enhancing and mutant-tracking abilities being just part of it. It could potentially "teach" students psychically, saving much time.

Here's something else I'm considering, inspired by the events of issue #5:
Magneto used the Toad as bait to lure the X-Men. He had Toad wear a mask and compete in a track and field event series, using his leaping strength to win every event. The crowd reacted very badly and started to attack him, and the X-Men showed up to save him. The Brotherhood moved in and attacked the X-Men, seeking to kidnap whomever they could (they ended up taking Angel) so they could force them to reveal information on the X-Men and join the other team.
Should I have the first part of this plot, as in what happens before the Brotherhood abducts the Angel?



What do you think about all that?

 

[AeonFlux]

UNCANNY X-MEN (continued)

Cyclops origin/recruitment scene:

Scott Summers

Ok I know this doesn't really have to do with anything, but I died of laughter when I saw you put his nickname *Slim* on his shirt! Well actually I'm still dying! Anyways LOVE your ideas and I love these doll things they are looking really good! Great job, now give me more to read!D

 

[Herr Logan]

Ok I know this doesn't really have to do with anything, but I died of laughter when I saw you put his nickname *Slim* on his shirt! Well actually I'm still dying! Anyways LOVE your ideas and I love these doll things they are looking really good! Great job, now give me more to read!D

Thanks, Aeon.

I didn't actually write "Slim" on the shirt; it was already there, and that was the best micro-hero of a young Scott Summers in civvies I could find.

I'll try to get some more treatment out soon. I've been less motivated in the past couple days with regard to the first movie, and I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the second. I'll try to snap out of it and get back on track.

 

[Herr Logan]

Does anyone think I should trim Cyclops' origin/recruitment significantly (specifically cutting out some of the first contact scene), and maybe cut out the scene where Xavier presents the visor to him (or relocate and restructure it)? I feel that the less is shown towards the beginning, the creepier he'll seem to the audience. Maybe "creepier" is the wrong word for it; I want him to be somewhat mysterious, ominous, or at least hard to read a lot of the time. Having his eyes covered all the time, it's not hard to make Cyclops a hard to read guy, and the emotion he shows is probably the least of anyone in the movie. When he grows into the role of field commander through the course of the movie, I want him to come off as a heroic and benevolent, but somewhat scary guy. My version of Cyclops is not above using cold sarcasm with his enemies.

Also, does anyone think I should go ahead and give Iceman an origin/recruitment scene? I think that in the comics Bobby Drake's parents knew he was a mutant early on and his father was pretty upset about it. If I have it that way, he's the one X-Man who has parents who are displeased with their child's mutancy. That is, displeased with the mutancy in general as opposed to just aversive effects resulting from it, as was the case with Jean Grey. I got the impression that Jean's parents never rejected her for being a mutant, but because her psychic abilities (which had a relatively early on-set) led to a childhood trauma (her best friend dying in front of her) affecting her personally to the point where she was catatonic. Bobby's father is disturbed by his son being a mutant not for any ills it causes the boy, but because he's different. I'm not incredibly interested in writing a scene for Bobby Drake, but if anyone thinks it should be in there, I'll give it a shot. If he doesn't get an origin scene, he'll give mention of his father's attitude at some point in the movie.

The Iceman origin scene would involve him and his girlfriend getting mugged by several thugs, and Bobby would use his powers to defend himself, inciting the police to arrest him as well as the criminals. In the comics, the X-Men bailed him out of jail, but I just can't see Mr. Drake choosing to leave him in jail rather than take him home, even if he was afraid of him. Either he chooses not to call his parents (and I'm not sure that would work, since the police might call them in that situation), or his parents bail him out (or convince the cops not to file charges) and Xavier approaches him at his home. His parents would be somewhat relieved, as well as saddened, by Xavier taking Bobby off their hand and dealing with what they can't.
I've considered combining Iceman's origin scene with the Angel's, having the young couple the Angel saves be Bobby and his girlfriend, but I think that's a cheap, lazy move.

What do you guys think about all this?

 

[Herr Logan]

13 hours and no responses, yet?! What kind of a God would let this happen??!


Anyway, here's another question:

In the beginning, should the school be called Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters and then change the name when the original students are older and new X-Men join (either the second or fourth movie, and I'm leaning towards the fourth), or should it be called the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning right from the beginning?

Speak!

 

[Zev]

I like the sound of the Institute more. Right, doing some more thinking and I think a version of Wolverine's "origin" is in order.

INT. DEPARTMENT H - DAY

Open on a CCTV feed. It shows the inside of a locker room-like environment. We zoom in on it until we actually enter the room itself. Comics fans in the audience might recognize a few members of ALPHA FLIGHT.

NORTHSTAR, confident, effeminate, sits in the corner, reading a magazine. PUCK, a very, very angry dwarf steps out of the bathroom, a length of toilet paper stuck to his shoe.

THE DOOR flies open and WOLVERINE steps in from the cold. He wears blue-and-yellow tiger-striped costume in keeping with the general aesthetic of Alpha Flight.

NORTHSTAR: Hey, the dwarf's back... and Puck's here too.

Wolverine walks right by him. He's sweaty, covered in dried blood both red and green, and we can see vestiges of FROSTBITE on his nose and ears (which heals throughout the scene as a treat for the sharp-eyed viewer).

WOLVERINE: Watch yourself, Queer As Folk.

NORTHSTAR: How did things go with tall, green, and handsome anyway? Any leads, oh master tracker?

With bushido speed, Wolverine SPINS on his heel. We hear a SNIKT sound that's over before it began and Wolverine's walking away again.

Northstar's magazine falls apart.

NORTHSTAR: Son of a...

He stands up and seems to blur forward, moving just a bit faster/out-of-phase with the world around him when the door opens and GENERAL CHASEN (fifties, career military) enters. Northstar and the others immediately adopt a deferential attitude. Except, of course, for Wolverine.

CHASEN: Logan, my office, now.

INT. DEPARTMENT H - CORRIDOR - DAY

Wolverine and Chasen walk through a hallway. Wolverine is towelling off the blood with a wet towel; the frostbite is completely gone from his face.

WOLVERINE: I'm not interested.

CHASEN: This comes straight from the top. The man has powerful friends in the United States.

WOLVERINE: We're not in the United States.

CHASEN: They cast a long shadow. This isn't a request, Logan, this is an order.

Wolverine stops, jabbing his fist into the wall in front of Chasen (which effectively stops Chasen from continuing on).

WOLVERINE: Maybe I'm getting tired of taking orders from you, bub.

Chasen backs down.

INT. DEPARTMENT H - CHASEN'S OFFICE - DAY

We recognize monitor from before. Now we see that CHARLES XAVIER has been watching it. Wolverine and Chasen step inside.

WOLVERINE: Who's the cripple?

Xavier ignores the remark.

XAVIER: I am Professor Charles Xavier, at your service.

WOLVERINE: I'm supposed to be impressed?

CHASEN: Apparently top brass are impressed, Logan. All I know is that the Professor wants to make you an offer.

Wolverine looks at Xavier, curious.

WOLVERINE: What's the deal?

XAVIER: I'll get straight to the point. I know of your powers. More importantly, I know why you have them.

Direct hit. Although trying not to show it, Wolverine is desperate to learn anything about his past.

WOLVERINE: Oh yeah?

XAVIER: You, my friend, are a mutant. And I have desperate need of mutants. I'm offering you a chance to become a free man, a chance to develop your powers and yourself to the greatest potential.

Wolverine considers it.

WOLVERINE: No more red tape, eh? Alright, Prof, you've found your man.

CHASEN: Hey, hey! Wait a minute! The Canadian government has invested a great deal of time and money turning you into what you are now! If you think you can just...

SNIKT! A SIX-INCH-LONG ADAMANTIUM CLAW emerges from between Wolverine's knuckles. He slams it into Chasen's desk.

WOLVERINE: You have no idea what I am now. So listen, and listen good, bub.

He raises his hand. He's impaled a CIGAR from Chasen's humidor on his claw He takes it in his other hand, bites off the end, and sticks it in his mouth.

WOLVERINE: I go where I want to go. C'mon Chuck, let's go.

They leave Chasen fuming.

XAVIER: (to himself) "Chuck"?



And that's the show. Also, Herr, what do you think of the possibility of product placement in your hypothetical movie?

 

[Herr Logan]

I like the sound of the Institute more. Right, doing some more thinking and I think a version of Wolverine's "origin" is in order.

INT. DEPARTMENT H - DAY

[Text]

And that's the show. Also, Herr, what do you think of the possibility of product placement in your hypothetical movie?

This is for your treatment, right?

I know you ain't suggesting I put these parts anywhere near mine:

NORTHSTAR, confident, effeminate, sits in the corner, reading a magazine.


WOLVERINE: Watch yourself, Queer As Folk.

Overall, though, this is good, and thanks for casting your vote on the school name.

I'd be okay with some product placements. Beer plugs would be good for the second and third movies, where Wolverine and Nightcrawler get their drink on, fairly frequently. By the way, that video is hilarious.

"What's your favorite beer?"
"I'm partial to Molson's. What about you, elf?"
"I have no idea what kinds are available in this part of the world. Why don't we go find out?"
"I'm game, bub."

Wolverine will of course challenge Nightcrawler to a drinking contest, the latter not knowing that the former's mutant physiology makes him practically immune to the intoxicating effects of alcohol.

I'll put up my version of that scene later. Thanks again for posting.

 

[Zev]

This is for your treatment, right?

I know you ain't suggesting I put these parts anywhere near mine:

Too much? The point of the scene is that although Logan is technically working for the Canadian government, he's still a loner. It might be less distracting if he had a run-in with, say, the Vindicator or Sasquatch instead. In point of fact, the Sasquatch thing might work out better: let's say he runs into Beast later, gives him the onceover, and asks "You got any relatives up north?"

 

[Herr Logan]

Too much?

Way too much. It's bad enough my girlfriend likes 'Queer as Folk,' bought the first season (which means it sits in the same place as my superhero movies and video games) and Netflixed all the rest; I don't need any references to that in here or any other Safe Haven.

That's not a derogation towards any group of people, you understand (except for those responsible for producing that show and putting it on DVD, smutty-minded bastards that they are), I just don't relish the idea that she's seeing guys naked who are far more attractive than I am. Also, if there has to be gratuitous sex in movies and TV, I'd want it to be something I can work with during "alone time," and that show doesn't qualify.

And Northstar isn't effeminate; he's just a jerk. I don't care if he had a crush on Bobby Drake and engaged in "girl talk" with the school nurse. As far as I'm concerned, nothing that happened in Marvel comics within the last 7 or 8 years is real. He wasn't an X-Man, Emma Frost didn't go from self-proclaimed sex therapist to co-headmaster... all kinds o' stuff never happened. Jean Grey is comin' back, see, and Cyclops will welcome her with open arms and all his love... they're all gonna be a family again... they will, I tell you!!

The point of the scene is that although Logan is technically working for the Canadian government, he's still a loner. It might be less distracting if he had a run-in with, say, the Vindicator or Sasquatch instead. In point of fact, the Sasquatch thing might work out better: let's say he runs into Beast later, gives him the onceover, and asks "You got any relatives up north?"

That would be much better.

Still, engaging in small talk-- even desirive small talk-- reinforces the idea that he is a team player. I personally would keep his supposed teammates out of the picture to maintain an aura of overall solitude at Department H. The soldiers fighting him are wearing helmets that cover their faces, which dehumanizes them. It's basically just Chasen and Xavier, the latter of which gets a brusque "hello" and the former of which gets a less-than-fond farewell.

That's just my take on it. Generally speaking, it's not wrong to have Alpha Flight there. I just want to keep it simple and as close to the scene from 'Giant-Size X-Men' #1 as possible, plus the shot of him sparring hand-to-hand and with some minor modifications. The dialogue in the comics between Xavier and Wolverine makes no sense whatsoever in the context of luring Wolverine to leave his position to work for some stranger, unless Xavier was transmitting more specific information via telepathy, which is an option I'm considering.
Outside of any psychic communication, I want it to seem that Xavier's real hook for Wolverine was rolling into Department H and flat-out asking Wolverine to leave his position right in front of the General. That's some balls right there, and that's what Wolverine respects.

 

[Herr Logan]

Does anyone think I should trim Cyclops' origin/recruitment significantly (specifically cutting out some of the first contact scene), and maybe cut out the scene where Xavier presents the visor to him (or relocate and restructure it)? I feel that the less is shown towards the beginning, the creepier he'll seem to the audience. Maybe "creepier" is the wrong word for it; I want him to be somewhat mysterious, ominous, or at least hard to read a lot of the time. Having his eyes covered all the time, it's not hard to make Cyclops a hard to read guy, and the emotion he shows is probably the least of anyone in the movie. When he grows into the role of field commander through the course of the movie, I want him to come off as a heroic and benevolent, but somewhat scary guy. My version of Cyclops is not above using cold sarcasm with his enemies.

Also, does anyone think I should go ahead and give Iceman an origin/recruitment scene? I think that in the comics Bobby Drake's parents knew he was a mutant early on and his father was pretty upset about it. If I have it that way, he's the one X-Man who has parents who are displeased with their child's mutancy. That is, displeased with the mutancy in general as opposed to just aversive effects resulting from it, as was the case with Jean Grey. I got the impression that Jean's parents never rejected her for being a mutant, but because her psychic abilities (which had a relatively early on-set) led to a childhood trauma (her best friend dying in front of her) affecting her personally to the point where she was catatonic. Bobby's father is disturbed by his son being a mutant not for any ills it causes the boy, but because he's different. I'm not incredibly interested in writing a scene for Bobby Drake, but if anyone thinks it should be in there, I'll give it a shot. If he doesn't get an origin scene, he'll give mention of his father's attitude at some point in the movie.

The Iceman origin scene would involve him and his girlfriend getting mugged by several thugs, and Bobby would use his powers to defend himself, inciting the police to arrest him as well as the criminals. In the comics, the X-Men bailed him out of jail, but I just can't see Mr. Drake choosing to leave him in jail rather than take him home, even if he was afraid of him. Either he chooses not to call his parents (and I'm not sure that would work, since the police might call them in that situation), or his parents bail him out (or convince the cops not to file charges) and Xavier approaches him at his home. His parents would be somewhat relieved, as well as saddened, by Xavier taking Bobby off their hand and dealing with what they can't.
I've considered combining Iceman's origin scene with the Angel's, having the young couple the Angel saves be Bobby and his girlfriend, but I think that's a cheap, lazy move.

What do you guys think about all this?

Okay, Zev convinced me to name the school the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning right from the get-go, instead of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It sounds somewhat more prestigious and it makes more sense if the school takes in college-age mutants and older. The name should be changed in the second movie ('cuz Wolverine ain't no youngster) if it wasn't Institute in the first.

What about those other issues in the quoted portion above? Surely someone must have opinions!

Here are some other ideas I want to run by you fine people:


Okay, first the set-up--
'The Uncanny X-Men' features the original five X-Men vs. Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants.


'Uncanny X-Men 2' features most of the 'Second Genesis' team (minus Thunderbird and Sunfire), Cyclops and Jean as remaining members, and Beast and Angel as reserve members who will be called back to fight (Iceman's out of the game completely, working towards an accounting degree) and Magneto vs. Sentinels, the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle, and Dark Phoenix. The trigger-happy Sentinels are powered with plutonium cores, and during an all-out battle with the X-Men, one of them becomes unstable. Jean Grey muffles the nuclear explosion with her telekinesis, and Magneto, who was blocks away at that moment, aids her as best he can. She ends up alive but burned out and comatose. It takes a week or so and she recovers fully, involuntarily (presumably) creating a new costume for herself, taking a new codename (Phoenix) and is more powerful than ever before. Mastermind and the White Queen of the Hellfire Club manipulate Jean with illusions and telepathy, urging her to become more in touch with her baser desires (sex and violence, specifically). The X-Men figure part of it out, eventually, and infiltrate the Club. Big, big fight, resulting in Phoenix flying into a murderous rage and attacking the X-Men. Jean Grey kills herself at the end. Wolverine leaves. After the funeral, held at the Xavier estate, Cyclops leaves, unsure of whether he's coming back or not.
By the end, Beast and Angel are out of the game completely, although they both "come out" to the public with regard to their mutant statuses (the Beast can no longer easily hide his mutancy, since he tested an experimental formula and turned into a gray, furry, more bestial Beast towards the beginning). Banshee is also out, about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way through, since he strains and/or injures his vocal chords in the fight against the Sentinels. He may stay on in a non-combat capacity.
After a week or so, Wolverine returns, challenging Nightcrawler to a sparring match early in the morning, the only rule being that the "loser buys the beer." He is now wearing an X-belt buckle, which he refused to wear before (it's symbolic of the committment, people!).

This here's the key part:
I know that in 'Uncanny X-Men 3' I want to have the 'Second Genesis' team, possibly without Cyclops altogether (or until the very end, maybe... leaving Storm as field commander and Wolverine her lieutenant), plus a 15 year-old Kitty Pryde vs. Mystique's Brotherhood of Mutants. Mystique's insidious plan is to have the Brotherhood assassinate Senator Robert Kelly, who is supporting the Mutant Registration Act for the sake of national security and is also currently running for President. Rogue is a member of Mystique's Brotherhood (the most powerful overall, because this is the real Rogue, with stolen powers from a character that need not appear in the movie, despite what some people say), but she'll leave them to seek help from Professor X, and subsequently she'll be an X-Man.
The other main storyline I'm sure of is Kitty Pryde training with and acclimating to the X-Men. Though she wasn't an orphan, she has at least two "parent" figures in Storm and Wolverine. She's got a mad crush on Colossus, so that will fill up some minutes, for the sake of faithfulness and to lure all the little teenyboppers who have a crush on whichever muscular, hearthrob actor who plays Piotr Nicholaivich Rasputin.

I'm not sure what else to put in the story, but I'm considering the Morlocks. This could prominently feature Kitty, since Caliban had a stalker-type crush on her in the comics. Callisto, the badass leader, would have the retired Angel kidnapped and brought to her for a shotgun wedding. I figure the same might apply for Kitty once she comes close enough to the "Alley" with the other X-Men. Caliban would of course choose to let her go by the end (not that the X-Men couldn't have forced him to... in the comics they didn't force them because Kitty promised to wed him in exchange for helping the X-Men, and although she welched on it soon after, she stayed "willingly" after they took her off the street and reminded her of her promise). What do you guys think of this?


I have a very, very vague idea of what's going to happen in 'Uncanny X-Men 4'. First, the roster:

• Cyclops returns to the X-Men (if he wasn't with them already in 'Uncanny X-Men 3;'
• Beast (whose fur is now very dark blue), Angel and Iceman return as well; Rogue is now a probationary X-Man;
• Kitty is a full-fledged X-Man and well-trained in combat by Wolverine and in the use of her powers by Xavier;
• Gambit and Psylocke join on as probationary members;
• Jean Grey returns to the X-Men (I'll get to that a little later)
• The X-Men are split into two strike forces--
  • Blue Team: Cyclops (leader), Wolverine, Shadowcat, Psylocke, Beast, Gambit, and Rogue
  • Gold Team: Storm (leader), Colossus, Iceman, Jean Grey, Archangel, Nightcrawler
• All the X-Men are made to wear the standard uniform blue and gold skintight uniform;*
• Soon after that, most of the X-Men decide they don't like those uniforms and will wear their own, most having some form of identification ("X" symbol)

My idea for Jean Grey returning is that the true Jean was switched with a an almost perfect clone while convalescing from her ordeal with the Sentinels and the nuclear explosion. The clone killed herself to spare her friends (and the entire world) further violence on her part, thinking she was the real Jean Grey but feeling her darker side threatening to resurface, even after Professor X gave it a telepathic beat-down, the likes of which he hadn't dished out since he put the Shadow King in his place more than 20 years prior. Jean gets a clean bill of health and is ruled as being free of psychic tampering (Xavier is taking no chances this time).
A ruthless, sociopathic bio-geneticist with major superpowers named Mr. Sinister is the one who stole Jean and left a clone in her place, presumably to study her. She's been mostly unconscious during the meantime, and she doesn't know why he let her go.
I was thinking of having Apocalypse in this movie, being Mr. Sinister's benefactor and ultimately his master. Sinister would hire the Marauders to slaughter the Morlocks, and while the X-Men are trying to help them (after a huge portion of them are dead by the time they get there), they run into Gambit, who is there for reasons unknown (We know his reasons, don't we? He's trying to fix a mess he unwittingly had a big part in, to assuage his guilt somewhat). Gambit is accepted into the X-Men as a probationary member. He and Rogue have lots of sexual tension and banter/flirting, yadda yadda yadda....
Psylocke, a British, former intelligence operative with superb martial arts experience and natural Asian looks (I'm not going to bother with the Seige Perilous and the Mandarin and Revanche and so forth... she'll look Asian, speak with an English accent, be a ninja-level martial artist, and have a service record with M15, M16 or somesuch agency, and that will be it), will seek out the X-Men early in the movie on the reccomendation of Banshee, a former Interpol agent that she knows. She's disillusioned and/or dissatisfied with her position and wants something that puts her telepathic and psychical skills to the test. She'll be on the Blue Team, both because that's how it was in the comics and because that gives each strike force one psi-talent each.
There's lots of sexual tension in the Blue Team, between Gambit and Rogue, and also Cyclops and Psylocke. Psylocke has the hots for Cyclops, and he is of course attracted to her (you don't need perfect color vision to see how hot she is), but remains faithful to Jean. Eventually, Wolverine will tell Psylocke to knock it off and find someone else to pursue, like Beast or Nightcrawler. He assumes that Betsy is using some subtle psionic influence (because Scott wouldn't actually display any amount of attraction to another woman otherwise), and he couldn't stand it if Jean was hurt because some other telepathic minx pushed Cyclops in a position where it's hard to resist.
If Apocalypse is in the movie, then there will also be the Four Horsemen, at least one of which--Plague-- is taken from the Morlock Tunnels, suped up
and brainwashed. Caliban might possibly be chosen also, but not if his designation in the comics was Death. Apocalypse already has his eye on a potential candidate for Death-- Angel. Warren will get greivously wounded during the Mutant Massacre-- losing his wings-- and either be abducted outright or will attempt to kill himself and be secretly saved by Apocalypse (which is what happened in the comics). He'll be suped up, brainwashed and christened Archangel, the angel of Death.

I don't really know what else I would do at this moment. Comments! Please help me figure out what to do with movies 2 & 3!!


* Looks like this:

 

[Zev]

Well, the hallmark of the origin scene is that it basically explains (or, if not explains, then shows precedent for) how the character is going to act for the rest of the movie, plus, obviously, introducing us to him. Without that, you might has well go the movie route and just say "Here's Scott Summers, his superhero name is Cyclops, and he shoots death-rays out of his eyes." So if the origin scene is of Cyclops, we should get that having such a destructive power has led to him being so buttoned-down and repressed. Maybe a scene of him standing alone in the devastation, squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with his hands as a sort of visual metaphor. Beyond that, it's easy to get the audience bored. "Yes, we know he has laser-vision, yes, we know he's hooked up with Xavier, move on already!"

Likewise, as Bobby is the comic relief character, it doesn't make sense to have his "origin" be getting arrested and then abandoned by his father (unless you're trying to tell the audience that he's masking his pain with bad jokes, but that's kind of a cliche and it'd be nice to have one X-Man who isn't "ZOMG HUMANITY HATES AND FEARS US! ANGST!" all the time). So maybe a reversal of expectations. After all these scenes of Jean Gray's car crash and Cyclops' blow-up and explosions and mob scenes and FLOINGLAVEN... Xavier goes up to this kid and asks "How'd you like a free college scholarship?" "WOULD I!?" "Oh, and you're a mutant."

 

[Herr Logan]

Well, the hallmark of the origin scene is that it basically explains (or, if not explains, then shows precedent for) how the character is going to act for the rest of the movie, plus, obviously, introducing us to him. Without that, you might has well go the movie route and just say "Here's Scott Summers, his superhero name is Cyclops, and he shoots death-rays out of his eyes." So if the origin scene is of Cyclops, we should get that having such a destructive power has led to him being so buttoned-down and repressed. Maybe a scene of him standing alone in the devastation, squeezing his eyes shut and covering them with his hands as a sort of visual metaphor. Beyond that, it's easy to get the audience bored. "Yes, we know he has laser-vision, yes, we know he's hooked up with Xavier, move on already!"

Likewise, as Bobby is the comic relief character, it doesn't make sense to have his "origin" be getting arrested and then abandoned by his father (unless you're trying to tell the audience that he's masking his pain with bad jokes, but that's kind of a cliche and it'd be nice to have one X-Man who isn't "ZOMG HUMANITY HATES AND FEARS US! ANGST!" all the time). So maybe a reversal of expectations. After all these scenes of Jean Gray's car crash and Cyclops' blow-up and explosions and mob scenes and FLOINGLAVEN... Xavier goes up to this kid and asks "How'd you like a free college scholarship?" "WOULD I!?" "Oh, and you're a mutant."

I think you're right about most of this. I don't know what the bad place you're talking about with that last sentence (after the FLOINGLAVEN), and I don't think Bobby is solely a comic relief character (he shares that job with the Beast), but yeah, I should skip a separate Iceman introduction and have him debut at the school.
In the first X-Men comic, the four males did a Danger Room workout before Jean Grey showed up. I don't think I want to do that-- I'd rather have them all enter the Danger Room together, even though the four males would have already trained there before, off-screen-- so I think Bobby will be introduced when they're all standing at a second-story window, watching Jean's cab arrive. They'll all make comments about how they finally have a female at their school and how hot she is (Cyclops says simply, in his typical taciturn manner, "I agree. She's very attractive," which will make Bobby laugh out loud, considering how many words the Beast used to say the same thing, and out of appreciation for deadpan line delivery).
At some point in the film, Bobby will divulge to someone (either the Beast, Cyclops or Jean) how he inadvertently caused a public panic and how his father rejected him. How does that sound?

As for Cyclops, again you're right, except for the "laser vision" and "visual metaphor" parts. His optic beams aren't lasers; they're heatless blasts of force that happen to give off light, but they're not pure light. As for "visual metaphor," I don't see what's metaphoric about it. Outside of ruby-quartz and adamantium, neither of which he has access to, his beams can only be blocked by his own body. It's a practical measure.

I guess I'll have it like this:
Scott Summers walks hurriedly through the steets as if running from something, his eyes let loose and drop the I-beam and then he blasts it away from the people below just in time, he takes off running and then hides in an alley or deep-set doorway, and then Xavier comes rolling up to ask him if he'd like some help.

I want to keep Beast's intro scenes pretty much as I laid out, taking Zaphod's suggestions into consideration. It should be relatively brief, though.

I don't know if I should show a flashback for Jean Grey (because her big turning point happened early than the others'), but I could just as well have her tell it to Cyclops.

Any other thoughts? What do you think of the Angel scene?

Thanks for posting, Zev.

 

[Zev]

As for Cyclops, again you're right, except for the "laser vision" and "visual metaphor" parts. His optic beams aren't lasers; they're heatless blasts of force that happen to give off light, but they're not pure light. As for "visual metaphor," I don't see what's metaphoric about it. Outside of ruby-quartz and adamantium, neither of which he has access to, his beams can only be blocked by his own body. It's a practical measure.

Well, just like he bottles up his rage (and, well, pretty much everything else) he also bottles up his optic blasts.

I don't know if I should show a flashback for Jean Grey (because her big turning point happened early than the others'), but I could just as well have her tell it to Cyclops.

That might be good. Of course, I had in mind her being kidnapped as a young girl. Xavier is a psychic helping out on the case (this is actually done in real life). The police bust into the cabin where she's being held, some FBI guy tells Xavier "I think you should come see this." They walk in and find Jean crying, "I didn't mean to." The kidnapper is on the floor, dead, his blood spreading out in the shape of a Phoenix raptor. That'd be a bad place of a visual to start a movie on (as well as show us WHY Xavier is taking in a bunch of teenagers).

Any other thoughts?

This almost made me cry.

What do you think of the Angel scene?

Thanks for posting, Zev.

I don't know. The Angel scene scans more like something out of Daredevil or Spider-Man, while X-Men is a much different kind of film. Having an action sequence would probably break the flow of the introduction/origin montage (just like a lengthy Shadow King/Xavier battle would). I actually think X-Men: The Last Stand did a pretty good job introducing Angel, as well as running his arc (even if they did do it on fast-forward).

 

[Herr Logan]

Well, just like he bottles up his rage (and, well, pretty much everything else) he also bottles up his optic blasts.

Good point. Stan Lee originally wrote him as needing to release excess energy and feeling weak after firing a full-intensity blast. I would assume that his headaches come from said bottling.

That might be good. Of course, I had in mind her being kidnapped as a young girl. Xavier is a psychic helping out on the case (this is actually done in real life). The police bust into the cabin where she's being held, some FBI guy tells Xavier "I think you should come see this." They walk in and find Jean crying, "I didn't mean to." The kidnapper is on the floor, dead, his blood spreading out in the shape of a Phoenix raptor. That'd be a bad place of a visual to start a movie on (as well as show us WHY Xavier is taking in a bunch of teenagers).

That origin doesn't belong anywhere in this thread, much less my treatment! That's not faithful to the source material at all!

I'm guessing you saw every episode of 'The Inside.'

This almost made me cry.

I don't know. The Angel scene scans more like something out of Daredevil or Spider-Man, while X-Men is a much different kind of film. Having an action sequence would probably break the flow of the introduction/origin montage (just like a lengthy Shadow King/Xavier battle would). I actually think X-Men: The Last Stand did a pretty good job introducing Angel, as well as running his arc (even if they did do it on fast-forward).

'X-Men: The Last Stand' showed Warren Worthington the third as a kid who was significantly younger than the X-Men and not only wasn't an original member, but wasn't a trained X-Man.
I'll concede the point about the Shadow King battle, but there's no way any faithful movie starring the original team would present the Angel that way. Did he act arrogant or flirt with female members of the team? No. Did he share any kind of comaradery or other relationship to anyone at the school whatsoever? No. He was lip service, just like most of the characters in those movies.

Having the Angel be a superhero before Xavier or his students approach him gives him solid grounds for being slightly arrogant towards other members, especially Iceman. That rivalry is actually partly out of jealousy, since Bobby is the only male member who looks completely inconspicuous when he's thawed out and in civvies. Anyway, I figure if one of the members actually did become a vigilante before they ever heard of Xavier, I should play that up a little. I'm not delving into Scott's ordeal with Jack o' Diamonds or the Beast's ordeal with the Conquistador. I can cut the Angel's scene much shorter, the furthest extent being that the newpaper on the ground specifically notes that the Avenging Angel intervened in a street crime (with JJJ's editorial stating how that's detrimental to the city and the country at large), and it simply pans up to show Angel flying around deftly and returning to his apartment.

Thanks again for the input (even if you are trying to turn my movie into a bloodbath).

 

[Zev]

Good point. Stan Lee originally wrote him as needing to release excess energy and feeling weak after firing a full-intensity blast. I would assume that his headaches come from said bottling.

And, you know, the whole emotional thing.

That origin doesn't belong anywhere in this thread, much less my treatment! That's not faithful to the source material at all!

I'm guessing you saw every episode of 'The Inside.'

Actually, no, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

You asked for thoughts, you didn't say what you wanted them to be about.

'X-Men: The Last Stand' showed Warren Worthington the third as a kid who was significantly younger than the X-Men and not only wasn't an original member, but wasn't a trained X-Man.
I'll concede the point about the Shadow King battle, but there's no way any faithful movie starring the original team would present the Angel that way. Did he act arrogant or flirt with female members of the team? No. Did he share any kind of comaradery or other relationship to anyone at the school whatsoever? No. He was lip service, just like most of the characters in those movies.

Having the Angel be a superhero before Xavier or his students approach him gives him solid grounds for being slightly arrogant towards other members, especially Iceman. That rivalry is actually partly out of jealousy, since Bobby is the only male member who looks completely inconspicuous when he's thawed out and in civvies. Anyway, I figure if one of the members actually did become a vigilante before they ever heard of Xavier, I should play that up a little. I'm not delving into Scott's ordeal with Jack o' Diamonds or the Beast's ordeal with the Conquistador. I can cut the Angel's scene much shorter, the furthest extent being that the newpaper on the ground specifically notes that the Avenging Angel intervened in a street crime (with JJJ's editorial stating how that's detrimental to the city and the country at large), and it simply pans up to show Angel flying around deftly and returning to his apartment.

Or he could be arrogant because he's a rich prettyboy. Just sayin'.

Thanks again for the input (even if you are trying to turn my movie into a bloodbath).

You're right, we need more sex to go with the violence. *plays "Let's Put The X In Sex"*

 

[Herr Logan]

And, you know, the whole emotional thing.

Emotions?

There's no room in an X-Men movie for emotions!!

Actually, no, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.

Did you get thrown out or something?

You asked for thoughts, you didn't say what you wanted them to be about.

You want to play the semantics game with me? With me??

Just wonderin', is all.

Or he could be arrogant because he's a rich prettyboy. Just sayin'.

Considering there are more than one other, more character-specific reasons for this behavior than that, I figure I should put them in play.

You're right, we need more sex to go with the violence. *plays "Let's Put The X In Sex"*

'Uncanny X-Men 2' will feature Marvel Girl in a new uniform with mucho cleavage and a short skirt, Storm in her bathing suit of a costume, Storm showing a lot of skin (still PG-13, though) when caught naked by one of the other X-Men while swimming (and I'm not going to present it like everyone in her little villain in Kenya walk around naked or mostly naked all the time... I don't actually know whether that's true or not, but I'm guessing not... it will be stated as her own personal preference, allowed by her immunity to being cold and her "Yay, Nature" attitude in general), Jean Grey in her Phoenix persona initiating sex with Cyclops in an aggressive fashion (possibly... and if it happens, don't worry, I won't have Cyclops get so freaked out that he says "no," unlike in every crappy Logan/Jean fan fiction story I ever had the misfortune of looking at), and scandalous costumes a-plenty at the Hellfire Club headquarters. Plus, all X-Men costumes are pretty much skin-tight. Oh yeah, and for the men-lovers (shut up, I don't want to hear it), there's Colossus, Angel and Cyclops (at least two of which will be shirtless at some point). And Wolverine, if there are people who find the real Wolverine (5'3" and hairy, with a "tough-guy" face, not a 6'2" soap star with a half-assed Wolverine haircut and a little glued-on hair) sexy.

I ain't pushin' the sex factor even as far as the latter seasons of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' did, though, so if you want to sex it up, go ahead and slap a label on your post that says it's your X-Men treatment.

Mine is a tale that whole family can enjoy (especially the adolescent males with bedroom doors that lock). Aside from a particularly vicious scene of violence with Wolverine carving up the Hellfire Club's masked mercenaries, gratiuitously tight clothing and pseudo-bondage type costumes toward the end, there shouldn't be much to protest about from the decent, God-fearing, movie-going audience.

 

[Zev]

Jean Grey in her Phoenix persona initiating sex with Cyclops in an aggressive fashion (possibly... and if it happens, don't worry, I won't have Cyclops get so freaked out that he says "no," unlike in every crappy Logan/Jean fan fiction story I ever had the misfortune of looking at)

LOL WHUT!?

I realize Scott is repressed, but c'mon. No man is going to turn down a Famke Jannsen lookalike just because she came back from the dead or whatever. I mean, maybe I can understand it if she just ate a sun or whatever, but EVEN THEN you've got have a "catch as catch can" policy.

I'd have the female costumes tend a little more towards the TAS versions. Because there's a time for eyecandy and a time for battle and frankly, the time when female superheroes go into battle dressed in bikinis, high-heels, and mini-skirts is over (or at least it SHOULD be). If you want some skin in your comic book, writers should do it the old-fashioned way... by writing in lots of gratuitous shower scenes.

I mean, GOD, haven't these people ever watched Skinemax?

 

[Herr Logan]

LOL WHUT!?

You heard me.

I realize Scott is repressed, but c'mon. No man is going to turn down a Famke Jannsen lookalike just because she came back from the dead or whatever. I mean, maybe I can understand it if she just ate a sun or whatever, but EVEN THEN you've got have a "catch as catch can" policy.

She wouldn't be a Famke Jannsen lookalike. She'd look like Jean Grey. That means no short haircut, no cold, aloof facial expressions (except when she starts turning "dark"), no 30-something year-old medical doctors, no fake-Jean bull*****.

Point taken, though.

I'd have the female costumes tend a little more towards the TAS versions. Because there's a time for eyecandy and a time for battle and frankly, the time when female superheroes go into battle dressed in bikinis, high-heels, and mini-skirts is over (or at least it SHOULD be). If you want some skin in your comic book, writers should do it the old-fashioned way... by writing in lots of gratuitous shower scenes.

I mean, GOD, haven't these people ever watched Skinemax?

No high heels while in battle, God dammit! Okay, Dark Phoenix dressed as the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club Inner Circle, but no straight-up, on-task X-Men are going to be wearing high heels to a fight unless they got pulled into a fight while in civvies, during off-time.

I may change my mind about Marvel Girl's costume at the beginning of movie two, but Storm is going to wear her original costume, for at least movies 2 and 4, dammit!

Storm will have some gratuitous shower scenes-- in unconventional locations, too. She can shower wherever, basically, with her rain-making powers.

 

[Herr Logan]

More on the the social side of our heroes in Herr Logan's 'Uncanny X-Men':

On a night that falls somewhere between the X-Men's first battle with Magneto and the final battle (in the first film, that is), Hank McCoy and Bobby Drake go out on a double-date with Vera Cantor and Zelda (from the comics). On this same night, Warren Worthington III takes Jean Grey out to dinner. Scott Summers, upset that Jean is seemingly dating Warren and that he didn't have the courage to ask her out or share his feelings about her, stays at the Institute and attempts a workout in the Danger Room. Cyclops will lose interest in his training sequence and opt to drive out to Salem Center on his own.

Bobby Drake has met an attractive young woman and asked her out. by whatever reasoning, he sets Hank up on a blind date with Zelda's friend, Vera. Hank is skeptical at first, then grateful, and then dismayed. Since graduating high school, Hank has been mostly preoccupied with his training, advanced academic studies and specialized research and development with Professor X. He hasn't socialized very much outside of the Institute, and while he was the Big Man on Campus back in Dunfee and quite popular, he's in a larger world now, and he now knows the kind of envy, bigotry and loneliness that comes with being a mutant. He feels that his "unusual" features will now draw more negativity than they used to.
Hank doesn't put much stock in blind dates, and says so. Bobby says he's seen Vera and she's right up Hank's alley. Hank asks for a description, and Bobby tells him that she's a pretty brunette with glasses who wears somewhat frumpy clothes and works at a public library in New York City.

The following only has some of the dialogue that would be in a finished treatment/script:

HANK: A librarian? You set me up with a librarian??
​

BOBBY: hey, don't go judgin' a book custodian by her cover, man.
​

*Hank flips over, plants his left hand on the floor and blances himself on it, casually rotating himself on the heel of his palm and stretching his legs*

HANK: A librarian?? The laudation you've merited with this avocation is illimitable, young Robert!
​

BOBBY: Zuh?
​

*Hank pushes off the floor with his planted hand, somersaults in the air and lands on his right hand, continuing his whimsical stretching*

HANK: I loves me some female librarians, and you da man!
​

BOBBY: I thought you might, and yes, I am.
​

HANK: Reiterate, if you will; when precisely is this rendezvous to transpire?
​

BOBBY: Tonight, actually.
​

*Hank pushes off the floor with his planted land, somersaults in the air and lands on both feet, standing in a stooped-over posture, a dismayed expression on his face *

BOBBY: Yeah, I know it's short notice, but the Prof gave us tomorrow off, so all the riveting hours of tinkering and studying or whatever you had planned for tonight, you can put it off.
​

HANK: It's not that, Bobby. I simply... I guess I just... I surmise my lack of exhilaration is owed to my cognizance of my anomalous, brutish personage.
​

BOBBY: Oh come on! Weren't you the the Big Man on Campus back home, with chicks throwing themselves at you?
​

HANK: Dunfee is a small town, and even if anyone in this locality knew about my illustrious football record, they would know that it did not consummate on a triumphant note. Here and now, I'm just an anthropoid with massive hands. She might recoil with repulsion when I offer a genial handshake. What then?
​

BOBBY: What then? I'll tell you "what then;" if Vera writes you off just because you look like a shaved ape with circus-freak hands and feet, then we drive 'em back home and call it a night. Just because we're sworn to protect a world of humans who hate and fear us, that don't mean we gotta entertain them for the rest of the evening.
​

*Beast grimaces at Bobby's use of "shaved ape with circus-freak hands and feet," but takes it in stride; he looks grateful and vindicated when Bobby finishes*

HANK: Earnestly?
​

BOBBY: Earnestly. We X-Men take care of our own, no matter how hot my date for tonight happens to be... please Vera, don't mess this up...
​

*Hank laughs at this*


Hank and Bobby take one of the cars on the estate (with permission, of course) into Manhattan where they pick up the girls at the library where Vera works. Their double-date goes very well, for the most part (I'll fill in details later). After hanging out in a cafe for a while, they opt to check out a bar in Manhattan where Zelda says they can get food and drink on the cheap, since she's friends with one of the night managers.

Scott Summers is in that same bar, and has been for a while. He doesn't even really know why he went in there, or why he spoke up when a grungy-looking guy came in and asked if anyone wanted to get their as kicked at pool, or why he agreed to bet $100. Scott has never played the game, so he isn't lying when he says he's not very experienced. Scott has an uncanny sense of geometry and spacial relationships however (a talent that serves him well in combat), so he starts off a little shaky and then totally owns the other guy at pool. Right when Hank, Bobby and their dates come in, Scott's opponent is accusing him of hustling (as in feigning lack of skill... you don't need to tell me other definitions of the word or pretend this is an example) and looks about ready to start a fight. Scott, in a foul mood, stands his ground, ready to take the other guy apart if he throws a punch. Hank tells Vera to excuse him for a moment, and walks over to Scott.

Cliffhanger! Gotta go, more later.

Thoughts?!

 

[kame-sennin]

Okay, input needed here, guys:

At the beginning of my Uncanny X-Men movie concept, I've got the scene where Xavier is in Egypt twenty years before the present time story. Xavier has his wallet stolen by a very young Ororo and chases her into a cafe where he meets the crime boss she works for-- Amahl Farouk, the Shadow King. After they both acknowledge that they're both mutant psychics, they do battle on the Astral Plane. The visual representation of this is a physical battle in a surreal, hallucinogenic atmosphere with armor and melee weapons.
Xavier, a relative amateur in psychic battle, somehow defeats the Shadow King on the Astral Plane and leaves him in a catatonic state.
Now, my current idea for this is that it takes place before the opening credit/title sequence of the film. It's a long teaser, basically.

Should I shorten this so that instead of actually going to the Astral Plane, Farouk and Xavier simply sit across from each other and basically act out a psychic "quickdraw duel"? Think back to 'Star Wars: A New Hope' where the bounty hunter Greedo is sitting across from Han Solo with a gun on him. Solo is holding a gun under the table and shoots first (in the real version, anyway). The point is, they're sitting down and basically have a duel. The combatants in my scene would also shoot energy blasts, but they would emmanate from their heads, be larger in size and would take the form of continuous beams, not single blasts. This would be faster and less disorienting than an Astral battle, but it wouldn't capture what really happened between these two in the comics. What do you guys think?

Alternate suggestions are welcome, too.

I think you can keep the astral plane duel, and still have the scene be short enough to fit into a teaser (from where you left off):

XAVIER: Not at all. I'm here on vacation. However, after what I've seen and heard in this city, I can't stand by, idle, while a corrupt psychic hold defenseless humans in terror and turns innocent children into theives.
​

FAROUK: I'm sorry to hear that.
​

Farouk nods ever so slightly towards Xavier. Ororo has a look of panic on her face, but remains silent.
Immediately, the nasty-looking men come back into the room and draw guns. Xavier's head quickly turns toward them and they instantly fall to the ground, unconscious. Xavier then turns back to Farouk. We move into a close-up of Farouk, after a moment, the screen flashes the image of a midevil helmet over Farouk's face. This cut is acompanied by a loud sond effect, perhaps some kind of electronic distortion. We immediatley cut back to Xavier, who flinches in reaction to the attack. We go back to Farouk and see another flash, but now, the entire cafe is gone and we see the full body of a man in midevil armor holding a scithe. Again, this flash is accompanied by loud sfx. Xavier flinches in reaction agian. Then he leans forward, and we catch a flash of Xavier in his own armor with the same sfx. With each cut, we go deeper and deeper into the astral world. As the scene continues, we see the same images that Herr originaly described in his astral plane battle, but they are presented in brief flashes and intercut with the subtle physical reactions of Xavier and Farouk. When the battle ends, Farouk's face goes blank and Xavier leaves. This way, the battle is compressed to no more than 30 seconds.

 

[kame-sennin]

I realize it may seem excessive for there to be a college-level faculty for a school of five students, but there has to be some explanation for how they receive a "normal" education. There are other options, though. One is Xavier psychically inputting his own academic knowledge into his students' minds (like he taught all the X-Men who needed it to speak English before the Krakoa mission). Another one (which isn't mutually exclusive with the former, since Xavier doesn't know everything a student may want to know before earning a degree) is to have computer programs do the teaching, including artificial intelligence to answer questions and interact as fully as a student would with a human professor. Hmm... I'm actually liking this idea a lot, now. The computer programs would be part of Cerebro, which is the computer operating system for the school, with the psychic-enhancing and mutant-tracking abilities being just part of it. It could potentially "teach" students psychically, saving much time.

I really like the idea of virtual teachers. Here's another idea; what if Xavier temporarily channels prestegious proffesors from around the world into his mind so he can present their lectures to his students. Essentially, for the duration of the lecture, Xavier would seem like he was possesed by whichever college acedemic he was chaneling at the time (of course he would actually be in complete control). Or, Xavier could even allow the X-men to experience being in the classroom with college proffesors via the astral plane or some such?

 

[kame-sennin]

Also, does anyone think I should go ahead and give Iceman an origin/recruitment scene?

Show, don't tell, my man. If you're doing origin scenes for Xavier, Scott, Hank, and Warren, Jean and Bobby should get origin scenes as well. Having the character describe their origins to other characters isn't as compelling on screen.

I've considered combining Iceman's origin scene with the Angel's, having the young couple the Angel saves be Bobby and his girlfriend, but I think that's a cheap, lazy move.

What do you guys think about all this?

When I read it, I thought the same thing, but I ultimatley agree with your assesment. It would be too convenient to combine their origins.

I'd be okay with some product placements.