The Disney/Fox buy-out is one of the biggest deals in film history. Not to mention, it has been watched closely by many news sources since it was announced Fox would be selling its film right, and Disney was interested in buying them. Now that the deal is seemingly ending, and Disney this much closer to global domination, there is a key take away for nerd culture. With Disney gaining the rights to all of Fox's film properties, both the "X-men" and "Fantastic Four" will be back under the control of Marvel Studios for the first time in ages. This has fans ecstatic to see them interact with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) on the big screen, however, this may not be the best idea.
It would no doubt be amazing to see characters like the "Fantastic Four" fighting alongside the "Avengers" in theaters, but it is important to think about what has already been established in the films that Marvel has done prior to this deal. The MCU started way back in 2008 with the first "Iron Man" movie. Although the things were a little vaguer at the time, a full story arc involving all the characters we know and love was being penned. Those stories, due to Fox still owning the film rights, did not include introducing characters that Marvel did not own. Introducing these crucial characters so late into the MCU seems like a diservice to both sets of characters.
For example, the "Fantastic Four" is often referred to as, "Marvel's first family." They were Stan Lee's first comic published, and they have been a focal point of the Marvel comics ever since. "Fantastic Four" brings with them not only one of, if not, the smartest person in Marvel, but also, they give the Marvel universe's "Dr. Doom," which is one Marvel's most iconic villains. My point is, they are not a group that should be thrown in at the end of a saga, nor should they be passed a torch from already established heroes. Marvel's first family should be the ones to start the universe.
On the other hand, there is the "X-men." They are not as crucial to the beginning of the Marvel universe as the "Fantastic Four," but they do have issues with being brought into the MCU. In the "X-men" comics, the "X-men," aka mutants, are not liked by society because of their powers. This is an inconsistency that comic book fans gloss over. In the same world where people love "Spiderman" and "Captain America" for their superpowers, they also hate "Wolverine" and "Storm" for their superpowers. This problem does become larger when putting them on screen. This inconsistency that can be ignored in comics can't be ignored on a big screen. It comes off as a plot hole or poor writing.
I know the monkey wrench in all of this is "Spiderman." He was not originally owned by Marvel, but they were able to get his film rights for "Captain America: Civil War" and after. That worked out great, but "Spiderman" is a little more flexible when it comes to writing. For one, he is young, so it is easier to write him into the story. Also, his character allows him to have some liberties taken without betraying his character. With "X-men" and the "Fantastic Four" taking too many liberties with their characters to make them fit gives you something that looks like "X-men: The Last Stand" or 2015's "Fantastic Four."
Could it be done? Could the writers for future films sit down and create a way to put "Fantastic Four" and "X-men" into the MCU? Of course, they could, and they probably will. I know there are thousands of fan theories on how to put them into the MCU, and there are a lot of good ones. However, I have not felt that any of them do the characters justice. I know it would be amazing to see the "X-men" and "Fantastic Four" on screen with "Spiderman" and "Hulk," but maybe instead of asking "Could they?" we should instead ask "Should they?"
