The MCU Is Officially Redeeming the Iconic X-Men Character the Movies Failed

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20 years after the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, the X-Men are finally joining the franchise, with their own film set to kick off Phase Seven in 2028. It has become one of the most-anticipated superhero films in recent memory. It helps that the new X-Men film is assembling an exciting cast, which includes Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, and Samara Weaving as Emma Frost. And news recently broke that Gen V star Asa Germann would join them as Warren Worthington III/Angel in the upcoming reboot.

Angel was introduced in X-Men #1 in September 1963 as one of Professor X’s first students alongside Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, and Iceman. Yet despite his status as one of the first X-Men, he has often gone overlooked in live-action. In fact, of all the founding X-Men members, Angel has the least amount of representation in the films by far. The previous X-Men movies wasted the character, but the MCU can give Angel some much-needed redemption.

Angel’s Appearances in the ‘X-Men’ Movies Explained

Angel is a founding member of the X-Men, but the live-action films seemed uninterested in the character. For all the discussion around how the movies unfairly benched Cyclops in favor of Wolverine, Angel was largely treated far worse. He appeared in only two films: X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Apocalypse. Not only does he appear in the third film in both main X-Men timelines, but each is among the worst of its era. And both times he shows up, Angel gets a glorified cameo.

In X-Men: The Last Stand, Angel is played by Ben Foster. After a disturbing and heartbreaking opening scene where a young Warren Worthington III cuts off his wings and mutilates himself, the movie relegates him to the background of its central story. Despite appearing in promotional photos for X-Men: The Last Stand in costume, Angel never suits up in the film and only has a handful of scenes. He only ever interacts with the main cast once, as if he were a last-minute addition.

Ben Hardy takes over the role in X-Men: Apocalypse, where the character’s connection to the X-Men as a team is non-existent. X-Men: Apocalypse has no interest in developing Angel as a character. The movie quickly turns him into Archangel, makes him a glorified henchman for the title villain, and kills him off unceremoniously by the end. Instead of redeeming himself and joining the team at the end of the movie, his place on the X-Men roster is filled by Quicksilver, a character more commonly associated with the X-Men as a villain, or with the Avengers than with the X-Men proper.

Why Past ‘X-Men’ Adaptations Might Have Struggled With Angel

If you’re wondering why Angel has been treated so poorly on-screen, Marvel Comics writers and husband-and-wife duo Louise and Walt Simonson might have provided the answer. In a 1986 interview with Comics Interview, the pair said they revamped Angel into Archangel in the pages of X-Factor because they found the character boring. Since he was wealthy, handsome, and adored by women, they thought he was a Mary Sue with no problems. Yet at the same time, due to the inflation in superhuman abilities across the X-Men comics, Angel felt severely underpowered compared to the likes of Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolverine, and even Banshee.

This line of thought may be present in the live-action films, as Angel is the X-Men member most adaptations struggle with. Not counting the roles in MCU films such as The Marvels, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or Avengers: Doomsday, Angel is the founding X-Man with the fewest live-action appearances by a wide margin. Both Cyclops and Jean Grey appear in seven films, while Beast appears in five (six if you count a brief cameo in X2: X-Men United on a television screen). Iceman has four appearances and was a major part of the stories in X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand.

Things certainly aren’t better in the animated series for Angel. He appeared in 11 episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series, but was transformed into Archangel in his second appearance. Even though Archangel appears as a member of X-Force in X-Men ’97 Season 2, he never shares a scene or conversation with any of his fellow founding X-Men members, who don’t seem to care that he is working for a paramilitary unit. He was a guest character in X-Men: Evolution. The X-Men series that featured him most was Wolverine and the X-Men, which was canceled after one season. Even then, the series seemed in a hurry to rush to the Archangel transformation.

How Angel Can Factor Into the MCU’s X-Men

If most adaptations, and even some comics, struggle with Angel, the MCU will have to find a fresh approach to make the character work. In part, the creative mandate behind the MCU is to do what the prior films have barely scratched the surface of. This includes focusing on new storylines and spotlighting characters who have never been done in live-action before, like antagonist Mister Sinister. The X-Men roster revealed at D23 featured the classics, like Cyclops, Jean, Rogue, and Storm. Angel being part of it confirms the theory that the movie will feature the original five X-Men with some additions, meaning Beast and Iceman casting should be coming soon.

Angel’s role in the upcoming reboot is interesting, especially since X-Men will also feature Emma Frost. In the comics, Emma Frost is first introduced as a member of the Hellfire Club, a secret society dating back to the 18th century whose membership consists of social elites. Their goal is to influence world events to suit their agendas. Even though the Inner Circle is largely associated with mutants like Emma Frost or Sebastian Shaw, there have been plenty of human members of the Hellfire Club. In the comics, this includes Warren Worthington Jr. and Kathryn Worthington, Angel’s father and mother. That connection to the Hellfire Club could be an important part of the upcoming film, with Angel torn between his family duties and his found family with the X-Men.

Angel’s inclusion also gives the X-Men film a chance to embrace romances and love triangles, a key part of what has made the comics so popular over the last 60 years. While the love triangle between Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops is better known, the original X-Men comics had Angel compete with Cyclops for Jean Grey’s attention. Even though Jean ultimately chooses Cyclops and remains good friends with Angel, a YA-inspired love triangle subplot would not only draw from the earliest days of X-Men comics but also tap into the growing popularity of the romance genre on-screen with series like Off Campus.

Finally, the MCU could adapt Angel’s betrayal by his friend, Cameron Hodge. Introduced in X-Factor #1, Cameron Hodge was originally Angel’s college roommate and best friend, serving as X-Factor’s public liaison. Yet the comic would reveal it was all a setup, as Hodge was actually the leader of the Right, an anti-mutant terrorist organization, and used his position as X-Factor’s public liaison to increase anti-mutant sentiments.

Cameron Hodge is ultimately responsible for the accident that leads Angel to become Archangel. While it might be too early to adapt that element of his story, the idea of Angel being betrayed by someone he believed he could trust not only makes for good dramatic storytelling, but it gives the character a new layer that could transform him from an optimistic hero to a more cynical one. That contrasts greatly with his heavenly appearances.

With over 63 years of comics history, there is plenty of source material the MCU can draw from to flesh out the character of Angel. After the past 26 years of X-Men films treating Angel as disposable, the hero is finally going to get his moment in the spotlight. Hopefully, the third time really is the charm.