'X-Men' finally gives its most powerful characters, women, a chance to fix past mistakes
"We are always saving the men around here," Jennifer Lawrence tells James McAvoy in one of the most memorable scenes in X-Men: Dark Phoenix. "Might wanna think about changing the name to X-Women."
It seems that Simon Kinberg, who wrote, produced, and directed what is in fact the first X-Men movie led by women, has put serious thought into that idea.
Kinberg's first attempt at telling the story of Jean Grey — who's perhaps the most powerful character in the X-Men universe — goes back to 2006 when he wrote X-Men: The Last Stand.
In it, the character, portrayed by Famke Janssen — who can pretty much do anything she sets her mind to — is both continuously saved as well as protractedly stopped by male characters.
Little if anything is learned about her backstory and her tremendous potential as both protagonist and antagonist is drowned by the smell of Wolverine's testosterone.
So, Dark Phoenix is an attempt at historical revisionism and an attempt to go back to the comic book roots of Jean Grey as first portrayed by comic book writer Chris Claremont.
"To me any movie going forward should be a feminist movie," Kinberg told Mashable during an interview in London.
He defines feminism, at the risk of oversimplifying and sounding trans-exclusionary, as "equality between men and women" and advocates for that equality to become cemented in front of, as well as behind the camera. With huge blockbuster hits like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, Kinberg says comic book characters are beginning to break through the old superhero dynamics.
"Certain rules and laws were created a long time ago by men with very little mind," Jessica Chastain's character says in another strong Dark Phoenix moment. The difference between the Jean Grey portrayed by Sophie Turner in 2019 and the Jean Grey from 13 years ago is cosmic ('So we do space missions now?' as one character quips at the start of the film). The male characters in this film are secondary at best. Professor Charles Xavier, one of the most beloved characters that's traditionally portrayed as holding the moral high ground in the battle of good vs. evil, is now seen reconciling with the reality of being an egotistical, power-hungry gaslighter.
I've seen reviews of the film talk about a 'feminist subtext' but there's nothing subtle about the clear translation of the #MeToo era discourse into Kinberg's film. "This movie is a reflection of the shift we are experiencing all around us, is a celebration of that," he says. But Kinberg doesn't want to take credit for this specific narrative, linking us all back to the original character of Jean Grey "created a very long time ago by some people that were just forward thinking."
A very long time ago is right because the X-Men universe, until now, has been trailing behind the superhero packs in terms of giving its female characters room to breathe.
In that sense, Dark Phoenix is a refreshing attempt to fix some of the mistakes made in the past.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix hits UK cinemas June 5.
Topics Comics
Senior Producer, London.
