X-Men: Days of Future Past will hopefully be a strong hopping off point for the Fox-Marvel Cinematic Universe. The original 1980s story by Chris Claremont and John Byrne is relatively short-just two issues long-but has had a profound impact on X-Men stories and the bleak and dystopian future of the Marvel Universe. In fact, the story has influenced the direction and development of the Marvel Universe for decades. In that sense, this movie has the potential and the responsibility to live up to such a well regarded legacy. Adapting Days of Future Past provides a unique opportunity not only for cross-franchise set up, but also for otherwise impossible character and plot developments and an unprecedented opportunity to change some of the missteps of past films without rebooting. Time Travel stories generally allow for certain mind-bending plot points not usually allowed by science fiction or science fantasy. In a film transpiring across several time periods simultaneously, such as this one, the temptation to make sweeping changes probably could not and should not be resisted. A story like Days of Future Past allows for the opportunity to rewrite histories, resurrect characters, and lay the seeds for future installments in ways that would other wise seem like wild and unlikely. However, in a movie where the order of events, and the events themselves are malleable anything is possible...
Brandon grew from the awkwardness of his youth into the awkwardness of his adulthood. He is the author of the Eat Your Serial Press title "Ten Years Gone: Pomp and Circumstance" and is a contributor on Maglomaniac, Polite on Society, and What Culture.
