10 Marvel Cinematic Universe Fan Theories You Need To Know
9. HYDRA Scuppered The Rise Of The X-Men
There are no traditional mutants in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because Fox paid a large sum of money to borrow them, but from a story point of view, the reason for their absence might not be so bureaucratic.
A compelling theory doing the rounds on social news website Reddit claims the rise of Hydra prevented Adolf Hitler from initiating The Holocaust in MCU continuity, and thus ensured the X-Men were never formed.
Those who know their comic book lore will tell you that Magneto became aware of his powers after being imprisoned in a concentration camp, and the X-Men were later formed after he and Charles Xavier parted ways due to conflicting ideologies.
In this continuity, however, Magneto was never incarcerated or met Professor X, which means a certain mutant team was never founded... or so the fan theory goes.
Apparently, the only difference in the Fox universe is that Hydra failed to rise to power, so The Holocaust happened, the X-Men formed and the Avengers did not.
As far as the question of where the MCU's mutants are, this is the best answer we have until Marvel reclaims the rights to Wolverine, Deadpool and co in the future.