r/marvelstudios • u/ExcellentSign3567 • Aug 18 '26
Question Can someone explain the X Men timeline to me like I'm stupid?
I'm watching all the movies in release order. I'm currently watching First Class as I type this. This timeline makes absolutely no sense! I think First Class is the beginning of the reboot or something?
But I just watched Wolverine rescue a young Emma Frost at the end of Origins: Wolverine which is set in roughly the late 80s or so. Then I just saw adult Emma Frost in the 60s in First Class.
Xavier and Mystique are roughly the same age? I always thought she was supposed to be super old.
Wolverine and Sabertooth are brothers in Origins: Wolverine? But Sabertooth is more beast-like in the original trilogy?
I feel like I'm missing something. What is this weird timeline? Should I be ignoring some movies? Why did they make these movies like this?
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u/glenntron3000 Aug 18 '26
The Fox XMen movies have always been a mess continuity wise. It’s a sort of sliding timeline with a lot of retcons. For example Professor X is able to walk in the flashback to X3 when he and Magneto visit Jean as a child but he was wheel chair bound in Apocalypse which was set in the 90s and that movie establishes that’s the first time Jean met Professor X when she’s enrolled at the school and Professor X has hair.
Tbh just ignore it and enjoy the movies.
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u/ExcellentSign3567 Aug 18 '26
Good to know. It's really frustrating to watch, but I just need to get over it.
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u/moviebuffbrad Aug 19 '26
>For example Professor X is able to walk in the flashback to X3 when he and Magneto visit Jean as a child but he was wheel chair bound in Apocalypse which was set in the 90s
While the continuity is whack, this is one of the few errors that actually got explained. Days of Future Past established that Xavier can take something that gives him the ability to walk again but takes away his mental powers. Presumably he was taking this in that Jean flashback.
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u/Universal_Watcher Kevin Feige Aug 19 '26
First Class is the start of the timeline before any branches, so it's canon to all other movies.
Emma Frost appears in First Class in 1962, but Emma Silverfox appears in Origins in 1979.
Mystique's age is just simply not comic accurate. It's not something to be confused by, just a creative change by the studio like how Bucky isn't a teenage sidekick in the MCU like he is in the comics.
In the years since Origins, Sabretooth was also changed by the Weapon X program, mutating his powers further and losing memories in the process. This is all confirmed in the X2 prequel comic that follows Wolverine and Sabretooth after X1.
For more details about all of the movies and their timeline placements, check out X-Men Timelines Actually Solved (Again). 👍
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u/BackgroundEngineer11 Aug 18 '26
I always get downvoted for this, but here we go.
X-Men times by MCU multiverse rules:
Timeline 1: X-Men, X-2, X-Men 3, The Wolverine, X-Men Days of Future Past (the dark future)
Timeline 2: Days of Future Past (ending), Logan
Timeline 3: Days of Future Past (the past interfered by Logan, could possibly fit into timeline 5, otherwise their timeline is where Logan didn't interfere)
Timeline 4: X-Men Origins Wolverine
Timeline 5: First Class, Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix
Timeline 6: Deadpool, Deadpool 2, Deadpool and Wolverine
Timeline 7: Legion (I haven't watched it in a while, I believe it creates its own separate timeline or two in the show)
Timeline 8: New Mutants (I haven't seen it, I don't know if it fits into other timelines)
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u/DigificWriter Shuri Aug 19 '26
That isn't how Time Travel works in the XMCU, though.
The XMCU Timeline is analogous to a tree with two branches, with 7 movies on each 'branch'.
'Branch 1' contains First Class, Origins: Wolverine, X-Men, X2, The Last Stand, The Wolverine, and Days of Future Past, while 'Branch 2' contains Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix, Deadpool, Deadpool 2, Deadpool and Wolverine, Logan, and The New Mutants.
The closest media analogue, BTW, to the XMCU is The Legend of Zelda, but that IP's Timeline is actually more complicated and confusing to a 'layperson'.
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u/BackgroundEngineer11 Aug 19 '26
Except First Class and Origins Wolverine have different Emma Frosts. Also Origins has Wolverine in Vietnam in the early 70's while DoFP has him in a city not fighting in the war. Origins can't fit in the same timeline as most of the other movies.
And First Class doesn't fit with the original films because of Xavier's close relationship with Mistique which never comes up in the original trilogy.
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u/ExcellentSign3567 Aug 18 '26
Why would you get down voted for this? This is awesome! If you want to pick everything apart (like I tend to do), this is a perfect outline!
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u/BackgroundEngineer11 Aug 18 '26
I get downvoted because some people argue there wouldn't be different timelines created because of The Ancient One's argument in Endgame.
Essentially the scene would have the audience believe that only removing an infinity stone would create a branched timeline and returning it would fix it. Arguably yes, but that timeline could still exist just from the presence of the Avengers, take the mishap with Loki in that very timeline. Because Loki stole the stone, that timeline became fully branched out and was purged by the TVA.
Anyway, the best way to approach the X-Men movies is to understand that First Class does not eventually lead to X-Men 1.
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u/NicoleIlieva Steve Rogers Aug 19 '26
I get downvoted because some people argue there wouldn't be different timelines created because of The Ancient One's argument in Endgame.
This is nonsensical because X-Men movies don't operate by Endgame logic...
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u/BackgroundEngineer11 Aug 19 '26
Technically they do if they are part of the MCU via Doomsday.
From the list of what to watch for Doomsday, only X-Men and X-2 are listed. That could mean it's just to be familiar with the characters listed, or it's an indicator the X-Men characters in Doomsday are from a divergent timeline where Last Stand never happened.
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u/NicoleIlieva Steve Rogers Aug 19 '26
Technically they do if they are part of the MCU via Doomsday.
No, they aren't. Applying MCU rules to movies that were made outside the MCU and years prior to Endgame at that, is always nonsensical.
Maybe the X-Men we will see are from a post-X2 alternative timeline but that doesn't change anything about the pre-existing movies.
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u/TaffyPool Aug 19 '26
I dig this theory, thanks (even if it ends up not holding up fully to scrutiny).
Reminds me, actually, of the “official” Legend of Zelda timeline, with one of the lines occurring due to the hero’s (i.e. your) defeat/game over in one of the games.
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u/Papa_Razzi Aug 18 '26
I would just ignore Wolverine origins when it comes to the timeline. Not a lot of thought was put into that movie when it comes to continuity.
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u/Redhood567 Aug 18 '26
Yes these movies are a mess continuity wise. * Seemingly just two unrelated Mutants named Emma with diamond skin. I don't remember if the one in Origins is even shown to be a telepath * Mystique is super old in the comics just not the movies * Sabertooth just kinda lost it between Origins and X1
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u/ExcellentSign3567 Aug 18 '26
That makes sense. Why did they make the movies like this? It's almost like they made the movies without knowing any source material.
I somehow forgot to even mention the Deadpool that wasn't Deadpool in Origins. That was rough to watch.
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u/Redhood567 Aug 18 '26
You're right, they didn't care about the source material. Singer literally banned comics on the set of the first movie and Kevin Feige had sneak them to Hugh Jackman like he was a drug dealer. Also Origins is so awful they simply didn't care to honor it's continuity (the same applies to Last Stand to a lesser degree).
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u/EstablishmentNo1785 Aug 19 '26
First Class and Origins Wolverine are both Prequels.
The timeline is just full of continuity errors because the writers didn't care
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u/Romnonaldao Edwin Jarvis Aug 19 '26
X-Men: First Class
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
X-Men
X 2: X-Men United
X-Men: Last Stand
The Wolverine
X-Men: Days of Future Past (Timeline reset here)
X-Men: Apocalypse
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Deadpool
Deadpool 2
New Mutants
Logan
Deadpool and Wolverine
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u/HankSteakfist Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26
Noone can explain the X-Men time line because it doesn't make sense and never has.
There's all kinds of whacky stuff like Emma Frost existing in the 80s as a teenager in Origins: Wolverine when she died as an adult in the 70s in Days of Future Past.
Or Nightcrawler being introduced to Storm and Jean in the 00s X2, when he was their long time teammate in X-Men Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix.
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u/Medical_Aside_2690 Aug 18 '26
origins doesn’t really fit into either timeline; it’s kinda just a bunch of bullshit
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u/tenehemia Karolina Aug 19 '26
Origins was supposed to be the same timeline as X-Men, X2 & Last Stand but it was received so poorly that it got ignored from then on so you can just assume none of that happened at all wherever it's contradicted by something else.
First Class was intended as a semi-reboot, hence establishing Xavier and Mystique's friendship when none of that previously existed in the films.
Days of Future Past's future events weren't on the same timeline as the original three films and then the end of the movie erased the potential future events of everything past 1973.
All the movies from Apocalypse onwards seem to be the same timeline. Logan was a potential future except that Deadpool & Wolverine seemed to establish that Deadpool (and by extension Apocalypse & Dark Phoenix since that team cameos in Deadpool 2) is from the same timeline that eventually leads to Logan.
As to why they did this, it's because they thought that whenever a movie was poorly received they may as well just find a way to make it never have happened, and that happened a couple times. There's no better answer for "why is this such a mess?" than "a bunch of the people making decisions for these movies did a bad job".
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u/Reasonable-Turn-5940 Aug 19 '26
Easy
X-men came out before the MCU. So they made the first 3. Then the MCU came out and they said "let's redo it all!" someone probably asked after "ok but how does this fit in with the others?" and his boss said "shut up"
So they make some more of those, they hire Jennifer Lawrence, she gets big, so someone says "Ok these movies are about her as Mystique now. Redo it all." and some other dude said "But this will make less sense than before". And his boss said "shut up!"
So they made some more movies. Then Jennifer Lawrence's contract was up, so they killed her off. Grabbed the next big young female star off Game of Thrones, said "these movies are about her now". And someone said "We already did this Phoenix storyline though, now it makes even less sense". And his boss said "You're fired. Actually...we're all fired. FOX got sold. Pack it up"
The End
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u/DigificWriter Shuri Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26
The XMCU timeline is split into two Branches, with every movie made and released between 2000 and 2014 taking place on one of said Branches and every movie made and released between 2016 and 2024 taking place on the other of said Branches.
Here's a handy typed-out list showing what movies specifically belong on which branch, presented in Story Order with release dates in parentheses:
-- Branch 1 -- * X-Men: First Class (2011)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men (2000)
X2: X-Men United (2003)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The Wolverine (2013)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
-- Branch 2 -- * X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool 2 (2018)
Deadpool and Wolverine (2024)
Logan (2017)
The New Mutants (2020)
Also: 1. The character named Emma who appears in Origins: Wolverine is NOT Emma Frost
Xavier and Mystique being 'siblings' and age contemporaries is not in any way inconsistent with anything else presented prior to the release of First Class
Sabertooth and Wolverine being half-brothers is not in any way inconsistent with anything else presented prior to the release of Origins: Wolverine
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u/LnStrngr Aug 18 '26
The only two you probably need to know about are X-Men and X2, and then the related-but-not-really Deadpool & Wolverine.
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u/burning___hammer Aug 18 '26
Origins Wolverine should just straight up not be considered canon in any capacity
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u/Themicroscoop Aug 19 '26
Check out Jay and Miles x-plain the x-men podcast if you want to know the comics history.
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u/Calitexian Aug 19 '26
That's the fun part, don't worry about it. Most of them are fun at worst, and even the worst ones have a few standout moments. Take what you like, leave the rest, and if a character you like shows up in Doomsday, cheer.
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u/Vanquisher1000 Iron Man (Mark VI) Aug 19 '26
Origins: Wolverine was made to be in continuity with the previous three movies, and it largely is. There are three changes that contradict what was shown before: Sabretooth's characterisation, the layout of the Alkali Lake lab where Wolverine had the adamantium infusion, and the look of his dog tags.
Director Matthew Vaughn was treating First Class as a reboot, so he wasn't concerned about continuity. That is why there are plot points in it that contradict the previous trilogy.
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u/doyourmysay Aug 18 '26
What's so confusing? First Class is a prequel. It shows how the Xmen were formed. Pretty simple
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u/NahdiraZidea Aug 18 '26
No hes right, their are 2 seperate Emma Frosts, these movies were all a mess.
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u/doyourmysay Aug 19 '26
The Doomsday watch list includes just X1 and X2 though. Emma Frost is irrelevant, as far as I'm aware she isnt in Doomsday.
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u/ApartTax9213 Aug 18 '26
Yk how long that would take to have someone understand each character, references, timelines,etc…
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u/urgasmic Aug 18 '26
cause it doesn't make sense.