ushas42

HOLY MOSES, SOMEBODY ASKED!

1. The first character I first fell in love with

Sort of a weird question, since I’d seen X-men 1 and 2 previously, so this wasn’t my first movie-verse exposure to a lot of these characters. But, Charles! BB! Okay, it can be hard to portray Professor X without falling into the trap of making him either way too saintly and perfect, or a secretly nothing but a stubborn, egotistical jerk. I love seeing him when he’s younger because he’s a bit more open and vulnerable and he hasn’t gotten all dignified and stately yet, so we get to see what makes him tick. And it manages to strike the right balance. Yes, he’s a bit patronizing, and self-centered, and naive, but he’s also genuine in his enthusiasm and his desire to help people and he’s just generally such a big, dorky cuddlemuffin that it’s impossible to hate him.

Honorable mention to Erik, because as much as I love Magneto in the first two films, (and don’t get me wrong, he’s awesome in those and gets all the best lines. “Mr. Laurio, never trust a beautiful woman, especially one who’s interested in you.”), by then he’s gained a self confidence that borders on smugness. In XMFC, he doesn’t have that yet, he’s still very raw. He’s just. so. angry. at the world. He’s been badly hurt and he’s determined to make the world hurt right back, and that’s fascinating to watch.

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now

Weirdly, Emma Frost. The first time I saw the film I didn’t have any knowledge of her from the comics, so she didn’t make much of an impression on me either way. But I kept hearing fans talk about how she was so bland compared to her original character, so I looked her up and read bits of her character from the comics and watched some Floating Hands parodies where she’s fantastic (“You! Girl-from-Poltergeist!” “It’s Layla!” “I don’t care!”) and now I think she’s pretty cool.

My comic-book-acquaintance, on the other hand, thinks she’s the anti-Christ for sleeping with Scott, so I can’t discuss her with anyone I know.

3. The character everyone else loves that I don’t

Man, who was that Canadian jerk who was so rude in the bar? Fuck him.

(I kid, I don’t hate anyone. Except Shaw. But everyone hates Shaw.)

4. The character I love that everyone else hates

Sort of like with Emma, I didn’t know anything about Azazel from the comics before watching this film. And, apart from the fact that he knocks-up Mystique to beget Nightcrawler, instead of the much cooler original plan to have Mystique be Nightcrawler’s father, I still don’t know much about him. I get the sense that he’s a pretty hated character for reasons other than cock-blocking an awesome lesbian storyline, but I don’t know what those reasons are. What I’m saying is, I have no baggage regarding Azazel. To me, he’s just that cool, demonic Russian guy.

5. The character I used to love but don’t any longer

I haven’t been in this fandom long enough to get sick of or outgrow any particular character. Sometimes I feel like I’m neglecting the x-kids in my affections, especially the ones who didn’t get much characterization in the film, but I still like them.

6. The character I would totally smooch

Aw hell, most of ‘em! If I had to pick one though, it would be Charles, because Dat Mouth!

7. The character I’d want to be like

Sean. Even aside from his fanon status as the team stoner, this is a kid who gets superpowers and uses them to fuck around with fish at the aquarium. Bless him. Plus, he can fly.

8. The character I’d slap

I’d say Shaw, but he’d just absorb it and transfer it into a double slap, so I’m not going to play into his game. I’ll say Charles and Erik, continuously, until they get married and have a dozen x-babies like fate intended.

9. A pairing that I love

CHARLES/ERIK, IN CASE IT WASN’T CLEAR. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL AND TRAGIC AND STUBBORN AND HEARTBREAKING. IF ANYONE ELSE HAD TRIED TO TEAR THEM APART, THEY WOULDN’T HAVE SUCCEEDED BECAUSE THE ONLY THING THAT COULD TEAR THESE TWO APART WAS EACH OTHER AND DSLKFJDFJ SDFKJFK.

10. A pairing that I despise

“Despise” is a harsh word. Erik/Shaw is squicky to me, but even the people who ship it seem to ship it in a creepy, abusive step-father kind of way, which I can see happening, what with Shaw’s disturbing, “I’m doing this for your own good” attitude.

Maybe someday, when I’m not really tired, I’ll sit down and write a bazillion words about the Oedipal significance of Erik avenging his mother by simultaneously killing and usurping his symbolic father/creator. Maybe not.