Is X-Men Marvel or DC? Even though 20th Century Fox had already produced nine X-Men films, the question remains a doozy for fans to answer. The short answer is that it's a lot more complicated than that. But here's how the long one goes.
Since Hugh Jackman's last time reprising Wolverine in Logan, he's about to return as Wolverine on the screen once more. This time, he'll be joining the MCU alongside the regenerating degenerate in Deadpool 3.
Now, the question is, is X-Men originally from Marvel or DC?
How Stan Lee Gave Birth to the X-Men Comics
The first issue of The X-men comics was published in 1963, created by iconic comic book writers Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
You read that right. Stan Lee, the creator of Marvel, also wrote X-Men, which pretty much confirms what we need to know, but here's a little elaboration.
According to Lee, the success of The Fantastic Four comics led his publisher to team him up with Kirby to create a new superhero group.
Due to the powers already introduced in The Fantastic Four, Lee was concerned they might overlap.
Considering how similar some Marvel and DC heroes are, a little distinction would do the trick in setting the X-Men away from the franchise.
The easiest solution Lee came up with was that the X-Men were simply born with powers, so he categorized them as The Mutants and took the idea to his publisher.
Later issues went on to show that all mutants in the Marvel Universe possessed an "X-gene", that when triggered through stress or puberty etc., would give the individuals superhuman abilities that were sometimes a gift or a curse.
However, there was an issue with the publisher, the same publisher that tried to turn down The Amazing Spider-Man comic.
Lee added that his publisher said that no one knew what mutants were, and therefore, he reverted to naming the comic and the team after its leader, Professor Charles Xavier, or Professor X for short.
X-Men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
After the epic collaboration and team-up we saw towards the end of Avengers: Endgame, new fans wonder why they didn't see other members of the Marvel Universe (the X-Men) join the fight against Thanos.
Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel distributed their film rights to different studios for their characters to make it to the big screens and have their stories told.
The rights of X-Men and similar characters such as Deadpool were sold to 20th Century Fox, which led to the first X-Men film being shown in 2000.
However, fans have been extremely excited since August 2020 when Disney announced the acquisition of 20th Century Fox, due to Disney gaining ownership over the rights to these characters.
The X-Men can officially enter into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which we will be seeing in Deadpool 3!
In case you haven't noticed, what with the MCU continuing to expand the Multiverse saga, more mutants have joined in the big screens, and sometimes the small screens, too.
There had been mutants shown in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and even Ms. Marvel's very own Kamala Khan, a confirmed mutant herself! Well, Kamala is both human and a mutant possessing X-genes.
Is X-Men '97 in the Same Marvel Multiverse?
As for the recent rebirth of the X-Men '97, a continuation of the animated series back in the 90s, showrunner Beau DeMayo cleared up the misunderstanding.
Just because X-Men '97 had been released under Disney+'s streaming platform doesn't necessarily mean they're already in the same universe.
"I think it's very much dealer's choice on some levels," DeMayo explained, "I know all my discussions were to view [X-Men '97] as its own neighboring tree, not a branch of the multiverse MCU tree."
Still, he suggested there's potential for a crossover, which we got a glimpse of when Captain America made a brief cameo in the animated series.
X-Men in DC? The Amalgam Universe Explained
The X-Men were born and continue to live in the Marvel Universe, not DC. However, new fans have a right to be confused.
In 1996, DC Comics and Marvel Comics came together to create a publishing imprint called Amalgam Comics.
It was here that they merged some of their most loved characters into one so that we got to see a blend of DC and Marvel characters.
We saw Superman and Captain America merge to become Supersoldier. Deathstroke and Daredevil joined to become Slade Murdoch.
However, we also saw members of the X-Men amalgamate with the DC universe to create a brand-new character. This included Wonder Woman and Storm from the X-Men who became "Amazon".
Another fan-favorite character is Dark Claw, a blend of Batman and Wolverine.
For more Marvel and DC content like this, be sure to check out our MCU-related or DCU-related news stories here on EpicStream!