X-Men: Apocalypse looks cool, but where is Mystique?

Written by Victor Sanchez, December 13, 2015, at 7:00 p.m. Tweet to: @Papasbrains

Yet another major comic book movie had a trailer drop recently with X-Men: Apocalypse. In my opinion it’s the most exciting one yet, but one massive thing stood out – why isn’t Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence, blue? In the previous two new movies, the character Mystique has had blue skin, which is her natural color in the comics. The X-Men film franchise spans almost eight films with one reboot (sort of), so it’s odd to see such a massive design change to a character, where the rest of the characters in the franchise have remained the same.

X-Men: Apocalypse is a part of a new series of films that began with X-Men: First Class, and a large chunk of First Class focused on Mystique as a character. Mystique’s character arc begins with her looking human for a good portion of the movie and then, over the course of the film, learning to accept herself as a mutant and decides to stay blue until the end. In the second movie X-Men: Days of Future Past she remains as her blue self as she uses her various mutant skills to further the plot. In the original trilogy of X-Men films, which would take place chronologically after Apocalypse, Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) is blue and naked for almost the whole time she is on screen.

These themes of acceptance used in the films directly mirror the messages of the original comic. The X-Men comic was created in the 1960s, when civil rights in America had begun to work up to a fever pitch. The comic dealt with the idea of a class of citizens – the mutants – viewed as “lesser” and feared for the differences they were born with. This idea resonated with young African Americans, gays, Jewish people, and other groups at the time, and was very popular for groups that felt as though they were second-class citizens. First Class’s storyline of Mystique accepting herself and the community she belongs to really ties into the themes of the comics. So the idea of Mystique looking “human” in the upcoming film would be as if she was wearing a disguise even when she is with her fellow mutants. It makes very little sense for the way the character has been portrayed for five films.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, when asked about her future in the X-Men franchise Jennifer Lawrence stated:

“I love working with Bryan, and I love these movies,” she says. “It’s just the paint.” She was 20 when she signed on for X-Men: First Class, she says, and didn’t care about “fumes and toxins. Now I’m almost 25 and I’m like, ‘I can’t even pronounce this and that’s going in my nose? I’m breathing that?’” – Jennifer Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly.

Lawrence’s concern for her personal health is her own business, but it doesn’t seem to be a big enough problem for her costars to stop using the body paint to portray their respective characters.

Mystique, according to earlier leaks, is supposed to be rescuing mutants who are being oppressed. It makes no sense thematically; how can she save the oppressed if she can’t even be herself?

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