Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart, is set to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but according to one hypothesis, the X-Men have always been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart, is set to appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but according to one hypothesis, the X-Men have always been present in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Professor X and the X-Men made a surprising announcement in the Doctor Strange 2 teaser. Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) contends with Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) meddling with the Multiverse, battles across dimensions with America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), and even stands on trial for alleged Multiversal crimes in the teaser. “We should tell him the truth,” a “Mystery Voice” states during Stephen Strange’s trial. The voice belongs to Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, meaning the X-Men are now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Patrick Stewart’s turn in Marvel has been a long time coming. In 2019, the studio completed its acquisition of Fox entertainment assets, allowing Marvel to employ the X-Men and Fantastic Four. The X-Men, on the other hand, have yet to appear in the MCU. With Evan Peters’ Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver, WandaVision teased the X-coming. Men’s That, however, turned out to be a ruse. The Disney+ series shows that Peters’ character, Ralph Bohner, was merely a brainwashed citizen.
Despite the fact that the X-Men were ostensibly introduced to the MCU in the Doctor Strange 2 teaser, they may have been around all along. The X-Men were always in the MCU, according to a hypothesis (via Reddit), but Professor X had already mind-wiped the universe with Cerebro before the events of 2008’s Iron Man. According to the hypothesis, there was a major struggle between humans and mutants, which concluded with an agreement to wipe human knowledge of the X-Men. Magneto agreed to give up his children, Wanda and Pietro, to a human family in exchange for a peaceful life. Professor X, played by Patrick Stewart, would be hampered by the necessity to utilize his wheelchair. Xavier’s school was also always present, although it operated in secret to assist young mutants. Unfortunately, the Blip triggered the mutation genes to erupt, resurfacing mutants in the public consciousness.
The hypothesis might be useful if Marvel wants mutants to constantly remain a part of the MCU. Professor X’s handy mutant-finding gadget, Cerebro, is incredibly powerful, enabling its user to identify mutants all across the globe as well as converse with and manipulate them. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel did a global memory wipe, so the MCU could do it again with Professor X. Doctor Strange’s international Spider-Man memory wipe may have brought him to Professor X’s notice, which might explain why he’s on trial in Doctor Strange 2. Because the X-Men are such an important part of Marvel’s comic books, the hypothesis would enable them to easily integrate into the MCU, including resolving the issue of Magneto being Wanda’s father.
However, there is a problem. The Eternals effectively performed the same way, enabling them to exist on Earth in secret for hundreds of years without meddling with human concerns. And, after Doctor Strange’s memory wipe in No Way Home, another memory wipe from the X-Men characters would be too much of a retread. Plus, since the Multiverse allows for everything, there’s no need to tell the same story again. However, mutants will appear in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness for some reason, and fans will struggle to come up with a better cause than Professor X’s Cerebro.
