SPOILER ALERT: The following contains information and photos that could be considered SPOILERS for ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ so proceed with caution.
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ will introduce viewers to Apocalypse, the world’s first mutant and a veritable god with a vast array of powers including, based on the trailer, the ability to grow to gargantuan size. But as fans of the comics know, he also has the ability to take mutants and make them even mightier. The most obvious example is Angel, played by Ben Hardy in the movie. In the comics, the classic version of Angel is arguably the weakest X-Man, his only mutation being his bird-like wings and hollow bones which allow him to fly. But like in the comics, Hardy’s Angel is transformed by Apocalypse into the massively more deadly Archangel, with a metal exoskeleton and razor-sharp wings.
But Angel won’t be the only mutant getting an Apocalypse upgrade. The powerful despot also employs the aid of Magneto, Storm and Psylocke. And while we don’t yet know how these mutants will change, director Bryan Singer offered some insight into Magneto’s transformation, saying:
“One of Apocalypse’s many powers is he can imbue other mutants with greater ones. Magneto is demonstrating a small taste of what he can do now. Magneto is already enormously powerful…. Now Apocalypse gives him powers far beyond what we’ve seen before.”
It’s unclear if Singer is just referring to the Michael Fassbender incarnation, which is the one here or of he’s including Ian McKellan’s take on the Master of Magnetism from the earlier films. But either way, Magneto has already been shown to be plenty powerful. Between the two versions, the character has levitated a nuclear submarine, a baseball stadium and the freakin’ Golden Gate Bridge!
But a new piece of concept offers a glimpse of the new and improved Magneto:
As you can see, this new Master of Magnetism is incredibly powerful, eliminating everything in his way with what looks to be minimal effort. Will he retain these boosted abilities at the end of the movie? That remains to be seen.
It’s unclear how Psylocke (Olivia Munn) and Storm (Alexandra Shipp) will be transformed, but both characters have undergone massive metamorphoses in the comics. Psylocke went from a somewhat prim Caucasian British woman to a nimble Japanese assassin, while Storm went from a depowered adult to a pre-mutation child and back to an adult, regaining her original weather controlling powers. So at least there is some basis should Singer and the other powers that be have chosen to draw from those stories.
Do you like the idea of a more powerful Magneto? How will the fledgling X-Men stand a chance against these uber-powerful Horsemen?
Source: Entertainment Weekly
