X-Men United Gave Us A Rare Comic Book Villain That Was Just Human

The first “X-Men” movie had Magneto as the main villain, a mutant with impressive superpowers, and the third film had the super powerful Jean Grey in terrifyingly powerful Dark Phoenix mode. After that, subsequent “X-Men” movies continued to lean into evil mutants (as well as giant robots in “Days of Future Past”) as villains. But “X2” offered something different. 

The first hint we get of how big a threat Stryker comes when a brainwashed Nightcrawler breaks into the White House and wreaks havoc in a spectacular opening sequence. Stryker has Nightcrawler, Lady Deathstrke and even Magneto under his total control thanks to his son Jason’s brain secretions allowing the villain to brainwash mutants, turning the people he hates against each other.

Unlike Magneto, who is more of a Shakespearean villain with a tragic past, Stryker is simpler. He’s just a bigot with a platform and power. He is not some ultra genius like Bolivar Trask (the creator of the sentinels), and he is not employing cartoonish robots or a power suit. Instead, Stryker has a regular old army of humans with guns and the occasional brainwashed mutant.

This is something the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always lacked. From the very beginning, MCU movies would have villains be essentially evil versions of the hero, with similar powers and everything. Even when we have characters without powers, like Tony Stark and Ant-Man, they still faced villains with the same kind of powerful super suit, making them more than just regular humans.

For better or worse, the closest we’ve come recently to a superhero movie with this kind of villain is in the Batman movies, whether it’s Christopher Nolan or Matt Reeves tackling the character. But even something like “The Batman” featured a villain who — despite their lack of powers — still looks and feels like a comic book villain. That’s not Stryker, the man who almost killed mutants without any powers. Maybe it’s time for superhero movies to come back down to Earth, at least when it comes to their bad guys.