Thanks to Avengers: Endgame and Avengers: The Kang Dynasty the MCU has the cool opportunity to introduce a specific popular X-Men member. Questions and theories have persisted relentlessly as to how and when the MCU would finally give audiences their fan-favorite mutants, and the time is certainly soon coming. Phase 4 steadily incorporated mutants with Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Mr. Immortal in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and remarkably, Kamala Khan in Ms. Marvel. Phases 5 and 6 will certainly continue the trend, and given the rise of Kang as the Multiverse Saga’s big bad, time travel could play a key role in their integration.
Avengers: Endgame exponentially expanded the MCU by unlocking time travel, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania enhances that by fully introducing Kang the Conqueror, a time travel aficionado. The MCU can lay further foundation for the X-Men in upcoming projects such as Deadpool 3, which is theorized to incorporate the TVA as Deadpool and Wolverine cross over from the Fox X-Men Universe. Furthermore, due to Kang’s machinations throughout the ongoing Saga, Avengers: Secret Wars can culminate with a united Multiverse, opening up the possibility for a team without any of Fox’s baggage. Whatever the case, interesting possibilities abound for an exciting X-Men lineup across time and space.
Endgame & Kang’s Time Travel Open The Door To Bishop In The MCU
An intriguing option the MCU can easily take advantage of is Bishop. He first debuted in 1991’s The Uncanny X-Men #292 and hails from a horrific dystopian future in which mutantkind has been segregated into concentration camps. Bishop eventually traveled back in time on the hunt for a criminal. That’s how he came to join the X-Men, and that’s how he could come to join the MCU. Thus far, the MCU’s mutant introductions have been somewhat weird, and time travel certainly can’t be out of the question. In fact, the MCU will soon have a time- and universe-hopping criminal perfect for Bishop to track down with Deadpool.
Incorporating Bishop into the MCU with time travel is quite easily done. It’s simply a matter of when to do it. Time travel must play a pivotal role in Kang’s role throughout the MCU, from his actions in the Quantum Realm to the rise of his Dynasty and finally to his downfall. Bishop would be a very surprising addition as part of that, but still a welcome one, and it could therefore open the door to other X-Men, whether from the past, future, and/or across the Multiverse.
Why The MCU’s X-Men Should Include Bishop
As Kevin Feige and Marvel executives decide who should be part of the MCU’s X-Men, they have so many options available that they should essentially consider giving the X-Men their own universe within the MCU. Such would allow for the franchise to really showcase all facets of the X-Men from the other related teams like X-Force or Excalibur to focusing on singular characters like Bishop. Intriguingly, Marvel Studios’ Nate Moore has even expressed specific interest in Bishop getting his own project down the line. With his capability to time travel, the MCU could even showcase stories farther across the timeline to showcase a more expansive universe.
Bishop stands out from his fellow X-Men for more than the brand on his face and his unique powers, but also in how he relates to his teammates. As a kid, Bishop grew up idolizing the X-Men. When he falls into their time and ends up working with them, he must confront whether they’re the heroes of legend or simply survivors in a world that hates them, people just like him. That’s certainly a ripe narrative just waiting to be played with, and when the time comes, Bishop’s inclusion can critically and beneficially help expand the role, purpose, and scope of the X-Men in the MCU.
