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does the X-Men series have any iconic scenes?

posted 4 years ago by filmgeek99 (657)
22 replies | jump to latest

It's always been really strange to me how, for a series that lasted as long as it did, the X-Men films don't seem to have any sort of iconic scenes.

When you look at other franchises that started around the 2000's such as Harry Potter, Spider-Man, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Star Wars prequels, even fucking Twilight for instance, all seem to boast way more iconic scenes than this. I literally cannot recall one instance where any particular line or scene in this franchise was ever referenced in any other film or TV show. Why is that?

The closest thing that comes to mind as an iconic line I can think of, would probably be the "Do you know what happens to a toad when it gets struck by lightning?" quote from the first film, but that's more akin to being infamous than it is iconic. Virtually everyone who ever makes a reference to that line, is always doing so in a mocking, sarcastic way (rightfully so, I might add). It's definitely not quoted out of any love or reverence for that "quip".

So what gives? For a franchise that remained front and center in the pop culture zeitgeist for a full 20 years, why no iconic scenes?

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7699) 4 years ago

I disagree somewhat. I thought it was cool in the first and 2nd film whenever Magneto uses his powers on objects. Also a lot of people love the scene in the 2nd one where Wolverine stabs his claws into Stryker's guards. There's also Wolverine stabbing Mystique when she is impersonating Storm in the first film. Even though I don't like the 3rd film Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge was pretty iconic. I think the real reason though you feel that way is that Magneto ended up being the main villain in most of the films and the only other main villains they did were Shaw and Apocalypse. I hope Marvel Studios does some of the villains that haven't been done yet. I'd like to see Mr. Sinister and I have to say I am glad they didn't end up doing the version of him that was talked about more in the new movie The New Mutants who is a corrupt businesses man who forces mutants to be his hitman. That's just not the Mr. Sinister from the comics and cartoons.

[–] AP (5288) 4 years ago

There were a lot of scenes that were iconic at the time but people just sort of forgot about them after a while for one reason or another. For instance, Nightcrawler invading the White House used to be a big moment people remembered from the second movie but now people just don't talk about it much.

[–] filmgeek99 (657) 4 years ago

Yeah, once they saw Spidey fight Doc Ock on the train in Spider-Man 2, everyone probably forgot all about Nightcrawler's scene.

[–] AP (5288) 4 years ago

I remember watching the Red Latter Media review of Dark Phoenix. They said the train battle would've been mind blowing 20 years ago but it's pretty much par for the course now. I think one of the big problems of the X-Men franchise is that they didn't evolve much (Deadpool movies and Logan aside). They kinda stayed where they were and that hurt their longevity. In comparison, if you were to look at the first Iron Man movie and then watch Avengers Endgame, there would be a world of difference. Hell, even the DCCU is improving by trying new and better things.

[–] filmgeek99 (657) 4 years ago

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[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

Quicksilver in Days of Future Past gave the single best scene in the whole movie. Somebody else here mentioned Nightcrawler opening X2. Deadpool is quotable as heck. Logan was just phenomenal end-to-end. The scene in First Class where they try to recruit Wolverine.

Nothing entered the zeitgeist the way that stuff from The Matrix or Lord of the Rings did, but I think they were bigger films.

Pop culture also has an incredibly short memory. Spider-man had the upside-down rain kiss, but is anybody still talking about it?

[–] enriquesingh (1810) 4 years ago

The Matrix cost less to make than X-Men.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

That doesn't affect the iconic moments. That's the script, direction, performances, and other creative elements coming together PLUS the good luck to tickle the fancy of the general populace. Some things just stick in the mind regardless of expense. Hollywood doesn't always remember that, of course.

[–] filmgeek99 (657) 4 years ago

"Pop culture also has an incredibly short memory. Spider-man had the upside-down rain kiss, but is anybody still talking about it?"

It's still a way more iconic moment than what any of the X-Men films had to offer. Anytime someone thinks of a great, memorable romance scene from a superhero movie, that one virtually always gets brought up. The Quicksilver stuff in Days of Future Past was talked about for a year and then never again.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

I think that's because a character moment will always have more longevity. Nightcrawler and Quicksilver got great action scenes, but people have shorter memories for that stuff because it wasn't about character.

We remember "Here's lookin' at you, kid," for as long as we do because of the emotional impact of the characters.

People don't bring up the upside-down rain kiss that often (how often are people recounting memorable romantic scenes from superhero films? That's one obscure Jeopardy category), but it is more memorable than Nightcrawler tele-kicking secret service men because Nightcrawler's thing was a creative way to use and showcase a superpower, but the upside-down kiss was a great image to go along with a kiss the audience had waited the entire movie to get.

I'm going to stand by the statement that pop culture has a short memory, and I do think that the X-movies have had some iconic moments. They haven't had as many as other films, but even thinking across some of "the greats" in the superhero film pantheon, how many iconic moments are there that are spoken of years after the film's release?

Batman Begins launched a trilogy of beloved bat-films, but does it have anything people still reference? The Dark Knight has Ledger's performance, Batman '89 has "I'm Batman!", but do people reference Iron Man? First Avenger (or the first Avengers)? Anybody quoting Guardians of the Galaxy or Sin City on the regular?

[–] enriquesingh (1810) 4 years ago

There are some one-liners and adequately funny moments, mostly featuring Wolverine.
When he asks their names and end up asking if Xavier is called "Wheels?"
or when he makes fun of the color of their uniforms not being yellow.

From the first movie I still consider the scene where Magneto turns the cops guns against them as 'iconic'.
"You homo-sapiens and your guns".
The way the cars are lifted, the guns floating... Professor X intervening controlling Sabretooth.
Goes ahead and shoots... great scene.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

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[–] aavfreak (3313) 4 years ago

There are a couple of factors that I can point out that have a possible affect.

Meme culture has some influence. How many times have we seen the "One does not simply ______" meme or the Thanos "What did it cost?" meme? Those ingrain those scenes into our consciousness.

The other thing is that X-Men is typical action eye-candy, with little connection to characters and no persistent story. The plot exists simply to show the great action sequences.

Compare it to Harry Potter or LOTR, where the story is what is driving the films (the boy who lived / one ring to rule them all), rather than some one-off MacGuffin existing solely within the single movie. We develop long term connections to Harry and his friends and Frodo and his.

There's also potential for long term conversation and analysis around the story arcs of those HP and LOTR. With the X-Men franchise, there's just not much to discuss once the movie ends on the screen.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

Memes only latch onto iconic moments. Iconic scenes existed without memes. Think about parody films to see this better. In Men in Tights, they spoof the Errol Flynn Robin Hood's banquet scene because EVERYBODY remembers that scene (if you've watched the film, anyway). It's iconic, so comedians latch onto it. Boromir became a meme because Lord of the Rings was so iconic, so well-remembered for all those lines and moments that everybody would know what you were doing if you put this in a meme. Plus, it's just a good set-up, "One does not simply _____" so many joke possibilities.

I agree with the X-franchise assessment to some extent, but I think the first two films had something interesting to say about populations that are marginalized and downtrodden. It's heavy-handed, but No.1 opens in a concentration camp, there are metaphors about homosexuality, and so forth. We can relate to the loaners and outsiders. X3 lost the plot. Logan picked it up again, though.

For instance, I can remember the truck ride with Rogue and Wolverine. They're outsiders by choice (Wolvie) and force (Rogue), but they're finding each other and discussing pain. Physical pain is metaphor for emotional pain. "Does it hurt when they come out?" she asks, and Logan responds - in a *rare* moment of vulnerability with a trace of sorrow creeping into his voice, "Every time". That's a profound moment of pathos.

[–] aavfreak (3313) 4 years ago

I'm not saying memes generate iconic scenes, just that they can play a part in reinforcing a memorable scene in the public conscience that may elevate it to iconic status.

The X-Men franchise does have its profound moments, but from an overall story it's like TV series built on monster of the week. You can watch all or one or none and still have a feel for it.

Harry Potter on the other hand tells the story of the boy who lived from when he first finds out "yer a wizard 'arry" to defeating Voldemort. There's so much more to unpack, discuss, and argue over. Whereas as soon as the action ends on X-Men, it's over. Not much left to talk about or debate.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

Oh, sorry; I misunderstood your point about memes. That was my goof.

Just to clarify, by "overall story", are you talking about how the first movie was X-Men vs. Magneto, second was X-Men (and Magneto) vs. Stryker, third was X-Men vs. Magneto again? That kind of thing? As opposed to the Marvel approach of one, continuous storyline over several movies?

Funnily enough, I think of stuff like MCU as more TV-like because it's got the giant plot arc. I don't mind the monster-of-the-week format. Batman and Batman Returns are two of the better (for me, best) Bat-films and they're basically that. They explore character, theme, and so on, but they have no overall arc. I'm good with that. I love a good, huge, epic story, too, but I don't think of one as better or worse than the other.

I'm really not sure how more discussion can be had or ideas generated from something like a Harry Potter series as opposed to individual entries. I could unpack as much philosophical, social, political, what-have-you ideas from Star Trek (largely episodic) as I could from Harry Potter.

[–] aavfreak (3313) 4 years ago

I guess what I mean is that any of the X-Men movies can stand on its own outside of the entire franchise. Each film tells a self contained story. And although there are themes and plot points that span across the entire body of work, you can watch a subset of all the movies and not have missed anything critical, SWOT, LOTR, HP, etc...

Like you, I 'm good with that and I don't think of one as better than the other, just that one endures in the public mind more persistently.

Star Wars OT is Luke's ascension to Jedi and the return of Vader to the light side.
LOTR is the destruction of the one ring.
HP is the the boy who fought (and won) against Voldemort.

It's interesting you mention Star Trek. Because out of all the movies in that franchise and all of the provocative ideas across subjects worthy of discussion, the only iconic moment that springs to mind is "Khaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7699) 4 years ago

Star Trek movies can get confusing though if you don't watch the shows. Especially the Next Generation movies.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

I was thinking as much about the shows as the Trek films, but even within the films, I can think of a few more.

"You are, and always shall be, my friend," for instance. While the dialogue might not be universally known, I think a lot of people know that moment. Or, in Voyage Home, "Nuclear wessels." Even that IV is "the one with the whales" is kinda iconic in the sense that people really do know that.

[–] aavfreak (3313) 4 years ago

Ah. hahahah. I forgot about Nuclear Wessals. That is iconic.

[–] Ace_Spade (9544) 4 years ago

It's a classic moment for sure.

[–] filmgeek99 (657) 4 years ago

The other reason might also be that kids just didn't watch these movies that much when compared to things like LOTR or Harry Potter. The reason why those franchises (along with Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars etc) are at the forefront of meme culture today, is because the kids who grew up watching those films have now grown up and are the ones making most of the memes on the Web. Those films practically became burned into the brain of every child that grew up in the 2000's, in a way that the X-Men films didn't.

These films (the first two, anyway) just don't hold that much appeal for kids, as they are too serious and somber to ever thrill and excite kids the way those other mega-budget studio franchises did. Even Chris Nolan's Batman by comparison, had a lot more big-scale action that could potentially draw in older kids than what Bryan Singer's X-Men films had to offer. Most folks I know who worship the Dark Knight trilogy though, fell in love with them as teenagers, as opposed to the more kid-friendly audience Spider-Man and Star Wars had.

The third film did ramp up the action considerably, but at that point, kids had probably already made up their minds that they preferred watching those other franchise films I mentioned, rather than the comparatively low-key, slower-paced X-Men films. That isn't to say that there no kids who grew up watching the X-Men films at all (I did, to some extent), it's just that most didn't find themselves obsessively re-watching it the way they did with Harry Potter or LOTR.