History Fridge / XMenFirstclass

* The film is a Deconstruction of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], which is appropriately where its origins lay. Charles Xavier, brilliant scientist and cheerful patriot for his country, ends up betrayed by his own country for being a mutant and has his best friend and his adoptive sister leave him when it became apparent their ideals differed from his. Erik Lehnsherr, Holocaust survivor and AntiHero, ends up adopting his enemy's philosophy and turning against mankind. The teenage super team ends up with one of their party missing, two performing a FaceHeelTurn, and the other three deeply traumatized from having to fight. Science ends up causing as many problems as it fixed. The idea of having nuclear power enhance the X-gene is immediately scoffed at. Women and minorities are pushed into the background and therefore either lash out (Mystique and Angel) or prove much deadlier than they appear (Moira and Emma Frost).

* The film is a Deconstruction of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], which is appropriately where its origins lay. Charles Xavier, brilliant scientist and cheerful patriot for his country, ends up betrayed by his own country for being a mutant and has his best friend and his adoptive sister leave him when it became apparent their ideals differed from his. Erik Lehnsherr, Holocaust survivor and AntiHero, ends up adopting his enemy's philosophy and turning against mankind. The teenage super team ends up with one of their party dead, two performing a FaceHeelTurn, and the other three deeply traumatized from having to fight. Science ends up causing as many problems as it fixed. The idea of having nuclear power enhance the X-gene is immediately scoffed at. Women and minorities are pushed into the background and therefore either lash out (Mystique and Angel) or prove much deadlier than they appear (Moira and Emma Frost).

* Mystique working those oversized barbells in ''First Class'' may have been their explanation for her level of badass in the first three movies, turning from the traditional FemmeFatale of the comics and cartoon into a martial arts expert.

* Shaw using Havok's energy to kill Darwin makes perfect sense. In the comics, Havok's power comes from cosmic rays that his body is constantly absorbing. Also in the comics, it was said that a burst of cosmic radiation is what jumpstarted evolution on Earth. So it isn't unreasonable to assume that the man who is practically evolution incarnate would be susceptible to the very thing that started evolution itself.

* ''X-Men First Class'' is a Deconstruction of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]], which is appropriately where its origins lay. Charles Xavier, brilliant scientist and cheerful patriot for his country, ends up betrayed by his own country for being a mutant and has his best friend and his adoptive sister leave him when it became apparent their ideals differed from his. Erik Lehnsherr, Holocaust survivor and AntiHero, ends up adopting his enemy's philosophy and turning against mankind. The teenage super team ends up with one of their party dead, two performing a FaceHeelTurn, and the other three deeply traumatized from having to fight. Science ends up causing as many problems as it fixed. The idea of having nuclear power enhance the X-gene is immediately scoffed at. Women and minorities are pushed into the background and therefore either lash out (Mystique and Angel) or prove much deadlier than they appear (Moira and Emma Frost).

* Why would Shaw kill [[spoiler:Darwin]] despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against. Moreover, he already stated it clear how he and his crew would treat those who oppose joining him — no matter what breed they represent.

* [[spoiler:Shaw using Havok's energy to kill Darwin makes perfect sense. In the comics, Havok's power comes from cosmic rays that his body is constantly absorbing. Also in the comics, it was said that a burst of cosmic radiation is what jumpstarted evolution on Earth. So it isn't unreasonable to assume that the man who is practically evolution incarnate would be susceptible to the very thing that started evolution itself.]]

* Why would Shaw kill [[spoiler:Darwin]] despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against.

!!FridgeBrilliance

* Raven's near-instant attraction towards Hank is very natural when you realize that he's essentially a younger, more introverted version of Charles. She's subconsciously transferring her quasi-romantic feelings towards her brother figure to a similar, {{Adorkable}} guy who is much more accessible to Raven as a potential boyfriend. Bonus points for casting Nicholas Hoult, who is [[PrettyBoy pretty]] like Creator/JamesMcAvoy (both actors are boyish-looking, brown-haired, blue-eyed, with reddish lips and a pale complexion), which would make Raven switch to her new object of affection that much more quickly.

* Raven's near-instant attraction towards Hank makes perfect sense when you realize that he's essentially a younger, more introverted version of Charles. She's subconsciously transferring her quasi-romantic feelings towards her brother figure to a similar, {{Adorkable}} guy who is much more accessible to Raven as a potential boyfriend. Bonus points for casting Nicholas Hoult, who is [[PrettyBoy pretty]] like Creator/JamesMcAvoy (both actors are boyish-looking, brown-haired, blue-eyed, with reddish lips and a pale complexion), which would make Raven switch to her new object of affection that much more quickly.

* Although "La Vie en Rose" serves as Shaw's {{Leitmotif}}, the title (which can be roughly translated as "Life Through Rose-Tinted Glasses") is actually an apt description of how the optimistic Charles perceives the world.

* Although "La Vie en Rose" serves as Shaw's {{Leitmotif}}, the title (which can be roughly translated as "Life Through Rose-Tinted Glasses") is actually an apt description of how the optimistic Charles perceives the world.
* [[spoiler:Shaw using Havok's energy to kill Darwin makes perfect sense. In the comics, Havok's power comes from cosmic rays that his body is constantly absorbing. Also in the comics, it was said that a burst of cosmic radiation is what jumpstarted evolution on Earth. So it isn't unreasonable to assume that the man who is practically evolution incarnate would be susceptible to the very thing that started evolution itself.]]

* At the climax when Xavier begs Magneto to spare the soldiers that fired upon them, stating that "they were only following orders," that was indeed one of the worst things to say to a Holocaust survivor of all people, but it's brilliant when you remember that Charles was a telepath for the majority of his life and could always look into people's minds to say the right things to get them to do what he wanted. The only person he refused to scan was Raven, and he therefore often made insensitive comments around her. With Magneto wearing the protective helmet, Xavier has been deprived of a sense that for him is as vital as sight, so when he unexpectedly loses it, he found himself in the position of a man who is suddenly blinded and expected to process visual cues.

* Why would Shaw kill [spoiler:Darwin] despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against.

* Why would Shaw kill [[spoiler:Darwin] despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against.

* Raven's near-instant attraction towards Hank makes perfect sense when you realize that he's essentially a younger, more introverted version of Charles. She's subconsciously transferring her quasi-romantic feelings towards her brother figure to a similar, {{Adorkable}} guy who is much more accessible to Raven as a potential boyfriend.
* Why would Shaw kill [[spoiler:Darwin]] despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against.

!!FridgeHorror
* Since Charles hadn't reached puberty yet when we see him as a kid in 1944, that means a traumatic event triggered his mutation--most probably it was the death of his father.

* Although "La Vie en Rose" serves as Shaw's {{Leitmotif}}, the title (which can be roughly translated as "Life Through Rose-Tinted Glasses") is actually an apt description of how the optimistic Charles perceives the world.

* Why would Shaw kill Darwin despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against.
* When Charles teaches Erik that his powers are strongest "between rage and serenity," he's saying he has to master both positive and negative emotions. True magnetism right there.

* FridgeBrilliance: Why would Shaw kill Darwin despite the whole "protect our own" thing? He's a Nazi. He might not be interested in focusing his hate on Jewish people, but the Jews weren't the only people they were racist against.
** When Charles teaches Erik that his powers are strongest "between rage and serenity", he's saying he has to master both positive and negative emotions. True magnetism right there.