The X-Men Timeline Explained

Because time travel was introduced in "Days of Future Past," there'll be conflicting events and multiple versions of the same characters appearing here. Bryan Singer, who directed, co-wrote, and produced several installments in the franchise, commented on this in Collider when he addressed why there were younger versions of the characters from the original "X-Men" trilogy showing up in "Apocalypse." "It's not leading necessarily toward exactly where we found Patrick Stewart and the X-Men at the beginning of 'X-Men 1,'" Singer says. "There are some things that lead in that general direction that was part of the philosophy we had at the end of 'Days of Future Past' is that you can't fully change the course or current of the river, but you can just divert it a little bit..."

It's not just time travel that makes the series' timeline confusing. Sometimes it was just a lack of communication on the filmmakers' part. For example, the character of Caliban shows up in "Apocalypse," which takes place in the 1980s, and "Logan," which takes place in the 2020s. "Logan" director James Mangold told We Got This Covered, "I actually had written him into our movie, and they didn't know [he was] in Apocalypse, and then they kind of wrote it in their movie, and they cast someone in their movie, and I had not seen it and was working away on mine."

As seen in the opening montage of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," World War II was one of the many conflicts in which Logan and Creed fought. "The Wolverine" expands a bit more on Logan's time during the war, showing him imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp, where he rescues Ichirō Yashida, a man who will set out to repay Logan decades later.

"X-Men: First Class" reveals more details about several other prominent mutants during World War II. A young Erik Lehnsherr is separated from his family at the concentration camp Auschwitz, an experience so traumatic that it unleashes his magnetic powers. This catches the attention of Nazi officer Klaus Schmidt, who callously kills Erik's mother to push him to demonstrate his mental control over metal. These events send him down the path to becoming Magneto. Klaus goes on to become Sebastian Shaw of the Hellfire Club. Meanwhile, another young boy, the telepathic Charles Francis Xavier, befriends Raven, who can shapeshift. The two become as close as siblings but eventually go down different paths. As expected, the introduction of time travel gives us two different versions of their futures.

Much of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" takes place in the '70s, which sees Logan and Victor Creed serving in the Vietnam War. They're recruited by Maj. William Stryker for Team X, a squad of mutants tasked with dangerous missions. Logan decides that being a mercenary isn't for him, so he leaves the team and heads to Canada to live a simpler life as a lumberjack. However, when his lover, Silverfox, is seemingly killed by Creed, Logan accepts Stryker's offer to undergo a procedure to have adamantium grafted to his skeleton, including his natural claws, to get revenge on his half-brother. When Logan discovers that this was all part of a plan to turn him into a mindless soldier, he wreaks havoc on Stryker's facility. He releases the mutants Stryker was experimenting on, who are soon rescued by Professor X. This ordeal strips Logan of his memory, sending him down a path to uncover his past.

Many of the events depicted in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" are dramatically altered when, in 1973, the consciousness of the older Logan is sent back into his younger self on a mission to prevent the assassination of weapons designer Bolivar Trask. This event starts a chain reaction that sees Trask unleash his mutant-hunting Sentinels, who, decades later, turn the world into a dystopian nightmare for humans and mutants alike. Logan is successful and changes the course of the "X-Men" series' history.

The X-Men are assigned to rescue the stranded crew of a space shuttle that's taken a hit by a mysterious force. While the X-Men successfully save the crew, Jean Grey is exposed to the full blast. However, instead of dying or showing signs of illness, she notices that her psychic powers have received a dramatic boost. However, one side effect is emotional instability. It's revealed that Professor X blocked her memory of causing the car accident that took her mother's life, a revelation that sends Jean down a dark path.

When the X-Men confront Jean, she accidentally kills Mystique in a fit of rage. She then goes to Magneto for help, but he rebuffs her. However, Jean's prayers are seemingly answered when she encounters Vuk, one of the few surviving members of her alien race, the D'Bari. Vuk promises to help Jean control her powers, but it isn't long before she learns that Vuk plans to absorb her abilities. When Vuk makes one last attempt to take Jean's powers, Jean kills her and is consumed by the forces that possessed her.

Sometime after the events of the original "X-Men" trilogy, Wolverine is living alone in the Canadian wilderness, still haunted by his killing of Jean Grey, one of the few people he truly loved. He's soon called to Japan to meet with Ichirō Yashida, the man he saved during World War II. Ichirō, who's dying of cancer, offers to take Wolverine's healing factor, allowing him to live a mortal life. Wolverine declines and is about to leave Japan when he is infected by a robotic parasite that slows his accelerated healing. After Ichirō supposedly dies, his granddaughter, Mariko, is attacked by gangsters, prompting Wolverine to rescue her. They go on the run together.

However, as Wolverine and Mariko begin to develop a romantic relationship, she's kidnapped. He must team up with Yukio to find her. They determine that she was held at Ichirō's estate, but they're too late to rescue her. However, it's there that Wolverine removes the device that's blocking his healing factor. They then take the fight to Ichirō's hometown, where it's revealed that he's still alive in a massive robotic samurai suit and is still determined to extract Wolverine's abilities. Ichirō is ultimately taken down. Wolverine decides to leave Japan, but he's stopped at the airport by Magneto and a resurrected Professor X, who warns him that there is a new threat facing mutant-kind.

The X-Men are no more. No mutants have been born in decades. Only Logan and Caliban are left to care for the elderly Professor Xavier, who regularly experiences intense seizures. Logan works as a limo driver to save enough money to buy a boat on which they can peacefully spend the rest of their lives. However, his plans are disrupted when he meets Laura, a young mutant girl with powers similar to his, including metal claws and accelerated healing. She's on the run from Alkali-Transigen, a corporation experimenting on mutant children with the intent of turning them into weapons.

The head scientist at Alkali-Transigen, Dr. Zander Rice, sends Donald Pierce and his Reavers to take back Laura. Caliban is captured during the skirmish, but Logan manages to get Laura and Professor X out of the fight in his limo. They set out to Eden, one of the last havens for mutants. During another battle with Pierce and the Reavers, Professor X and Caliban are killed, leaving Logan and Laura to finish their journey alone. On their trip, they meet the other escaped children trying to get to safety, but they must contend with Rice, Pierce, and the Reavers. They're overtaken by the mutant children, who make their escape but not before Logan is killed in the fight.

"The New Mutants" follows a younger generation of mutants sent to an institute run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes. There, they are trained to control their powers which have caused tragedies in their lives. The teenagers believe that they are destined to join the X-Men. Instead, they are being trained to become soldiers for a mysterious organization. Ultimately, they band together to overcome their deepest fears and guilt and take down Reyes.

The placement of "The New Mutants" in the "X-Men" timeline is even murkier than that of "Deadpool." While there are references to the X-Men, it's not apparent when the events of this film take place. However, one of the few bridges to the larger franchise is that Reyes works for the Essex Corporation. For those who don't remember, the Essex Corporation was first mentioned in a post-credits scene at the end of "X-Men: Apocalypse."  Essex also owns the orphanage that housed Russell in "Deadpool 2." This was a tease to introduce the classic villain Mister Sinister, also known as Nathaniel Essex. The character was supposed to appear in a post-credits scene at the end of "The New Mutants," but that never materialized.