The X-Men's Dumbest Movie Death Still Makes No Sense - But The MCU Can Fix It

On the list of comic book movie crimes, there is sadly plenty to choose from. There is the time Galactus was turned into a purple fart — one of the things in "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" that Marvel wants you to forget about — and the Deadpool scenes in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" that Ryan Reynolds still regrets filming. One sin that fans still aren't over, though, is how Darwin, a mutant with the power to adapt to literally anything to survive, was killed after swallowing a mutant-made Hot Pocket in "X-Men: First Class." Thankfully, there may be a way to revive one of the coolest superpowered beings in movie history and bring him into the MCU.

Historically, in Marvel comics, Darwin has gone radioactive to battle the likes of the Hulk and even become a God of Death to hold his own against Hela. With those kinds of adversaries being considered, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) shouldn't have been that much of a challenge, so why was he taken out so easily? Well, according to u/jengel2003 on r/FanTheories, he may still be around; we just can't see him. They explained, "My theory is that Sebastian Shaw didn't kill Darwin with the energy ball, because how could he? Rather, what happened was that Darwin's body decided the best way for him to survive this attack was to also become pure energy." 

Now, of course, the great thing about energy is that it has to go somewhere. Why not another universe?

Given that Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson (who himself was poorly handled in his first big-screen outing) will enter the MCU with Hugh Jackman's Logan at his side in "Deadpool 3," there's no reason that Darwin couldn't be another character to return under new management. Besides leaving a terrible draft in the Marvel Cinematic Universe lately, the doorways that have opened up between worlds will have undoubtedly pushed out and pulled in varying forms of energy, and Darwin could be among it all. 

It doesn't have to be a perfectly timed arrival with the introduction of the X-Men, either. Darwin's re-forming could be a slow process but one that, if applied, could also provide a second chance for the star behind the role, Edi Gathegi. 

As brief as it was, Gathegi still managed to bring a brilliant and welcoming performance to the role of Darwin, which is why his death (as illogical as it was) was all the more heartbreaking. Keeping that in mind, there'd be no need to recast the role, and he could simply return, albeit a little older, and be applied in a far better capacity for the X-Men than he was before. Come on, Marvel; you're already bringing two characters over that are nearly impossible to kill. What's one more added to the roster?