the guard wore velcro pants because he works at a facility where he can't wear metal.

Originally in the comics Nightcrawler was the son of Mystique & Azazel (who you will see later in First Class) but it was later retconned, also Rogue is the adoptive daughter of Mystique

"You are a god among insects. Don't let anyone tell you different." That is a lot coming from a Holocaust survivour.

Hi George...Nightcrawler came first. Tieflings were created for a 2nd Ed D&D campaign setting in 1994...Nightcrawler first appeared in 1975.

“Im gonna photoshop my face on to his face so you can see how bad this looks” Lol then proceeded to put Simone’s face on it 🤣

I was jumping in the aisles for that opening scene(not literally). There had never been anything like that in a comic book movie before and still looks better than a lot of current movies

fun fact about Nightcrawler he doesn't just teleport from place to place he dimension hops everytime he "bamfs" away he jumps to the obsidian dimenison a place he's not even fully aware of as all teleporters like himself have a subconscious knowledge of its layout so he travels through it faster than he can recollect

I've always assumed Lady Deathstryke is thoroughly dead. Metal came out her eyes, and her head made a "tonk!" sound. Her head is full of metal, which would melt her brain. Nothing comes back from that. Even if her body cells kept putting up a fight, her personhood is wiped.

Really cool behind the scenes fact: that ice wall during the mansion attack was a practical effect. They actually made it and blew it up.

For the scene when Mystique seduces the guard at the bar, that's actually Rebecca Romijn (then Stamos) without her Mystique makeup.

Wolverine regenerating from a drop of blood came from a drop of it landing on a magic crystal McGuffin. The crystal supercharged the healing factor of the blood, thus regenerating Wolverine. Other drops of blood weren't so lucky. =)

In some versions, Nightcrawler is Mystique's son. Also, the OG Lady Deathstryke was basically a cyborg, not just a mutant with nails and a healing factor. Also, just a little tidbit, even though it's DC: the character Lobo will actually generate new selves from each severed limb or drop of blood. He has to keep going around and eradicating his other selves from those things.

Yeah, the thing is Iceman from the comics is one of a handful of the most powerful mutants. He would have had no problem freezing a lake.

Nightcrawler is Mystique's son in the comics.

"... and that's why he's pretty hairy" Holy shit I'm Wolverine

20:04 Stryker controls his son through good old emotional manipulation; Jeremy had been told that he was less than human all his life [except when under Charles’ care] so he is constantly yearning for his father’s approval, especially since he pushed his mother to suicide.

This franchise definitely didn't do Cyclops' popularity any favors. And we've yet to get a decent version of Gambit on the big screen to this day.

12:00 The Velcrow pants is because he's a guard at the prison with Magneto. No metal allowed. It's a great, subtle detail. 17:48 In the comics, from the early 90s, Mystique is Nightcrawlers "Father". Long story.

Fun fact: The X-Men series wasn't the first time for Famke Janssen and Patrick Stewart to act together. Early in her career, Famke did a guest role on Star Trek: The Next Generation in an episode called "The Perfect Mate".

Fun Fact: Scottish actor Brian Cox(Colonel/Professor William Stryker Jr.) was the first Hannibal Lector(Spelled Lecktor at the time)in the 1986 film "Manhunter".

In the Golden Age of Marvel on film, this was one of the best sequels. The first time we had multiple releases for Marvel-based films in the same year. X2:X-Men United (the original title) was after Daredevil and before Hulk. Such an incredible progression of story. Most us who knew the comics had an idea of what was coming. Meanwhile, newfound fans who loved the first film could only imagine what was coming. The actions of the gifted, good or bad are magnificently made and nerdgasms for everyone wanting more. But of course, the underline story of discrimination and tolerance in an fantastical world still comes through. The ending did indeed break hearts. But like i said, we as the fans knew what we saw right before credits rolled. X3:The Last Stand (2006) is controversial and you'll have to see why for yourselves.

Patrick Stewart's opening narration hits like Oblivion so hard

George's Blue intuition is correct. Haha. The interaction between Nightcrawler and Mystique is a nod to him being her son in the comics.

I watched this in the Philippines while on a family vacation when I was 10. First time I ever stood up for a national anthem before a movie. 🇵🇭

The drop of blood thing was comic book magic. That one drop hit the magic crystal which made the super insane regeneration possible. You're not even asking the question: how did he get instantly reformed with the same memories as he had before? It's not something he could have done under normal power levels. But it's worth noting just because of how silly it is.

Why can't we talk about the loch ness monster in the lake at the end of the movie? Nessie barely even plays a role in the next movie.

0:37 Simone "I'm Leeeearning." This moment must be preserved, for when you get around to Apocalypse.

I understand why they didn’t given the main religion in America but I wish they’d kept Strykers original depiction from the comics of an insane televangelist who believes it’s his holy mission to destroy mutants and get others to believe him and join his Purifiers. God Loves, Man Kills is one of my favourite X-Men stories and I think adapting it would’ve worked well given how the X-Men are used as a vehicle to tell stories of what it’s like to be persecuted simple for being different.

Cyclops isn't a great portrayal in these films, unfortunately. But when Jean says goodbye, James Marsden's response is absolutely gut wrenching. Amazing moment.

Wolverine's hair always reminded me of Jim Carrey in the 2nd Ace Ventura (but in fairness, the wolverine hairstyle did come first)

Colossus can turn his metal on and off

The X2 intro with Nightcrawler is still one of the best intros I can think of. A great way to showcase a new mutation, and introduce the concepts of this movie. He's still my favorite character in the X-Men Movies (the first trilogy), despite the fact that we barely see him. His conversation with Storm about hating the humans and all always made me very emotional. Very curious to see your reaction to the third movie. My feelings are changing every time I see this movie, I can't say if I like it or hate it xD.

In the animated series and comics Logan and Scott are always throwing shade.

I kind of miss George's threats for not subscribing... ♥

27:15 that is where originally Skeletor pops up and says "I'll be back!"

X2, IMO, is the best of all the X-men films. X3 gets panned a lot, and while I will say it is not great, it is not as as bad as others make it out. Then the "new" X-men movies really have a strong start, but the final movies also suffers. X2 though does exactly what the middle of a trilogy's should do; it expanded the lore of the universe while adding a new twist the formula that makes absolute sense. Also, I love Nightcrawler in this movie, and when that opening exploded into theaters, I, and several folks I knew, saw the movie multiple times just to watch that, back in the days when to rewatch something meant buying another ticket to go to the movie or wait for it to hit the rental stores.

NGL, this is one of my favourites and I love Mystique in this one. The difference between the Professor X approach and the Magneto approach is pretty clear. Professor X gives people funky uniforms and they just hang around waiting for a chance to use the one aspect of their powers that fits the situation. Magneto, on the other hand, expects his people to be fully trained Commandos that ALSO have a special power. Mystique does so much in this film that has little to do with her powers apart from using them as an instant and perfect disguise kit. Her skills, fighting ability, planning, and her on the spot decisions are amazing.

“Can Iceman just freeze all this?” Great question. In this movie he’s inexperienced but in the comics Iceman is considered an “Omega Level” mutant. This basically means he’s one of the most powerful in the world. Comics Iceman could start an Ice Age if he wanted to.

In the comics Mystique was Nightcrawler's mother. However, it was just retconned that she was his father via her shapeshifting.

I wish the movies had gone into Mistique being Nightcrawler's mother. That might have been an interesting side story in this. They hear about the attack on the president and Mistique realizes from the description that it's the son she abandoned, so now she wants to find him. Gives her a personal stake besides her loyalty to Magneto. And the parallel of seeing Pyro join the bad guys and Nightcrawler join the good guys because he's such a pacifist person who doesn't hate him mother but doesn't agree with her...

There's a story where somebody collected some discarded pieces of Deadpool and made an entire new Deadpool out of them It went poorly for everybody involved

I. CAN. NOT. WAIT. To see Simone watch Logan!

That opening scene shows how much of a bad-ass Nightcrawler can be... and why he was one of my favorite X-Men in the comics

Love that Simone compared Jean Grey to Imogen from Critical Role 🤘🏼

I hope you guys watch the 90s XMen animated series.

The actual original title of this movie was X2: Xmen United I don't know why it was changed.

The look Pyro gives Rogue after she takes his power for a bit and they all stand up is one of my favorite shots. It's such a short shot but the emotions of contempt and disgust are on display and I felt that was one of the events which helps to move him towards the dark side.

Jason was the movie version of Mastermind who was one of the original members of Magneto’s brotherhood in the comics. His first name was Jason in the comics, but his last name was something that started with a “W”. They just made him Stryker’s son for the movie.

I don't know how far ahead you are over on Patreon, but in case you haven't watched it yet: X-Men 3 has a post-credits scene. While pretty typical now, it wasn't back in those days. Just FYI.

Mystique is Nightcrawler's dad... Yes, dad. She conceived Kurt while having sex with her girlfriend while shape shifting. Or at least that's the current cannon.

i JUST LOVE the Charles and Erick scene in the prission. U can see the pain on Erick eyes full of guilty. No matter how he and Charles disagree, they see each other as friends, that with different methods, what his people to be safe. Magneto, even in the comics, has ALWAYS known the exactly location of Charles mansion, but he has never revealed to anyone specially on his times on prission in exchange for freedom or something. He knows its full of children and young mutants and again, no matter how much they disagree, he'd do anything to protect those mutant kids. He sees himself as a savior and they've unite in several ocations for saving and protect mutants in vulnerable situations. Magneto is almost as human and leader as Charles, just he sees the worst part of humanity and has not hope on them

Man, that opening scene with Nightcrawler still stands up to this day. That's how you do a teleporter fight scene. But to answer your question, Nightcrawler first appeared in 1975, while Tieflings weren't introduced in D&D until 1994.

Bryan Singer did something rather inappropriate (surprise, surprise) when they filmed the scene of Logan emerging with the metal skeleton for the first time. There's a moment where he had to come running around a corner, and he's fully naked and there is only supposed to be only a few people around to film it, so Singer got all the female crew to be there waiting to cheer. When he came around, naturally surprised, he went immediately to cover himself up, but ended up cutting his thighs with the claws. Jackman of course told the story in jest and good fun, but that's a big ole problem if you tried that today.

At the time of it's release, this was probably the best superhero movie, challenged only by the 1st Raimi Spider-Man.

12:31 This woman's situation is _so_ incredibly unfortunate. We just got, here, the _barest hint_ of free will from her. Otherwise, Stryker keeps under bondage, and in the course of the movie, she _dies_ that way. She dies carrying out _his will._ Her character's name is Yuriko Oyama. In the X-Men cartoon series that aired from 1992 to 1997, there was an episode that showed Wolverine (at the time, Logan) in a flashback, in a quiet, secluded cabin in the woods, in Canada. She was there. They were a couple. They looked _so_ incredibly happy, together. That just makes her final death, here, _all_ the more tragic.

So glad Simone loved it. Also loved the TBBT reference by George.

If you blinked you missed a gambit cameo, his real name was on the computer screen mystique hacked, Remy labough is his name

I want a proper rogue origin so bad

3:36 When Jean starts to hear those voices in the museum, she's actually also hearing some of the dialog from the rest of the movie. So she has some precognitive abilities.

Need note: Magneto got so powerful that the regular amount of iron in a persons blood was enough for him to control.

Yes, Mystique is Nightcrawler’s father in the comics. Another mutant called Destiny is his mother.

Fun fact George! Mystique and Nightcrawler are related, but not the way you think! Originally Mystique was his mom but a recent comic retconned it that she is his Dad!

Shout out to Halle Berry's $6K wig. Between the first & second film, Halle won her Oscar, so of course her role was beefed up in the subsequent two films & she was featured more prominently on the poster for X2.

The close up of lady Deathstrike's eyes as she is being pumped with liquid adamantium is to show Jason's mind control has worn off. She would be trapped at the bottom of that tank of water for hundreds of years conscious and unable to move.

12:02 velcro because can't have zippers working with magneto

17:56 side triva: Rouge in the comics learns how to better control her powers… while working with her adoptive mother… Mystique, making Nightcrawler her adoptive brother… and it was as she was under Mystique’s guardianship, which was involved in many illegal activities both for and separate from The Brotherhood Of Mutants-- Rouge, in better control of her powers, and under orders from Mystique, goes and attempts to take the powers of a well know superhero-- Captain Marvel(Carol Danvers). After absorbing Marvel’s powers (which was the power cosmic, or cosmic powers that come from the origin of the universe), Rouge then gains the powers of flight, invulnerability, superhuman strength, on part with many of Marvel Comics heavyweights, and flight-- as well as a few other abilities too.

Small note about the character Nightcrawler. In the comics, it's said that when he teleports he leaves behind the scent of brimstone.

Fun fact: Gambit Rogue's boyfriend/now husband is one of the only people at the time who could touch her. His power over forms of energy means he constantly has an bio electric like field over his body so they can touch etc. Also his power shields him from even powerful telepaths like Jean or the Professor. It's feels like their brain is continuously being electrocuted trying to go into in mind it's painful. Also way later in the comics with the help of the Professor Rogue finally learns how to fully control her ability. It was a mental block she subconsciously put in place doing puberty/ getting her powers

Nightcrawler is Mystique's biological son (Rogue is also her daughter, but adopted); for the longest time the story was that Mystique gave birth to him, but they recently released a comic with the definitive origin, in which Mystique - who can shapeshift on a physical and DNA level - and her wife made Nightcrawler together, and her wife gave birth to him. I think this movie is interesting because it both makes the mutant metaphor most apparent (the marginalised, whether by race, gender, sexuality, etc. are historically and continue to be othered by the majority simply for existing), as well as shows how dated our understanding of the metaphor is (in 2003, characters like Pyro, Mystique and Magneto are depicted as "going too far", but in 2023 we have cognisance of the fact that... If those who wield social power over you are continually trying to end your existence, it's not *on you* to be the "better person". It's not on you to prove your humanity or present some inherent worth to them for your right to exist - respectability in the matters of survival will cost you that survival.) I think the X-comics have certainly embraced that in the last few years, and hopefully for books to come. Doubtful the MCU will, but I'm always open to surprise. Either way, X2 remains the best (or at least top two) of all the X-Men adaptations

The mutant metaphor for people of color, LGBTQ folks, etc is really present in this film. The "coming out" scene with Bobby and his family is particularly powerful. And of course his mom's comment of, "Have you tried NOT being a mutant?" But for me it's Mystique's response to "Why not look like everyone else all the time?" where she says, "Because we shouldn't have to." It brings me to tears every time. I've personally used this idea when struggling with my own self expression. I used to want to blend in. Be 'normal.' But now I'm just me. If people don't like it, I DGAF.

From the first film with Wolverine and Cyclops bantering with one another to crying and hugging one another over love of the same woman ❤

George, it's *never* too many dad jokes. NEVER!

I've always enjoyed how contrasted the Fox Xmen movies were to the MCU in terms of tones and themes. It's one of the reasons why i never understood the whole "put the xmen in the mcu." Not only is the mcu just big enough on it's own, but they just feel like two separate universes entirely.

Now don't watch the 3rd one and you'll be fine.

It was insane seeing this for the first time. In the cartoon Wolverine always taunt people with his claws, but never actually do any damage with it, being a cartoon. But here we goes full berserker mode xD

Editing this movie must have been a pain, so packed with great moments :D

I have to say I was worried when your reaction was only a half hour when the ones I've seen were an hour but you have literally edited only the best parts in, I love it!

I wish they could have saved Deathstrike, because in this version she wasn't guilty of anything, she was being controlled.

That Nightcrawler White House scene is still one of the greatest comic book movie scenes of all time.

That thing at the end was the Spacewhale mutant, in the comics it came from Neptune in the 1940's after sensing the immense energy from atomic bomb testing and its goal is to absorb powerful creatures/mutants to take their energy.

17:43 Yes. Originally, they were just similar in design, then Mistique was Nighcrawler's mother with Azazel as his father. (You'll meet him in a future movie) The New continuity is, Mistique is Nightcrawler's father with Irene Adler as his mother. So there you go.

2:53 This was a reshoot. So this is the wig version, which is why you’ll notice his hair looks WAY BETTER the next time you see him.

I find it really neat how this film saved on special effects sometimes. The people mentally frozen by Xavier are all mimes. The scene of Mystique is a janitor walking past the same janitor was done by filming twins. Regarding Mystique, she was introduced as a villain in the comics of Carol Danvers (when she was the first Ms. Marvel instead of Captain Marvel). Then she was brought into X-Men comics and she implied there was a connection between her and Nightcrawler. The writer intended to reveal that she was Nightcrawler's biological father (and Kurt's mother was Mystique's partner Irene "Destiny" Adler). But Marvel said no at the time, so for several years it was said she was the mother and the father was a human named Wagner. Then later this was revised to say Nightcrawler's father was a mutant named Azazel. Recently, they went back to the original intention and revealed that Kurt was born from Mystique and Destiny, with Destiny carrying him to term. Mystique said she was able to do this by shifting her biology to be a mixture of different men, including Azazel. It's also been implied in some comics that Mystique has always been a trans woman.

It shows how good it was to have David Hayter in the screenplay for these two first X-Men movies since he has some experience in war and conspiracy-driven stuff from Metal Gear Solid games.

Some comics describe Wolverine's healing power as partially divine. His Adamantium is described as weapon of the gods and actually augmented his powers once it was bonded, his healing reducing in a comic when the metal is removed.

Fun facts Nightcrawler is Mystique’s son in the comics. That is why he has the same color skin and eyes as her. The movies never mention this. Wolverine did join a Canadian mutant team called Alpha Flight before joining X-men. He left the team because the military man in charge, Chasem, wanted to use him as a weapon and only cared about his healing abilities. I also think his fight with Hulk may have been a reason why he left Alpha Flight.

Logan's hair & beard in the opening scene is a wig. They had to do reshoots & Jackman already cut his hair, so it looks extra funky as his first appearance in this one with fake hair lol

I did see this in the theater when it first came out and X-Men was my favorite comic book growing up. When that last scene of over the lake happened the half of the theater that were fans of the comics cheered while the other half looked confused. I had a friend ask me what that was all about and I refrained from telling him while my other friend that also knew the comics just looked at me with a smirk.

Mistique is Night Crawler's mother. Rogue was adopted by Mistique and in relationship with Magneto Lady Deathstrike (the "sexy Asian assistant") is a daughter of adamantium creator And so many more stuff

It was recently revealed in the comics that Mystique is Nightcrawler's father. Yes, you read that right. Being a shapeshifter gets complicated.

Feeling personally attacked by George when he laughed at people falling for the "we have a sexy nerdy asian with luscious black hair, come watch!"

This movie was loosely based on the graphic novel, "God loves, Man kills" In it Stryker was a televangelist who was rilling up mutant hate. The comic starts with a pair of black children killed by gunmen and hung on a jungle gym. One of the most iconic moments from the book was when Stryker pointed at Kurt Wagner and said "There is no way that thing is a person." Which was pretty sad because Nightcrawler is one of the nicest people in the Marvel universe

Yup, Mystique is the Mother of Nightcrawler.....and Rogue. One of the rare moments of her caring about someone who isn't herself is when Rogue and Nightcrawler started dating. She told them both at the same time. Even Mystique has a (messed up) line.

About Rogues powers, in the comics, after years of her abilities being stuck in it's nascent stage, Professor Xavier finally removed the mental blocks that kept her back from controlling her powers. Now ahe can touch people without fear she will kill them. She can choose when to activate her powers.

The guy who played Jason Strycker here was the same guy who played Sloth in Se7en

I look back on this and Patrick Stewart's voice in the beginning just reminds me of the "Ted" Movie Opening now lol

11:47 - "I'm Grace." - No, you're Rebecca Romijn, the actress who plays Mystique. 22:15 - "He's got an explosive temper." - You might even say he's hot-headed, with a burning desire to get in on the action. :) 28:05 - "Also her character name is apparently Lady Deathstrike." - :et's not ignore the fact that she was also under Stryker's control. I don't know whether her comic book character is good or evil, but since the movies deviate some from the source material, she could have been just an innocent victim.

The screaming Mutant is Syren, daughter of Banshee.

Rogue currently has absolute control over her powers not only does she have control over him but their remote meaning she does not have to touch a person now and their instantaneous and all consuming

Yes, Tieflings came to D&D some time after Nightcrawler was a character in X-Men. He almost got a solo comic because some of the older people didn't like his design but his creator convinced them he wasn't evil so there you are. I can see how you would make the parallel with Tieflings but he doesn't have horns...