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Since 2011's X-Men: First Class, 20th Century Fox's X-Men movies have been building to one incredible long-game twist. Now, the mutant heroes' final appearance in Avengers Doomsday/Secret Wars is the very last chance to pay it off.
avengers doomsday logo
Edi Gathegi has confirmed his character was always intended to return in later X-Men movies...
Darwin Can Finally Return in Avengers: Doomsday
sebastian shaw kills darwin in x-men first class
X-Men's Darwin is one of Marvel's most powerful mutants of all time. Played by Edi Gathegi in X-Men: First Class, Darwin can rapidly evolve to survive any threat - including, in the comics, being attacked by the Asgardian god of death, Hela.
In First Class, Darwin unceremoniously dies when Sebastian Shaw transfers a gigantic explosion inside his body. It was a bizarre decision to immediately kill off a character whose entire deal was survival, made all the stranger by Edi Gathegi recently telling Discussing Film that he was assured his character would return in later films.
x-men's darwin turns to stone
In the comics, Darwin likewise dies in X-Men: Deadly Genesis, and likewise he later returns. It turns out that, to survive an insurmountable threat, Darwin turned himself into energy and hid in the body of Cyclops' brother Vulcan. Of course, Vulcan wasn't present in First Class... but Cyclops' other brother Havok was.
x-men first class havok
Havok subsequently vanished in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse, seemingly totally vaporized in an explosion, with Quicksilver unable to find and rescue him. For any fan of the comics, it's clear that Havok was being set up for the same storyline as Vulcan - kidnapped by aliens, with his experiences finally freeing Darwin from his energy state.
Will Darwin Actually Return in Avengers: Doomsday?
doomsday teaser still showing the x-men's school destroyed
With a very similar set-up and Edi Gathegi's claim that he was told he'd return, it's pretty clear that Fox's X-Men movies were deliberately building up to the twist of Darwin's return. However, with the franchise effectively retired and soon to be rebooted by Marvel, Doomsday/Secret Wars is the very last chance to pay off a twist that's been bubbling since 2011.
But is it likely to happen? Edi Gathegi hasn't been announced for Doomsday, and it's unlikely he'll reprise the role, given he's currently playing Mister Terrific over in the DCU. However, there's no reason Darwin would need to take human form...
edi gathegi mister terrific in the dcu's superman
If Darwin survived, it was by becoming an energy that Havok's powers could absorb, so he could be brought back in a purely CGI form. Indeed, Marvel already did that Spider-Man: No Way Home, with prior footage of Rhys Ifans and Thomas Hayden Church being used to recreate the Lizard and Sandman respectively.
lizard and sandman in the mcu's spider-man no way home
At the same time, Cyclops is seen desperately fighting in a recent teaser for Doomsday. If Havok's disappearance is tied into the movie's multiversal incursions, it's feasible that after four movies explicitly set in the First Class timeline (plus the Deadpool films and New Mutants), Fox's genius long-game twist could finally pay off.
Cyclops_uses_his_powers_in_Avengers_Doomsday_trailer
Avengers: Doomsday is set to act as a huge celebration of all the Marvel movies so far, MCU and not. How perfect, then, to finally take the opportunity to pay off this huge X-Men twist that will otherwise go totally to waste?
Avengers: Doomsday is coming December 17, 2026, from Marvel Studios.
Release Date December 18, 2026
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