How Logan Screws Up The X-Men Movie Timeline Even More

If you're a fan of the X-Men comics and the idea of continuity, the X-Men movies probably caused you some massive headaches. For instance, the series managed to kill off the X-Man named Banshee in his youth, which technically eliminated the mutant Syren from existence. This wouldn't be a big idea if the movie hadn't already introduced her in a previous film. This is just one of the ways that the X-Men timeline was ruined to the point where each film might as well be its own separate story.

Now it seems that Logan will, in several ways, continue the X-Men cinematic universe's tradition of screwing up its timeline beyond repair. Here's how:

Although Movie Pilot reports that X-Men nemesis Mr. Sinister (also known as Nathaniel Essex) probably won't make his film debut in Logan, his influence will certainly be felt via Essex Corps. It's revealed that his company is at the forefront of developing mutant weapons like the young Laura Kinney (X-23). However, it seems rather bizarre that the first hint of Mr. Sinister will come in a movie having nothing to do with Cyclops or Jean Grey.

Basically, Mr. Sinister is obsessed with Summers and Grey, believing a joining of their genetic material would create a genetically superior mutant. In fact, he was basically right: Cable (Nathan Summers), a character that will play a huge role in the upcoming Deadpool sequel, is the child of Cyclops (Scott Summers) and a woman named Madelyne Pryor, who was actually a clone of the original Marvel Girl (Jean Grey).

Much of Mr. Sinister's interactions with the X-Men are centered on his dealings and obsession with Cyclops and Grey. In fact, in a decidedly gross turn of events, Nathan (Cable) is practically named after the man responsible for his existence, albeit through a convoluted set of circumstances. However, by forcing Sinister and his biological interests into Logan, we set up an introduction to the character in a time when his favorite pair of mutants no longer exist. Unless they tweak his character to the point of unrecognizability, he'll basically be a lost puppy, albeit a tremendously overpowered one.

Which brings us to another problem ...

Logan is set in 2024. X-Men: Apocalypse suggests that Scott Summers and Jean Grey meet and fall in love as teens in the 1980s. Deadpool & Cable is the Deadpool sequel that promises to introduce us to the time-traveling offspring of Summers and Grey in present time. Yet if you look at all of these movies, there's no set-up whatsoever for Cable to exist in the timeline, anywhere. Jean and Scott had no children in any of the previous movies, that we know of anyway. Although the two were brought back to life by the events of Days of Future Past, there just doesn't seem to be enough time for Nathan Summers to become the grizzled, grey-haired mutant we (and his best buddy Wade Wilson) are so used to.

Cable would have to come from a future at least a couple of decades later than what we see in Logan. We'd also need to see evidence that Mr. Sinister or his company somehow got their hands on Cyclops and Jean's DNA — after all, the movies didn't bother to clone Jean Grey, so no Madelyne Pryor.

Should we be surprised that the X-Men movies will likely goof up here, and big time? This is the same movie franchise that outright ignored how Mystique is Nightcrawler's mother ... while having them together in the same movie! Excuse us for being concerned that Cable is going to be dropped into the X-Men universe with absolutely no plausible explanation other than "he's serious, Deadpool isn't, and that's so wacky."

In the original timeline, Professor X (Charles Xavier) was murdered by the low-budget version of the Dark Phoenix in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Except for one teensy problem: he wasn't. In a post-credits scene, we see the consciousness of Professor X appear to his long-time love interest, Moira MacTaggert. He then shows up in another after-credits scene, this time for The Wolverine. That's significant because there's never an exact explanation for how Xavier survived the events of Last Stand to play a pivotal role in Days of Future Past ... or how he was even aware of the alternate timeline created by the events of that movie. And don't tell us it's because he's psychic, because that's a cop-out. Fantastical superhero yarn or no, we want answers.

On top of this confusing jumble, we now have Charles Xavier playing a major part in Logan ... for reasons. One of the most frustrating aspects of this is that we're still not sure which Wolverine movies are tied to the official X-Men timeline and which aren't. In fact, there's no telling what timeline Logan takes place in! Professor X's unexplained presence only make matters even more confusing.

In the comics, X-23 bumps into her biological father while the X-Men are still active. Logan, introduces us to the character after the X-Men are largely defunct. In other words, we're meeting an important X-Men character decades after she should technically already exist. It doesn't help that the end credits scene — yes, another after credits scene — for Apocalypse sets up the X-23 portion of Logan. In that brief clip, we see members of Essex Corp. taking blood samples for the Weapon X program that will eventually create X-23.

The implication here, is that the most brilliant geneticist in the Marvel Universe is inexplicably unable to create a clone using a blood sample collected in the 1980s, until at least 30 years later. That bizarre turn of events gives us Laura Kinney, born far too late to join the X-Men. Additional time travel shenanigans could ensue in the form of Cable. But then, we're still not exactly how he's supposed to logically exist in this X-Men movie universe, either.

Does anyone else need an aspirin?

If your head isn't already prepared to explode, let us leave you with a final timeline problem: Wolverine's claws. In the original timeline, Logan's bone claws were coated with adamantium as part of the "Weapon X" project.

So far, so good. But at the end of Days of Future Past, we see Wolverine left in the hands of Mystique (posing as William Stryker). Although Stryker was instrumental in helping Wolverine get his famous metal claws, Mystique was not. This means that (1) Mystique left him in the hands of the same people responsible for torturing her mutant comrades to death, and (2) the real Stryker was somehow able to seamlessly switch places with her without him, or anyone else, asking questions.

And if that isn't enough doesn't leave your head throbbing, consider the events of The Wolverine, the Wolverine-centric sequel that Logan follows. In that film, Logan lost his metal claws and most, if not all, of his healing abilities. The very end (another after-credits scene) implies that Magneto and Professor X recruit Wolvie for a threat that ultimately manifests itself in the form of the events of Days Of Future Past. For some reason, Logan has his adamantium claws back in that movie. When he goes back to the past, he's actually surprised to not have them.

Regardless of whether Logan is the sequel to The Wolverine or Days of Future Past, there's no clear explanation for why he has metal claws, rather than his natural bone claws. Especially when the trailer seeks to make it clear that Logan is aging due to the loss of his healing factor.

One thing's for sure: Logan promises to be an action-packed, emotional roller coaster. Given all the plot holes the movie either creates or further exacerbates, it's probably best enjoyed while not thinking over movie inconsistencies. The writers almost certainly didn't, after all. We only hope that Logan doesn't heap too much "WTF?" on top of the X-Men movie universe's already serious continuity problem.

And if it does? Have Cable travel back in time and screw everything up just enough so everything gets reset and we can try again with a new, sensible timeline. It's a comic book movie, after all. The solution is always one retcon ex machina away.