Will the upcoming ‘Captain Marvel’ film be the movie that takes the first steps towards integrating the X-Men into the MCU?

We know that the old Fantastic Four foes, the Skrulls, play a major role in the film. Having now seen the first trailer (which dropped today) there were at least two obvious Skrulls scenes. Let’s face it, the shape shifting is hard to miss.

But what about the X-Men?

If Marvel is basing these movies even loosely on the comics, then there is a direct precedence for connecting Carol Danvers to the famous Marvel Mutants and it all starts with Avengers Annual #10 (1981) - First appearance of Rogue and first appearance of Madeline Pryor.

Not that Avengers Annual #10 is the first time that the Avengers and the X-Men meet. The first cameo meet up was probably in Avengers #3 (January, 1964) , in a scene where Iron Man uses his image projector device to contact the X-Men asking if they’ve seen the Hulk. The first actual confrontation between the two teams happens a year later in X-Men #9 (January 1965).

In subsequent years there would be many crossovers. Original X-Men, like Beast, would join the Avengers, and the X-Men and the Avengers would later face off regularly in the 2000s. But if we’re talking about significant Avengers/X-Men encounters that feature Carol Danvers then Annual #10 is definitely the comic to turn to.

This comic is already a minor key because it is the first appearance of Anna Marie LeBeau aka the Mutant Rogue (shown on the cover in silhouette and simply described as ‘a shocking mystery guest’). But in the 'Captain Marvel' trailer, Brie Larson, as Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel) says: “I keep having these memories. I see flashes. I think I had a life here…but I can’t tell if it’s real.” If you’re a Marvel fan, and like the X-Men and the Avengers, you’ll know that in Avengers Annual #10, Rogue wreaks havoc on Captain Marvel’s memory.

Rogue’s power, you see, is that she can absorb the life-force of anyone she has physical contact with. In the case of Rogue’s encounter with Carol Danvers it all goes horribly wrong, as she holds onto Carol for too long and ends up taking in almost as much of Carol’s personality as her own; in the process rendering herself a borderline schizophrenic.

Later in the X-Men comics, the 'Carol Danvers' persona would sometimes take over for Rogue when she was stressed or under threat – after which ‘Carol’ would refuse to give Rogue’s body back (As I said in my last post, Chris Claremont could be unfair to his characters and here’s another perfect example: poor Rogue and poor Carol).

Is Rogue going to appear as a mystery villain in Captain Marvel? I don’t know, but if the MCU wants a doorway for introducing the X-Men, there are worse ways to do it.

An introduction to the X-Men using Rogue would also echo the original big-screen debut of the Marvel Mutants. In Bryan Singer’s original 'X-Men' (2000), remember, it was Rogue who is the first character we meet and remains at the center of that film’s plot. That worked out quite well in the first 'X-Men' film. Perhaps the MCU will pay tribute to the original Fox ‘X-Men’ by having a Rogue guest appearance?

If that happens, keep a close eye on Avengers Annual #10. It’s already broken the $300.00 mark at least four times over the last three months in 9.8 grade with the last Ebay sale on August 25, bringing in $379.99. Currently 9.8 graded copies are up + 44.5% after 263 sales over the last 14 years.