Jennifer Lawrence Dominates In ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Heroes Poster

Jennifer Lawrence is forefront and center in the latest poster for the heroes of X-Men: Apocalypse, leaving Professor Xavier in the background. In fact, the X-Men leader seems to be overseeing an army once loyal to him that now follows Lawrence’s character, known as Mystique. Could there have been some coup on the behalf of Mystique, or was it always the plan for the Jennifer Lawrence character to take point in X-Men: Apocalypse?

Jennifer Lawrence Is A Force To Be Reckoned With In X-Men: Apocalypse

When Lawrence first joined the X-Men universe, she hadn’t quite earned the level of celebrity which she now enjoys. The Hunger Games was only just getting started and, while Winter’s Bone did earn Jennifer some recognition, she wasn’t the international star then that she is at this time. It seems 20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment are eager to capitalize on Lawrence’s fame by placing her in the lead as the star of X-Men: Apocalypse. While that certainly is a smart business move, it may not be as opportunistic as it would outwardly seem.

While Lawrence’s role in X-Men: First Class (2011) was no larger than the rest of the ensemble cast, the entire plot of the follow-up film, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) revolved around Mystique. It was Lawrence’s character who was sought by both Magneto and Professor Xavier, leading to a division of power and, ultimately, to war.

Now, X-Men: Apocalypse puts Lawrence in the lead, taking the power away from Xavier; but, in all fairness, much of this is not altogether unfaithful to the comic book series. There are some deviations, of course, but those differences may only be due to making a film adaptation more entertaining for audiences.

What is interesting is that Mystique is not on the poster. That’s Jennifer Lawrence in an X-Men uniform. Did 20th Century Fox think fans wouldn’t recognize Lawrence in make-up?

Whatever their motives, both Marvel and Fox deserve credit for bringing a new female superhero to the big screen and they certainly deserve extra points for placing Mystique in a position of power. Only one question remains: Can Mystique save the day and defeat the invincible Apocalypse?

X-Men: Apocalypse Presents The Villains In Another New Poster

In a move similar to the release of the Captain America: Civil War posters, Marvel also released a similar poster campaign for X-Men: Apocalypse. For this franchise, one poster was released for the heroes and one poster for the villains. The villain poster features Magneto up front, presumably to do battle with Lawrence’s Mystique at some point. More interesting is the dark, looming presence of Apocalypse, as he oversees his minions, the four horsemen: Storm, Magneto, Psylocke, and Angel.

For those unaware of the Apocalypse story from the X-Men comic books, X-Men: Apocalypse follows the story of a mutant who is the oldest and most powerful mutant in history. Ages ago, Apocalypse amassed the abilities of other mutants and became virtually omnipotent, forcing mankind to worship him as a god.

Now, thousands of years later, Apocalypse awakens to find a world that he finds disappointing. He recruits Magneto and his mutants to help him restore the world to a society more in line with his own thinking and, of course, he will reign over whatever remains of mankind and mutants.

Only Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Professor X (James McAvoy) can stop Apocalypse and Magneto from taking over the world and bringing down a reign of terror. They recruit some of the best and brightest young X-Men to aid them in this fight against the ultimate villain.

X-Men: Apocalypse will debut in theaters on May 18.

[Image by Marvel Entertainment/20th Century Fox]