Highlights

  • Marvel fans were excited to see leaked plans for a future X-Men game, but due to licensing agreements, some popular characters like Cyclops and Magneto won't be included.
  • The absence of characters like Firestar, Gabby Kinney, and ForgetMeNot in Insomniac's X-Men game is puzzling, as they have become popular among fans in recent comics.
  • The iconic character Deadpool, who has had connections to the X-Men in the past, is not included in the licensing agreement, possibly because another company has rights to him for their own game.

Although Marvel's Wolverine was the primary focus of the recent leaks from Insomniac games, Marvel fans were excited to see plans for a future X-Men game listed in the leaked roadmap. According to these leaks, Marvel's Wolverine already appears to be featuring several iconic X-Men characters, including Jean Grey, Sabretooth, and Mister Sinister, seemingly laying the foundation for the plot of Insomniac's leaked X-Men title. However, due to the licensing agreement between Marvel and Sony, certain X-Men characters won't be able to be in this game, meaning fans will miss out on some great potential characters.

As one of Marvel's biggest franchises, the X-Men series has tons of characters that a video game adaptation could pull from. According to the licensing agreement between Marvel and Sony, most of the franchise's most iconic characters, such as Cyclops, Professor X, Magneto, and many more are available for Insomniac to use in their upcoming game. However, there are a few notable exceptions that are missing from this list, which creates a strange situation where some characters players might expect to see in the game will be absent.

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Characters that Can't Appear in Insomniac's X-Men Game

Firestar

Angelica Jones, AKA Firestar, is a mutant with the power to manipulate microwave energy to generate extreme amounts of heat and was initially recruited by Emma Frost to be used as a tool of the Hellfire Club against Charles Xavier's X-Men. Eventually, Firestar betrays Frost, joining up with the New Warriors and later, the Avengers under the mentorship of Hawkeye. It's unclear why Firestar is not able to appear in Insomniac's X-Men game, but it may have something to do with her affiliation with both the X-Men and Avengers.

Gabby Kinney

One of the more popular recent additions to the X-Men franchise is Gabby Kinney, a clone of Laura Kinney, AKA X-23, who is herself a mutant created using the DNA of Wolverine. Gabby sees herself as the younger sister of Laura, though her powers differ slightly as she only has one claw that can protrude from each hand, and she has a much stronger healing factor than Laura or Wolverine. With how popular Gabby has become among fans of recent X-Men comics, it seems odd that she wouldn't be available to use in Insomniac's upcoming game.

ForgetMeNot

Perhaps Marvel simply forgot about this character due to the nature of his ability, which allows the mutant ForgetMeNot to be imperceptible to those not directly looking at him. This strange character has been a part of the X-Men for several years but is constantly forgotten about due to this mutation. While he could make for an interesting addition to Insomniac's X-Men title, ForgetMeNot is not a part of the licensing agreement between Marvel and Sony.

Juggernaut

Cain Marko, better known as Juggernaut, is a surprising omission from the list of available X-Men characters Insomniac can use in their game. He is an iconic foe of the X-Men, and is the stepbrother of Charles Xavier, meaning there is a deep familial connection that could have been explored in this title. He could be unavailable as part of this licensing agreement due to the fact that Juggernaut is not technically a mutant, but instead gets his strength from being the avatar of Cyttorak, Lord of Oblivion.

Deadpool

The most glaring omission from this licensing agreement is the iconic Merc with a Mouth, Deadpool, who is not technically a member of the X-Men, but is frequently featured as a rival of Wolverine and has had run-ins with the team in the past. Given how popular Deadpool is among Marvel fans, it seems like a no-brainer to include him in an X-Men game. However, the nature of Deadpool being a standalone character could mean another company has the rights to him and could be planning to use him in their own game.