X-Men: First Class opens in theaters on Friday, June 3. You've seen the trailers and may have noticed (*shock*) that the characters appear a little differently than they do in the comics. Heck, the whole continuity of the movie universe here can be called into question. But that's part of the point, it is a different universe. This is the first in a series of character profiles to give you a refresher on the character as they stand in the comics, how it appears they'll be portrayed in the movie and what we'd like to see happen with them in the movie.

First up Mystique. Yes, Mystique will be part of Professor X's X-Men. The first trailer showed her as one of the teenage mutants at the school. Besides being a teen, she also has normal skin and is blonde. But she will have her trademark blue skin.

Mystique has an interesting and complex past in the comics. How much of that will and should be used in the movie? (Be warned, a theory that has developed may be a possible spoiler).

Mystique first appeared in Ms. Marvel #17 in 1978. The biggest difference is she is older in the comics...much older. She is said to have been born in the early 20th Century. Even as a teen in X-Men: First Class (set in 1963), she's still much younger than her comic book counterpart. Her first encounter with the X-Men in issue #141, she was the leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and there were hints that she had some sort of relation to Nightcrawler.

She was a foster mom to Rogue. To further emphasize her age, it was revealed that she knew Wolverine years back and had a relationship with Sabretooth, which lead to being the mother of Graydon Creed. Later it was revealed she was Nightcrawler's mom with Azazel the father. While she has straddled the line between good and evil with the X-Men, she never really had what it took to be a real X-Man.

In the single character trailer, we get the impression that all this history is unrelated to the onscreen Mystique. We see her as a child, in her familiar movie-blue skin and scales as seen in the other X-films. It's not clear (from the trailer) if she was born with blue skin or if she goes through early puberty and changes.

Later in the trailer she's shown at the Xavier school as a young blonde. Despite being shown as able to change into her scaley form, it's not clear (yet) why she has this appearance.

She seems happy. Happy, young and full of hormones. She's supposed to be involved with Azazel in the comics at some point but the trailers show us that she will be getting a little friendly with Hank McCoy, before he turns blue and furry. Is this a completely different Raven Darkholme we'll be seeing in the movie? What will her reaction be when Hank turns into Beast?

There is more to this young blonde in the trailer. Erik Lehnsherr (soon to become Magneto) calls her on the fact that she's using her powers to appear differently. As we suspect, her true form is blue and scaley.

This leads me to what I want to see with the character. I can fully accept that this movie will have major differences from the comics. Everyone needs to get over the fact that it will not be near 100% faithful to the comics. We can think of it as being inspired by the comics and enjoy it for the piece of entertainment it hopefully will be. But I still don't like Mystique being so...young.

I've watched the trailer and for me, the big question is in that first scene. With this being a flashback, how far back does it flash back to? Could this actually take place half a decade before the present time in the movie? The room they're in doesn't really reveal too much. Who is this kid she's shaking hands with? (I can't tell if that shirt's style can be narrowed down to a certain time period). There are other young kids in the movie besides youngMystique. We will also see young Erik and young Charles in the credits. Let's look at these two kids side-by-side:

On the right we have Bill Milsner. I'm not an expert on kids' faces so I have to ask, are these two the same actor? Keep in mind, kids do change quickly as they grow and I'm not sure how far apart these would be if they are the same. If it is indeed the same actor, that reveals a bit. Little Billy here is listed as playing young Erik. That means that Mystique isn't a teenager in the movie and would be closer to Erik's age. (Edit: In a new TV spot, the kid in the pajamas actually introduces himself as Charles Xavier. But that still proves that Mystique should be older than a teen in the movie.)

This is what I'd want to see. Could it be that besides posing as a normal looking mutant, she's really posing as a normal looking teenage mutant? I would really dig it if she was actually older and just making herself looking like a teen, perhaps to try to infiltrate Charles' school. Mystique may have tiny bits of goodness in her but I don't see her as good enough to honestly be in Xavier's school. Let's have Mystique be the bad girl she's supposed to be in the comics. This also allows for her to be involved with Azazel and someday giving birth to Nightcrawler.

But then it means there's a bit of grossness in the fact that she's making moves on a teenage Hank McCoy. Hopefully he's at least eighteen in the movie.

With Mystique - a character who can be anyone - I never really minded her changing sides as often as Wolverine says "Bub", so I'm perfectly willing to give the new movie's portrayal of her a chance.

However, what still baffles me is the fact that she can basically imitate all sorts of fabric using nothing but her skin. So she is technically naked all the time. I know that's been well-established, but it still makes me smile occasionally.

I also have some issues with her being so young. I realize the movie has the word "origins" right in the title, but showing us so much of her formative years kinda makes her lose some of her....umm...mystique.

I think that X-Men First Class will be like X-Men 3

Maybe, as a mutant, she'll grow up slower?
OR
She was not only shapeshifting appearances but age-wise too. Like making everybody think she's younger than she actually is.

Or messy writing, like 20th Century Fox writers usually work :P

Despite being shown as able to change into her scaley form, it's not clear (yet) why she has this appearance.    

Dear this will take a long time to remove from my mind -_- those paper eyes and hair implantation...

" Maybe, as a mutant, she'll grow up slower?ORShe was not only shapeshifting appearances but age-wise too. Like making everybody think she's younger than she actually is.Or messy writing, like 20th Century Fox writers usually work :P "

this was the first trialer for this moive that actually makes me think this could be a good movie. But I still think it is going to be a box office bomb but you never know

"In the single character trailer, we get the impression that all this history is unrelated to the onscreen Mystique."

Well doesn't that speak volumes..  I swear I wish I knew what those executives were thinking..  Mystique a good guy?  An X-Man? in First Class?  Wow..  Yea I am starting to get the feeling this is gonna be X-3 all over again

I have not liked the look of Mystique because of her forehead... she just reminds me of Kelsey Grammer, but D'awwwwwwwh at kid Mystique. Grab Lil Shower from Wolverine movie trailer and we have an X-Babies movie! 

Tony I'm a bit surprised by this article because you have a way of contradicting yourself at times. At the beginning of the article you state that people should stop looking at these movies like the comics and later go on to talk about what you don't like about the movie Mystique compared to the comic book version.

@FoxxFireArt,,,,,except for the fact that a) Lynn Collins (the woman that played Silverfox) doesn't look Indian b) its was never confirmed that Silverfox was her real last name or simply an alias  c) people other than Native Americans can know their legends and stories and d) siblings can look different.

I'm not justifying Wolverine: Origins, it was a bad movie overall, but simply stating a movie is bad because it doesn't conform to the comics is narrow minded.

Let's be honest, even the comics don't conform to the comics.....how many times have we seen major character histories get re-written, re-imagined, re-interpreted, spun in a different direction because a new writer brought some new information to a title. Look at X-Men: Deadly Genesis and the complete historical re-write of Giant Size X-Men #1 that occured from that arc. Or the fact that DC comics completely restarted its entire line of characters in 1986.

I understand the love people have for some characters (well really I don't because they aren't real people just stories no different than any other form of fiction but let's say I do) but not the obsession to keep the characters "pure". Even comic book artists don't follow this philosophy and admit that all these characters and stories are fluid and open to re-design to tell new stories or look at old ones from different perspectives. That might be a good "Off their mind" segment for you to do Tony just to confirm what writers think of comic book movies.

But to really put a nail in the "purity" argument look at the tv series Smallville. Though based on Superman the show has completely re-envisioned the ideas of the character and his history and made it accessible for people that have never read a comic book......and it lasted for 10 years. There are only a handful of tv series that have lasted that long (not counting animated) and none of them have been based on comic book characters.

As to my opinion on the young Mystique....I think it fits in perfectly with all the other children at the school. If she was the only teenager I think it would be out of place but they're all teenagers (except Charles and Eric of course) going through changes and alienation....but where they all look human Mystique doesn't and that adds more alienation and confusion for her. At the same time its a perfect origin to how her character was portrayed in the last three films. The older Mystique made comments about how she was afraid to go to school as a child but by the time of the movies was confident in her appearance and a devote follower of Magneto. So how did she go from being afraid to confident? That's what this movie will show. Plus the trailer clearly shows how Eric is going to be a mentor to her and help her to gain confidence in herself. Notice that during their mission in Cuba she's not using her blonde appearance, possibly showcasing the progress she'll make through the film in accepting her true form.

In regards to her relationship with Beast.....I think she'll actually be the one to comfort him after his transformation and they'll still have a good relationship through the movie. Again during the Cuba scenes I think she's crying over the apparent demise of Beast from the barrage of missiles shot at the Blackbird. But they'll have a falling out when she decides to follow Magneto instead of staying at the mansion.

I've read the articles, images, and the like in relation to the upcoming film.  I'm no where near impressed and will be gladly missing out on this.  I don't need something that looks and reads as bad as this tainting my enjoyment of Thor and carrying over into Captain America (possibly) and Green Lantern (probably)

I'm glad you mentioned this was "another universe".  I don't understand why people get all pissy when the character is not exactly what it is in the correct Marvel continuity.   Does the internet not have anything else to do but complain how things aren't the same?  Seriously, do you want a movie that is exactly like the comics and you know to the detail what is going to happen?

I'm thinking that Mystique is going to be Erik's secret weapon. The one most loyal to him and they've got their own plans. Erik probably convinces her to embrace her blue side and because of her closeness to Beast (apparently) in the trailer I think she and Erik are partially responsible for Beast's transformation. Maybe they don't alter the serum he creates but they convince him to try it before he's sure it's ready in order to make him look like a freak and therefore more likely to join Erik's side in the end.

" I have not liked the look of Mystique because of her forehead... she just reminds me of Kelsey Grammer, but D'awwwwwwwh at kid Mystique. Grab Lil Shower from Wolverine movie trailer and we have an X-Babies movie!  "

I'm still going to see the movie, even if continutity is off by...... so much!!!

Am I the only one who misses the old Mystique?

I'm pretty sure the stuff with her featuring normal skin is when she's trying to hide her true self (blue skin with scales), hence the Magneto line at the end of the character profile trailer.

My only complaint is that that Mystique is wearing clothes. I'm sexist like that.

" I think that X-Men First Class will be like X-Men 3 "

she looks bad. Rebecca Roman 4ever!

god i hate fox...and somehow they managed to make mystique bigscreen counterpart even worse.

I don't want this movie to be crap like the last two.

" No, instead she is a coward, rather than competent.Emma is sparkly, bulletproof... and a teenager, in a movie set in the late 70s. Now in "First Class", set in the early 60s, she's the White Queen. For fans of the character, all they need do is forget that Emma existed in "Origins" to enjoy her role, which looks to be the most accurately portrayed in the entire film. Where's that adamantium bullet when you need it? "

I'm sticking to the belief that this is secretly a reboot, and the Director and the Producer just haven't told fox yet.

You know, at first I was very cynical. I am a HUGE proponent of continuity, I get so impassioned and furious when I see it disregarded...

HOWEVER

When I think back to the 80's/early 90's and how Tim Burton's vision of Batman set a different tone for the franchise I have to re-evaluate. The X-men movie, the very first one, had no where near the budget the more recent superhero films had, it blind-sighted absolutely everyone when it turned out to be a movie people enjoyed. As a matter in fact, it led the charge of superhero movies in the 21'st century. Do I wish continuity was more sacred to Hollywood? ABSOLUTELY. But I am willing to see this play out because even though it deviates from a franchise I love, it sets the foundation for something better. I like that the X-men franchise is more thought-provoking than say Iron Man or Spider-man and I think when the dust falls, these movies (minus Origins and X3) will stand out as being influential and distinct.

The only thing I'm sort of opposed to is this idea Mystique is acting under Magneto's orders. This is a character who infiltrated the White House on hard work alone, who knows a slew of languages, who led her own Brotherhood, and is far older than Magneto. Not to mention, Mystique doesn't stay quiet. Oh no. This is someone who very much likes to provoke, she likes to be heard.

But I love, love, love this cast and I'm excited to see what Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Vaughn, and Bryan Singer have in mind for the portrayal of Mystique. I'm so glad it's not just a BS casting like they did with Scarlet Johanssen who just happened to be in underwear and in most scenes with the director of the movie...also, Marvel wasn't even sure what role they wanted her for. They denied it but Johanssen claimed there were a few roles like the Scarlet Witch and Moonstone that they had in mind so clearly she was hired based on looks....

As innocent as she looks, im NOT (for one second) buying it!! Despite how she appears, im not trusting it until i see her make it to the end without getting in (or stirring up) any trouble.

Keep in mind, if she were trying to fake being innocent, what better form than a sweet-faced young girl.

It was the bitchen' blue babe Mystique who made me an X-Men fan.  Love this character, I always want more and will by pretty much any book that has her in it.

" Am I the only one who misses the old Mystique? "

I'm glad that it's going to be different from the comics and the previous films.  How boring would that be if the book, tv, and movie versions were all the same.  Just give me an entertaining movie.  I don't care about continuity.    

See it first, then critique.

Why is mystique so ugly?

Why is she blonde now and has the black hair in X-3 ?

" Why is she blonde now and has the black hair in X-3 ? "

@sa5m said:

" Why is she blonde now and has the black hair in X-3 ? "

Lol just another thing they messed up. Eww the actress playing Mystique is a man. Ugh.

I'm sticking to the belief that this is secretly a reboot, and the Director and the Producer just haven't told fox yet.

Ok first of all, the flirting with Beast, being on the good side,.. this is MYSTIQUE, you can never trust her, and she knows how to use her assets (which in this case means shape shifting, and also looking good)

 Honestly i'm liking this, especially Mystique. I know now that Magneto's brotherhood came before, and Mystque's later, but i always seemed to associate the 2 leaders of the Brotherhood, and it makes sense to me when the 2 are acting together. I've also felt some resemblance between Apocalypse and the old  Magneto, so that might explain why Mystique working as 2nd in command works for me. That,.. and Rise of Apocalypse, the game, and (i haven't really watched it much but) X-Men Evolution, which seems to be the same story as the movies,..

I also like how she's cute, (as for AGE, this IS Mystique) Mystique is someone NOBODY likes, except for Rogue but that's only because she can't bring herself to kill Mystique, but she still hates Mystique. One of the worst bitches, and least trustworthy people, is getting some good reputation and that makes me happy. Another bad guy gone good of course, is Magneto, AND WE HAD BOTH THESE PEOPLE in that quest, i forget what it was called. Good timing.

I also like how Beast hits it off with this REEEEEALLY cute chick. I've always liked the dude, and he seems to me like he's always lonely, except for when he was less hairy, but STILL weird. There was also this one episode in X-Men TAS (Beauty and the Beast?) where he had some Thing-Alicia kinda romance with a blind chick, that ended with "maybe someday, when they see past the monster good looks". There's also a wolf-out transformation.
Beast seems to fill in Scott Summers' nerdiness too.

Idk how, (as everyone's complaining) Fox is going to do this. For that matter how MARVEL will screw this up, i didn't watch Thor, and plan not to (i hear there was an ending worth watching though). After Iron Man 2 which i regrettably watched after thinking about it a lot,.. i made the decision to not watch these movies anymore. Maybe it's because i don't know Iron Man or Thor as much as i do know the X Men or Spidey. When i watched the first Toby Mcguire film, it wasn't my idea, and since i had that ticket i had decided it would be exciting. It was fun, then. But i didn't like things in it, except the name "Sam Raimi". When the 2nd one came out and Toby Mcguire was complaining about the suit,.. THAT pissed me off. of course i HAD to watch the 3rd one because Venom was in it, but yeah i WAS disappointed cos i was expecting to see Venom throughout the ENTIRE movie. Oh well,.. that is FOX. so let's see. (but yeah the X-Men movies were not AS bad, at least for me. Actually,... there were a FEW things i didn't like too much,.. but...i can't remember, huh)

They could have done her make-up and hair better than they did in first class. Mystique is a great character and she add's something to the story. You never know what she is going to do or how she is going to do it. Mystique is great at what she does and doesnt care about what anyone thinks.