X-Men: Hellfire
Genre: Action/Superhero
Director: Miguel Sapochnik
Writer: Dwight Gallo
Based on Marvel Comics characters
Cast: Jame Dornan, Toby Stephens, Millie Bobby Brown, Jessie Buckley, David Oyelowo, Rosamund Pike, Liam Neeson, Rebecca Ferguson, David Morrissey, Jamie Campbell Bower, Jamie Bell, Kiki Layne, Laura Fraser
Plot: North Salem, New York.
The Danger Room hums with energy as the X-Men team conduct a training exercise, and each active member has a chance to practice their abilities. Scott Summers / Cyclops (Jamie Dornan), the team's stoic field leader is positioned in the center for the room, firing calculated energy bursts through his visor, hitting hologram targets with perfect precision. Hank McCoy / Beast (David Oyelowo) bounds across the room, dodging holographic beams with his strength and acrobatics. Kitty Pryde (Millie Bobby Brown) phases through obstacles in her way. Ororo Munroe / Storm (Kiki Layne) uses her weather control powers to summon wind and lightning in the room. Jean Grey (Jessie Buckley), meanwhile, uses her telekinetic abilities to deflect laser energy away from other members of the team. Suddenly, Jean gets a jolt of pain through her brain, causing her focus to waver. She accidentally sends a laser energy blast directly at Storm, singing her uniform. Beast calls off the training exercise, shutting down the Danger Room's hologram environment. Beast escorts Storm to the X-Mansion's infirmary to treat her wound. Cyclops goes to Jean's side and asks her if the headaches are back. Jean reluctantly confirms, saying they come out of nowhere and are only getting worse. Cyclops takes Jean to bed, tucking her in and insisting she get some rest.
Cyclops goes to see Professor Charles Xavier (Toby Stephens) to inform her about the worsening headaches. Xavier reveals that normally he can look into someone's mind and see what is troubling them, but Jean has built up a powerful psychic wall to block him out. Cyclops asks why she would do that. Xavier suggests that she may be doing it unintentionally, but that Jean is no ordinary mutant - her telepathic abilities have the ability to be greater than even his own if she can ever focus enough, but that power can be overwhelming. Xavier asks Cyclops to imagine having the ability to access every thought, every emotion, every secret of everyone around her. Cyclops wonders what they can do to help her. Xavier suggests that Cyclops very carefully encourage her to open up and express herself more, with the with the hope of her mind relaxing more.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
In the Hellfire Club's opulent underground headquarters, Emma Frost (Rosamund Pike), the White Queen, sits at the head of a long table. Azazel (Liam Neeson), the teleporting demon, and Alex Summers / Havok (Jamie Campbell Bower) sit on either side of her. At the other end of the table sits Magneto (David Morrissey) who has been taken in by the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle thanks to their shared goal of mutant superiority. The group is committed to finding the reincarnation of the ancient Phoenix Force and believe that they have finally found the Phoenix's current vessel on Earth... Jean Grey. Havok asks how they ever supposed to get to her with deep in the X-Men she is. Azazel suggests he simply teleport in and swipe her. Magneto laughs at the idea, saying that Jean Grey's mental abilities are too strong for that plan to work - especially if his suspicions are correct and she is the Phoenix, a primal force of destruction. Magneto suggests they call upon Mystique to get close to her in disguise and convince her to leave willingly and mold her into the weapon she was born to be. Frost says that they need to tread carefully before deciding on a plan of action - and they need to be sure.
Jean Grey has a nightmare of a giant Phoenix engulfing her. When she wakes up, she finds her bedroom has caught on fire. Jean begins to panic. Storm arrives and uses her powers to generate powerful winds to put out the flames. Then with a gasp she is awoken by Cyclops. The nightmare had followed her into reality and the bedroom blazed with fire. Smoke begins seeping down the halls of the X-Mansion. Storm charges into the scene, summoning powerful winds to extinguish the flames. Jean is too shaken to say anything. Scott comforts Jean while thanking Storm for her help.
Magneto meets with Mystique (Rebecca Ferguson) is secret. He tells her that he believes that Jean Grey is the final piece in the puzzle of their quest for mutant dominion, but that the Hellfire Club are blinded by their ideals. Magneto asks if Mystique will help bring Jean to them. She asks how and he reveals that he has a plan that will put him in the leadership of the Hellfire Club and bring about the greatest power the world has ever seen.
Muir Island, Scotland.
Dr. Moira MacTaggert (Laura Fraser), surveys her lab realizing that someone else has been there. Files lay scatters, equipment toppled, but only one single item is missing: a DNA sample of Jean Grey. She reaches for her phone, immediately calling Xavier. Moira informs him that her lab has been breached and Jean's sample is missing. She sends him security footage from her lab as they speak. Xavier recognizes a crimson figure - Azazel - teleport into the lab, trash the place while looking for the DNA sample, and then teleport away. Moira asks why they were only after Jean's DNA. Xavier says that he isn't 100% sure, but that she has been changing and someone else must have an idea why.
Jean Grey sits in the library of the X-Mansion in the middle of the night, afraid of what might happen should she go to sleep again. Her headaches continue to intensify, blurring her focus. Mystique morphs into Cyclops and sneaks onto the property and finds Jean awake and crying. Jean says that she is scared that something called the Phoenix Force is consuming her mind and body. Mystique as Scott tells Jean that her powers are endangering everyone at the X-Men - the students and the other X-Men. Mystique/Scott says that he knows about a group that understands what she is going through and can help her. Jean asks who, but Mystique/Scott simply asks Jean to follow and trust him. Jean nods and follows Scott away from the X-Mansion grounds. In Philadelphia, they are greeted by Emma Frost, who guides them into the inner sanctum of the Hellfire Club. Frost explains to Jean that she has been chosen as a vessel at birth by the powerful Phoenix Force and that her headaches are the force trying to break free.
The Cerebro device hums as Xavier sits in front of the console searching for one specific mutant - not Jean Grey, but someone he thinks can find Azazel, the thief of Jean's DNA. Beast asks why Xavier isn't using Cerebro to locate Jean. Xavier explains that her mental powers are too strong and can block out Cerebro with ease. Xavier's psychic powers control the machine as it pings, narrowing its scope until it finds one dot that keeps bouncing around on the screen. Beast asks who he's looking for. Xavier says the mutant is named Kurt Wagner aka Nightcrawler a mutant who can teleport just like his father. Xavier asks Scott to get the team ready to fly the Blackbird to Germany to find Nightcrawler. Scott declines, saying his mind wouldn't be in the mission as he wants to search for Jean by himself. Beast, Kitty Pryde and Storm all board the Blackbird and fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
Witzeldorf, Germany.
The Blackbird slices through the night sky toward Germany. Beast pilots the jet, following the coordinated Xavier uncovered through his use of Cerebro. They finally arrive at the location, a tiny village called Witzeldorf. Beasts puts down the jet in a field and exits alongside Storm and Kitty Pryde. They follow a transponder to an old ruined clock tower that was never rebuilt following the second World War. As they enter, they notice the dot on the transponder begin to bounce around them. Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler (Jamie Bell), teleports around them, leaving a small purple cloud behind each time. Storm begins to summon a storm inside the tower, but Beast tells her to stop. Beast holds up his hands, announcing they mean him no harm. Nightcrawler finally stops, joking that that trick usually scares people out of the tower but not them. Beast cuts to the chase and asks Nightcrawler for help infiltrating the Hellfire Club. Nightcrawler says he wants nothing to do with Hellfire or Azazel ever again after his last battle with him. Storm tries to explain how important it is that they stop the Hellfire Club from unleashing a dangerous weapon. Nightcrawler asks what kind of weapon. Kitty steps toward Nightcrawler, chastising Storm for referring to their friend Jean as a weapon. Kitty explains to Nightcrawler that they believe the Hellfire Club has taken their friend Jean and want to use her powers to hurt a lot of people. Nightcrawler asks why they need his help. Kitty says that they need Nightcrawler to teleport us into the Hellfire Club's inner sanctum so that they can find Jean. Nightcrawler insists that he does not want to fight his father. Beast comments that they aren't asking Nightcrawler to fight, only to help. Nightcrawler finally agrees to come with them, but makes it very clear that Kitty is the one who convinced him, not Beast or Storm.
Cyclops confronts Havok - his brother - on the streets of Philadelphia in front of Independence Hall. Cyclops asks why his brother would possibly join up with the Hellfire Club and endanger Jean, the love of his life. Havok says that Jean is the Phoenix, and with her mutants can rise and take control of the planet. Cyclops tells Havok that he cannot allow Havok to harm Jean for his own means. Cyclops' ruby visor begins glowing while Havok glares back, energy coursing through his veins. Cyclops and Havok both fire beams of energy at each other - Cyclops through his visor, while Havok's energy burst shoots straight from his chest. The clashing energy blasts collide, creating a blinding explosion, leaving a crater in the ground. Cyclops and Havok both fall, drained, their powers spent. Cyclops makes an emotional appeal to his brother, reminding him that their own mother is not a mutant and would suffer to when the Hellfire Club burns the world. Havok says that collateral damage is inevitable before leaving the area.
Emma Frost and Jean Grey sit in a white room. Frost speaks to Jean, trying to calm her and allow her to let out the Phoenix Force. Jean tries to control it, but Frost tells her to stop trying and just close her eyes. Jean begins to feel the flames inside her body. Frost tells her to embrace the force and the power that comes with it. Frost carefully hypnotizes Jean now that her guard is down to help let the Phoenix out. Frost prepares herself as her skin turns to diamond.
Nightcrawler holds onto Beast's furry arm as the Blackbird jet hovers above Philadelphia. Nightcrawler's mid is locked onto the Hellfire Club. Nightcrawler's tail twitches and with a BAMF! they vanish, reappearing in the Hellfire Club's inner sanctum. Nightcrawler briefly vanishes again, then reappears with Storm and Kitty Pryde at his side. They begin searching underground corridors, searching for Jean Grey. Kitty Pryde finally phases through the correct wall, finding the white room with Frost and Jean. Kitty quickly exits, informing the others that she found Jean. Just then the earth begins to rattle. The Phoenix Force has taken over Jean's body. She rises from the floor, her body ablaze. Jean screams out, bursting through the ceiling of the subterranean lair of the Hellfire Club like a comet. The entire city trembles as the Phoenix rises from the ground and into the sky above the city. The city around her begins to rip apart from the mere presence of Phoenix.
In the sudden ruins of the Hellfire Club inner sanctum, Nightcrawler encounters his father Azazel. They two lock eyes. They each teleport over to grab sword that adorn the walls of the chamber. The two fight, their blade dancing across continents. As the duel, they teleport all over the globe. They teleport from Philadelphia to the Himalays, from the Great Wall of China to the pyramids of Giza, trading swings of the sword in each locale. Nightcrawler manages to disarm Azazel. His tail snakes forward and picks up Azazel's sword. Azazel teleports closer and draws a hidden knife. Nightcrawler catches a flash of the blade and stabs his father in the heart. As Azazel lay bleeding, Nightcrawler teleports away from the scene.
The X-Men split up to track down the various Hellfire Club members. Beast and Kitty Pryde cautiously make their way through the labyrinthine corridors. When they hear a noise in the distance, Beast launches forward toward the sound while Kitty phases through the walls. They converge on the source of the sound, finding Mystique. Beast pounces on the shapeshifter, but Mystique is quick to react countering with a series of swift strikes of her own. Kitty Pryde, meanwhile, uses her natural stealth to hit Mystique from the other side of a wall. With Mystique briefly stunned, Beast pushes her toward Kitty, who pulls her partially into the concrete walls, trapping Mystique.
Meanwhile, Storm encounters Magneto. Magneto wastes no time in hurling metal objects towards Storm, using his magnetic powers to turn the city-scape environment against her. Storm reacts, summoning gusts of wind to deflect the projectiles, creating barriers of swirling air to shield herself. With a flash of lightning, Storm send bolts of electricity towards Magneto. Magneto it forced to react, blocking the bolts with a metal shield. Storm then channels her powers to create an electromagnetic storm, causing the atmosphere around them to twist and churn. The magnetic fields become erratic and unstable, disrupting Magneto's control over metal. Magneto collapses to the ground. Storm then unleashes a barrage of lightning bolts and hurricane-force winds, overwhelming Magneto and immobilizing him. Storm then unleashes a blizzard, freezing Magneto temporarily.
As Phoenix rises above the city, ripping it to pieces. Professor Charles Xavier arrives and tries to talk to the Jean Grey within. Phoenix rejects Xavier's appeal for peace and taunts Xavier's failure to protect his X-Men from harm. Cyclops then steps forward, reminding Jean of the love they share. The Phoenix Force's grip over Jean wavers for a moment, allowing Xavier entrance into her complicated mind. Emma Frost steps in, using her own psychic abilities to interfere with Xavier's intrusion into the mind of Phoenix. Cyclops fire an energy blast at Frost, who has to pause her psychic battle to turn her body to diamond to deflect the blast of energy. Beast quickly sets up a portable version of the Cerebro device, which Xavier is able to use to amplify his own psychic abilities. He uses every last ounce of his mutant abilities to suppress the Phoenix Force within Jean, but the mental strain puts both Xavier and Jean into a comatose state.
Months later, Charles Xavier and Jean Grey both lay comatose in a special room put together by Beast to chart their vital signs at all times. Beast mutters to Cyclops that the mental strain of their psychic battle has left their minds suspended. Cyclops says that they can never give up on either of them as they are two of the most powerful psychic minds on the planet - if anyone can recover from what they've been through, it's them. The door opens and Mora MacTaggert steps in for a visit from Scotland, saddened when she sees Xavier's state. She leans down and gives him a kiss on the forehead.
Kitty Pryde shows Nightcrawler around the X-Mansion campus, happily introducing him around. She explains the goal of the school to Nightcrawler as it was explained to her when she first arrived - the Xavier Institute is a safe place for mutants to be themselves and not hide their special abilities. Nightcrawler is stunned that such a place could possibly exist after the many years of abuse he suffered due to his appearance.
The remaining X-Men - Cyclops, Beast, Kitty Pryde, Storm and now Nightcrawler - all convene in the Danger Room, getting ready for yet another training session. As the holographic arena hums to life around them, the team get into their battle positions.
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