> Some notes on the movie...If you are at this message, you should be aware of possible spoilers.
>
> -How come no mention of Jean Grey as Phoenix? Does that occur later?
>

Jean Grey has borne the monikers "Phoenix" and "Marvel Girl" at various times; writers in the comic series can't seem to make up their minds about it. Her daughter Rachel took on the name "Phoenix" at one point, but I'm not sure whether she's still using the Phoenix name or not. I'm content to just say "Jean Grey" and have done with it.

I *did* wish that her powers had been somewhat more developed in the movie. In the comics, she's one of the baddest "muties" of them all. You can bet that if *I* had telekinesis, I'd do all kinds of basic common-sense stuff like lifting Sabretooth and Mystique off the ground where they could get no leverage to launch an attack at anyone.

> -Still lots of information about Wolverine that wasn't mentioned but will probably come up later.
>

Count on it. Hopefully they'll draw upon Larry Hama's stint as the writer of Wolvie's comic book for material. Hama really brought some fun and lightheartedness to the character, without losing his rough-around-the-edges appeal.

> -What are Sabretooth's powers other than being huge and strong cuz he took a couple of impalements from Wolverine and seemed none the worse for wear?
>

Sabretooth, Wolverine and others (Vole, SilverFox, Kestrel, Wraith, etc.) were all subjects in the Weapon X project that Wormwood mentioned. They have basic super-abilities (fast healing for Sabretooth and Wolvie) and were given additional enhancements (Wolvie's adamantium skeleton and claws) and training to become lethal killing machines. Their memories were then selectively controlled (in some cases wiped clean), and they were released back into the general population until a situation arose when they would need to be "triggered" into combat activity.

There was a plot thread that ran for awhile in which Sabretooth claimed to be Wolverine's father; the similarity in their abilities gave his claim some credibility until it became evident that Sabretooth's belief was merely the result of a false memory implanted as part of the Weapon X conditioning.

Sabretooth in the movie was rather a disappointment to me. He ought to be *far* more cunning, agile and capable of independent thought. Instead, he came off like a moronic barbarian warrior from a B-grade sword-&-sorcery flick. And I don't recall him ever working for Magneto, either.

> -Obviously Mystique lives, but do you think Sabretooth and Toad survive?
>

Sure they do. Mystique was an interesting character in the film, but she seemed far less human than she does in the comic series. Also, if I remember rightly, she turns out to be Rogue's mother in the comics.

> I enjoyed the movie. I haven't collected comic books in about 10 years but I liked remembering the old storylines even though I didn't collect X-men. I did collect Alpha Flight which was another group with some mutants in it and had a lot of interaction with Wolverine and the X-men.
>

I hauled out some of my old X-Men and Wolverine comics last night for the first time in I-don't-know-how-long, and browsed through them. The main thing I got out of it is: if they ever include Psylocke in a sequel to the movie, and she says, "I've manifested my psychic knife -- the focused totality of my telepathic powers", then I will shriek and pelt the screen with whatever snack items are close at hand.

I *hate* when super-types explain, at length, exactly how their powers work *every single time they go into battle*, and Psylocke was a particularly egregious offender in that regard.

Iss "the focused totality of cheesiness" achar