X-Men

The X-Men are a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, the characters first appeared in The X-Men #1 (September 1963). They are among the most recognizable and successful intellectual properties of Marvel Comics, appearing in numerous books, television shows, films, and video games.

The X-Men are mutants, a subspecies of humans who are born with superhuman abilities. The X-Men fight for peace and equality between normal humans and mutants in a world where antimutant bigotry is fierce and widespread. They are led by Charles Xavier, also known as Professor X, a powerful mutant telepath who can control and read minds. Their archenemy is Magneto, a powerful mutant with the ability to generate and control magnetic fields. Professor X and Magneto have opposing views and philosophies regarding the relationship between mutants and humans. While Professor X works towards peace and understanding between mutants and humans, Magneto views humans as a threat and believes in taking an aggressive approach against them, though he has found himself working alongside the X-Men from time to time.

20th century

The 20th century was a century that began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000. It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium. It is distinct from the century known as the 1900s (sometimes written as 19XX), which began on January 1, 1900 and ended on December 31, 1999.

Dubbed the "short twentieth century", this century in human history was dominated by chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era: World War I and World War II, nationalism and decolonization, the Cold War and Post-Cold War conflicts, cultural homogenization through developments in transportation and communications technology, world population growth, awareness of environmental degradation, ecological extinction and the birth of the Digital Revolution. It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication and genetic modification of life.

Overview

The century had the first global-scale total wars between world powers across continents and oceans in World War I and World War II. Nationalism became a major political issue in the world in the 20th century, acknowledged in international law along with the right of nations to self-determination, official decolonization in the mid-century, and nationalist-influenced armed regional-conflicts.

Future Past

Future Past is the debut and only solo studio album to be released by former Blue singer, Duncan James.

Background

James' solo career began in October 2004, when he collaborated with singer-songwriter Keedie on the single "I Believe My Heart", which was a number-two hit on the UK Singles Chart. Shortly after, James began recording a solo album, with the help of producer Stephen Lipson, who had collaborated with the likes of Boyzone, Ronan Keating, Daniel Bedingfield and Will Young. The album was released on 12 June 2006, a week after the release of the lead single, "Sooner or Later", which only peaked at #35 on the UK Singles Chart. Upon the week of release, the album only peaked at #55 on the UK Albums Chart. In an attempt to boost sales, "Can't Stop A River" was released as the album's second single on 21 August 2006 but this charted even lower than "Sooner or Later", only peaking at #59 on the UK Singles Chart.

It was heavily speculated at the time that James would be dropped from the label, until January 2007, when the music video for the album's third single, "Amazed", premiered on music channels throughout Europe. However, once again, the single's release failed to gain interest from the media and fans alike, and the single's release was cancelled in the United Kingdom, becoming a German-only release. Overall, the album sold less than 15,000 copies in the United Kingdom, and less than 150,000 copies worldwide. However, it found success in Italy, peaking at #2 on the Italian Albums Chart, for sales of more than 80,000 copies.

Days of Future Past

"Days of Future Past" is a storyline in the Marvel Comics comic book The Uncanny X-Men issues #141–142, published in 1981. It deals with a dystopian future in which mutants are incarcerated in internment camps. An adult Kate Pryde transfers her mind into her younger self, the present-day Kitty Pryde, who brings the X-Men to prevent a fatal moment in history that triggers anti-mutant hysteria.

The storyline was produced during the franchise's rise to popularity under the writer/artist team of Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin. The dark future seen in the story has been revisited numerous times, and was adapted into the 2014 feature film X-Men: Days of Future Past. In 2001, fans voted the first issue of this storyline the 25th greatest Marvel comic.

The Official Handbook to the Marvel Universe: Alternate Universes 2005 gave the numerical designation for the original "Days of Future Past" timeline as Earth-811 in the Marvel Multiverse.

Plot

The storyline alternates between the present year of 1980 and the future year of 2013. In the future, Sentinels rule a dystopian United States, and mutants are hunted and placed in internment camps. Having conquered North America and hunted all mutants and other superhumans, the Sentinels are turning their attention to the rest of the world. On the eve of a feared nuclear holocaust, the few remaining X-Men send Kitty Pryde's mind backward through time, to possess the body of her younger self and to prevent a pivotal event in mutant–human history and the cause of these events: the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly by Mystique's newly reassembled Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse is an upcoming American superhero film based on the X-Men characters that appear in Marvel Comics. It is intended to be the sequel to 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past and the ninth installment in the X-Men film series. Directed by Bryan Singer, with a screenplay by Simon Kinberg from a story conceived by Singer, Kinberg, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the film features an ensemble cast starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn and Lucas Till. In X-Men: Apocalypse, ancient mutant Apocalypse awakens and plans to take over the world. The film was announced by Singer in December 2013 with Kinberg, Dougherty, and Harris attached to develop the story. Casting began in October 2014 while principal photography commenced in April 2015 in Montreal, Canada, and ended in August of the same year. X-Men: Apocalypse is scheduled for release on May 27, 2016, in North America in 3D and 2D.