X-Men: First Class

X-Men: First Class, released in 2011, is a superhero film directed by Matthew Vaughn and written by Jane Goldman and Ashley Edward Miller. It adapts Marvel Comics characters while functioning as a prequel to the original X-Men films. Set largely in 1962, the story begins with Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr before either man has become Professor X or Magneto. Xavier is a telepathic Oxford graduate who studies mutation; Erik is a Holocaust survivor hunting former Nazi scientist Sebastian Shaw. Their separate quests bring them together when the CIA recruits Xavier to investigate Shaw and his Hellfire Club network.

Shaw's plan is to provoke nuclear war between the United States and Soviet Union, believing that the resulting radiation will accelerate human mutation and let mutants inherit Earth. He is aided by Emma Frost, a telepathic and diamond-skinned mutant played by January Jones, plus agents Azazel and Riptide. Xavier and Erik assemble a young team from the CIA's Division X, including Hank McCoy, who later becomes Beast; Raven Darkholme, later Mystique; Alex Summers, known as Havok; Sean Cassidy, known as Banshee; and Armando Muñoz, called Darwin. The film introduces recruits through their abilities and their insecurities.

Training takes place at an abandoned facility where Xavier teaches the group to control powers and work cooperatively. Erik initially distrusts Xavier's optimism, but their friendship becomes the emotional center of the film. Their conflict sharpens during the Cuban Missile Crisis, when Shaw attempts to use a Soviet submarine to trigger confrontation. Erik kills Shaw after discovering that Shaw caused the deaths of his mother during the Holocaust, yet Xavier stops him from executing Shaw's broader plan by taking the villain's helmet. This act also prevents Shaw from controlling Xavier telepathically. At climax, young mutants confront Shaw's allies near Cuba.

The resolution establishes the identities and divisions that define later X-Men continuity. Erik takes Shaw's helmet and begins a new life as Magneto, while Xavier is paralyzed by a bullet fired by Moira MacTaggert, a CIA agent who worked with the team. Raven chooses Erik's side, and the remaining recruits become the first X-Men. Xavier adopts a wheelchair and starts using the name Professor X, with the film explaining why he and Magneto eventually lead opposing mutant factions. James McAvoy plays Xavier and Michael Fassbender plays Erik, while Jennifer Lawrence portrays Raven and Nicholas Hoult plays Hank. A sequel followed.