Wait: So WHAT Is Mystique's Role in 'X-Men: Apocalypse'?!?

Fox released their final trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse! This trailer's a bit more unusual; it's heavy on exposition, teases that Wolverine plays a role in the film after all, but really has its focus on one character.

The trailer sets up the character of Mystique in a very different way. With Charles Xavier taken, it clearly falls to Mystique to lead the X-Men - and to mentor them. It even falls to her to give the motivational speeches!

It's an interesting character journey, perhaps most of all because it bears no relation whatsoever to the Mystique of the comics. In the comics, Mystique formed the second generation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Although she worked as a government agent for a while, she was never trusted in the way the trailer teases. She was forced to work as a member of X-Factor, and later briefly joined up with the X-Men but ultimately betrayed them in order to pursue her own agenda.

In the comics, it's worth noting that one of her most entertaining arcs is "Get Mystique", in which Cyclops sends Wolverine after her with instructions to kill her. She's viewed as that much of a threat.

But look at the trailer. Mystique actually seems to be the one who knows the most about Apocalypse; look at her words to Xavier:

"Just because we're not at war doesn't mean there's peace."

She's invited to lead the X-Men, and we're told that the students look up to her. From there, we're treated to a training montage in which she works with the new X-Men. Far from a hated enemy, Mystique has become a mentor to Cyclops. She's then on the front lines of the battle against Apocalypse, encouraging the X-Men to cut loose in their conflict with the Four Horsemen.

The reality is that fans of the X-Men comics have long complained about Jennifer Lawrence's prominence post-X-Men: First Class. That film established Mystique as a very different character to the one they know and love. Although X-Men: Days of Future Past was based on a story in which Mystique was a villain, she played a much more complex role in the film. It looks as though X-Men: Apocalypse completes Mystique's journey to becoming a hero, and moves her to the absolute centre of the story.

It's interesting to speculate about where Fox is going with this, though. According to the rumour mill, this may well be the last film to feature Mystique - the character may not survive Apocalypse. In which case, her death may be what pushes this band of X-Men to their heroic heights.

Comic book fans have long complained that the X-Men movies bear precious few similarities to the comic books that inspired them. Will Mystique prove the fans right? We'll have to wait and see...