# X-Men: Days of Future Past (spoilers included) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2014, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079 "2014-05-23T11:12:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/241 "2014-07-08T15:10:02Z")
Young Xavier better be bald in the next one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with hair in any other story. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/242 "2014-07-08T15:59:54Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > He has a point. In the context of the movie, their powers are explained: genetic mutation. But the super fast Pong has no explanation. It is not affected by Quicksilver’s speed, Wolverine’s claws or X’s mind. I was being facetious. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/243 "2014-07-08T17:13:04Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > Reevaluate the beach scene. Lehnsherr was protecting himself and unintentionally deflected a bullet into Charles. After, he cradled him and apologized. So? He was protecting himself from someone who was trying to _stop him from exterminating humanity._ He may have apologized for the bullet (fat lot of good that does Charles), but he was pretty unrepentant about the attempted genocide, which is _kind of a bigger deal._ > [@](#): > > Yes, but killing someone who is trying to kill you is still “defense.” Not if you’ve already disarmed them - which Magneto had. At the point he sent the missiles back at the ships, the ships were unable to harm him at all. And, of course, Magneto wasn’t just trying to defend himself, he was trying to trigger a nuclear holocaust that would wipe out humanity. However strong his justifications for attacking the ships might have been, they do not apply to the billions of people who would have died as a result. > [@](#): > > Incidentally, Charles never blames Erik for crippling him, at least not on camera. Not even a hint. Maybe it was because the cure (developed by Beast) rid him of his mind powers, which he very much abhorred. People do have feelings without announcing them out loud. Admittedly, that’s kind of rare in comic books. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/244 "2014-07-09T01:33:56Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Seriously though, there were no microprocessors involved in the original Pong machine, and the fastest prototype chip he could steal was probably an 8-bit 4004 microprocessor from Intel. The max speed on one of those was a blisteringly fast 750khz and there is no way he could have sped up the machine to be able to play at his “super speed.” It just wasn’t possible. What’s he listening to when he races around while the bullets are hanging in mid-air? How sped-up would the music have to be for him to hear, oh, _two_ whole notes? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/245 "2014-07-09T02:29:15Z")
I don’t recall hearing music during that scene to be honest. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/246 "2014-07-09T04:35:26Z")
I think _If I Could Save Time in a Bottle_ was playing. Of course even if the rendition could be sped up to play out in the literal microsecond that passed during that scene, the sound couldn’t travel from his headphones to his inner ears. Consider the bullets, travelling at or about the speed of sound, barely move at all. Still an awesome bit, though. Best in the movie, I figure. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/247 "2014-07-09T07:57:55Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I think _If I Could Save Time in a Bottle_ was playing. Of course even if the rendition could be sped up to play out in the literal microsecond that passed during that scene, the sound couldn’t travel from his headphones to his inner ears. Consider the bullets, travelling at or about the speed of sound, barely move at all. > > Still an awesome bit, though. Best in the movie, I figure. _Time in a Bottle_ was indeed playing, but we don’t know it was necessarily the song Quicksilver was listening to. The song could have been non-diagetic, explaining why it was playing at normal speed. [QUOTE=Miller] So? [/QUOTE] My whole point has been that this last interaction between the two, before the early X-Men movies and DoFP, regardless of Magneto’s actions or motivations, in no way represented their hatred for each other depicted in those movies, and no explanation was given for the radical change. Not a huge deal, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/248 "2014-07-09T10:17:02Z")
> [@Mince](#): > > _Time in a Bottle_ was indeed playing, but we don’t know it was necessarily the song Quicksilver was listening to. What song _could_ he listen to, in the time it takes a bullet to _not_ get from Point A to Point B in the same room? Just how sped-up would that playback have to be? ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/249 "2014-07-09T12:47:29Z")
I know that whenever MacArthur Park is played, time seems to drag 😉 ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/250 "2014-07-09T15:43:21Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What song _could_ he listen to, in the time it takes a bullet to _not_ get from Point A to Point B in the same room? Just how sped-up would that playback have to be? We don’t know the range of effect Quicksilver’s power has. Presumably it’s essentially magic, so he can make whatever he wants (and has contact with?) come with him in his fast timestream. Certainly his clothes appear to do so, then why not his music player. Side thought. I suddenly wondered if they have personal music players in the 70s like that. Turns out, [asked and answered](http://www.tested.com/art/movies/461631-x-men-tale-portable-tape/). After thinking of the sequence with Quicksilver, I keep thinking, “can we have a movie with that guy instead?” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/251 "2014-07-09T17:19:26Z")
> [@emarkp](#): > > We don’t know the range of effect Quicksilver’s power has. Presumably it’s essentially magic, so he can make whatever he wants (and has contact with?) come with him in his fast timestream. Certainly his clothes appear to do so, then why not his music player. So what’s the problem with Pong? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/252 "2014-07-09T17:22:43Z")
Well, **emarkp** ’s suggestion doesn’t go with what we see in the movie, does it? For example, as soon as he touches the bullets they are then in the “fast timestream” - which is definitely not the case as they do not move any faster when he touches them than when he isn’t touching them. ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/253 "2014-07-10T03:26:31Z")
I said “anything he wants” and maybe he needs to be touching it. That’s a good case for the pong machine working that way (though not the electricity powering it from the wall). He doesn’t want the bullets to speed up, though once he touches them, their momentum is screwed up and I would expect them to gain momentum from his push just like the finger taps on the cheek. Meh. A great sequence, with some internal consistency. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/254 "2014-07-10T03:44:18Z")
> [@emarkp](#): > > We don’t know the range of effect Quicksilver’s power has. Presumably it’s essentially magic, so he can make whatever he wants (and has contact with?) come with him in his fast timestream. Certainly his clothes appear to do so, then why not his music player. _In the comics_, Quicksilver’s powers don’t work like that. He basically just has muscles capable of moving really fast (and other related physical abilities like faster reflexes and enhanced endurance). At least, that was the traditional explanation - wikipedia claims his powers were at some point claimed to be time-based, but I never read that story. In contrast, DC Comics’ the Flash is able to put something more like a bubble of speed around himself. But of course, movie Quicksilver’s powers might work differently. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/255 "2014-07-10T13:09:12Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > I don’t recall hearing music during that scene to be honest. > [@Mince](#): > > _Time in a Bottle_ was indeed playing, but we don’t know it was necessarily the song Quicksilver was listening to. The song could have been non-diagetic, explaining why it was playing at normal speed. He’s listening to _something_ on his stereo. How? > [@](#): > > My whole point has been that this last interaction between the two, before the early X-Men movies and DoFP, regardless of Magneto’s actions or motivations, in no way represented their hatred for each other depicted in those movies, and no explanation was given for the radical change. Not a huge deal, I guess. It set the tide rolling for later events we don’t see but continue the consistent themes of Xavier trying to live peacefully with mutants and normals while Magneto wants to conquer. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/256 "2014-07-10T20:56:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What song _could_ he listen to, in the time it takes a bullet to _not_ get from Point A to Point B in the same room? Just how sped-up would that playback have to be? [QUOTE=Irishman] He’s listening to something on his stereo. How? [/QUOTE] Certainly, Quicksilver was aware of how his music player performed while he traveled at superhuman speeds, and certainly he would not have put his headphones on in the kitchen scene to listen to a song while doing his task if he knew he wouldn’t even _start_ to hear that song before the task was finished. I must conclude, then, that some property of his mutant ability affects technology. [QUOTE=Superdude] I was being facetious. [/QUOTE] I think everyone’s being pretty much tongue-in-cheek here. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/257 "2014-07-10T21:04:19Z")
> [@tim314](#): > > … wikipedia claims his powers were at some point claimed to be time-based, but I never read that story. That was after he (and most other mutants) lost his powers from M-Day. He got replacement powers from terrigenesis (how the Inhumans get their powers), which allowed him to jump forward in time for brief periods. He no longer has those powers, and got his old mutant powers restored, so no more time-powers. ---
**Author:** ![Mince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecd19e/32.png) [@Mince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mince)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/258 "2014-07-10T21:47:55Z")
And apparently Quicksilver can affect climate as well. Something moving that fast would generate a lot of wind, and we don’t see that. Well, you can’t see wind, but you can see its effects, are there are none that I could see. I think the likeliest answer is that the producers never gave much consideration to the physical and scientific effects of Quicksilver’s ability; except that one time when he held Magneto’s head and Magneto felt disorientation in the elevator. A related note: How can you save time in a bottle? ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/259 "2014-07-10T22:05:00Z")
> [@emarkp](#): > > We don’t know the range of effect Quicksilver’s power has. Presumably it’s essentially magic, so he can make whatever he wants (and has contact with?) come with him in his fast timestream. Certainly his clothes appear to do so, then why not his music player. > > Side thought. I suddenly wondered if they have personal music players in the 70s like that. Turns out, [asked and answered](http://www.tested.com/art/movies/461631-x-men-tale-portable-tape/). Thanks for the link! That was an intersting read. > [@emarkp](#): > > After thinking of the sequence with Quicksilver, I keep thinking, “can we have a movie with that guy instead?” Yes please and Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2014, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079/260 "2014-07-11T22:08:00Z")
Didn’t you stay for the credits? There was an entire Quicksilver movie between Best Boy and Key Grip. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-days-of-future-past-spoilers-included/689079.md?page=14)