# X2 questions answered by DVD viewing \[SPOILERS\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270 "2003-12-11T04:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/1 "2003-12-11T04:27:00Z")
About Jean Grey coming back as Phoenix: When Scotty and Logan lick their wounds in Xavier’s office, Xavier talks about choices. Kind of vague, right? Then, when the kids come in, Xavier gets this look in his eye and turns to the window. “Is everything alright?” a student asks. A slight smile forms on Picard’s face. “Yes. Yes, I think it is.” Then, the flyover of the lake clearly shows a Phoenix form underwater. Yes. X3 should be a Phoenix vehicle. As for the fire in the background of the scene where Kurt and Jean are linked in the Vulcan mind meld, it was indeed much higher. Any other Qs that you guys got answered by viewing the DVD? I wanted to link to our original 10 page+ movie thread, but search isn’t working for me tonight. Maybe someone else had it boomarked or easy to find? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/2 "2003-12-11T04:30:50Z")
As for my first point, I believe Xavier senses Phoenix rising. That’s why he smiled. Typed too fast, don’t you know… ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/3 "2003-12-11T04:37:14Z")
I still want to know where, after the Liberty Island incident, we are supposed to get the first clue that Jean’s power is increasing. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/4 "2003-12-11T04:40:08Z")
When she has bad dreams, the whole room shakes. Only been going on a couple of weeks. Scene in the museum thingy right before Pyro gets in trouble. First I saw it, anyways. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/5 "2003-12-11T07:31:16Z")
Pretty much that’s it in a nutshell. It’s Scott’s only real line of dialogue in the movie. (Other than the TreXno-babble coversation he has with Storm about getting the jet’s engines back online at the end of the flick.) ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/6 "2003-12-11T07:37:17Z")
Was [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181278) the thread you’re thinking of, mate? I seem to recall there were two or three active threads discussing the thing when it hit the theaters, but this is the only one I had bookmarked. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/7 "2003-12-11T14:19:16Z")
Yes, **Skeezix** , that is the one. Thanks. I’ll have to read it later, though. Darn work getting in the way of my posting… ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/8 "2003-12-12T09:22:40Z")
A random thought out of left field, so to speak. Scott says that line about Jean’s seeming different after Liberty Island, and the increase in her power, and so on. It just occurred to me, did Magneto’s machine do something to her? I know the original Phoenix storyline from the comics, but considering some of the liberties taken with the title for moviemaking purposes, the timing of this makes me wonder. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/9 "2003-12-12T13:42:48Z")
Bryan Singer has said there were signs of Jean’s power increase in the first movie at Liberty Island. Didn’t say if it were before or after the Mutant Ex Machina was activated. That’s what i was referring to…anyone know what Singer meant? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/10 "2003-12-12T19:32:13Z")
There is a shot of Jean shortly after Magneto’s machine is deactivated, possibly shortly before, in which she is clearly reacting to _something_. Since there is no significant external stimulus at that moment, I saw it immediately as Singer planting a seed for Phoenix. I may have a chance this afternoon to find the exact spot on the DVD. If so, I’ll get back to you. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/11 "2003-12-12T19:34:24Z")
After having seen the “deleted scenes” from the original, I’d have to say ole Bry is talking out of his ass. She only makes use of her abilities three times at Liberty Island, that I can recall, and none of them are great displays of power: 1. She grabs Toad in mid-air, then drops him when her concentration’s broken by his attack goober. 2. She grabs Scott’s visor, and aims it at Sabretooth while they’re trapped in the statue. 3. She “stablizes” Logan in Storm’s whirlwind, and not to any large extent that I could see. It looked to me as if Logan grabbing the machine on his way by was the only thing that kept him from flying right out to sea. Either Singer’s misremembering something from the first film (some bit of expositional dialogue he meant to insert, or that was removed from the film) or he _really_ meant for Jean to come across as useless, in regard to her mutant abilities. If the second case is true, he was a bit too subtle for me, ‘cause I missed it completely. And another bit o’ rambling: In the scene (in the first flick) outside the train station, when Magneto turns all of the cops’ weapons back on them, and he fires that single round from a pistol… I got the impression that it was Jean, not Magneto, that stopped the bullet, in the first draft of the script. Specifically, when Magneto says, “I don’t think I can stop them all,” and Xavier looks at Jean, who shakes her head “no” just the tiniest bit. It seemed like he should have been stating, “I don’t think **she** can stop them all,” to which Jean’s head shake meant, “No, I can’t.” It was the only scene I can recall offhand where Magneto doesn’t come across as completely dismissive of and condescending towards “normal humans.” Why would he _almost_ kill one of them, when a single dead cop would have been no big deal to his worldview? Especially considering his actions in the second movie, which Singer may or may not have plotted out at that point. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/12 "2003-12-12T19:53:13Z")
Okay, I just checked. Curiosity got the better of me, what can I say. This is from the 1.5 version, so I can’t swear the times are the same for the previous DVD, but the scene I was referring to runs for about 4 seconds beginning at 1:26:39. The machine has just been destroyed, and the scene cuts to inside the statue. In a shot of Jean with Scott in the background, Jean sort of shudders. It looks very much like she is flinching, reacting to the explosion, but the key is that Scott _does not_ react in this way. I think it is obvious that Singer wants to show that Jean is experiencing something that no one else is. ---
**Author:** ![knarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@knarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knarf)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/13 "2003-12-12T20:33:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Skeezix \* > In the scene (in the first flick) outside the train station, when Magneto turns all of the cops’ weapons back on them, and he fires that single round from a pistol… > > I got the impression that it was Jean, not Magneto, that stopped the bullet, in the first draft of the script. Specifically, when Magneto says, “I don’t think I can stop them all,” and Xavier looks at Jean, who shakes her head “no” just the tiniest bit. It seemed like he should have been stating, “I don’t think **she** can stop them all,” to which Jean’s head shake meant, “No, I can’t.”\*\* I’ll have to watch it again with that in mind, but it makes more sense. After all, why would Mageneto have trouble stopping a few dozen bullets? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/14 "2003-12-12T23:06:36Z")
If he’s shot or knocked unconscious or distracted somehow, the bullet keeps going. I got the impression he was using it as a deadman’s switch. When asked if she could stop the bullets should Magneto let them fly, Jean’s answer is apparently “No.” But I could be wrong. Something I learned from the DVD is that bunches of the Alkali Lake scenes in X-Men 2 were filmed in my favourite hiking spots in Kananaskis. I thought the place looked familiar, but I’ve never seen it in winter. It’s a very nice place. Peter Jackson could’ve used it for parts of Middle Earth had he wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/15 "2003-12-13T03:38:36Z")
Disk 2 of X2 has a gallery of X-Men x-rays, but they’re unlabled! Some are pretty clear as to who they are, but others… Some of the deleted scenes would’ve enhanced the story, imho. None of them are very long either. And the last thing done in the webcast seems to indicate a Phoenix story for X3. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/16 "2003-12-13T05:33:26Z")
Three things bugged me: Is there a sort of outline of Nightcrawler in the pit with the kids before he bamfs down there? I could almost swear I can see one, like he’s just standing back there waiting to step out. Does the blue folder that the X-Men give the Prez jump around before the Prof starts things up again? and what could have been in there that would change the President’s mind about mutants? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/17 "2003-12-13T06:06:43Z")
Yeah Sam, I saw that when I watched my dvd too. Had to back up some and check it out again. Alan Cumming is already down in the pit back in the darkness, waiting for his cue to step out among the kids…which he does the next time they cut to the pit again. The really could have colored him out in that part. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/18 "2003-12-13T06:37:23Z")
> [@](#): > > and what could have been in there that would change the President’s mind about mutants? Perhaps that the President is a mutant? 😉 Remember when all the humans were experiencing great pain, the Prez is laying back, but not in pain. Almost like he wanted the others to think he was feeling the same pain they were, but wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Skeezix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@Skeezix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skeezix)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/19 "2003-12-13T07:03:32Z")
That was mentioned in the previous thread as well, but I just can’t see it. Nobody outside of Alkali Lake knows what the hell’s going on when Xavier starts “killing the humans.” What possible mental leap would lead him to guess (if he were in fact a mutant) that something was causing great pain to ‘pure-strain humans’ as it were? And besides that, he’d have been writhing in pain all by himself a few minutes prior to that, when Xavier powered up Cerebro the first time. His office would have been jammed full of Secret Servicemen, medical folks, or at least a bunch of White House staff, during that scene. If nothing else, they’d have thought the President was having a heart attack, or somthing similar. I got the impression that the info in that folder was mostly to do with Stryker’s rogue operation, with the implied threat (in the President’s eyes) that Xavier would go public with it if his demands (yet to be made) weren’t met. Or maybe he figured the group of genetic freaks who just appeared in the Oval Office, including the guy who’d _just tried to assassinate him_ a few days prior, could only be there to make some demand or other. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2003, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x2-questions-answered-by-dvd-viewing-spoilers/218270/20 "2003-12-13T14:46:59Z")
I think the info that Stryker was behind the assasination attempt would’ve been quite an eye opener. Remember, in the other thread we pretty much established that the attempt was real. Only the pain/fear of the bullet in the arm caused the failure. Stryker meant to kill the President. Perhaps the Vice President has something to hide…?