Fox’s new series, The Gifted, is set in the X-Men universe, but it’s not immune to the weird continuity issues the franchise always deals with. The show follows everyday Mutants rather than heroes, focusing specifically on a suburban family on the run with their two mutant kids, with only a few big name Mutants like Blink and Polaris making appearances. But, X-Men fans can’t help but wonder: Will the most popular Mutant of all, the Best at What He Does, make an appearance in The Gifted?
Was Wolverine in the Ninth Episode of The Gifted?
No.
Was Wolverine Mentioned in the Ninth Episode of The Gifted?
No.
Were the X-Men Mentioned in the Ninth Episode of The Gifted?
Yes, but briefly and vaguely, as seems to be the case for The Gifted. Early in the episode, when the Strucker kids are talking about their grandpa and great-aunts powers, and the power they share with their ancestors, the mention that Andreas and Andrea von Strucker were part of the Hellfire Club. Described as a terrorist organization, the Hellfire Club should sound familiar to fans of the X-Men comics, or to anyone who remembers X-Men: First Class. In that movie, which was set in the early ‘60s, Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw was the leader of the group, commanding mutants like Azazel and Emma Frost.
“I think they disappeared fleeing from the X-Men,” one of the Struckers says.
It’s possible that the von Stuckers were part of the Hellfire Club from the movies, and we just never heard about them, but it’s more likely that the continuity really just doesn’t matter, and The Gifted is it’s own thing. For what it’s worth, Fox almost made a Hellfire Club series, which would have followed a special agent in the ‘60s tasked with tracking a woman with mutant powers. The network shelved that idea and made The Gifted instead, but at least the Hellfire Club got a shout out.
As far as other X-Men shout outs go, there weren’t a ton, though Episode 9 did include some bits that made a new fan theory seem increasingly probable. Some fans suspect that Esme, the telepathic mutant the gang met last episode, is one member of a group of five identical sisters known as the Stepford Cuckoos. Along with Esme, the fivesome’s ranks include Celeste, Mindee, Phoebe, and Sophie, though Esme and Sophie die in the comics, leaving just a trio behind. In The Gifted, Esme really wanted to rescue her mutant family. Is it her four telepathic sisters, perhaps?
Maybe we’ll find out next week, and maybe we’ll catch a glimpse of Wolverine.
Previously on Inverse’s The Gifted Wolverine Watch:
Tune in next week for Inverse’s The Gifted Wolverine Watch.
