X-Men: First Class Character Bios

Full of intriguing little spoilery snippets of plot info and background titbits

Charles Xavier: The young Oxford graduate, a powerful telepath who can read and control minds, had long wondered if there were others out there like him. When Charles finally meets some fellow mutants, he recruits them and harnesses their unique abilities to try and stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.

Magneto: As a young man, Lehnsherr discovered, under horrific circumstances, his power to control magnetism. Now, he is determined to exact revenge on the monstrous evil who “created” him. Erik and Charles form a fast and fateful friendship, which is tested in a battle upon which rests the fate of mankind.

Mystique: A close friend to Charles Xavier, Raven is a metamorph or shape-shifter who can assume the form of any humanoid creature she chooses. The mutant teen works hard to lead a “normal” life and hide her gifts, but the battle between Xavier’s mutants and Shaw’s forces leads her on a different path.

Beast: Hank is a brilliant scientist with only a few mutant features until a serum unexpectedly unlocks the superhuman Beast within.

Darwin: Through “reactive evolution”, Darwin can adapt to any situation or environment. Plunged underwater, he grows gills; in the dead of night, he gains night vision.

Banshee: Banshee’s unique sonic blasts carry him into flight. Like other young mutants, Banshee’s powers reach their full potential only under Charles Xavier’s patient tutelage, and in a battle that will have global consequences.

Azazel: A demonic figure, Azazel can teleport by opening a portal into another dimension. He is a key player in Sebastian Shaw’s plans to make sure that mutants inherit the planet.

Riptide: Never far from the side of his leader, Sebastian Shaw, Riptide creates powerful whirlwinds that can demolish buildings and challenge even the most powerful mutants.

Havoc: Alex can emit concentric rings of super-heated energy waves, causing his targets to burst into flame. The handsome, athletic mutant has difficulty with his impressive powers, until Charles Xavier teaches him how to harness them.

Angel Salvadore: Angel, The beautiful ex-dancer possesses a stunning tattoo of insect-like wings, which become actual wings growing from her back, giving her the gift of flight. Her arsenal is a deadly acid, which she projectile vomits in combat.

The Man In Black: The Man in Black, as his mysterious moniker suggests, works for a covert government agency whose mission is to guard, and when appropriate, exploit our most explosive secrets. He enlists the assistance of mutant s– and finds himself at the vortex of a battle that will determine the fate of humankind.

Moira MacTaggert: A female CIA agent in the 1960s – a time when female operatives were very few in number. After Moira becomes among the first humans to witness the powers of mutants, she tracks down Charles Xavier, who helps Moira convince her superiors of the existence of mutants and the notion of working with them for the greater good.

Sebastian Shaw: Shaw, a force of incalculable evil, was a Nazi collaborator whose early research forever altered the life of a young Erik Lensherr. Shaw can absorb energy and re-channel it, and he will stop at nothing to start a war to ensure that mutants inherit the earth.

Emma Frost: Emma, a platinum haired beauty and close ally of Sebastian Shaw, is a telepath who possess a diamond-like skin that is indestructible. Like Charles Xavier, she can project her thoughts and will into another's mind.

Dave is a TV and film journalist who specializes in the science fiction and fantasy genres. He's written books about film posters and post-apocalypses, alongside writing for SFX Magazine for many years.