User:Tyler Summers/sandbox

Ultimate X-Men is an Canadian-American South African virtual-reality, superhero action-adventure, sci-fi fantasy, romantic teen drama Facebook webseries created by Terries Junior Nhlanhla Nkosi (aka TJ NKing) and his brother Sean-Christian as well as executively produced by them Kevin Williamson, Julie Plec, Caroline Dries, Terries Nkosi and Stan Lee. The show is an adaptation and is based on Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s The X-Men but also takes a great deal of its mythos from the PrimeMarvel Universe and secondarily with elements from the Ultimate Universe and House of M. It sees a world where anatomically modern homo sapiens (AMHS) have evolved into the next stage of human evolution officially labelled homo sapiens superior (or more prominently known as mutants), beings born with the latent “X-Gene” which gifts them diverse and unique powers and abilities. It portrays six young mutants under the tutelage of Charles Xavier (Jason Statham), a powerful telepath, as he guides them to achieve his dream: a world where mutants and humans can coexist in peace, to that end, they become the X-Men, a superhero squad dedicated to stopping mutant threats to humanity and mutants alike.

The series was officially picked up by The Facebook Channel on March 10, 2019 after TJ NKing pitched an idea to Mark Zuckerberg about revolutionizing virtual reality through free serial Facebook TV series which would have a bigger fanbase and viewing on Facebook than anywhere else (if said videos were made free). It then became the second official facebook webseries and the highest watched TV series of all time (second only to the Demigod Chronicles also by TJ NKing). The series debuted its first episode on June 20, 2020 with a two-hour long pilot that was viewed by over two hundred million people over a 72-hour period with views only escalating after the second episode aired.

After the universal acclaim of the first season of the series, it was renewed for a 25-episode second season on August 14, 2020 less than halfway through its first season.

Powers and Abilities
Daenerys Targaryen is, by mysterious means, gifted with unique and mysterious powers and abilities alluded to her Valyrian and Targaryen pureblood, but also implied to be a gift from the “true god” Rh’llor. Her abilities (specifically her most prominent power of pyro-immunity) were hinted to as early as the premier (her first POV chapter in the novels) of Game of Thrones when Daenerys stepped into a bath of scalding hot water but claimed it does not give her pain, but instead the heat of it ignites a sensation of cleanliness. In the TV series, Daenerys is fully immune to the effects of both pure fire and heat in general. She can physically withstand and is invulnerable to the heat of any hot object whether it be water, stone, or even metal, while fire itself does not appear to burn her at all.

This is in contrast to her novel counterpart, who appears to be immune only to extreme heat, while fire itself is described as actually burning and turning her skin black, making her blood boil and even singeing all her hair. Despite this, it is described as having the effect of rejuvenating, “cleansing” and restoring her essentially like a Phoenix “reborn”. Dragonflame and heat seems to affect Daenerys more hazardously, even giving her blisters, but the effects thereof do not last and she very soon begins to heal from even fire's effects.

The source of these abilities has been alluded to more than once source, including the divine intervention of Rh'llor the proclaimed “Lord of Light” (a god who is implied to be the only true god of the World of Ice and Fire), her dragonlord ancestry, or blood magic, but Daenerys herself has confirmed to Jorah Mormont that she believes she has magic powers inherently of her own. There is no proof to suggest that the Targaryens (or any Valyrians) were fireproof, in fact, several Targaryens died in flames, but Jaime Lannister has admitted he feared the Mad King’s belief that he was fireproof might’ve held some merit.

Drogon, Rhaegal, Viserion
The birth of Daenerys's three dragons is deeply shrouded in mystery and magic.

Daenerys's ancient Valyrian dragonlord ancestors were powerful in magic and controlled their dragons with binding spells and sorcery. In the novels, Daenerys uses this as justification for her aptitude with dragons.

Daenerys has been shown to be capable of harnessing and controlling magic, specifically blood magic, despite magic being supposedly mostly having disappeared with Old Valyria. She is also apparently capable of oneiric precognition. After being gifted the three dragon eggs by Magister Illyrio, Daenerys soon begins to intuitively (almost as a maternal instinct) incubate them, always keeping them near or on fire.

Furthermore, upon making a deal with Mirri Maz Duur for the life and health of her husband Khal Drogo, Daenerys dreams of her Valyrian ancestors while also seeing an omen of her son’s death, which coincides with his real-life death.

Daenerys learns the basics of blood magic from Maz Duur after she informed Daenerys that only “death can pay for life” and apparently used magic to trade Rhaego’s life for Drogo’s. Daenerys in return uses this knowledge to trade the lives of Drogo, Maz Duur and her child and hatches three dragons, inadvertently restoring all magic to the world after harnessing blood magic herself, naming the hatchlings Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. It is later revealed by her that, in addition to the blood magic, Daenerys had previously dreamt of the draconic resurgence as well as its circumstances. Her connection to magic and the dragons is so potent that upon hatching the dragons, magic – which had faded to near nonexistence throughout the world – was reborn everywhere. Daenerys’s magic potential could be inherited from her mostly pure Valyrian ancestry, as the dragonlords of Old Valyria were known to be exceptionally powerful in sorcery. Their connection to magic is said to have been a major benefit to their relationship with dragons.

While the dragons are increasingly magical, their power is strongest in the presence of Daenerys herself, implying that she may be the beacon the dragons – and by extension the world’s maegi – channel their magic from. After the last dragon died, winters grew longer, summers shorter and magic less and less potent.

The dragons share a mysterious empathic connection to Daenerys, who considers herself their “mother”. The Warlocks of the House of the Undying claim that without her love and regularly being in her presence, the dragons will eventually die out, their magic gone with them, and they therefore kidnap Daenerys to keep the dragons – and therefore magic – alive. The dragons which the former Targaryen dynasty kept regularly in chains and away from human contact grew weak, small and eventually died out,  therefore if the dragons are kept away from the human they are bonded to – Daenerys – they will eventually grow ill and die. For this reason, even after being given full freedom, Drogon always returns to and intuitively knows how to find Daenerys, even if she is in places foreign to him.

Dragonflame can overpower and erase magic spells cast against them and Daenerys if properly focused by their "mother".

Through unknown means (perhaps her connection with Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion), Daenerys possesses a degree of pyrokinesis, which she uses to direct and enhance the flames which kill a gathering of khals, her control being so precise that she caused the flames to burn on barren ground and even leap toward one of the khals with the force of dragonflame.

Daenerys is also the only one able to command the dragons to breathe fire with the High Valyrian word “dracarys”, which she trains them to understand. While initially she was only able to give them mild verbal commands and required chains to keep Rhaegal and Viserion at bay, Daenerys’s control is now such that she is now able to instruct, summon, dismiss and wake her “children” mentally. She is even able to instruct one to ride with her while the other two (or one) remain behind.

While a dragon can only bond with a single dragonlord during said rider’s lifespan, it is unknown if a dragonrider is capable of connecting to, and riding multiple dragons, but it may not be as Dany has only ever been shown riding Drogon, although she is able to command all three, who have all only ever bonded to her in the TV series. Daenerys’s dragons – like all dragons before them will not allow anyone to ride them in her absence and will only allow others aboard them if she is also on their backs. Her emotional connection to the dragons is so deep that when Drogon physically wounded, she could feel his pain, and they in turn can sense hers even if they are not in the same geographic location. Daenerys slips into a state of mild depression after the death of Viserion In addition to Daenerys, the dragons appear to care for one another as well. After being impaled by the Night King, Rhaegal cries out and attempts to catch his brother as he tumbles to his death.

Controversy
The dynamics of Daenerys’s fire immunity ability seems to differ from the novels in the TV series. In the TV series, although never fully described or communicated, Daenerys’s hair and body do not burn when her whole body is engulfed in flame, but in the novels, her hair is singed off and her body is restored.

According to George R. R. Martin, her first resurgence from the flames at the end of A Game of Thrones was a unique and “wonderous miracle” and probably would not happen again. In the TV series, her immunity to heat and flame is never isolated to a single miraculous incident and has sparked a public debate as to whether or not Daenerys is truly flame-immune or not.

Premise
The series follows the theory of anatomically modern humans – homo sapiens sapiens – who have began to evolve to the next phase of human evolution: homo superior, more commonly known as mutants. These beings are characterized by a unique gene called the X-Gene which allows them to exhibit uncanny powers and abilities or physical characteristics which usually come unique to all those who receive them. Five young people discover they are mutants before subsequently being found by Charles Xavier (Jason Statham), a mutant and powerful telepath, who raises and mobilizes them to become a team of teenage superheroes called the X-Men (for their X-Gene as well as Xavier) primarily against other mutant threats, specifically a mutant terrorist named Magneto (Joe Manganiello / David Gandy) who possesses vast magnetic abilities. The X-Men are made up of Scott Summers (Matt Kabus), Bobby Drake (Cody A. Christian), Ororo Munroe (Kat Graham), Warren Worthington III (Alex Pettyfer / Lucas Till / Ashley Parker Angel) and Hank McCoy (Don Benjamin / Dean Geyer / Kellan Lutz) who take the codenames Cyclops (whose powers are emitted optically as a powerful laser that has been stated to potentially break through mountains), Iceboy (has the power to manipulate and create moisture and turn it to snow and ice for a variety of effects), Ororo (the most powerful X-Man aside from Charles who has extremely strong atmokinetic abilities that allow her to control and manipulate weather and temperature as well as various natural phenomena and later takes the codename Storm), Guardian Angel (who has large angel-like white wings that grant him flight and nigh perfect balance and possesses an exceptionally lean but very light body, he later simply goes by “Angel”) and Beast (whose five senses are highly augmented as well as near impossible beyond-gymnast flexibility and equal physical strength). On their first mission against Magneto, he beats them almost effortlessly but lets them live to tell the tale and also because they are mutants, but the ordeal leaves them demoralized. Another student of Charles Xavier, Jean Grey (Taylor Hill) is trained separately from the rest of the X-Men due to the instability of her telekinetic powers. Initially, she refuses to join the X-Men, frightened of being in a team where she might hurt her peers, but after Magneto attacks a UN summit and she sees Magneto defeat the X-Men again, she decides to go to the scene herself and manages to singlehandedly overpower Magneto with her telekinetic prowess, although this renders her unconscious and she is left temporarily unable to use her powers, but this tips the balance in the favour of the X-Men and they beat Magneto, who escapes and starts the Brotherhood of Mutants to counter the X-Men throughout the rest of the first season. Throughout the first series, Jean forms a bond with each of the X-Men and becomes the target of Bobby, Warren and Hank’s affections. Scott finds this annoying, but it is eventually revealed that he actually has had feelings for Jean since he saw her defeat Magneto, but he maintains this secret as he only tells Hank. Jean and Ororo are in almost constant rivalry of strength and value in the team and eventually find themselves becoming best friends. The Brotherhood of Mutants, consisting of Scarlet Witch (Gigi Hadid), Quicksilver (Michael Fjordbak), Astra, Blob, Toad and Mastermind, use their powers and abilities for seemingly petty thefts but it becomes evident that these crimes are staged in an effort for Magneto to see if his pupils are worthy adversaries of the X-Men. Eventually, after defeating the Brotherhood several times, it was discovered that Magneto was actually using the stolen goods to build Asteroid M, his very own satellite from which he plans to augment his already immense powers and abilities to turn Earth’s magnets upside down and kill all life on earth he deems unworthy leaving only the strongest to start over humanity under his own family. Upon learning this, Mastermind leaves the Brotherhood and warns the X-Men before disappearing. The X-Men meet and fight several other mutant threats throughout the series, including St. John Allerdyce (a mutant who struggles to control his pyrokinetic energy which is coupled with the ability to control and inspire passionate sexual emotions), Irene Adler (Destiny) who is a highly influential woman who sees the future and can control probability and helps the Brotherhood from time to time and is also a former friend of Charles Xavier, Raven Darkhölme (Mystique) who is very wealthy and manipulative, possessing the ability to shape-shift, Nathan Essex (Mister Sinister) Scott’s former foster father and the cause of his guarded demeanour, and several other formidable foes and allies, including Fantastic Four and Avengers members. Ultimately, as Magneto begins to destroy the world, the X-Men finally defeat him and destroy Asteroid M with the help of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who leave the Brotherhood after learning Magneto was their father all along. At the end of the first season, Nathaniel Essex (Scott’s former foster father) meets with Romulus and Rita Wayword, and mysteriously discusses how Magnus has been levelled and has left behind a power gap for them to take over.

Cast and characters
The show has a large main and recurring cast that appears throughout the first and second seasons. Most of them are divided into groups.

The Ultimate X-Men

 * Jason Statham as Charles Xavier / Professor X:
 * A very powerful mutant telepath who assembles, teaches and trains the X-Men to control their powers in hopes of one day living in a world where both mutants and humans live in harmony at his campus.


 * --- portrays a young Xavier in flashbacks.
 * Matt Kabus as Scott Summers / Cyclops:
 * The aloof leader and first official member of the X-Men who keeps his feelings hidden behind his optic glasses. Scott possesses the ability to shoot and emit powerful optic blasts channelled from energy through his optic nerves. His body is in constant absorption of energy and is always expelling the red lasery power from his eyes, only contained by the ruby quartz glasses he is constantly wearing as to not destroy the environment around him. Charles Xavier theorizes that Scott’s power is nearly limitless and could possibly light two continents for two years before failing. Scott is a very good strategist but fails to put his guard down to actually have solid relationships with the X-Men. This changes when he meets Jean Grey, and he gradually becomes a close friend to all of them.

Cyclops rivals Brotherhood Member Block.
 * Cody A. Christian as Bobby Drake / Iceboy:
 * A fourteen-year-old boy and the youngest of the X-Men. When he was ten, Bobby awakened his cryokinesis, the ability to slow down the molecular motion of moisture to create subzero temperatures and ice. Ever since being separated from his family, Bobby can't seem to create actual ice and makes snow instead, prompting his friends to insist he be called Iceboy or “Snowman” instead of his chosen “Iceman”. Despite being the second X-Man and being with him for about two years, Bobby didn’t get along with Scott since Scott insists not to make friends because of his dangerous mutation. Bobby understands this and becomes closer to Ororo. When Jean Grey joins the team, Bobby is immediately enamoured with her and pins for her affections despite their three-year age difference. He serves as the comic relief of the team but strives to be taken seriously and eventually learns to create actual ice when Scott opens up to him and helps him let go of his former life. His brother, Ronnie, is also a powerful hydrokinetic mutant who accepts his brother’s status.

Iceboy is the rival of Brotherhood Member Quicksilver.
 * Kat Graham as Princess Ororo Munroe / Storm:
 * An African, Kenyan Queen who possesses great naturopathic and atmokinetic powers allowing her to control and manipulate the weather and natural phenomena and energies. She is the most powerful of the X-Men and can also fly. After her parents died in a mysterious storm while flying in a helicopter, Ororo’s powers were activated and she spent her life as a pick-pocket in Cairo. She messed with some powerful drug dealers and was smuggled to America in vengeance where she was found and liberated by Charles Xavier, who erased the memories of the dealers and accepted her despite her flaws. Ororo joins the X-Men and has an unrequited crush on Scott until she meets and falls for Warren Worthington, the next X-Men, who is a womanizer. Ororo is claustrophobic.

Storm is the rival of the Brotherhood member Astra.
 * Alex Pettyfer / Lucas Till / Ashley Parker Angel as Warren Worthington III / Guardian Angel / Angel:
 * A billionaire heir and playboy, who was a hero before he joined the X-Men. He has angelic wings that grant him flight and nigh perfect balance. He has great stamina and his body tolerates very little fat, is very light but very lean, all owed to his X-Gene physiology. His parents are absentees and this drives him to want attention wherever he can get it, especially from beautiful girls. Upon meeting Jean Grey, he immediately falls for her and pursues her romantically, but only does so as a conquest. He is baffled by her rejection of him as he is used to getting his way for his wealth and good-looks. He eventually falls in love with Ororo and Jean Grey, who briefly compete for his affections.


 * Don Benjamin / Kellan Lutz / Dean Geyer as Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy / Beast:
 * A very brilliant young man, Hank’s X-Gene gave him a high level of intelligence from birth. During puberty, Hank McCoy's powers give him primal abilities, making him very nimble, agile and flexible but also very strong and highly muscular and large. Though being a very large young man generally, Hank has large feet and hands even by his standards. These appendages are highly flexible and can bend at impossible levels almost like primates, only better. Hank's senses are also highly accurate, able to acutely discern the different smells of people and objects, see at long distances and dark rooms, concentrate on different sounds even in a club, taste the most faint amounts and diverse ingredients and feel both emotionally and physically at a more advanced level than that of normal people. His X-Gene gives him much higher levels of hormones and testosterone levels, which gives him highly instable emotions that he keeps stable with his intelligence. Hank is the only one who, despite his immense possibly higher level of sexual attraction to both Ororo and Jean, strives to be their friend instead of romantically.


 * Henry’s rival in the Brotherhood is Toad.
 * Taylor Hill as Jean Grey / Marvel Girl:
 * The first unofficial student of Charles Xavier but the last official original X-Man. Jean, unlike most other mutants, was born with immensely powerful psychokinetic abilities that far exceeded those of Charles himself. In addition to telepathy, Jean had great empathic abilities that allow her to reconcile a thought with the emotion behind to determine its integrity. Initially, she only possessed the two abilities until her friend, Annie Richardson, was killed in a hit-and-run accident. This greatly fractured Jean’s mind and emotions, awakening her latent telekinetic abilities but apparently permanently recess her telepathic and empathic powers. Left with potentially strong telekinetic powers, Charles Xavier privately tutored the brilliant Jean in the use of her powers and she eventually joins the X-Men after she singlehandedly defeats Magneto. It slowly becomes evident that Jean’s powers are more than they seem when they grow throughout the series and she becomes instrumental in most of the team’s dilemmas. She is a peacemaker among her teammates, but rivals Ororo as the only other female in the team for male attention and power control. Jean’s brother Liam is also a telepath.

The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants

 * David Gandy / Joe Manganiello as Max Eisenhardt / Erik “Magnus” Lehnsherr:
 * Gigi Hadid as Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch:
 * Michael Fjordbak as Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver:
 * Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkhölme / Lady Mystique:
 * A centuries-old mutant metamorph with shape-shifting abilities. She is also seemingly immune to aging, disease and illness and possesses an inhumanely strong healing factor. Raven claims to have been alive for centuries despite her ageless appearance and was friends with Charles and Erik in their youth. She joins the Brotherhood as she knows humanity is incapable of change or accepting her as many have rejected her for her true, blue, monster-like appearance. She has invested and gained much wealth during her lifetime, but it is not used for the betterment of humankind like Charles and she instead uses it to support Magneto after he enhances her powers.