The mutants are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Barring any unforeseen hiccups, the Disney and Fox merger is almost a done deal. But it wasn’t always in the cards. In the dark days of 2014, the relationship between Marvel and Fox was so bad that the comics actually retconned the origin of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. Suddenly, Magneto’s children weren’t his kids anymore, and their MCU counterparts were empowered by the Mind Stone instead of their mutant abilities. Now, a small but subtle change to the MCU’s Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver may hold the key to the X-Men‘s emergence. Today’s Nerdist News is diving into the genetic details!

Join host and mutant/Inhuman hybrid, Jessica Chobot, as she explores the relevant passage from The Official Marvel Cinematic Universe Dictionary. Screen Rant got their hands on an advance copy, and they noticed the book suggests the Mind Stone isn’t necessarily responsible for the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s powers. Instead, it floats the possibility that the Mind Stone merely unlocked the latent powers they already had.

Natural born superhumans have already been established in the MCU, although the films ignored the emergence of the Inhumans. But if the Infinity Stones can act as a trigger for the mutant gene, it could give Marvel a chance to set the stage for the X-Men’s emergence. Perhaps the final battle with Thanos in Avengers 4 will affect humanity and make mutants the dominant sub-species.

Of course, it’s possible the X-Men will be retconned into the MCU’s history as well. But this would be an intriguing origin for the mutants and it would go beyond the vague atomic origins of the species from the comics. Within the next few years, we’ll see how it all plays out on the big screen.

What do you think about the tweak of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s MCU origin? Let’s discuss in the comment section below!

Images: Marvel Studios