Summary
One of theSupermanstars recounted their role in another superhero movie. They felt their new character was “undoing the wrongs” in their previous role.
Edi Gathegi plays Mister Terrific in James Gunn’s upcoming movie,Superman. However, he isn’t new to playing a notable comic book character because he once portrayed Darwin inX-Men: First Class(2011). Armando Muñoz, aka Darwin, is a mutant with seemingly invincible superpowers. He could adapt to any environment, making him indestructible. However, inFirst Class, he was immediately killed off by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). In an interview with Entertainment Weekly to promoteSuperman, Gathegi recounted his previous superhero role and compared it to his new character.
Gathegi was one of the few Black superhero characters when he portrayed Darwin. When he was killed off, many felt he deserved better storyline and the actor agreed. “I think it is just a case of bad representation and missed opportunity,” he told EW. According to him, the writers could have done something better for the character. He admitted that he wasn’t convinced Darwin died inX-Men: First Class. Gathegi said he thought Darwin would appear in the succeeding films because “the character doesn’t die.” However, to his dismay, Darwin’s fate onscreen differed from the comics, where he repeatedly returned to life. He added:
Every movie that came out and the character didn’t come back, it solidified that it was a misrepresentation and a missed opportunity.
He compared how Darwin was written with his role as Mister Terrific in Gunn’sSupermanand theDC Universe(DCU). According to theTwilightstar he is in a much better position. “This job is kind of undoing the wrongs of Darwin. I know that as it stands right now, this isn’t the only project that I’ll be in,” he explained. Speaking about his character, he described Mister Terrific as “one of the most philosophically compelling heroes in DC” because the character is “an atheist who believes in justice.” Mister Terrific,Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) are the members of the Justice Gang, a super-trio of metahumans. It makes sense to bring in more superheroes because the movie has multiple villains. Earlier this year, a Superman footage features Nicholas Hoult’sLex Luthor walking with two other comrades. Eagle-eyed fans believed his companions were Angela Spica, aka The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), and Ultraman. They were convinced it was Ultraman because he wore a dark color scheme costume with a prominent “U” sign on his chest.
There is no doubt that Gathegi’s character, Darwin, was underutilized inX-Men: First Class. Darwin’s reactive evolution, based on the source material, makes it nearly impossible to kill him. So, killing the character that easily in the film made no sense. Also, his body is so powerful that he adapts to his environment, making him likely to survive any situation. In the comics, Darwin survived alien worlds and even death itself. So, yes, Gathegi’s expectation that Darwin would appear in the subsequentX-Menfilms was reasonable. So, it was really disappointing that he didn’t.The movie fails to show off the character’s resiliencefrom the comics, where he survives fire, underwater pressure, and more. Darwin could have been among the most compelling and unique characters in the franchise. It’s great to know that Gathegi is happy with how Mister Terrific is written in the DCU. And it appears that fans will see more of him because he teased Mister Terrific’s appearances in more projects afterSuperman.
