TheX-Menare easily the greatest mutant superhero team in the Marvel Universe, but they certainly aren’t the only ones. Sure, there are offshoot mutant teams like X-Factor, X-Force, and even the X-Statix, but there are alsoX-Men-affiliated teamsfrom entirely different planets. And one of them keeps getting ignored by the movies for no good reason:Cadre K.
InMaximum Security: Dangerous Planet#1 by Kurt Busiek and Jerry Ordway, X-Men fans were introduced to “Cadre K,” a superhero team of mutant Skrulls. Like humans, Skrulls also have genetic mutations. Rather than calling it the X Gene, however, theirs is the K Gene, which is where the team name ‘Cadre K’ comes from.
Unfortunately, Cadre K has not seen a lot of love in the comics. Professor X founded Cadre K to extend the reach of his mutant superhero team across the cosmos. Still, the result was anoffshoot X-Men organizationthat has received little to no love from Marvel, both in the movies and the comics, which is completely unfounded.
X-Men’s CADRE K Has Way More Potential Than Marvel Knows
Cadre K is Shamefully Underutilized in Marvel Comics and Movies
Cadre K is a team of mutant Skrulls, all with unique powers just like the original X-Men. How is that not something fans would be interested in? Sure, offshoot/spinoff teams usually don’t do very well, but Cadre K is different enough from the classic X-Men while still having strong ties to the legacy team that it would be a slam dunk if only Marvel would realize the team’s potential.
Some of the powers boasted by the team members of Cadre K include reducing or increasing size (like Ant-Man), elongating their body (like Mr. Fantastic), wall-crawling (like Spider-Man), healing factor (like Wolverine), energy absorption (like Blob), and telepathy (like Jean Grey).
Not to mention, every member of Cadre K has the shapeshifting ability inherent to all Skrulls. Cadre K could be a top-tier X-Team, if only Marvel gave them the time of day.
The MCU Has The Perfect Way to Introduce Cadre K
Skrulls are Already a Major Part of the MCU
The MCU has made major strides to establish the Skrullsin its cinematic universe. FromCaptain MarveltoSecret Invasion, and many projects in between, Skrulls have been central figures in the MCU. So, why wouldn’t the MCU introduce Cadre K?
The idea of mutants on Earth has already made it into the MCU withDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessandDeadpool & Wolverine, so bridging that with the well-established Skrulls should be a piece of cake.
All-in-all, there’s no reason why Marvel movies shouldn’t have introduced Cadre K by now. The team has major storytelling potential, exciting connections with the X-Men, and the groundwork for the team’s introduction in the MCU has already been laid.
In other words, thisX-Menteam keeps getting ignored by the movies for no good reason.
