Back in 2000, Bryan Singer brought the classic Marvel comic X-Men, to the big screen, and it was good. Never had a filmmaker successfully taken on the challenge of bringing a superhero team to the big screen. But with 2003’s X2: X-Men United, Singer proved what he could do with the characters and gave us, even in this post-Iron Man/The Dark Knight era of comic book films, what many fans consider to be one of the best comic book films of all-time.

But fans would ultimately be disappointed when it was announced that Singer wouldn’t be returning for a third film, opting to take the reigns on the long-delayed Superman reboot. And while X-Men: The Last Stand would prove even more successful at the box office than its predecessors, many considered it a step back creatively. For all the build-up towards the introduction of The Phoenix, the character ended up taking a back seat to Magneto and a handful of nameless mutant henchmen. The death of characters like Cyclops and Professor Xavier didn’t sit well with fans either. The X-Men Franchise would take another blow with the lackluster Wolverine spin-off. And Singer’s Superman Returns only aggravated the fanboy blues, turning out to be both critically and financially disappointing, and leaving Singer’s involvement in that franchise–in fact, the whole Superman franchise–in doubt.

Which brings us to the recent announcement of Bryan Singer directing the upcoming X-Men: First Class. Is this a reason for X fans to rejoice, or, with so many post-Singer comic movie franchises taking off and garnering massive critical and box office success, is it call for a resounding meh? Can Singer get the X franchise–and his own comic con credibility–back on track, or have we already witnessed the fall of the mutants?

» 1. Can Singer recapture the magic of the first two films?