X-Men: Apocalypse (2016): Cast, Plot and Ending Explained

In X-Men: Apocalypse, En Sabah Nur gathers four Horsemen and nearly takes over Xavier's body, and he is stopped only when Jean Grey lets her full Phoenix power loose.

Erik Lehnsherr loses his wife and daughter in Poland when his powers are revealed, and that grief pushes him into joining Apocalypse as the fourth Horseman. Apocalypse then uses Cerebro to reach minds across the planet, and he tries to take over Xavier's body. The mansion is wrecked and Xavier is captured.

Colonel Stryker takes several young mutants prisoner, but Scott, Jean and Kurt Wagner break them out of his facility. They are helped by a brief encounter with the caged Weapon X, who is Wolverine in all but name. Xavier's former students then launch a rescue at Apocalypse's base in Cairo.

The finale runs on two fronts. Magneto tears the world's metal apart while Apocalypse prepares to move his mind into Xavier. Xavier fights him on the mental plane and keeps him busy long enough for Magneto and Storm to turn on their master. Jean then unleashes the full Phoenix, and Apocalypse is destroyed.

That is a lot of plot for 144 minutes, and it is easier to follow as three strands: the recruitment of the Horsemen, the school and its new students, and the Stryker prison break that leads to the Cairo fight.

The ending of X-Men: Apocalypse resets the board for a new team: Apocalypse is dead, Xavier and Moira are reconciled, and the school has a fresh generation of students to train.

After Jean destroys Apocalypse, Xavier restores Moira's memories of him, and the two reconcile. Erik helps rebuild the school but turns down an offer to stay as a teacher, and Peter keeps his link to Erik to himself for the moment. Hank and Raven train a new team made up of Scott, Jean, Ororo, Kurt and Peter, which sets up the future X-Men.

In my opinion, this is the most important beat in the film. The line up that gathers at the end features the younger versions of Scott, Jean and Ororo, who appear older in X-Men (2000). Erik walking away fits his character, and it is a reminder that he is never fully part of the school. His grief in Poland also echoes the opening of X-Men (2000), where a young Erik bends a metal gate at Auschwitz after being torn from his parents. Both films tie his powers to a family loss, and, as such, his turn to Apocalypse feels like a repeat of old pain rather than a new idea.

Why does Jean finish the fight? In my opinion, it is the film's clearest piece of planning. Magneto and Storm turn on their master, and Xavier holds Apocalypse on the mental plane, but it is Jean letting her full Phoenix power loose that destroys him. That sets up dark phoenix, where Simon Kinberg, a credited writer and producer here, directs a whole film about her.

The Weapon X sequence deserves a comparison too. Stryker, played here by Josh Helman as he was in x men days of future past, holds the caged mutant, and Hugh Jackman's uncredited appearance gives a nod to x men origins wolverine. It could be argued that the brief cameo does more for the series than the Cairo finale, since it connects the younger cast to the Wolverine story without a lengthy detour.

Is Apocalypse actually the first mutant? The film presents him as exactly that. What is his actual power? On screen he can move his mind into a new body, make other mutants stronger and use Cerebro to reach minds worldwide.

Why was it hated by some viewers? It could be argued that the film asks a lot of its ensemble, with 15 billed cast members and a villain who spends much of the story recruiting. Production context may help: the team built nearly 60 sets in Montreal, including a Cairo pyramid made from an old factory, according to Screen Global Production and The Irish News, so the spectacle was not cheap. That being said, the Quicksilver sequence, which ran about two minutes and took more than six weeks to shoot, and the Phoenix finale are the parts I would point a newcomer to.

Yes, X-Men: Apocalypse has one post credit scene, and it sets up Mister Sinister.

After the credits, Essex Corporation people take vials of blood from Weapon X's escape and place them in a briefcase marked with the Essex name. That is the link to Mister Sinister, and it ties back to the earlier Weapon X sequence in which Hugh Jackman appears uncredited.

The scene is short and gives no payoff within the film. The next main film in the saga is dark phoenix.