Imagine this: You live a normal life. You go to school, you have friends and family. You feel like you belong, until one day. The day that you realize you have the mutant gene and therefore have unique abilities. You are a mutant. This is the fictional  reality lived daily by Marvel’s X-Men, a team of powerful mutants who, under the tutelage of Professor Charles Xavier, learned to use their powers for good. The X-Men will hit the big screen once again on May 27th for their latest endeavor in X-Men: Apocalypse.

X-Men: Apocalypse, is the sequel to 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and features many former characters. It follows the story of Apocalypse, an immortal who was the world’s first mutant and worshipped as a god for centuries. Apocalypse is the most powerful mutant, with a variety of abilities. However, upon awaking from thousands of years of slumber, Apocalypse is unsatisfied with humanity and plans to wipe humans off the face of the earth. That’s where the X-Men come in. Led by Professor X and Raven, the team steps up to face Apocalypse and his servants; the Four Horsemen.

There are lots of similarities between superhero movies , as well as tons of symbolism. Generally, Superheroes manage to settle their differences and unite just in time to stop the overconfident villain and save the people. The magnitude of the threat and the stakes vary from film to film, but recurring situations include the leveling of cities and the extinction or subjugation of the human race. In this film, there are lots of references to religion. The Four Horsemen for example, are seen in the highly symbolic apocalyptic book of Revelation, the last book of the bible. In the film, Magneto, Storm, Angel and Psylocke embody War, Famine,  Pestilence, and Death respectively. An apocalypse by definition means an event with major destruction and mayhem, such as the end of the world. The villain Apocalypse is very intriguing, as the film depicts him as this being who from ancient times was worshipped as a god, implying that all past civilizations had mislead beliefs. It has been revealed that whenever a civilization strays from its path of evolution, Apocalypse destroys it. I found this sentiment very similar to Ultron from Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the villain feels the need for the human race to evolve…or face extinction.

In short, this film will no doubt feature tons of mind-boggling action and an intense story. It will be interesting to see how the X-Men battle against a superior Mutant. Will they succeed in saving the world once more, or will they be destroyed? Witness the apocalyptic battle when X-Men: Apocalypse opens in cinemas on May 27th!