For example, take Warren Worthington III. Born in a very wealthy New York family, one day he discovered white wings sprouting from his shoulderblades. The confusion and the backlash led to severe trauma for young Warren, played by Ben Foster.

Heading to Professor Xavier's institute, Warren learned to control his mutant abilities and was given a characteristically uncreative codename, Angel. But there's a lot the youngster has to deal with, his comic history traversing both superhero and supervillain paths memorably.

It remains to be seen, of course, how much of this journey we have room for in Ratner's film.