Nowadays, everyone is talking about which one of their favoriteX-Mencharacters will appear in which MCU projects, but they seem to have forgotten all aboutThe Gifted. Fans lost their collective minds when Professor X (Patrick Stewart) showed up inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Various trailers had hinted at his upcoming cameo, and it was all but confirmed even before his final reveal as part of the Illuminati on Earth-838.Deadpool 3marks the introduction of Wolverine into the MCU. More importantly,Ms. Marvel is officially the first mutantof the MCU.
The possibilities for all the ways the X-Men can finally enter the MCU are endless – even more so when considering the multiverse. Yet, there’s been no mention of any characters fromThe Gifted. The TV series has sparked no mainstream conversation speculating over how technically Lorna Dane/Polaris (Emma Dumont) is paternally related to Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Very little consideration has been given to how conflict within the series might impact other mutants. Similar toAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D., it’s almost likeThe Giftednever happened at all despite several plot points, cameos, and concepts relevant to the larger canon.
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What isThe Giftedabout?
The Giftedis set in a version of theX-Menuniverse in which the government is targeting mutants and the iconic team has been wiped out. District Attorney Reed Strucker (Stephen Moyer) helps put mutants away until he realizes his children have powers. With the fight now much more personal, Strucker and his family go on the run from ex-coworkers like Jace Turner (Coby Bell). They’re taken in by rebel mutants fighting back against their oppressors. Strucker is confronted with the sins of his past when he finds himself surrounded by some of the very people he hurt. Meanwhile, the rebellion begins to fracture along with the ideals of their leaders Polaris and Marcos Diaz/Eclipse (Sean Teale).
Polaris wants mutants to fight back with the same violence being used against them. Eclipse believes they should take a more peaceful approach. Muchlike Professor X and Magneto, their ideals eventually create two different factions. The larger conflict comes to a head as both groups get closer to figuring out what exactly led to the total destruction of the X-Men. Unfortunately, though,The Giftedonly ran for two seasons and viewers never saw any of the main plots resolved. What’s worse, with no further reference to the series in other projects, viewers will never get the answers they seek from the TV series.
How didThe Giftedconnect to otherX-Menlore?
Despite the emphasis put on showcasing unfamiliar characters,The Giftedtried its hardest to tie itself to well-knownX-Menlore. Polaris was the daughter of Magneto, technically making her the sister of Scarlet Witch. The violent disappearance of the X-Men was at the center of most of the conflict. The anti-mutant sentiments had already been established in the movies which pulled from the wide array of comic books. However, some of the lore connections struck a sour note for some viewers. The Strucker family inThe Giftedwere bystanders in an anti-mutant world, with Reed having been the most active in causing harm.
The Strucker family in the comic series had Nazi ties and were White supremacists. Yikes! Turns out change can sometimes be a good thing, like the MCU creating acanon connection between Scarlet Witch and Magneto. Then, of course, there were the bigger similarities like having different types of mutants. Some – like Clarice Fong/Blink (Jamie Chung) – had massive amounts of power, while others – like John Proudstar/Thunderbird (Blair Redford) – weren’t as strong in their abilities. The content of the TV series might’ve kept fans captivated, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to save it from the chopping block.
WasThe Giftedcanceled?
On Jul 11, 2025, Fox announced thatThe Giftedhad been canceled after two seasons and twenty-nine episodes. It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. While the TV series wasn’t exactly working withaDeadpool-sized budget, the network poured quite a bit of money into it for special effects alone. Enough viewers tuned in from week to week and for good reason. The TV series showed that it was paying attention to viewer criticism of acting and storytelling. Where Season 1 has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 79%, Season 2 has a score of 83%.
On the flip side,The New Mutantsonly has 36% even though fans loved Magik (Anya Taylor-Joy) so much they want her tocome back for a better project. All things considered,The Giftedwasn’t the worst thing to happen to theX-Menfranchise. Following the Strucker family proved to be a smart move since the fantastical nature of the TV series might’ve otherwise left viewers disconnected. However, it also wasn’t the best thing to happen either. It’s been four years sinceThe Giftedwas pulled from the air and it seems like the stories and characters it presented have been left in the dust.
For all its lofty aspirations,The Gifteddidn’t do really anything in the long run. None of the characters were memorable enough to make a lasting impression beyond its dedicated fanbase. The stories might’ve been connected to the greaterX-Menlore, but that wasn’t enough to make the TV series truly compelling to a wider audience. It’s no wonder thatThe Giftedhas largely been left behind as bigger X-Men characters step into the exciting world of the MCU.
Who wants to talk about the Strucker family when they could speculate onwho’s making a majorDeadpoolcameo? Why worry about an unfinished storyline when bigger ones are on the way to connect the Avengers with the X-Men? The people who worked onThe Gifteddeserve their flowers. More importantly, they deserve fair pay, updated contracts, and to not be deemed less valuable than AI. It might not be theX-MenTV series that everyone remembers, but it’s the one that showed up and that’s got to count for something.
