Omar Sy’s Bishop Was The X-Men Franchise’s Most Wasted Character

While the X-Men movie franchise misused a few of the classic characters from the comics, Omar Sy’s Bishop was the most wasted. There had been numerous attempts to bring the X-Men to the big screen before the 2000 movie, with filmmakers such as Paul W.S. Anderson and Kathryn Bigelow in discussions to direct at different stages. Comic book movies were still seen as a risky prospect during this era, so X-Men was given a relatively modest budget for a blockbuster. This caution proved unwarranted and the success of X-Men would not only launch a long-running series, but it also helped kick off a new wave of comic book adaptations.

The quality of the franchise would vary greatly over the years, with entries like Logan and X-Men: First Class considered highlights, while X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine typically rank the worst. X-Men: Dark Phoenix marked the end of the Fox era of the superhero team following the merger with Disney, though spinoff The New Mutants is set for release in 2020.

The X-Men comics have a rich, sprawling cast of characters, but even over the course of thirteen entries, the movie franchise didn’t have time to give them their due. Characters like Cyclops, Havoc, Angel, and Jubilee paled in comparison to their comic counterparts, but arguably the most wasted was Omar Sy’s Bishop from X-Men: Days Of Future Past. In the comics, Bishop is a mutant who travels back in time from a bleak, Sentinel controlled future and ends up joining the X-Men, hoping to avert the disaster that caused his timeline.

Bishop’s powers involve being able to absorb large amounts of energy and directing it back on an attacker. After making his X-Men comic debut, Bishop later made a memorable guest appearance on the animated series from the 1990s. Bishop is a fan favorite from the comics and has featured in several great storylines, including “Messiah Complex,” but like many characters before him, he was left underserved by his sole movie appearance. Omar Sy played Bishop in X-Men: Days Of Future Past, where he’s joined the X-Men in a world where Sentinels hunt and kill all remaining mutants.

Omar Sy’s Bishop has the power of absorbing energy just like the comics and in the X-Men: Days Of Future Past opening, his consciousness is sent back in time a few days to prevent a devastating Sentinel attack. While this is a nod to Bishop’s role in the comic, the character is sidelined for the remainder of the story. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is sent back in time to 1973 instead, while Bishop and the other mutants help defend their sanctuary against attack. In the end, they are discovered and the X-Men are slaughtered, with Bishop being overloaded with energy blasts until he explodes. Thankfully, Wolverine’s time-traveling adventure wipes this timeline from existence, though Bishop’s ultimate fate is unknown.

While Omar Sy made for a charismatic take on Bishop, the character was given little to do. Given the movie’s large ensemble, it’s not a surprise he was pushed aside to focus on more recognizable characters, but X-Men: Days Of Future Past totally wasted the potential of Omar Sy’s Bishop.

About The Author

Padraig Cotter
(3484 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.

A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.

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He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.

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