Despite appearing in three of the movies the X-Men prequels completely wasted Lucas Till’s Havoc. It’s hard to imagine now but Fox didn’t have much faith in the original X-Men movie back in 2000. It was given a relatively modest budget for a blockbuster but due to a great cast - including a star-making turn by Hugh Jackman - and a solid script, the movie would launch a long-running franchise.

The series appeared to be in trouble following the lukewarm reaction to both X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Matthew Vaughn’s 1960s set prequel X-Men: First Class put the franchise back on the map. The quality and tone of the individual movies have varied wildly, from the lows of X-Men Origins to the fun meta humor of Deadpool. This long-running saga is set to come to a close after nearly 20 years with X-Men: Dark Pheonix, which pits Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) against the rest of the team, and spinoff New Mutants.

The X-Men series is famous for its ensemble cast, with the movies typically having to juggle a large number of comic characters. This balancing act can prove tricky, with fan favorites like Jubilee and Gambit often having little to do in their respective entries despite their popularity in the comics. The same applies to Alex Summers, aka Havok, in the X-Men prequels, who was played by Lucas Till. Alex is the older brother of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, in the movies, though he was the younger brother in the comic series.

While the actual X-Men team assembled in First Class aren’t nearly as interesting as Magneto or Professor X, Havoc was the standout among them. A loner with some intense anger management issues, he eventually learns to - quite literally - channel that energy into a superpower. First Class lay the groundwork for Havoc to become a much bigger part of the team, but follow-up X-Men: Days Of Future Class became a joint prequel/sequel with a large cast of characters. This led to Havoc having only one scene, where Mystique rescues him and other mutants from becoming test subjects for Bolivar Trask.

Thankfully, X-Men: Apocalypse gave Lucas Till a little more to do, with Havoc bringing his brother Scott to the X-Mansion after his powers emerge. Scott’s anger reflects that of the younger Alex, who tries to help his younger brother come to terms with his new abilities. Unfortunately, Havoc is later killed when Apocalypse attacks the mansion, where his attempt to blast the villain results in an explosion that destroys the mansion instead. Quicksilver arrives in time to rescue everyone else, but Havoc was too close to the blast to save.

It’s something of anti-climatic ending for a character who held a lot of potential. Lucas Till would later realize his leading man potential in MacGyver, and he brought a lot of charisma to Alex Summers despite his limited screentime. In the comics, Havok’s energy blasts are much more powerful than his movie counterpart and he’s even led the X-Men themselves into battle. The X-Men prequels had bigger names like Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and many others to serve, so Lucas Till’s take on Havoc was sadly underserved throughout this trilogy of movies. Maybe the upcoming introduction of the characters into the MCU will give Havoc more of a chance to shine.

Next: How Dark Phoenix’s Marketing Has Changed Since The Disney Deal

  • X-Men: Dark Phoenix Release Date: 2019-06-07 New Mutants Release Date: 2020-08-28