WARNING: The following contains for X-Men #21 by Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta, Russell Dauterman, Lucas Werneck, Sara Pichelli, Frank Martin, Matthew Wilson, Sunny Gho, Nolan Woodard & VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
The Hellfire Gala has been one of the most high-profile events of the current era of X-Men stories. International dignitaries, superheroes, enemies and some real-world celebrities have been seen throughout the comic book crossover event, enjoying the festivities and witnessing the expansive reach of mutant culture on the mutant nation Krakoa.
While X-Men #21 is built around the debut of a new X-Men team, one celebrity cameo is given particular prominence though, when Cyclops runs into Marvel Studios President and Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige and gives him a condensed version of the X-Men's history that sounds like a movie pitch.
During the height of the festivities, Cyclops ends up at the bar, trying to help people get some drinks from the Multiple Man, the self-duplicating mutant who is a one-man catering company for the event. One of the people Cyclops gives a drink to turns out to be Kevin Feige, who cuts an instantly recognizable profile from his distinct baseball cap. Feige thanks Cyclops for the drink, and asks him, "What's your story?" Cyclops briefly explains his history with Xavier, effectively pitching the MCU mastermind a story that casts him as Xavier's star student, who comes to terms with his mentor and leader being no more perfect than he is himself, before finding the joy in becoming a "dreamer" himself and trying to help make the world a better place.
Even amongst the odd touches of the Hellfire Gala, the Feige cameo is perhaps the most noteworthy. As one of the chief figures behind the mega-successful Marvel Cinematic Universe and a history working on Marvel movies that goes back to 2000's X-Men, Feige's cameo is, in theory, similar to how Stan Lee would frequently appear in the MCU films and other Marvel properties. While it's still fairly uncommon for real-world Marvel figures to have serious interactions with Marvel characters, it's not entirely unprecedented. As early as 1963's Fantastic Four #10, Lee and Jack Kirby appeared as fictionalized versions of themselves in the Marvel Universe. More recently, writer Gerry Duggan was killed by Deadpool at the end of his run writer the character and Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire trying to film a Spider-Man-inspired film in the Ultimate Universe.
But given Feige's roles, Cyclops' monologue almost comes across as a pitch for the emotional arc of an X-Men movie.
While this scene marks Feige's debut as a character within the Marvel Universe, this whole scene is an oddly personal revelation from the usually-reserved Cyclops to a man who he's nominally never met before. In the context of who Feige is, Cyclops' monologue comes across as a pitch of the X-Men's long journey that frames it around his (and only his) experience about learning of the potential of himself and others. If Feige is just a visitor on the island and no one of specific importance, then it's a surprisingly personal conversation that Cyclops just dumped on him.
However, there's also a question of what exactly is Feige doing at the event. While the X-Men and many other heroes are celebrity figures or pop culture icons within the Marvel Universe, it's unlikely that there's an MCU within it. However, Feige's presence at the Hellfire Gala suggests that he's still an important enough figure that he was invited to one of the world's premier social events.
While this cameo is likely just a sweet-natured shout-out to someone who's helped cement Marvel as a pop culture juggernaut on the big screen, Feige's presence raises several questions, especially considering the largely unknown plans for the X-Men's inevitable MCU debut.