With the exception of Dark Phoenix, X-Men: The Last Stand (X3) is generally considered the worst core X-Men film. After the success of X2: X-Men United, X3 was set to raise the bar as the first film to directly adapt a famous comic narrative, The Dark Phoenix Saga. Sadly, it left many fans furiously disappointed.

Related: The Last Stand: 15 Reasons Why X-Men 3 Didn't Suck

While X3 butchered the Dark Phoenix story, the film was one of the truest to the comics. Some of these comic elements are momentary crowd-pleasers, others changed the X-Men cinematic universe forever. Here are 10 ways X-Men: The Last Stand was true to the comics.

10 KITTY PRYDE BECOMES AN X-MAN

In the original trilogy, Shadowcat was portrayed by three different actresses, with the first two appearing in brief cameos. In both X-Men and X2, Kitty quickly phased through objects in blink-and-you’ll-miss-her moments, never to be seen again. That all changed when Ellen Page was cast in X3. Whether planned or coincidental, Kitty’s new role as a featured X-Man in the film—coinciding with Cyclops’ departure—echoed the events of Uncanny X-Men #138. In this issue, Kitty arrived at Xavier’s school to join the X-Men just as the Dark Phoenix Saga wrapped up and Cyclops quit the team after Jean’s death.

9 PHOENIX AND XAVIER HAVE A PSYCHIC BATTLE

Professor X faces off against Jean Grey in X-Men: The Last Stand

In keeping with the comic book narrative, X3 saw Jean returned to her family’s home where she struggled between her humanity and the Phoenix’s increasingly destructive impulses. Xavier tried to reason with her, but Jean began losing control. When confronted by Xavier about Scott’s murder, the Phoenix completely took over, and a psychic duel began between the two. Things diverge here. In the source material, Xavier gained the upper hand in the duel and created new psychic barriers, reducing Jean’s power and allowing her normal personality to reassert control. However in X3, Phoenix prevailed, telekinetically overwhelming Xavier and killing him.

Related: The X-Jean: 20 Things About Jean Grey (And The Phoenix) That Only True X-Men Fans Know

8 STORM TAKES FLIGHT

In the comic books, Storm flies around frequently and with ease. Halle Berry’s Storm couldn’t say the same prior to X3. The moment Ororo Munroe first flew across the Danger Room in the opening sequence, fans were impressed. When she took to the skies outside the Grey residence, everyone went wild. After all this time, Storm was finally doing something that came so naturally to her comic book counterpart. Her use of flight to bust up Magneto’s brotherhood, along with an electrifying, airborne entrance during the Alcatraz battle, brought her much closer to being the real Storm.

7 ICEMAN TURNS TO ICE

As with other mutants in the prior films, it felt like Iceman’s abilities were stunted. It was frustrating to see Bobby in a live-action film doing just a few ice-themed tricks. Those who read the comics know Iceman was almost always in ice-form. Since his mutation kicked, ice was essentially his natural state. With that in mind, it made for great fan service when Iceman actually became an ice-man when facing off with Pyro in The Last Stand. After 6 years, X3 did the character justice worthy of his comic book origins.

Related: The Way Icy It: 20 Things About Iceman That Only The Realest X-Men Fans Know

6 STORM BECOMES THE X-MEN'S LEADER

Storm’s rise as leader of the X-Men first occurred in 1980’s Uncanny X-Men #139 when she took over during Scott’s post-Dark Phoenix absence. The Last Stand more or less used the same story. In the film, Xavier told Storm he thought that, with Cyclops changed by Jean’s death, she would become leader someday. That day came quickly, as Scott was killed off almost immediately and Storm took over, leading the X-Men into battle while also overseeing the future of the Xavier Institute.

5 BEAST IS ON THE TEAM

For X-Men comic fans, it was bizarre that the first two films overlooked Hank McCoy, aka Beast. Hank was a founding X-Men member and is a core character in the comics. Prior to X3, however, that would have appeared cinematically untrue. Originally, Beast was slated for the first film, but he became a budget cut. It was later hoped that he would debut in X2, which he sort of did in a small cameo. It wasn’t until Kelsey Grammer was cast in X3 that fans got the Beast they deserved and one that was faithful to the comics.

Related: X-Men: Unproduced Beast Solo Movie Details, Revealed

4 THE DANGER ROOM IS ACTIVATED

The Danger Room holds a sacred place in X-Men comic lore and is essentially itself a character. Yet, it wasn’t seen in the films until X3. Much like Beast, budget concerns kept it from becoming a reality in previous X-Men movies. The closest fans got was a brief scene in X2 where a room labeled “Danger” can be seen. Early on in X3, fans finally get to see the X-Men use the Danger Room during a training simulation that harkens back to the Days of Future Past comic. Though it was only used in one scene, it paid off.

3 SENTINELS APPEAR

It seems almost impossible that fans got through two X-Men films without a Sentinel-induced conflict. After all, Bolivar Trask’s deadly creations are one of the X-Men’s most notorious and persistent enemies in the comics. As with other comic elements like the Danger Room, there were plans to introduce the giant, mutant-hunting robots earlier. A draft idea for X-Men involved Sentinels attacking the team. Sentinels were planned for X2, but they were reduced to a “Project Wideawake” folder on Stryker’s desktop. Although the Sentinel scene in X3 was brief, it was wonderfully comic book-accurate and introduced them into film canon.

Related: eXpected Results: The 20 Wildest X-Men Fan Theories That Were Actually Right

2 COLOSSUS SERVES UP A FASTBALL SPECIAL

Tying in with the aforementioned Danger Room simulation, fans watching X3 were gifted with another treat right out of the comics: the Colossus/Wolverine fastball special. An iconic fight move in the comics, the fastball special first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #94. In that issue, just like in X3, Colossus threw Wolverine during a Danger Room training session. When executing a fastball special, Colossus takes Wolverine and launches him forward, just like a fastball in baseball. The move was used again in the film during the Alcatraz battle, where Wolverine was thrown at Magneto to distract him from Beast.

1 DR. MOIRA MACTAGGERT PLAYS A ROLE

Dr. Moira MacTaggert is a well-known X-Men comics character and, after this week’s House of X #2, one of the most pivotal. Since 1975, she’s been an ally to the X-Men, involved in the Phoenix narrative, and romantically linked to Charles Xavier. In X3, MacTaggert finally made her film debut as Xavier’s remote colleague. She later appeared at Xavier’s funeral, hinting at their longtime friendship. Despite her small role in the film, MacTaggert’s presence nicely tied the cinematic world to the comics. She also helped provide a great ending to the original trilogy as she heard Xavier’s voice.

Next: Dark Phoenix Is Better Than X-Men: The Last Stand (If Only Barely)