Gay Men....Um, I mean X-Men: Apocalypse

Gay people are divided into the two basic camps: two camps.  

There are two basic camps in the mutant community:

1. Separatists: The straights will always think of us as a threat, so don't associate with them.  Embrace your difference!  Live in your own neighborhood!  Have your own clubs and churches, have only gay friends, read only gay literature, and say "Being gay is who I am."  Loudly, every chance you get.

2. Assimilationists.  If only they got to know us, the straights would discover that we're not a threat.  Minimize your difference!  Live among them, join their clubs and churches, have only straight friends, read straight literature, and don't mention being gay.  If you are outed, tell them, "Being gay is only a small part of who I am."

We've had many Assimilationist-Separatist battles in the gay world, too, starting right at Stonewall, with the Mattachine Society (keep quiet!  don't make waves!) vs the Gay Liberation Front (be loud and proud!), and most recently, same-sex marriage: "We have our own ways to express love and commitment, and they're much better than yours" vs. "Please, please let us get married!  We want to be just like you, because you're so much better than us!"

X Men Assimilationists/Separatists:

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies about the X-Men, mutants with superpowers, the Assimilationist camp is led by Dr. Xavier (James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Harry Lloyd, David Kaye, and many others).  He runs a school for mutants on his vast estate,where they learn to control and hide their differences so they can teach "normal" society that "we're not a threat.  We're just like you."  

A Separatist leader arises, the Big Bad of the episode (played by Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, Michael Fassbinder, and many others).  He gathers a group of followers, and engages in a big, flamboyant stunt to let the "straights" know that they're not going to be victimized anymore. Embrace your difference!  If you have purple hair, have purple hair.  If you can fly, then fly!  Be loud and proud!

 The Mutant Liberation Movement goes terribly wrong: the straights hate them more than ever.

After a few changes in loyalty and second-guesses, there's a gigantic battle between the Assimilationist and Separatist groups.  The Assimilationists win.

There's a rather disturbing moral there.  

But this is actually a review of X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).

This time around, Assimilationist Dr. Xavier is played by James McAvoy, and the Big Bad Separatist is En Sabah Nur (Oscar Sabah, left).  He's a mutant with godlike powers who ruled Egypt in 3600 BC (I won't go into the historical inaccuracies).  Trapped in his pyramid for 5000 years, he emerges in 1983 to gather some followers and restore the Mutants to their rightful place in the food chain.

It's a different Separatist-Assimilationist line-up from the last X-Men movie, so there are several trumped-up stories to explain why characters have changed sides, but it boils down to:

En Sabah Nur's Separatist Crew
1. Magneto, the Big Bad of the last episode (Michael Fassbender)
2. Psylocke (Olivia Munn)
3. Angel (Ben Hardy, top photo)
4. Storm (Alexandra Shipp)

Dr. Xavier's Assimilationist Crew
1. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence)
2. Beast (Nicholas Hoult)
3. Quicksilver (Evan Peters, below)
4. Cyclops (Tye Sheridan)
5. Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee)

I might have missed some.  Frankly, I found it hard to keep track of the changing alliances, the character reboots, the shifting backstories (and forward stories, since some installments take place later).

Cyclops has an origin-story subplot in which his eyes start giving off laser beams, effectively making him blind.  Enrolled at the school by his big brother Havok (Lucas Till), he gets goggles made of "ruby quartz" which allow him to control his powers.  Unfortunately, he also starts a romance with the Girl Who Thinks He's Arrogant.

Heterosexist tripe!

I was mostly in it for the beefcake, the 1980s references (very few), and the queer vibe that Quicksilver gives.  He can move so fast that bullets seem to be standing still.

As he gleefully saves all of the residents of the school (and a dog, some goldfish, and a pizza) from an explosion, he expresses disgust at a boy and a girl about to kiss, but rather likes a boy preening in front of a mirror.

Otherwise for gay subtexts you have to go with metaphor.  Everybody here is heterosexual.