Throughout Fox’s X-Men films, the adventures of the X-Men have taken them all over the world, into space, and even backward in time. However, few locations have been truly prominent in a franchise that spanned 13 films over 20 years. The most popular setting is undoubtedly Professor Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, but Alkali Lake was at the center of some of the X-Men’s most consequential events.
The fictional Alkali Lake and military base near Alberta, Canada was first mentioned by Xavier in the original X-Men movie when he helped Logan toward rediscovering his past. Alkali Lake was one of the primary settings in the sequel X2: X-Men United, where the Dark Phoenix Saga began. It was also prominently featured as a key setting in X-Men: The Last Stand and in two of the prequel films, earning a reputable standing in X-Men cinematic lore.
10 Logan Participates In The Weapon X Project
One of the most ubiquitous X-Men film franchise plots was Logan’s experience with the Weapon X Project at Alkali Lake. After accepting an offer from William Stryker in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Logan goes to Alkali Lake where the Weapon X team grafts adamantium to his entire skeleton.
Upon hearing that Stryker was going to erase his memory so as to weaponize him, Logan breaks free and takes out most of Stryker’s team while escaping the facility. Eventually, Logan does lose his memory and returns to Alkali Lake in X2: X-Men United while searching for his past. When exploring the Alkali base later in X2, he discovers that other mutants were experimented on there, including Lady Deathstrike.
9 The Beginning Of Mutant Extinction
In Logan, Alkali Lake seems like a distant memory – that is until eagle-eyed viewers noticed references in the film to “Alkali-Transigen.” This seemed like a fun Easter egg until Dr. Zander Rice confronted Logan and fans learned that an old event at Alkali Lake led to the mutant decimation of 2029.
While escaping from the Weapon X Project’s Alkali Lake facility, Wolverine left a massive body count, as seen in X-Men: Apocalypse. One of those bodies was Rice’s father. In response to his father’s murder, Rice went on to create genetically engineered crops, which eventually ended mutant births. He also began creating a mutant army that included Logan’s clone, X-23, one of the reasons why Logan should’ve been the last X-Men movie.
8 Jean Grey Frees Logan
In the revised timeline events of X-Men: Apocalypse, perhaps one of the worst movies in the franchise, teenage Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler meet a crazed Wolverine for the first time at Alkali Lake. While trying to hide from William Stryker’s soldiers and save the other X-Men, Jean senses Logan’s anger and uses her telekinesis to release him.
Logan, traumatized and suffering amnesia from the Weapon X procedure that bonded adamantium to his skeleton, goes on a killing spree. Before he can turn on the teenagers, Jean uses her abilities to calm Logan down and partially restores his memories. He then escapes the compound, running off into the Canadian wilderness.
7 Mystique Learns More About Magneto
In X-Men: Apocalypse while Jean, Scott, and Kurt are running around with Wolverine, several other X-Men are being held by Stryker in a containment cell at Alkali Lake. With nothing to do but wait, Quicksilver starts asking Mystique questions about Magneto. It was previously teased in X-Men: Days of Future Past that a father-son relationship existed between the two in the cinematic universe.
Here, Quicksilver tells a shocked Mystique that Magneto is his father. This certainly added to the drama and could have been the key to stopping Erik. However, the “Magneto is my father” plot was seemingly quickly abandoned. Peter never tells Erik, but Mystique does share the gossip off-screen with the newly recruited Storm.
6 The Creation Of Dark Cerebro
While breaking into Stryker’s office in X2, Mystique stumbled upon plans for Dark Cerebro, the mutant-killing machine Stryker was building at Alkali Lake. Stryker drugged the imprisoned Magneto to get information about the machine, which he then stole the parts for when he raided the X-Mansion. Abducting and brainwashing Charles Xavier was the final piece of the plan. Holding Xavier hostage at the Alkali Lake base, Stryker was able to control him through his mutant son, Jason Stryker.
Under Jason’s influence, Xavier focused on all the world’s mutants, slowly psychically killing them. Magneto intervened, but then he tried to use Xavier and Dark Cerebro to kill all humans. Once the focus was on humans, Nightcrawler and Storm stopped Jason and Xavier before anyone was killed.
5 The X-Men Team Up With Magneto
Alkali Lake not only made its debut in 2003’s X2: X-Men United, but it was the setting for much of the film’s events, including an unusual team-up. In a narrative based on Chris Claremont’s famous story God Loves, Man Kills, Charles Xavier’s X-Men find themselves teaming up with Magneto and Mystique to stop a shared enemy, William Stryker.
Stryker not only sought to wipe out all mutants, but he also had several of Xavier’s students, Xavier himself, and Cyclops captive at Alkali Lake. After saving the X-Men from crashing in the X-Jet, Magneto shared his knowledge about Stryker with them. He and Mystique played pivotal roles in breaking into the Alkali Lake facility and helping the X-Men save mutantkind. That is before Magneto tried to destroy humanity.
4 Magneto Uses Xavier To Attempt Genocide
Seeing the X-Men team up with Magneto and Mystique in X2 was almost a feel-good experience. After breaking into the Alkali Lake facility and locating Dark Cerebro, Magneto truly seemed to have put his issues with Xavier aside in order to save the world’s mutants.
While he did stop Stryker’s plan, Magneto then decided to enact his own plan using Xavier, who was still under Jason Stryker’s mind control, and Dark Cerebro to kill all humans. This was par for the course with Erik, but it was still troubling to see him weaponize his longtime friend against his will, knowing Xavier’s ideological stance on mutant-human coexistence, to try and commit genocide.
3 Stryker Meets His End
Colonel William Stryker has had a strong association with Alkali Lake throughout the X-Men films from the Weapon X Program to Dark Cerebro. It seems fitting, then, that he met his end there – at least in X2. In the original timeline, both Wolverine, in one of his many live-action appearances, and Magneto left Stryker to die.
Logan confronted Stryker when the military scientist was making his escape from the soon-to-rupture dam, tying him to a helicopter wheel. Later, Magneto, making his own escape, chained Stryker to a wall and stole his helicopter. Finally, Wolverine encountered Stryker again, chained to a wall, but he chose not to save him. The dam burst and Alkali Lake consumed Stryker.
2 Jean Grey Sacrifices Herself
Few moments in the X-Men films rival that of Jean Grey’s unexpected sacrifice in X2. Throughout the film, Jean’s growing and uncontrollable powers were evidenced, hinting at an eventual Phoenix narrative. However, the rupture of the dam at Alkali Lake saw the cinematic version of that famous storyline quickly come to fruition, much to the delight of fans.
In order to save the X-Men stranded on the X-Jet, Jean went outside and diverted the water while raising the jet into the air. Though some say this was unnecessary, many fans agree that Jean knew her power was quickly going to become a threat, and intentionally made this move to save the X-Men from more than just Alkali Lake.
1 Phoenix Rises And Scott Dies
Just as Alkali Lake was the site of Jean’s death, it was also the site of her rebirth as Phoenix. In the final installment of the original X-Men trilogy, X-Men: The Last Stand, a depressed Cyclops continued hearing Jean psychically call him. Scott returned to Alkali Lake and Jean erupted from the water.
Xavier later posited that when saving the X-Men in X2, Jean released her more powerful, alternate personality, which called itself Phoenix (in a similar fashion to Wanda Maximoff). This same power, he believed, saved her from being destroyed by the dam breach. The Phoenix personality, driven by passion and rage, quickly vaporized Scott and some of Alkali Lake before Storm and Logan located her.
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