When a shocking attack by an unknown assailant possessing extraordinary abilities points to the work of a mutant, the political and public outcry for a Mutant Registration Act is renewed. Leading the anti-mutant movement is William Stryker (Brian Cox), a wealthy former Army commander and scientist who is rumored to have experimented on mutants. Stryker's mutant "work" is somehow tied to Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) mysterious and forgotten past. As Wolverine searches for clues to his origin, Stryker puts into motion his anti-mutant program beginning with a full-scale military offensive on Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) mansion and School for the Gifted. Magneto (Ian McKellen), newly escaped from the plastic prison he was incarcerated in, proposes a partnership with the X-Men to combat their common and formidable enemy, Stryker.
