If the world does end today that would be just fine with me because ... I just saw X-Men: First Class!

This morning I had the rare opportunity, along with a select group of fellow journalists, to attend an advanced screening of the highly anticipated prequel on the Fox lot. While I don’t want to spoil the movie for you and say too much, I can tell you that I really enjoyed it and think it could be one of the best films in the series. Fans of the X-Men comics and film franchise will be pleased because it is a faithful adaptation that pays respect to what’s come before it in both mediums. All of the actors are great in their respective roles and bring a fresh perspective to familiar characters.

Romantic scenes don't usually include a character saying, "Go ahead, take the blood."  This new clip from X-Men: First Class shows a scene in which Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence, says just that to Nicholas Hoult's Hank McCoy, and does so while they sit on a barely-subliminal sexual set.  The clip is a follow-up to yesterday's excerpt introducing McCoy to the gang, with Mystique immediately intrigued by the scientist well before he grows blue fur and sharp fangs. It's the third clip released from the film so far, and Mystique has appeared in all three.

The first official clip from X-Men: First Class showed James McAvoy's Charles Xavier chilling at the Pentagon and convincing some CIA and military brass the mutants do, in fact, exist.  A brand spanking new clip from the prequel again features McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, and G-Man Oliver Platt.  This time, they're being introduced to scientist Hank McCoy, well in advance of his transformation into the furry blue Beast. Check out the clip to see Xavier flexing his mind-reading abilities, Mystique swooning, and McCoy's pre-blueness mutation.

If a movie is a full meal, then a movie trailer is sort of a fun-sized candy bar.  TV spots, then, are basically sugar cubes.  Today we have two new sugar cubes from X-Men: First Class, the prequel set in the midst of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and directed by Matthew Vaughn. The first shows off new mutant powers, like the laser blasts of Lucas Till's Havok and the be-thumbed feet of Beast, played by Nicholas Hoult.  The second spot has Michael Fassbender's Magneto delivering a polemic on the evils of mankind, while wearing his sexy helmet and dealing with hundred of missiles.  Watch away.

The character trailers released last week included dialogue exchanges longer than any one piece of X-Men: First Class footage seen previously, but today, 20th Century Fox released the first actual clip from the prequel.  In he minute-long excerpt, James McAvoy's young Professor Xavier is dropping the existence of mutants at the Pentagon, with a credibility boost from Mystique, played by Jennifer Lawrence.  Also on hand are Rose Byrne and Oliver Platt, representing the CIA.

In all the X-Men: First Class marketing we've seen so far, Michael Fassbender's Erik Lensherr is the tugboat moving all the action.  It just makes sense, as he's got a revenge story and angry political extremism, but the prequel setting also affords an opportunity for a young, pre-paralysis Charles Xavier to assert himself.  The latest TV spot for Matthew Vaughn's mutant extravaganza is chock-full of new footage, including James McAvoy as Xavier driving the action, as well as what appears to be Magneto sucker-punching someone in a very familiar helmet.

The Mystique we're familiar with from the first three X-Men films was a shapeshifting henchlady portrayed by supermodel Rebecca Romijn.  Though in those films, she's loyal to Magneto, in the upcoming prequel X-Men: First Class, she starts out an idealistic member of the School for Gifted Mutants played by Oscar nominated actress Jennifer Lawrence.  A new character trailer, like those for The Beast, Banshee, and Havoc that debuted yesterday, is now available, introducing us to Miss Raven Darkholme, and hinting at her relationship with Magneto, played this time by Michael Fassbender.

Though they tended to focus principally on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, the first three X-Men films were all ensembles, with a coterie of mutants bringing unique powers and characteristics into the mix.  Similarly, the upcoming prequel X-Men: First Class revolves around young Xavier and Magneto, played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, but the eponymous first class is comprised of younger characters.  Three new 'character trailers' introduce Nicholas Hoult's Beast, Lucas Till's Havoc, and Caleb Landry Jones as Banshee, showing off new footage aplenty in the process.

While recent trailers have met with unabashed enthusiasm, the domestic poster for X-Men: First Class resulted in many a vocal complaint about mutant head-to-body proportions, teammates in the back of the class, and general photoshoppery.  A new international poster from the land of baguettes and croissants debuted at Fantasy.fr, and it addresses these complaints, with leads James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender looking stoic and no less than two blue mutants backing them up.

You know how sometimes, a hoarder will get trapped beneath a metric ton of old TV Guides and newspapers, crushed by an avalanche of their own obsessive tendencies?  Today, we are all that hoarder, and the plethora of X-Men: First Class promotional material unleashed over the last several hours has engulfed each in every one of us in the best possible way.  In addition to the gee-whiz awesome first trailer released this morning, there's now an even cooler international trailer online for your viewing pleasure.