A few years ago an industry out of ideas began to delve more deeply into comic books and graphic novels for plots and movie concepts.

What started as a once-in-awhile thing in the 1970s, 80s and 90s has steamrolled. Producers are now seriously mining the industry for movie ideas.

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You need a scorecard to keep track of what we’ve seen since 2000: two Batman movies, a new Superman, three Spider-man flicks, a couple of Incredible Hulks plus assorted Marvel super heroes such as X-Men, Wolverine, Iron Man, Daredevil, Elektra and the Fantastic Four.

Don’t write. I know I missed some, and we haven’t even touched the graphic novels.

Already this year we’ve seen Thor and still to come are Green Lantern and Captain America.

Next year is more Iron Man, The Avengers and a Superman reboot. We get another Batman, G.I. Joe and Wolverine and a rework and reintroduction of the Spider-man series.

And again — don’t write. There are so many that I no doubt missed a few.

If you’re marking your scorecards here’s where we are now — the X-Men prequel: X-Men: First Class. This one traces the origins of the heroes and villains of that comic.

It is co-written by two of the guys that gave us Thor and is co-written and directed by the inventive Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Stardust, Layer Cake). James McAvoy (Wanted) stars as super telepath and X-Men leader Charles Xavier and the ultra interesting Michael Fassbender as his friend Erik Lehnsherr, who eventually becomes the villain Magneto.

Working around the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, the plot follows the formation of the friendship between Xavier and Lehnsherr as they try to stop rogue super-mutant Sebastian Shaw from starting World War III. Shaw is done by Kevin Bacon. Revenge is part of what motivates and ultimately undoes Lehnsherr because Shaw is the Nazi that killed his mom in a concentration camp.

The film also introduces characters from the comics and how they came to be the X-Men — and women — of the future.

While not real deep, this one is very, very good and much more fun than the two previous X-Men films and the disastrous spin-off Wolverine. Vaughn is an outstanding storyteller and gives the concept a nice retro look with sets and costumes out of the 1960s. He also helps sell the concept and give the movie more originality by mixing cuts of the Cuban Missile Crisis speech by then President John F. Kennedy and newsreel footage of the crisis into the plot.

Vaughn also casts terrific young actors to play the mutants.

McAvoy and Fassbender have exceptional chemistry as fast friends on a mission to recruit others of their kind to defeat the hated Shaw. Equally interesting is Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) who plays Mistique.

While McAvoy is terrific and acts as the plot’s glue, Fassbender and Lawrence steal every scene they are in and dominate the movie. Both are quite charismatic and give riveting performances that leave you wanting more of them and less of the not-so-interesting side plots involving other mutants and CIA characters.

You also can’t drop the topic of acting without mentioning Bacon who early in the film does some outstanding villainy. Unfortunately the plot and his character don’t evolve to the level of his performance.

Some comic book flicks work. Others don’t. In spite of same-old, same-old plot lines, effects and types of characters, comic book movies — at least so far — are much more interesting than a lot of the action crap being churned out by out-of-ideas Hollywood writers, directors and producers.

That’s where you’ll find X-Men: First Class — more interesting than your average action flick and toward the top of the heap of comic book classics on film. Definitely put an X beside X-Men: First Class on your list of weekend movies.

Mr. Movie rating: 4 stars

Rated PG-13 for mature themes and violence. It opens Friday, June 3 at the Carmike 12 and the Fairchild Cinemas 12.

5 stars to 4 1/2 stars: Must see on the big screen
4 stars to 3 1/2 stars: Good film, see it if it's your type of movie.
3 stars to 2 1/2 stars: Wait until it comes out on video.
2 stars to 1 star: Don't bother.
0 stars: Speaks for itself.